PurposeDrone technology offers transformative gains in supply chain speed, efficiency and reach, yet adoption remains limited. This study explores how technological, organisational and environmental factors collectively influence managers' intentions toward drone adoption.Design/methodology/approachThis study investigates the complex interplay between technological, organisational and environmental factors in supply chains through the lens of the Technological-Organisational-Environmental (TOE) framework. Survey data were collected from managers across diverse distribution and supply chain industries in India, yielding 302 valid responses for analysis.FindingsThe results reveal that technological factors such as trust in technology, relative advantage and compatibility significantly drive intentions to adopt drones, whereas upper management support (UMS) and competitive pressure show no direct effect. Furthermore, trust in technology and relative advantage fully mediate the relationships between UMS or competitive pressure and drone adoption intention. However, compatibility does not mediate the relationship between UMS and adoption intention, but does mediate the relationship between competitive pressure and adoption intention.Research limitations/implicationsA key theoretical contribution lies in identifying the mediating role of technological factors, specifically trust in technology and relative advantage, in transmitting the effects of UMS and competitive pressure on drone adoption intention. Both constructs mediate the influence of these organisational and environmental drivers, indicating their impact materialises only when drones are perceived as trustworthy and advantageous. Additionally, compatibility fully mediates the effect of competitive pressure but not that of UMS, highlighting nuanced differences in mediation patterns. This layered mechanism enriches the TOE framework by emphasising the differentiated roles of technological attributes and addresses a notable gap related to drone adoption literature.Practical implicationsThis study provides actionable guidance for managers and decision-makers considering drone adoption in distribution and supply chain. The results show that while UMS and competitive pressure are relevant, they are insufficient to drive strong adoption intentions on their own. Greater emphasis must be placed on technological factors, such as trust in drone systems, perceived relative advantage and compatibility with existing operations, which exert both direct and mediating effects on adoption outcomes. Many of the critical challenges in drone implementation stem from these technological dimensions.Originality/valueThis study's novelty lies in uncovering the mediating role of technological factors in linking organisational and environmental factors to drone adoption in distribution and supply chains.
PurposeWhile many firms in the developing economies are actively engaged in the circular economy practices, they face a range of challenges in transitioning to and scaling circular practices in their supply chain. Prior related studies lack empirical evidence on the adoption of circular economy practices in the supply chain with the focus on developing countries. Hence, this research attempts to investigate various factors from the industrial symbiosis lens, such as firm collaboration and social innovation, and from the ecological modernization lens, such as technological development, organizational intention and government policy, and their effects on adoption of circular economy practices in supply chain to provide evidence on the improvement in the firm performance, specifically in emerging economies like India. The moderating role of firm type (manufacturing and service industries) and firm size (large-scale and small-and-medium scale) in the Indian context is also examined.Design/methodology/approachThe study proposes 18 hypotheses by integrating and extending the industrial symbiosis and ecological modernization theories. Self-administered questionnaire survey is used to gather quantitative data. Respondents are managers and executives of large-, medium- and small-scale manufacturing and service firms in India. Structural equation modelling approach is applied to analyse and test the hypotheses. For confirming the inferences drawn from the model and ensuring the model's predictability, a robustness test on the model is performed.FindingsResults revealed that firm collaboration, government policy and organizational intention directly and positively impact adoption of circular economy practices in the supply chain. The circular economy practices in supply chain also indicated a direct and positive relationship with firm performance. Firm type moderates the relationship of government policy and adoption of circular economy practices in the supply chain, and firm size moderates the association between organizational intention and adoption of circular economy practices in supply chain followed by the firm performance.Originality/valueGiven the complexities of developing countries like India, the study concentrated on identifying the significant factors that facilitate the adoption of circular economy practices in the supply chain and thereby, the firm performance in the Indian context from the theoretical lens of industrial symbiosis and ecological modernization. Besides, the moderating role of firm type (manufacturing and service firms) and firm size (large corporations and small and medium enterprises) on the relationships in the Indian context is also an addition to the existing related literature. Overall, the study stands out as one of the few attempts to provide empirical evidence on the factors influencing adoption of circular economy practices in the supply chain to improve the performance of firms from a developing country perspective.
PurposeImplementation of an effective closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) requires knowledge of consumers' perceptions of returning end-of-life products. Consumers, as primary suppliers of end-of-life products, play a crucial role in recycling efforts. This study identifies the drivers behind the e-waste recycling intentions of consumers, bridging the gap in previous studies.Design/methodology/approachExtending the Theory of Planned Behavior, this research integrates other determinants applicable to e-waste return intentions, including eco-literacy, reverse logistics awareness, perceived risk and incentives. An online survey was conducted with 310 digitally literate Indian consumers. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the relationships among the studied determinants. Fourteen hypotheses were tested using PLS-SEM to assess direct and moderating effects.FindingsThe results show significant relationships between the determinants and return intention. Moderation analysis indicates that incentives reinforce the positive impact of perceived behavioral (PB) control on return intention, while perceived risk undermines the attitude-return intention relationship, as well as the return intention-PB control relationship. Attitude, subjective norms, eco-literacy, collection method and incentives were significant positive predictors, while perceived risk acted as a key barrier.Practical implicationsOur study indicates that creating awareness programs on the importance of e-waste recycling, implementing incentive schemes and establishing more stringent e-waste management regulations can promote returning e-waste into the supply chain.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on CLSCs by conceptualizing consumer e-waste return intention using an extended TPB applied in the Indian context - fast-emerging digitalized economy with a high percentage of informal recycling. Through the integration of cognitive (eco-literacy, reverse logistics awareness), contextual (collection mechanism, perceived risk) and motivational (rewards) determinants, the study empirically tests the moderating roles of rewards and risk through structural equation modeling, providing refined theoretical insights and practical implications for policymakers and industry stakeholders.
PurposePrior e-HRM research mainly studies knowledge workers in developed economies, overlooking frontline employees who constitute the majority workforce in labor-intensive sectors. This study addresses three gaps: (1) insufficient examination of social-technical subsystem interplay in resource-constrained retail, (2) absence of socio-technical frameworks for frontline workers in emerging markets and (3) limited understanding of e-HRM effectiveness for low-skilled, mobile-dependent employees with minimal digital literacy.Design/methodology/approachComparative case studies of two Indian hypermarket chains employing grounded theory methodology. Unlike survey-based e-HRM research, this processual approach reveals micro-level socio-technical realignments during execution through expert interviews.FindingsE-HRM effectiveness depends on four interconnected domains: workforce planning, employee lifecycle stages, process improvements and performance management. Critically, mobile-first design emerges as essential, social ecosystems fundamentally shape technology acceptance beyond TAM predictions and cost-efficiency trade-offs manifest differently in the context of emerging markets.Practical implicationsPracticing managers can learn the integral considerations to be kept in mind when developing the vision for e-HRM in their organizations. These include the social ecosystem, ease of resources, the trade-off between cost and efficiency, and the employee lifecycle touchpoints, among others. The socio-technical systems influence the final outcome of e-HRM implementation, which is the job redesign.Originality/valueThree theoretical contributions include the development of a contextualized socio-technical framework for frontline employees, the demonstration that social affordances are more consequential than technical sophistication for frontline performance, and the extension of socio-technical theory by explicating how resource constraints necessitate "frugal innovation" approaches, harmonizing minimal technical features with maximal social support.
Indian banking system was exposed to a regulatory overhaul during 2015-2016 through many policy reforms. These reforms came in tandem with the asset quality review (AQR) instituted by the banking regulator. One of such reforms was an enforcement of mandatory disclosures which aimed at improving earnings quality. The banking regulator framed these disclosures in terms of divergence in asset qualities between the regulator and the banks. The goal was to limit the opportunistic behavior of banks, reduce their ability to suppress unfavorable information, and improve certainty about the banking sector-which is opaque in general. Therefore, our study examines the efficacy of this policy-whether the mandatory disclosure policy reduced information asymmetry making the banks better disciplined, thereby alleviating to an extent the moral hazard problem. Using fixed effects panel regression and generalised methods moments (GMM), we find divergence disclosure to have a positive effect on earnings quality. We witnessed banks to reduce the discretionary portion of the loan loss provisioning after the enforcement divergence disclosure. Thus, the policy-making process to improve transparency and surfacing 'good' versus the 'bad' banks was effective and derived the intended results. Furthermore, our study recommends institutionalizing a metric driven policy approach to steer regulatory outcomes. For example, we propose the policy convergence initiated in 2022, to adopt the expected credit loss standard for credit impairment from the current incurred loss to be looked at with the lens of earnings quality. A mandatory disclosure with divergence in provision between the two credit loss models could be a possible solution to ensure realization of the intended policy outcome. (c) 2025 The Society for Policy Modeling. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.
