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The aim of this paper is to clearly mark the clusters in the related literature using bibliometric analysis and draw useful implications for the academic research purposes especially in the stream of Supply Chain Management (SCM).

By employing rigorous selection criteria, sample articles were selected for synthesizing and conducting a bibliometric analysis. This paper tries to identify the significance of the concept of reshoring with the aspect of SCM, operations, logistics etc. Starting from sample selection, systematic selection criteria has been used to generate the database, using Scopus. The sample size was 184. Using VOSViewer, statistical and graphical representations were generated for clusters in the literature that will be useful for judging the trends of research under shoring concepts.

Findings show that unclear difference compared to other supply chain concepts obstructs further theory development within reshoring concepts. To address this challenge, the review categorizes themes and defines boundaries. Based on the analysis findings, this paper advocates for additional research in areas that are crucial but have received limited or no attention. Specifically, there is a need for action research on motivations, governance modes, and location selection concerning reshoring decisions.

This review has a few limitations. The absence of publications in other language, than English, may result in a significant loss of knowledge. This research paper cited a few relevant publications in the form of conference papers, industry reports, books, and book chapters. Nonetheless, they were excluded from the organized bibliometric audit. To further advance the knowledge in this field, exploratory longitudinal case studies will bring to focus the changes on manufacturing strategies using the shoring and reshoring stages.

A current example of this is a French company named Stil (Terzian, 2020) which brought its glass thermometer production back to its home after the unexpected closure of its suppliers from China. Another Italian firm has restarted production of disposal bio-degradable face masks after 15 years to compete with low-cost alternatives from China (Greco, 2020). Reshoring concepts are now under consideration of organizations including Boeing, Bosch, Phillips and more.

To the best of our knowledge, this represents one of the earliest efforts to conceptualize and define reshoring concepts, aiming to distinguish them from one another appropriately. To accomplish this, the earlier demarcated clusters precede this section’s classification of reshoring concepts illustrated in Table 8. Based on the synthesis of definitions and thematic clusters above, we have concluded the literature review in this emerging field. It is intended to contribute to theory development and practitioner support in reshoring decisions by clarifying the dimensions.

Entrepreneurs belonging to ethnic minority groups have emerged as a significant and more powerful element within the private sector, having considerable economic and social impact. Nevertheless, prior empirical research has indicated that each geographical area has distinct social and cultural obstacles that impact entrepreneurs in varying ways. Hence, the purpose of this study is to examine the difficulties and barriers faced by women entrepreneurs from diverse ethnic origins in the United Kingdom, a developed region, while managing their firms.

In this research, the cross-concepts of intersectional theory were used as the study’s analytical framework. The research methodology involved conducting semi-structured face-to-face interviews with a group of 30 Nepali women entrepreneurs residing in the United Kingdom. A qualitative approach was employed, and thematic analysis was used to extract meaningful findings.

The study’s outcomes underscore the emergence of social stereotypes as a salient factor affecting Nepali female entrepreneurs. Furthermore, the research identifies challenges and barriers, which fall into several cross-concept categories: those related to self-efficacy; family; social and cultural factors; business-related issues; access to financial resources; and ethnicity and work-based categorization. The findings might also have broader implications, benefiting ethnic female entrepreneurs in general, as well as ethnic communities and governmental and non-governmental organizations. Insights gained from the study can inform the development of tailored training and educational programs aimed at supporting and nurturing the entrepreneurial aspirations of ethnic women.

To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, there is a dearth of empirical investigations that probe the challenges and barriers faced by Nepali women who have embarked on entrepreneurial endeavours in the UK. This study contributes to the limited literature knowledge on ethnic women entrepreneurs, by linking ethnicity, class and gender/sexual orientation, as well as business, family, personal and financial constructs. By adopting the cross-concept of intersectional theory, this study further contributes to the knowledge of the discriminatory realities of Nepali women entrepreneurs as they grapple with the complex experiences of running a business. By doing this, our study can contribute further to the knowledge of gender and entrepreneurship from the ethnic background of UK enterprises.

This study aims to analyze whether family ownership and working capital management (WCM) affect firm profitability and liquidity. Further, we also investigate the moderating effect of family ownership on the association between WCM, firm profitability and liquidity.

This study uses a sample of 150 nonfinancial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange for the period 2014–2019. For empirical analysis, this study used multiple proxies of family ownership and applied robust and bootstrapped quantile regression models.

The results suggest that family ownership has a negative association with firm profitability and liquidity. Moreover, this study finds a positive association between WCM and firm profitability and liquidity. Furthermore, the results indicate that family ownership negatively moderates the association between WCM and firm profitability. In addition, we argue that family ownership rescinds the impact of WCM as excess liquidity may be used for extracting private benefits and related party transactions.

First, this study has examined the nexus between family ownership, WCM, firm profitability and liquidity in the context of a developing country, i.e. Pakistan. Second, previous studies have not analyzed the moderating role of family ownership in the association between working capital management, firm profitability and liquidity. Third, this study provides unique evidence that family-owned firms have an adverse liquidity position as compared with other firms.

This paper evaluates the performance of actively managed conventional and Islamic equity funds in a developing economy with a focus to assess the performance-growth puzzle posited by Gruber (1993) (a.k.a Gruber’s puzzle). Under the context of an emerging market of Pakistan, this study explores if actively managed equity fund (AMEF) managers have been able to add value by outperforming the market in terms of stock-selection and market-timing abilities; and the comparative performance analysis of Islamic versus conventional AMEFs is also carried out.

We employ Sharpe and Treynor ratios, Capital asset pricing model, Fama–French three factors model (1993), Carhart four-factor model (1997) and Hendrickson (1981) market timing models on 45 equity funds comprising of 23 conventional and 22 Islamic equity funds operating in Pakistan for a period of 10 years. The overall sample period (2008–2018) is divided into two 5 years sub-periods (i.e. 2009–2013 and 2014–2018) and three 3 years sub-periods (2009–2011, 2012–2014 and 2015–2017) to be viewed in conjunction with the country's macro-economic condition.

We report that the actively managed equity funds (AMEFs) were unable to beat the market index with their stock selection or market timing capabilities. However, AMEFs depicted improved performance in the post-global financial crisis period where both conventional and Islamic AMEFs generated substantial rewards for the given amount of risk. Also, conventional AMEFs outperformed Islamic AMEFs potentially due to their holdings in highly leveraged value and large-cap stocks, while Islamic AMEFS invest more cautiously in small-cap and value firms. Analysis of market timing skills revealed that the funds have not been able to select the undervalued stocks and adopted a defensive strategy in the post-global financial crisis recovery period.

Our findings shed some interesting insights and raise some pertinent questions for research, policy, and practice – specifically for developing countries’ context. The no ‘return-growth’ configuration defies its fit with the ‘Gruber puzzle’ and somewhat presents a case of what we call the ‘Inverse Grubber puzzle’. This novel notion of the ‘Inverse Grubber puzzle’ should inform policy and practice to reflect on their practices, institutional arrangement, regulatory framework and policy design in developing economies characterized by lacklustre performance and growth of AMEFs. For example, the regulatory design may consider focusing on stimulating financial inclusion and deepening by motivating low-cost Index tracker funds (ITFs) – with lower fund management costs, while allocating the avoided cost to flow towards effective marketing campaigns driving greater awareness, financial deepening, and investor base diversification. For future research, financial development researchers may explore the implications and appropriateness of AMEFs versus ITFs in other developing economies.

The work reported in this paper is original and constitutes a valuable asset for ethno-religious-sensitive investors. The research has not been published in any capacity and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

The link between SME performance, growth and development is well established; however, the characteristics of SMEs that allow firms to be successful in the long run in an underdeveloped country context, i.e. Pakistan, are still unclear. This paper aims to bridge this gap by identifying the SMEs’ characteristics that set them apart from their rivals and become successful.

This study uses Storey’s development framework to identify the SMEs’ characteristics. Data is gathered using the case study method from SMEs with a metropolitan context in Pakistan. A narrative methodological framework was used during the data gathering and analysing stages.

Findings of this study indicate that the prosperity of SMEs in Pakistan is dependent on a combination of characteristics, including entrepreneurial characteristics of owner–managers, knowledge of business operating models, social networks and relationship building and innovation in business style. Additionally, other factors such as governance structure, strategic planning of market diversification and export characteristics also influence the prosperity of an SME. These findings may have several important implications for key stakeholders, including entrepreneurs, SMEs and policymakers in the government.

This research provides evidence about factors that can help an SME to become successful in uncertain situations surrounding a business environment. Theoretically, the contribution of this research is that it demonstrates that entrepreneurial characteristics and the effective leadership style of owner–managers can help SMEs achieve prosperity in external unforeseeable situations.

This paper aims to investigate the effect of political connections on earnings quality by simultaneously controlling the firm characteristics; to test whether Pakistani firms’ ownership, specifically family ownership, plays a significant role in political connections–earnings quality association; to draw a conclusion about the agency theory in the context of Pakistan.

A quantitative approach was used to examine the influence of political connections and family ownership on the earnings quality of listed firms in Pakistan. The study uses historical data from 238 active non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange during the period of 2009-2015. The final data set comprises more than 1,600 firm-year observations from ten major non-financial industry classifications. To enhance the robustness of the empirical relationship, the study used several proxies of earnings quality in conjunction with robust regression methods and diagnostic checks.

The present study’s findings are consistent with the findings of the studies on agency theory previous literature, where politically connected firms have significantly lower earnings quality as compared to non-connected firms. The results also indicate that family firms have superior earnings quality than non-family–controlled firms. Furthermore, family ownership moderates the negative influence of political connections on earnings quality. This implies that family ownership diminishes the costs of political connections and improves the earnings quality of the firm.

This study is different from previous research in three respects. First, it examines whether family ownership concentration has a moderating influence on the relationship between political connections and earnings quality. Second, it uses a robust methodology and extensive data set to examine the influence of political connections and family ownership concentration on earnings quality. Further, this study is the first to analyze the nexus between financial reporting quality and the political business environment in the context of Pakistan.

This paper aims to examine the factors influencing the adoption of social media marketing by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. By investigating the drivers and challenges/barriers affecting the adoption of social media marketing tools among SMEs, this study provides practical guidance to SMEs seeking to utilize social media platforms for marketing purposes in a developing context such as Pakistan.

Utilizing the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework as a theoretical framework, qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews with representatives of SMEs in Pakistan, followed by thematic analysis of the data.

The research identifies several key factors influencing the adoption of social media marketing by Pakistani SMEs. These factors include doubts regarding the benefits of social media, alignment with regulatory requirements, challenges related to tracking social media performance, resistance from senior management (older employees), the positive influence of competitive pressure and the Covid-19 pandemic, political instability and increased government taxes on digital services. Stakeholders such as marketing professionals, academics, policymakers, government authorities and SME owners and managers can benefit from these findings.

This research contributes to the academic literature on the adoption of social media marketing by SMEs, especially within emerging economies. It enriches theoretical understanding of adoption processes and factors, filling gaps in existing knowledge and laying a foundation for future research in this domain. Using the TOE framework, the study reveals that when all factors are adequately considered, SMEs can transition from traditional marketing methods and embrace social media as a digital marketing strategy to enhance performance, profitability, and gain a competitive advantage over their rivals.

This study aims to analyze the challenges in financing the healthcare system of Pakistan and develop a comprehensive health financing strategy aimed at achieving universal health coverage (UHC).

The paper utilizes World Health Organization (WHO) framework on health financing to build the argument. It uses qualitative research design involving focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with key stakeholders, including Federal Board of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission, development partners, academia and health ministries at federal and provincial levels, as well as social health insurance entities.

The research findings highlight several critical issues within Pakistan’s healthcare system: Firstly, health spending is inadequate to provide financial protection to 24 million people. Secondly, the available health funding is allocated in clusters and caters primarily to specific groups, which exacerbates inequities in healthcare provision. Thirdly, the existence of multiple purchasing agents who operate concurrently to buy health services results in duplication and wastage of resources. Fourthly, the public financial management system, intended to support the swift distribution of public funds to health facilities, is not aligned with the requirements of the health system. Lastly, the devolved health setup has led to governance issues in managing the health sector.

This study fills a significant gap in the literature on health financing within Pakistan and proposes a unique empirical approach using WHO’s framework in a decentralized healthcare context. It also provides actionable recommendations for policymakers to develop strategies that improve the effectiveness of public financial management and health service delivery.

The study analyzes the influence of corporate governance and ownership concentration levels on the cost of equity. Further, the authors extend the literature by investigating the moderating effect of ownership concentration levels (i.e. at 5%, 10% and 20%) on the relationship between corporate governance and the cost of equity.

The study applies several robust panel regression techniques to a sample of 114 active non-financial companies listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2016. Corporate governance was measured through a unique index comprising 30 governance attributes. The cost of equity was measured through the capital asset pricing model. Further, the authors construct three variables for ownership concentration levels, i.e. at 5%, 10% and 20%. To address the endogeneity problem, the one-lagged variable model and GMM approaches were also applied.

The results indicate that better corporate governance reduces the cost of equity, while ownership concentration at high thresholds would increase the cost of equity. Further, the authors find that ownership concentration at the 20% threshold moderates the relationship between corporate governance and the cost of equity. Thus, the authors argue that firms can minimize the risk faced by shareholders by implementing substantive corporate governance mechanisms. In addition, effective corporate governance mechanisms at high ownership concentration levels are imperative for managing the cost of equity.

The study reports novel evidence that ownership concentration at a high threshold moderates the effect of corporate governance on the cost of equity.

This study aims to investigate the impact of family ownership on firm performance. The authors examine whether family ownership in a firm reduces the adverse consequences of political connections on firm performance. Further, the authors analyze whether monitoring benefits of family ownership vary over family generations.

This study examines the financial data from 229 active nonfinancial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange between 2011 and 2019. First, the authors estimated several panel data regression models after incorporating control variables in the full sample. Second, the authors estimated models in the subsample of family firms for investigating whether the results vary among different generations of family firms. Further, for checking the robustness of the authors’ statistical results, the authors have used two proxies of family ownership and revalidated the findings in several subsamples of the data.

This study finds that family firms financially outperform nonfamily firms. Further, the results suggest that boards with family members tend to enhance monitoring and governance mechanisms which reduce the harmful effects of political connections. Finally, this study finds that the monitoring benefits of family ownership which reduce the adverse effects of political connections on family firm performance diminishes over generations.

First, this study provides evidence of whether the monitoring benefits of family ownership reduce the adverse effects of political connections on firm performance. Second, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior study provides evidence whether first-generation family firms are superior in monitoring and ultimately reducing the negative effects of political connections.