Subhabrata Ghosh and Krishna Singh
Sustainability promotes specific and balanced circumstances which favours the survival of human population with the surrounding Mother Nature with proper synchronization. This…
Abstract
Sustainability promotes specific and balanced circumstances which favours the survival of human population with the surrounding Mother Nature with proper synchronization. This practice ensures the use of all available natural resources in an equilibrated manner to satisfy the present needs along with the requirements of the succeeding generations. Agricultural sustainability reckons the role of healthy environment; society and economy in an integrated manner to promote food security and socio-economic development of the rural individuals. Normal agricultural practices have an unfathomed burden on the environment. This leads to various forms of environmental degradation like air and water pollution, soil depletion, climate change and loss of biodiversity. The sustainable agricultural practices aim to protect the environment, expand the Earth’s natural resource base and preserve or improve fertility of soil. Sustainable agriculture comprises with environmentally friendly farming methods that allow crops to be produced without harming natural systems. This prevents adverse impacts on soil, water, biodiversity as well as surrounding or downstream resources. In this present article we will analyse all issues related to mitigating environmental degradation through agricultural sustainability. Along with the proper assessment for agricultural sustainability is very crucial to understand the real scenario. This helps to take necessary measures for designing and its actual execution. The study constructed a composite index of agricultural sustainability by applying the principal component analysis method. Significant differences in agricultural sustainability were found among the states in India. It is important to mention that agricultural sustainability improved for all states in 2019 compared to 2016.
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The aim of this paper is to show the association which exists among the wide range of knowledge management, knowledge sharing and HRM practices in the knowledge‐intensive firms.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to show the association which exists among the wide range of knowledge management, knowledge sharing and HRM practices in the knowledge‐intensive firms.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed literature review includes the systematic process of research in the following manner; after identifying the main area of interest, key concepts and words were selected, parameters were set to ensure selection of good quality journals, and availability of articles in full text was also considered.
Findings
The study finds that one must keep in view the variable personnel demands and extensive training and development needs of knowledge workers, and highlights the need for attention to be paid to unique scientific practices for managing gold‐collar workers in knowledge‐intensive firms.
Research limitations/implications
The need for further empirical, cross‐case, cross‐cultural and longitudinal studies is highlighted to explore the dimensions of HR practices for managing gold‐collar workers in KIFs.
Originality/value
Perception of gold‐collar workers with reference to the relationship with top managers is discussed through the 30 articles published over the period 2000 to 2006. To manage KIFs, the creation of an original focus on people issues is highlighted. With the help of Chenail's qualitative matrix, the study thematically analyzes the HR antecedents that emerged into four distinctive categories.
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Sohni Siddiqui, Anjum Bano Kazmi and Zahid Ahmed
Aggression is an undesirable behavior that assaults traditions norms, morals and standards of ethics practiced in society. To address the scarceness of identification tools and…
Abstract
Purpose
Aggression is an undesirable behavior that assaults traditions norms, morals and standards of ethics practiced in society. To address the scarceness of identification tools and for evidence-based interventions in Pakistan, the purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which aggression is prevalent in Pakistan’s people by newly developed self-reported questionnaires in the Urdu language designed after reviewing the cultural and social perspectives of the society.
Design/methodology/approach
The research design was based on principles of scale development followed by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. A subject matter expert panel technique was adopted where educationists from diversified backgrounds helped to generate items and to establish content validity.
Findings
The three-factor construct has been supported by factor analysis. These analyzes identified aggression measures in terms of direct aggression, displaced aggression and indirect aggression. The model has established inner consistency, reliability and validity. Furthermore, the impact of age and gender on different forms of aggression was explored and discussed.
Originality/value
Aggression is a distinctive trait of many psychiatric disturbances. To undertake the dearth of identification tools and for evidence-based interventions in Pakistan, it was necessary to develop a tool for identification to address aggression issues among common people. This research is devised to develop a self-reported questionnaire in the Urdu language keeping cultural and social perspectives of society.
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Mahnoor Zahid, Hina Naeem, Iqra Aftab and Sajawal Ali Mughal
The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the effect of corporate social responsibility activities (CSRA) of the firm on its financial performance (FP) and analyze the mediating…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the effect of corporate social responsibility activities (CSRA) of the firm on its financial performance (FP) and analyze the mediating role of innovation and competitive advantage (CA) in the relationship between CSRA and FP in the manufacturing sector of an emerging country, i.e. Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
Data has been collected through an electronic structured questionnaire from 300 middle-level and top-level managers by surveying different manufacturing firms of Gujranwala, Pakistan. The study’s hypotheses have been checked by analyzing the reliability and validity of data and applying confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling through statistical package for the social sciences and analysis of moment structures.
Findings
Outcomes of this study supported the hypothesized model. It has been found that the CSRA plays a significant positive role in determining the FP of the firm. Furthermore, the CA and innovation have been proved as significant mediators between CSRA and FP.
Originality/value
The first time examining the intermediation of innovation and CA in the relationship between CSRA and FP is the primary input of this study to the literature. Practically, this study’s findings will help strategy makers of manufacturing firms in emerging countries develop better strategies for implementing CSRA, enhancing innovation, seeking CA and improving FP.
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Zahid Ahmed, Sohail Nadeem, Salman Saleem and Rahmat Ellahi
The purpose of this paper is to present a novel model on the unsteady MHD flow of heat transfer in carbon nanotubes with variable viscosity over a shrinking surface.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present a novel model on the unsteady MHD flow of heat transfer in carbon nanotubes with variable viscosity over a shrinking surface.
Design/methodology/approach
The temperature-dependent viscosity makes the proposed model non-linear and coupled. Consequently, the resulting non-linear partial differential equations are first reformed into set of ordinary differential equations through appropriate transformations and boundary layer approximation and are then solved numerically by the Keller box method.
Findings
Graphical and numerical results are executed keeping temperature-dependent viscosity of nanofluid. It is noted that, for diverse critical points, it is found that at one side of these critical values, multiple solutions exist; on the other side, no solution exists. A comparison is also computed for the special case of existing study. The temperature and pressure profiles are also plotted for various effective parameters.
Originality/value
The work is original.
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Ghuzayyil Saad Alessa, Shahbaz Sharif, Rab Nawaz Lodhi and Zahid Mahmood
Drawing from social exchange theory, this paper aims to examine the role of five mediating mechanisms between the relationships of critical constructs of frontline employees’…
Abstract
Purpose
Drawing from social exchange theory, this paper aims to examine the role of five mediating mechanisms between the relationships of critical constructs of frontline employees’ performance, and both transformational leadership and proactive personality to find out which mediating mechanism highly boosts frontline performance in 3-star hotels, Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
By testing parallel mediating linkages, this study used a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique using partial least square-SEM. This empirical investigation used a quota sampling technique to collect data from the frontline employees of 3-star hotels from the top five big cities of Pakistan. The study administered online survey questionnaires among 500 frontline workers in 3-star hotels.
Findings
The results of the study supported a substantial direct influence of transformational leadership and proactive personality on employees’ performance. Nevertheless, it was observed in the findings of this investigation, significant mediating relationships between frontline employees’ performance and the key constructs of transformational leadership and proactive personality. However, the construct of work engagement was not found to have a significant mediating relationship between front-line employees’ performance and both constructs of transformational leadership and proactive personality. Moreover, leader-member exchange was identified as the highest mediating mechanism among the five. It is noteworthy, the results of this study highlighted that the notion of leader-member exchange is extremely embedded in transformational leadership to enhance the frontline performance than proactive personality.
Practical implications
The empirical evidence of this study insinuates that the management may establish a system of collaborative learning and social exchange between leaders and followers. This approach might be the essence to improve the work outcomes of frontline employees specifically within the 3-star hotels and hospitality organizations at large.
Originality/value
This study contributes to novel findings particularly to determine the five mediating mechanisms, i.e. work engagement, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, organizational commitment and leader-member exchange between frontline employees’ performance and the constructs of transformational leadership and proactive personality. It might be noteworthy, the empirical and anecdotal pieces of evidence of this study indicated a social exchange system within transformational leadership optimizes the frontline employees’ performance that ultimately contributes to the overall organizational outcomes.
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Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman, Khalid Latif, Muhammad Mohsin, Zahid Hussain, Sajjad Ahmad Baig and Izma Imtiaz
The basic intention of this research is to investigate the role of information transparency of financial institutions and psychological attitude of the individuals toward their…
Abstract
Purpose
The basic intention of this research is to investigate the role of information transparency of financial institutions and psychological attitude of the individuals toward their attention to saving and borrowing. This study also tries to know how an individual's psychological factor affects a person's attitude to motivate them to save or borrow and contribute to well-being by giving them confidence that they can face financial challenges. So, the main concern of this study is to explore different factors that ultimately contribute to the financial well-being (FWB) of individual.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted by using a well-structured questionnaire to collect data and test the developed hypotheses by using SmartPLS. Data were collected from 120 customers of seven different commercial banks in Pakistan.
Findings
The findings of this study show that perceived information transparency positively affects FWB. It is also because transparent shared information creates positive change in individuals' perceived self-efficacy and leads to FWB. Furthermore, an individual's psychological attitude toward borrowing and saving did not contribute to the FWB of people who belong to Pakistan.
Research limitations/implications
The research area is limited to one city of Pakistan and analysis is done with small numbers of sample, it can be increased and more areas can be explored.
Practical implications
This research provides significant implications for people and economists by providing awareness about the antecedents of FWB. The policymakers or managers who work in financial institutions should provide more transparent information and create less risky opportunities to improve the individual's well-being. If person, manager and financial institution can properly utilize the information of this study, then they are able to improve their FWB. By providing more transparent services and favorable experience with your dealings, it could help to obtain and retain more loyal internal (employees) and external customers. The loyal customers and sincere employees can increase the productivity level of organization. The more productive organizations in countries means better society and progress in the economy.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the body of knowledge that how perceived information transparency and psychological attitude of borrowing create improvement and upward changes in the FWB of a person.
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Mubasher Iqbal, Shajara Ul-Durar, Noman Arshed, Khuram Shahzad and Umer Ayub
Increased trapped heat in the atmosphere leads to global warming and economic activity is the primary culprit. This study proposes the nonlinear impact of economic activity on…
Abstract
Purpose
Increased trapped heat in the atmosphere leads to global warming and economic activity is the primary culprit. This study proposes the nonlinear impact of economic activity on cooling degree days to develop a climate Kuznets curve (CKC). Further, this study explores the moderating role of higher education and renewable energy in diminishing the climate-altering effects of economic activity.
Design/methodology/approach
All the selected BRICS economies range from 1992 to 2020. The CKC analysis uses a distribution and outlier robust panel quantile autoregressive distributed lagged model.
Findings
Results confirmed a U-shaped CKC, controlling for population density, renewable energy, tertiary education enrollment and innovation. The moderating role of renewable energy and education can be exploited to tackle the progressively expanding climate challenges. Hence, education and renewable energy intervention can help in reducing CKC-based global warming.
Research limitations/implications
This study highlighted the incorporation of climate change mitigating curriculum in education, so that the upcoming economic agents are well equipped to reduce global warming which must be addressed globally.
Originality/value
This study is instrumental in developing the climate change-based economic activity Kuznets curve and assessing the potential of higher education and renewable energy policy intervention.
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Christine Wan Shean Liew, T. Ramayah and Noorliza Karia
The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing consumers’ intention to purchase Halal cosmetics through the lens of theory of consumption values (TCV).
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine factors influencing consumers’ intention to purchase Halal cosmetics through the lens of theory of consumption values (TCV).
Design/methodology/approach
This study employed a quantitative research methodology, collecting data from 185 respondents through an online questionnaire. The participants, selected via purposive sampling, were all current purchasers of cosmetics. The data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with the assistance of IBM SPSS and SmartPLS software.
Findings
This research reveals that emotional value is the most substantial value predictor, followed by epistemic value, conditional value and functional value. Further, the moderation analysis shows that the effect of conditional value is strengthened when the consumer are from a higher social class.
Originality/value
This study reveals that consumption values with context-specific attributes directly impact consumer purchase intentions towards Halal cosmetics, while social class acts as a significant catalyst. This offers a fresh perspective that mitigates the traditional misconceptions about Halal cosmetics among Malaysians, highlighting the complexity and resilience of consumer adoption in this innovative sector.
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Muhammad Zahid Iqbal and Rashid Ahmad Khan
This paper aims to review the relevant literature on training needs assessment (TNA) with an objective to provide users/beneficiaries of TNA with the understanding of its growing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the relevant literature on training needs assessment (TNA) with an objective to provide users/beneficiaries of TNA with the understanding of its growing concept, multiple uses (outcomes), and valuing these uses (antecedents).
Design/methodology/approach
To conduct the literature review on uses of TNA, the authors used the systematic search comprising four stages: selection of appropriate search terms such as training, needs assessment, needs analysis, training needs assessment, and training needs analysis; carrying out search in established databases such as EBSCOhost, Emerald, JSTOR, SpringerLink, and Wiley‐Blackwell; initial sample filtering (relevance‐based); and further sample filtering (access‐based). Based on this review, a conceptual framework for examining the forward and backward linkages between TNA and nine human resource management and development areas is proposed for further examination.
Findings
This paper highlights training plans, goal setting, employee development, managing change, career development, knowledge, skills, and attitude, learning motivation, cost effectiveness, and performance appraisal as nine major human resource management and development areas revealing different uses of TNA. This gives an appropriate place to the expanding view of TNA.
Practical implications
This paper offers important implications for human resource professionals. Their learning about multiple uses of TNA can help them attain comprehensive solutions of varied organisational problems.
Originality/value
This paper attempts to make a significant contribution towards understanding the growing concept of TNA by expanding the long‐established way of looking at it through increasing its potential effects and subsequently enhancing its purposes and uses for both training and non‐training initiatives.