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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.

This paper explores the relationship between environmental, social, and governance performance (ESGP) and firm value in both emerging and developed economies, with the moderating impact of environmental uncertainty and competitive advantage. Using secondary unbalanced data spanning from 2011 to 2022, we examine both the direct and non-linear effects of ESG performance on firm value, employing advanced econometric estimation techniques such as two-step system GMM (2sGMM) and two-stage least square (2SLS). The analysis finds that: (1) ESG performance positively influences firm value in both Chinese and US banks, and the results remain valid after robustness test; (2) The results also confirm that ESG performance non-linearly influence firm value across the samples, with an inverted U-shape relationship; (3) Additionally, we further investigate the moderating effects of environmental uncertainty and competitive advantage, uncovering that environmental uncertainty dampens the ESGP-firm value relationship, while competitive advantage further amplifies it. This study contributes to the understanding of how ESG performance can act as strategic assets that align managerial and stakeholder interests, and improve firm performance, by underpinning agency, stakeholder, and the resource-based view theory. Practical insights are also provided for policymakers, regulators, and financial institutions regarding the use of ESGP as a competitive tool in uncertain and dynamic market environments.

The 21st century has witnessed a rapid surge in industrial pollution, accompanied by the depletion of natural resources, prompting a collective call to action. As a result, the greening of corporations and ecological sustainability has emerged as a matter of paramount importance for decision-makers worldwide. This study, thereby, aims to examine the implementation of environmentally responsible (Green) human resource management practices in the health sector and their influence on organizational sustainability performance. Methodologically, a descriptive approach was employed, utilizing a questionnaire survey to collect data from 250 healthcare employees within Pakistan's healthcare sector. The study's statistical outcomes indicate that green hiring positively influences economic performance but not social and environmental performance. However, green training, involvement, performance management, and compensation are all positively related to organizational sustainability performance, encompassing social, economic, and environmental aspects in Pakistan’s healthcare sector. By summing up, this study concludes the significance of customizing green HR practices for enhancing sustainability performance in the healthcare sector. It underscores the crucial role played by green human resource management practices and their impact on organizational sustainability performance in a developing country context, specifically in Pakistan.

While employee agility has recently gained increased attention, there is a notable lack of research on its antecedents. This study investigates the impact of humble leadership on employee agility within the context of Egypt's hospitality industry. Utilizing survey data collected from 320 frontline employees within Egypt's travel agencies, the findings reveal a positive and significant impact of humble leadership on employee agility. Notably, the study identifies employees' self-efficacy as a partial mediator in this relationship, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms through which humble leadership shapes employee agility. These insights enrich the existing body of knowledge by providing a nuanced perspective on the influence of humble leadership on employee agility and offer practical implications for leaders and organizations seeking to enhance workforce agility in the dynamic setting of the hospitality industry.

The financial performance of banks relies heavily on properly utilizing their capital. However, bank ownership can have varying effects on the relationship between financial performance and capital. This study delves into this relationship by examining the impact of ownership on financial performance and bank capital. The study analyzes data from 44 commercial banks in Bangladesh and uses a two-step system generalized method of moments to address heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation issues. Unlike previous studies, this study confirms the significant effect of ownership on the relationship between bank financial performance and bank capital. The study's main findings are: (1) an inverted U-shaped relationship exists between bank capital and financial performance, implying that increasing capital can improve and reduce financial performance. (2) Private and Islamic commercial banks perform better than state-owned and conventional banks. (3) private-owned and Islamic commercial banks with higher capital are more likely to achieve higher profitability and financial success, while state-owned and conventional commercial banks with higher capital show lower profitability and weaker financial performance. Overall, this study offers significant practical implications for academics, researchers, and regulators interested in leveraging these findings.

While studying the adoption of mobile banking, its antecedents must be considered to have a better understanding and complete picture of the factors affecting the adoption of mobile banking. There is a scarcity of studies about the effect of the (Rogers, 1995, 2003) five attributes of innovation on the adoption of mobile banking. So, this paper examined the effect of relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability on the adoption of mobile banking in Egypt. The study hypotheses were tested using primary data collected online. The results show that relative advantage, compatibility, and observability have a significant positive impact on the adoption of mobile banking. On the other hand, the effect of complexity and trialability on the adoption of mobile banking was negative but nonsignificant.

Technological advancements in automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and robotics have completely changed the service industries, including the hospitality sector. This study aims to investigate the fundamental elements that impact the acceptance (or rejection) of artificial intelligence assistants' services. This research employed semi-structured interviews to gather insights from both individuals who use AI services in hotels and those who do not. Based on Behavioral Reasoning Theory, this study is empirically tested by interviews with intended respondents. This study examines the "reasons for" and "reasons against" using AI assistant services in the hotel. Technology anxiety, privacy concern, prior experience, and task complexity are "reasons against," while performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, humanness, social presence, perceived interaction enjoyment, cuteness, and trust are "reasons for." This study found that "reasons against" negatively affect attitude and adoption intention, while "reasons for" positively affect them. Behavioral Reasoning Theory is used for the first time to evaluate Bangladeshi hotel consumers' AI service assistant adoption intentions. As a new technology, AI assistants provide a better understanding of user usage. Furthermore, this study offers essential facts regarding the utilization of technology in the hospitality sector.

This study investigates the relationship between board nationality diversity (BND) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) in developing countries. It also highlights the role of legitimacy concerns in investigating how foreign ownership moderates the connection between BND and ESG due to the increased liability of foreignness. Using a sample of listed firms in Johannesburg stock exchange (JSE) in South Africa over 2015–2020, our two-step system GMM findings show that board nationality diversity positively affects ESG. Moreover, our study found that foreign ownership strengthens the positive connection between BND and ESG. Our study contributes to the literature by highlighting the importance of legitimacy theory in the dynamic nexus between BND and ESG. The findings of this study have substantial implications for firms, investors, and stakeholders.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of human resource management practices (HRMPs) on employee attitudes and behavior (EAB). The population of this study was all employees of cement manufacturing firms (CMC) in the southern region of Bangladesh. Data was gathered using structured questionnaires following convenient sampling technique. The data was analyzed using SPSS-23 statistical package program. A robust and significant linear association between HRMPs and EAB was found. Further, HRM practices, including compensation & rewards (CR) and motivation (MV) were discovered to be dominant predictors of EAB. According to the study, variations in EAB of 77.10% were caused by independent predictors such as recruitment and selection (RS), training and development (TD), performance appraisals (PA), compensation and rewards (CR), motivation (MV), and maintenance (MT) in CMC in the southern part of Bangladesh. Nevertheless, it is apparent from the study's findings that manufacturing organizations that have implemented progressive HRM practices in a systematic and integrated manner are having an enormous influence on EAB. This study only focused on one industry and one type of organizational structure. According to the study, findings should not be extensively generalized. Future research should incorporate other aspects, such as organizational learning and organizational capacity, to construct a new model of HRM practices.

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.

The African farming sector suffers from insufficient finance. Climate changes and socio-political issues hold down the required production level while food on the continent is still inadequate, with more vulnerable people on the one side. On the other side, credit institutions need reasons and guarantees to raise their risk-taking level (financial benefits). Then, this study tries to conciliate those two sides with new shreds of evidence by demonstrating the short and long-run effects of agricultural production on bank sustainability in 40 Sub-Saharan African countries. The study used different agro-production factors (Food and Cereal production factors), bank stability proxies (Liquidity Ratio, NPLs, LLRs), and bank profitability proxies (ROA and ROE). The GMM, DFE, and FMOLS models were used for short (with the 2010-2019 dataset) and long-run analysis (with the 1970-2018 dataset). The results demonstrated that agricultural production increases bank stability and profitability but reduces bank risks. The study concludes that farming finance increases agro-production and stabilizes banks (win-win). Governments, via central banks, should encourage commercial banks to increase bank risk-taking levels to sustain their banking system, increase farming production, and improve food security.

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.

The main purpose of this study is to identify the impact of intellectual capital efficiency (ICE) also known as knowledge capital along with its components human capital efficiency (HCE) and structural capital efficiency (SCE) on bank risk-taking behavior in Bangladesh. To reveal this effect, the study uses generalized method of moment (GMM) estimator and Two Stages Least Square estimator (to check the Robustness) and unbalanced panel data of 32 commercial banks of Bangladesh consisting of 530 bank-year observations during the year 2003-2020. The main results of the study are: (a) ICE is significantly and positively connected with a bank’s credit risk which indicates credit risk grows up with the increase of Intellectual capital efficiency, and (b) Both the human capital efficiency and structural capital efficiency positively impacts credit risk but the impact of SCE is not significant as HCE, (c) Bank performance (ROA), RWATA, macro variable inflation, and size have a negative impact on bank risk whereas ID and GGDP insignificant positively impact on bank’s risk. Finally, the results of the study will assist the stakeholders, policymakers, and academicians for future research.

This study aims to investigate users’ satisfaction with e-Government services of Myanmar through a study of a specific e-Government service, the Myanmar Companies Online registration (MyCO) system. The MyCO system was chosen for this study because it is the initiative well-developed e-Government service in Myanmar. On the other hand, the company registration authority of Myanmar, the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), has continuously made every endeavor to optimize responsive its e-Government services, after almost four years from the launching date of the MyCO system, systematically analyzing for optimizing the system still remains to research. In order to track public perception of the system, an online survey was conducted. The questionnaires were designed based on the Technology Acceptance Model in the fields of customer satisfaction consisting mainly of three main factors, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and perceived risk. Questionnaires were collected and analyzed with the respondents identifying themselves as having used the MyCO system. Notwithstanding the overall 79% of respondents were very satisfied and 20% were satisfied to some extent, payment transaction issues and some technical challenges are still remained in the system to be addressed to become a better user-centric public service. This study will support a number of contributions to find out the gap between e-Government services implementation and how publics’ expectations of e-Government services. The result of this study will provide awareness to DICA to improve more efficiency and effectiveness in implementing best practices in the provision of user-centric public services based on the public’s needs and demands.

Ready-made garments (RMG) are one of the most critical sectors in the economy of the South Asian region in terms of the labor force employed and export earnings. This research study aims to determine the Corporate Social Responsibility Stakeholders dimension and its influence on textile firms Performance. The study used organizational legitimacy as mediating variable between the CSR stakeholders and firms’ performances. The research study was used in the quantitative analysis approach to determine the cause and effect of the relationship between CSR and Textile firm’s financial and non-financial performance. Though the study collected primary data & secondary data from 250 respondents using survey questionnaires, the researcher obtained secondary data by analyzing the audited annual and sustainability reports of various RMG companies. We have collected data by conducting a focus group interview forming a team of employers, top-level managers, and CSR officers. We asked them all the questions, filled it, tapped it, reserved it for the interpretations. We have surveyed 67 industries, but it enabled us to collect the data from the 50 sectors—the data collected from 2016 April to 2018 December. Our study has some limitations in that the sample size is small compared to the other research. SPSS-23 & MS-Excel were used to analyze the collected data. CSR practices benefitted RMG companies in terms of long-term sustainable development by increasing the firm’s financial and non-financial performance of the RMG sector.

There is a high expectation that urban-rural linkage in general and the function of small towns, in particular, has a great role in livelihood diversification and poverty reduction in rural areas than sectoral development. However, the previous empirical studies give little attention to the function of small towns and the livelihood diversification of rural communities. We analyze the function of a small town and participating in non-farm economic activities from a rural farm household survey of 371 farmer household heads in Ethiopia. The data was analyzed using a logistic regression model and statistical description. The study found that rural households who have road access have likely participated in none-farm activities and it has positive and significant effects. Education and FHH has also a significant relationship with the function of a small town. Distance from the small town has a significant and positive impact on the non-farm economic activities of rural communities. Overall, benefits from the function of small towns such as the provision of road access, agricultural extension, financial credit services, administrative services, educational and health services are some of the provisions of a small town. Therefore, a comprehensive integrated urban-rural linkage strategy could empower rural farm smallholders to diversify their livelihoods through strengthening small town functions is mandatory. The role of small towns needs to be integrated into rural communities. Participate in livelihood diversification strategies and achieve sustainable development goals by 2030 at large.