Search results

The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of success of elite athletes by applying the concept of career success to a sporting context. The concept of career success includes extrinsic (i.e. tangible) career accomplishments like medals as well as intrinsic factors referring to subjective judgements about career attainments. Thereby, a holistic perspective is taken which has not been studied extensively before.

Based on previous literature, a theoretical model was derived outlining how human capital, motivation, organisational characteristics and socio-demographics affect both intrinsic and extrinsic career success. To measure the impact of these factors, primary (n=1,249) and secondary data of elite athletes were collected. Regression analyses indicated that all factors included in the theoretical model were associated with extrinsic and intrinsic success.

Institutional support was an important driver for intrinsic career success while financial support affected extrinsic career success. There was no significant influence of extrinsic career success on intrinsic career success.

These findings imply that policy makers should offer enhanced dual career options, such as mentoring programmes, aspects like sport-psychological support and nutrition counselling, and long-term, stable financial support for athletes to maximise career success.

This paper applies the construct of career success to sports. A focus on the athletes’ intrinsic career success is placed as this area has been neglected in past research.

This paper aims to present a case study outlining the importance of getting a grip on the regulatory realities of cross-border mergers.

The paper examines the help that Ius Laboris, a specialist international human resources (HR) law firm alliance, was able to give in the merger of a major multinational fashion company based in Italy and a French firm.

The paper charts the way in which the law firm’s experts, with their detailed local knowledge, were able to help in ensuring that the merger went ahead smoothly.

The paper reveals that all the processes carried out across the world were under the control of a restricted number of people in Italy, near the headquarters of the company. Local branches, often with no administrative back-up, were not required to search for local consultants and lawyers.

The paper highlights some of the legal complications of cross-border mergers and ways in which to overcome them.

Reveals how important it is for HR to be aware of the cross-border vision and to have ready access to legal and regulatory expertise that can be relied upon whenever required.

This study aims to evaluate and investigate the existing process of establishing a banking relationship with politically exposed persons.

This study used qualitative techniques of semi-structured interviews with senior compliance officers of financial institutes in Pakistan.

This study found that the existing mechanism of identification and verification of politically exposed persons (PEPs) is ineffective. Financial institutes face challenges like the quality of name screening data sets, cost of identification and verification, role and control of the regulator, the influence of politically exposed persons, the opaqueness of laws and international connections of the politically exposed persons. Further, financial Institutes are burdened by regulators to perform robust PEP customer due diligence but do not guide and provide the right tools.

This paper aims to find challenges faced by financial institutes before onboarding the PEPs. Further, very limited studies on this topic have been conducted in Pakistani context.

This study aims to investigates the challenges faced by Pakistani financial institutes (FIs) and regulators in implementing robust customer due diligence measures.

The study adopted a qualitative technique. Twenty-five semi-structured interviews with chief compliance officers and regulators were conducted.

The study concluded that the main challenges are name screening, obsolete nature and quality of databases and undocumented, unregistered and unregulated portions of the economy and society. In addition, identification and verification of high-profile customers and beneficial owners, lack of specialised staff and cost of compliance are the significant challenges faced by FIs in Pakistan.

The Pakistani financial sector is less researched on anti-money laundering front, especially concerning customer due diligence. Further, the social, cultural and economic norms of the Indian sub-continent are more or less the same. Therefore, the study findings could be generalised to the region.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

The present research aims to understand the performance disclosure levels provided by Italian healthcare organisations (HCOs). The authors conducted this study to assess the transparency of HCOs' performance reporting processes by examining the amount and the type of information disclosed in Annual Performance Reports (APRs).

The present study uses a qualitative research methodology based on manual content analysis. The APRs of a sample of 171 Italian public HCOs were analysed.

Results evidence that the APRs provide a sufficient level of disclosure of performance information, putting high attention on the epidemiological conditions; however, the APRs do not present a strong information function for stakeholders' decision-making purposes. The Italian HCOs APRs are not easily understandable because the APRs are not very concise and present information mainly in discursive terms with limited graphic support.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first research investigating both the extent and type of performance information reported by Italian HCOs in the APRs, considering the particular contextual conditions caused by the most significant challenge the healthcare (HC) sector has faced in recent years: the epidemiological crisis of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The study also explores whether APRs are currently used by HCOs as a merely regulatory requirement or as an information tool for accountability and decision-making purposes.

This study aims to determine the applicability of the placement-layering-integration model of money laundering (ML) in the South Asian context with emphasis on Pakistan by analysing different ML typologies.

This study applied content analysis in the first step. It explored three primary documents concerning ML typologies: Asia Pacific Group’s yearly reports on ML typologies from 2010 to 2021, the mutual evaluation reports and the National Risk Assessment of Pakistan. In the second step, expert interviews were recorded, and NVivo was used for data management and analysis.

This study found primary predicate offences: corruption, tax crimes, smuggling and drug and human trafficking. Pakistani launderers often use traditional typologies, including cash smuggling, round-tripping, multiple bank accounts, investment in real estate (in Pakistan and Dubai) and hawala. However, cybercrimes, cyber laundering and trade-based ML are rising. The politically exposed persons are involved in most of the laundering cases.

Rare studies specifically address the south Asian typologies and the limitations of the placement, layering and integration model. Therefore, there is a need to understand the current typologies used in developing, less regulated and undocumented jurisdictions like Pakistan.

Examines the thirteenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

Housing finance is frequently difficult to provide in developing nations due to unstable macroeconomic conditions and a lack of supportive legal, technological and regulatory frameworks (Lea and Bernstein, 1996). Governments in these countries have, therefore, created a range of organizations and initiatives to improve the flow of capital to the housing market on a footing that is affordable to their populations given the household income levels (Ram and Needham, 2016). Housing, however, is by its very nature a significant investment requiring a considerable capital outlay at the onset (Dasgupta et al., 2014). This makes acquiring it challenging, particularly in underdeveloped nations where saving tendencies are quite low partly because of low-income levels (Keller and Mukudi-Omwami, 2017). As a result, many developing nations struggle with severe housing issues that lead to slums, overcrowding and related health issues.

The theoretical model for analyzing housing finance in Kenya in this study incorporates both demand and supply aspects, drawing from Brueckner’s (1994) framework. This model divides factors influencing demand into certainty and uncertainty conditions faced by households. In terms of certainty, the model considers factors that households can predict reliably. First is income, households are assumed to have stable income, allowing accurate assessment of budget constraints and mortgage decisions. Second is interest rates. While interest rates fluctuate, the model assumes that households have information about current rates, enabling informed decision-making. Finally, existing housing costs, such as rent or mortgage payments, are treated as fixed and predictable, facilitating accurate budget planning. Conversely, uncertainty factors include future income, future interest rates and housing prices. Households face uncertainty regarding future income, which can impact their mortgage repayment ability due to job market changes or unforeseen events. The model does not predict future interest rate changes, which can affect the affordability of mortgages. Furthermore, future fluctuations in housing prices add uncertainty to the benefits of homeownership and mortgage debt. Due to these uncertainties, the model in this study assumes certainty conditions, focusing on households maximizing their utility. In Brueckner’s model, a utility function captures household preferences and well-being linked to consumption choices, specifically between housing (H) and nonhousing goods (N). The utility function helps determine optimal income allocation, influenced by income (M), prices (P) and return on savings (t). The utility maximization problem involves selecting optimal amounts of housing and nonhousing consumption while managing housing credit (C).

The study confirms a significant long-run relationship between house finance and several macroeconomic variables, including interest rates on credit, inflation, unemployment and gross domestic product (GDP). The negative and significant error correction term indicates the presence of an equilibrium relationship, suggesting that the housing finance market in Kenya self-corrects swiftly in response to economic shocks. This efficiency could be attributed to increasing competition among financial institutions or a growing public awareness of housing finance options, implying a relatively well-developed market. Such responsiveness suggests that government policies aimed at influencing housing finance might have a quicker impact. For instance, introducing subsidies to reduce credit rates could rapidly boost housing finance activity (World Bank, 2019). However, the flip side of a fast-adjusting market is potential volatility, where rapid swings in economic factors could lead to significant fluctuations in housing finance availability, posing risks for both lenders and borrowers (Braun et al., 2022). Moreover, a rapid adjustment might not necessarily reflect a perfectly healthy market; it could indicate underlying issues like speculation or easy access to credit, potentially leading to bubbles or financial instability (Agnello et al., 2020).

This study reveals key insights into the determinants of housing finance in Kenya, demonstrating a significant long-run relationship between housing finance and economic variables such as interest rates, inflation, unemployment and GDP. The efficient adjustment of the housing finance market to economic changes suggests that government policies can rapidly influence housing finance, although this responsiveness also implies potential volatility and risks, including financial instability. Policymakers should, therefore, focus on maintaining macroeconomic stability and monitoring the housing market for signs of overheating. Encouraging competition among lenders and diversifying housing finance products can help ensure sustainable market adjustments. Credit interest rates show a modest but positive relationship with housing finance, suggesting that a stable lending environment could stimulate activity. Policymakers should manage credit availability to prevent excessive expansion and instability, enhancing financial inclusion and fostering competition in the banking sector. Inflation positively impacts housing finance, with rising inflation driving demand for real assets like housing. However, significant interest rate hikes by the Central Bank to combat inflation could reduce mortgage affordability. A flexible interest rate policy, along with targeted interventions like subsidized rates for first-time buyers, is necessary to balance market stimulation with inflation control. Unemployment’s negative impact on housing finance underscores the need for robust unemployment benefits and job training initiatives to support financial stability during job losses. Targeted housing finance programs for low- and middle-income earners can also improve mortgage accessibility. The positive correlation between GDP growth and housing finance indicates that economic expansion drives housing demand. Policymakers should prioritize initiatives that promote long-term economic growth, such as infrastructure development and innovation. Finally, the insignificance of savings interest rates in influencing housing finance suggests that traditional monetary policy may have limited effects. Promoting financial literacy and developing tailored savings instruments could strengthen the connection between savings and housing finance over time.