E-shopping often unfolds across multiple sessions, during which consumers frequently add products to carts or wishlists without deliberate intention to purchase. This research investigates the psychological consequences of such unintentional product placements and their influence on subsequent purchase decisions. Although common intuition suggests that cart placement reflects stronger purchase commitment than wishlist placement, our findings reveal a temporal shift in this pattern over time. Across two pilot studies and five experiments, we find that products placed unintentionally in wishlists are initially less likely to be purchased than those added to carts; however, as time elapses, the purchase likelihood of wishlist items increases, whereas for cart items it remains relatively stable. This counterintuitive pattern occurs because wishlist placement triggers purchase procrastination without decision closure, keeping the choice cognitively active. We introduce the mere placement effect, demonstrating a psychological mechanism through which incidental categorization into a cart versus a wishlist can influence subsequent purchase likelihood independent of initial intent. We further identify two boundary conditions: (1) temporal gap since placement, and (2) retailer communication type (price-promotion vs. reminder-messaging). These findings highlight the psychological role of wishlists, offer actionable implications for digital retail interface management, and suggest ways to support more intentional purchase decisions. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd

Purpose – Artificial intelligence (AI) has brought major disruptions in the new generation human resources (HR) ecosystems. The research community as well as chief human resources officers (CHROs) have been taking strong initiatives to examine the use of AI in human resource management (HRM) function, including harmonious human–machine collaboration. The AI-HRM area is under-researched, and this study addresses an important research gap regarding the benefits and challenges of AI applications in HRM. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a qualitative research methodology (abductive case research) and collects data from multiple sources in three Indian companies. These organizations span diverse sectors and were at different stages of AI adoption in HRM at the time of the study. The multi-data-sources strategy helps triangulation and establishes credibility of the research. Findings – The findings provide a clear view about the benefits of AI applications in HRM, higher productivity, recruitment efficiency, adaptive learning and high-quality HR decisions. The study also underpins key challenges, including a lack of human touch, employees’ loss of control over jobs and the fear of losing jobs to AI. Originality/value – The research provides a theoretical contribution to the growing AI-HRM literature in the context of the theory of cost economics in the context of recruitment efficiency as well as leveraging adaptive learning from the context of the multi-level organizational learning framework to improve the performance of the HR function. The research also provides significant managerial insights for CHROs recommending that they embrace humanized AI in the HRM function and institutionalize AI ethics. © Emerald Publishing Limited

As nations pursue ambitious carbon reduction targets, carbon regulatory policies such as carbon taxes and incentives play a critical role in shaping manufacturing decisions. This study analyzes the strategic interactions between governments and manufacturers under such policies, aiming to enhance both economic and environmental outcomes. We develop a game-theoretic model that integrates evolutionary and Stackelberg games to examine how joint policy interventions influence manufacturers’ adoption of low-carbon technologies. A key feature of our analysis is the inclusion of product substitutability, which significantly affects policy effectiveness. The model is computationally illustrated in the context of the automotive manufacturing sector, where substitution between electric and gasoline vehicles provides a practical test case for the dynamics analyzed. Our results show that adaptive interventions tailored to the degree of substitutability drive low-carbon technology adoption more effectively than uniform policies. However, excessive substitution may lead to diminishing returns in profitability and reduced social welfare. The findings underscore the importance of balancing incentives and taxes to support a sustainable transition, offering practical insights for policymakers seeking to design effective carbon policy frameworks aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). © 2025 Elsevier Ltd

The growing popularity of fitness influencers on Instagram has created a competitive space where human and AI-generated influencers vie for user engagement. This study examines how agent type (human vs. AI), gender, and age influence perceptions of interpersonal attraction, credibility, and social presence. Using a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design, 161 participants rated mock Instagram posts from influencers across these categories. Results showed that human influencers were rated significantly higher in social attraction, credibility, and social presence than AI influencers. Younger influencers were perceived as more physically attractive, while older influencers scored higher in character and social presence. Regardless of agent type, female influencers were rated higher in physical attraction. These findings highlight persistent demographic biases and a strong preference for human connection in digital fitness spaces, offering key insights for brands, marketers, and influencer strategy. © 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This study examines how journalistic autonomy is experienced and negotiated within conditions of accelerating media capture in contemporary India. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with journalists across organizational tiers, linguistic regions, and media formats, the study analyses how political pressure, economic dependence, and organizational hierarchies coalesce into a structurally embedded regime of influence. Using Bourdieu’s field theory as a conceptual framework, the paper argues that capture is internalized through everyday newsroom practices and professional doxa, influencing epistemic boundaries, risk evaluations, and the moral economy of journalism. Yet, the findings indicate that autonomy remains as a contingent and stratified resource, sustained through professional ethics, symbolic capital, peer networks, and the distinct institutional cultures of digital-first platforms. Autonomy emerges here not as a binary condition but as a negotiated practice manifested through selective compliance, strategic framing, and context-specific maneuvering. These negotiations are disproportionately distributed, with early-career, regional, and precariously employed journalists encountering sharper structural constraints than their metropolitan or symbolically empowered peers. By emphasizing negotiation as a primary form of agency, the study presents a relational perspective of autonomy under capture and contributes to broader debates on press freedom, field heteronomy, and the resilience of democratic communication. © The Author(s) 2026

Purpose – This study aims to develop a conceptual framework explaining how metaverse technologies can enhance employee engagement in hybrid workplaces, integrating embodied social presence (ESP) theory, self-determination theory and the newly introduced construct of sociotechnical fluidity. Design/methodology/approach – This study undertakes a structured synthesis of scholarly discourse to explore the intersection of employee engagement and the metaverse in hybrid workplace settings. Leveraging science mapping techniques and scholarly contribution profiling, the analysis identifies thematic clusters, conceptual linkages and emerging research priorities. These insights inform the development of a theory-driven engagement model integrating key constructs and relational pathways. Findings – The framework positions embodied social interaction – comprising co-presence, social presence and sociotechnical fluidity – and virtual psychological support – autonomy and relatedness – as sequential mediators between metaverse platform capabilities and employee engagement. Media literacy and organizational support act as moderators. Findings highlight that, in hybrid work contexts, users value effortless navigation, spontaneous collaboration and ambient sociability over purely immersive realism, reflecting the entanglement of social and technical elements. Practical implications – These findings offer actionable insights for business leaders and IT decision-makers to develop HR and IT policies that ensure metaverse implementations foster ease of interaction, psychological support and sustained engagement in distributed teams. Originality/value – By extending ESP theory with sociotechnical fluidity, this research advances understanding of dynamic, coordinated interactions in metaverse-enabled collaboration. The integration of scholarly synthesis with science mapping offers a novel, multilayered engagement model that provides a foundation for empirical validation and informs strategic adoption of metaverse technologies in hybrid workplace designs. © 2026 Emerald Publishing Limited

In this study we investigate the causal configurations of capability chains under changing institutional and environmental contingencies during internationalization. Building upon the capability hierarchy model, we propose the concept of capability chain. Capability chains are cost optimal causal configurations linking elements within a higher capability group to the corresponding elements in a lower capability group and finally to an outcome. We review a set of 231 empirical articles dealing with dynamic capabilities and internationalization, from 2014 to 2024. We present a set of causal configurations of economically viable, dynamic, replicable and durable capability chains enabling different types of internationalization. Specifically, we present capability chains, needed for (i) early-stage international new venture creation, and (ii) steady state international performance, as well as catering to various contingencies like (iii) institutional differences between developed and emerging economies, and (iv) environmental differences. We expect to contribute to an evolving theory of international dynamic capabilities. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd.

This paper presents a hierarchical Bayesian semi-parametric model leveraging adaptive splines to explore the non-linear relationship between leverage and output performance in firms. The model employs automated feature selection through spline-based knot detection and incorporates regularization techniques to address challenges like endogeneity, heteroscedasticity, and multicollinearity. Bayesian inference is performed using Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods, enabling robust estimation and uncertainty quantification. Applied to a panel of 164 Indian firms (2011–2020), the model reveals non-monotonic patterns in leverage-performance relationships. This study bridges econometrics and machine learning, offering a flexible, data-driven approach to analyse financial and market interactions in firms. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This study investigates the relationship between capital structure and firm growth with an emphasis on India's hospitality and tourism (HT) industry. Using a trans-dimensional Bayesian machine learning model, we discover a striking divergence between HT and non-HT firms. HT firms consistently accelerate in sales growth with increasing leverage, whereas non-HT firms benefit from moderate leverage but struggle under high debt. The distinct capital intensity and financial resilience of the HT sector firms are demonstrated by this mirrored response. Our model addresses issues like endogeneity and structural shifts from the data, avoiding strict assumptions. The flexible framework of this method can be applied to other industries to uncover more realistic financial behavior. For managers and policymakers seeking adaptive capital strategies for sustainable growth tailored for the industry, this work offers practical insights. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd

The world grapples with growing environmental problems and organizations play a critical role in addressing sustainability issues. The sustainable development goals (SDGs), which must be achieved by 2030, pose a challenge for businesses worldwide. Industries across different sectors are collaborating to accomplish these goals in line with the business responsibility and sustainable reporting (BRSR) guidelines. These guidelines are mandatory for industries to follow in order to stay competitive in the market. Investors and stakeholders are increasingly aware of environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives and it is crucial for them to understand the true picture of companies striving for societal welfare while maintaining competitiveness and dedication. In response to these global demands, regulatory bodies have started to mandate ESG reporting frameworks. This research paper focuses on the top 50 Indian corporations identified by the Nifty 50, using data from BRSR reports. The ranking algorithm analyzed this data. This study aims to help companies, stakeholders, investors, customers and the government gain an accurate understanding of the industry, its contributions and the gaps where efforts can be made to achieve the sustainability goals by 2030. It also encourages Indian industries performing effectively in their sectors to maintain sustainability and supports other competitors in adopting similar practices. Additionally, it can help them capture market share aligned with consumer and government interests. © 2026 - Kalpana Corporation.

We estimate three efficiencies, namely new profit, new cost and new technical, to examine the impact of demonetisation and financial inclusion on bank performance in India. Bank efficiency for the 2011-2019 period across size and ownership groups is measured using data envelopment analysis (DEA). In the second stage, differences in impact of the event across bank groups and efficiency types, using repeated analysis of variance (ANOVA), are observed. Significant effects across size and ownership, albeit not uniform across groups, events and efficiency types, were found. There was an increase in the number of frontier banks. SBI, the state-owned and largest bank, with the most significant role in those policies, had seen a positive impact on cost and profit efficiency. Our study is perhaps the first of its kind to examine demonetisation and financial inclusion impact on the banking sector and a two-stage estimation that combines DEA with repeated ANOVA. Our study does not lend support to the view that those events have burdened and adversely affected banks. The study carries important managerial and policy implications and provides much-needed scientific evidence to the popular debate on the impact of the events. JEL Codes: G21, G34, D61, M40 © 2026 Indian Economic Association

This study describes the development and evaluation of a transdermal drug delivery system (TDDS) incorporating ethanolic extract of Eulophia nuda roots for potential anticancer activity. The optimized formulation (F5) exhibited uniform. The optimized formulation (F5) exhibited uniform and smooth morphology (thickness 0.32+-0.03 mm, weight 185+-5.2 mg), had high drug content (95.8+-2.1%), folding endurance (>245 folds) and released uniformly (78.5+-3.2% in 24 hours). FTIR and DSC were found to be compatible and SEM showed smooth, bead-free structures. Ex-vivo permeation experiments revealed successful transdermal delivery with a steady state flux of 12.5+-1. μg/cm²/h, permeability coefficient of 6.25x10⁻³ cm/h. In-vitro MTT assay revealed dose-dependent cytotoxic activity against MCF-7, HeLa, A549 and HepG2 cell lines. The value of IC₅₀ decreased (p < 0.001) 45.2-65.8 μg/mL (TDDS formulation) vs. 125.5-185.2 μg/mL (crude extract). The IC₅₀ values of the optimized TDDS formulation were significantly lower than those of the crude extract, indicating enhanced anticancer activity. Taken together, these findings indicate that Eulophia nuda-based TDDS has the capacity to deliver safe, effective and controlled anticancer treatment at increased patient compliance and reduced systemic toxicity. © 2026, Dr. Yashwant Research Labs Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved.

As India faces decarbonization and climate hazards, analyzing financial implications of climate-related risks for power sector is critical. This study presents a forward-looking, location focused, technology-wise analysis of physical climate risks for Indian power companies using novel asset-level methodologies. To assess physical risks, particularly flood exposure, we use spatially explicit modeling across 424 power-generating assets representing over 90% of India's capacity. Monte Carlo simulations reveal that without protective infrastructure, average losses exceed 19%, with 99th percentile tail risks surpassing 24%. However, investment in 100-year flood protection reduces average losses to under 1% and tail risks to below 2%. Results show that the effectiveness of risk mitigation varies significantly by technology and geography, with coal and gas assets benefiting most from protective investments, and coastal regions like Kerala and Gujarat showing highest vulnerabilities. This study provides a comprehensive empirical quantification of physical climate risks for Indian power firms at asset levels. © 2026 The Authors

Using a sample of US banks, we examine the effects of state-level economic policy uncertainties (EPUs) on banks' distress risk. Our results suggest that state-level EPUs positively affect the distress risk. The findings are consistent with the alternative measures of distress risk. We document that the discretionary use of loan loss provisions (opacity), as not explicitly disclosed in the formal managerial communication for shareholders, exacerbates the effects of state EPUs on distress risk and does not help the bank's stability. Further, the effects of state-EPUs increase as the size becomes larger, and diversified and regional banks are the most susceptible. © 2026 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

This paper examines the potential influence of physical and social servicescapes on employee and customer behaviour for a public sector bank (PSB). The stimulus-organism response (S-O-R) framework is leveraged to formulate a model in which the servicescape serves as an antecedent (stimulus) of employee emotions/satisfaction/loyalty (organism), which in turn influences customer satisfaction (response). A total of 505 bank employees and 505 customers (in a dual-respondent format) from 102 PSB branches in metro, semi-urban, and rural regions, identified through stratified random sampling, participated in the data collection. The data analysis revealed that the physical (signs, symbols and artefacts) and social servicescape (except customer characteristics) strongly predict employee emotions, and that employee job satisfaction mediates the relationship between employee emotions and loyalty, which, in turn, shapes customer satisfaction. This work highlights the importance of employees' experiences at the PSB as an intervening variable between servicescape and customer satisfaction. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd

Economic theory posits that entrepreneurial finance fosters new entrepreneurs, driving technological diffusion and, ultimately, economic development. An efficient financial market influences economic growth through both qualitative and quantitative channels. As a key component of entrepreneurial finance, the primary equity market has been widely recognized for its potential role in promoting economic growth. Yet, the cross-country empirical studies on the role of the primary equity market in economic development remain scarce, largely due to data availability issues and associated methodological challenges in handling complex econometric issues. This study addresses this gap by employing a macro-panel dataset covering 97 countries over 35 years. Using instrumental variable (IV) regressions with five-year averaged data, we find robust evidence that primary equity market development significantly contributes to economic growth. Cointegration analysis using annual data further reveals a long-run cointegrating relationship between the primary equity market and economic growth. The study of short-run deviation around the long-run cointegrating relationship, using the panel-vector error correction model (VECM), confirms significant short-run interactions between the primary equity market and economic growth, while panel-vector autoregression (VAR) tests indicate that causality predominantly runs from the primary equity market to economic growth, rather than vice versa. These findings highlight the importance of primary equity market development as a strategic policy objective for sustaining economic growth. Moreover, findings suggest that firms and portfolio managers can view primary market activity as a forward-looking indicator of future economic performance. © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

In this chapter, we discuss how a transnational enterprise operating in a developing economy can create an environmentally responsible supply chain for a line of business through a holistic set of easy-to-use consumer-centric tools of digital transformation to encourage customers in the lower socio-economic strata to subscribe to environmental circularity. We assess the basis of circularity and the realities confronting the environmentally responsible supply chain, especially for a physically diverse geography of archipelagic islands. We highlight how the run-of-the-mill digital transformation approaches can be used to promote recycling and the collection rates of plastic packaging products. Further, we provide examples of how mobile apps such as QR codes can be leveraged to notify customers about recycling, social media postings for faster and wider outreach through push notifications, and a two-sided digital platform for managing the returns socially and responsibly. © 2026 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

Forest conservation is a key strategy for addressing climate change. However, the role of women's political representation in shaping conservation outcomes remains understudied. This paper examines the causal impact of female legislators on forest cover in India, leveraging a regression discontinuity design based on close mixed-gender electoral races. We find that electing a female legislator increases annual forest cover growth by 6 percentage points, but this effect is concentrated in constituencies reserved for candidates from historically marginalized groups. When we examine forest cover growth over the entire electoral cycle, the positive impact of female legislators is found for all constituencies, but this effect continues to be driven by constituencies reserved for historically disadvantaged communities. These findings suggest that women in political office can significantly influence environmental outcomes, particularly when institutional structures promote the inclusion of underrepresented groups. We argue that differences in environmental preferences and constraints by legislator identity may explain these effects. Our results underscore the importance of legislator identity in shaping environmental governance. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.

This study explores the relationship between firm-level financial constraints (FC) and ESG performance using a sample of 1153 firm-year observations from 313 non-financial Indian firms during 2007 to 2024. Corroborating with the Signalling Theory, the findings suggest that financially constrained firms exhibit better ESG performance. Contrary to traditional belief, this behaviour is even more pronounced when firms’ financial constraints become more severe. Additionally, we report that when financial constraints improve, firms selectively boost ESG performance to seek immediate visibility and legitimacy from their stakeholders. The results significantly align with the signalling motivations for firms to engage in ESG initiatives. © 2026 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Financing risk remains one of the significant challenges in clean energy projects due to heavy investment requirements, limited financing, unpredictability of future revenues and market instability. Against this backdrop, the present work is an effort to offer further insights into the relationship between industries’ financial constraints and energy efficiency by incorporating the moderating role of research and development. To investigate this relationship, we use industry-level data for twenty-two manufacturing sectors in seven European countries. Our findings from the High-dimensional fixed effect model reveal that energy intensity (energy efficiency) increases (decreases) with the increasing share of financially constrained firms in an industry. Moreover, increasing R&D intensity in an industry lessens the adverse impact of FCs on energy efficiency. The results remain robust under other specifications employing alternative measures of financial constraints. These findings emphasise the innovation funding programs like Horizon Europe to enhance energy efficiency, especially for financially constrained firms. © 2026 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.