Yes / Circular supply chain (CSC) emphasises surge in application of reuse, recycling, remanufacturing and thereby promotes transformation from linear to circular model of flow of products. Supply chains of manufacturing industries have become global over the years. Products manufactured in developing nations are being sent to developed nations for mass consumption. Developed nations have regulatory policies, technological knowhow and modern infrastructure to adopt CSC model. Their counterpart is trailing in these aspects. In literature, limited work has been performed on identifying challenges of implementing CSC in developing nations. Therefore, employing literature review and feedback received from experts, 16 important barriers were identified to CSC adoption in India. These barriers were analysed using integrated Interpretive Structural Modelling ? MICMAC approach. The findings will contribute in transforming supply chains thereby bringing economic prosperity, addressing global warming and generating employment opportunities. Finally, crucial policy measures and recommendations are proposed to assist managers and government bodies.

Yes / The wider use of Internet of Things (IoT) makes it possible to create smart cities. The purpose of this paper is to identify key IoT challenges and understand the relationship between these challenges to support the development of smart cities. Design/methodology/approach: Challenges were identified using literature review, and prioritised and elaborated by experts. The contextual interactions between the identified challenges and their importance were determined using Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM). To interrelate the identified challenges and promote IoT in the context of smart cities, the dynamics of interactions of these challenges were analysed using an integrated Matrice d’Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliqués à un Classement (MICMAC)-ISM approach. MICMAC is a structured approach to categorise variables according to their driving power and dependence. Findings: Security and privacy, business models, data quality, scalability, complexity and governance were found to have strong driving power and so are key challenges to be addressed in sustainable cities projects. The main driving challenges are complexity and lack of IoT governance. IoT adoption and implementation should therefore focus on breaking down complexity in manageable parts, supported by a governance structure. Practical implications: This research can help smart city developers in addressing challenges in a phase-wise approach by first ensuring solid foundations and thereafter developing other aspects. Originality/value: A contribution originates from the integrated MICMAC-ISM approach. ISM is a technique used to identify contextual relationships among definite elements, whereas MICMAC facilitates the classification of challenges based on their driving and dependence power. The other contribution originates from creating an overview of challenges and theorising the contextual relationships and dependencies among the challenges.

Yes / The food retailers have to make their supply chains more customer-driven to sustain in modern competitive environment. It is essential for them to assimilate consumer’s perception to improve their market share. The firms usually utilise customer’s opinion in the form of structured data collected from various means such as conducting market survey, customer interviews and market research to explore the interrelationships among factors influencing consumer purchasing behaviour and associated supply chain. However, there is abundance of unstructured consumer’s opinion available on social media (Twitter). Usually, retailers struggle to employ unstructured data in above decision-making process. In this paper, firstly, by the help of literature and social media Big Data, factors influencing consumer’s beef purchasing decisions are identified. Thereafter, interrelationships between these factors are established using big data supplemented with ISM and Fuzzy MICMAC analysis. Factors are divided as per their dependence and driving power. The proposed frameworks enable to enforce decree on the intricacy of the factors. Finally, recommendations are prescribed. The proposed approach will assist retailers to design consumer centric supply chain. / Project ‘A cross country examination of supply chain barriers on market access for small and medium firms in India and UK’ (Ref no: PM130233) funded by British Academy, UK.

Yes / Due to rapid agricultural industrialization, increased global food demand, and, increasing concerns related to food quality and safety, the concepts of sustainability and supply chain transparency are becoming critically important to the agriculture and agri-food sector. The new focus on sustainability performance objectives emphasizes the effective utilization and consumption of natural resources to balance ecological, economic and societal aspects of agri-food businesses. The management of sustainability adds a new demand on business managers who often have small profits and receive stringent requirements from large powerful customers and retailers. In this paper, we recognize and analyze the key enablers in implementing sustainable initiatives for Agri-Food Supply Chains (A-FSCs). Ten important sustainability driven enablers were considered from a rigorous literature review and phase of expert consultation. The identified enablers were then analyzed using a combined Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) - fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) based framework. The ISM approach enabled an appreciation of the contextual relationships among the enablers and to classify the enablers based on their driving and dependence potential. The fuzzy DEMATEL technique supported the determination of the influential and influenced enablers and also to categorize them into cause and effect groups. An empirical case study, drawn from a vegetable and fruit retail supply chain in India, is used to focus and test the applicability of the proposed research framework. The paper facilitates professional management practice and researchers to uncover and explore the enablers for the real execution of sustainability oriented initiatives in the agri-food business sector.

Yes / In order to grow the food the world needs, there is a pressing need to gain a more detailed understanding of how innovative solutions can be incorporated into the agricultural supply chains, particularly within production, for environmentally, economically, ethically and socially viable food production. Despite a number of innovative solutions available, many challenges in agricultural supply are still prevalent, with researchers to date largely focusing on these challenges in isolation, as opposed to exploring the relationships held between these challenges. Thus, supported by Circular Economy, Agriculture, Industry 4.0 literature and expert opinions, agricultural supply chain challenges are modelled and analysed using ISM methodology to help uncover 12 agricultural challenges which ultimately impede goods moving within the supply chain. Findings discovered that the Unproductive Workers and Pesticide Hazards are the key drivers of agricultural challenges. The ISM Hierarchical model elucidates research propositions and a parsimonious model for future research.

Yes / Many developing countries across the world are allocating a significant share of their budgets for e-government initiatives. Common service centers (CSCs) are e-government initiatives that aim to increase access to public services and promote easy and direct interaction with the government. These e-government initiatives are largely underutilised, especially in rural areas in developing countries. This study attempts to identify the key challenges facing CSCs and determine their hierarchical relationships in the context of rural India. A set of 15 challenges was identified through a rigorous literature review and by surveying experts and CSC owners. Data were collected on the identified challenges and were analysed using interpretive structural modeling (ISM)-MICMAC-fuzzy MICMAC analysis. Subsequently, we developed a hierarchical model of challenges. The findings revealed that “longer travel time and transaction cost”, “low digital literacy”, and “low awareness” of e-government services are among the key challenges CSCs face in rural India. This study suggests several recommendations to all the stakeholders involved in the management of CSCs to improve the delivery of e-government services in rural India.

Comme de nombreuses Premières Nations au Canada, la Nation micmac de Gespeg, une communauté autochtone sans territoire attribué, manifeste une volonté de réappropriation territoriale depuis plus de deux décennies. Localisée dans la région de Gaspé au Québec, elle s’implique activement dans le domaine forestier depuis un peu plus de 15 ans, plus particulièrement par l’entremise d’ententes de cogestion forestière en terre publique avec le gouvernement du Québec. Suivant une démarche partenariale et collaborative avec la Nation micmac de Gespeg, nous avons étudié, dans un premier temps, ses perceptions, ses besoins et ses attentes concernant son territoire forestier, ainsi qu’analysé son implication actuelle en foresterie. Puis, nous avons réalisé une démarche afin de réviser sa vision et ses objectifs concernant son projet forestier. Nous avons constaté la spécificité de ses attentes, plutôt culturelles et identitaires qu’économiques, et de ses objectifs fondés sur un projet territorial aux dimensions multiples. Ce constat a confirmé la pertinence d’explorer une gouvernance territoriale et forestière innovante et adaptée au contexte autochtone, soit le concept de forêt communautaire. Deuxièmement, pour comprendre le processus transformatif permettant d’atteindre les objectifs et de réaliser la vision de la Nation micmac de Gespeg, nous avons brossé un portrait de leur contexte socio-historique forestier, puis analysé leur cheminement en foresterie, plus particulièrement leur engagement dans laco gestion. Nous avons ensuite développé un cadre d’analyse de la gouvernance forestière, en identifiant plus particulièrement les conditions sur lesquelles la communauté peut agir pour concrétiser sa vision. Nous avons constaté que les engagements actuels et passés de la communauté en foresterie correspondent à des étapes préparant la transformation de la gouvernance de son territoire forestier ancestral. Ce cheminement stratégique circonscrit par le cadre gouvernemental en vigueur constitue un passage vers une gouvernance territoriale autochtone souhaitée par la Nation micmac de Gespeg. En cogestion avec des partenaires locaux, la communauté mig’maq y assume alors un rôle d’entrepreneur institutionnel. De ce fait, les Mi’gmaq de Gespeg exercent une fonction d’agent transformatif en agissant sur les conditions actionnables de la gouvernance des terres publiques vers l’atteinte de leur vision de gouvernance du territoire ancestral, soit la création d’une forêt communautaire. Toutefois, les constats de leurs engagements en foresterie, ainsi que les difficultés rencontrées pour mettre en œuvre leur forêt communautaire mettent en lumière la rationalité de la gouvernance du territoire public québécois. Cette rationalité gouvernementale s’exerçant sur les forêts publiques limite grandement les considérations pouvant être apportées à la satisfaction des besoins et des aspirations de groupes spécifiques. Ainsi, le régime de « gouvernementalité », suivant le terme de Michel Foucault, des terres publiques québécoises se fonde sur une conception unidimensionnelle de la population québécoise et une vision homogène du territoire et de l’économie. Cette perspective oriente les actions de gouvernement vers l’exploitation des ressources et du territoire en fonction du bien-être de la population québécoise en général. Les Autochtones se situent alors à la marge de l’exercice du pouvoir de l’État sur son territoire. Une foresterie autochtone menée à l’échelle locale confronte donc la mission des ministères responsables. De plus, la volonté autochtone d’adapter à sa vision le cadre de gestion de la forêt publique constitue un défi pour la foresterie scientifique, socle de l’aménagement forestier étatique. En somme, les revendications autochtones, comme le projet de forêt communautaire de Gespeg, appellent à la redéfinition du régime de gouvernementalité des terres publiques, tant dans sa conception de la population québécoise, sa vision du rôle des terres publiques que dans son système de connaissances. / Like many First Nations in Canada, the Micmac Nation of Gespeg, an Aboriginal community with no assigned territory, has been demonstrating a willingness to reappropriate its territory for more than two decades. Located in the Gaspé region of Quebec, the Micmac Nation of Gespeg has been actively involved in the forestry sector for a little more than 15 years, particularly through forest co-management agreements on publicl and with the Quebec government. Following a partnership and collaborative approach with the Micmac Nation of Gespeg, we first studied its perceptions, needs and expectations regarding its forest territory, as well as analyzed its current involvement in forestry. Then, we carried out an approach in order to revise its vision and its objectives concerning its forestry project. We noted the specificity of its expectations, more cultural and identity-based than economic,and of its objectives based on a territorial project with multiple dimensions. This observation confirmed the relevance of exploring an innovative territorial and forest governance adapted to the aboriginal context, i.e. the concept of community forest. Secondly, in order to understand the transformative process allowing the objectives and vision of the Micmac Nation of Gespeg to be achieved, we drew a portrait of their socio-historical forestry context and then analyzed their path in forestry, more particularly their involvement in co-management. We then developed a framework for analyzing forest governance, identifying more specifically the conditions under which the community canact to achieve its vision. We found that the community's current and past commitments in forestry correspondto steps that prepare for the transformation of the governance of its ancestral forest territory. This strategicpath circumscribed by the governmental framework in force constitutes a passage towards the Aboriginal territorial governance desired by the Micmac Nation of Gespeg. In co-management with local partners, the Mig'maq community assumes an institutional entrepreneurial role. As a result, the Mi'gmaq of Gespeg exercisea transformative agent function by acting on the actionable conditions of the governance of public lands towards the achievement of their vision of governance of ancestral territory, i.e. the creation of a community forest. However, the observations of their forestry commitments, as well as the difficulties encountered in implementing their community forest, highlight the rationality of the governance of Quebec's public land. This governmental rationality exerted on public forests greatly limits the considerations that can be brought to the satisfaction of the needs and aspirations of specific groups. Thus, the system of "governmentality", to use according to Michel Foucault's term, of Québec's public lands is based on a one-dimensional conception of the Québec population and a homogeneous vision of the territory and the economy. This perspective directs government actions towards the exploitation of resources and territory based on the well-being of the Quebec population in general. Aboriginal people are then at the margin of the exercise of the State's power on its territory. An Aboriginal forestry conducted at the local level thus confronts the mission of the responsible ministries. Moreover, the Aboriginal will to adapt to its vision the management framework of the public forest constitutes a challenge for scientific forestry, the foundation of state forest management. In short, aboriginal claims, such as the Gespeg community forest project, call for the redefinition of the system of governmentality of public lands, as much in its conception of the Quebec population, its vision of the role of public lands as inits knowledge system.

Die vorliegende Ausgabe untersucht für den Eigenbetrieb Abwasserbeseitigung Bautzen die Auswirkungen des demografischen Wandels auf die Gebühren für das Jahr 2025. Aufgrund der Tatsache, dass der Schmutzwasseranfall in der Siedlungsentwässerung von vielen Faktoren abhängig ist, wird eine Methode gesucht, diese zu identifizieren und zu prognostizieren. Eine geeignete Methode stellt die Szenarioanalyse dar, welche in dieser Arbeit eingehend erörtert wird. Darüber hinaus wird ein geeignetes Vorgehen für eine Analyse in der Siedlungsentwässerung vorgeschlagen. Dieses Vorgehen wird in der Praxis auf den Eigenbetrieb Abwasserbeseitigung Bautzen angewandt. Somit dient diese Arbeit als Leitfaden und Beispielanwendung für eine Szenarioanalyse und kann auf alle Unternehmen der Abwasserentsorgung übertragen werden. Neben dem demografischen Wandel, der sich in erster Linie durch einen Bevölkerungsrückgang und eine Alterung der Bevölkerung äußert, können die Faktoren: Lebensstil/Verbrauchsgewohnheit, Art und Anzahl der Industrie- und Gewerbebetriebe, Umweltbewusstsein, Wohlstand/Bildung, Rechtsnormen, Erwerbstätigkeit und spezifischer Wasserverbrauch, mit Hilfe mathematischer Methoden identifiziert werden. Diese Größen stellen Deskriptoren dar und beeinflussen die Schmutzwassermenge langfristig am stärksten. Die Faktoren werden in dieser Arbeit speziell für Bautzen prognostiziert und ein Entwicklungsrahmen vorgegeben. Die vielen Ausprägungsmöglichkeiten dieser Größen lassen die Bildung einer Vielzahl von Szenarien zu, welche auf Konsistenz geprüft und von diesen konsistenten Szenarien wiederum vier ausgewählt werden. Die Umlegung der Szenarien auf die Gebühren erfordert eine gesonderte Betrachtung der gesetzlichen Regelungen und Auflagen, die es zu beachten gilt und ebenfalls, detailliert mit dieser Arbeit erfolgt. Darüber hinaus werden wichtige Hinweise für eine Gebührenprognose gegeben.

Die vorliegende Ausgabe untersucht für den Eigenbetrieb Abwasserbeseitigung Bautzen die Auswirkungen des demografischen Wandels auf die Gebühren für das Jahr 2025. Aufgrund der Tatsache, dass der Schmutzwasseranfall in der Siedlungsentwässerung von vielen Faktoren abhängig ist, wird eine Methode gesucht, diese zu identifizieren und zu prognostizieren. Eine geeignete Methode stellt die Szenarioanalyse dar, welche in dieser Arbeit eingehend erörtert wird. Darüber hinaus wird ein geeignetes Vorgehen für eine Analyse in der Siedlungsentwässerung vorgeschlagen. Dieses Vorgehen wird in der Praxis auf den Eigenbetrieb Abwasserbeseitigung Bautzen angewandt. Somit dient diese Arbeit als Leitfaden und Beispielanwendung für eine Szenarioanalyse und kann auf alle Unternehmen der Abwasserentsorgung übertragen werden. Neben dem demografischen Wandel, der sich in erster Linie durch einen Bevölkerungsrückgang und eine Alterung der Bevölkerung äußert, können die Faktoren: Lebensstil/Verbrauchsgewohnheit, Art und Anzahl der Industrie- und Gewerbebetriebe, Umweltbewusstsein, Wohlstand/Bildung, Rechtsnormen, Erwerbstätigkeit und spezifischer Wasserverbrauch, mit Hilfe mathematischer Methoden identifiziert werden. Diese Größen stellen Deskriptoren dar und beeinflussen die Schmutzwassermenge langfristig am stärksten. Die Faktoren werden in dieser Arbeit speziell für Bautzen prognostiziert und ein Entwicklungsrahmen vorgegeben. Die vielen Ausprägungsmöglichkeiten dieser Größen lassen die Bildung einer Vielzahl von Szenarien zu, welche auf Konsistenz geprüft und von diesen konsistenten Szenarien wiederum vier ausgewählt werden. Die Umlegung der Szenarien auf die Gebühren erfordert eine gesonderte Betrachtung der gesetzlichen Regelungen und Auflagen, die es zu beachten gilt und ebenfalls, detailliert mit dieser Arbeit erfolgt. Darüber hinaus werden wichtige Hinweise für eine Gebührenprognose gegeben.

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