Journal Press India^®

The global business landscape is continuously shaping new boundaries. External turbulence coupled with technological advancements such as regenerative artificial intelligence are among the dominant frontiers that provide new future directions for the global and regional aspirations of organisations and governments. Moreover, social orientation in the form of the ESG framework and entrepreneurial orientation are forcing organisations to calibrate their strategies to stay competitive. So, the organisations need a holistic and responsible approach to balance the interests of competition stakeholders, particularly in view of emerging technologies. This issue of MANTHAN brings out a set of articles addressing the contemporary issues and challenges facing managers and policymakers.

Contextualised in Nigeria, Eleazar Chibuzor Gbandi and Kingsley Chibuike Ugbechie empirically examine the role of social commerce on impulsive buying behaviour among undergraduates. The study indicates that social interaction (online reviews), hedonic motivation, and visual appeal were all positively and statistically significant factors in impulsive buying. They recommend that social-commerce websites be engaged by marketers since it will certainly instil confidence based on perceived reviewer credibility and usefulness towards impulse buying.

The socio-economic development of any country can be improved by focusing on activities like poverty eradication, health and medical care, rural development, financial literacy, education, and environmental protection. This is empirically examined by Sharif Mohd in an article investigating the impact of CSR practice on the financial performance of Indian banks. He found that banks focused on community welfare and farmers’ welfare programmes, but the efforts for environmental practices, financial literacy, and education were not sizeable. Exploring the issue of educational sustainability, Manisha Gupta, Reena Kovid, and Himani Gupta observe that achieving educational sustainability will necessitate a reorganisation of the curriculum to make it more research-based. Further, the academicians stress the importance of increasing technology-driven pedagogy and collaborative learning.

Humans are the most important assets for any organisation, as no physical asset can operate without humans. Bhavana Gupta in her article, seeks to assess the influence of HR Practices on the performance of manufacturing organisations in India and finds a significant impact on the effectiveness of the manufacturing units. Basu Garg in the study ‘An Evaluation of E-learning Process during Covid-19 Lockdown in Government Colleges of Himachal Pradesh’ evaluates the effectiveness of e-learning processes being adopted in government colleges of Himachal Pradesh during Covid-19 lockdown. The study also presents the reasons for and against the adoption of online classes and the problems faced by college students while attending online classes.

Most businesses across the world are under significant financial strain post-pandemic. Praveen A. Korbu and Raju L. Hyderabad, in their article, examine which firm characteristics are associated with the long-term share price performance of a firm’s decision to announce a share repurchase programme in an Indian context. A comparison between market-index and control-firm based indexes reveals that BHAR in both methods is negative for the firm’s asset size, number of outstanding shares, and MTB ratio. The inability of a company to meet its financial commitments is implied by financial distress. Sucheesmita Dash, Sanjeeb Kumar Dey and Debabrata Sharma, in their review article on bibliometric analysis of corporate financial distress, observe that both firms and policymakers need to recognise it early and take corrective action quickly. Reviewing the literature for the period 2000–2023, they discover the extent of research done on financial distress.

In a perspective article, Preeti Panse and Dinesh Sharma explore the concept and extent of green banking and examine recent sustainable development initiatives undertaken by banks in India and the challenges related to implementation. Based on the analysis of secondary data, their findings suggest a pressing need for increased awareness and adoption of green banking practices in order to enhance sustainability and create a more environmentally-friendly future.

To sum up, this issue of MANTHAN provides a set of interesting articles, review paper and perspective offering deep insights and new dimensions in the discipline of management and commerce. I take pleasure in thanking all authors, reviewers and editorial team members for their contribution and support to have this issue brought out in time.

Prof. (Dr.) Raj K. Kovid

Editor