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In recent years, the fast growth of Islamic banks (IBs) has generated debates among policymakers and economists about the sustainability and performance of these institutions. This paper aims to undertake a comparative analysis of the financial performance of IBs and conventional banks (CBs) in Pakistan over the period 2008–2019 to evaluate how IBs are faring compared to their conventional peers.

This paper considers Financial Ratio Analysis (FRA) to analyse and compare the performance of the top-10 IBs and CBs operating in Pakistan. The sample includes five full-fledged IBs and five CBs which offer Islamic windows in Pakistan. The top-five performing CBs offering Islamic windows have been selected in this study.

The results show that IBs are better capitalized, less risky and have higher liquidity as compared to CBs. In contrast, the profits of IBs are found to be lower than those of CBs.

The study has provided an analysis of financial performance only for Pakistan. A cross-country analysis could be more representative of the performance of IBs.

The study infers that the size of the Islamic banking industry in Pakistan should be enhanced by opening new branches and promoting Islamic financial literacy.

The study assists investors, creditors, debtors and managers in making better decisions. It also provides the latest valuable information to regulators and policymakers that can be used to make rules and policies for the finance industry in Pakistan.

This study investigates the effectiveness of microfinance-backed entrepreneurship as a mechanism for the holistic empowerment of women.

This study employs a mixed-method research-design consisting of quasi-experimental design (quantitative approach) involving women, both entrepreneurs (132) and non-entrepreneurs (238), as well as in-depth semi-structured interviews (qualitative approach).

Quantitative analysis revealed that female entrepreneurs are better off than female non-entrepreneurs in terms of economic, social, political and psychological indicators of empowerment. However, relatively lesser impact was found in terms of political, and to an even smaller extent, social empowerment of women. Analysis of in-depth interviews corroborated these findings confirming that entrepreneurship serves as an effective tool for the holistic empowerment of women. However, non-entrepreneurs also exhibit social empowerment.

Given the restricted geographical ambit of the study, prudence ought to be exercised in drawing inferences applied to alternate contexts. That the vast majority of questionnaire respondents are illiterate presented a notable impediment in the process of collection of accurate responses.

Microfinance intervention ought to be specifically directed to cultivating entrepreneurship among women; in particular, to achieve the full benefits of empowerment, women availing microfinance ought to exert full control over their own business ventures.

In analyzing holistic empowerment through microfinance supported businesses set up by women, the study adds to the existing literature on women entrepreneurship and empowerment.

An increasing demand of agricultural intensification and value addition necessitates the use of improved inputs such as improved seed. Smallholder farmers contribute about 70% of agricultural production in Tanzania. Agriculture sector in Tanzania contributes about 24.1% of the GDP, 30% of exports and 65% of industrial raw materials. Thus, agriculture development, economic growth and industrialization are inseparable. Due to the nature of the product, smallholder farmers cannot judge the overall excellence of seed at the time of buying. This paper assessed quality uncertainty in maize and vegetable seed and its implication for market exchange between farmers and seed sellers in Kilolo district, Iringa Tanzania. The study used a random sample of 130 smallholder farmers and representatives from ten seed companies. Asymmetric information prevails between the two trading sides, i.e. sellers and buyers, leading into quality uncertainty. Moreover, product augmentation is profoundly overlooked whereby most of seed companies have not augmented their products. Because an improved seed is a quintessential example of an experience good, quality uncertainty of some crop varieties under field conditions favored some seed brands to be used more by farmers compared to others. This paper offers a thorough deduction on quality uncertainty under farmers' field condition and its implication on market exchange. It adds information in the body of knowledge on how an improved seed can contribute to sustainable production of food and industrial raw materials, which is a step towards desired industrialization agenda in Tanzania.

This remastered analysis focuses on the impact of entrepreneurial interventions in higher education institutions (HEI), particularly in social entrepreneurship. The study evaluated the effectiveness of such interventions through a pre-and post-test approach, examining various skill sets in students. The primary goal was to analyze the influence of entrepreneurial training programs on students' competencies in social entrepreneurship by analyzing changes in personal behavior, leadership, innovation, social value and management skills before and after the educational interventions.

The study employed a quasi-experimental design, analyzing pre-and post-test results in three distinct social entrepreneurship training experiences. The sample consisted of 304 participants, providing a comprehensive view of the impact of these interventions.

The main findings were: (1) Educational interventions in social entrepreneurship must emphasize strategies for self-awareness, emotional intelligence and personal development improvement. The analysis revealed significant improvements in these areas, indicating that targeted strategies in these domains are essential for enhancing the effectiveness of social entrepreneurship education. (2) The impact of educational interventions on these capabilities can be effectively evaluated using machine learning methods such as ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. This approach allows for the inclusion of variables such as gender, age or location, providing a comprehensive assessment of the interventions' impact. (3) The interventions were particularly effective in improving students' innovation and leadership competencies. The analysis demonstrated substantial enhancements in these areas, underscoring the success of the interventions in developing these critical skills. (4) The study highlighted the need for a more focused approach in future interventions, emphasizing the importance of management, social value and personal skills. Additionally, it pointed out the necessity of developing and utilizing appropriate tools to create and evaluate these interventions effectively.

The study provides insights into improving educational interventions in social entrepreneurship to better develop essential skills in students.

This research introduces a significant approach to educational interventions for educational communities and decision-makers by demonstrating the effectiveness of entrepreneurial training for competencies in innovation and leadership, which are crucial for societal and economic development.

Strategic human capital analytics (SHCA) has proven to be promising for improved organizational performance; however, research remains unclear about its influence on new venture performance. Building on the dynamic capabilities view (DCV), this study investigates the relationship between SHCA and new venture performance via generative capabilities with the moderating role of dual nationality founding members.

A quantitative research study has been carried out. Data was collected via a survey form from 313 founding members of new tech ventures and analyzed using Hayes process macro model.

Research results show that the generative capability mediates the linkages between SHCA and new venture performance. Whereas, the dual nationality of a founding member strengthens the linkages between SHCA and generative capability due to their diverse perspective, larger networks, cognitive flexibility, and resilience, which are important for generative capabilities and SHCA.

The originality of these results lies in the exploration of the linkages between dual nationality and generative capability, as well as the special elements, such as diverse perspectives, larger networks, cognitive flexibility, and resilience, which are highlighted as possible advantages of dual nationality in the context of SHCA and new venture performance.

The purpose of this paper is an attempt to cover available literature on natural resource management, which reflects the involvement of Pakistan communities living in different regions for sustainable management in agriculture, forestry and livestock sectors differentiated by women. In addition, it was also highlighted about the lack of access to productive resources for rural women farmers. The conclusion was drawn and key recommendation were suggested.

It is authors real-life experiences or observations in a given field to support colleagues in a variety of ways including advising, establishing best practices and noting trends.

It was concluded that there are no opportunities such as training of most advanced launched technologies for the sake of better crop production, dairy and fisheries sector sustainable development, as well as the availability of microfinance to support the women farmers in Pakistan rural areas to make them self-dependent.

The opinions and key recommendations are genuine and useful, which should be adopted for the more bright future of women farmers, especially in Pakistan’s rural area.

The unprecedented SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic has further constrained the budgets of governments worldwide for delivering their much-needed infrastructure. Consequently, public-private partnerships (PPPs), with the private sector's investment and ingenuity, would appear to be an increasingly popular alternative. Value for money (VfM) has become the major criterion for evaluating PPPs against the traditional public sector procurement and, however, is plagued with controversy. Hence, it is important that governments compare and contrast their practice with similar and disparate bodies to engender best practice. This paper, therefore, aims to understand governments' assessment context and provide a cross-continental comparison of their VfM assessment.

Faced with different domestic contexts (e.g. aging infrastructure, population growth, and competing demands on finance), governments tend to place different emphases when undertaking the VfM assessment. In line with the theory of boundary spanning, a cross-continental comparison is conducted between three of the most noticeable PPP markets (i.e. the United Kingdom, Australia and China) about their VfM assessment. The institutional level is interpreted by a social, economic and political framework, and the methodological level is elucidated through a qualitative and quantitative VfM assessment.

There are individual institutional characteristics that have shaped the way each country assesses VfM. For the methodological level, we identify that: (1) these global markets use a public sector comparator as the benchmark in VfM assessment; (2) ambiguous qualitative assessment is conducted only against PPPs to strengthen their policy development; (3) Australia's priority is in service provision whereas that of the UK and China is project finance and production; and (4) all markets are seeking an amelioration of existing controversial VfM assessments so that purported VfM relates to project lifecycles. As such, an option framework is proposed to make headway towards a sensible selection of infrastructure procurement approaches in the post COVID-19 era.

This study addresses a current void of enhancing the decision-making process for using PPPs within today's changing environment and then opens up an avenue for future empirical research to examine the option framework and ensuing VfM decisions. Practically, it presents a holistic VfM landscape for public sector procurers that aim to engage with PPPs for their infrastructure interventions.

Due to a staggering growth rate in the recent past, halal products have attained a significant attention of marketers across countries. However, marketing practitioners seek to have detailed understanding of what drives consumers of different demographics towards this product category so as to better market and position themselves in the competitive landscape. Correspondingly, this study aims to provide insights into the Muslim women consumers’ halal cosmetics purchase behaviour and examines the variables (and their interplay) when purchasing such products.

The data for the study were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from 371 Muslim respondents from India. The data were analysed through structural equation modelling using AMOS 22.0 SEM software.

The findings of this study reveal that religious knowledge, religious commitment and halal certification(s) affect consumers’ actual purchase behaviour of halal cosmetics, which subsequently drives their repurchase intention. The findings further reveal a non-significant effect of religious orientation with both the actual purchase behaviour and repurchase intention towards halal cosmetics. Additionally, actual purchase behaviour of halal cosmetics is found to positively affect customers’ repurchase intentions.

Despite the recent growth of overall beauty industry, this particular segment of halal cosmetics has a huge potential given the phenomenal preference that Muslim consumers have shown in such niche. Therefore, this paper contributes towards examining the key factors influencing consumers purchase behaviour towards halal cosmetics in India that can be capitalized on.