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The e-Government has a potential to entrench Good Governance in Pakistan. However, this technology could not be successfully developed and implemented in public sector – despite of efforts made by the Government. Consequently, public sector is suffering from bad Governance, which ultimately affects the Governance as well as e-Government ranking of Pakistan in the globe – as indicated by the UN surveys and other relevant indices. This paper aims to propose a novel techno-policy framework for its successful implementation by considering all relevant critical success factors (CSFs) and determining their relative importance from policymakers’ perspective. Further, it aims to excerpt the root causes of e-Government failure in Pakistan and to derive valuable policy implications for its success in the public sector.

The techno-policy framework was developed by identifying all the CSFs and assimilating them by deploying the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach. The survey instrument was designed to compare all the CSFs on the basis of AHP scale and to collect the socio-demographic data. An interview based survey of all the concerned stakeholders was conducted to know their perspective about the proposed framework and to determine their relative importance about all the CSFs. Finally, the empirical estimations were performed by using the Expert-Choice decision-making system.

The analysis of empirical results depicts that among CSFs’ main-categories – Governance is the most important; whereas, the Management and Resources are relatively more important; however, the Socio-Economics is relatively less important for the e-Government success in Pakistan. Further, among CSFs’ sub-categories – Political, Managerial, Legislative, Non-Technical, and Technical are relatively more important than Social, Economic, and Scope for the e-Government success in Pakistan. Lastly, among all CSFs – Political Stability, Managerial Strategy, ICT Policies, Funding, Portal Technology, Education & Skills, Cost, and Autonomy are the most important factors of their respective categories, and which can positively affect the e-Government success in Pakistan.

This study fills the gap caused by paucity of literature in terms of empirical based techno-policy research in the e-Government domain – from implementation perspective. Further, it serves as a prototype for the prospective researchers, who aim to conduct policy oriented research toward e-Government development in their respective regions.

The key findings, policy implications & recommendations of this study are quite valuable and of practical significance for the government, policymakers, practitioners, researchers and all the concerned stakeholders and beneficiaries. Further, this study paves a way forward toward entrenching the Good Governance in Pakistan.

This study contributes in several ways. It highlights the significance of e-Government as a technology for attaining Good Governance in Pakistan. Further, it presents consolidated view of all the concerned stakeholders toward the successful implementation of all e-Government programs in Pakistan. Finally, it provides a guideline for the government agencies to formulate their e-Government policy and strategy as per the needs of all stakeholders in Pakistan.

This paper aims to construct an assessment framework to establish a maturity model for Web Electronic Services offered at a local government level and investigate the maturity of Greek municipalities in the E-Government field, trying to correlate how this is affected by demographic variables.

An original assessment framework regarding municipal Electronic Services was created based on the literature review. The assessment framework was included in a methodological approach supported by the PROMETHEE II method, as well as by selected statistical methods. The framework and the methodological approach were applied in the case of Greek municipalities.

The analysis revealed the low maturity level of Greek municipalities in Electronic Services sector. The Greek case study indicated that the proposed framework and methodological approach could provide useful insights to municipalities for the improvement of its E-Government Web services based on their strategic preferences.

The assessment took place only in Greece, assessing all the country's municipalities and conducting research only in the municipalities’ websites. The proposed methodology suggests that the PROMETHEE II multi-criteria decision analysis method can support the assessment of the maturity level of local government entities. Moreover, the combination of the PROMETHEE II–empowered assessment framework with demographic statistical analysis can assist orthological decision-making concerning future investments in Web Electronic Services. The methodology could be a good option for future research efforts (assessments) in municipalities, in Greece and worldwide.

The framework is both easy to use and fairly complete. The fact that the assessment was conducted in all the Greek municipalities makes it much more reliable, as it provides the whole picture. The suggested methodology which includes the proposed framework could be used in the cases of municipalities in other countries to assist future actions concerning the investment in Web Electronic Services.

This study provided a medium-size framework, being both complete and easy to use during the evaluation process of all the municipalities in Greece. In addition, the statistical analysis received data from a decision-making tool to execute the clustering (Cluster analysis is usually performed based on the raw data).

The purpose of this paper is to unveil negative outcomes associated with an absence of guanxi in a buyer–supplier relationship in Chinese logistics industry.

This study uses a case study methodology using 16 semi-structured interviews with managers engaged in the process of buying and selling logistics services in China.

Based on the qualitative interviews, managers experience lack of trust, lack of communication flow and reduced business volume when guanxi is absent in a buyer–supplier relationship in the Chinese logistics industry.

This study has some limitations. First, the results of this study are not generalizable to a broader population. Second, this study explores behavioral patterns with respect to Chinese business culture only.

Firms can use the findings from this study to understand the consequence they can face when guanxi is absent in a buyer–supplier relationship.

This study attempts to offer a balanced perspective on the role of guanxi in a buyer–supplier relationship, particularly in the Chinese logistics industry, by considering how an absence of guanxi generates negative outcomes for firms.

This study aims to systematically assess and map the evolution, themes and trends within Islamic marketing research, with a focus on identifying areas of high growth potential and guiding future research directions.

Using a bibliometric analysis and advanced structured topic modeling (STM) techniques, this research analyzes Islamic marketing studies published between 2000 and 2024. The comprehensive database search, centered on Scopus-listed publications, provides a macroscopic view of the field’s development over the past two decades.

This study reveals significant insights into the field of Islamic marketing, including the identification of key research themes, the growth in literature and geographical hotspots of scholarly activity. Emerging trends suggest a growing focus on consumer behavior, brand loyalty, Halal certification and ethical marketing practices.

This research is limited by its reliance on the Scopus database for source materials, and by focusing primarily on English-language publications. These constraints may have excluded relevant research in other languages or published in nonindexed formats.

This study offers valuable insights for marketers, businesses and policymakers aiming to engage the Islamic market. Understanding the dynamics of Islamic marketing can help in developing strategies that align with Muslim consumers’ values and preferences.

This research contributes to the Islamic marketing literature by using bibliometric analysis and STM, offering a unique, comprehensive overview of the field’s evolution, trends and future directions. It underscores the importance and growth of Islamic marketing as an independent academic discipline.

This paper explores the strategies adopted by purchasing firms to streamline relationships with suppliers amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

This study employed a multiple case study method and conducted 42 semi-structured interviews with procurement managers from six firms in the United Arab Emirates.

This study reveals six helpful strategies that purchasing firms can undertake to streamline supplier relationship management (SRM) in the wake of COVID-19. Precisely, purchasing firms are revising supply chain costs, planning orders in advance, sharing critical information with suppliers, planning major contingencies, developing a robust relationship with suppliers (e.g. partnership) and finally, improving the supplier's visibility.

This study comes with certain limitations. First, the results are based on a limited number of 42 interviewees. Hence, the study’s results cannot be generalized to a broader population. Second, the data were collected based on the cause and effect relationship.

The findings of this study can help purchasing firms learn and use new appropriate strategies to manage the relationship with their suppliers in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

This study contributes to SRM literature by unveiling six distinct strategies (such as revising supply chain costs, planning orders in advance, sharing critical information, etc.) that purchasing firms have employed to develop a robust and healthy working relationship with the suppliers in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how knowledge hiding affects buyer-supplier relationship performance in the supply chain.

This study uses a multiple case study methodology. Overall, 26 semi-structured interviews (13 dyadic interviews) with managers of buying and supplying firms (who have been a victim of knowledge hiding) were undertaken.

Based on comprehensive data analysis, results reveal seven factors that adversely affect buyer-supplier relationship performance (lack of trust, lack of cooperation and lack of commitment). In addition, results reveal that such factors reduced the firm’s business performance in terms of low-quality products, increased lead time and higher costs.

This study has some limitations. First, the results of this study are not generalizable to a broader population. Second, this study explores behavioral patterns with respect to United Arab Emirates culture only.

Firms can use the findings from this study to understand how knowledge hiding in a buyer-supplier relationship adversely affects a buyer-supplier relationship performance.

A considerable weakness in buyer-supplier relationship literature is a need for a study examining how knowledge hiding harms buyer-supplier relationship performance in the supply chain. This paper addresses this gap.

Despite the efforts of project managers and the widespread use of project management methodologies, most of the projects remain unfulfilling in terms of delivering targeted performance. This for most part can be attributed to the inability of an organization to implement control mechanisms and ineffective management of complexity risk. Keeping in view the aforementioned problem, the objective of this study is to investigate the association between control modes and project performance. Moreover, this study also examines the moderating role of complexity risk on the association among various control modes and project performance.

The data were collected from 171 construction projects through a postal questionnaire survey. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was utilized for testing the hypothesized relationships of the research model.

This study found significant positive relation between formal and informal control mechanisms and project performance. It is found that complexity risk significantly moderates the relationship between control modes and project performance. The results indicate that complexity risk positively moderates the relationship between outcome control and clan control with project performance. Furthermore, complexity risks negatively moderates the relationship between behavior control and project performance. However, the association between self-control and project performance is found insignificant in the presence of complexity risk.

This study is the first attempt to study the relationship of control mechanisms, complexity risk and project performance in the construction industry.

This paper explores the potential opportunities and challenges that Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) may bring for resilient supply chains.

This study employs multiple case study methodology by considering five south Asian countries. Overall, 36 semi-structured interviews with supply chain managers from three supplying firms, two transportation centers and four buying firms are undertaken. Three supplying firms were based in Pakistan, providing cement and steel products. Simultaneously, two transportation centers were located in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, mainly engaged in cargo and freight handling. Finally, the buying firms were located in Mainland China and India, mainly constructing road and rail networks.

Our findings reveal both challenges and opportunities for supply chain resilience within the context of BRI. In particular, findings suggest that BRI can improve quality infrastructure, greater connectivity for logistics firms and enhance consumer markets. Conversely, BRI also poses challenges to supply chain resilience in managing large-scale logistics infrastructure and the potential conflicts between countries participating in BRI.

As this study attempts to build a theory, its result should not be generalized to a broader population. Second, this study only explores BRI's implications for resilient supply chains within five South Asian countries.

Firms can use our study results to understand BRI’s implications for resilient supply chains. Particularly, it presents firms with the potential opportunities and challenges that BRI brings for resilient supply chains.

BRI has been the subject of much research in domains like political science, economics and law but its application to the supply chain resilience is rather scant. Our study, therefore, contributes to the emergent literature on supply chain resilience within the context of BRI by exploring its potential opportunities and challenges.

This paper aims to explore the role of personal relationships (friendships) in mitigating knowledge hiding behaviour between managers.

This study uses a phenomenological methodology by studying seven UAE-based firms. Furthermore, 30 semi-structured (15 dyadic) interviews with senior managers are undertaken. The senior managers were chosen from multiple industries including plastic, frozen food, logistics, etc.

Based on 30 semi-structured interviews and comprehensive data analysis, results reveal that the development of personal relationships between managers results in higher interpersonal trust, mutual loyalty, higher cooperation, strong mutual goals and cultivation of reciprocity. The result further states that these factors diminish knowledge hiding behaviour between them.

This study has some limitations. First, this study explores behavioural patterns concerning the United Arab Emirates culture only. Second, the results presented in this study should be quantitatively tested to demonstrate their generalizability.

Firms can use this study’s findings to understand how and why personal relationships between managers within firms diminish knowledge hiding behaviour.

There is a dire need for research exploring how knowledge hiding can be mitigated in firms. This paper addresses this gap by exploring the role of personal relationships in the knowledge hiding literature.

The novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which started in late December 2019, has spread to more than 200 countries. As no vaccine is yet available for this pandemic, government and health agencies are taking draconian steps to contain it. This pandemic is also trending on social media, particularly on Twitter. The purpose of this study is to explore and analyze the general public reactions to the COVID-19 outbreak on Twitter.

This study conducts a thematic analysis of COVID-19 tweets through VOSviewer to examine people’s reactions related to the COVID-19 outbreak in the world. Moreover, sequential pattern mining (SPM) techniques are used to find frequent words/patterns and their relationship in tweets.

Seven clusters (themes) were found through VOSviewer: Cluster 1 (green): public sentiments about COVID-19 in the USA. Cluster 2 (red): public sentiments about COVID-19 in Italy and Iran and a vaccine, Cluster 3 (purple): public sentiments about doomsday and science credibility. Cluster 4 (blue): public sentiments about COVID-19 in India. Cluster 5 (yellow): public sentiments about COVID-19’s emergence. Cluster 6 (light blue): public sentiments about COVID-19 in the Philippines. Cluster 7 (orange): Public sentiments about COVID-19 US Intelligence Report. The most frequent words/patterns discovered with SPM were “COVID-19,” “Coronavirus,” “Chinese virus” and the most frequent and high confidence sequential rules were related to “Coronavirus, testing, lockdown, China and Wuhan.”

The methodology can be used to analyze the opinions/thoughts of the general public on Twitter and to categorize them accordingly. Moreover, the categories (generated by VOSviewer) can be correlated with the results obtained with pattern mining techniques.

This study has a significant socio-economic impact as Twitter offers content posting and sharing to billions of users worldwide.

According to the authors’ best knowledge, this may be the first study to carry out a thematic analysis of COVID-19 tweets at a glance and mining the tweets with SPM to investigate how people reacted to the COVID-19 outbreak on Twitter.