The branch and bound principle has long been established as an effective computational tool for solving mixed integer linear programming problems. This paper investigates the computational feasibility of branch and bound methods in solving convex nonlinear integer programming problems. The efficiency of a branch and bound method often depends on the rules used for selecting the branching variables and branching nodes. Among others, the concepts of pseudo-costs and estimations are implemented in selecting these parameters. Since the efficiency of the algorithm also depends on how fast an upper bound on the objective minimum is attained, heuristic rules are developed to locate an integer feasible solution to provide an upper bound. The different criteria for selecting branching variables, branching nodes, and heuristics form a total of 27 branch and bound strategies. These strategies are computationally tested and the empirical results are presented.programming: integer algorithms, branch and bound, programming: integer algorithms, tests, programming: nonlinear, algorithm tests

Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationships between environmental consciousness (ECO), green purchase attitude (GPA), green purchase intention (GPI), perceived customer effectiveness (PCE), green behaviour (GRB) and green purchase behaviour (GPB). Based on the statistical analyses, this paper offers some further research directions to advance the extant literature. Design/methodology/approach-The theoretical model is firmly grounded in extant literature. To test the study hypotheses, the authors have developed a survey instrument following a two-stage process. The constructs were first operationalized by the authors and then pre-tested by experts. Dillman's (2007) guidelines were then followed to gather data. Finally, the theoretical model was tested using multivariate statistical tools. Findings-Results indicate that ECO has an influence on GPA and PCE; GPA has an influence on PCE and GRB; GPI has an influence on PCE; and GRB has an influence on GPB. Environmental benefit still ranks at the sixth position among eight product-selection criteria, as is evident from qualitative in-depth interviews indicating a primarily rationalistic and not an altruistic purchase approach. The gap in translation of ECO into GB and GPB can be attributed to costliness, non-availability with less variety, lack of brand reputation of green products and budget constraints for customers. Research limitations/implications-The study faces the limitation of generalizability of the results because it was carried out in a particular state in India; it may not be the perception of the country as a whole. The bias owing to social desirability, selective memory and telescoping with the use of self-reported data could also be a limitation for the current empirical study. Originality/value-This study aimed to extend pro-environmental behaviour studies beyond developed countries and to empirically validate the models built on the theory of ECO leading to GPB, especially for India, a rising market. A novel approach to empirically discuss the situational and market factors will provide a much-needed thrust for research on these lines.

Even though researchers have immensely contributed in the field of supply chain agility, supply chain adaptability and supply chain alignment, their impact on humanitarian supply chain performance and their relationship is not well known. Leadership is the most discussed and one of the most debated dimensions and little is known about leadership integration with a humanitarian supply chain network design. We carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) to identify variables and their items to design a structured questionnaire, which was pretested with experts in the humanitarian supply chain. We conducted an empirical study on a sample of 306 responses that were collected by us during Allahabad Kumbh from senior officials of the police department, Indian Railways, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation and third-party logistics (3PL) companies. We have used the exploratory factor analysis followed by the confirmatory factor analysis to check the construct validity of scales and goodness of fit. We further tested our hypotheses using regression analysis and mediation effect using Baron and Kenny’s (1986) proposed steps. We further checked the mediation significance using the Sobel test. We found that supply chain alignment is a strong determinant of logistics performance and human performance. The supply chain agility is found to completely mediate between supply chain adaptability and human performance and partially mediate between supply chain adaptability and logistics performance. Leadership has a partial mediation effect between supply chain alignment and human performance.

No abstract

This research investigates the moderating impact of mogul >/entrepreneurs ' persona such as innovativeness, risk-taking propensity, perseverance, and flexibility on the relationship between users ' ease of use and usefulness perceptions and system usage. Perceived usefulness and ease of use are important constructs in the Technology Acceptance model (TAM), which have been generally linked to the usage of technologies-directly and indirectly. However, unique user persona, such as found among entrepreneurs, may have digerent implications on these relationships. This research explores such implications among the Chinese, the Indians, and the Malay entrepreneurs. Findings and implications of the research are discussed.