Recent Advances in Commerce, Management, and Tourism

The edited book, "Rethinking Commerce, Management, and Tourism - Post-COVID New Normal," presents a comprehensive exploration of the transformative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on these critical sectors. As the world grappled with unprecedented challenges, businesses, policymakers, and scholars faced the imperative to adapt and innovate.

This volume assembles a diverse range of perspectives, offering multidisciplinary insights, real-world case studies, and practical guidance. Topics such as social media marketing, Caravan tourism, medical tourism, entrepreneurship, sustainability, consumer behaviour, human resource management, financial markets and instruments are a few among others.

With a commitment to advancing knowledge and fostering resilience, this book aims to inspire fresh ideas, stimulate discussions, managerial implications and contribute to the collective effort to revive and rebuild the business. It serves as a compass for navigating the evolving dynamics of commerce, management, and tourism in the aftermath of the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a notable effect on the Indian stock market, leading to a significant drop in stock prices, an economic downturn, and the withdrawal of foreign investors. Nevertheless, there were signs of recovery in the later part of 2020, driven by increased investor confidence and the announcement of successful vaccine development. Furthermore, the pandemic prompted a shift towards digital platforms in the stock market, with online trading becoming increasingly popular among retail investors. Although the pandemic still has an impact on the economy and the stock market, the market's resilience implies a potential for recovery in the future. The present study aims to assess the performance of Indian stock market during the period of Covid and how it has recovered post-covid. Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty are compared to draw the inferences and arrive on assessing the stock market performance through statistical tools. The study has revealed that even after having a huge negative impact on the market, the Nifty 50 and Bank Nifty have recovered creating new highs and maintained the momentum with a positive note.

This paper focuses on sustainable packaging as it introduces various opportunities in packaging industry and contributed towards its growth. This research aims to study more about the impact of sustainable packaging on consumer behaviour. It also focuses on various factors that affect consumer behaviour towards sustainable packaging. There has been increase in sustainable packaging as the consumers are shifting towards healthy lifestyle and concerned about the environmental security. As a result of the study sustainable packaging plays a positive role on consumer behaviour. However, various factors affect the consumer behaviour such as price of a product, income of the consumer and visual aspect created sentimental impact on consumer behaviour. Therefore, it is very important for the producers to focus on these factors to influence the consumers towards sustainable packaging. This study clearly states that sustainable packaging plays a very important role in protecting the environment and creating the eco-friendly society. This is possible only by using the eco-friendly products, recyclable materials. This study further identified various sustainability pillars such as use of energy, water, waste management and utilisation of available resources. The study found that different packaging innovation trends have produced a business climate that is sustainable. Because to consumer concerns about their health and their trend towards sustainable living, COVID has also helped to create a more sustainable environment.

Caravan tourism is already popular in many foreign countries like USA movements European countries and in the recent years it has spread across many countries and people especially families prefer to travel in their own vehicle for privacy and comfort of movement and choose any good location on the way to stay over -night. Now this concept is becoming popular in India also and this study aims to study the present status and scope of caravan tourism in Karnataka. It has been existing since olden ages when people travelled long distances and camped on the way. Now this concept has become a tourism activity. The main objective of this study is to find the Caravan tourism potential in Karnataka state and to create awareness about Caravan tourism in India.  It’s based on primary research with data collected through structured interview with reputed tour operators, Tourism department officials in Karnataka, besides by questionnaire is also data is collected from tourists. This article covers all aspects of caravan tourism, its terminologies and latest government guidelines issued for caravan tourism promotion. The social implication of this study is people will come to know about caravan tourism and there is such option also and about facilities available in the state for such travel and also for entrepreneurs’ opportunities available in promoting caravan parks supported by Government. The results are presented at the end of this article based on valid inputs received from various sources directly. Since there acute shortage of literature from India on Caravan tourism, this article will certainly initiate more research on this topic.

The present study focuses on social media trends in the current generation, due to the expansion of the internet and young people mostly use it for all of their activities. Social media refers to all applications and websites that foster interpersonal relationships between members of various communities, occupations, and geographic locations. Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Twitter, and Snapchat are the most popular social media platforms for teen communication in all areas. Travel-related blogs, social media platforms, and websites are dominating the world by offering all the information required to make trip arrangements, including lodging, travel destinations, safety and security, and recreational amenities in tourist destinations. The study primarily focuses on determining the effective social media platform in order to provide youths with efficient communication regarding picking their travel destination, planning their tour. The research is being carried out using exploratory research and qualitative methods such as surveys, case studies, and focus group interviews with travelers. The study's sample would be identified as a convenient sampling in order to evaluate the various social media and their effectiveness in communicating the best plan for youths traveling - Post Covid-19.

International trade is the most important source to increase national output and act as a growth indicator. Economic development of a nation vastly depends on international trade. Most economists agree that international trade creates more benefits to developing economies. But the world particularly Indian economy has been witnessing a great difficulty for the last few months due to Russia-Ukraine war. This has impacted exports, imports and investment pattern across the sectors. The war has created great uncertainty on India’s foreign trade. Keeping in view the above objective the key motto of this study is to analyze the impact of war on India’s international trade flows with world as well as Russia and Ukraine using monthly data for the time period 2021 to 2022 (February-June). The study is based on secondary sources. Paired t test is used to test the impact of Russia-Ukraine war on India’s International trade. The result shows India’s International trade differs significantly with world due to war, trade with Russia and Ukraine also differ significantly. The study limits to India’s international trade from 2021-2022 (February-June). The findings will be valuable to the policy makers; exporters and importers to strengthen the India’s international trade and promoting exports from the desirable sectors for fostering economic development. 

India is one of Asia's emerging developing nations whose tourist industry has grown due to technological advancements over the past three decades. The pandemic was unquestionably an exceptional disaster that severely impacted tourism, resulting in massive losses on multiple fronts. As yet, players in the tourism industry are uncertain about the time required for a full recovery. Tourism is resuming rapidly in order to protect the massive investments and millions of jobs that are presently in risk. However, a number of anxieties and concerns are evident, indicating a notable consensus that tourism is marketed differently before and after COVID-19, as tourist products and services endure either temporary or permanent alterations. This study emphasizes the digital advancements of Technology in Rethinking Tourism in the new normal in India's economic growth. It seeks to discover inventive digital innovations regarding the ethical challenges that exist in India's tourism industries. According to the study, Results shows E-Passports, E-visa, online check-in, kiosks at airports, GPS, online travel agencies, VFR, chatbots, podcasts, and mobile check-in are the developing technologies in tourism that are proving the most effective services in ensuring customer satisfaction.

Human resources (HR) of any enterprise plays a substantial role in growth of the organisation by designating competent and skilled employees. For accomplishing its long-term goals, an organization must make human resource contented and pleased. In current scenario, HR services are been integrated through Information Technology (IT) in form of Human Resource Information system (HRIS), HR analytics, etc. Artificial Intelligence has developed an emerging technology in business practices which assists the enterprises to grow at a large scale. The invention of chatbots, a significant domain in AI and NLP, the enterprises have developed more AI centric. AI increasingly forms a vital context for the dispersal of power in workplaces. The technology resolves the complicated problems into simplified solutions. Chatbots facilitates an understanding of AI amongst the employees and influences enterprise decision making process. Therefore, the current study outlines how ChatGPT can redefine the way HR professionals engage with their workforce.

Teaching is a rewarding but challenging profession, especially in higher education. Most teachers are high achievers who enjoy working hard and are constantly seeking ways to get better. Yet, college teachers face numerous difficulties, such as job-related stress and burnout. College professors' dedication to their jobs will decline as a result of work-related burnout, which can cause much more than just a general sense of exhaustion or overwhelm. This study examines how work-related burnout affects the work commitment of college teachers employed by self-supporting colleges in the Dharmapuri District of Tamil Nadu State. Descriptive and inferential analyses are performed using a sample of 150 college teachers who work in self-financing colleges. The association between work-related burnout and college teachers' work commitment is examined using the Independent Sample "t" Test, One-way ANOVA, Correlation, and Multiple Regression. The study discovered that compared to their male counterparts, female college teachers felt increased work-related burnout. College teachers who work in self-financing colleges have highly positive associations between work-related burnout indicators and work commitment. Excessive Stress is the strongest component among the five elements that contribute to burnout at work.

Freelance or gig economy has taken a new dimension with the emergence of digital platforms. Even though gig economy has always been given importance but, due to the lack for proper regulations and protocols, employees had hesitation to join this economy except out of compulsion. With the declining LFPR, India should take care of the situation or it might be too late to enthrall the fiscal opportunities which this niche economy has to offer. The study is all about the obstacles for these gig workers continuing in this sector and what can be done to improve the situation.

In India, the higher education system is comprised of both public and private universities. While public universities receive financial support from the government, whereas private universities are primarily getting financial support by various societies and organizations. Public universities adhere to the education system model established by either the central or state government, whereas private universities have their own unique education system models which vary by institution. The UGC or AICTE regulate higher education, so most functions and procedures are similar, but the quality and quantity differ. The primary difference between private and public universities is the funding arrangements for operating the institution. Public universities receive most of their funding from the central or state government, while private universities must arrange their own funding. Despite facing challenges in fundraising, private universities have more opportunities to experiment with their education system models. This paper aims to develop an effective education system model for private universities by evaluating related research papers & reports and presenting the results in form of a conceptual paper.

Women entrepreneurs play a remarkable role within the global business environment contributing to continuous economic development and social advancement. Women entrepreneurs are the doubtless promising human resource within the 21^st Century. Women stand tall to attain equal rights and positions within the society by venturing into innovative and lucrative entrepreneurial opportunities although are faced with multi-dimensional hurdles. In view of the above this paper aims to review literature studies on women entrepreneurs in India and investigates the prospects, challenges and problems faced by them. The findings of this study reveal enhanced educational opportunities, gender equality, shifting attitude of the society, spouse/family support, holistic development, and government initiatives as the reasons for women empowerment. This successively has reinforced the status of women by creating a desire for being self-reliant which has triggered and accelerated the process of women entrepreneurship.

The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multi-modal transportation system that connects India, Russia, and Europe through a network of shipping, rail, and road routes. The INSTC aims to reduce the transit time and costs of transporting goods between these regions, and to increase connectivity and trade. In this study, we investigate the impact of the INSTC on international trade between India, Russia, and Europe. We analyzed trade data from the past decade to evaluate changes in the volume and value of trade between these regions before and after the establishment of the INSTC. Additionally, We have also surveyed the business community involved in the trade of these regions to get an insight on their experience with the INSTC and its impact on their trade activities. Our findings indicate that the INSTC has significantly reduced the transit time and costs of transporting goods between these regions, resulting in an increase in the volume and value of trade. Furthermore, the survey results show that the majority of the business community is satisfied with the INSTC and it has helped them to increase their trade activities. Overall, this study provides evidence that the INSTC has had a positive impact on international trade between India, Russia, and Europe, and has helped to promote economic growth and development in the region.

Role of tourism in the economic growth of any country is evident. Medical tourism is one of the important segments in the tourism industry for country like India. Indian tourism industry has witnessed the rise in medical tourism in recent past. Medical tourism studies have focused on types of surgery, management, and guest facility but least attention has been given to the role of healthcare professionals. There is an ambiguity on to what extant various categories of healthcare professionals can play their role. Therefore, the current study focuses on exploring the awareness and role of physiotherapists in medical tourism in India. Using exploratory research design and convenient data collection method, it has collected 213 samples from physiotherapists across the India. The results indicate that most of the physiotherapists are not aware of medical tourism practices and very few are associated with any hospitals for such services. It also provides the managerial implications for the hospital mangers.