Purpose The present study aims to investigate the influence of key factors on the success of women micro-entrepreneurs in select states of India. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study is carried out to understand the influence of the psychological, socio-cultural, skill and resource-related factors on the success of women entrepreneurs. To achieve the set goal, a comprehensive questionnaire is developed for collecting data and is analyzed using the t-test, the chi-square test and structural equation modeling. Findings The proposed model is validated using structural equation modeling, and the fitness values indicate that the model is fit to explain the entrepreneurial success of women entrepreneurs in India. Practical implications The result advocates that the participation of women entrepreneurs may be increased to not only improve national growth but also empower women in India. Originality/value In the context of the women micro-entrepreneurs, no such study covering such a vast area of India has been carried out.

This article is an attempt to analyze the skill-related dimensions of micro-entrepreneurs in the state of Jharkhand in India. A sample of 147entrepreneurs with valid responses was collected from three districts of Jharkhand, namely, Dhanbad, Bokaro and Ranchi. The demographic characteristics of these regions have been represented to give an insight into the region where the study has been conducted. Five dimensions of skills, namely, leadership skills, communication skills, human relation skills, technical skills and inborn aptitude, have been identified from previous literatures. Success has been measured as a perceived chance of business success. The study primarily analyzes the strength of the relationship of the skills with success. The questionnaire survey method was employed to collect data for conducting the study. Descriptive statistics, correlation and multiple linear regressions have been used as statistical tools for analysis. The findings of the study show the relationship and the effect of the skills on the success of micro-entrepreneurs, thereby leading to implications that leave further scope for future research. The study has helped in contributing to the existing literatures in this segment of the research.

Purpose Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is growing rapidly and the e-retailers are finding it pertinent to enhance customers’ online shopping experiences and engage them with e-commerce portals. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual model of customer engagement, where credibility and usefulness of online reviews are found to trigger the adoption of reviews and customer trust that augments customer engagement. Design/methodology/approach A survey method design has been used to capture responses from 219 young customers (university students) of a reputed university in India. The hypothesized relationships have been examined through multiple regression analysis. Findings The findings of this study corroborate that the credibility and information usefulness of online reviews induce the adoption of reviews and propensity to trust e-commerce websites. The propensity to trust the reviews has been found to lead the adoption of reviews. The adoption of reviews is found to have a significant impact on the customer’ engagement with these portals. Research limitations/implications The present study contributes to the theories of online marketing in the space of e-shopping, online reviews, customer trust, customer engagement and online shopping behavior. Further, this study provides a framework for managers to engage customers by triggering customers’ online trust through the facilitation of credible and useful reviews. Originality/value The study aims at understanding the role of different attributes associated with the online reviews’ credibility and information usefulness in driving customer engagement with specific focus on online shopping through the utility of online devices. The study is one of the pioneering empirical studies that explore the role of online reviews in driving customer engagement.

PurposeThe present study is an attempt to extend the Model of Goal-directed Behavior (MGB) to consider health consciousness and perceived privacy protection as two critical factors to predict desire and intention by individuals to adopt and use wearable health devices (WHDs).Design/methodology/approachBased on the literature review hypotheses were framed and tested using data collected through a questionnaire survey. A total of 418 self-reported complete responses were considered to analyze the hypotheses proposed in the study. Structural equation modeling, effects analysis and model comparison (MGB and extended MGB) were performed to understand the predictability of the suggested model.FindingsThe results of the study corroborate that along with MGB, health consciousness and perceived privacy protection also induces the intention of users toward using WHDs. Health-consciousness is found to have a positive and significant direct and indirect impact on intention to use WHDs. Further, the model comparison exhibits that the proposed extended MGB is a better predictor of intention to use WHDs.Practical implicationsApart from the conventional framework of MGB, health consciousness and perceived privacy protection promote desire and intention to use WHDs. This research provides a framework for marketers to promote health consciousness among consumers by motivating them to adopt WHDs. Further, privacy protection features should be showcased in order to induce trust in consumers which in turn will trigger their intention to use WHDs to lead a healthy lifestyle.Originality/valueThe current study incorporates health consciousness and perceived privacy protection in MGB to fit into the context of healthcare intention study, which enhances the predictability of intention behavior of consumers and adds to the existing body of MGB and healthcare literature.