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In the last decade, female students' enrolment in higher education has experienced significant growth. However, male and female students still differ in criteria set of choosing higher education institutions. While several studies have been disentangled in developed countries in analyzing gender differences in pursuing higher education, a similar area of studies conducted in developing countries is scarce. The purpose of this study is to examine gender differences and the factors that influence first-year students' choice of higher education in a developing country.

The study involved 575 students who were either enrolled in an undergraduate or foundation program of an international branch campus. We tested the hypotheses using partial least squares multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA).

Our results revealed that graduate employability, information sources, program characteristics, institution characteristics and campus safety were influential factors affecting the students' institutional choice. The MGA results also indicated that gender differences exist in selecting higher education institutions. Male students are more strongly influenced by information sources such as family, friends, media compared with female students.

Very few international branch campus choice studies explore gender differences in developing countries. This study enriches the current literature of institutional choice through the lens of an Asian developing country and extends the discourse regarding the role of gender in influencing students' institutional choice, of which they are commonly overlooked in most literature. The study has significant implications for student recruitment managers in higher education institution to develop marketing strategies targeting to potential male and female students.

In recent years, hybrid work has become a new working model. Using the job demands-resources, the conservation of resources and social role theories, we investigate gender disparities in the impact of social support at work and perceived organisational support on shaping various aspects of the hybrid work experience. We further explore whether compassionate leadership is effective in generating these forms of support.

Our study is based on data collected from 310 Singaporean white-collar professionals through a two-wave method and analysed using PLS-SEM.

The results reveal that while compassionate leadership is essential in today's hybrid work environment, men and women perceive differences in the effectiveness of support mechanisms on various dimensions of the hybrid work experience.

This research represents a pioneering effort in elucidating the potential of compassionate leadership in fostering various resources within organisations. Compassionate leadership, characterised by empathy, care and concern for employees, is shown to be instrumental in generating additional forms of resources beyond the conventional metrics. These additional resources may include emotional support, trust and a sense of belonging among employees, which are crucial for their well-being and performance. Overall, this research contributes to the growing body of literature on leadership and organisational behaviour by shedding light on the significance of compassion in leadership and the intricate dynamics of hybrid work arrangements. It underscores the importance of fostering a supportive and empathetic leadership style to navigate the challenges of contemporary work structures effectively.

This study investigates the factors influencing the saving behaviour of Chinese Generation Z (Gen Z) through Internet wealth management (IWM) services. It adopts the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as the theoretical framework, focusing on key determinants such as performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI) and facilitating conditions (FC). The research also explores the mediating role of the intention to save via IWM and its subsequent influence on actual saving behaviour.

The hypotheses were assessed using data collected from 274 Gen Z users in China. The data were analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The results suggest that the formation of intention among Gen Z to save through IWM services is directly affected by factors such as PE, EE, SI and FC. Intention to save via IWM positively influences actual saving behaviour. Mediation analysis further confirms the mediating role of intention to save via IWM in these relationships.

The findings have direct implications for financial institutions and policymakers engaged in promoting the practice of saving via IWM services among Gen Z, thereby fostering a culture of proactive financial management and encouraging saving behaviour.

The study contributes to the existing literature by being among the first to examine Gen Z’s IWM adoption as a personal saving tool through the theoretical lens of the UTAUT.

Leveraging the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) theory, this paper aims to investigate how the utilitarian and hedonic factors in virtual reality (VR) technologies affect consumers' intention to travel in the endemic phase of COVID-19. At the same time, the study incorporated emotional engagement and two forms of trust as possible organisms for this model.

Through snowball sampling, data collected from 263 respondents were analysed using the partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The findings revealed that among the different forms of hedonic and utilitarian factors, all but perceived entertainment has a significant positive relationship to emotional engagement. Additionally, emotional engagement positively influences trust in the product and seller. However, the results show that only trust in the seller has a significant relationship with travelling intention. Predictive analysis shows that the model displays a strong predictive power.

This study differentiates from the existing literature by investigating the effect of VR technologies on the two different forms of trust and emotional engagement on travelling intention. This study extends earlier studies by supplementing the explanatory perspective with a predictive focus, which is particularly important in making sound recommendations on managerial decision-making.

Companies allowing employees to self-report business expenses face the risk of expense fraud because some occasionally engage in dishonest behavior to receive reimbursements for their use. Drawing on the technology acceptance model, this study aims to investigate the effects of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived security on the trust in e-reimbursement systems and the relationship with honest disclosure intention.

A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 254 respondents, with the partial least squares structural equation modeling used to analyze the data.

The findings showed that perceived security and perceived usefulness explained trust in e-reimbursement systems, whereas perceived ease of use had no significant effect on it. Corporate governance and trust in e-reimbursement systems have a positive relationship with whistleblowing intention. At the same time, corporate governance mediates the relationship between trust in e-reimbursement systems and honest disclosure intention.

This study sheds light on using e-reimbursement systems within organizations to prevent fraudulent reimbursements and offers recommendations to management on enhancing employees’ intention to engage in honest disclosure behavior through e-reimbursement systems.

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased food delivery service demand, which generates massive amounts of solid waste, specifically plastic material. Therefore, this study aims to examine the determinants of consumers' intention to reuse food delivery containers (ITR) using the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). Moral obligation was included as an antecedent, while behavioral expectation (BE) ahead of behavioral intention was an immediate predictor of consumers' pro-environmental behaviors.

The hypotheses were tested on 348 food delivery service users in Malaysia and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings indicated that consumers' ITR is directly influenced by perceived behavioral control and attitude. Perceived behavioral control and attitude had a positive partial indirect effect on ITR through BE. Meanwhile, subjective norms and moral obligation had a positive full indirect effect on ITR through BE.

The findings can be directly applied to practical situations of food delivery companies and environmental protection organizations managing solid waste among food delivery services.

Understanding consumers' ITR could promote practical environmental sustainability. Practically, the study provides insights to the food delivery service industry, policymakers and relevant stakeholders to encourage consumer behavior change by reusing food delivery containers in line with Sustainable Development Goal 12.

The study enhances the existing literature by extending TPB with two psychological variables: moral obligation (independent variable) and BE (mediating variable). To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first attempt to empirically investigate BE in consumers' pro-environmental behavioral intention in a high-context culture and developing economy. This study could benefit food and beverage merchants, food delivery companies, governments, non-governmental organizations and pro-environmental behavior researchers in this industry.

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has increased the use of food delivery containers in the food and beverage industry. Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the aim of this paper is twofold: Firstly, it examines the influence of three elements of TPB (attitude, perceived behavioral control and subjective norm) and time pressure on the intention to reuse reusable food delivery containers (ITR). Secondly, it examines ITR as an antecedent to the willingness to pay more for reusable food delivery containers (WTPM).

Data were collected from 401 higher education institution (HEI) students and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The study found that the three elements of TPB influenced ITR. Furthermore, the results revealed that ITR directly influenced WTPM. Surprisingly, time pressure did not influence ITR.

The research is one of the earliest studies to investigate HEI students' intention to reuse food delivery containers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study contributes to TPB by presenting a novel, integrated model to explain the independent roles of time pressure and ITR on ITR and WTPM, respectively. Finally, it contributes to the existing body of knowledge on pro-environmental behavior among HEI students and advances methodologically by establishing the PLS-SEM approach.

Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, this study examines how live-streaming shopping influences purchase intentions in young consumers. The multigroup analysis is applied to understand the similarities and differences of factors that trigger purchase intentions among buyers and non-buyers in live-streaming shopping.

A snowball sampling was used to collect data from 507 Chinese consumers between June and September 2022 using Wenjuanxing, i.e., an online survey platform in China. The data was analyzed using the partial least squares method of structural equation modeling.

The findings revealed that amongst the three relational bonds, social and structural bonds were positively associated with trust, whereas financial bonds had no significant relationship with trust. This implies that while price discount might not have any significant relationship with trust, the social interactions that college students have with the live-streamers and their products build trust, which in turn translates to purchasing decisions. Comparing buyers and non-buyers, the results support that buyers have a higher level of trust in live-streaming shopping than non-buyers. This is indicative of the authentic and immersive experiences enjoyed by consumers in live streaming that generate structural bonds and foster stronger connections (relational bonds), thereby establishing trust.

This study is one of the first empirical studies targeting college students as participants in live streaming. These findings are expected to provide actionable insights to streamers especially in converting non-buyers to buyers in live-streaming broadcast.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic caused a severe economic downturn. Employees working in these organisations face employment uncertainty. The pandemic disrupted their daily routines, and it added a layer of complexity to the already resource-constrained environment. During these times, employees would conserve their resources to maintain competitiveness, one of which is knowledge hiding. While economic activities are resuming, the appearance of new variants could mean the transition towards endemicity could be put on hold. Hence, there is a need to rethink the behaviour of employees as they would have elevated levels of anxiety towards resuming daily work activities. Therefore, this study aims to address the question of understanding employees’ perspectives toward knowledge sharing and knowledge hiding.

Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, social learning theory and the social exchange theory (SET), a conceptual framework involving ethical leadership was developed to examine if knowledge hiding or knowledge sharing behaviour is a resource for employees during these times. The partial least squares method of structural equation modelling was used to analyse results from 271 white-collar employees from Singapore.

The results show that ethical leadership encourages knowledge sharing but does not reduce knowledge hiding. At the same time, knowledge hiding, not knowledge sharing, improves one’s perception of work performance. Additionally, psychological safety is the key construct that reduces knowledge hiding and encourages sharing behaviour.

Overall, this study extends the theories, demonstrating that, first and foremost, knowledge hiding is a form of resource that provides employees with an added advantage in work performance during the endemic. At the same time, we provide a new perspective that ethical leaders’ demonstration of integrity, honesty and altruism alone is insufficient to encourage knowledge sharing or reduce knowledge hiding. It must lead to a psychologically safe environment.