Purpose Research in the area of behavioral finance has demonstrated that investors exhibit irrational behavior while making investment decisions. Investor behavior usually deviates from logic and reason, and consequently, investors exhibit various behavioral biases which impact their investment decisions. The purpose of this paper is to rank the behavioral biases influencing the investment decision making of individual equity investors from the state of Punjab, India. This research would provide valuable insight into the different behavioral biases to investors and other participants of the capital market and help them in improving investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach The research is conducted on the individual equity investors of Punjab, India. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process was applied to rank the factors influencing the decision making of individual equity investors of Punjab. The primary factors considered for the study are overconfidence bias, representative bias, anchoring bias, availability bias, regret aversion bias, loss aversion bias, mental accounting bias and herding bias. Findings The three most influential criteria were herding bias, loss aversion bias and overconfidence bias. The five most influential sub-criteria were “I readily sell shares that have increased in value (C61),” “News about the company (Newspapers, TV and magazines) affects my investment decision (C84),” “I invest each element of my investment portfolio separately (C71)” and “I usually hold loosing stock for long time, expecting trend reversal (C52).” Research limitations/implications Although sample survey conducted in the present study was based on a limited sample selected from a particular area that truly represented the total population, it is considered as the limitation of this study. Practical implications The outcome of this research provides investors with a better understanding of behavioral biases that influence their decision making. This study provides them a guideline on different behavioral biases that they should consider while making investment decisions. Originality/value The research model is based on the available literature on behavioral finance and the research results and findings would add value to the existing knowledge base.

PurposeThe primary objective of this study is to prioritize the main intentions behind investment in cryptocurrency, in spite of its volatile nature and no regulatory framework.Design/methodology/approachThis research paper has worked on collective constructs of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and social support theory with an added construct of financial literacy. A fuzzy analytical framework has been applied to prioritize the intentions of investors.FindingsThe result indicates that “Social Influence (SI)” is the most influencing factor, while “Effort Expectancy (EE)” is the least influencing factor considered by investors. The subdimensions ranked in the top priority by investors are as follows: “I want to invest in cryptocurrencies because I have a good level of financial knowledge (FL1)”; “The people who are important to me will think that I should use cryptocurrencies (SI2)”; “I have the necessary resources to use cryptocurrencies (FC2).” The least importance is given to “It will be easy for me to become an expert in the use of cryptocurrencies (EE3).”Research limitations/implicationsFew of the constructs of the UTAUT, the TAM and social support theory have been considered while prioritizing intentions. Different other intentions also prevail under different theories that need to be researched further.Practical implicationsUnlike previous studies, this research adds the archetype of social commerce, social support and utility theories to analyze and prioritize the behavioral perspective of using cryptocurrencies in digital transactions.Originality/valueThis paper fills the gap in the research study, along with assisting the regulators and cryptocurrency practitioners to widen their knowledge base and to recognize the prioritized intentions.

There is consensus that money invested in quality programs provides a high rate of return, but disagreement on how the optimal level of quality investment can be modeled. It has been postulated that there is no correct cost of quality (COQ) model since quality costs are dynamic and firm specific. Firms tend to move to new quality levels over time as they increase their prevention activities aimed at detecting and eliminating cause of variation. Many firms tend to misallocate quality spending by investing the greatest percentage of quality costs to the lowest yielding categories and the lowest percentage of quality costs to the highest yielding categories. Examines the various COQ models that have been proposed and explains the misallocation of quality investment by firms. Describes why quality initiatives undertaken by a firm are generally consistent with corporate goals and strategy, the maturity level of a firm, and management commitment.

The present research was conducted to understand the Adversity Quotient (AQ) of students who are going to enter into higher education. Higher secondary is the stage from where they move from school to higher education. So, the present research was conducted to study the AQ of 11th standard, English medium school students in Gandhinagar city, Gujarat with reference to various variables. The study was conducted on a sample of 461 boys and girls of 11th standard school students from Gujarat State Board of Education (GSEB) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools. A self-constructed AQ scale was used to collect data from the students. The collected data was analyzed using statistical techniques like mean, SD and C.R values. Result revealed that there was no significant difference in the mean scores of AQ on the basis of gender, stream of education i.e. Commerce, Science and Arts, and various family variables like nature of the family, size of the family, qualification of parents, parents‟ working status and parents‟ occupation. However, a significant difference was found in the mean scores of AQ of students on the basis of board of School i.e. GSEB and CBSE. The present study concludes that AQ is not influenced by gender, stream of education and family factors, rather it was seen to be influenced by the type of schools. Investigator inquired and understood the AQ profile of higher secondary school students as it is the gate way to higher Education. By understanding the AQ levels of students, the faculty and staffs can be better equipped to support students as they navigate the stressors of college life.

BACKGROUND: Although useful in bipolar disorder, mood stabilizers, such as lithium, divalproex sodium, and carbamazepine, can cause significant weight gain. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 5 patients with DSM-IV bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder who were treated with topiramate as adjunctive therapy or monotherapy. RESULTS: All 5 patients had a good response to treatment at a mean topiramate dose of 195 mg/day (range, 100-375 mg/day). All patients lost a substantial amount of weight on topiramate treatment. The average weight loss was 22 lb (10 kg; range, 8-56 lb [4-25 kg]). None of the patients discontinued topiramate because of side effects. CONCLUSION: Topiramate may represent a valuable alternative to existing mood stabilizers, either as an adjunct or as monotherapy in patients with bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder.

When choosing online financial transactions, security is a paramount concern of users. Three categories of banks in India, namely public, private and foreign banks, have a completely different focus on technology and capabilities. The study aims at investigating e-banking users’ perception with regard to online risk for public, private and foreign banks. Online risk perception for the abovementioned banks was assessed on three major risk parameters, i.e. security aspect, privacy aspect, and trust; using a multiple-criteria decision-making tool, called the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The outcomes indicate that security risk is paramount among various aspects of perceived risk, followed by privacy and trust concern. Moreover, public sector banks are perceived to be the safest in this aspect. Public sector banks are also considered to be benign in terms of privacy and trust. Given the general user’s perception of risk generated by all the three risk parameters taken together, public sector banks are perceived to be the most secure, followed by private and foreign banks. The findings of this study have various implications for both research and practice. Private and foreign banks in India may adopt appropriate marketing strategies to achieve a favorable perception. Various studies have been conducted earlier on these factors and their interrelationship, but limited research has been carried out to demonstrate the importance of each of these factors in relation to the other as perceived by the user. Moreover, the study quantifies factors in order of their importance.

PurposeOrganic food market has grown rapidly on a global level and so is the interest of customers. The present paper ranks the factors and sub-criteria which are taken into consideration while making organic purchase decisions resulting in understanding the behaviour of consumers.Design/methodology/approachThe present paper considered a sample of 550 respondents in the area of Punjab. Fuzzy AHP technique was applied to understand the key factors and sub-criteria which play a major role in organic food purchase decisions. The paper is empirical and descriptive in nature. The factors considered for the study include price, consumer knowledge, trust, attitude, behavioural intentions, subjective norms, perceived personal relevance and perceived consumer effectiveness.FindingsThe three major influential factors include price, trust and attitude ranked in the same order of preference which majorly affects the purchase decisions and talking about sub-criteria the three major criteria to purchase organic food include: “Price plays a significant role in purchase decisions (P2)”, “Organic food keeps me fit and healthy (A1)” and “Organic food intake makes me feel energetic (A2)”.Research limitations/implicationsThe present paper is limited to the area of Punjab and majorly eight factors have been taken into consideration. Further research can be explored on broader geographical and cultural areas with new dimensions in criteria and sub-criteria.Practical implicationsThe findings of this paper will surely help the marketers to understand the behavioural intentions and preferences of the customers. Accordingly, they will strategize the policies to convert organic food market into a niche market with a high growth rate.Originality/valueThe existing literature explored various key factors. However, the present study comes up with ranking to the factors according to their priority in purchase decisions. This will definitely help marketers, business houses, practitioners and academicians about the key factors which affect purchase decisions, and it will surely add incredible knowledge into the existing database.

Purpose The increasing incidence of fraudulent financial reporting by firms in recent years raises concerns about investors' confidence in capital markets. Academicians and industry practitioners adopt diverse risk management techniques to detect fraudulent reporting of financial statements. This paper aims to determine the effectiveness of the Beneish M-score and Altman Z-score models for the early detection of material misstatements at Comscore, Inc., a media analytics firm in the United States of America. Design/methodology/approach The financial statements of Comscore Inc. from 2012 to 2018 were analyzed with the primary objective of early fraud detection by employing the Beneish M-score and the Altman Z-score. Findings The study’s outcomes indicate that the Beneish M-score is less predictable in fraud detection compared to the Altman Z-score. The study results did not confirm the efficacy of the Beneish model in predicting fraudulent financial statements. The study concludes that the choice of forensic tool greatly influences fraud detection outcomes. Practical Implication The research findings can guide the policy decision-making of investors, financial auditors, and forensic auditors as this study provides some evidence of the effectiveness of forensic tools in the detection of financial statement fraud in corporate entities. Originality/value This is the first study to apply these two widely used tools to the most recent big corporate scandal: Comscore, Inc.