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The study examines the influence of quality management practices (QMP) on project performance (PP) and the indirect association of QMP with PP through the mediating role of intellectual capital (IC). QMP may be one of the most successful strategies to improve project performance. Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) and institutional theory, the study examines the impact of QMP on PP through the mediating role of IC.

The sample frame of 329 employees in different NGOs and public healthcare organizations was selected. Data were analyzed on SmartPLS 3.2.7 by applying SEM.

The outcome reveals that QMP has a significant impact on PP. The results found partial mediation of IC on the linkage between QMP and PP.

The key research limitation was that it examined only two antecedents (QMP and IC) of project performance based on RBV and institutional theory, which did not yield deep insights from other institutional forces that could influence the model, such as mimetic pressure, institutional pressure and business orientation.

QMP is highly significant in the healthcare sector; however, research on the relationship between QMP, IC and PP is lacking. Thus, this research is an initial attempt to investigate these relationships empirically. We add to our understanding of RBV by investigating the role of IC in mediating the QMP-PP linkage.

In this paper, I argue that English could be of more relevance to the Arabian Gulf if we conceptualized it as an educational forum for familiarizing students with socio-linguistic conventions relating to a wide variety of text types and for sharpening their critical awareness of the political implications of the uses of English. I make my case against the backdrop of a particular local context in the Arabian Gulf: the current BA programme in English at the College of Arts and Social Science, Sultan Qaboos University, the Sultanate of Oman. I maintain that the programme is predicated upon conceiving of English as a field (or rather fields) of knowledge, as academic disciplines of English literature, linguistics and translation, each with its own sets of concepts and frames of reference. As such, the programme both falls short of being fully theoretically coherent and fails to take into account the recent educational developments in Oman. Drawing upon the theoretical construct of discourse, I propose an outline of an alternative BA programme in English that revolves around the uses of English and their political implications.

The purpose of this paper is to warrant the success of applying information and communications technology (ICT) in e‐government projects, particularly in developing countries, through risk management and modeling of multi‐decision situation. This analytical approach would lead to effective and efficient management of e‐government projects.

Risk management showed that other than information security risk, failures are common in e‐Government projects due to other factors particularly in most parts of developing countries. The problem is a complex multidimensional situation, since project mangers are usually faced with critical diverse decisions and alternatives from which to choose. Employing the multivariate technique of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) allowed decision makers to implement the most important and efficient actions for successful e‐Government projects.

The difficulty of e‐government projects is further complicated due to its compound multi‐attribute environment, considerable economic loss, and mal‐distribution of causes of failure. Using the AHP approach, e‐government case study revealed that – for e‐government success – the decision maker should tackle the highest influence of ICT skill issue because it is of more value than other alternatives: specifically twice, three times, and eight times more than, respectively, culture, leadership, and technology.

This case study can provide an understanding into the risks and multi‐decision problem of e‐government projects success. Rather than disastrous subjective decisions, a systematic approach using AHP offered decision makers a rational answer to what are the highest priority obstacles to tackle to safe guard against failure of e‐government projects.

The post-COVID-19 scenario has presented significant learning challenges for university students worldwide. The swift shift from face-to-face to online classes posed greater difficulties because students were not mentally, financially, or physically prepared for this change, nor were they provided with adequate training to operate the learning management system (LMS). Online learning necessitates a school-like environment at home, which is challenging for students to replicate. This study aimed to determine the effect of online learning on students’ academic achievement and to explore the challenges they faced in adapting to this new mode of learning. A quantitative research approach was employed, gathering primary data from 230 respondents in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad. This was done using a validated closed-ended questionnaire featuring a five-point Likert scale. The collected data underwent analysis via the Friedman test using SPSS 20v. The results revealed that online learning negatively impacted students’ academic achievement due to factors such as lack of internet accessibility, decreased motivation towards academics, low satisfaction levels, and difficulties in understanding academic concepts, particularly in the natural sciences. The study recommends a focus on implementing new teaching methods such as reciprocal teaching, digitalizing classrooms, offering remedial classes, and enhancing student motivation through teacher engagement.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven marketing has transformed the landscape of consumer interactions, but it also raises ethical concerns regarding perceived manipulation and subsequent unethical young consumer behavior. This study aims to investigate the direct and indirect effects of AI-driven marketing on unethical young consumer behavior, with digital literacy as a moderating variable. The authors introduce and conceptualize a digital literacy construct that influences how young consumers perceive and react to manipulative AI-driven marketing tactics.

Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM), this research explores how digital literacy influences the reception of AI-driven marketing and moderates the effects of perceived manipulative tactics. This study adopts a three-wave, time-lagged survey method among young consumers in urban Pakistan, integrating measures of AI-driven marketing techniques, perceived manipulation, digital literacy and unethical consumer behavior.

The results reveal that perceived manipulation mediates the relationship between AI-driven marketing and unethical young consumer behavior. Digital literacy significantly moderates this effect, indicating that higher digital literacy levels can mitigate the negative impacts of perceived manipulation. Conversely, lower digital literacy amplifies the negative impacts of perceived manipulation.

The findings underscore the need for marketers to foster transparency and ethical practices in AI-driven strategies. Enhancing consumer digital literacy can serve as a protective factor against unethical marketing practices.

This study contributes to the understanding of digital literacy’s protective role against unethical AI-driven marketing practices. It extends existing models of persuasion and consumer response by demonstrating how digital literacy reshapes traditional consumer response frameworks in the context of AI-driven environments.

The intense competition among restaurant brands made it difficult to retain and engage customers. Service innovation can play a vital role to serve this purpose, however, restaurant brands' efforts to bringing innovativeness may not yield desired results unless customers perceive them innovative. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the role of customer perceived innovativeness (CPRI) in enhancing brand love and evangelism among customers. This study compares these effects between fast-food and continental restaurants to offer deeper insights.

Data were collected from 303 customers of fast-food and continental restaurants through self-administered structured questionnaire. The reliability and validity were established through confirmatory factor analysis. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and multi-group SEM with MPlus.

The findings of this study reveal that menu, experiential and promotional innovativeness dimensions of CPRI positively influence brand love. The effects of CPRI dimensions transcend to brand evangelism dimensions, i.e. brand purchase intension, positive brand referrals and oppositional brand referrals via brand love. The multi-group analysis showed that continental restaurants' menu innovativeness strongly impacts brand love and evangelism while promotional innovativeness matters more in the context of fast-food restaurants.

This study helps restaurant managers in devising tailor made strategies for fast-food and continental restaurants by focusing on the relevant attributes to bring innovation.

This research is one of the pioneering studies to investigate the relationship of CPRI with brand evangelism through the mediating role of brand love. This study also marks an initial attempt to compare fast-food and continental restaurants in the context of CPRI.

The study aims to analyze the role of coronavirus testing capacity to possibly reduce the case fatality ratio (CFR) in a large cross-section of countries. The study controlled health-care expenditures, logistics performance index (LPI), carbon damages, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) to understand the nature of causation between the CFR and stated factors.

The study used a cross-sectional regression apparatus for coefficient estimates and variance decomposition analysis (VDA) for forecasting relationships between the variables over time.

The results confirmed the W-shaped relationship between CFR and case-to-test ratio (CTR) in the presence of a LPI that exacerbates the CFR cases across countries. The VDA estimates suggest that carbon damages, logistics activities, and CSR are likely to influence CFR over time.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study is believed to be the first study that assesses the W-shaped relationship between the CFR and CTR in the presence of dynamic variables, which helps to formulate long-term sustainable health-care policies worldwide.

Drawing on service-dominant logic and co-creation literature, this study explores how social media marketing activities (SMMAs) in online healthcare communities (OHCs) impact patients’ electronic word of mouth (E-WOM). Additionally, it aims to understand how patients’ E-WOM contributes to participation in value co-creation (PVCC) during the healthcare journey and influences patient well-being. This study also investigates the mediating role of patients’ E-WOM in bridging the relationship between the dimensions of SMMAs and patient PVCC dimensions.

Data were collected from 601 healthcare customers through a structured survey. Hypotheses were tested using partial least structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0.

Results demonstrate that interactivity and trendiness dimensions of SMMAs positively impact patients’ E-WOM communication. Patients’ E-WOM communication enhances their PVCC by influencing information seeking, information sharing, personal interaction and responsible behavior dimensions. Information seeking, personal interaction and responsible behavior in patient-provider interactions during the healthcare journey augment patients’ well-being, such as satisfying patients’ overall healthcare needs, ensuring mental peace and physical comfort and guaranteeing quality of life. Additionally, patients’ E-WOM mediates the relationship between SMMAs dimensions, such as interactivity and trendiness, with each dimension of patient PVCC.

This study extends the service-dominant logic and enriches the literature on healthcare service co-creation. It explores how SMMAs can enhance patient PVCC through E-WOM and improve patient well-being. Additionally, it provides valuable insights for social media marketing managers, healthcare professionals and marketing strategists.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of real earnings management by private and public firms in a unique institutional setting, which is the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The paper also compares the level of real earnings management between public and private firms in the GCC area.

The GCC area is a unique setting to investigate the use of real earnings management because of the low enforcement of reporting standards and supervisory rules, lack of sophisticated financial analysis, specialized media tools and high concentration of capital ownership. The authors use different models of real earnings management proposed by Roychowdhury, 2006, cash flow management, productions cost management and discretionary expenses management to examine the use of real earnings management.

The paper documents evidence consistent with private and public firms using real earnings management to influence their earnings figures. The paper also shows that the level of real earnings management is higher for private firms compared to public firms when cash flow management and discretionary expenses management models are used. The production cost model results show evidence consistent with public firms only engaging in real earnings management through production cost reduction.

The results of this study might not be applicable to other emerging markets.

The findings of this study should promote a general understanding of firms’ behavior in unique environment such as GCC countries. Regulators in the GCC region should be aware that real earnings management techniques have been used by firms and that extra caution is required when auditing or analyzing the financial information of private and public firms in the GCC market.

This paper contributes to the literature in many aspects. First, it provides additional evidence on the use of earnings management in unique market contexts outside the USA and Europe. The GCC markets share many common characteristics that make them interesting settings to be investigated. Second, this paper adds more evidence on the use of earnings management between public and private firms. In this regard, the paper adds additional evidence in the discussions proposed by Ball and Shivakumar (2005) and Givoly et al. (2010) who use two competing perspectives to investigate earnings quality in public and private firms: the demand hypothesis and the opportunistic behavior hypothesis.