The Business & Economic Review (B&ER), ISSN 2519-1233 (Online), ISSN 2074-1693 (Print), is a semi-annual publication of the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, Pakistan. B&ER is recognized by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan in the 'Y' category.
Institute of Management Sciences Peshawar
Investigating the Dynamic Interconnections between Global Economic Policy Uncertainty, Geopolitical Crises, and Financial Markets
This study investigates the dynamic volatility connections among commodities, equities, and cryptocurrency markets in response to heightened Geopolitical Risk (GPR) and Global Economic Policy Uncertainty (GEPU). To investigate dynamic volatility connectedness, the study employs Time-Varying Parameter Vector Autoregression (TVP-VAR) framework and a Dynamic Conditional Correlation-Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (DCC-GARCH) model. The sample period spans over ten years from January 2014 to June 2024. The findings reveal that volatility spillovers are predominantly driven by crude oil and U.S. stock markets, particularly during crises episodes. The results reveal that GPR and GEPU indices have a limited role as shock transmitters, and are relatively weakly associated with gold and cryptocurrency markets. During periods of financial distress, gold and cryptocurrency markets predominantly emerged as shock absorbers rather than transmitters, suggesting a limited shock-propagation role and highlighting their potential diversification benefits. Furthermore, in comparison to the geopolitical crises’ episodes, volatility transmission was most pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic. These insights offer valuable implications for investors, academicians and policymakers, emphasizing the necessity of robust risk management strategies in times of economic and geopolitical uncertainty.
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Niaz Khan (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Do Environmental Policy and Economic Policy Uncertainty Moderate Geopolitical Risk -Environment Nexus?
Geopolitical risk is one of the most prominent global risks. The authors investigate the potential impact of geopolitical risk on carbon emissions across 20 countries from 1997 to 2023 by employing the Method of Moments Quantile Regression. We analyzed the unconditional and conditional role of environmental policy stringency and economic policy uncertainty on carbon emissions. Our analysis reveals that geopolitical risk significantly increases carbon emissions across all quartiles, including the 90th quantile, confirming the escalating effect of geopolitical disruptions on carbon emissions. Furthermore, the adverse impact of geopolitical risk on carbon emissions becomes negligible with the implementation of stringent environmental policies. Moreover, the negative and significant moderating effect of economic policy uncertainty suggests that it promotes innovation and international cooperation, thereby mitigates carbon emissions. The findings underscore the importance of maintaining peaceful international relations, fostering technological collaboration, implementing counter-terrorism initiatives, and adhering to stringent environmental regulations to achieve ecological sustainability.
Copyright (c) 2026 Haleema Sadia, Kainat Shehzadi (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Interfering Factors on The Behavior of Knowledge Hiding (KH) on Project Team Performance (PTP) in the Context of IT Projects in Pakistan
Purpose: Knowledge Hiding (KH) is an exclusive thought that is distinct of Knowledge Sharing, occurring habitually among project team’s members. Project Team Performance (PTP) has negatively affected by this activity. This study provides evidence that KH is directly affected by Project Complexity (PC), Financial Rewards (FR), and Non-Financial Rewards in the context of IT projects in Pakistan that has not be examined before in this context. Design, methodology, and approach: Using a sample of n= 152 project members in project-oriented businesses that were specifically targeting registered software houses in Pakistan, this paper conducts quantitative research to investigate the hypotheses. The hypotheses were evaluated using PLS-SEM (partial least squares structural equation modeling), which analyzes the maximum variance among exogenous components. Data analysis for this purpose has been done using SmartPLS 4. Sampling technique utilized for this study is the Snowballing technique. Findings: The findings showed that whereas non-financial rewards have an unfavorable impact on KH, financial rewards are also unfavorably linked to KH. KH was positively correlated with project complexity. The performance of the project team was inversely correlated with KH. Originality/value: This is among the first empirical studies in Pakistan’s IT/software industry to examine the dual role of financial and non-financial rewards in shaping KH behaviors under varying project complexities.
Copyright (c) 2026 Farah Naz, Sohail Aslam, Hera Anam (Author) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
The Significance of Female Financial Inclusion for Development: An Empirical Investigation
The main objective of this study is to understand how crucial financial inclusion of females is for overall development. The study suggests that female financial inclusion may be linked to improvements in women’s living standards and, by extension, to positive impacts on society as a whole. In order to test the claim, the study used global female data from Global Findex (2021) database. Using pooled Ordinary Least Square (Pooled OLS) estimation technique, the empirical investigation suggests that female financial inclusion is significantly associated with higher levels of human development. Most constituent elements of Human Development Index (HDI) are found to be positively correlated with female financial inclusion, except health. Moreover, heterogeneity analysis was conducted by both income and regional classification. Using interaction terms and sub-sample regressions, we find that the association is strongest in lower-middle income countries and in South Asia region. However, it is weaker or negative in some low-income and Sub-Saharan African region. Based on the results, we presented the possible measures to enhance female financial inclusion, while acknowledging that these should be viewed as indicative rather than definitive.
Copyright (c) 2025 Business & Economic Review https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/cclicenses/
Exploring the Mediating Effects of Emotional Arousal and Perceived value in the Relationship between Artificial Intelligence and Customer Purchasing Intentions
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the business landscape, and one key area of impact is in customer buying behavior. This paper aims to explore the relationship between AI and customer buying intention by adopting the S-O-R model. Specifically, we investigate how three dimensions of AI stimulus accuracy, engagement, and guidance affect emotional arousal and perceived benefit, which in turn influence customer buying intention towards AI-suggested products. Our study, which surveyed 226 millennials from four major cities in Sindh, Pakistan, reveals that AI has a significant impact on customer buying intention and is emerging as a strong predictor of purchase behavior. In addition, both mediators show strong mediation in the model. By using advanced statistical techniques such as SPSS, our results provide valuable insights for digital marketers seeking to leverage AI in their strategies. Overall, this research sheds light on the complex interplay between AI and consumer behavior and has important implications for the future of marketing.
The Role Played by Social Enterprises in the Empowerment of Female Social Entrepreneurs: The Case of Pakistan
This study investigates how social enterprises contribute to the empowerment of female social entrepreneurs in Pakistan, a context marked by deep-rooted gender norms and socio-cultural constraints. Using Cattaneo and Chapman’s (2010) Empowerment Process Model as a theoretical lens, the research adopts a qualitative design informed by interpretive and grounded theory approaches. Narrative-style, in-depth interviews were conducted with female social entrepreneurs across major Pakistani cities. Findings indicate that many women launched social enterprises as a response to personal hardships, viewing entrepreneurship as a pathway to self-reliance and empowerment. Despite experiencing increased confidence, personal growth, and a sense of purpose, their journeys were shaped by persistent cultural, familial, and structural barriers. The study concludes that Pakistan’s socio-economic challenges both necessitate and complicate women-led social entrepreneurship. For sustained impact, social enterprises must align with cultural values while challenging gendered limitations. Future research should explore regional and rural-urban differences and incorporate the perspectives of both entrepreneurs and their beneficiaries to assess broader empowerment outcomes.
The Consumer Lens: Understanding How CSR Activities Translate to Brand Image
The study's main objective is to measure the impact of different elements of CSR, like economic, ethical, and philanthropic CSR, on brand image. In addition, this study also examines the mediating effects of consumer perception. At the same time, this study addresses the gap in the literature on how these initiatives specifically influence Pakistan. Quantitative research was used and data were collected from 252 respondents of Generation Z and Millennial participants living in Karachi, Pakistan and analyzed in PLS-SEM using the latest version of Smart PLS. The study found significant relationships between consumer perception and brand image, economic CSR and brand image, ethical CSR and consumer perception, and philanthropic CSR with both. Consumer perception significantly mediate the association between ethical CSR, philanthropic CSR and brand image. The model had substantial explanatory power, with R2 values of 0.631 for brand image and 0.564 for consumer perception. Collaboration between CSR departments and marketing is crucial for fostering positive brand perception. The study emphasizes the importance of fostering positive brand perception through collaboration between CSR departments and marketing, thereby enhancing customer engagement and promoting societal or employee-related activities. The study's limitations include a small sample size, a single mediator, and limited exogenous constructs, suggesting future research should consider larger sample sizes, multiple mediators, and diverse regions.
Impact of Despotic Leadership on Employees' Megaphoning Behaviour: A Cognitive Appraisal Perspective
The current study employs Employees' Emotional Exhaustion as a mediator and Emotional Intelligence as a moderator to examine Despotic Leadership's impact on Employees' Megaphoning Behaviour and Work Withdrawal Behaviour. The "Stress, Appraisal, and Coping" theory provides the theoretical basis. The study's hypotheses examine how despotic leaders affect EMB and WWB between EEE and EI. The population comprises Federal Government Organizations employees, with the sample from Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Division (PDSID). Data collection used questionnaires through surveys in a non-contrived setting using purposive sampling. The study followed a deductive approach with a time-lag research design. Analysis of 313 responses gathered across three time spans (Time T1, T2, and T3) was conducted using SPSS and AMOS. Results show DL significantly affects EEE, with EI moderating outcome variables. This paper contributes to organizational behaviour studies in leadership, stress, emotions, and behaviour by examining negative influences in organizations. The study presents novel relationships and provides non-Western perspectives for hierarchical structures in developing countries using SAC theory. The findings suggest transforming authoritarian leadership to empathetic behaviour through human development investment. Stress management training for mental resilience should be implemented to shift from power-centric to people-centric approaches. This research opens future opportunities in organizational behaviour, stress, and coping mechanisms using SAC theory.
The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in shaping Consumer Happiness: A study on Eco-Conscious Consumers
The research aims to understand the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives on consumer happiness: with emotional attachment as mediating variable. Consumer happiness is the intense emotional bond that a satisfied consumer develops with a specific brand (Palusuk et al., 2019). When a person feels a strong connection to a brand and views it as significant, this is known as emotional attachment (Whan Park et al., 2010). Emotional attachment was measured using 6 items which were adapted from (Levy & Hino, 2016). Consumer happiness was measured using 3 items which were adapted from (Zhong & Moon, 2020). This study employs a quantitative research design, focusing on Generation Z consumers in the FMCG sector. Data was collected using online questionnaires, with a final sample of 410 valid responses. The study found significant positive correlations between CSR initiatives, emotional attachment, and consumer happiness. The mediating effect of emotional attachment on the relationship between CSR initiatives and consumer happiness was analyzed using Hayes' PROCESS Macro (Model 4). Mediation analysis confirmed that emotional attachment significantly mediates the relationship between CSR initiatives and consumer happiness, with both direct and indirect effects being significant. The findings suggest that effective CSR initiatives enhance consumer happiness through emotional attachment. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the mediating role of emotional attachment. FMCG companies should engage in CSR initiatives activities to strengthen brand equity, boost resilience, and cultivate consumer loyalty, which can drive increased sales and market share. Authentic CSR initiatives enhance consumer perception, promoting sustainable business models and overall corporate success. The findings of this study are limited in their generalizability due to its focus on the FMCG sector. Future studies in a variety of sectors, including technology and healthcare, should look at CSR, emotional attachment, and customer satisfaction.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Consumer happiness, Emotional attachment, Generation Z, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) sector, Quantitative Research design.
Inclusive Leadership and Work Engagement: Mediating Role of Interactional Justice and Moderating Role of Individual Level Power Distance Orientation
Work engagement has remained globally an issue for the organisations, leaders and policy makers. The model proposed in this study to evaluate work engagement has not been studied earlier for industries in Pakistan. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the model in which inclusive leadership affects work engagement through interactional justice and individual-level power distance orientation moderates the relationship between interactional justice and work engagement in Pakistan's manufacturing and services industry. Firms within Punjab, Pakistan are contacted and requested to participate in the study. Based on the firms' responses, the questionnaires were distributed amongst the employees with the firm’s consultation. The survey questionnaires were distributed in both the manufacturing and services sectors. A total of 270 respondents volunteered to attempt the questionnaires which provided 246 responses usable responses for further data analysis. The analysis of data was carried out using PLS-SEM. The results show that inclusive leadership has a significant relationship with work engagement. The results also reveal that interactional justice significantly and partially mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and work engagement. The individual-level power distance orientation was also found to have a significant but reverse relationship between interactional justices and work engagement, suggesting that an increase in the individual-level power distance orientation decreases work engagement. The paper discloses that inclusive leadership significantly enhances work engagement, and that interactional justice significantly mediates the relationship between inclusive leadership and work engagement. This study also confirms that higher individual-level power distance orientation negatively affects the relationship between interactional justice and work engagement, suggesting a reduction in work engagement in the presence of uneven power distribution and lack of horizontal communication. The study contributes empirically to the existing body of knowledge of inclusive leadership, work engagement, interactional justice and individual level power distance further helping the researchers and practitioners.
Work Engagement; Leadership; Power Disparity; Interactional Justice; Social Exchange Theory
Factors influencing purchase intention of sustainably packaged products: Role of health Consciousness and Consumer moral satisfaction
With environmental pollution becoming a growing concern in Pakistan, consumer awareness regarding the issue of sustainability has grown. Sustainable packaging is an excellent first step for businesses to kickstart a transition toward becoming more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Being recyclable and/or biodegradable, sustainable packaging not only helps bringing down packaging waste but also helps optimize the use of existing resources. This study aimed to understand the elements that affect the purchase intention of sustainably packaged products with the moderation effect of health consciousness and the mediation effect of consumer moral satisfaction in the FMCG industry. The data for this study were collected from 258 respondents aged between 16 and 44 years living in Karachi, Pakistan, using purposive sampling. Then it was analyzed using the latest version of SMART PLS 4.0.1.0 in PLS-SEM. The result suggested that environmental concern had the most significant impact on the purchase intention of sustainably packaged products, followed by a willingness to pay. Moreover, consumer moral satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between attitude and purchase intention of sustainably packaged products, however, the moderating effect of health consciousness remains insignificant. The study's findings suggest the importance of the level of awareness and environmental concerns consumers have while they purchase any FMCG products. In addition, it also helps identify brand managers' factors that consumers look for when purchasing sustainable packaged products.
Sustainability; Sustainable Product Packaging; Health Consciousness and Consumer Moral Satisfaction
Impact of Customer Experience and Repurchase Intentions in Multichannel Shopping: The Moderating Role of Sales Promotion
Purpose —This research examines the impact of customer’s past experience on repurchase intentions in multichannel shopping with the moderating role of sales promotion. Additionally, it examines the mediating roles of online shopping behavior and physical store shopping behavior. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a deductive approach with a cross-sectional design, using self-administered questionnaires distributed online and in person. Measurement scales from prior studies assessed customer experiences, shopping behaviors, and repurchase intentions, with reliability coefficients between 0.728 and 0.972. Convenience sampling yielded 300 responses, analyzed through SPSS 21.0 for reliability and demographic profiling. Mixed methods enhanced response rates and provided a comprehensive view of online and offline customer experiences. Findings – All the hypotheses of this study are accepted. The results of Smart-PLS indicate that online shopping behavior and physical store shopping behavior play key roles in mediating the connection between customer past experience and repurchase intentions. The influence of these mediators is amplified when sales promotions are applied. Practical implications -- Retailers can improve customer experience by providing convenience and usefulness in their multichannel offerings. Marketers can leverage sales promotion to increase customer loyalty and encourage repurchase intentions. This study will add to the existing knowledge in the field of multichannel shopping and offer practical insights for marketers and retailers. Originality/value -- This research aims to bridge the existing knowledge gap by examining the relationship between customer’s past experience, repurchase intention, and sales promotion in the context of multichannel shopping in Pakistan. By investigating the moderating role of sales promotion, this study seeks to uncover how promotional activities influence the relationship between customer’s past experience and online and physical store shopping behavior. Due to expanding multichannel buying trends, the study of consumer satisfaction and repurchase intent in the context of multichannel shopping is quite important.
Customer’s past experience, online shopping behavior, physical store shopping behavior, Sales promotion, Repurchase intentions
Impact of Driver of Knowledge Hiding affecting Project Team Performance: A case study of universities
Knowledge hiding approaches, including evasive hiding, playing dumb, and rationalized hiding, have a destructive effect on the project team's performance. In the last 10 or so years, this influence has begun to receive study attention. Previous studies have discovered a significant association between interpersonal relationships and knowledge hiding. To better understand how Interpersonal relationship affects project team performance with mediating effect of Knowledge hiding in academic settings, this study looked into the causes and motives behind knowledge hiding. Further testing was conducted using a quantitative research design. Three hundred questionnaires were dispersed among employees of three universities of major cities of Multan and DG Khan who served as project members and involved in any educational or other projects of concerned university. 183 questionnaires have been successfully gathered. Smart PLS 4 has been utilized for data analysis. According to the findings, the construct of "interpersonal relationships" has no significant impact on the knowledge hiding behavior and the performance of the project team is negatively impacted by knowledge hiding.
Interpersonal relationships, Distrust, lack of Reciprocity, Knowledge Hiding, Evasion Hiding, Playing dump, Rationalized Hiding, Project Team Performance.
Monetary Policy and Firm Trade Credit: Do Macroeconomic Indicators Matter?
This paper investigates the presence of the credit channel using firm-level panel data of 450 firms listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 1988-2021. Moreover, it uses a two-step system generalized method of moments (S-GMM) estimator to extend the market power theory and Meltzer's firm trade credit (FTC) theory by integrating the moderating role of financialization (FLN) and gross domestic product (GDP) growth in establishing the effect of monetary policy (MP) on FTC. Specifically, our analytical framework enables us to estimate the marginal effect of monetary policy (MP) on FTC at different GDP levels by considering different fixed levels of MP instruments. The results reveal a positive effect of MP on FTC, confirming the credit channel of monetary transmission mechanism (MTM). The results reveal that higher FLN facilitates firms to avail external borrowing during contractionary MP, which decreases MP's positive effect on FTC. The findings show that 1% increase in GDP will reduce the negative effect of MP on FTC by 0.0004% and it is significant at 1%. Similarly, 1% increase in FLN increases the negative effect of MP on FTC by -0.0002. Moreover, the findings show that GDP growth strengthens the impact of monetary policy on firm trade credit. The empirical results give important policy implications. For example, FLN should increase competition among financial sectors to ensure the availability of funds and firms' investment efficiency at the time of contractionary MP. Moreover, the government should enhance GDP growth through tax exceptions so that firms should not suffer during tight MP periods.
Firm Trade credit; Credit Channel; Gross Domestic Product; Financialization; Market Power; Meltzer's trade credit
Copyright (c) 2024 Business & Economic Review https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/cclicenses/
Subjective Income Inequality and Happiness: A Case study of Pakistan
This study measures the relationship between subjective income inequality, happiness, and other factors in Pakistan. This study is the first of its kind in Pakistan, where it has determined the relationship between subjective income inequality and happiness. The data was taken from the World Values Survey database, where data of wave 7, i.e., 2018 for Pakistan, was chosen from 2017-2021. The sample size consisted of 1399 individuals. The theories that supported the results were the Tunnel Effect Theory and Multiple Discrepancy Theory. The Ordinal Probit Model was used due to the categorical nature of dependent and explanatory variables. The study at hand encompasses multiple independent variables such as health, gender, age, social class (subjective), satisfaction with the financial situation of the household, income inequality vs large income difference, and income level whereas happiness is the dependent variable. Findings revealed that Subjective income inequality (p<0.10), social class (p<0.10), and satisfaction with financial household condition (p<0.05) significantly affect individual happiness. However, objective income (p>0.10), gender (p<0.05), and age (p>0.05) do not have a significant impact on happiness. These findings support our stated hypotheses. Multiple discrepancy theory proved significant as objective income did not affect happiness, whereas subjective income did. Health, which is subjective did not affect happiness as well. Hence, it recommended that individuals must not measure their income subjectively as it would lower their happiness, it must instead be determined objectively.
Income inequality, subjective income, objective income, happiness
The Role of Political Engagement in Building Political Brand Knowledge and Loyalty
This study utilizes a voter-based brand equity model to investigate the impact of political engagement on political brand knowledge and loyalty. While previously, researchers have applied customer-based brand equity frameworks to political marketing, the relationships between critical variables like political human brand awareness, association, and leadership perception have remained underexplored, particularly in developing democracies. This research fills that gap by examining these dynamics in Pakistan's political landscape, where voter engagement and turnout have historically been low. Using a quantitative approach, data were collected from 1,151 voters across 15 cities in Pakistan through both online and direct surveys. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze the data. The findings reveal that political engagement directly influences political brand knowledge and perceptions of leadership, enhancing brand loyalty. The study suggests that political candidates and their parties should prioritize creating, developing, and maintaining brand engagement activities to bolster brand awareness and associations, ultimately fostering increased voter loyalty towards the political party during elections. Candidates are likely to generate more positive perceptions and stronger voter loyalty. Political parties can use these insights to design more effective engagement programs like digital, campaign, and activist engagement that cater to the preferences and behaviors of their target voters. This study contributes to political branding literature by applying a comprehensive equity model in a developing country context. Future research could explore similar dynamics in other cultural settings or focus on the role of digital engagement in shaping political brand perceptions.
Political, human brand, Political engagement, Perceived leadership quality, Political Branding, Brand Personality, Pakistan's Local Body Elections
Financial Aspects of Green Marketing Practices: An Investor’s Perspective
Environmental concerns are growing day by day, leading to the shift in preferences of individuals, hence the case of investors is not different. Although corporations are tirelessly working on contributing significantly to their communities and natural environments, but this could never be possible without the support of investors being the key stakeholders of those corporations. In this regard, this paper explores whether individual investors’ green concerns influence their investment preferences. Employing AHP, ANOVA, Factor Analysis and Regression analysis, the study provides evidence that Pakistani investors are significantly concerned about their environment that is reflected in their corporate related preferences. Green marketing strategies are widely spreading across the globe, but the fact is these are not free of cost. Hence, corporations are also of concern that whether their investors’ support the cost incurred on such green marketing practices. The study highlights that although financial benefits are of greatest importance for investors, but they are happily willing to contribute to their environment, as it will help establishing a healthy globe for our coming generations. This study is a great contribution to the policy makers at organizational and government levels, so that they can design effective green strategies and green marketing practices to contribute positively to the communities and environment.
Investors, Green Preferences, Green Strategies, AHP, ANOVA, Factor Analysis
Influence of Environmental, Governance and Reputational Factors on the Performance of Delegated Investments: Exploring the Mediating Role of Overconfidence Bias and Investment Decisions in Pakistan
This study is envisioned to test the conditional impact of soft factors on the performance of investment professionals in Pakistan. Hence, we proposed a theoretical framework, contending that soft factors namely; corporate culture, corporate governance, potential of company's management, environment, reputation, trust, and social factors, create behavioral biases in investment decisions. These biases including investor sentiment, over confidence, over/under reaction, and herd behavior in turn affect decision-making, which as a result affects the performance of investment professionals. A sample size of 300 is applied for selecting individual professionals in Pakistan by judgmental sampling technique in order to record responses through a closed ended questionnaire based on a five degree Likert scale. However, 248 responses are short-listed out of the 265 responses collected based on their relevance to the study. These responses are analyzed through the use of multivariate techniques, by the use of SmartPLS4. The study discovered the significant mediating effects of investor biases and investment decisions on the performance of investment professionals in Pakistan. Full mediation (Baron & Kenny , 1986) of investor biases and investment decisions between the relationship of soft factors and the performance of investment professionals has been witnessed from the results of study, as per latent variable scores (LVS) of soft factors. The further analysis shows that if soft factors are combined with overconfidence bias then result in the positive influence over the long-term investment decisions and performance of the investment professionals in Pakistan. The results of the study contribute to the body of literature related to behavioral finance and provide valuable insights for long term investors while deciding to delegate their investments to investment professionals for maximizing returns. This might involve conducting thorough due diligence on professionals' track records, communication styles, and ability to manage behavioral biases.
Soft Factors, Investment Decisions, Investor Biases, Performance, Delegated Investments
Exploring Intellectual Liabilities in Universities – Case Study of a Public Sector University
Public universities are going through a tough time in Pakistan and some of the old universities are facing severe financial crisis to the extent that they cannot even pay their employees. This drift took a long time, and it is mainly due to increase in the intellectual liabilities. While intellectual capital is seen as non-physical resources which helps to create value, intellectual liabilities are the intangible rigidities that destroys the value. This paper explores the creation of intellectual liabilities in universities due to different prevailing processes and practices and the ignorance of its implications by the management, using a public sector university as a case study. Actor-Network Theory is utilized to develop the understanding of the phenomenon, to appreciate the complexity of reality and understanding how social effects are generated as a result of associations between different actors in a network. A qualitative research approach was adopted, and primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis have bene utilized for its analysis. Findings suggest that intellectual liabilities have a destructive role in universities. The findings can prove useful to human resource managers, policy decision-makers, as well as government and academic institutions in understanding what intellectual liabilities is and how they can develop gradually if not prevented.
Intellectual Capital, Intellectual Liability, Actor-Network Theory
Copyright (c) 2021 Business & Economic Review https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/cclicenses/
Preservation and Dissemination of Indigenous Knowledge in Pashtuns’ Culture: The Role of Hujra as a Learning Hub
In Pashtuns’ culture, Hujra represents a unique facet of communal development and social uplift. It is a platform for the villagers for discussing various issues including but not limited to problems related to their personal and family matters, agricultural and farming, education and politics, and business and trading, with their focus on the immediate solutions, based on the community’s viewpoints, wisdom and inherited knowledge. The present era has misrepresented the role of Hujra as a forum of cultivating miscreants and ill-mannered posterity. Hence, the fact has been kept at the back burner that cultural codes of Pashtunwali, the unwritten/traditional norms termed as indigenous knowledge, have been transferred to the young generations through a communal Hujra. The present study aims at discussing and unveiling the multi-dimensional roles of Hujra. The study was an exploratory research for which qualitative method was used. The primary data was collected through semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with the local/indigenous people, Maliks (Masharan, elders) and youngsters of the village, Daman Afghani, district Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The target population of the study was sixteen (16) individuals randomly selected from the population through Convenience Sampling Technique. The finding of this research focused not only on the role of a communal Hujra but also threw light on the status of a personal Hujra in dissemination of indigenous knowledge. Both play fundamental roles in the preservation of the cultural heritage, aims at promoting indigenous knowledge.
Hujra, Pashtunwali, Indigenous knowledge, Dissemination, Preservation, Cultural heritage, Miscreants, Communal Hujra, Cultural codes, social uplift.
Impact of Volatility on Firm Sales Growth Some Insights from Pakistan
This paper empirically investigates how firm level, industrial level, market level and macroeconomic volatilities influence Pakistani non-financial firms’ sales growth. It also examines how interactions between different kinds of volatilities affect sales growth. The empirical analysis is carried out using unbalanced annual panel data set covering the period 1988-2017.The results indicate that although all types of volatilities assert negative impacts, the intensity of the impact is quite different across different volatilities. Macroeconomic volatility has the highest adverse impact followed by firm volatility. Unexpectedly, the results provide evidence that one type of volatility significantly reduces the adverse impact of other type of volatility. These findings imply that firms may design and implement more effective sales growth strategies in periods when they face more than on type of volatility.
Firm growth; firm-specific volatility; market volatility; macroeconomic volatility
Implications of the 7th NFC Award on Health Services in Pakistan
Fiscal decentralization is aimed to improve Public Services Delivery as the subnational governments get control of additional revenue and expenditures responsibilities and are in a better position to provide basic services to the local people. The 7th NFC Award is considered as a big step toward fiscal federalism wherein the criteria for horizontal and vertical distribution of resources has been changed to accommodate major demands of the federating units. This research paper has been an attempt to identify that to what extent the new fiscal arrangements under the 7th NFC Award has been successful to improve health services delivery in Pakistan. For this study data on various health indicators has been collected for the period 2001 to 2019 divided into two groups i.e., pre 7th NFC period (2001 to 2010) and post 7th NFC Award period (2011 to 2019). To identify the impact of 7th NFC Award on health services delivery in Pakistan various variables were selected including Infant Mortality, Under Five Years’ Mortality, Life Expectancy at Birth and Health Expenditures (%GDP) as dependent or endogenous variables at national level whereas for comparison at provincial level Life expectancy at birth and Under Five Years mortality were used as dependent variables. The variables were tested at the national level as well as the provincial level and interprovincial comparison was also performed. For the analysis purpose different techniques for trend analysis were applied including the Chow breakpoint test, recursive coefficient, Wald-Coefficient Restriction test, Equality of Variance test, trend estimates, Durbin Watson Test and Forecast analysis. Additionally, the Difference-in-Difference approach was also applied to compare other provinces as treatment groups i.e., Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan with Punjab as a control group. The results suggest health indicators have responded positively to the additional funds’ transfer and Life expectancy at birth, Infant mortality and Under Five years’ mortality have improved at national level. Life expectancy and under five years’ mortality has generally improved in all provinces except for life expectancy in KP. While comparing the performance of other provinces with Punjab it is found that life expectancy at birth, infant mortality and Under Five years’ mortality have improved in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while Baluchistan did not improve health indicators in comparison to Punjab. However, to realize further benefits of the fiscal decentralization it is suggested that additional fund transfer is not a sufficient factor to bring change and should be complemented by administrative and legislative actions on part of the government. Innovations and the role of the private sector are crucial in improving public services delivery in health sector. Moreover, the capacity of the government machinery and the ability to develop plans and strategies is important to realize the benefits of the fiscal decentralization by the provinces.
Fiscal decentralization, Services Delivery, 7th NFC Award, Health Services
Financial Pattern of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEe) of Pakistan
The study explores the financial pattern of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan. Financial pattern including overall management of finances sources, the obstacles in financing and to identify the most lucrative sources of financing. The data is gathered through 200 questionnaires distributed in four districts, namely, Peshawar, Mardan, Swat and Haripur of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa using the snowball sampling technique. The reason for choosing KP province is that it has a meager proportion of about 5% in total 3.2 million SMEs in Pakistan. The research explores the financial reasons for such a low number of SMEs in KP. The results of the study show that major problem to SMEs is an access to formal financing sector including high interest rate, high collateral requirements and the complex documentation process to get loans. The major source of financing in KP is equity capital and re-invested profit made by business. The findings also indicate that majority of managers and owners of SMEs are dissatisfied from the banks and policies of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA). The study suggests that SMEDA should have clear and transparent policies and vision to fulfill the financial needs of SMEs from the formal financial Institutions. Similarly, banks should tailor their products and services according to the needs of SMEs.
Financial Pattern, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Questionnaire Survey, Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Workplace Bullying and Intention to Leave: The Mediating Role of Emotional Exhaustion
Bullying at work and its impact on employees' intention to leave are the focus of this study. Specifically, this research aims to determine the link between workplace bullying and emotional exhaustion and the intention to leave. Data were gathered from 234 employees working in the Saif group of Pakistan through questionnaires. The study sample was drawn using the convenience sampling technique. The non-probability sampling technique was used because of the Covid 19 situation; as per government notification, only 50% of the staff was present in the offices. This study used SPSS V. 25 for direct relationships, Hayes model 4 for mediation analysis, and for model fitness, we used CFA (Amos 22). The results show that workplace bullying has a statistically significant and positive impact on the intention to quit and emotional exhaustion plays a significant role in mediating this connection (β=0.38***, SE=0.074, LLCI=0.3077 and ULCI=0.6176). Based on these results, we conclude that workplace bullying is a mayor cause of employees' exhaustion and compels them to depart from an organisation at some point. In light of these results, supervisors or line managers play a vital role in organisational sustainability by retaining skilful employees by making the workplace environment friendly and cooperative in the long run.
Workplace bullying, intention to leave, emotional exhaustion, SPSS, AMOS, COR
Cash Flow Volatility and Debt Maturity Structure: Role of Macroeconomic Factors
This study investigated the moderating role of macroeconomic factors in the relationship between CFV and DMS by considering a sample of 380 listed non-financial firms of Pakistan over a period from (1999-2018). For empirical analysis, advanced econometric techniques have been used in this study such as ordered probit regression, two-way fixed effect, and generalized method of moments (GMM). In addition, this study analyzed the conditional effects of cash flow volatility on debt maturity structure at different levels of macroeconomic factors. The results of the study highlight that the role of macroeconomic factors weakens the CFV relationship with DMS. The results of conditional effects indicate that when inflation, money supply, and interest rate move from a low to higher level, cash flow volatility inversely affects the maturity structure of debt. However, when GDP growth moves from a low to higher level, cash flow volatility positively affects the debt maturity structure. Based on the estimated results, this study suggests the subsequent recommendations: firstly, when firms face a variation in the earning level, they may mitigate their financial distress and cost of bankruptcy by choosing short-term maturity debts. Secondly, financial managers should consider the role of macroeconomic factors in the decision-making process as it effects the firms’ DMS. Finally, non-financial firms, banks, financial institutions, if face high CFV, they may reduce their risk of non-performing loans by limiting their financing.
Cash flow volatility, Debt maturity structure, Macroeconomic factors, ordered probit regression, generalized method of moment.
Career Choice of Health Workforce in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Planning a workforce in the health sector of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa requires assessment of demand and supply of the healthcare services. The epidemiological mix shows the number of doctors needed in a specific field, which determines the demand for doctors in that area. This paper aims to study the supply of doctors and understand the trend of career choice of the postgraduate medical trainees, choosing different specialities. Data for this purpose is collected from Postgraduate Medical Institute (PGMI), by retrieving the doctors' records through their induction notifications, issued bi-annually. The supply of doctors is operationalized with the help of the career choice they make by opting for a particular speciality. The variables thus studied are the number of trainees inducted every year by PGMI, the number of doctors inducted against each speciality, and the gender of the doctor opting for a specific speciality. The sample consists of doctors inducted for postgraduate training from 2014 to 2019. It includes twelve induction sessions, with approximately 500 inductions in every session, depending on several variables. There are a total of 6,743 doctors that satisfy these conditions and are included in the study. The distribution of doctors is assessed using descriptive statistics, and the relationship of gender with speciality selection is tested using Chi-Square Analysis. The results show a skewed trend toward some specialities that the students have been choosing throughout the years. Simultaneously, the association of gender with the speciality selection of doctors is also empirically proven. Male students have inclination towards Medicine and Surgery, whereas females tend to choose gynaecology more than any other speciality. Similarly, Anaesthesia and Radiology are suffering due to the shortage of doctors.The paper also reports these findings in details with the annual trends for each of these specialities. It indicates that the policymakers would need to take steps to match the epidemiological demands in the future. The findings of this paper can be helpful in pre-emptively highlighting the shortage of workfoce in some specialities and their abundance in others. Various steps can be taken timely to handle the issues that can hinder service provision in the health sector, especially in the pandemic when the uncertainties are increasing.
Career Choice; Career Trends; Planning; Health; Workforce; Speciality Selection; Chi-square; Human Resource for Health
Risk Aversion or Institutional Myopism; the mediating role of Financial Performance in the relationship of Corporate Social Responsibility and Institutional Ownership
This paper attempts to analyses the indirect impact of financial performance as a mediating variable on a firm’s corporate social responsibility and institutional ownership in a firm. Secondary data has been collected from the top 50 manufacturing firms using purposive sampling for the period of six years (2014-2019). The results show a positive significant direct relationship between corporate social responsibility and institutional ownership; an insignificant negative relationship between the corporate social responsibility and return on assets whereas a positive significant direct relationship between the return on assets and institutional ownership. Furthermore, the indirect effect of financial performance on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and institutional ownership is neutral. Consequently, supporting the basic premise of Risk Aversion Theory which states in the long run with an increase in corporate social responsibility stock volatility decreases, and consequently institutional ownership increases in the developing country context.
Corporate Social Responsibility, Institutional Ownership, Financial Performance, Institutional Myopia, Risk Aversion.
Revisiting the Missing Theories of Organizational Justice
Organizational justice (OJ) literature focuses on the well-established theories of OJ dimensions (distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informational justices) and the relative significance of different OJ dimensions on dependent variables (Ambrose & Schminke, 2009). However, literature suggest an equal focus on relevant missing theories of justice to have a complete understanding of this concept. The researchers assume that the inclusion of relevant missing theories in their respective OJ dimensions would yield better results. They used two data sets to test this assumption. One data set, include well-established theories using Colquitt (2001) scale, while the second data set include well-established theories along with the relevant missing theories, such as, external equity, equality, and need etc. They concluded that with the incorporation of relevant missing theories in their respective OJ dimensions; overall, results improved in terms of diagnostic statistics including specifically t-statistics (p-values), F-statistics and R2; however, missing theories claim has not been substantiated.
Justice, Missing theories, Justice and job satisfaction, Overall justice
Does Globalization Matter for Inflation in Pakistan? Empirical Evidence from Global Slack Hypothesis
This paper aims to evaluate the global slack hypothesis as well as to examine the impact of economic openness on the inflation trend and short-run Phillips curve. For this purpose, the study utilized the Auto Regressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) model to investigate how different measures of openness and global factors (global output and inflation) affect inflation over the period 1970 to 2018. In addition, we also investigate the effect of political regimes (1 for autocracy and 0 for democracy) on inflation and its various proxies in Pakistan. Unlike the existing work that has been done in Pakistan, this study has analyzed the global implications directly for inflation as well as the global slack hypothesis. Results indicate that trade openness is inflationary while financial sector development and the broad measure of openness which is the KOF index have had the opposite effect which might suggest the importance of other dimensions of globalization than trade only. One important finding is that the world output shock and world inflation directly transmit to Pakistan price inflation and in this sense, global factors along with economic openness have some association with inflation. The inclusion of political dummy variable has weaker explanatory power with negative sign maintaining that prudent macroeconomic policy during military regimes keep the inflation level lower. The empirical findings also suggest that although, the global slack hypothesis is validated its impact is not increasing over time. However, comparatively the global slack has dominated the domestic slack and in this sense, its importance has increased over time. Consequently, the process of globalization has important implications for inflation and its dynamics in Pakistan.
Inflation, Philips Cure, Global Slack Hypothesis, ARDL
The Effects of Perceived Narcissistic Supervision and Workplace Bullying on Employee Silence: The Mediating Role of Psychological Contracts Violation
This research has emphasized on the effects of perceived narcissistic supervision and workplace bullying on employee’s silence. It also investigates the role of psychological contract violation as a mediating variable among workplace bullying, perceived narcissistic supervision, and employee silence. Data of 395 employees who are working in the Banking and Telecommunication sector has been tested by Using SMART PLS 3.2.2 Software to assess a mediation model. The results of the study support to our hypothesis. The obtained results show the direct positive relation of perceived narcissistic supervision and workplace bullying with employee silence. These further elaborate the significant positive mediation relation of psychological contract violations among all above mentioned variables. Drawing upon the fairness heuristic theory and conservation of resources theory, the current study added in the literature that psychological contract violation and employee silence have been characterized by stressful working conditions .i.e. perceived narcissistic supervision and workplace bullying. Practical implications and recommendations for future studies for researchers are discussed.
Workplace Bullying, Perceived Narcissistic Supervision, Psychological Contracts Violation, Employee Silence