INSTC and Chabahar port: systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis

This study investigates the concept and strategic significance of economic corridors, particularly focusing on India’s initiatives in Eurasia, including the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) and Chabahar Port. The primary objective is to analyze how economic corridors serve as instruments for enhancing regional integration, economic growth, and geopolitical influence. Drawing from historical trade routes like the Silk Road, the research explores how modern corridors have evolved into critical drivers of global connectivity. The methodology employed includes a systematic review of academic literature, policy reports, and case studies on various economic corridors, with a particular emphasis on India's projects. The research further evaluates the infrastructure, trade facilitation, investment zones, and institutional cooperation involved in these corridors. The study also assesses social and environmental considerations, alongside an examination of ongoing developments in key Indian initiatives. The findings highlight the potential of economic corridors to significantly improve regional trade and integration, with the INSTC and Chabahar Port offering India strategic advantages in accessing new markets and counterbalancing regional competitors. However, the study also identifies challenges, including infrastructure bottlenecks, geopolitical tensions, and the impact of international sanctions, which may hinder the full realization of these corridors' potential.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to carry out the systematic literature review, bibliometric analysis and content analysis of extant literature of service supply chain (SSC).Design/methodology/approachSystematic literature review (SLR) technique was used for identifying the research papers. In the first step after reading titles, abstracts and keywords and, full-length articles wherever required, papers not related to SSC were removed. In second steps papers were read more critically and papers not related to SSC were removed. Finally on 502 papers bibliometric and content analysis was further carried out. Content analysis was based on the clusters formed by bibliographic coupling. Further, content analysis of the recent articles revealed the current research trends and research gaps.FindingsThis paper identified the six existing research diversifications in SSC as (1) logistics SSC, (2) model, framework and conceptual papers, (3) third-party logistics service providers, (4) articles from various perspective, (5) measurement of quality and performance on services and (6) impact of adoption of technology, cooperation and branding on logistics service providers. Further, six future research directions are also provided.Practical implicationsThis research provides a clear view of the progression of publication, research diversification, research themes of six identified clusters, sub-themes of clusters and content analysis of each cluster. Content analysis of recent articles reveals the current research trend and future research directions.Originality/valueThis is a first of its kind of study which presents the diversification of research areas within SSC, bibliometric analysis, content analysis and provides actionable future research direction.

The tussle between China and India is not a new phenomenon. The main reason for this is border conflicts. Occasionally, news regarding conflicts or the other keeps coming from the border. Both countries are nuclear power and live in competition with each other. However, China is far ahead of India. But in the last few years, especially after the coronavirus and Ukraine war, the trend of the world, mainly Western, is inclining towards India as it is a democratic country and more transparent. Both countries are developing economic corridors to expand their influence on near and far lands. In this context, this paper analyzes the relations between China and India using qualitative methodology. It discusses the root causes of rivalries and the motivation behind economic corridors such as BRI, INSTC and Chabahar Port.

This paper analyzes India’s strategic approach toward the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), introduced by China in 2013. While the BRI is promoted as a global connectivity initiative, India perceives it through the lens of geopolitics, particularly due to China’s growing influence in South Asia, facilitated by projects like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). This corridor not only traverses disputed territory in Kashmir but also enhances China’s economic and military presence in India’s immediate neighborhood, alarming Indian policymakers. India’s response includes the development of alternative connectivity initiatives such as the Chabahar port in Iran and the India-the Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor. These efforts are designed not only to mitigate China’s influence but also to strengthen India’s economic and strategic ties with regions beyond South Asia. By examining India’s cautious approach to the BRI and its proactive measures in regional connectivity, this paper sheds light on India’s efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and expand its geopolitical influence amidst evolving global economic dynamics.

BACKGROUND: The research output within the discipline of novel psychoactive substances (NPS) has been evolving since the end of the last decade. The introduction of the concept of evidence-based Medicine led to a revolutionary growth of all fields of medical research. The enhancements of research quality were also paralleled by the development of tools for critical analysis of literature.MATERIALS & METHODS: The aim of the study is to assess the NPS research output, by means of evaluation of the level-of-evidence and the implemented statistical analyses. An extensive database of near 600 published manuscript was created; the papers were selected from the PubMed/Medline database by using pre-specified keywords. Each manuscript will be systematically scanned for; the first author, research institution, country, year of publication, type of study, statistical analysis, level-of-evidence, and journals of publication. Research efforts from the Middle East were also observed and quantified.RESULTS: Teams of NPS researchers included members in the range of one to twenty-nine, with and an average of 4.75 authors per publication. Research output was densely mapped in the developed countries including the UK (53%), US (19%), Italy (14%), Germany (14%), and Sweden (10%); the Middle East contribution was minimal (<1%). The top two research institutes were; King’s College London (UK) and Sapienza University of Rome (Italy). Studies included; Cross-sectional analyses (15%), Reviews (18%), and Analytic chemistry (36%). A considerable number of publications (34%) had no statistics at all, while only 14% had inferential statistics. Top journals of publication were; Journal of Psychopharmacology, Current Neuropharmacology, and Drug and Alcohol Dependence.CONCLUSION: Research output should always be assessed for quality control purposes. This study represents an innovative and systematic method of critical analysis of NPS literature. Future study efforts should be respondent to this study to achieve a better quality of research.

Traditional review papers provide mainly qualitative information, missing to show the volume, trends, and major contributions in a topic. In response to that, this paper asseses both quantitative and qualitative information regarding the implementation of thermal energy storage using phase change materials in heat exchangers. The data were retrieved from the Scopus database using specific queries relevant to the topic. To investigate the state-of-the-art and research gaps, a keywords analysis was carried out highlighting relevant connections among the major keywords. Moreover, a bibliometric analysis was performed to obtain the trends on the number of publications per year, type of document, authors, affiliation, geographical distribution, journals of publication, and subject areas of research. Based on the keywords and bibliometric analyses, this paper highlights the major contributions and research gaps on the topic.

PurposeThis study research contributes in fulfilling the gap by carrying out a systematic literature review (SLR) of contemporary research studies in closed-loop supply chain (CLSC). To the best of the author’s knowledge, an SLR rooted in bibliometric analysis has not been carried focusing on advent developments in CLSC. SLR employs scientific methodologies to select papers from standard databases. The SLR using advanced bibliometric and network analysis enables unveiling the key features of the contemporary literature.Design/methodology/approachThe author has analyzed over 333 documents published from 2008 and onward. Using the contemporary tools from bibliometric analysis tools, the author presented an exploratory analysis. A network analysis is utilized to visualize literature and create clusters for the cocited research studies, keywords and publication sources. A detailed multivariate analysis of most influential works published based top 100 articles via a cocitation matrix is done. The multivariate analysis used k-means clustering in which optimal number of clusters are estimated. The analysis is further extended by using a factor analysis, which enables determining the most influential clusters in the k-means clustering analysis.FindingsThe SLR using a bibliometric and network analysis enables unveiling the key features of the contemporary literature in CLSC. The author examined published research for influential authors, sources, region, among other key aspects. Network analysis enabled visualizing the clusters of cocited research studies, cowords and publication sources. Cluster analysis of cocited research studies is further explored using k-means clustering. Factor analysis extends findings by identifying most contributing grouping of research areas within CLSC research. Each clustering technique disclosed a unique grouping structure.Originality/valueCLSC has received considerable attention, and its core areas start with focusing on reverse logistics concepts relating reuse, recycling, remanufacturing, among others. Contemporarily, the studies have enhanced reverse logistics core functionalities interfaced with the other interesting avenues related to CO2 emission reduction, greening and environmental protection, sustainability, product design and governmental policies. Earlier studies have presented a literature review of CLSC; however, these reviews are commonly conducted in the traditional manner where the authors select papers based on their area of expertise, interest and experience. As such these reviews fall short in utilizing the advanced tools from bibliometric analysis.

PurposeAlthough past studies have reviewed the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in corporate finance, growing realization on the influence of contextual variables has necessitated re-examination in light of unique situational settings. Given that India presents a distinctive context, this study aims to map, synthesize and evaluate the Indian literature on corporate ESG and its role in financial management.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques. Using systematic procedures, 101 documents are selected from the Scopus database, and a bibliometric analysis, including performance analyses of prominent journals, publication trends and authors, is conducted along with keyword co-occurrence and bibliometric coupling analysis using the VOSviewer software. Additionally, an in-depth systematic literature review using content analysis is undertaken to consolidate insights from the selected corpus based on the theory–context–methodology framework.FindingsPublication trend analyses indicate a growing interest in the topic, while the bibliometric analysis leads to three thematic areas: the ESG–financial performance link, CSR reporting and disclosure and determinants of ESG; representing the foci of the extant literature. The content analysis reveals various theoretical and methodological gaps, which present opportunities as avenues for future research – while also underscoring the need for more granular and diversified research in the Indian context.Originality/valueThis study is among the first to use both a systematic content analytical review and bibliometric analysis techniques to examine the impact of ESG on corporate finance in India. This study addresses the need for context-based ESG research and presents a wide perspective on the ESG–corporate finance nexus while also undertaking a detailed analysis of the extant literature. This work is the first of its kind in the known field, and is expected to provide significant informative value to a variety of stakeholders and decision-makers.

Digitalization is very important for SMEs in the Middle East in order to remain competitive and sustainable in this region. Therefore, the study aims to examine the digitalization in SMEs of the Middle East region using bibliometric analysis by considering publication trends, top authors, journals, articles, countries, and major keywords. The researchers used the Scopus database for data extraction and VOSViewer for the bibliometric analysis of this study. The findings revealed that countries from the Middle East realized the importance of digitalization after 2015, and the research trend rose after 2019 with highest publication count till 2023–24 in this domain. Furthermore, the bibliometric analysis revealed Saudi Arabia being the most influential country due to the highest numbers of publications in this domain. Rana. N.P., as the most influential author from Qatar, revealed Sustainability (Switzerland) is the most influential journal, while “Digitalization and economic growth: A comparative analysis of sub-Saharan Africa and OECD economies” is the highly cited article, and Digital Transformation is the highly co-occurred keyword in relation to digitalization of SMEs in the Middle East. Based on these findings, the study proposed managerial implications for policymakers in SMEs of the target region, and avenues for future researchers in this domain.

This study aims to analyze strategy management in the context of sustainable development through a bibliometric approach and a review of data-based systematic literature from Scopus. In the era of globalization and climate change, sustainable development is the main focus of various countries and organizations. Effective strategy management is key to achieving these goals. This study uses bibliometric analysis methods to identify research trends, leading authors, influential journals, and research collaborations in this topic. In addition, a systematic analysis of the review literature was carried out to synthesize the main findings and identify existing research gaps. Data was collected from the Scopus database, covering the types of articles and reviews from 2020-2024 with a total of 811 documents, after going through the screening stage according to the criteria, there were 72 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The results of the analysis show a significant increase in the number of publications over the past decade, with a greater focus on the integration of management strategies with sustainable development goals. This increase reflects the increasing attention to the integration of management strategies with sustainability principles. The results of bibliometric analysis help academics to identify research gaps that have not been widely explored, such as specific management strategies for specific industries or specific regional contexts. These findings provide in-depth insights into the development of research in this area and offer guidance for academics and practitioners for more effective future strategies.

The study of financial well‐being has gained attention in recent years and a number of scholarly articles have pointed to gender‐related differences and their antecedents and consequents. The continuous growth of scholarly literature on women’s financial well‐being and its dispersion impose difficulties for researchers to comprehensively assess the state of knowledge on the topic. In this context, the objectives of this research are to conduct a systematic literature review of women’s financial well‐being and to propose directions for future research. This study comprises a review of 130 articles published in peer‐reviewed journals over the period 1990–2020. Bibliometric analysis was used to identify the year of publication and the countries surveyed, journal of publication, methodologies, concepts, measures and theoretical frameworks utilized; subsequent content analysis allowed us to summarize the main findings. We organized the identified antecedents of women’s financial well‐being into three categories: individual, household and community and societal level elements. The elements that constitute these categories are discussed and our findings point to important gender‐related differences. Based on the identified literature gaps, directions for future research are proposed. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in delivering a comprehensive overview of available evidence on women’s financial well‐being. Its practical and societal implications include the provision of knowledge that may allow better targeting of financial education programmes, economic empowerment interventions and public policies, which may help reduce the financial well‐being gender gap.

A systemic framework for Enterprise Resource Planning systems: A bibliometric networking analysis

Nowadays, Corporate Social responsibility (CSR) is becoming a buzz word, and more and more academics are putting efforts on CSR studies. It is believed that CSR could influence Corporate Reputation (CR), and they hold a favourable view that CSR leads to a positive CR. To be specific, the CSR related activities in the reputational context have been regarded as ways that associate to excellent financial performance, value creation, etc. Also, it is argued that CSR and CR are two sides of one coin; hence, to some extent, doing CSR is equal to establishing a good reputation. Still, there is no consensus of the CSR-CR relationship in the literature; thus, a systematic literature review is highly in need. This research conducts a systematic literature review with both bibliometric and content analysis. Data are selected from English language sources, and academic journal articles only, then, keyword combinations are applied to identify relevant sources. Data from Scopus and WoS are gathered for bibliometric analysis. In terms of the topic of CSR-CR, this literature review with bibliometric analysis has made four achievements. First, this paper has developed a systematic study which quantitatively depicts the knowledge structure of CSR and CR by identifying terms closely related to CSR-CR (such as ‘corporate governance’) and clustering subtopics emerged in co-citation analysis. Second, content analysis is performed to acquire insight on the findings of bibliometric analysis in the discussion section. And it highlights some insightful implications for the future research agenda, for example, a psychological link between CSR-CR is identified from the result; also, emerging economies and qualitative research methods are new elements emerged in the CSR-CR big picture. Third, a multidisciplinary perspective presents through the whole bibliometric analysis mapping and co- word and co-citation analysis; hence, this work builds a structure of interdisciplinary perspective which potentially leads to an integrated conceptual framework in the future. Finally, Scopus and WoS are compared and contrasted in this paper; as a result, Scopus which has more depth and comprehensive data is suggested as a tool for future bibliometric analysis studies. Overall, this paper has fulfilled its initial purposes and contributed to the literature.

Purpose: This article aims to identify themes associated with RFID technologies (Radio Frequency Identification) and industry 4.0. Using key articles from the database developed for this study, the main themes underlying key technology features and their relationships will be uncovered.Design/methodology/approach: Systematic quantitative literature review is conducted to uncover hidden relationships between RFID and industry 4.0. The research methodology encompasses a systematic analysis of pertinent literature and resources, employing a structured approach to identify and categorize crucial topics and keywords that constitute the basis for our exploration. Subsequently, we delve into the relationships within these identified dimensions, aiming to synthesize a holistic interpretation of the connections between RFID and Industry 4.0.Findings: Through our rigorous analytical process, we have unveiled significant attributes embedded within the three delineated dimensions. These findings contribute to our capacity to construct a synoptic depiction that encapsulates all relevant associations between RFID technology and the Industry 4.0 paradigm. The synthesis of relationships between Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology and the Industry 4.0 framework, derived from our analysis of pivotal dimensions and keywords, offers a profound insight into the intricate interplay between these domains. As industries continue to evolve in the wake of technological advancements, this study contributes to the foundation of knowledge necessary to navigate the dynamic landscape of modern industrial systems.Research limitations/implications: Bibliometric network analysis offers a systematic approach to literature review, aiding researchers in identifying seminal works, influential authors, and emerging trends within a field. By visualizing the relationships between authors, journals, and keywords, bibliometric network analysis facilitates the mapping of academic disciplines, enabling researchers to comprehend the intellectual landscape. Network analysis highlights potential collaboration opportunities by revealing clusters of authors or institutions with closely related research interests and specific works related industry 4.0 and RFID, wans’t found, however, being a potential limitation, it proved to be a way to maintain the originality and necessity of this work we are presenting.Practical implications: The practical employs bibliometric research to explore the synergy between Industry 4.0 and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), aiming to provide a comprehensive understanding and practical applicability of these interconnected themes. The study's findings offer practical implications such as facilitating technology integration, optimizing operations, guiding investment decisions, fostering collaborations, informing policy-making, supporting professional development, and enabling knowledge dissemination. These insights underscore the tangible real-world impact of academic research in enhancing industry practices and driving innovation within the context of Industry 4.0 and RFID integration.Originality/value: This study stands as one of the pioneering works to delineate the themes linked with both Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technologies and the Industry 4.0 paradigm.

PurposeThe review paper aims to understand the development of workplace ostracism as a field in organizational studies from 2000 to the present. The study provides a comprehensive synthesis of the current state of the domain by exploring its antecedents, consequences, underlying mechanisms and buffering mechanisms.Design/methodology/approachThe present study analyses 134 published peer-reviewed empirical and non-empirical articles retrieved from the Scopus database. A systematic literature review and bibliometric analyses (using VOS viewer) have been used to gain insights into the development and trends within the field. Bibliometric analyses involved science mapping techniques such as co-citation analysis, co-occurrence of keywords and bibliographic coupling. Combining these three techniques, the study aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of the workplace ostracism research domain's historical, current and future landscape.FindingsIn the present study, through descriptive analyses, the authors uncovered publishing trends, productive journals, countries and industries that contribute to this research field. The systematic review enabled the showcasing of the current landscape of workplace ostracism. The bibliometric analyses shed light on major authors, influential articles, prominent journals and significant keywords in workplace ostracism.Originality/valueThis study enriches the existing literature by offering a comprehensive research framework for workplace ostracism. It goes beyond that by presenting significant bibliographic insights by applying bibliometric analyses. Furthermore, this study identifies and emphasizes future research directions using the theory, characteristics, construct and methodologies framework, aiming to expand the knowledge base and understanding of this topic.