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The study aims to investigate the impact of financial inclusion (FI) on environmental quality and the mediating role of industrialization (IZ). In addition, these relationships among the counties with different levels of income and carbon emissions were also analyzed.

This paper used the International Monetary Fund database for indicators of FI. The environmental indicators were obtained from the World Bank database for a panel of worldwide countries from 2004 to 2019. Separate indices of environmental sustainability (ES) and environmental degradation (ED) were created by using principal component analysis . The generalized method of moments regression was applied to examine the relationship between variables.

The study found full mediation of IZ between FI and ES, whereas partial mediation between FI and environmental degradation. The results were found robust against alternative measures of carbon emissions. Furthermore, the study also bifurcated the sample according to the level of income and carbon emission. It was found that FI plays a positive role in the betterment of environmental quality for high-income countries, while a negative role in upper-middle-income, lower-middle-income and low-income countries. Besides, FI has a negative role in the ES of the countries having higher or lower carbon emission levels.

Empirically this study contributes by creating two different novel measures of ES and environmental degradation, in contrast to other studies that solely relied on carbon emission. Contrary to previous studies, this study suggests that FI is not solely responsible for environmental damages, and IZ is the key channel by which FI shifts its impact on ES. Moreover, for environmental degradation, there are some other channels involved that need to be investigated further. This study has also noted that the relationship between FI and ES is context-dependent. Theoretically, this paper contributes to the literature by using ecological modernization theory in the nexus of FI, IZ and environmental quality.

Motivated by lack of empirical research on sukuk (Islamic bonds) defaults and factors influencing the credit risk in sukuk industry, the study investigates the impact of corporate governance (CG) practices and corporate social sustainability (CS) disclosures on default risk of Islamic bonds in an emerging market.

In the Malaysian context the authors use generalized method of moments (GMM) to examine the mitigating effect of CG structure and CS disclosures on distance to default (DD) of sukuk issuers.

The results show that although both CG and CS have a significant and positive relationship with distance to default, the contribution of CS to augment DD is higher. Moreover, different CG variables have a varied relationship with distance to default, while the association is positive for all three pillars of CS, videlicet economic, social and environmental sustainability.

The findings of the study hold important implications for issuers, subscribers and regulators in the sukuk industry.

Limited research investigates the relationship between CG, CS and default risk of Islamic bonds. In light of this, the study attempts to fill the theoretical void in literature by examining the relationship among the underlying variables.

Asia is the largest and most densely inhabited region in the world. Despite exhibiting an extremely expeditious economic growth, the majority of the world population categorized as poor resides in Asia, with more than a billion people financially excluded. This study aims to assess how social sustainability (SS) may increase financial inclusion (FI) and maintain financial stability (FS) in Asia.

Established on the stakeholder theory, the study analyzed the association among SS, FI and FS in Asia, employing a generalized method of moment’s estimation. The mediation of FI was also investigated in the relationship between SS and FS. Moreover, this study has analyzed the alternative proxies for the variables of interest to ensure dynamic results.

The findings point toward a positive association among SS, FI and FS. Furthermore, FI is observed to be undertaking a partial mediating role between SS and FS.

This study emphasizes that both SS and FI have individual parts in the amelioration of FS in Asia, whereas previous studies implied that FI is a mere tool for stimulating SS. Hence, Asian policymakers must keep these outcomes in mind due to their simultaneous contribution to FS.

The relationship between SS, FI and FS has received little attention in the literature. No previous study has deduced that increasing SS may instigate an increase in FI and FS. Additionally, quite contrary to previous studies that relied on narrow indicators, this study develops a broad measurement of SS by considering a wide range of crucial indicators for a sustainable society.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the current construction progress monitoring (CPM) process in relation to the contractual obligations, how project management teams carry out this activity in the field and why teams continue to adopt the current method. The study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current monitoring process and its effectiveness, identify any shortcomings and propose recommendations for improvements that can lead to better project outcomes.

The study conducted semi-structured interviews with 28 construction management practitioners to explore their views on contractual requirements, traditional progress monitoring practices and advanced monitoring methods. Thematic analysis was used to identify existing processes, practices and incentives for advanced monitoring.

Standard construction contracts mandate current progress monitoring practices, which often rely on manual, document-centric and labor-intensive methods, leading to slow and erroneous progress reporting and project delays. Key barriers to adopting advanced tools include rigid contractual clauses, lack of incentives and the absence of reliable automated tools. A holistic automated approach that covers the entire CPM process, from planning to claim management, is needed as a viable alternative to traditional practices.

The study's findings can inform researchers, stakeholders and decision-makers about the existing monitoring practices and contribute to enhancing project management practices.

The study identified contractually mandated progress monitoring processes, traditional methods of collecting, transferring, analyzing and dispensing progress-related information and potential incentives and points of departure towards technologically advanced methods.

This study aims to explore the impact of cultural practices on consumers’ buying behavior in sales promotional activities toward the fashion clothing brands based on the Theory of Black-Box Model under the conditions of COVID-19 at Pakistan.

The study has collected data through questionnaire-based survey from 600 consumers of fashion clothing brands using convenience sampling technique in Pakistan and analyzed through PLS-SEM to find results.

The results confirmed that cultural practices and sales promotional activities have positive significant relationship with the consumers’ buying behavior during the celebration of events, also under the conditions of COVID-19. The study also found that ethnocentrism and xenocentrism are positively associated with cultural practices while social factors, physical factors, product innovation and marketing innovation with sales promotional activities.

The outcomes provide interesting insights about consumers’ assessment toward the sale’s promotional activities and cultural practices of fashion clothing brands during the celebration of events and guide the marketing practitioners to develop the customers edifying and environment-oriented business strategies to boost up the buying behavior in crisis situations.

Although prior research has widely investigated the cultural practices, sales promotion and consumers’ buying behavior in various settings, but to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in these domains.

The organizations focus on environmental factors as stakeholders exert pressure to reduce the environmental influence arising from production tasks. This study aims to see the influence of the environmental management control system (MCS) package and perceived environmental uncertainty on green performance with the mediating role of green dynamic capabilities in Pakistani manufacturing organizations. Moreover, this study aims to see the moderating role of investment in environmental management between green dynamic capabilities and green performance.

The partial least square structural equation modeling technique is used to test hypotheses. The data was collected through questionnaires using simple random sampling, and a total of 404 questionnaires were used in the final analysis. The data was collected from September 2021 to November 2021. Multiple regression analysis followed to see the influence of environmental MCS package, perceived environmental uncertainty, green dynamic capabilities and investment in environmental management on green performance.

Environmental MCS package, green dynamic capabilities and investment in environmental management are positively related to green performance. Despite this, perceived environmental uncertainty is negatively related to green performance. Moreover, green dynamic capabilities significantly mediate between environmental MCS package, perceived environmental uncertainty and green performance. Finally, investment in environmental management significantly moderates between green dynamic capabilities and green performance.

This research covers vital issues that how top management uses the environmental MCS package, perceived environmental uncertainty, green dynamic capabilities and investment in environmental management in determining green performance.

This research adds value to the existing literature by focusing on predictors that determine green performance. This pioneering study observes the influence of environmental MCS package and perceived environmental uncertainty on green performance and green dynamic capabilities as mediators by applying natural resource-based view theory. Moreover, investment in environmental management is used as a moderator between green dynamic capabilities and green performance. Finally, this study can benefit management, industrial policymakers and academicians.

This study aims to describe the effects of capillary forces or action, viscosity, gravity and inertia via the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. The study also includes distribution of the binder droplet over the powder bed after interacting from different heights.

Additive manufacturing (AM) has revolutionized many industries. Binder jetting (BJT) is a powder-based AM method that enables the production of complex components for a wide range of applications. The pre-densification interaction of binder and powder is vital among various parameters that can affect the BJT performance. In this study, BJT process is studied for the binder interaction with the powder bed of SS316L. The effect of the droplet-powder distance is thoroughly analysed. Two different droplet heights are considered, namely, h1 (zero) and h2 (9.89 mm).

The capillary and inertial effects are predominant, as the distance affects these parameters significantly. The binder spreading and penetration depth onto the powder bed is influenced directly by the distance of the binder droplet. The former increases with an increase in latter. The binder distribution over the powder bed, whether uniform or not, is studied by the stream traces. The penetration depth of the binder was also observed along the cross-section of the powder bed through the same.

In this work, the authors have developed a more accurate representative discrete element method of the powder bed and CFD analysis of binder droplet spreading and penetration inside the powder bed using Flow-3D. Moreover, the importance of the splashing due to the binder’s droplet height is observed. If splashing occurs, it will produce distortion in the powder, resulting in a void in the final part.

This study aims to verify the significance of Andersen (2008) corporate risk management (CRM) framework in Asian emerging markets (AEMs) to control firm risk and improve firm performance.

The cross-sectional analyses are performed on a sample of 4,609 firms across nine Asian emerging countries using 2SLS estimation technique.

The empirical findings show that the adoption of CRM not only enhances firm performance by increasing the firm ability to capitalize on the market opportunity but also plays a significant role in reducing firm risk. The findings of this study assert that by institutionalizing risk management practices into an integrated CRM framework, the firm can reap multiple benefits by maintaining better contractual agreements and strategic partnerships with key stakeholders.

The study shifts the focus of CRM away from Western countries toward AEMs, which has been afflicted by high risks and uncertainties. The effectiveness of CRM against firm risk is established by dividing firm risk into firm-specific risk and systematic risk. Furthermore, this study also establishes that CRM not only leads to high returns but also reduces firm operational and production costs. Overall, the study provides a compelling argument to implement CRM for improving organizational performance and managing risks in a strategic and integrated manner. The findings are also relevant to risk management practitioners, as well as to academicians interested in the broader fields of corporate finance and strategy.

Recent advances in 3D printing construction elements have focused on ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete using polymeric binders; herein, this study aims to produce the same using pure water.

A binder jet printer prototype was used to fabricate specimens that are used to assess geometric and mechanical properties. Two distinct water-based binder formulations, compatible with OPC chemistry and piezoelectric jetting device, were used: pure water and water-polyvinyl alcohol (98:2 w/w) solution.

This study examines the effect of binder flow rate on dimensional accuracy. Furthermore, the changes in the mechanical properties over time with hydration have been investigated.

Results indicate that the increase in mechanical strength of Portland cement concrete with pure water was consistent; however, it was delayed by the water: PVA (98:2 w/w) solution. Post-curing by water vapor hardened the structure with the removal of layering native to 3DP and decreased infilling porosity by diffusion mechanism.

This paper has used pure water jetting for BJT of Portland cement-containing bodies.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how corporate cash holdings changes across firm life cycle and how firms undergo heterogeneous dynamic cash adjustment as they advance from one stage to the next stage.

This study uses an extensive data set of 2,994 Chinese A-listed firms. The authors use generalized method of moments (GMM) and Fisher Panel unit root testing to investigate the targeting behavior of Chinese firms.

The uni-variate investigation reveals that firms in the growth stage exhibits the highest cash levels and firms in the decline stage report the lowest cash levels. As growth firms have high investment needs, they may require raising external capital to meet investment needs. To avoid the costly external financing, firms in growth stage tend to hold more cash. The GMM estimation reveals that along all the phases of firm life cycle there are evidences of trade-off behavior of corporate cash holdings. The authors report that adjustment rate increases as firms enters into the growth stage.

The findings provide both theoretical and practical insight to align cash policies with the available strategic choices along firm life cycle in an emerging market characterized by market imperfections.

The study is unique from the context that it is applying robust methodology to one of rarely investigated area in corporate cash policy. The peculiar Chinese study setting characterized by higher information asymmetry, high cost of external financing and heterogeneous access to financing sources provide theoretical and empirical underpinnings to investigate and gain insight about how corporate cash policy can be aligned with strategic choices available across different stages of life cycle.