Dear Readers

In this crisis time, as an editor-in-chief I am feeling extremely satisfied to release 3rd issue of our flagship journal Decision. It is indeed a testing time for all of us. I cannot express in words how grateful I am to our editorial committee and reviewers for their relentless support. I can only wish good luck and success to our contributors. Keep up writing.

Amidst this terrifying experience of 21st century, this issue III of Volume 47 brings together a variety of topics like previous issues. The areas covered in this issue are in the field of Macroeconomics, Banking, Financial Accounting, Organisational Behaviour, Sustainable Development and an interesting area of research in gender and consumption.

The article by Godswill Osuma et. al. on “Macroeconomic Risks and financial sector stability: The Nigerian case” examines the long-term effect of lending rate, exchange rate, inflation, institutional regulatory quality, budget deficit and gross domestic product on financial sector stability, using data on bank credit from 1981 to 2018 for Nigeria. The study concludes that macroeconomic risks plays a crucial role in bank credit, and recommends reforms to promote financial health in terms of credit market competitiveness; improved liberalization of foreign exchange market; ease of doing business and economic inclusion.

The second article by Arjun Chakravorty and Pankaj Singh in their article on “Work/family interference and burnout among primary school teachers: The moderating role of emotional intelligence”, studies work-family interference among primary school teachers in Chhattisgarh, India. Their research points towards practical ways of reducing burnout caused by work interference with family (WIF) and family interference with work (FIW) by recognizing emotional intelligence (EI) as a potential resource to be developed through training and development for teachers. This is an interesting findings in human behaviour which could keep optimum synergy between workplace and family. Using the resources theory, this study makes an early attempt to explore the moderating role of EI between WIF/FIW and burnout in primary school teachers in the Indian public education system.

The 3rd in the series is an article by Karan Gandhi touches upon the issue of earning management in his piece titled “REAL EARNINGS MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR MEETING EARNINGS BENCHMARKS: INDIAN EVIDENCE”. This study uses panel data of Indian companies listed on National Stock Exchange of India during the period 2000 to 2016. The main goal of the paper is to examine earning management practices, specifically with respect to reduction in discretionary expenses on research and development (R&D) expenses and selling, general, and administrative (SG&A) expenses.

This study further examines reduction made in three components of SG&A expenses, viz., marketing (MRK) expenses, welfare and training (W&T) expenses, and other general and administrative (OG&A) expenses, with respect to the same. Using the modified estimation models of Srivastava (2019) which control for firm’s strategy, they found managers reduce spending on all of SG&A’s three components, i.e., MRK expenses, W&T expenses, and OG&A expenses, to avoid losses. The evidence of reduction in spending on the latter two components for the same is reinforced when control for firm’s strategy is taken into consideration. Overall, the findings indicate that managers in India are more likely to manage W&T expenses to show earnings in line with desired benchmark level.

The next article by Nazrana Begam Choudhury and her co-author touches upon the issue on Greenness of hydroelectric projects of Northeast India with special reference to the Tipaimukh project. Although credited as cheap, clean and green, recent studies demonstrate that the reservoirs of hydroelectric projects (HEPs) produce enormous quantities of greenhouse gases (GHGs), including carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). India is next only to USA and China in terms of number of large dams, and thousands of new dams are being planned or constructed, especially in the northeastern part. Their study was conducted to determine greenness of some of the HEPs of Northeast (NE) India in terms of emission of GHGs. Further, the emission of different GHGs through various processes from the Tipaimukh HEP (Manipur) was estimated. Their study recommended that thorough studies and the influence of factors like existing biomass, climatic conditions, seasonality and emissions from different spots of the HEPs (which are crucial determinants of the total GHG emissions) are undertaken immediately. Further, it is recommended that proper re-modelling of the HEPs should be done to minimize submergence areas and thereby the emission of the GHGs.

The fifth article by Nupur Moni Das et. al. discuss about capital adequacy ratio of Indian banks and risk taking behaviour of banks in their article titled “Banks’ Capital Adequacy Ratio: A Panacea or Placebo. The changing paradigm of the banking sector regulation has prompted to investigate the inter-linkage of different banking sector variables viz. Capital Adequacy Ratio, Profitability, Risk, Efficiency and other controlled variables. The study uses data for 43 Indian Commercial Banks during the period 1996–2016 and apply 2sls method. The reflects that CAR bears a positive association with the risk taking behavior of the banks. Secondly, it has been seen that CAR is having a positive association with profitability but it is adversely associated with efficiency.

The last article by Ritu Meheta on “Gender-based differences in consumer decision-making styles: implications for marketers” investigates the decision-making styles of Indian male and female consumers. Based on gender and socio-cultural theories, this study develops and tests hypotheses on gender based differences in decision-making styles, including hedonism, novelty-consciousness, price-value consciousness and brand loyalty orientation. Analysis of data obtained from 355 male and 203 female students through self-administered questionnaire indicates that women score higher than men on hedonism, novelty orientation, and price-value consciousness. The results can help marketers to employ gender based segmentation and target more effectively in framing product, pricing, and communication strategies catering to the requirements of a specific gender.

The last research article by Ritu Meheta on “Gender-based differences in consumer decision-making styles: implications for marketers” investigates the decision-making styles of Indian male and female consumers. Based on gender and socio-cultural theories, this study develops and tests hypotheses on gender based differences in decision-making styles, including hedonism, novelty-consciousness, price-value consciousness and brand loyalty orientation. Analysis of data obtained from 355 male and 203 female students through self-administered questionnaire indicates that women score higher than men on hedonism, novelty orientation, and price-value consciousness. The results can help marketers to employ gender based segmentation and target more effectively in framing product, pricing, and communication strategies catering to the requirements of a specific gender.

Last but not the least there is a book review by Ansari Salamah on the book “China’s International Investment Strategy: Bilateral, Regional, and Global Law and Policy” which is very pertinent in the current atmosphere. The book is edited by Julien Chaisse which scrutinizes the intricate and layered international trade and investment strategy of China.

I am ending this note with a hope to see a fear-free world in coming issues. We are working hard to publish a special issue in the coming months.