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This study aims to investigate two primary objectives. First, this study examines the influence of modified service quality dimensions on Islamic bank customer satisfaction using a compliance, reliability, empathy, assurance, tangible, operational efficiency, responsiveness (CREATOR) model. Second, the study explores the relationship between customer satisfaction, trust, loyalty and word of mouth (WOM) in Islamic banking of Pakistan.

The proposed model was analyzed using PLS-SEM-based approach. A total of 312 usable responses were used for data analysis.

The results indicate that all CREATOR dimensions have a significant positive impact on Islamic banks’ customer satisfaction. Similarly, this study also found a significant positive relationship between customer satisfaction, trust, loyalty and WOM. Overall, this study modified a well-established service quality framework by successfully implementing the CREATOR model in Islamic banking.

This study will provide helpful policy guidelines for Islamic bank managers improve their service quality and strengthen their relationships with existing and new customers. The authors are also sure that their proposed model will add value to the ongoing service quality literature by indicating the role of operational effectiveness in increasing customer satisfaction and promoting positive WOM.

This study aims to examine the impact of stakeholder pressure on Islamic banks’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and financial performance.

A close-ended questionnaire was collected from 282 Islamic bank’s branch managers. Partial least square structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. Both measurement and structural models were found to be fit for this research.

Results indicate that all components of stakeholder pressure (management, client, competitor, Sharia advisory board and community) have a significant positive impact on Islamic CSR. The findings of this study further revealed that Islamic CSR is a significant predictor of bank’s financial performance. Based on the present empirical results, this study suggests that Islamic bank managers should develop the best CSR practices to gain a competitive advantage and sustainable financial performance.

Overall, this study contributes significantly to the Islamic bank CSR literature. However, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, few studies have been conducted to establish a link between firm performance and CSR in Islamic banks using a comprehensive model of stakeholder pressure.

Quality standards in the enquiry answering function of health service drug information units and of pharmaceutical industry medical information departments are studied by an interview/questionnaire survey. Factors examined include the use of standardised and documented procedures, adherence to published guidelines, methods of evaluating quality, and the impact of ISO 9000 certification.

Examines whether audit delay of Bangladeshi companies is associated with audit firms’ links with international firms. The study is based on a sample of 115 listed companies of the Dhaka Stock Exchange for the year ended 1998. A non‐parametric tool has been used to find whether any significant difference exists among audit firms. The results of previous studies on audit delay show that firms associated with international audit firms appear to provide motivation for shorter audit delays. However, this study reveals that firms associated with international firms in Bangladesh have longer audit delays with a mean of 6.31 months, whereas the overall mean is 5.86 months.

This study analyzed the relationship between mobile financial services (MFS) usage and customer satisfaction with MFS in Bangladesh, considering perception, purpose of use and technical challenges as the primary factors influencing customer satisfaction with MFS. The aim is to determine the factors most influencing the use of MFS.

Data were collected from 400 MFS users through a structured web survey using snowball sampling that is consistent with the nature of MFS users who are difficult to identify or locate. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data and evaluate the reliability and validity of the measurement model.

The results show that customers’ perceptions and satisfaction significantly impact their intention to use MFS. Specifically, customers’ perceptions strongly influence their satisfaction with MFS, and the purpose of use significantly predicts both perception and satisfaction. Technical problems and challenges were found to have no significant impact on satisfaction levels, but other factors were more critical. Furthermore, the integration of innovative technological solutions is crucial for fostering sustainability in MFS, as it enhances reliability and efficiency while minimizing environmental footprints.

The study was conducted in a single country, relied on self-reported data, and used a cross-sectional design, which limits the ability to draw causal inferences. Future research could explore the factors that influence customer satisfaction with MFS in different countries and regions and incorporate additional variables to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the drivers of customer satisfaction with MFS.

This study significantly contributes by extending the technology acceptance model (TAM) framework with the innovation resistance theory, offering a nuanced understanding of MFS adoption. The findings challenge conventional wisdom, highlighting the limited impact of technical problems on satisfaction and emphasizing the central role of user perceptions in shaping satisfaction and intention to use.

FOR SOME years now Leicestershire Libraries and Information Service has organised a programme of children's summer activities—very varied activities such as storytelling in parks, special events in libraries and a ‘Magic Bus’. The aim of all these has been to encourage library use, to introduce specific titles to whet children's appetite for books and reading by means of a carefully structured programme of storytelling sessions and reading aloud, fun and games, craft sessions, drama, and competitions. Most libraries do something like this but does it actively lead to more reading—reading for enjoyment, stimulation and emotional satisfaction rather than for information related to school work and increased functional literacy? Comments received from teachers, parents and librarians showed that through the Reading Tree, children did read more for pleasure.

This paper aims to explore contribution of informal learning space - Research Cafe - to enrich research learning experiences of graduate students. Developing strong research skills among graduate students is a prime focus of higher education around the world. Thereby, universities are striving to maximise opportunities that can foster and enrich students’ learning experiences of research; however, the focus is mostly confined to formal opportunities such as research method courses and thesis writing. The provision of informal learning spaces has been recognised as a useful tool for fostering research learning experiences of graduates. This reflective paper is among a few focusing on a model of student-led informal learning space for enriching research experiences in higher education in the context of Pakistan.

This paper uses a reflective approach to generate a metalogue. The research experiences shared by the participants were further reflected by the authors after each research café session. The authors then shared their collective metacognitive reflections with each other, generating a metalogue, which was used as the data set. The metalogue was analysed thematically to generate themes.

Findings reveal that the research café is an informal space to promote academic socialisation by providing a conducive environment, peer support and informal supervision opportunities to foster the research learning experiences of graduate students. Importantly, the model presented in this paper provides a complimentary pathway for boosting learning experiences.

This paper would be useful for graduate students, faculty and university manager to acknowledge the potential of informal learning spaces in promoting research learning experiences. This paper highlights opportunities for replication, and further empirical research are needed to establish the efficacy of research café.

This study contributes to the global debate about graduate research learning experiences through informal learning space, which is yet to be explored, particularly in developing contexts like Pakistan. The idea of the research café is original, as it was conceived keeping in consideration the contextual and cultural aspects. The methodology used in this paper was specifically derived which can be replicated by other researchers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the important role of intangible resources under resource based view (RBV) such as dominant logic (information filter and learning/routines) and dynamic managerial capabilities (managerial human capital, HC; social capital, SC and managerial cognition, MC) in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) innovation performance in Hefei, Anhui province China.

An empirical study was conducted while distributing 498 questionnaires among different SMEs in Hefei, of which around 429 responses were received. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the proposed hypotheses.

This research study is an endeavor to fill the missing link in the existing literature, and empirical analysis of this research supports all the hypotheses confirming that dominant logic and dynamic managerial capabilities are valuable intangible resources and positively and significantly influence the SMEs innovation performance. Results also indicate that managerial human capital, social capital and managerial cognition (dynamic managerial capabilities) play a significant mediating role between dominant logic and SMEs innovation performance.

The findings suggest that those SMEs which are lacking tangible resources should build and nurture their top management capabilities and dominant logic and SMEs effectively utilizing these intangible resources can enhance their innovation performance.

The findings suggest that SMEs lacking tangible resources should build and nurture their top management capabilities and dominant logic and SMEs effectively utilizing these intangible resources can enhance their innovation performance.

This paper argues theoretically (under RBV and dynamic capabilities view-DCV) and demonstrates empirically that in an emerging economy, i.e. China characterized by highly volatile, dynamic and uncertain competitive environments, SMEs lack tangible resources; therefore, intangible resources (e.g. dominant logic-DL and dynamic managerial capabilities-DMC) are vital for SMEs innovation performance and competitive advantage.

This study aims to empirically examine the knowledge, social and religious factors effecting the intention to receive COVID-19 vaccination while considering the mediating role of attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination. The research explores how the Islamic ideologies shape Muslims’ knowledge, social and religious beliefs towards COVID-19 vaccination acceptance or refusal.

Theoretically, the study is based on the functional theory of attitudes. The model of the study is comprised of nine variables explaining the attitude and intention towards COVID-19 vaccination. Among nine variables, perceived Islamic religiosity, perceived behavioural control and Halal consciousness among Muslims are explained through the value-expressive function of attitude. Furthermore, the perceived risk of COVID-19, the perceived side effect of COVID-19 vaccination and the perceived efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination are considered in the model based on the utility function of attitude. Moreover, social influence for COVID vaccination, subjective norms and group conformity are abstracted from the social-adjustive function of attitude. This study used a quantitative survey research method to test the hypotheses. A total of 1,000 questionnaires were distributed to non-vaccinated Muslim respondents from five cities in Pakistan. The structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was used to test the relationship among the variables in the proposed model. The partial least square-SEM method explained the variances in the dependent variables. Moreover, to test the structure of data, different statistical tests, including exploratory factor analysis (EFA), factor loadings and average variance extracted, were used with the help of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and analysis of a moment structures (AMOS) 23.0 version.

Results for direct effect showed a significant negative effect of Islamic religiosity, perceived behavioural control, halal consciousness, perceived side effect of COVID-19 vaccination, social influence, subjective norm and group conformity on attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination. In contrast, insignificant results showed no relationship of perceived risk from COVID-19 infection and perceived efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination with attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination. Results for mediating effect showed the significant negative mediating effect of attitude towards COVID-19 vaccination between Islamic religiosity, perceived behavioural control, halal consciousness, perceived side effect, social influence, subjective norm, group conformity and intention to receive COVID-19 vaccination. While results showed the insignificant mediation of attitude towards COVID-19 between perceived risk from COVID-19 infection, perceived efficacy of COVID-19 vaccination and intention to receive COVID-19 vaccination.

Further studies are required to compare the attitude and intention among the temporary refusal group (those who will consider vaccination the future) and the permanent refusal group (those who will not consider vaccination the future). Comparing Muslim and non-Muslim groups can also explain differences in attitude and intention towards COVID-19 vaccination.

The area of acceptance and refusal of COVID-19 vaccination has been given limited attention in academic literature. Theoretically, this research has proposed a well-defined model to explain the attitude of Muslims towards COVID-19 vaccination. This model can helpf predict the attitude and intentions of Muslims towards vaccination or medicines. Moreover, this research is a unique contribution for the vaccination brands to consider the discussed factors before launching their brand in Muslim countries.

Recently tourist destinations are facing serious issues of environmental degradation and destination managers are developing strategies to achieve the sustainable destinations’ natural environment. The primary purpose of this study is to analyze the role of green destination brand equity (DBE) in shaping tourists’ environmentally responsible behavior (ERB). Green DBE is analyzed through green destination awareness (GDA), green destination image (GDI), green destination quality (GDQ) and green destination loyalty (GDL). Furthermore, perceived destination trust (PDT) is considered a mediator, and green perceived value is a moderator to explain the tourists’ ERB.

Respondents attending the green-certified destinations were approached physically, and data was gathered from 701 respondents through a self-administered survey method.

Results of the study indicated a significant effect of GDA on GDI and GDQ while an insignificant effect on GDL. Study found significant effect of GDI on GDQ and GDL. Study indicated significant effect of GDQ on GDL. Results of the study indicated significant effect of GDA, GDI, GDQ and GDL on tourists’ ERB. Furthermore, PDT significantly mediated the relationship between green DBE and tourists’ ERB. Finally, moderation results for green destination value (GPV) were significant between green DBE and tourists’ ERB.

Based on the theoretical perspectives of the simulation-organism-response model, a study has explained the influence of green DBE destinations on tourists’ ERB. The study has significantly used the concept of green DBE to explain tourists’ ERB and endorsed the importance of branding in achieving a sustainable tourist destination environment. Finally, the study has uniquely explained tourists’ ERB with the PDT and GPV. The study has highlighted the significance of green branding strategies in protecting the destination environment through shaping tourists’ ERB.