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This study aims to explore blockchain potential for digital marketing (BlkChn-Mk-KAP) by developing and validating a measurement model for assessing the constructs of knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) related to blockchain technology in digital marketing.

A four-study process was used. The first study reviewed the literature to develop a pool of possible measurement items. Using exploratory factor analysis and reliability assessments, Study 2 (n = 162) investigated the dimensionality of the items developed in Study 1. The factorial structure from Study 2 was validated in Study 3 (n = 204), and the measurement model invariance was assessed using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). Finally, in Study 4 (n = 203), the predictive validity of the BlkChn-Mk-KAP was tested using a CB-SEM approach, testing its constructs correlations with the perceived usefulness of blockchain for digital marketing.

The findings indicate that the BlkChn-Mk-KAP measurement model comprises three-dimensional multi-item scales: knowledge, attitude and practice.

This study introduces a promising BlkChn-Mk-KAP model to examine blockchain’s role in digital marketing. The authors acknowledge the sampling limitation in this research. To enhance the generalisability of the findings, future research should expand to different groups, including generation, gender and age. In addition, further exploration of the explicit links between blockchain knowledge, attitudes and subsequent digital marketing performance is warranted.

Educating employees about blockchain technology’s unique features can shape favourable attitudes and stimulate the utilisation of blockchain-enabled technologies in digital marketing practice. BlkChn-Mk-KAP can offer a reliable and valid instrument to benchmark marketers’ KAP of blockchain-powered digital marketing as they implement blockchain technology to gain a competitive advantage.

This study helps to adopt sustainable practices ensuring the wellbeing of the key stakeholders.

This research introduces the first validated conceptualisation and measurement model, BlkChn-Mk-KAP, to evaluate blockchain KAPs among digital marketing professionals.

Appealing to the resource-based view and the resource advantage theory, this research aims to ascertain the complementarity of entrepreneurial and market orientation in enhancing the performance of small and medium enterprises.

Following a survey design, a self-administered questionnaire containing scales adapted from leading previous studies was used to collect data from 400 executives working in small and medium enterprises in Pakistan. Partial least squares-based structural equation modeling was performed to analyze the measurement and the structural models and test the significance of the hypothesized relationships.

It has been found that market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation enhance firm performance directly and indirectly with marketing capabilities and competitive strategies (partially or fully) mediating these causes and effects relationships.

The study adds to the literature on entrepreneurship, marketing and strategy and has significant ramifications for managers and public policymakers desiring to boost the performance of small and medium enterprises, which is crucial to the economic growth of developing nations, through nurturing and leveraging intangible resources such as market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation and marketing capabilities.

It is one of the rare attempts to investigate the complementarity of entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation, channeled through marketing capabilities and competitive strategies to boost SME performance, that too in the context of a developing country.

As a contribution to the social ties and dynamic capabilities literature, the purpose of this study is to examine the boundary role of the industrial factors (competitive intensity, dependence on suppliers and demand uncertainty) on the relationship between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) social ties (business ties and political ties) and firm performance.

Data were collected from 1,077 SME top-level managers in Turkiye. The proposed model is analyzed using partial least squares (PLS) path modeling in SmartPLS 4.0 software.

The results elucidate how demand uncertainty serve to moderate the influence exerted by both business and political ties upon the performance of SMEs. However, the moderating effects of competitive intensity and dependence on suppliers, although initially hypothesized, were not found to have a significant impact on the relationships.

The relevance of social ties of SMEs may depend on the industrial factor. Although both political and business ties are effective on the customer side, these ties may become irrelevant when it comes to competition and supplier relations. In competitive SME settings, where businesses are vying for similar markets, the effectiveness of ties might be questionable. In such cases, SMEs might invest in building in-house capabilities and competencies, rather than relying on their relational networks.

This study contributes to the understanding of how relational networks, which are considered as dynamic managerial capabilities, impact SMEs performance. It also fills an important gap by testing the boundary role of industrial factors on this relationship. The empirical data is collected from the Turkish context, which is also an original aspect of the study, considering most of the social ties literature has a limited focus on a few contexts. The results also indicate new areas for discussion and exploration, indicating potential avenues for further research.

This paper uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to assess the readiness of the HR function within the UK Civil Service (CSHR) to implement AI to support performance. Academic literature in relation to AI acceptance in HR functions is currently limited, so this paper aims to establish a better understanding of the current landscape and level of ambition in this area.

A quantitative research approach was adopted to determine likely behavioral intentions of workers in the human resource (HR)function if AI were implemented, by investigating key aspects of the TAM (the perceived usefulness of AI and the transparency of the CSHR in adopting AI).

While the results suggest that the CSHR is not ready to harness AI opportunities, employees were personally ready, despite perceiving a lack of sufficient knowledge in this area. The paper identifies that more time needs to be spent on raising awareness and upskilling the HR function before the CS can be considered fully ready to harness these opportunities.

The penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into the global workforce brings transformative potential to the governance structures and use of digital platforms in public sector organizations. AI is likely to play a role in the operation of HR functions and influence how they might operate in the near future.

Drawing on the resource-based view and dynamic-capabilities view, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of a firm’s ordinary and dynamic capabilities on performance. The study also explores the moderating effects of international intensity on the relationship between capabilities and performance.

The study used a data envelopment analysis and a generalized moments method to analyze secondary panel data collected from a sample of 164 manufacturing firms for nine years.

The findings reveal that a firm’s capabilities are a predictor of firm performance, dynamic capabilities strengthen the ordinary capabilities – performance relationships and international intensity positively moderates the capabilities – performance relationships.

There is a need for more in-depth methods to capture dynamic capabilities and effects in an international context.

The findings reveal two practical implications for managers. First, to be successful, managers must make more efforts to maintain technological, marketing and financial capabilities, which are considered determinants of performance. Second, managers must invest even more to build a dynamic capability to ensure capabilities reconfiguration to effectively benefit from an internationalization strategy.

The study introduces many ordinary capabilities alongside dynamic ones as predictors of performance in the same theoretical model. The authors also examine the moderating influence of international intensity on the relationship between ordinary capabilities – dynamic capabilities – and performance.

This paper aims to examine cases and incidents of workplace sexual harassment and propose policy measures to prevent and handle them in the Nepalese context.

It is based on document analysis and a survey. It raises two research questions and to address them, legal cases were analysed and a field survey was undertaken to collect the responses of female employees.

Sexual harassment is a serious and prevalent issue for female employees in Nepal. Sexual abuse, teasing and touching bodies are common forms of sexual harassment observed in Nepalese workplaces. Male colleagues, managers and clients/customers are accused as the main perpetrators. Some female employees are harassed through the use of social media including the internet, Facebook, Viber messaging, text messages and phone calls. At the organisational level, low employment opportunities, female employees’ involvement in informal sector work and less choice for them to shift jobs in the market are the major reasons for what is happening at workplaces for female employees.

This paper excludes harassment cases of male employees. The nature and gravity of harassment issues and impacts vary across countries; thus, it is difficult to generalise the results of this research across countries.

This research could be an eye-opener for policymakers, managers and researchers to engage proactively and intensively in diagnosing and curing sexual harassment incidents in workplaces.

This paper provides evidence of sexual harassment cases and some policy measures to prevent and handle such problems at work. These measures can raise awareness among organisations and employees about the rights of women and the detrimental effects of sexual harassment.

This study aims to investigate how user-generated content (UGC) and firm-generated content (FGC) in social media affect attitudes toward halal tourism destinations, destination image and visit intentions among female Muslim (Muslimah) travelers. It also examines the role of travel habits as the moderating variable.

This study adopts the Theory of Interpersonal Behavior (TIB) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore the motivation of Muslimah travelers to visit halal destinations. The survey was completed by 284 Indonesian Muslimah respondents who had visited halal tourism destinations in Indonesia. The SEM-PLS statistical technique was used to verify the associations between variables.

This study’s findings offer valuable insights for both theoretical understanding and practical applications. They suggest that both UGC and FGC significantly predict attitudes toward halal tourism and destination image, thereby influencing the visiting intentions of Muslimah travelers. Although UGC does not directly influence visiting intentions, it does play a significant role in shaping visiting intentions through its mediating effect on attitudes toward halal tourism destinations. In addition, the results indicate that habit positively moderates the relationship between attitudes toward halal tourism and visiting intentions.

This research contributes uniquely and significantly in two aspects. First, it merges the TIB with the TPB to elucidate the decision-making process of Muslimah travelers when selecting halal destinations. This integration illuminates new insights into the intentions of Muslimah tourists. Second, this study examines the respective influences of UGC and FGC on the visiting intentions of Muslimah travelers to halal tourism destinations. By comparing UGC and FGC, the research provides valuable insights into the decision-making processes of Muslimah tourists. Given Indonesia’s status as home to the largest Muslim population globally, this study offers a novel perspective on the traveling behavior of Muslimahs and practical recommendations for the Indonesian tourism sector in the establishment and promotion of Muslim-friendly destinations within the country.

The COVID-19 outbreak has severely impacted the health tourism industry. This study aims to examine the research undertaken on health tourism during COVID-19.

A bibliometric analysis was performed using 211 documents written by 645 authors between 2020 and 2024. The databases used for this analysis are SCOPUS, Web of Science and PubMed. The study was conducted using the Biblioshiny application for R software. Various analyses, including citation analysis, keyword analysis, thematic mapping and evolution and collaboration analysis, were conducted to get a comprehensive picture of the impact of COVID-19 on health tourism.

The findings suggest that medical tourism was the major area of focus for researchers during COVID-19, whereas wellness tourism was studied in the later stages of the pandemic and is considered important for coping with the negative effects of COVID-19. The thematic review indicates that pre-pandemic research focused on strategies that accelerate the growth of the health tourism sector, whereas during and post-pandemic, the focus was on studying the impact of COVID-19 on the survival and recovery of the sector. Overall, health tourism was considered instrumental in the post-pandemic revival of the tourism industry.

The bibliometric analysis is limited to only four years, as the focus was on studying health tourism during COVID-19. Hence, the study offers more precise insights into the research focus on health tourism during a pandemic. The current study offers limited insights into the post-pandemic scenario as the research is still emerging.

There is a significant opportunity for future research on post-COVID-19 recovery strategies, wherein this research will be helpful for researchers, particularly from emerging countries and countries with high dependence on health, medical and wellness tourism. The thematic analysis provides a valuable comparison of pre-, during and post-pandemic research.

The research indicates an opportunity to study the policies and strategies adopted by various countries regarding the health tourism sector in the post-COVID-19 era. The research also highlights the interwoven, intricate, interdisciplinary nature of health tourism in relation to public and mental health and the need for collaborative efforts.

The study provides critical insights and new directions for future research by highlighting the crucial role of health tourism in mitigating the impact of COVID-19.

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between the big five personality traits and personal financial planning (PFP) by focusing on the mediating role of mental accounting among Indian service sector employees.

The present study used a data set comprising 649 valid responses obtained through the structured questionnaire that was specifically disseminated to employees working in the Indian service sector. Further, the study used a quantitative approach, partial least squares structural equation modeling, to examine the hypothesized relationship.

The study’s outcomes reveal that mental accounting completely mediates the relationship between conscientiousness and PFP. In addition, extraversion and neuroticism traits have directly influenced the PFP, but in the presence of mental accounting, these traits have partially influenced the PFP. Furthermore, the results suggest that agreeableness directly affects PFP, whereas openness does not demonstrate any significant influence.

The existing literature within the field of PFP has primarily focused on exploring various variables associated with mental accounting, such as monetary and time costs, mental budgeting process and tax liabilities. However, it has overlooked the potential mediating effect of mental accounting. This study bridges this gap by investigating the impact of mental accounting as a mediator in the relationship between personality traits and PFP. Moreover, recently, the Indian economy has undergone major overhauls especially due to enactment of Goods and Services Tax and the profound impact of COVID-19, leading to changes in financial behavior of individuals. Therefore, this study endeavors to shed light on the emerging dynamics within the PFP domain, particularly within the context of the newly accustomed economic circumstances in India.

This paper aims to evaluate Morocco’s Whole-of-Government (WoG) framework during the 2023 Al Haouz earthquake, applying complex adaptive systems (CAS) theory to assess its effectiveness with minimal international aid. Through extensive stakeholder engagement and real-time analysis, it examines interagency coordination among civilian and military actors and their interactions with external nongovernmental responders. This study identifies strengths and weaknesses within the WoG framework and presents a strategic roadmap with practical recommendations to enhance disaster resilience, offering valuable insights for Morocco and other middle-income countries facing similar challenges.

Framed by CAS theory, this research uses a rigorous mixed-methods approach through a collaborative case study methodology. Qualitative insights were derived from on-site observations and interviews with 126 stakeholders, including survivors. At the same time, quantitative data were collected through content analysis from multiple sources and rigorously triangulated to capture the full spectrum of WoG mobilization. The data were processed using TAMS Analyzer, and systemic evaluation was conducted through the M-MACBETH methodology, supported by a 21-member expert group. Informed by the assessment results and international best practices, this paper presents an actionable roadmap aimed at building a stronger and more flexible disaster management (DM) system.

The case study reveals that Morocco’s experience offers both a warning and a blueprint for future disaster response efforts. Although the WoG framework successfully coordinated military, civilian and political leadership, weaknesses in local preparedness, civil society integration and misinformation management reduced the overall effectiveness of the response. Aligned with CAS principles and informed by global best practices, the research advocates creating a National Emergency Management Agency with a comprehensive nationwide organigram to balance community-led initiatives with centralized authority, fostering a more resilient, adaptive and coordinated DM system.

This paper addresses a key research gap by applying CAS theory to a real-world disaster in the underexplored North African context. It offers a detailed, first-hand evaluation of Morocco’s WoG framework, assessing its ability to manage a large-scale disaster with minimal yet selective international aid. This study paves the way for comparative research across regions, disaster types and governance models while providing a practical roadmap for Morocco and similar nations to transition toward a Whole-of-Society strategy for DM, enhancing long-term resilience.