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This study aims to examine the key determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of all listed banks that operate their function in an emerging market, Pakistan.

This study applied the principles of systems-oriented theories such as legitimacy, stakeholder and agency theory. The hypothesis is linking the bank’s social disclosure and its determinants are developed. The relevant data was gathered from the bank’s annual reports and Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2008 to 2018. Further, governance attributes and performance measures are used as the predictor variable and the CSR score as the predicted variable. This study applied panel data analysis on the sampled banks to examine the proposed hypothesis for empirical estimation.

This study’s inclusive results confirm that the hypothesized determinants of board size, foreign directors on board and female directors on board positively impact the CSR disclosure potential. Board size significantly explains the CSR disclosure in all bank samples. The determined performance measures, profitability and liquidity show a significant positive relationship with CSR disclosure except for few exceptions.

This study’s results lack generalizability due to its unique setting; future researchers can extend the research scope in national–international settings and a regional context.

This study enriches the literature on CSR disclosure determinants and is relevant to practice in an emerging context. It can be helpful from a policy perspective; institutions (bodies) that regulate banks should recognize the governance and performance aspects essential to enhancing CSR disclosure and enhancing the bank’s performance hence value.

This research offers empirical evidence that sheds light on the key governance attributes and performance measures that partially affect CSR disclosure and its extent. In doing so, this study’s findings contribute to the literature significantly, along with regulators, shareholders, deposit holders, individual–institutional investors.

Evolving business landscapes have highlighted the crucial role of innovative digital transformation strategies (DTSs) in reimagining organisational operations and responses to optimise performance, regardless of organisational size or employee composition. The study suggests that DTS is a process that occurs continuously, rather than being a one-time event. It also underscores the critical role of personal resilience and organisational support in achieving job performance goals.

Using a survey analysis, this study examines the impact of organisational response and agility, as fundamental components of DTS, on employees' job performance. In addition, it investigates how boundary conditions of personal resilience and organisational support moderates the relationship between (1) organisational agility and job performance, and (2) organisational response and job performance.

The research findings demonstrate the impact of DTS on job performance. It highlights the mediating roles of organisational support and agility in improving employees' performance. The study also discusses the critical role of personal resilience and organisational support in navigating the insightful impacts of organisational agility and organisational response on the job performance.

This paper presents a theoretical framework that integrates the dynamic capabilities of employees and organisations, providing academics and practitioners with a comprehensive perspective on the growth of employees' dynamic capabilities. By offering insightful discussions, the study highlights that, while creating new DTS, organisations not only improve their dynamic capabilities but also enhances the people’s dynamic capabilities and make them more resilient.

This study aims to investigate the role of dynamic capabilities (DCs) in the financial performance of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during COVID-19. Furthermore, it took chief executive officer gender to moderate the relationship between DCs and financial performance.

This study used the survey approach to collect the data. Regression analysis was used on 563 responses to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results showed that DCs have a significant positive effect on the SME’s operating level and revenues. Moreover, it also moderates the DCs and financial performance during COVID-19. The results revealed that firms that used the DCs during COVID-19 not only survive during the COVID-19 tough time but also enjoyed a decent revenue level.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first study to establish the link between DCs and SMEs operating and revenue level during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistani settings.

This study examines the relationship between green intellectual capital (GIC) and competitive advantage (CA) and proposes the moderating role of corporate philanthropy types (cash, in-kind and both) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this study investigates the types of corporate philanthropy, strengthening the link between GIC and CA for Chinese listed firms during a pandemic.

Cross-sectional data were collected from 248 chief executive officers (CEOs) of Chinese firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through a structured questionnaire. Regression analysis was employed to test the proposed hypotheses.

The findings reveal that all types of GIC positively influence a firm's CA. Furthermore, all three types of philanthropy – cash, in-kind and both – moderate the relationship between GIC and CA. However, the intensity of moderation was higher in the case of in-kind philanthropy than in the other two types.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine the relationship between GIC (considering its three components: human, structural and relational capital) and CA in China. The study finds different types of philanthropy as moderating variables to better explain the relationship between GIC and CA. Further, it contributes to a new line of research that aims to study philanthropic aspects connected to the GIC debate.

This study aims to investigate the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the link between board independence, board diversity and dividend payouts underpinning the agency theory perspective. As boards are ultimately responsible for decision-making, it includes CSR, dividend payouts and other strategic decisions.

Board independence and board diversity (female director, female independent director) are used as explanatory variables, CSR scores as a mediator and dividend payout explained variables. The relevant data were collected from 159 listed firms of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2013 to 2019, consisting of 1,113 year-firm observations. For empirical estimation, the study used the Tobit regression analysis and Sobel test to check the significance of the mediation to confirm the hypothesis.

The results confirm that independence and diversity on the board are positively related to dividend payouts. Further, CSR partially mediates the link between independence and diversity on board-dividend payouts, which confirms the argument that firms with involvement in CSR practices are also associated with dividend payouts.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is novel to address whether CSR mediates the link of the board’s independence and diversity and dividend payouts in Pakistan’s setting. The results of this study have restricted generalizability due to the specific nature of the sample characteristics; future researchers can extend the research scope.

Theoretically practically, the results imply that CSR spending also enhances the distribution to firms' shareholders, thus becoming attractive to investors. This study enriches the literature on board attributes-dividend policy nexus, which strengthens through CSR practices and is relevant to practice in line with sustainable development in an emerging context.

CSR practices are an understudied but significant factor that links stakeholders' beliefs about firms' decision-making strategies, enhancing dividend announcements. In doing so, this study's findings contribute to the literature, regulators, shareholders and investor at various levels.

Knowledge management (KM) is an emerging method of management. This study aims to explore the various aspects of implementing KM in university libraries of Pakistan.

A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire, and data were collected from 75 chief librarians and reference librarians of 48 university libraries of Pakistan. A total of 60 valid responses received and analyzed using SPSS version-21.

The results disclose that a majority of respondents are familiar with KM, and literature reading is the major source of their awareness. The Pakistani academic librarians believe that KM can be applied, in the reference services, resources sharing, networking and information literacy programs of libraries. While, need for professional training and KM education are also reported. KM can be implemented in libraries through, use of ICT, developing knowledge sharing culture and developing mentorship in organizations. A lack of staff training, lack of expertise in KM, lack of knowledge gaining and sharing culture, lack of understanding of KM concept and its benefits and a lack of IT infrastructure are the major challenges faced by library and information science (LIS) professionals. Communication skills, information management skills, IT skills, leadership skills, human resource management skills are identified as key skills for the implementation of KM.

This study provides a base to develop a KM strategy and implementation plan for academic libraries in Pakistan. It will facilitate to constitute an important step toward the management of intangible assets in Pakistani libraries.

The results of the study will unveil the perceptions of academic librarians toward KM. It will help to understand the relationship between KM and LIS. The study will also identify the challenges faced by librarians and skills required for the implementation of KM in libraries.

This study examines the direct and indirect effects of green intellectual capital (GIC) and innovative work behavior (IWB) on green process innovation performance (GPIP), with green knowledge sharing (GKS) as a mediator, in Pakistan’s hospitality industry. The aim is to provide a paradigm for assisting companies in transforming strategic green processes of green hotel innovation and its practices.

A total of 203 questionnaires were administered to front-desk officers of 15 hotels in Pakistan. Smart PLS-SEM 4 was used for analysis, and demographic statistics were analyzed using SPSS 21.0.

GIC (green human capital, green organizational capital and green relational capital) and IWB significantly and positively influence GPIP. GKS strengthens the relationships of GIC and IWB with GPIP. Finally, all hypotheses were significant and the constructs showed a positive association.

Research studies have revealed the impact of GIC on the hotel industry’s competitive advantage. However, the mechanisms underlying those impacts remain relatively underexplored. This study makes valuable contributions by providing crucial evidence from Pakistan’s hospitality industry.

Drawing on social identity theory and prosocial behaviour research, this study explores how people's integration of their offline and online social activities through Facebook cultivates their Facebook citizenship behaviour (FCB). It also offers further insight into the underlying mechanism of offline and online social activity integration - FCB relation by investigating people's social identification with their offline and online social groups as possible mediators.

Based on social identity theory (SIT) literature, community citizenship behaviour and offline-online social activity integration through Facebook, we developed a conceptual model, which was empirically tested using data from 308 Facebook users

The results confirm that the participants' offline-online social activity integration via Facebook is positively linked to their FCB. Further, the integration of offline and online social activity through Facebook positively affects how a person identifies with their offline and online social groups, which in turn causes them to display FCB. In addition, offline/online social identification mediates the integration – FCB relation.

In practice, it is interesting to see people's tendency towards altruistic behaviours within groups they like to associate themselves with. Those who share their Facebook network with their offline friends can use such network to seek help and support.

From a theoretical perspective, unlike past research, this study examines how individuals' offline-online social activity integration via Facebook helps them associate with groups. In addition, this study investigates social identification from an offline and online perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically capture the impact of a chief executive officer’s (CEO) personal and organizational characteristics on firm performance in the context of a developing country and to explore whether capital structure mediates the relationship between CEO characteristics and firm performance.

In order to test the hypothesized model, CEO duality, tenure and personal characteristics (age, gender and education) were taken as explanatory variables to study their impact on firm performance. Data were collected from 179 Pakistani companies from 2009–2015. The collected data were processed via panel data regression analysis under fixed effect assumptions.

Results show that CEO duality has a negative impact on firm performance and that a CEO with a dual role is more inclined toward debt financing. Moreover, a CEO with a longer tenure tends to be opportunistic and prioritize his/her personal interest while making strategic financial decisions, thus creating agency costs for the firm. Furthermore, CEO characteristics like age, gender and education have significant effects on firm financial decisions and firm performance. Finally, the debt and equity ratio partially mediates the link between CEO characteristics and firm performance.

The findings of this study have limited generalizability due to the specific nature of the sample characteristics.

To the best of the authors knowledge, this study is the first to explore the impact of CEO characteristics on capital structure and firm performance. This work is also the first to explore the mediating role of capital structure in the relationship between CEO characteristics and firm performance by using Pakistani data.

This study investigates the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and financial performance (FP), and ascertains whether ownership structure (OS) moderates the CSR disclosure–FP nexus.

We distinctly employed the well-established approach of panel data analysis to examine the comprehensive dataset of Shanghai A-share listed firms from 2008 to 2017 with 20,236-full sample and 4,190-disclosed sample firm-year observations. To test the hypotheses, the study used panel regression analysis. The study used CSR disclosure as an explanatory variable and accounting-based performance measures: return on equity (ROE) and earning per share (EPS) as dependent variables. In addition, we used CSR score to determine the extent of disclosure by each firm and employed matched pair sample analysis to check for the robustness of the earlier obtained results.

The findings indicate significant positive association among CSR disclosure and CSR score with ROE and EPS. Further, the CSR disclosure–FP nexus is more pronounced when the OS moderates it.

The results of this study lack generalizability due to its unique setting. A limitation of this paper is that our sample period only covers 2008–2017. Future studies can extend our research to a more recent period to test whether our findings remain valid in other periods.

Our findings suggest stronger CSR disclosure measures to enhance the image of businesses in the eyes of stakeholders. The study findings are consistent and confirm the theoretical basis (stakeholder theory) that Chinese listed firms can be more beneficial from disclosing CSR related information, and they should put more emphasis on the improvement of CSR disclosure.

This research offers empirical evidence that sheds light on the importance of OS as the moderating effect on the nexus of CSR disclosure–FP measures. In doing so, this study’s findings contribute to the literature significantly, along with the regulators and shareholders.