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The purpose of this paper is to analyze the recent global situation on waste of electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) management and recommend policy directions for designing environmental strategies.

Qualitative research approach is adopted to review studies on WEEE management in developed and developing countries. The focus is to critically consider the available options for its safe management.

Approximately 40-50 million tons of WEEE is generated worldwide annually and most of it is dumped in the developing countries. WEEE is not a challenge to be faced by a single country as it has trans-boundary effects and ultimately the contamination reaches back to the developed countries with a lapse of time.

Data availability on WEEE generation and disposal is in initial stages.

Developing countries in Asia and Africa do not have resources to handle WEEE. The unregulated and unsafe WEEE management practices in these countries let hazardous materials to disseminate into the marine life and global ecosystem.

The paper recommends policy directions to deal with the emerging issue that may have globally far reaching consequences.

Waste of electric and electronic equipments (WEEE) disposal methods adopted by most of the countries are based on adhocism and therefore cannot provide sustainable solution. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for sustainable WEEE management based on Human Activity Modeling. The macro model is developed to provide a problem-solving approach for policy makers and to aid them in determining strategic directions in policy making.

Qualitative research paradigm is used to review WEEE management in developed and developing countries and Activity Theory (AT) approach is extended into environmental management domain to design a sustainable system.

The approach recommends that the real world complexity must first be analyzed by “problem modeling” of the contemporary activity in the environment and then based on this mapping “solution modeling” must be carried out to obtain sustainable solutions.

The solution recommended is based on theoretical foundations but still a need for experimental evidence is felt to further strengthen the argument. Second further studies are needed to cascade the strategic-level model presented in the study to connect it with the community-level interaction.

Strategic policy recommendations are given to modify the role of three major actors identified in the society and resultantly attain socio-economic balance among the actors for obtaining sustainable solution.

The study advocates a new paradigm for solving environmental management issues by using AT approach, focussing on redesigning human interaction in socio-cultural perspectives.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of ecological sustainability is attracting attention of global business community as neoclassical approach continues to fail in delivery. There is now an emerging need to explore new approaches towards balancing ecological and economic returns. The paper extends the philosophy of Permaculture into business domain and explores its compatibility to be integrated with strategic management perspectives.

The study primarily conducts a review of Permaculture and Strategic Management domains and uncovers the compatibility between the two domains while arguing that the integration of Permaculture philosophy in business strategy would achieve sustainability.

Permaculture philosophy is compatible with Strategic Management process for developing business strategies. It can incorporate ecological and social aspects for developing integrated strategy process for sustainability in organizations.

Focusing on financial and non-financial value addition contributed by organizations towards community would lead to long-term sustainability of the organization and the community which supports it.

The study extends the emerging philosophy of Permaculture into the established domain of Strategic Management. Arguing that simultaneous equilibrium of capacities, resources and demands of stakeholders must be maintained for sustained economic success in business world.

This paper aims to examine the role of corporate governance (CG) in the earnings management (EM) of affiliated companies in family business groups (FBGs) listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), using principal–principal agency theory.

The sample of 327 nonfinancial firms of the PSX, consisting of 187 group-affiliated firms and 140 nonaffiliated firms has been used in this study for the period of 2010 to 2019. The study uses different regression models for analysis, with robustness tests of various alternative measures of EM and FBG affiliation. In addition, endogeneity is controlled with the propensity score matching method.

The findings show that EM is less prevalent in affiliated firms compared to nonaffiliated companies. The results show a negative and significant relationship between FBGs affiliated firms and EM. Moreover, the results also show a positive relationship between EM and the interaction term of the CG index and group affiliation. It refers to the fact that effective governance cannot reduce EM in affiliated companies of FBGs as well as in the nonfinancial companies of the PSX. In addition, the quality of CG is higher in affiliated companies compared to its counterpart in nonaffiliated firms. The findings support the principal–principal agency theory that CG cannot mitigate the expropriating behavior of controlling shareholders against minority shareholders by reducing EM in emerging markets due to the ownership concentration phenomenon.

This research study has implications for small investors, government agencies and regulators. The findings of the study show that CG code should make it mandatory for companies to reveal information about their complex ownership structure and ownership information about affiliated companies and directors. Furthermore, it is suggested to revisit the code of CG in the Pakistani context of principal–principal conflict instead of the agent–principal explanation of agency theory based on Anglo–Saxon countries.

This research study has contributed to the CG and FBG literature in relation to EM in idiosyncratic settings of Pakistan. One of the prime contributions of the paper is the development of a comprehensive CG index. This research study used detailed, manually collected novel data on affiliated firms of FBGs in Pakistan.

This study aims to examine the relationship between ethical leadership and project success directly and indirectly through psychological empowerment along with the moderating role of Islamic work ethic.

Using a time-lagged design, data were gathered from 202 employees working in project-based organizations of Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the distinctiveness of variables used in the study.

Consistent with the cognitive evaluation theory, the findings supported the hypotheses other than the moderating role of Islamic work ethics between psychological empowerment and project success. The results confirmed that ethical leadership promotes project success directly and indirectly via psychological empowerment. Furthermore, theoretical and practical implications are also discussed highlighting the importance of ethical leadership for researchers and practitioners.

Literature is insufficient on the topic of ethical leadership in the project management domain with the effect of Islamic work ethics and psychological empowerment. Therefore, the current study explored unanswered research questions in the project management domain.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are engines of economic growth. Research indicates that the adoption of green procurement practices (GPPs) significantly influences the sustainable growth of SMEs. However, there is a lack of understanding of factors that link the adoption of GPPs with enhanced competitiveness. The purpose of this study is two-fold: first, to identify factors that affect the competitiveness of SMEs caused by adopting GPPs, and second, to test those factors whether they serve as necessary conditions in achieving that competitiveness.

A quantitative approach was used to survey 188 manufacturing SMEs in Pakistan. Cross-sectional data was collected through online questionnaires and analyzed using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA).

Results indicate a less pronounced direct association between the adoption of GPPs and firm competitiveness. However, this association becomes strongly positive with the mediating roles of SSB and GI. On the other hand, NCA results reveal that the adoption of GPPs, SSB and GI acts as necessary conditions for achieving firm competitiveness.

This research highlights the fact that simply adopting GPPs is not sufficient to guarantee true competitiveness; a multifaceted approach is required. Moreover, it offers practical insights into effective planning of green investments leading to sustainable development.

Various practical measures can be adopted to manage the social outcomes of investment in the adoption of GPPs by SMEs.

This study relates and contributes to the natural resource-based view (NRBV) theory, the stakeholder theory and the necessity theory by developing a novel analytical framework.

Drawing on social identity theory (SIT), the current research highlights the sequential mediation effects of customer interaction, functional value and hedonic value in linking customer-brand identification and self-representation with online brand advocacy (OBA).

Data were gathered from 483 Egyptian and 595 non-Egyptian Aliexpress shopping platform customers, then analyzed using SmartPLS 4.

The multigroup analysis findings revealed that customer interaction and functional/hedonic values sequentially mediated the linkages of customer-brand identification and self-presentation with OBA for Egyptian and non-Egyptian user groups.

The novelty of this study is that it tested and validated customer interaction with the Aliexpress service scale, allowing for reflection on the interactive nature of this platform between Egyptian and non-Egyptian customers. SIT also lends credence to the idea that self-presentation mediates the effect of customer-brand identification on Aliexpress’s OBA, potentially shedding new light on this understudied dimension using a theoretical framework.

ChatGPT is a new development in this technological era. This artificial intelligence-based tool responds to individuals’ queries and produces the requested content within seconds. Therefore, it is becoming popular among academics, the research community and library professionals. This study aims to test (through personal interaction with the tool) the authenticity of the ChatGPT’s produced records. Another objective of the research is to check the relevance between the individuals’ queries and the tool’s results. The research also intends to identify the challenges in retrieving information through ChatGPT.

The five researchers from different countries and organizations experienced ChatGPT by asking questions on more than 70 subjects. The responses were recorded in Notepad and converted into MS Excel and MS Access to standardize and analyze the data. The investigators consulted 11 reputed databases/sources, including Web of Science and Scopus, to assess the authenticity of the data retrieved through ChatGPT.

The findings confirmed that over 90% of results produced by ChatGPT were fake (the information did not exist in the literature). Similarly, the study sheds light on the discrepancies, such as irrelevant and incomplete information in the data generated by ChatGPT.

This is a unique study that shares the findings based on the different regions’ researchers’ personal experiences with ChatGPT. The researchers covered different subject areas (above 70) while asking questions to ChatGPT. The paper shares implications for researchers, students, faculty members, academic/research organizations and policymakers.

The aim of this paper is to explore how information shared by SMIs affects consumers' food tasting intentions. To achieve this, it integrates the IAM and TAM, in conjunction with trust and EWOM.

This paper utilized a convenience sampling technique, employing a survey instrument to gather data online. The questionnaire was distributed across the social media pages of food bloggers from September 11 to November 30, 2023. The collected data was analyzed using SPSS and AMOS.

We developed a research framework that integrates IAM, TAM, Trust, and EWOM variables to assess how information shared by SMIs influence consumers' intentions to explore new food tastes. The model demonstrated enhanced predictive and explanatory capabilities.

This study enriches the existing literature on information adoption and technology acceptance by advancing our understanding of how SMIs influence consumers’ food tasting intentions. Additionally, it aids SMIs in comprehending their role in endorsing new food products and restaurants, fostering trust and reliability among their followers. This study enables consumers to make more informed decisions about trying new food products or dining establishments, empowering them to evaluate influencer recommendations critically.

This study uniquely focuses on the influence of information shared by SMIs on consumers' intentions to taste new foods. While SMIs have been extensively studied in various contexts, such as fashion, beauty, and travel, this research offers a fresh perspective on understanding their impact on consumer behavior within the food industry.

The paper aims to systematically collect and review the literature on work from home (WFH) and libraries. Another objective of the review is to identify the services professionals offered while WFH, tools used, challenges and opportunities in this connection.

The study consulted four databases, namely, Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar and Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts, to collect and review the literature on the topic. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline was used to select the eligible studies for this review. A total of 27 studies out of 1,571 were considered eligible for the study. The authors also consulted Boynton and Greenhalgh (2004) guide for assessing the quality of the reviewed research. All types of studies and except books were selected for the review. However, the researchers did not apply the time limitation.

The research identified that libraries provided various services, including Mystery Box, live chat and 24-hour service, using different tools, including MS Teams, Zoom and Google Meet, while WFH. The study shared different challenges and opportunities identified from the reviewed literature, for libraries.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic review conducted to systematically collect and review the literature produced on WFH in terms of libraries regarding offered services, tools used to serve the users, challenges and opportunities. The review filled the literature gap and shared implications for library professionals and related stakeholders.