Tanveer Ahsan, Muhammad Azeem Qureshi, Ammar Ali Gull and Fazal Muhammad
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of policy uncertainty on firm performance and to examine how the different cultural societies deal with the policy-induced…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of policy uncertainty on firm performance and to examine how the different cultural societies deal with the policy-induced uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors use data of European non-financial firms to extend the growing literature on policy uncertainty, firm performance and national culture. The authors consider financial as well as market proxies to measure firm performance and use Hofstede's cultural dimensions as a proxy for national culture. The authors apply the generalized method of moments (GMM-system) regression technique on a dataset of 702 non-financial European firms, listed during the period 2002–2018.
Findings
The authors find overwhelming evidence that policy uncertainty reduces the performance of the European firms; however, cultural differences among different European countries moderate the impact of policy uncertainty on the financial as well as the market performance of the firms. The results of this study show that European cultures with high power distance, individualism, masculinity and indulgence efficiently deal with the economic policy uncertainty. While the European societies with high uncertainty avoidance fail to cope with policy-induced uncertainty. The results are robust to different regression models, alternate proxies of firm performance and endogeneity issues.
Practical implications
The authors argue that policy uncertainty increases information asymmetry and decreases firm performance, therefore, the policymakers shall be considerate of the consequences of the policy-induced uncertainty in the society and business arena that would not only adversely affect the firms but also the economy.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the role of national culture on the relationship between policy uncertainty and firm performance in the European context.
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Muhammad Asghar Ali, Ding Hooi Ting, Muhammad Umer Azeem and Amir Zaib Abbasi
This paper aims to investigate the impact of perceived usefulness of online reviews and crowd cues on restaurant selection. In addition, the authors also examine the moderating…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the impact of perceived usefulness of online reviews and crowd cues on restaurant selection. In addition, the authors also examine the moderating role of perceived crowding and gender in this process.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed hypotheses were tested with survey data (N = 200) collected from customers visiting full-service restaurants in Malaysia. The data were analyzed using SEM through Smart PLS.
Findings
The findings supported that the perceived usefulness of online reviews and perceived crowding have a positive effect on a consumer's purchase intentions, i.e. their decision of restaurant selection. Besides, a higher level of perceived crowding strengthens the relationship between the perceived usefulness of online reviews and their purchase intentions. This finding delineates that consumers prefer to dine in a crowded place with useful online reviews in an unfamiliar place. Finally, the results show that the effect of the usefulness of online reviews on purchase intentions does not vary with respect to gender (no significant contingent effect). However, the effect of perceived crowding varies with respect to gender – male customers have higher intentions to join crowded restaurants as compared to females.
Research limitations/implications
Limitation of this study is its cross-sectional research design; data were collected in a single time frame. Longitudinal research design can be used to get in-depth knowledge of this phenomenon. Secondly, a non-probability sampling technique was used in this study, future research can used probability sampling technique to enhance generalizability of the study. Moreover, this study focused on the human crowding aspect, future studies can cover both aspects of crowding (human crowding and spatial crowding) in retailing or other service sectors (Blut and Iyer, 2020).
Practical implications
This study has multiple practical implications.
Originality/value
This study extends the current research on usefulness of online reviews and perceived crowding by investigating its direct and conditional effects. Specifically, the authors contribute in extant research by explaining its differential effects for male and female customers, when they select which restaurants to dine.
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Muhammad Umer Azeem, Dirk De Clercq and Inam Ul Haq
This study aims to unpack the link between co-worker incivility and job performance, by detailing a mediating role of psychological detachment and a moderating role of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to unpack the link between co-worker incivility and job performance, by detailing a mediating role of psychological detachment and a moderating role of psychological capital.
Design/methodology/approach
The research hypotheses are tested with three-wave, time-lagged data collected from Pakistani-based employees and their supervisors.
Findings
An important reason that disrespectful co-worker treatment curtails job performance, with respect to both in-role and extra-role work efforts, is that employees detach from their work environment. This mediating role of psychological detachment is less salient to the extent that employees possess high levels of psychological capital.
Practical implications
For organizations, this study pinpoints a key mechanism, a propensity to distance oneself from work, by which convictions that co-workers do not show respect direct employees away from productive work activities. This study also shows how this mechanism can be subdued by ensuring that employees exhibit energy-enhancing personal resources.
Originality/value
This study expands extant research on the dark side of interpersonal co-worker relationships by revealing pertinent factors that explain why and when co-worker incivility can escalate into diminished performance-enhancing activities.
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Nadeem Ahmed Sheikh and Muhammad Azeem Qureshi
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how conventional and Islamic commercial banks in Pakistan choose their capital structure and what are the most significant factors that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how conventional and Islamic commercial banks in Pakistan choose their capital structure and what are the most significant factors that affect their choice of capital structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected the data from the annual reports of commercial banks listed on Karachi Stock Exchange Pakistan during 2004-2014. Panel data techniques, namely, pooled ordinary least squares, fixed effects and random effects, were used to estimate the relationship between book leverage and bank-specific variables such as profitability, size, growth, tangibility and earnings volatility.
Findings
Descriptive statistics indicate that conventional commercial banks are more levered than Islamic commercial banks. Moreover, conventional commercial banks are larger, profitable and have relatively safe earnings than Islamic commercial banks. In contrast, Islamic commercial banks have relatively more fixed operating assets and growth in total assets compared to the conventional commercial banks. Regression results indicate that profitability, growth and tangibility are negatively, whereas bank size and earnings volatility are positively, related to book leverage of conventional commercial banks. On the other hand, only three variables, namely, profitability, bank size and tangibility, have material effects on capital structure choice of Islamic commercial banks. Profitability and tangibility are negatively while bank size is positively related to book leverage of the Islamic banks. In sum, results of the study indicate that Islamic and conventional commercial banks have their own way to choose the capital structure than the non-financial firms; however, their choice is affected by the similar variables as identified for non-financial firms in Pakistan.
Practical implications
Results of this study provide support to bank managers to understand the effects of bank-specific variables on capital structure and make them able to determine a balanced capital structure considering the regulations framed by the central bank of the country.
Originality/value
This is the first study that investigates the factors that affect the capital structure of conventional and Islamic commercial banks in Pakistan. Moreover, findings of this study lay some foundation upon which a more detail analysis of capital structure of banks could be based.
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Muhammad Azeem, Sania Aziz, Jawad Shahid, Aamir Hayat, Munir Ahmed and Muhammad Imran Khan
In a modern business scenario, firms have implemented customer-centric approaches to enable customer relationship management (CRM) to trigger business excellence. Business…
Abstract
Purpose
In a modern business scenario, firms have implemented customer-centric approaches to enable customer relationship management (CRM) to trigger business excellence. Business strategies are modernizing business marketing operations that mainly focused on the retention of profitable customers. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the impact of marketing strategies (MS), information technology support (IT-S) and knowledge sharing (KS) in the effect of CRM in the pharmaceutical sector of Punjab, Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from the field force of national and international pharmaceuticals companies (N = 263) through a convenience sampling technique. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to examine data in SmartPLS 3.2.6.
Findings
The results indicated that IT-S and KS mediate the relationship between MS and CRM. More specifically, MS positively develops CRM through IT-S and KS.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the existing literature of pharmaceuticals by disclosing the field-force (medical representatives) specific role in developing CRM performance between pharmaceuticals firms and health-care physicians that are mainly based on knowledge advancement and influence these firms to adopt customer-centric business approaches to gain a competitive advantage to drive firm profitability.
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Dirk De Clercq, Inam Ul Haq and Muhammad Umer Azeem
This paper aims to investigate how employees’ perceptions of psychological contract violation or sense of organizational betrayal, might diminish their job satisfaction, as well…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate how employees’ perceptions of psychological contract violation or sense of organizational betrayal, might diminish their job satisfaction, as well as how their access to two critical personal resources – emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy – might buffer this negative relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
Two-wave survey data came from employees of Pakistani-based organizations.
Findings
Perceived contract violation reduces job satisfaction, but the effect is weaker at higher levels of emotion regulation skills and work-related self-efficacy.
Practical implications
For organizations, these results show that the frustrations that come with a sense of organizational betrayal can be contained more easily to the extent that their employees can draw from relevant personal resources.
Originality/value
This investigation provides a more complete understanding of when perceived contract violation will deplete employees’ emotional resources, in the form of feelings of happiness about their job situation. A sense of organizational betrayal is less likely to escalate into reduced job satisfaction when employees can control their negative emotions and feel confident about their work-related competencies.
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Dirk De Clercq, Inam Ul Haq and Muhammad Umer Azeem
With a foundation in conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to unpack the relationship between employees’ self-efficacy and job performance, investigating…
Abstract
Purpose
With a foundation in conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to unpack the relationship between employees’ self-efficacy and job performance, investigating the mediating role of job-related anxiety and the moderating role of perceived workplace incivility.
Design/methodology/approach
Survey data were collected from employees and their supervisors in Pakistani organizations.
Findings
An important reason that employees’ self-efficacy enhances their job performance is that they experience less anxiety while undertaking their daily job tasks. This mediating role of job-related anxiety is particularly salient to the extent that employees believe that they are the victims of uncivil behaviors.
Practical implications
Organizations should note that the anxiety-mitigating effect of self-efficacy is particularly strong for generating adequate performance to the extent that rude and discourteous behaviors cannot be completely avoided in the workplace.
Originality/value
This study establishes a more complete understanding of the benefits of employees’ self-efficacy by revealing how reduced worries about their organizational functioning represent critical mechanisms that connect this personal resource to higher job performance, as well as by showing how employees’ perceptions of workplace incivility invigorate this process.
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Muhammad Shoaib, Shengzhong Zhang, Hassan Ali, Muhammad Azeem Akbar, Muhammad Hamza and Waheed Ur Rehman
This study aims to identify and prioritize the challenges to adopting blockchain in supply chain management and to make its taxonomic model. Moreover, validate whether these…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify and prioritize the challenges to adopting blockchain in supply chain management and to make its taxonomic model. Moreover, validate whether these challenging factors exist in the real world and, if they exist, then in what percentage.
Design/methodology/approach
This research adopted the fuzzy best-worst method (F-BWM), which integrates fuzzy set theory with the best-worst method to identify and prioritize the prominent challenges of the blockchain-based supply chain by developing a weighted multi-criteria model.
Findings
A total of 20 challenges (CH's) were identified. Lack of storage capacity/scalability and lack of data privacy challenges were found as key challenges. The findings of this study will provide a robust framework of the challenges that will assist academic researchers and industry practitioners in considering the most significant category concerning their working area.
Practical implications
Blockchain provides the best solution for tracing and tracking where RFID has not succeeded. It can improve quality management in a supply chain network by improving standards and speeding up operations. For inventory management, blockchain provides transparency of documentation for both parties within no time.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, no previous research has adopted the fuzzy best-worst method to prioritize the identified challenges of blockchain implementation in the supply chain. Moreover, no study provides a taxonomic model for the challenges of implementing a blockchain-based supply chain.
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Dirk De Clercq, Muhammad Umer Azeem and Inam Ul Haq
This study examines how employees’ exposure to coworker undermining may lead them to miss work deadlines. It offers a particular focus on the mediating role of diminished…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines how employees’ exposure to coworker undermining may lead them to miss work deadlines. It offers a particular focus on the mediating role of diminished organization-based self-esteem and the moderating role of justice sensitivity in this connection.
Design/methodology/approach
The research hypotheses are tested with data collected among employees and supervisors who work in various industries.
Findings
Purposeful efforts by coworkers to cause harm translate into an increased propensity to fail to complete work on time, because the focal employees consider themselves unworthy organizational members. The extent to which employees feel upset with unfair treatments invigorates this process.
Practical implications
For employees who are frustrated with coworkers who deliberately compromise their professional functioning, diminished self-worth in relation to work and the subsequent reduced willingness to exhibit timely work efforts might make it more difficult to convince organizational leaders to do something about the negative coworker treatment. Pertinent personal characteristics can serve as a catalyst of this dynamic.
Originality/value
This study contributes to extant human resource management research by detailing the link between coworker undermining and a reduced propensity to finish work on time, pinpointing the roles of two hitherto overlooked factors (organization-based self-esteem and justice sensitivity) in this link.
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Dirk De Clercq, Muhammad Umer Azeem and Inam Ul Haq
This study aims to investigate the relationship between employees' exposure to supervisor incivility and their engagement in insubordinate behavior, by detailing a mediating role…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the relationship between employees' exposure to supervisor incivility and their engagement in insubordinate behavior, by detailing a mediating role of ruminations about interpersonal offenses and a moderating role of supervisor task conflict.
Design/methodology/approach
The research hypotheses were assessed with three rounds of data, obtained from employees and their peers, working for firms in various industries.
Findings
An important reason that employees' sense that their supervisor treats them disrespectfully escalates into defiance of supervisor authority is that the employees cannot stop thinking about how they have been wronged. The mediating role of such ruminations is particularly prominent when employees' viewpoints clash with those of their supervisor.
Practical implications
A critical danger exists for employees who are annoyed with a rude supervisor: They ponder their negative treatment, which prompts them to disobey, a response that likely diminishes the chances that supervisors might change their behaviors. This detrimental process is particularly salient when employee–supervisor interactions are marked by unpleasant task-related fights.
Originality/value
This study unpacks an unexplored link between supervisor incivility and supervisor-directed insubordination by explicating the pertinent roles of two critical factors (rumination and task conflict) in this link.