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Measuring and understanding the dynamics of democracy as well as democratic attitudes of people have become a big challenge for every democratic state. The study proposes the investigation of middle-class peoples’ attitudes towards democracy in Pakistan.

The study employs a deductive approach based on cross-sectional data from Pakistan’s middle-class people. The researchers use a survey questionnaire through a convenience sampling technique. Finally, the study utilizes 1854 samples to conclude the findings.

The evidence confirms that trust in public institutions and political engagement positively and significantly impact peoples’ democratic attitudes. In addition, the investigation witnessed the preference for democracy also supports understanding middle-class peoples’ democratic attitudes.

The study would provide an endorsement for politicians of Pakistan to perceive the inclination of middle-class people towards democracy. The study would guide the researchers and policymakers and intellectualize the middle-class peoples’ opinions and attitudes. Moreover the study would support reflecting the public confidence in decision making and ability to deliver. Finally the study findings would contribute to the literature of political science and democracy to understand democratic attitudes mainly focusing on middle-class populations.

This study empirically confirms the Pakistani middle-class peoples’ attitudes towards democracy.

Numerous attempts at installing Six Sigma (SS) have faced challenges and fallen short of the desired success. Thus, it becomes vital to identify the critical factors and characteristics that play a pivotal role in achieving successful adoption. Research has highlighted that a considerable number of corporate Six Sigma initiatives, around 60%, fail primarily due to the improper incorporation of essential elements and flawed assumptions.

To validate the influence of CSFs on Six Sigma accomplishment, the study employed a research design combining exploratory and mixed-methods approaches. The analysis focused on 260 completed questionnaires, and statistical methods including SEM, EFA, and CFA were utilized for data analysis.

The study acknowledged four essential components of CSFs that are imperative for sustaining the success of Six Sigma (SS): (1) Competence of Belt System employees; (2) Project management skills; (3) Organizational economic capability; and (4) Leadership commitment and engagement. These factors were identified as significant contributors to the maintenance of Six Sigma’s success.

The practical implications of this research imply that institutions, practitioners, and researchers can utilize the four identified factors to foster the sustainable deployment of SS initiatives. By incorporating these factors, organizations can enhance the effectiveness and longevity of their Six Sigma practices.

The investigation’s originality lies in its contribution to assessing critical success factors in Six Sigma deployment within the European automobile industry, utilizing a mixed-methods research design supplemented by descriptive statistics.

This article highlights the recipient of the Exemplary PDS Award given by the National Association of School–University Partnerships. In 2024, the University of North Carolina Wilmington's Watson College of Education (WCE) PDS School–University Partnership with Isaac Bear Early College (IBEC) and Southeast Area Technical (SEA-Tech) High School were recognized for their collaborative work. This article highlights the structures and major activities involved in a longstanding, successful PDS partnership.

The article is derived from the award proposal and written in an informative, narrative style, embedding references to each of the NAPDS 9 Essentials to assist in highlighting key aspects of the partnership.

Due to the nature of this piece, there are no research findings.

This article draws additional attention to various aspects of this exemplary partnership and may inspire future nominations.

The paper aims to close a literature gap by proposing a comprehensive conceptual soft skills competency framework for enhancing graduate intern employability through the cultivation of employability capital.

The study employed a theoretical inquiry and delved into the existing literature on employability, soft skills competencies and employability capital to establish a comprehensive foundation to formulate the conceptual framework. A content analysis of existing empirical studies was conducted to derive a generic list of employers’ required soft skills. A Delphi technique was employed to harness expert consensus and insights into the derived framework.

Employability capital can be cultivated in the setting of work-integrated learning programmes and synergised through emotional and social intelligence interventions to enhance soft skills competency and graduate employability.

The soft skills identified may overlook other important skills required by employers. Increasing participation in the Delphi study could yield additional valuable insights. Validation of the framework is needed in practical settings to understand its effectiveness and applicability to real-world organisational needs.

This study significantly enhances understanding of the role of employability capital in soft skills competency development and graduate employability through work-integrated learning programs and self-development. In addition, the framework has the potential to positively impact the employer-employee relationship.

The key theoretical contribution is a soft skill development framework that offers employers and graduates a means to identify and address deficiencies through WIL and self-development.

This study examines the dynamics of the modesty-conscious market within the global fashion industry. Specifically, the research aims to understand and analyse the preferences of consumers in this market segment and provide guidance for fashion companies seeking to engage with this sizable audience consumer demand for modest fashion, such as loose-fitting garments and headscarves for women.

Employing a mono-method quantitative research approach, this study uses a comprehensive big data analytics framework to analyseashion data sets obtained from e-commerce websites.

The findings highlight a persistent and growing demand for modest fashion; that demand proved resilient in the face of challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. Modest shoppers demonstrate price sensitivity, and their preference for premium brands over affordable ones varies considerably. Crucial factors contributing to the success of modest clothing as best-sellers include price, retailer, colour and fabric, while the discount feature is less important.

While this research provides significant insights, it is important to acknowledge its limitations. This study relies on data gathered from certain e-commerce websites, and specific nuances of consumer behaviour may not be fully captured. In addition, the scope is limited to a specific timeframe and may not account for long-term market shifts.

Fashion companies could use the results of this study to customise their strategy for engaging the modesty-conscious demographic. Comprehending the significance of elements such as price, retailer, colour and fabric can allow firms to enhance their product offerings and marketing strategies.

This study highlights the social ramifications of the modesty-focused industry, stressing the changing tastes and requirements of customers within this sector. By aligning their strategies with these societal shifts, fashion companies can contribute to a more inclusive and diverse industry landscape.

This research contributes to the academic literature on modest fashion by using a unique combination of exploratory data analysis and machine learning techniques with fashion e-commerce data sets. This study addresses a gap in the use of big data within this field, and provides novel insights into consumer demand for modest garments. This study challenges the prevailing assumption that consumers of modest fashion prioritise premium pricing, and offers fresh insights into their price sensitivity across both mass-market and luxury segments. It contributes to the literature on consumer behaviour in niche fashion markets and introduces a theoretical framework for understanding the intersection of fashion, culture and consumer economics within the context of modest fashion.

Mobile banking (or m-banking) has become an inseparable part of the modern finance model. Its success relies on customers’ affective responses and behavioral decisions. This study aims to examine the important determinants of positive word-of-mouth (POW) toward m-banking among older consumers.

A quantitative approach was applied in examining a proposed model with data obtained from 358 respondents based on a Web-based survey from Vietnam using a questionnaire.

It was determined that attitude, usage intention and satisfaction are the fundamental facilitators of POW in m-banking. Furthermore, perceived usefulness, ease of use and trust are the main predictors of attitude and usage intention, and epistemic value, conditional value, social value and technological value are the primary motivators of usage intention. Ease of use and trust positively affect perceived usefulness. Usage intention fosters higher levels of satisfaction. This study affirms the insignificant effects of ease of use and hedonic value on usage intention as well as satisfaction on attitude.

The findings are insightful for developers to concentrate on how to promote cognitive, affective and behavioral responses among old consumers in m-banking. Marketers should boost value perceptions and trust as the prerequisite underlying judgment and behaviors toward m-banking.

This work validates the synergistic model of POW among older consumers in m-banking by combining the technology acceptance model (TAM) and theory of consumption values (TCV). Thus, it would increase the exploratory power of the theoretical base toward m-banking and in an emerging market.

COVID-19 accelerated the already growing prevalence of employees working remotely, and limited research exists on the effectiveness of proactive influence tactics in remote work settings. This study aims to identify which proactive influence tactics may best facilitate employee work engagement in a remote work setting.

Survey data stems from 231 employees who work remotely in the USA. Hierarchical regression was used to analyze the data and assess interaction effects.

Evidence was found for positive relationships between work engagement and multiple proactive influence tactics (collaboration, consultation, inspirational appeals, exchange, apprising, rational persuasion, personal appeals and ingratiation) and a negative relationship between work engagement and pressure. The percentage of time an employee spends working remotely moderated the proactive influence tactic-work engagement relationship. Significant interaction effects were found for exchange and personal appeals.

The results highlight several influence tactics that managers can consider using to increase employee work engagement. The findings also demonstrate the increasing effectiveness of certain influence tactics, such as exchange and personal appeals, as employees spend more time working remotely, shedding light on important considerations for managers seeking to optimize employee engagement in remote work environments.

The study contributes to the limited literature on proactive influence tactics and work engagement and examines these relationships in a remote work setting. In addition, it examines the moderating effect of the percentage of time an employee spends working remotely.

This paper aims to deepen the strategic choices of wineries by identifying their strategic reference points in their internal and external dimensions, and presenting their strategic positioning typology.

Strategic reference point theory (Fiegenbaum et al., 1996) and strategic positioning (Lavie and Figenbaum, 2000, 2003). The Rasch methodology (1960) is applied to a sample of wineries in the Canary Islands (Spain).

The principal internal reference is the quality of the wine and of the service offered, followed by social and environmental protection. The principal external reference are the customers, followed by society. Surprisingly, competitors, as an external factor, do not affect wineries’ strategic choices. Strategic positioning shows a polarisation of wineries: the largest group evidences a myopic strategic positioning, attaching little importance to internal and external references. In contrast, the second group of wineries is comprised of adaptive wineries who attach considerable importance both to internal as well as external references, and who are likely emerging as competitive wineries.

These references urge wineries towards a conservative approach that focuses on satisfying their regular customers by offering the same quality products and services. Results also evidence a particular sensitivity towards society and the environment. Strategic positioning shows that the largest group of wineries (myopic) lack strategic orientation and are subject to high rates of failure.

Wineries’ strategic positioning emerges as a tool to help management and institutions in their strategic diagnosis. The Rasch method (1960) is applied for the first time to the strategic positioning of wineries according to the choices of their managers.