The possibility of drone usage for food delivery is met with enthusiasm by businesses as it promises instantaneous benefits such as reduced costs, improved customer satisfaction, and reduced environmental imprint. The objective of this paper is to explore consumer attitude and intention towards adopting a disruptive technology such as drone food delivery in the Indian context through motivated consumer innovativeness (MCI), green image, and perceived risk. We analyzed the questionnaire survey data collected from 310 respondents using structural equation modeling—partial least squares method. Functionally motivated consumer innovativeness and cognitively motivated consumer innovativeness were found to be significant positive predictors of consumer attitude and intention. Perceived privacy risk was found to have a significant negative influence on attitude. Green image had a significant positive effect on attitude towards drone usage. Other components of MCI namely, hedonic and social as well as performance and delivery risk did not show a significance influence. This study, to our knowledge, is first of its kind in India, a populous country with an established and booming economy, where the enabling and impeding antecedents of drone food delivery usage intention is simultaneously studied. The findings of this research will mainly benefit food delivery companies in framing successful drone food delivery strategies.

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the research literature on entrepreneurial intention (EI) of engineering students in an emerging economy. Through the lens of Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior (TPB), we investigate the influence of academic curriculum, institutional support, family, and peer effects in fostering an intent to be self-employed among Indian engineering students. Data collected from 210 final-year engineering students were tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling method. The antecedents of the TPB, namely, attitude toward entrepreneurship (ATE), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC), demonstrated a favorable influence on EI. Whereas the regular academic curriculum seemed to have a negative influence on ATE, institutional support showed a positive effect. Both curriculum and academic support were found to have no significant impact on either PBC or SN. However, both family and peer influence revealed a strong positive relationship with all the antecedents of EI.

Purpose: In today’s competitive world, the adoption of cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) has become one of the critical criteria for running a successful business. In this regard, knowing the factors that influence cloud ERP adoption plays a significant role. The purpose of this paper is to rank the factors influencing the cloud ERP adoption in multi-national companies (MNCs) in India. This research would enable the cloud ERP vendors to identify the expectations of MNC customers and develop suitable strategies. Design/methodology/approach: The research is being conducted among the cloud ERP consultants of designation middle managers and above from 29 different ERP consulting firms located in India. Analytical hierarchical processing approach was used to rank the factors influencing the cloud ERP adoption in MNCs located in India. The primary factors considered for this study are usability, assurance, agility, security and privacy, and vendor-related factors. Findings: The three most preferred criteria were usability, assurance and agility. The five most preferred sub-criteria were data accessibility, availability, user friendliness, scalability, and data backup and recovery. Research limitations/implications: The study is limited to the perspective of cloud ERP consultants in India. Practical implications: The outcome of this research provides cloud ERP vendors with a better understanding of factors that influence the adoption of cloud ERP in MNCs so that they can develop a focused strategy. From the MNCs point of view, the study provides a guideline on what factors they should consider while going for a cloud ERP implementation. Originality/value: The research model is developed based on the cloud ERP literature, and the research results and findings would add value to the body of knowledge.

The synergy of technology-based innovative solutions and Social Entrepreneurship carries an immense potential to provide solutions for numerous environmental, social, and economic issues faced by an emerging economy like India. For an engineering professional, a commitment to society is regarded as integral and can be thought of as being impelled by involvement in various social causes. Therefore, this study seeks to analyze the influence of the Social Work Experience of engineering students on Empathic Concern and the newly identified construct, Hope. Additionally, the effect of Empathic Concern and Hope on Social Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy and Social Entrepreneurship Intention (SEI) is examined. Through a questionnaire survey of undergraduate students from 49 engineering and technical institutions across the country, 243 responses were collected. The research employed the Partial Least Squares Approach to Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the proposed hypotheses. This study found that students’ involvement and experience in social activities significantly influenced both Empathic Concern and Hope. Empathic Concern and Hope, the newly introduced antecedent, significantly influenced Social Entrepreneurial Self-Efficacy. In line with the previous studies, self-efficacy positively and significantly influenced SEI. The establishment of Hope as an antecedent to study SEI is particularly novel and contributes to future Social Entrepreneurship research. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge on SEI of engineering students in an emerging nation where studies are particularly scarce, and techno-Social Entrepreneurship may be the ray of hope to address social, environmental, and economic concerns.

Digital economy is becoming a reality. Business all over the world is moving towards digital platform and so is the payment option. Mobile application is becoming one of the easiest and fastest options for making payments and is predicted to have a very large potential in the days to come. This study focuses on the customer adoption of mobile payment application. The study reveals that the factors like usefulness, pervasiveness, ease of use, offers and cash back and service assume a vital role in encouraging adoption of mobile payment applications. Results show customers have greater preference towards mobile payment applications over the mobile web browsers, which is a clear sign of awareness among the customers. The study also showed that teenagers are more aggressive in embracing mobile payment application than the older age groups. Compared to other modes of payments, mobile payment with 14.5% preference among customers is low and there is a need for aggressive promotions and marketing campaigns. The study throws light into the customer adoption factors which can act as guidelines for improving customer adoption and awareness of mobile payment applications.

This study investigates the influence of personality characteristics and employees’ motivation to learn on safety training transfer, in the context of a chemical manufacturing company. The study focuses on five personality characteristics: Locus of Control, Extraversion, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Risk-Taking Propensity. Also, the roles of Motivation to Learn (MTL) and Motivation to Transfer (MTT) on Safety Training Transfer (STT) are examined. The data for the study was collected using a self-report questionnaire survey from 226 employees from an Indian subsidiary of one of the largest chemical companies in the world. The obtained responses were analyzed using Structural Equations Modelling (SEM), Partial Least Squares (PLS) method. The results of the analysis show that among the five personality factors considered, Conscientiousness and Locus of control positively influenced STT through MTL whereas Risk Taking Propensity had a negative relationship. Extraversion and Neuroticism did not indicate any significant influence. This paper adds to academic knowledge of safety training by analyzing how employees’ personality factors influence MTL, MTT, and STT behavior. The results shed light on safety training in the context of the chemical industry operational in a developing nation, a combination rarely found in previous studies.