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The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments all over the globe to bring radical changes to all walks of life. Strict lockdowns are not only adversely affecting the social, economic, and psychological wellbeing of individuals but also questioning the sustainability of most businesses. In wake of the current scenario, this study is aimed at exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic is influencing the sustainability of entrepreneurship particularly from a female perspective and further providing insights into the role of Islamic financial institutions in the sustainability of businesses during COVID-19.

This is a qualitative study that takes social constructivism approach to study the underlying phenomenon. Semi-structured interviews are conducted to collect primary data. Secondary data are also utilized in this study to theoretically define various concepts relating to entrepreneurial sustainability. The application of thematic analysis revealed various risks associated with sustainability. The interviews reveal the ground realities and tell us about the hardships being faced by the entrepreneurs due to ongoing crises. The participants of the study also shed light on the role of Islamic financial institutions during the pandemic.

The study results revealed that it may look impossible for women entrepreneurs to halt or avoid the adverse consequences of the pandemic; however, a few female entrepreneurs strived to guard their existing portfolios with the help of Islamic microfinance institutions. Whereas, several women, especially those running home-based businesses, lost their income streams. Despite these rapid challenges, most female entrepreneurs are working on inventive online systems to sustain their business activities during the crisis. Finally, guidelines are suggested which can help achieve sustainability of the entrepreneurial startups.

The outcomes of this study are expedient for funding agencies, government authorities and Islamic financial institutions as well as for non-government institutions to establish sustainable and broader policies for women to become successful entrepreneurs during severe disasters like COVID-19. Moreover, the study is a helpful tool for women entrepreneurs to avert the worst impact of the pandemic with the help of Islamic microfinance institutions. The themes of this study help generate realistic information to appraise the strategies to create facilitating business environments that drive the women to carry out the entrepreneurial activity during any crisis like the COVID-19.

The results of this study provide evidence that crisis can be anticipated up to some extent if entrepreneurs become able to take proactive decisions in case of expected or identifiable threats. The study may also help the women entrepreneurs to comprehend the serious consequences of the pandemic by shifting their mode of financing to Islamic finance. Although this pandemic is a cause of physical discomfort instead this research may encourage the female entrepreneurs not to lose heart, just find the potential opportunities for their home-based and small businesses and manage funding from the Islamic microfinance institutions.

The study adds to the existing literature on entrepreneurial sustainability with a particular focus on the role of Islamic microfinance institutions for women entrepreneurs' sustainability in Pakistan. Secondly, the study employs the entrepreneurial sustainability model (ESM) that, according to the best of our knowledge, has not been used by the researchers earlier to study the given research phenomenon. Thirdly, the study findings are expedient for funding agencies, government authorities and financial institutions as well as for non-government institutions to establish sustainable and broader policies for women to become successful entrepreneurs during disasters like COVID-19.

In recent years, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, home textile production orders decreased significantly. This sudden drop in production has increased industry competition, making customer satisfaction more challenging. As a result, it has become imperative for the industry to deftly navigate such ongoing challenges.

This study examines textile production efficiency methodically. Customer requirements like quality, on-time delivery, better working conditions, cost-effectiveness and facility safety audits are understood first. Quality function deployment (QFD) turns client requirements into technical requirements. Prioritise and analyse risks using Monte Carlo simulation and Pareto charts. Consequently, experts and literature propose corrective measures, which are tested in a pilot run to see how they affect production.

QFD, define, measure, analyse, improve and control (DMAIC) and Monte Carlo simulation were used to reduce high-priority risks and meet client requirements in this study. The house of quality helped relate customers’ requirements and technical requirements. Monte Carlo simulation has also improved risk prioritisation by providing a flexible mathematical structure for identifying and managing the most important risks.

This study is novel in the way it applies this integrated approach to the understudied home textile sector. Unlike traditional DMAIC, this study introduces a novel matrix encompassing all defects. This study offers a data-driven approach to improve product quality, meet customer expectations and reduce prioritised risks in home textile manufacturing.

Employee’s innovative behavior as a team allows the organization to achieve its goals; however, team green creativity requires transformational and entrepreneurial leader support. Therefore, the study explores the impact of green transformational and entrepreneurial leadership on team innovative behavior and green new product development with the mediating role of team green creativity.

A survey was conducted to collect data from 455 employees working in the hospitality industry via a self-administered questionnaire, and hypotheses were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling PLS-SEM technique using Smart-PLS 4.0.

The results indicate that green transformational and entrepreneurial leadership styles positively and significantly affect team innovative behavior and new green product development performance. Furthermore, findings show that team green creativity partially mediates the relationship between green transformational and entrepreneurial leadership on team innovative behavior, and new green product development performance.

The results of this study provide insights to hospitality professionals pursuing the improvement of team innovative behavior and new green product development performance through team green creativity and leadership styles.

This study is useful for organizations that target new green product development performance and establish higher green innovative behavior cohesively among its team members through these robust leadership styles.

This study is the first attempt to provide a valuable contribution to the growing field of green leadership styles on team innovative behavior and new green product development performance through team green creativity.

Rapid industrialization and construction generate substantial concrete waste, leading to significant environmental issues. Nearly 10 billion metric tonnes of concrete waste are produced globally per year. In addition, concrete also accelerates the consumption of natural resources, leading to the depletion of these natural resources. Therefore, this study uses artificial intelligence (AI) to examine the utilization of recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) in concrete.

An extensive database of 583 data points are collected from the literature for predictive modeling. Four machine learning algorithms, namely artificial neural network (ANN), random forest (RF), ridge regression (RR) and least adjacent shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression (LR), in predicting simultaneously concrete compressive and tensile strength were evaluated. The dataset contains 10 independent variables and two dependent variables. Statistical parameters, including coefficient of determination (R²), mean square error (MSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE), were employed to assess the accuracy of the algorithms. In addition, K-fold cross-validation was employed to validate the obtained results, and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) analysis was applied to identify the most sensitive parameters out of the 10 input parameters.

The results indicate that the RF prediction model performance is better and more satisfactory than other algorithms. Furthermore, the ANN algorithm ranks as the second most accurate algorithm. However, RR and LR exhibit poor findings with low accuracy. K-fold cross-validation was successfully applied to validate the obtained results and SHAP analysis indicates that cement content and recycled aggregate percentages are the effective input parameter. Therefore, special attention should be given to sensitive parameters to enhance the concrete performance.

This study uniquely applies AI to optimize the use of RCA in concrete production. By evaluating four machine learning algorithms, ANN, RF, RR and LR on a comprehensive dataset, this study identities the most effective predictive models for concrete compressive and tensile strength. The use of SHAP analysis to determine key input parameters and K-fold cross-validation for result validation adds to the study robustness. The findings highlight the superior performance of the RF model and provide actionable insights into enhancing concrete performance with RCA, contributing to sustainable construction practice.

This paper investigates the mediating role of organizational prosocial behavior (OPB) in the relationship between spiritual leadership (SL) and knowledge-sharing (KS) from the intrinsic motivation perspective.

A survey was used to gather data from middle and executive management employees at industrial firms in Sahab Industrial City in Jordan. The study applied quantitative exploratory methods. The study used a self-reported questionnaire to gather data, with 268 valid responses being used to conduct the analysis. The analysis of data proceeded with the aid of SEM-PLS using SmartPLS 4.

The results advocate the positive link between SL and KS routing through the mediator (OPB). The mediating role of OPB was found to be partial.

This study offers practical implications for organizations that wish to optimize KS among employees. It emphasizes the crucial role of SL in determining employee OPB and proposes that managers strive to engender organization-wide transcendental values.

This study furthers the understanding of KS by testing the relationship between SL and KS using OPB as a mediator, which has not been investigated theoretically or empirically.

The study examines the influence of quality management practices (QMP) on project performance (PP) and the indirect association of QMP with PP through the mediating role of intellectual capital (IC). QMP may be one of the most successful strategies to improve project performance. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and institutional theory, the study examines the impact of QMP on PP through the mediating role of IC.

The sample frame of 329 employees in different NGOs and public healthcare organizations was selected. Data were analyzed on SmartPLS 3.2.7 by applying SEM.

The outcome reveals that QMP has a significant impact on PP. The results found partial mediation of IC on the linkage between QMP and PP.

The key research limitation was that it examined only two antecedents (QMP and IC) of project performance based on RBV and institutional theory, which did not yield deep insights from other institutional forces that could influence the model, such as mimetic pressure, institutional pressure and business orientation.

QMP is highly significant in the healthcare sector; however, research on the relationship between QMP, IC and PP is lacking. Thus, this research is an initial attempt to investigate these relationships empirically. We add to our understanding of RBV by investigating the role of IC in mediating the QMP-PP linkage.

In today’s world, the demand for energy to power industrial and domestic activities is increasing. To meet this need and enhance thermal transport, solar energy conservation can be tapped into via solar collector coating for thermal productivity. Hybrid nanofluids (HNFs), which combine nanoparticles with conventional heat transfer fluids, offer promising opportunities for improving the efficiency and sustainability of renewable energy systems. Thus, this paper explores fluid modeling application techniques to analyze and optimize heat transfer enhancement using HNFs. A model comprising solar energy radiation with nanoparticles of copper (Cu) and alumina oxide (Al2O3) suspended in water (H2O) over an extending material device is developed.

The model is formulated using conservation laws to build relevant equations, which are then solved using the Galerkin numerical technique simulated via Maple software. The computational results are displayed in various graphs and tables to showcase the heat transfer mechanism in the system.

The results reveal the thermal-radiation-boost heat transfer phenomenon in the system. The simulations of the theoretical fluid models can help researchers understand how HNFs facilitate heat transfer in renewable energy systems.

The originality of this study is in exploring the heat transfer properties within renewable energy systems using HNFs under the influence of nonlinear thermal radiation.

The case study was developed based on secondary data from the publicly available initial accident report of PIA flight PK8303. The facts presented in the report were then analyzed in the light of the Human Factor Analysis and Classification System (HFACS).

The case revolves around the terrible aviation mishap that occurred on May 22, 2020, when Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) Flight 8303 crashed in a Karachi residential area. A total of 97 people lost their lives in this tragedy, and it was Pakistan’s 18th major aviation disaster. The case study explores the human errors and failures of ground handling agencies, air traffic controllers, regulatory agencies, airline employees and cockpit crew by using the HFACS. The focus remains on mistakes made by people, which revolve around inefficient and ineffective communication, and contempt of safety regulations at various stages of flight PK8303.

The case study is designed for the students of aviation management at undergraduate and graduate levels.

With the evolving landscape of technology and innovations, metaverse has revealed a huge potential for changing the world. Gradually, it has expanded its wings to different sectors, including higher education. The key purpose of this research work is to synthesize the existing literature on metaverse in higher education and develop future research directions for researchers.

The present study uses the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA)” technique to recognize relevant articles from the database, i.e. SCOPUS. Furthermore, it conducts a “bibliometric analysis and systematic literature review” to explore the research area of metaverse in higher education.

The findings reveal that the synthesis and analysis of existing literature led to the identification of an intellectual structure, which resulted in the formation of four clusters. These clusters are defined as attributes related to metaverse applications in higher education, sustainable management of complex learning practices, customization of the teaching–learning process through the metaverse and model development. The theoretical structure informs the co-word analysis and thematic map, identifying four themes: the basic theme, motor theme, niche theme and decline theme. Finally, the social structure is assessed in terms of the author’s network and collaboration across countries.

The study investigated the conceptual structure by developing a thematic map and social structure by measuring the relationship between country–author collaboration through bibliographic coupling (BC). The study also identified future research avenues based on the “TCCM (theory, context, characteristics, and methodology)” framework for future researchers and practitioners.

The research study thrives on enlarging the review scope to measure the metaverse’s role in higher education. Though bibliometric studies have been developed in the metaverse, no study has attempted to measure the relationship between metaverse in higher education using bibliometric and TCCM framework. Thus, developing a synthesized work provides a comprehensive picture of the research domain.

Drawing on resource-orchestration theory (ROT), this study investigates the influence of market intelligence and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on international performance of born global (BG) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets with the mediating role of global technological competence. Quality focus is used as a moderator between global technological competence and international performance.

Data were gathered through a survey, and PLS-SEM was employed for hypotheses testing with a sample of 256 BG SMEs.

The results showed that market intelligence, EO, global technological competence and quality focus positively relate to international performance. Moreover, market intelligence and EO are positively associated with global technological competence. Besides, global technological competence significantly mediates the relationship between market intelligence, EO and international performance. Finally, quality focus strengthens the positive relationship between global technological competence and international performance.

Our research demonstrates that if management utilizes or invests on market intelligence, EO, global technological competence and quality focus, then the BG SMEs will increase their international performance.

The paper contribution lies in its focus on exogenous constructs (i.e. market intelligence, EO, global technological competence and quality focus) to determine the international performance of born global SMEs in emerging markets.