PurposeThe cold chain has become an integral part of the supply chain of perishable items. Recent studies have shown a critical absence of a strong and dependable cold chain in developing economies. The purpose of this paper is to set out to identify and inter‐relate the inhibitors that significantly influence the efficiency of a cold chain in developing economies like India.Design/methodology/approachThe synthesis and prioritization of inhibitors are done on the basis of an extensive literature review as well as consultation with academicians and industrial professionals. Using semi‐structured interviews and Fuzzy Interpretive Structure Modeling (FISM) approach, the research presents a hierarchy‐based model.FindingsThe end result is a model that establishes the relationships among the identified inhibitors with their respective dominance. The research shows that there exists a group of inhibitors having a high driving power and low dependence with strategic importance and requiring maximum attention and another group includes inhibitors that have high dependence and the consequential actions.Research limitations/implicationsAt the time when cold chain is the key domain for the food sector, these findings will be immensely helpful for industry professionals, Government, non‐government, academia and the community in developing strategies and impounding the root causes responsible for the inefficient and weak cold chain in India. The Indian situation echoes to the situation in most of the developing economies and similar solutions can apply there also. These findings will be truly useful for organizations that are planning to operate food chains in developing nations.Orignality/valuePresentation of inhibitors in hierarchy and their classification into driver and dependent categories with their respective dominance on the system is a unique effort in the area of cold chain management. This would help decision makers to better utilize the limited resources.

Educational institutions like other organizations are realizing the significance of customer‐centered philosophies and are turning to approaches such as total quality management to help manage their businesses. This paper starts with the background theory and then outlines the results of a study conducted on students within selected educational institutions in India to obtain a student perspective of the quality of those institutions. The SERVQUAL methodology was applied to identify the gap between customer expectations and perceptions of the actual service received. The quality function deployment technique was then used to identify the set of minimum design characteristics/quality components that meet the requirements of student as customers of the educational system.

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In keeping with the socio‐economic and cultural transformation that has placed newer demands on the educational system, in terms of greater responsibility and accountability and increased expectations by stakeholders, the system has been pressurized to shift its focus from one in quantitative expansion to one with emphasis on quality. Such shifts and changes are being witnessed not only in the developed countries, but also in the developing countries of the world. The education system, and more so the higher education system in particular, in an attempt to react to the demands and ever increasing pressures from its stakeholders, finds itself in a market‐oriented environment, with internal and external customers; wherein, “delighting the customer”, is the rule for survival in the long run. “Delighting the customer”, is the core message of total quality management (TQM) and, hence, there is a need to identify and apply the relevant concepts of TQM to each and every aspect of academic life; that is, to the teaching, learning and administrative activities. The paper is a theoretical attempt at conceptualizing TQM in education.

Purpose -Supply chain risk management assumes importance in the wake of organizations understanding that their risk susceptibility is dependent on other constituents of their supply chain. The purpose of this paper is to present an approach to effective supply chain risk mitigation by understanding the dynamics between various enablers that help to mitigate risk in a supply chain. Design/methodology/approach -Using interpretive structural modeling the research presents a hierarchy-based model and the mutual relationships among the enablers of risk mitigation. Findings -The research shows that there exists a group of enablers having a high driving power and low dependence requiring maximum attention and of strategic importance while another group consists of those variables which have high dependence and are the resultant actions. Practical implications -This classification provides a useful tool to supply chain managers to differentiate between independent and dependent variables and their mutual relationships which would help them to focus on those key variables that are most important for effective risk minimization in a supply chain. Originality/value -Presentation of enablers in a hierarchy and the classification into driver and dependent categories is unique effort in the area of supply chain risk management.

The past decade has seen a proliferation and mushrooming of a large number of educational institutions offering professional courses. With demands for greater responsiveness and accountability on the one hand and growing competition for students and resources on the other, the educational system in India has begun to realize the significance of a qualitative orientation, and commensurate to this there have been attempts to provide for better services, with 'delighting the customer' being the focus of all efforts. This has resulted in the need for identifying and applying the relevant concepts of Quality Management to Education. Starting with a theoretical background, the paper outlines the results of a study conducted on the students as primary customers to obtain a perspective on the Quality of select educational institutions. The paper is aimed at identifying the design characteristics of a system that would meet the customer requirements of the student as an external customer. Based on the literature review followed by a pilot study, the various customer requirements and design characteristics were identified and thereby, the variables conceptualized. The SERVQUAL was applied to identify the gap and determine the level of service quality. Following this, Quality Function Deployment, Interpretive Structural Modelling and Path Analysis were used to identify the set of minimum design characteristics/quality components that meet the requirements of the students as an important customer.

PurposeSupply chain collaboration (SCC) amongst independent firms often provides larger benefits from effectively satisfying end customer's needs than working alone. However, lack of awareness about the existence of barriers of collaboration hinders the realizing of the benefits of collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to identify the barriers of SCC in the Indian apparel retail industry and how these barriers are interacting with one an other so that the decision makers can focus on overcoming these barriers and realizing the benefits of SCC.Design/methodology/approachUsing interpretive structural modeling the research presents a hierarchy‐based model and the mutual relationships among the barriers of SCC.FindingsThis research shows that there exists a group of barriers having a high‐driving power and low dependence requiring maximum attention and of strategic importance while another group consists of those variables which have high dependence and are the resultant actions.Practical implicationsThis classification provides a useful tool for supply chain managers to differentiate between independent and dependent variables and their mutual relationships which would help them to focus on those key variables that are most important for SCC.Originality/valuePresentation of barriers in a hierarchy and the classification into driver and dependent categories is a unique effort in the area of SCC.

Through the use of core, transactional and relational specificity constructs, the paper studies how the emphasis of clients' who move business processes offshore, changes over time to represent complex relationships between investments in core, transaction and relationship-specific assets. The complex combination of these investments helps clients attain evolving objectives in offshoring alliances. Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) has been used to establish changing emphases of the specific elements in offshoring alliances. #