Indian Institute of Packaging

This study evaluates the overall risk exposure of manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises’ supply chains (SMESC) during plausible disruption scenarios, particularly in emerging economies where disruptions can have severe consequences. It develops a holistic, systematic, and quantitative framework to empower SMEs to assess and manage supply chain risks (SCR) effectively, thereby enhancing resilience and ensuring business continuity. A comprehensive literature review and expert consultations were undertaken to identify potential hazards. An integrated Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)-Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) methodology was employed, where AHP determined hazard weights and HIRA evaluated overall risk levels. The framework was illustrated through a case study of a manufacturing SME in India. The results revealed that SMESC are highly vulnerable to disruptions, reflected by an overall risk score of 63.476%. Key hazards included the scarcity of raw materials, distribution network breakdowns, and inventory stockouts, with procurement and production activities being particularly susceptible. The findings offer critical insights for managers and policymakers to proactively manage risks and bolster the resilience of SMESC in emerging economies. This research addresses existing gaps by proposing a structured and problem-driven integration of AHP and HIRA, enabling SMEs to quantify and prioritize both internal and external SCR. The combination of expert-driven weighting (AHP) and scenario-based risk scoring (HIRA) offers a practical decision-support framework suiting contexts with limited historical data and high uncertainty.

This study investigates the impact of cash holding of target firms on acquisition propensity. We investigate the moderating role of family ownership and takeover regulations on the association between takeovers and cash holding of the target firms by employing the logit regression model. Using data of Indian listed firms for 2003–2019, we observe that the cash holdings of the target firms have a positive and significant effect on their likelihood of acquisition. However, cash-rich-family firms have a negative but insignificant effect on the likelihood of acquisition, implying that the entrenchment effect due to family ownership dominates the liquidity effect of cash holding. When the family has more than 51% ownership in the firms, the ownership effect fully outweighs the cash effect. Further, using a regulatory intervention that impacts the ownership structure of the firms as an exogenous shock, the study shows that regulatory framework changes further exacerbate the entrenchment effect on the likelihood of takeovers, which does not allow for an active takeover market. Our results are robust to the alternative definitions of family firms and the takeover objectives. This study provides insight to the policymakers regarding the response of family firms to changes in regulation and also contributes to the literature on acquisition in countries with concentrated ownership structures.

The escalating global demand for efficient thermal energy storage, a direct consequence of rapid urbanization, has positioned phase change materials (PCMs) as highly promising candidates. Their ability to absorb and release substantial amounts of latent heat during phase transitions, such as melting and solidification, offers a distinct advantage in various energy storage applications. This comprehensive review delves into the advancements in surface‐engineered PCM composites, with a particular focus on elucidating the chemical mechanisms underlying their enhanced performance. The diverse chemical compositions of these composites, encompassing organic, inorganic, and metal oxide systems, and their applicability across a wide spectrum of energy storage needs is explored. Furthermore, an in‐depth analysis of preparation strategies, phase change temperature ranges, and melting points of nanostructured PCM composites is provided, aiming to clarify the fundamental energy storage mechanisms at play. The significant performance improvements achieved through the incorporation of carbon‐based additives, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and carbon nanoparticles, are highlighted, attributing their effectiveness to their superior thermal conductivity. Finally, this review outlines potential future research directions, emphasizing the broad applicability of advanced PCM composites in addressing the growing challenges of sustainable energy storage.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has boosted the rapid growth of RFID technology, which plays a critical role in enhancing supply tracking and document security. Despite its advantages, traditional RFID systems rely on chips for each labeled item, raising costs and contributing to environmental waste. To address these challenges, chipless RFID solutions are gaining significance, offering a more sustainable alternative by enabling tags to be printed directly on shipping materials. This shift not only reduces production costs but also reduces the ecological footprint, positioning it as a valuable innovation for industries such as packaging that benefit from end-to-end product traceability.

The emergence of eco-friendly antioxidants has gained prominence in recent studies since there is a growing interest in exploring the conversion of traditional synthetic antioxidants into environmentally sustainable additives, which prompts the consideration of more sustainable approaches in the development of new additives. In addition to possessing antioxidant capabilities comparable to synthetic antioxidants, they also have the benefits of being readily accessible, cost-effective, minimally poisonous, and possessing adjustable qualities. Furthermore, the production of sustainable biopolymers is expected to experience significant growth in the future, driven by the desire for a more sustainable economy and less reliance on fossil resources. Fully biobased formulations combining green additives and biopolymers are attracting significant attention in both academia and industry due to the unique benefits of lower carbon emissions and higher biochar content. This review examines four extensively studied categories of eco-friendly antioxidants (natural antioxidants, antioxidants derived from agricultural/food processing industry byproducts, biobased modified antioxidants, and carbon dots of plant origin), including production processes, antioxidant efficiencies, other common performance parameters, and their comparisons with conventional antioxidants; it provides a comprehensive overview and comparative analysis of the sources and properties of these antioxidants, as well as their potential applications in conjunction with sustainable biopolymers in the domains of active food packaging materials, cosmetic products, and biomedical materials. Furthermore, the obstacles and potential opportunities associated with developing eco-friendly antioxidants are summarized.

This chapter explores the development, properties, and applications of high dielectric constant polymer-ceramic composites for energy storage applications. Capacitors are essential components in energy storage systems, and advancements in capacitor materials, particularly those with high dielectric constants, have the potential to significantly improve energy storage efficiency and performance. Polymer-ceramic composites offer a promising avenue due to their synergistic combination of high dielectric constants, low loss tangents, mechanical flexibility, and processing versatility. This chapter discusses the synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications of these composites, as well as future directions for research and development in this field.