Mirza B. Murtaza, Vipul Gupta and Richard C. Carroll
E‐marketplaces are one of the relatively new trends that are affecting buyer‐supplier relationships. Although there have been several failures in the e‐business arena, whether it…
Abstract
E‐marketplaces are one of the relatively new trends that are affecting buyer‐supplier relationships. Although there have been several failures in the e‐business arena, whether it is business‐to‐business (B2B) or business‐to‐consumer (B2C) e‐commerce, there is no doubt that the Internet has changed the way that business is done in several ways. It has been shown that electronic commerce can fundamentally change the inter‐organizational processes involving buyer‐supplier relationships. It reshapes these buyer‐supplier relationships, improves a business's core processes, and helps reach new markets or segments through the electronic medium. This paper discusses the opportunities and challenges facing e‐marketplaces today, and also the concerns facing potential participants in these e‐marketplaces who are trying to weigh the risks presented by such participation and the possible benefits that can be reaped by streamlining supply chain processes. Some of the major concerns facing existing and potential buyers and suppliers that are discussed in this paper include integration issues, security issues and antitrust issues.
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Shoukat Ali, Ramiz ur Rehman, Shoaib Aslam, Ismail Khan and Ghulam Murtaza
This paper empirically investigates the impact of board diversity in terms of demographic and cognitive dimensions on financial distress likelihood in an emerging Chinese market…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper empirically investigates the impact of board diversity in terms of demographic and cognitive dimensions on financial distress likelihood in an emerging Chinese market to explore whether the Chief Executive Officers' (CEOs) power moderates the relationship between board diversity and the probability of financial distress.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypothesized relationships, demographic diversity through gender, age and nationality, and cognitive diversity through education, expertise and tenure, are taken as independent variables to investigate their impact on the probability of financial distress measured by the Altman China Z score. Data is collected for 13,740 firm-year observations from 2009 to 2018. This study employs panel data regression under fixed effect assumptions. Further, to control the possible endogeneity issue, this study uses a two-step System Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) model as a robust check.
Findings
The results reveal that board diversity is positively associated with financial distress Z score, suggesting that diverse boards are helpful in reducing the likelihood of financial distress. Moreover, CEO power positively moderates this relationship. It means that board diversity, in the presence of powerful CEOs, is more effective in reducing financial distress likelihood by controlling the wrong financial decisions taken by top executives to reap personal benefits. Further, the robustness model confirms the relationship between board diversity and the probability of financial distress.
Originality/value
To the best of researchers' knowledge, this is one of the earliest studies to investigate board diversity by constructing demographic and cognitive board diversity indexes as a determinant of financial distress likelihood in China. Further, researchers found no study in the literature using CEO power as a contextual variable on the relationship between board diversity and financial distress.
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Murtaza Masud Niazi, Zaleha Othman and Sitraselvi Chandren
Firm performance has become a thriving research field. However, a review of previous studies shows that the answers to several fundamental questions remain vague and require…
Abstract
Purpose
Firm performance has become a thriving research field. However, a review of previous studies shows that the answers to several fundamental questions remain vague and require further investigation. Thus, the purpose of this study is twofold. The first is to determine the extent of the involvement of political connections (PCs) in Pakistani-listed companies, and the second is to examine the association between PCs and firm financial performance with director efficacy’s moderating role.
Design/methodology/approach
A data set of 221 non-financial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange for 10 years (2008–2017) was analysed using panel-corrected standard error regression. Additionally, the authors address endogeneity issue by using Hackman two-stage estimation and lagged variables regression.
Findings
The study found that PCs negatively affected the firm’s financial performance, and director efficacy as a moderator strengthened this relationship. The result is consistent with the political economy theory that argues that an unstable political system and a weak judicial system will strongly affect investors and their rights.
Practical implications
The impact of political influence on the corporate sector remains a concern for policymakers, regulators, investors, financial experts, auditors and academic researchers. This study’s findings are that an effective board of directors can strengthen the company’s best practices by controlling political connectedness to protect all the interested parties, particularly investors, and restore their confidence. Therefore, the results of this study can assist all stakeholders when a PCs exists to make the right decisions.
Originality/value
The study extends the literature in terms of theoretical contribution that uses an integrative approach to combine political economy theory, agency theory and resource dependence theory to address the moderating role of director efficacy with an association between PCs and firm financial performance. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no extant research has investigated the association between PCs and firm financial performance using five aspects of PCs, along with moderator director efficacy.
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This study aims to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to overcome the challenges associated with implementing electronic health record (EHR) systems in primary…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to overcome the challenges associated with implementing electronic health record (EHR) systems in primary health-care facilities in Tanzania. It aims to assess the technological, organisational and environmental barriers to EHR system implementation and investigate the role of AI in optimising these systems for more effective health-care delivery.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative approach, using case studies from five regions in Tanzania: Dar es Salaam, Mwanza, Morogoro, Singida and Pwani. Data were collected through 26 semi-structured interviews with health-care providers, including medical doctors, nurses, pharmacists and IT personnel. The study applied the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and the technology-organisation-environment framework to assess the factors affecting EHR implementation and the potential integration of AI to enhance these systems.
Findings
Key challenges include unreliable network connectivity, frequent power outages, insufficient training and complex system usability issues. Despite these challenges, EHR systems have improved patient data accessibility and workflow efficiency. AI presents opportunities to address these challenges, mainly through predictive analytics, AI-driven encryption for data security and personalised training modules. AI integration can enhance system reliability, usability and security, ultimately improving health-care outcomes.
Originality/value
This study provides valuable insights into integrating AI to optimise EHR systems in resource-constrained environments like Tanzania. It addresses a gap in the literature by focusing on how AI can be adapted to low-resource settings and provides a framework for future EHR system implementations in similar contexts. The findings contribute to the global discourse on health-care informatics and the role of AI in improving health-care systems in developing countries.
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Alhamzah Alnoor, Gül Erkol Bayram, Chew XinYing and Syed Haider Ali Shah
This book is essential for anyone in artificial intelligence (AI) and destination management in the tourism industry or government. The book includes both theoretical and…
Abstract
This book is essential for anyone in artificial intelligence (AI) and destination management in the tourism industry or government. The book includes both theoretical and practical writings for stakeholders. In all chapters, we provide titles including AI, regenerative and green destinations, sustainable tourism, tourist motivations and expectations, good examples of smart destinations and regions, the regeneration of the tourism industry via AI, rethinking tourism activities and products, current issues in robots, self-service technology, effect of pandemic on smart destinations, sustainable gastronomy and regenerative tourism and tourism issues are discussed in the management plans of the centralisation. This book provides cases and empirical studies that deal in depth with the current situation, challenges, solutions and future strategies after technological development of tourism and increasing interest on smart destinations from a responsible perspective, for readers with an equitable interest or involvement with the organizations in inquiry.
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Muhammad Bilal Zafar and Mohd Fauzi Abu-Hussin
This study aims to dissect and understand the latent themes of Islamic work ethic (IWE) and explore the driving factors of IWE research.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to dissect and understand the latent themes of Islamic work ethic (IWE) and explore the driving factors of IWE research.
Design/methodology/approach
Structural topic modeling (STM), a sophisticated machine learning technique, was used to analyze a corpus of 205 articles sourced from the Scopus database. These articles cover the 36 years of research on IWE, from 1988 to 2024. Moreover, negative binomial regression was applied to examine the driving factors of IWE research.
Findings
The STM analysis unfolds ten topics in conjunction with IWE including individual success, workplace dynamics, organizational work ethics, knowledge management, employee citizenship behavior, financial ethics, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, performance enhancement and leadership. The further STM outputs included word clouds, prevalence proportions, correlation matrix, heatmap, relationship of topics with metadata, topic prominence in the publishing journals and, finally, illustrating trends and future prospects of research on IWE. The results of negative binomial regression reveal that number of authors, article age, journal indexing, authors from multiple countries and number of references are strong drivers of fostering research in IWE, by having significant positive impacts on total citations.
Social implications
The insights from this study provide valuable guidance for businesses and organizations looking to integrate IWE principles into their operations. By promoting values such as fairness, hard work and ethical behavior, organizations can foster a more inclusive and morally grounded workplace culture. This, in turn, may lead to enhanced employee satisfaction, greater organizational commitment and improved overall performance. Additionally, the emphasis on ethical practices can contribute to broader societal benefits, such as increased trust in business practices and a stronger alignment with social responsibility initiatives.
Originality/value
This is a unique study that explores the latent themes and characteristics of the IWE literature through STM and provides insights on the future research directions. In addition, this study also examines the driving factors of IWE research.
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Zahid Iqbal, Muhammad Akram and Zia Ur Rehman Rao
This study aims to investigate the relationship between bank policy-related practices and green financing sustainability in Pakistan. The study uses a mediating-moderation…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between bank policy-related practices and green financing sustainability in Pakistan. The study uses a mediating-moderation analysis to examine how the influence of bank policies on green financing sustainability is mediated by green banking activities and moderated by the employees’ green value and green knowledge sharing.
Design/methodology/approach
In this study, a structural questionnaire was used to gather data from Pakistani bank personnel through stratified sampling. A two-stage structural equation modelling approach was used in this investigation. The measuring scale’s validity and reliability are assessed using the measure model. A structural model was used to ascertain the connection between the underpinning constructs.
Findings
This study found a positive significant effect on bank employed related practices on green banking activities, besides the mediate role of green banking activities between the bank policies-related practices and green financing. In addition, this study also found the moderating role of employees’ green value and green knowledge sharing on the relationship of bank policies-related practices and green banking activities as well as green banking activities and green financing, respectively.
Originality/value
As environmental sustainability becomes more and more important on a worldwide scale; the study looks into the ways that financial institutions may become more environmentally conscious and help create a more sustainable future. To shed light on the ways in which financial institutions can be crucial in advancing green sustainability in an emerging economy such as Pakistan, this study used sophisticated statistical tools.
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Muhammad Khalid Anser, Muhammad Naeem, Shoukat Ali, Wang Huizhen and Sumair Farooq
The purpose of this research is to support the green movement and improve corporate performance by focusing on green intellectual capital and its various components (e.g. green…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to support the green movement and improve corporate performance by focusing on green intellectual capital and its various components (e.g. green human capital, green structural capital and green relational capital). Furthermore, this study looks into the impact of business reputation in mediating the link between green intellectual capital qualities and business performance.
Design/methodology/approach
To obtain data from the target population, this study employed quantitative techniques and a survey approach for data collection from respondents (managers and employees) of firms. The final sample size was 255.
Findings
According to structural equation modeling green human capital, green structural capital and green relational capital all have a positive and statistically significant impact on organizational performance. Furthermore, the study shows that a company’s reputation plays an important role in mediating the relationship between the green intellectual capital component and business performance. These findings are confirmed by the natural resource-based perspective theory. This shows that developing green intellectual capital and promoting a green environment increases a company’s reputation among stakeholders, which promotes organizational performance.
Research limitations/implications
The study’s findings will help policymakers and administrators better understand the role of green intellectual capital in business reputation and performance. Based on empirical data, the study would contribute to the management, environmental science and performance literature.
Originality/value
To the best of the researcher's knowledge, this is the first study to apply the natural resource-based view theory and to consider corporate reputation as a mediator between green intellectual capital and business success.