Volume II, No. 1 — January 2026

Marketing · Consumer Behaviour · Machine Learning

Pankaj Kumar Tiwari, Vikrant Veer Singh Pathania — Shoolini Business School, Shoolini University

Integrating advanced machine learning with structural econometrics, this study models consumer purchase intention on Instagram and other social commerce platforms in India. On a primary dataset of 412 respondents across four metropolitan areas, a Probit model with average marginal effects is benchmarked against six ML classifiers. Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) achieves 89.1% accuracy and AUC-ROC 0.941, while social media engagement and influencer credibility emerge as the strongest determinants of purchase intention. A SHAP–Probit convergence analysis (Spearman ρ = 0.91) confirms methodological complementarity.

Climate Economics · Renewable Energy · Sustainable Development

Nikhil Bhardwaj — Shoolini Business School, Shoolini University, Solan, HP, India

Climate change has increasingly become an economic challenge that affects growth, investment, productivity, and long-term development. In the context of India's vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, this study examines the impact of renewable energy adoption, climate resilience, and green investment on economic growth during 2000–2024. Using an ARDL approach with Bounds testing and Error Correction Modelling, the findings reveal that renewable energy is the strongest driver of long-run growth, while climate resilience and green investment contribute positively to sustainable economic development.

Public Finance · Tourism Economy · Small Business Taxation

Dinesh Sharma, Dr. Nikhil Bhardwaj — Shoolini Business School, Shoolini University, Solan, HP

India's Goods and Services Tax (GST), introduced in July 2017, aimed to simplify indirect taxation and create a unified market. For the numerous small cafes, dhabas, and regional food providers operating in the hills of Himachal Pradesh, however, the practical experience has been considerably more complex. Using primary survey data from 60 respondents across Shimla, Manali, and Dharamshala, the study finds that over half of establishments remain unregistered under GST and 50% report declining profitability. Compliance difficulty strongly correlates with diminished long-term sustainability (r = 0.922, p < 0.001), and a regression model explains 85% of the variance in sustainability through compliance difficulty and government support adequacy. The paper argues for region-sensitive policy reforms tailored to hill-state food economies.