Search results

This study aims to estimate and compare the effect of EU and US GSP schemes on the cotton and textile sectors of Pakistan.

The analysis used data from 2003 to 2014 for all the 14 categories of cotton and textile products at two-digit using HS commodity classification. Effects of the EU and US GSPs are estimated using a gravity trade model.

Both the concessions are statistically significant determinants of wadding and nonwoven special yarn, articles of apparel-knitted, articles of apparel-not-knitted and made-up textiles sectors. In the rest of the sectors, the results are a mix. Among these, EU GSP is a statistically significant determinant of wool and animal hair and manmade filaments yarn exports, while the US GSP is important for the exports of cotton yarn and woven fabrics, manmade staple fibers, carpets, impregnated fiber and knitted or crocheted fabrics.

The research contributes in two major ways. First, it estimates the effects of EU and US GSPs on the textile sector of Pakistan while controlling for the effect of tariffs. Second, the study tests joint hypotheses about the role of EU and US GSPs in the cotton and textile products exports of Pakistan.

The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the effect of dividend policy on shareholders’ wealth in Shariah-compliant (SC) and noncompliant (NC) nonfinancial firms in Pakistan.

All the nonfinancial firms listed on the Pakistan stock exchange have been taken as a sample for 2016–2021. The Karachi Meezan index screening criteria were applied to screen SC firms. Based on the BPLM and Hausman test results, the authors used the fixed-effect and pooled OLS model for SC and NC firms, respectively. The F-test was used to compare the effect of each dividend policy variable on shareholders’ wealth for both firm types.

The findings reveal that the dividend policy does affect the shareholders’ wealth in both firm types. Dividend per share (DPS), dividend yield (DY) and earnings per share significantly affect the shareholders’ wealth in SC firms. For NC firms, the dividend payout, DPS and DY are critical. Moreover, the F-test results show that the DPS, DY and leverage effect on the shareholders’ wealth significantly differ for both firm types.

This study fills the research gap in the Pakistani context specifically as well as globally by providing important insights into the relationship between a firm’s dividend policy and shareholders’ wealth for SC and NC firms. In addition, this study comprehensively compares the results for both firm types, which is also lacking in the existing literature. Because this study is based in Pakistan, the generalizability of the results would be limited.

The findings of this study are helpful for the management of SC and NC firms in devising their dividend policies that can maximize their shareholders’ wealth. This study also provides guidance and knowledge to investors in choosing companies for their investments that can maximize their wealth.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the relationship between dividend policy and shareholders’ wealth for SC firms in Pakistan. It is also the first study that comprehensively compares the dividend policy relationship with shareholders’ wealth for SC and NC firms. In addition, using the F-test for joint hypotheses to compare the specific effect of each dividend policy variable is a methodological contribution of the study.

This study aims to compare capital structure determinants' effect on the leverage levels of Shariah-compliant (SC) and noncompliant (NC) firms in Pakistan. This study also estimates and compares the capital structure adjustment speed for both firm types.

Based on the Karachi Meezan Index screening criterion, a balanced panel of 117 SC and 68 NC firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2008 to 2018 was constituted. This study used the generalized method of moments to identify the significant determinants of capital structure and estimate the speed of adjustment. In addition, the F-test was used to check whether the effect of the determinants on the leverage is same for SC and non-SC firms.

The authors found that different determinants affect both firm types' leverage levels (book and market) differently. The authors also found that the adjustment speed of SC firms toward their target leverage ratio is slower than their NC peers. Lastly, significant variation was observed in the results under different screening criteria.

This study fills the literature gap by providing a comprehensive comparison of the capital structure decisions of the SC and non-SC firms. Because this study is limited to Pakistan, generalizability would be an issue.

This study will guide the management of SC and non-SC firms about which factors are reliably important in choosing their capital structure. The findings also call for bringing harmony in the different Shariah screening criteria being in practice.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first comparative study that identifies the significant capital structure determinants for SC and NC firms and investigates their effect on the leverage of both firm types. By testing joint hypotheses of same relationship, this study seeks to determine if, because of Shariah restrictions, the capital structure determinants of SC firms are similar to NC firms or they exhibit different behavior. The authors also repeat their analysis using other prominent screening criteria to assess the consistency of their results.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had profound economic effects, putting women entrepreneurs at considerable risk of losing income and sales growth as a result. This study aims to examine whether the COVID-19 pandemic is a blessing or a curse for women entrepreneurs in Pakistan’s informal sector. The influence of business type, family support and other socio-economic factors on the sales volume of women’s businesses is examined.

Data were collected from 400 women entrepreneurs using a survey questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationships between perceived sales volume and socio-economic as well as demographic factors of women entrepreneurs.

Findings for RQ1 revealed that the pandemic was a blessing for cloth and cosmetic entrepreneurs, but a curse for those women selling dairy products. Results for RQ2 showed that age, homeownership, household size, family support and type of business were significant predictors of sales. Furthermore, women entrepreneurs were greatly influenced by their family’s desires and decisions, such that women entrepreneurs who received support from families and relatives reported higher sales than those who did not receive such support.

The results may assist policymakers in designing supportive programs to encourage women’s informal entrepreneurial activities. Creating entrepreneurial ecosystems may provide support for women entrepreneurs beyond family support. The findings provide a better understanding of women’s business effectiveness during COVID-19 pandemic. It reveals the resilience of women entrepreneurs in the face of cultural, economic and institutional constraints encountered during the pandemic.

This study is unique because it focuses on the impact of the pandemic at the household level rather than examining broad macroeconomic scenarios. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to explore the informal, home-based business sector of women entrepreneurs in Pakistan during the pandemic.

Export product concentration is common in developing nations, where raw materials and semi-manufactured commodities face rigid demand in international markets. This leads to the monopolisation of exports, particularly when targeting the developed world. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations have prioritised diversification to boost exports and per capita income, globalising their economies. The normalised Hirschman index is employed to analyse the determinants influencing the diversification of exports in ASEAN and SAARC countries from 2018 to 2021. Except for the fuel intensity variable, the results show that structural transformation, competitive advantages, industrial sector expansion, institutional capability, local investment development, financial stability and overall economic performance positively promote export diversification intensity. The key result is that institutional strength helps nations rapidly diversify their exports, highlighting the importance of structural transformation in boosting exports and globalising economies.

The main goal of this research study is to look at the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion in the association between workplace incivility and job outcomes (job stress, job satisfaction, and employee turnover intentions).

The authors gathered field data from individuals working in the higher education sector of Jammu and Kashmir to test the proposed study paradigm. A total of 550 respondents reported their perceptions of workplace incivility, emotional exhaustion, and job-related outcomes (job stress, job satisfaction, and employee turnover intention) at Time 1 in the Kashmir division and Time 2 in the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir via a two-wave data collection design.

The findings supported the hypothesized relationships, demonstrating that emotional exhaustion acts as a mediator between workplace incivility and employee job outcomes (job stress, employee job satisfaction, and employee intention to leave).

The findings of this research study will assist organizations and practitioners in comprehending the implications of workplace incivility and emotional exhaustion, as well as how they positively impact job-related outcomes (employee job stress, turnover intention), and negatively on job satisfaction.

This study adds to existing knowledge on COR theory by suggesting workplace incivility as a stressor and also testing emotional exhaustion as a defense mechanism for determining the effect of workplace incivility on employee job outcomes.

In this chapter, I uncover the jail diaries of a revolutionary woman of the 20th century Pakistan, Akhtar Baloch. Although feminism in Pakistan has oscillated between liberal and postcolonial camps, through reading Akhtar's diaries, compiled as Prison Narratives (2017), I center Akhtar's own struggles for Sindh, along with the resistance of the women she met in the prison convicted for the murders of their husbands, to better theorize Marxist Feminism in Pakistan that overturns the structures that commodify women through love and revolution. My article will show the commodification of women's bodies; the “sale” of women through marriage as the goal of this commodification; the lovelessness and alienation women experience in commodified marriages; the unexpected fall in love with someone whom it is subversive for the commodified wife to love; the subversion of this unexpected event that leads to the attempted resolution of this tension through murder; the separation of the lovers through the incarceration of the woman by the capitalist-patriarchal state; and finally, the unexpected outcome (albeit the most common one) that the male lover abandons his female lover once she's jailed, but the defiantly brave female lover finds platonic love in jail through close female friendships with other women who are similarly brave in both love and in revolution. Through this exposition, I show that Akhtar's diaries provide a way for us to build on Marxist Feminist theory through a theory of love and revolution from a Sindhi feminist perspective.

The purpose of this research is to rank the most significant factors of organizational structure that can reduce time and cost overruns (nonphysical waste) in road projects of the developing countries. Additionally, the effect of factors of organizational structure on nonphysical waste in road projects is also measured.

Factors of organizational structure causing time and cost overrun are extracted through a content analysis of the published literature. Moreover, a questionnaire survey is carried out involving 128 professionals to assess the effect of organizational structure factors on time and cost overrun. Finally, to obtain a more objective evaluation, relative importance index and regression analysis techniques are utilized, and the most severe factors influencing time and cost overrun are indicated.

This study found out that top management support and procurement procedures are the most significant factors influencing time and cost overruns in road projects of the developing countries.

A small number of studies have been conducted to investigate the effect of factors of organizational structure on time and cost overrun in the construction industry. And even more, its relation with respect to road projects of the developing countries is limited. This research highlights the effect of most significant factors of organizational structure that influence the nonphysical waste in road projects of the developing countries. Therefore, this study adds to the body of knowledge by recommending that all the stakeholders of construction project should pay close attention toward these factors to control the enigma of time and cost overrun. It might also prove helpful, if implemented to its full extent, in all the road construction activities undertaken.

This study examines the impact of entrepreneurial leadership (EL) on Chinese micro and small family businesses’ (MSFBs) innovativeness. Drawing on the resource-based view, this research study further explores the intermediary roles of proactive personality (PP) and affective commitment (AC) between ELs’ and MSFBs’ innovativeness. Besides this, the present work proposes a novel contingency impact of big data-powered artificial intelligence (BDAI) between EL, PP and AC, which indirectly spurs MSFBs’ innovativeness.

This study proposed a moderated mediation model using multi-wave, multi-source, time-lagged datasets of 380 employees from 190 Chinese MSFBs. We tested our hypotheses using structural equation modeling through the PLS technique.

The findings reveal a significant impact of EL on MSFB innovativeness, underscoring the pivotal intermediary roles of EL in driving MSFB innovativeness. Furthermore, BDAI emerges as a critical contingency factor, amplifying the effects of EL on both PP and AC to spur MSFBs’ innovativeness.

Our research offers several practical implications for Chinese MSFBs aiming to enhance innovativeness and competitive advantage. Firstly, understanding the direct impact of EL on MSFBs’ innovativeness provides valuable guidance for MSFB leaders. Secondly, recognizing the mediating roles of PP and AC underscores the importance of human and social capital in driving innovation within Chinese MSFBs. Thirdly, leveraging BDAI as a contingency factor can further augment the effects of EL on both PP and AC, thereby enhancing innovation outcomes. Thus, managers can capitalize on BDAI to gain actionable insights to increase MSFBs’ innovativeness.

This study enlightened how EL can develop MSFBs innovativeness through PP and AC. Our findings reveal that MSFBs can increase their innovation by leveraging PP and AC, leading to higher proactive provision in employees’ behavior. Subsequently, our results synchronized the exploration of BDAI as a novel insight for MSFB innovativeness. This shed light on a highly notable contribution to understanding BDAI to benefit MSFBs, acting as a critical contingency between EL, PP and AC.

The Western-centric nature of research into corporate social responsibility (CSR) has left gaps in one’s understanding of local culture's role in augmenting or undermining the impact of firms' CSR policies. This paper constructs and tests variables measuring “Confucian values” mediation between Chinese employees' perceived CSR and their job satisfaction, organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior.

The hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling, using data from 311 responses completed by employees at Chinese private companies, located in China's Cheng-Yu economic area (Chongqing and Chengdu).

Chinese employees' perceived CSR had a positive significant effect on job attitudes (job satisfaction and organizational commitment). However, perceived CSR had no significant positive impact on organizational citizenship behavior. The authors also found that Confucian values are a partial mediator between perceived CSR and job attitudes and a full mediator between perceived CSR and organizational citizenship behavior.

The results enrich one’s understanding of cultural values in these relationships and suggest further research into how firms and governments in Confucian-based societies can better operationalize Confucian values to argument the firm's and country's CSR identity, thus improving job attitudes and public relations among customers who share this cultural heritage. For non-Confucian societies and foreign firms operating in China, the results encourage searches for Confucian value substitutes, such as trust and education, to incorporate into CSR mechanisms that promote these values among employees. The authors suggest approaches for furthering these agendas.