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The research aims to explore the impact of digital platform integration and reconstruction capabilities on organizational agility (mediator) and ESG performance of small and medium size enterprises of Pakistan. The study also examines the moderating role of technology uncertainty between digital platform capabilities and organizational agility that further leads to ESG performance. Data is collected from 300 firms while industries include; IT, Manufacturing, Textiles, Electronics, and Automobile in eight big cities of Pakistan and the respondents are middle and senior managers. Data was analyzed using the software; SPSS (reliability analysis) and R Studio (version 4.5.2), Structural Equation modeling (SEM) and regression Analysis. The study used Resource-Based View and Dynamic Capability Theory to see the role of digital platform capabilities, organization agility and uncertain technology conditions’ on ESG. The findings of this research are that such organizations with agility perform better on the ESG dimensions. First, this study takes a capability perspective to explore the impact of digital platform integration and reconstruction capability on Organizational agility, which extends the related studies taking digital perspective. Second, the inner mechanism between organizational agility and firm ESG performance is revealed where organizational agility works as a bridge for ESG performance. Third, the relationship between digital platform capabilities and organizational agility is exposed by the moderation of technology uncertainty. Where technology uncertainty positively moderates the relationship between digital platform capabilities and organizational agility.

Purpose of this research is to examine the relationship between organizational agility (OA) and the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance of firms. Specifically, it seeks to understand the organizational agility and agility in various industries of Pakistani firms including some control variables e.g. firm size, firm age, industry and city. Data is collected from 300 firms of Pakistan and the respondents are middle and senior managers. R studio is used to analyze data (version 4.5.2). The analysis techniques include; descriptive statistical, correlation, reliability, validity, Common Method Variance (CMV), Structural Equation modeling (SEM) and regression (including control variables). Data is collected from the industries of IT, Manufacturing, Textiles, Electronics, and Automobile, in eight cities of Pakistan. Results show that there exists a positive relationship between organizational agility and firm ESG Performance. This study contributes to the literature by the importance of organizational agility as a dynamic capability in achieving ESG goals, providing new directions for future research and practical recommendations for policymakers and industry leaders.

This paper aims to evaluate how the type of streamer (human vs. AI) influences consumer desire in live-streaming commerce through socio-cognitive and motivational mechanisms. Building on the CASA framework, Self-Determination Theory (SDT), and the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior (MGB), this study examines whether human and AI streamers differentially generate perceived empathy, which then activates intrinsic and extrinsic motivations leading to consumer desire. This paper also aims to test whether personal involvement and skepticism moderate the empathy–motivation pathway. A between-subjects experimental design was used to randomly assign participants to view identical livestreaming scripts presented by either a human or a humanoid AI streamer. Data from all 277 Chinese livestreaming participants were analyzed using PLS-SEM. The key findings show that (i) perceived empathy is significantly higher for human streamers than AI streamers, (ii) perceived empathy significantly boosts intrinsic motivation and consumer desire, with a smaller effect on extrinsic motivation, and (iii) intrinsic motivation, but not extrinsic motivation, is a significant predictor of consumer desire. Additionally, personal involvement strengthens the link between empathy and intrinsic motivation, while skepticism weakens the motivational pathways—especially in AI-based interactions. This research reveals that empathy is the main psychological link between streamer identity and consumer desire, and that intrinsic motivation is the dominant mechanism driving consumer engagement in live commerce, grounded in warmth and relatedness. The findings also indicate that emotional authenticity and the fulfillment of psychological needs remain crucial determinants of consumer desire, even in AI-mediated retail. Practical implications include enhancing empathetic communication and balancing the use of human and AI streamers in digital commerce.

Youth student organizations, particularly Student Union Branches, play a vital role in ideological development and talent cultivation within Chinese higher education. Operating within a unique socio-educational context, these organizations must navigate the complex challenge of enhancing organizational effectiveness while ensuring ideological alignment. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys of 127 student cadres with in-depth case studies of 6 Student Union Branches, to investigate how sophisticated mechanisms for understanding, predicting, and managing individual thoughts and behaviors can improve organizational outcomes. The research proposes an integrated U-P-M (Understanding-Prediction-Management) framework. This includes a multi-layered understanding mechanism based on dynamic monitoring, dialogue, and data insight; a prediction mechanism utilizing intelligent forecasting and proactive intervention; and a management mechanism combining value guidance, organizational optimization, and environmental shaping. Quantitative results show that Student Union Branches implementing the systematic U-P-M framework achieved significant gains: a 28% increase in organizational belonging, a 35% rise in activity participation, and a 42% improvement in task execution efficiency. Qualitative findings further reveal contextual implementation challenges and success factors. This study contributes an evidence-based theoretical framework and reproducible pathways for enhancing youth student organization effectiveness within China's specific educational environment. It highlights the delicate balance between organizational autonomy and ideological conformity, offering valuable insights for educational administrators and student affairs professionals seeking to foster high-quality organizational development.

The study sought to investigate the factors influencing environmental reporting in developing countries. This has been necessited by the inconsistances and non compliant to regulations and laws of environmental reporting among the developing countries. Through examining the factors that influence environmental reporting the study hope to establish context based solutions to the challenge of environmental reporting. The study used a quantitative research method and factor analysis to establish the factors influencing environmental reporting. It was discovered that there are seven key factors influencing environmental reporting among Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. These factors are: regulatory drivers, risk management drivers, market drivers, management influence drivers, strategic communication drivers, value creation drivers and legitimacy drivers. The study also revealed that there are several sub-factors that influencing environmental reporting under each key factor identified. The study concluded that environmental reporting influenced by the seven key factors. The study recommends that SADC sought for in-depth understanding of factors influencing environmental reporting. This is because understanding of the factors affecting environmental reporting is essential for the formulation and reporting that that satisfies stakeholders' requirements.

This study investigates the factors influencing investment decision-making within South Africa's financial markets, focusing on psychological, demographic, and external market elements. Drawing from Prospect Theory, the research reveals a deviation from traditional behavioral assumptions, highlighting that external market dynamics, rather than individual risk perceptions or demographic traits, predominantly guide investor behavior. Using a quantitative cross-sectional design, data were collected through structured questionnaires from 120 randomly selected South African investors aged 18 and older with market experience. Structural equation modelling assessed factors influencing risk perception and subsequently, investment behavior. The findings demonstrate that market-related variables significantly influence risk perception (? = 0.653, p < 0.001) and decision-making, aligning with the Efficient Market Hypothesis. In contrast to Prospect Theory's expectations, risk perception had no significant direct effect on investment choices (? = -0.009, p = 0.933). Cognitive biases and emotional influences exerted a moderate impact, while demographic characteristics, including gender, education, and experience, showed minimal influence on investment decisions, suggesting that practical market experience outweighs formal training. With robust construct validation (CR = 0.711 to 0.951), the study enhances the reliability and credibility of the findings. It highlights global regulatory frameworks as crucial for investor confidence. These results contribute to behavioral finance literature and support practical implications for policy, market transparency, and investor education. Future research should consider diverse populations and qualitative investors' perspectives.

The changing business environment in South Africa has encouraged Management Accounting graduates to consider alternative career paths beyond traditional corporate positions. Entrepreneurship, especially in the fields of consulting and financial advisory, offers a valuable opportunity for these graduates to utilize their skills in financial analysis, business strategy, and risk management. Nonetheless, many graduates remain underrepresented in entrepreneurial endeavors due to several challenges, including limited exposure to entrepreneurship education, a tendency towards risk aversion, and difficulties in accessing financial resources. This study examines the entrepreneurial intentions of Management Accounting graduates in South Africa, focusing on their perceptions of self-efficacy, available support systems, and the obstacles they encounter in pursuing entrepreneurship. Anchored in the Entrepreneurial Intention Theory (EIT), the research investigates key factors such as attitudes towards entrepreneurship, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms that affect graduates’ career decisions. A quantitative methodology was employed, surveying third year and postgraduate diploma students at the Durban University of Technology to evaluate their preparedness for entrepreneurship. The findings reveal that although graduates acknowledge entrepreneurship as a feasible career option, deficiencies in entrepreneurial training and limited opportunities for practical business experience impede their transition into self-employment. The study emphasizes the necessity of incorporating entrepreneurship education into Management Accounting curricula and enhancing collaborations between universities and industries to address these deficiencies. Moreover, targeted support from government agencies and financial institutions is crucial for cultivating a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem. The study seeks to provide valuable insights for educational institutions and policymakers to improve career diversification strategies for graduates by tackling these barriers. Promoting entrepreneurial ventures in consulting and financial advisory not only broadens employment opportunities but also contributes to the wider economic development of South Africa.

The study explores relationships between renewable energy variables across African nations, focusing on South Africa (RSA) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using panel data from 2013 to 2022. Key variables include Chinese mining sector FDI (in USD), renewable energy capacity (in MW), technological advancements, policy frameworks, natural resource management, technological adoption, and risk perception. Employing descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation, and linear regression, the study reveals notable findings. Descriptive statistics highlight significant diversity in renewable energy capacity, policy support, and mining sector FDI levels across African countries, reflecting varying development stages and investment climates. The DRC exhibits slower FDI growth compared to South Africa. Correlation analysis indicates that Chinese FDI strongly correlates with technological advancements, favorable policy frameworks, and renewable energy capacity, while high-risk perceptions discourage investment and capacity development. Regression results identify technological advancements as the most significant predictor of FDI and sustainable growth, emphasizing its critical role in attracting investment. Although policy frameworks and risk perception show potential, further exploration with larger datasets is required to uncover their moderating or indirect effects. The study underscores the interdependence between technological development, investment flows, and renewable energy capacity. It calls on African nations to prioritize technological advancements, foster partnerships with Chinese firms for technology transfer, and implement robust policy frameworks. Policymakers should focus on political stability, economic reforms, tax incentives, streamlined approvals, co-financing mechanisms, and addressing structural challenges to effectively attract FDI and drive sustainable growth.

  South Africa is one of the most popular tourist destinations on the African continent, with timeshares—vacation properties shared by multiple owners—being an important feature of the tourism industry as it contributes significant growth and sustainability of tourist destinations. After its introduction in the 1960s, timeshare gained popularity through its capability to provide luxury holiday affordability and security in South Africa. Since then, timeshare businesses have used traditional public relations, marketing, advertising strategies and tactics to increase brand awareness and reach sales targets. During the difficult COVID-19 period, global tourism declined drastically due to travel restrictions, extreme lockdowns and tight regulations, forcing businesses to adapt their marketing strategies to cope with unprecedented challenges and the loss of customers. Before the pandemic’s culmination, travel agencies and timeshares thus utilized digital marketing and social media to effectively strategise and publicly engage with their audiences online. Drawing upon McGuire’s (1969) theory of information processing, and Echtner and Ritchie’s (1993) destination image branding, a content and thematic analysis of two South African timeshare companies and their Facebook page content was studied to investigate the public relations tactics and marketing strategies implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Key findings reveal that timeshares engaged publicly with customers through posts which stimulated online participation, which included the sharing of images, information, updates, competitions and discounts, thus maximising the potential of social media to engage with stakeholders on a short to long term basis.

This paper aims to identify the factors influencing companies’ performance of Textiles and Apparel Industries in Ethiopia, particularly, in the Eastern Industrial Zone. The researchers employed Maximum Likelihood with Robust (MLR) in Confirmatory Factor Analysis Model (CFA) for survey data gathered from the employees of the Textiles and Apparel industries operating in the Eastern Industrial Zone in Ethiopia which took place from 2020-2021. Main findings of this study indicate that (i) one-unit enhancement in Companies’ Performance yields a favorable impact on raw materials & financial situation; (ii) human capital experiences a rise in the expected units followed, (iii) competitive environment displaying an increase of the units as well, (iv) policies environment demonstrates an improvement, finally (v) organizational development exhibits growth of the expected units as well. This study has identified that these five endogenous latent variables are positively influenced by exogenous latent variable, Companies’ Performance because all have shown the results above the expectation. This study brings insight to investors how they boost their companies’ performance and develops the best strategies for the success of their companies.

This study aims to increase knowledge and understanding of Government-to-Business (G2B) Services in Myanmar and will also discover the critical challenges for G2B e-Service provision in Myanmar. The government officials from the agencies providing G2B services are surveyed to explore the current status of G2B services in Myanmar. Questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively, with the respondents identifying themselves as they currently work at government agencies. The study revealed that among the total 30 Ministries, it is 24 % of public services are available online. The current study found that ICT infrastructure barriers, legal and policy issues, and financial barriers are significant challenges that delay the progress of G2B e-Service implementation in Myanmar. The ICT infrastructure, particularly regarding data center, are still considered inadequate, and financial and technical assistance is in demand for implementing the G2B e-Service. Social and cultural barriers are the fewer obstacles found in the analysis, with an overall rate of 87.3% positive opinion on the digital transformation of G2B services. This study will support several contributions to implementing e-Government services in Myanmar and provide awareness about G2B e-Service in Myanmar.

Research has indicated that problems related to behavioral support for organizational change must be re-addressed to provide an improved implementation of changes. It is essential to explore factors for the complex implications of organizational change before implementing it in practice. This research aims to explore predictors of behavioral support for organizational change in Ethiopian commercial banks. In-depth interviews with purposive and convenient sampling techniques were conducted with employees (n=43) because qualitative research provides opportunities to explore employee experiences and get detailed information about how they perceive behavioral support for organizational change. This study used grounded theory and thematic analysis to explain behavioral support for organizational change and to establish a theoretical basis for further investigations. Our findings indicate that traditional predictors for behavioral support for organizational change might not be enough. This study suggested three new predictors: "perceived cost," "reward," and "prior change experience" to explore behavioral support for organizational change. The study tried to clarify organizational change drivers from employees' perspectives, which offered an alternative avenue that could provide the foundation for accepting organizational change.

Behavior change maintenance can guide the development and evaluation of interventions promoting sustained behaviors in organizational changes. This research aims to examine the factors that influence behavioral maintenance for organizational change in Ethiopian commercial banks. The study developed a comprehensive model to explain the mechanism of behavioral maintenance for organizational change by employees, using self-determination theory with two additional exogenous constructs, value congruence and excessive work demands. Applying mixed-analytical approaches, including SEM and fsQCA, advances the knowledge of how employees motivate to maintain their behavior regarding the organizational change. The target population consists of lower-level managers and 317 valid responses were retained for further analysis. In our findings, the SEM results reveal that perceived relatedness, perceived competency, perceived autonomy, and perceived enjoyment influence employees' behavioral maintenance for organizational change, the fsQCA results indicated that value congruence must always be combined in these variables. The findings suggested an alternative path that might serve as the basis for sustaining organizational change.

Behavior maintenance for organizational change is the continuous behavior performance following an initial intentional change. This research examines the importance of factors that influence behavioral maintenance for organizational change. This study proposes a research model incorporating self-determination, regular-fit, self-concept, and habit theories to identify potential influencing factors of behavioral maintenance for organizational change in Ethiopia and quantify the importance level of these factors using ML techniques. A survey study was carried out in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 310 valid responses. The comparison of five different ML techniques shows that Naive Bayes (GaussianNB) outperforms the other classification model.  Naive Bayes (GaussianNB) model-based feature importance analysis shows that perceived competency, perceived enjoyment, and perceived autonomy are the most prominent contributor to behavioral maintenance for organizational change. The results confirmed that the quality of individuals' motivation affects the extent to which individuals will engage in, and persist with, behaviors.

To improve audit reports' transparency and information content, China implemented new auditing standards in 2017.  The standards, which include disclosing key audit matters, were applied to A+H share companies in 2017 and A-share companies in 2018.  This paper uses A+H-share companies as the experimental group and A-share companies as the control group and applies the difference-in-differences method to test the market response to the new auditing standards.  We find a statistically significant positive cumulative abnormal return (CAR) during the report release event window for the A+H share companies.  The results indicate a greater investor reaction to the release of audit reports under the new standards implying that the audit reforms enhanced the information of the reports.  Furthermore, the positive CAR indicates that the reports reassured investors that the audit did not reveal significant problems or that existing weaknesses were addressed.  We also found a statistically insignificant difference in the volatility of stock prices during the event window for the experimental and control group. 

The present study aims to recognize the commensality phenomena and the role of empathy in emerging ethical food consumption behavior at a social level.  The study applied qualitative research using an ethnographic method to construct situational and emotional factors of commensality as food consumption behavior in the social meal context. Finding demonstrates that social context influence eating behavior of individual through empathy. It explores a segmented social practice concerning a different viewpoint of food consumption and preference. It is a more theoretical contribution to the sociology of food as a social practice. Additionally, we define responsive eating behavior in conjunction with belief matching.

This paper researches the impact that shadow banking in China has upon credit creation and the potential effectiveness of monetary policy. Using a credit creation model, we derive the effect that shadow banking has upon the money multiplier and the money supply. The model shows that shadow banking can change the money multiplier, potentially increasing it during an expansion and decreasing it during a contraction. Introducing shadow banking in a CC-LM model results in a shift of the CC and LM curves resulting in a higher equilibrium output. A vector autoregressive model is used to empirically estimate the impact of shadow banking deposits' growth rate on the growth rates of the broad money supply, GDP, and the CPI. The results show that shadow banking's credit creation function in China has a pro-cyclical characteristic, potentially reducing the money supply's controllability and increasing the difficulty in effectively regulating monetary policy. This paper introduces shadow banking into the currency creation process of traditional commercial banks, accounting for the reserve requirement ratio, the excess reserve ratio, the shadow bank leakage rate, and the reserved deduction rate. Future research can determine whether coordinating monetary policy and leverage ratio regulation mitigates the impact of shadow banking. Another area of research is how the shadow banking of non-financial companies affect monetary policy.

This study aims to identify the factors that favor the use of modern contraceptive methods in non-pregnant women who need to space or limit births. The analyzes were made using SPSS software (statistical package for social sciences) version 25. The data used in this publication comes from a TRAC survey on family planning carried out by the Family Health Association / Population Service international (ASF / PSI) in DRC. Continuously Tracking Results surveys are knowledge surveys, attitudes, and practices of women in matters of family planning but with the introduction of questions on scales as mentioned above. This survey concerned 1965 women aged 15 to 49 selected in urban and peri-urban areas of the provincial city of Kinshasa. Our results show that the discussion between partner or spouse on the use of modern contraceptive methods positively influences the majority of women (OR = 4.28; p <0.001),being part of a social norm (OR = 3.30; p <0.01) and having a high socioeconomic level (OR = 2.54; p <0.01), also favor positively the use of modern contraceptives. The paper concludes that any effort to increase contraceptive prevalence should target attitude, level of knowledge of methods, and spousal support to optimize the use of modern contraception in the city of Kinshasa.

Although task conflict is usually seen to be beneficial to team creativity, the relationship is still unclear because of the mixed results. This research investigated why task conflicts resulted in some positive outcomes in terms of team creativity. Drawing on minority dissent theory, this study examined the conflict-creativity relationship by focusing on the mediating role of team reflexivity. We collected the sample data from 338 employees and 67 supervisors (67 teams) across three different sectors (banking, pharmaceuticals, and insurance) in Pakistan to support our hypotheses. We used bootstrapping analysis and the Sobel test to check for the mediation analysis. The results indicated that task conflict increases team reflexivity, team reflexivity facilitated team creativity, and thus, task conflict positively influenced team creativity via team reflexivity. The theoretical and practical implications of this study plus future directions are further discussed.    

Climate change is a reality and, it affects the lives of poor and vulnerable people in developing countries like Bangladesh. In order to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable people, it is urgent to set up a link between environmental policy implementation and poverty reduction. In this article, a natural resource management research approach is suggested. It consists of two steps (1) Identifying the extents related to environmental sustainability and, (2) The role of the areas to the income generation process. Descriptive research design is used to achieve the objectives, and for the purpose of the research primary data is collected from 201 respondents in South-West coastal zone of Bangladesh with the help of a closed-ended questionnaire. The authors analyzed the data with the help of IBM SPSS-21 and, found that environmental sustainability is one of the most important precondition for economic development at the coastal zone in Bangladesh delta. It also found that the income generation process of the local people is significantly influenced by the environmental sustainability.