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The successful achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) largely depends on human behavior. Will people act sustainably when they consume, work, travel, or simply go about their lives? Only if the answer is yes can we truly make progress toward sustainability. Research into what influences SDG-supportive behavior has identified several factors. However, some studies emphasize knowledge, others highlight economic barriers, and still others focus on traits and psychological factors—rarely all at once. In this paper, we aim to broaden this perspective. By reviewing multiple sources, we develop and empirically test a comprehensive model of sustainable behavior. We propose that awareness of sustainability issues influences how individuals interpret and understand societal challenges. At the same time, a person’s motivational orientation will determine whether they internalize sustainability values as their own beliefs and develop positive attitudes toward the SDGs. Nonetheless, even if individuals strongly believe in sustainability, their actions also depend on other factors. Using data from the Japan Household Panel Survey on Sustainable Development Goals, this study constructs psychometric measures and creates a nomological framework to examine the mechanisms behind the formation of sustainability behavior. The findings suggest that prosocial peace orientation and awareness of sustainability issues positively influence sustainability values and attitudes, which, in turn, shape sustainability behaviors.

Whether strategic leadership retains real value for firm performance has long been contested, and the debate has often outrun the evidence in sectors far from the manufacturing and service settings where the construct was first tested. This study revisits Upper Echelons Theory and asks whether strategic leadership matters for the performance of poultry firms in an emerging economy. It examined the nineteen registered poultry firms in Nairobi City County, Kenya, a value chain marked by declining output, rising import competition and volatile input costs. Anchored on Upper Echelons Theory, and complemented by Strategic Leadership Theory and the Resource-Based View, the study measured strategic leadership as an integrated four-dimension construct comprising setting strategic direction, building core competencies, building organizational culture and networking, and examined the association between each dimension and firm performance. All nineteen firms were taken as a census, and a proportionate stratified random sample of 209 managers was drawn from their top echelon and business unit ranks; 200 returned usable questionnaires, a response rate of 95.69%, with Cronbach's alpha clearing the 0.7 threshold on every scale (0.761 to 0.902). The firms reported a high level of strategic leadership practice (M=3.99; SD=1.088) and a slightly lower level of performance (M=3.83; SD=0.779). Multiple linear regression showed that the four dimensions jointly explained 72.5% of the variance in managers' reported firm performance (Adjusted R²=.725; F significant at p < .001). Each dimension contributed a positive and significant effect: networking (B=.282), setting strategic direction (B=.246), building core competencies (B=.243) and building organizational culture (B=.204), all at p≤0.05. The results indicate that, far from being overwhelmed by a turbulent agribusiness environment, strategic leadership practices are strongly and consistently associated with performance in it. The study extends an upper-echelons perspective to emerging-economy agribusiness, demonstrates the value of measuring strategic leadership as a consolidated four-dimension whole, and advises boards and managers of poultry firms to treat clear strategic direction, competence renewal, adaptive culture and value chain networks as investments that shape revenue rather than as overhead.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep vulnerabilities in the livelihoods of hospitality sector employees worldwide, with particularly severe consequences in developing country contexts characterized by limited social protection and high employment precarity. Kenya's hospitality sector, a vital source of employment and foreign exchange, suffered widespread operational disruptions, workforce downsizing, and prolonged income instability, yet employees' experiences of these crises remain underexplored in the literature. Drawing on a comprehensive review of global, African, and Kenyan empirical literature, this paper examines the institutional lessons that the COVID-19 crisis offers for sustaining employee livelihoods in Kenya's hospitality sector. The paper is theoretically grounded in African Socialism Theory, the Capability Approach, and Social Constructivism, which together provide an ethical, human-centered, and interpretive framework for analyzing the relationships among institutional responses, employee resilience, and livelihood sustainability. The review demonstrates that employee resilience during crises is not solely an individual psychological attribute but is significantly shaped by organizational practices, leadership quality, communication transparency, and access to welfare support. Evidence further reveals that institutional responses in the Kenyan hospitality sector prioritized business continuity over employee welfare, leaving many workers, especially those on casual and non-permanent contracts, without adequate protection. The paper argues that sustainable employee livelihoods require proactive institutional frameworks that integrate crisis preparedness, ethical employment practices, and targeted welfare mechanisms. Lessons from comparative contexts, including South Korea, Germany, and South Africa, are drawn upon to propose strategies for strengthening organizational and policy responses in Kenya's hospitality sector. The findings contribute to emerging research on ethical organizational leadership, sustainable employment, and crisis management in the Global South.

The rapid growth of internet penetration and smartphone adoption has significantly accelerated the development of Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services in Indonesia, transforming the way consumers access digital entertainment. The increasing competition among streaming service providers has highlighted the importance of understanding the factors that influence users' continuance usage intention. In this paper, it is also aimed to examine the effects of Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use on Continuance Usage Intention by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and investigating the mediating roles of Trust and User Satisfaction among SVOD users in Indonesia. We employed a quantitative analytics method using a survey method, and the collected data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares–Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). A dataset of 180 respondents as active user of an SVOD platform through either an individual (private) subscription account or a shared subscription account has been analyzed in 2025. Main findings of the study demonstrate that (i) a satisfactory model fit with a Goodness-of-Fit (GoF) value of 0.659 and a Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) of 0.054. (ii) The hypothesis testing results revealed that Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, Trust, and User Satisfaction had significant positive effects on Continuance Usage Intention., (iii). Perceived Usefulness and Perceived Ease of Use significantly influenced both Trust and User Satisfaction. (iii). The mediation analysis showed that Trust partially mediated the relationship between Perceived Usefulness and Continuance Usage Intention, whereas Trust did not mediate the relationship between Perceived Ease of Use and Continuance Usage Intention. User Satisfaction also did not exhibit a significant mediating effect.

 The purpose of this research is to contribute to the development of the accounting process and disclosure in the context of the disruption that brings in artificial intelligence by providing an integrated framework, from the perspective of internal development of accounting processes to the external requirements of the disclosure. The framework is based on the following five pillars: digital transformation policies; influence of artificial intelligence on the quality of accounting information; basic principles of intelligent models; governance mechanisms; and related risks. This is a descriptive and analytical study. It discussed the theoretical background and accounting implications of artificial intelligence, proposed a disclosure framework, and then it utilized content and gap analysis to determine to what extent the considered annual report met the requirements of the frameworkThe above analysis was based on the 2024 annual report of Asiacell Communications Company-Private Joint Stock Company. The disclosures of artificial intelligence, digital transformation, applications in accounting and finance, information quality, governance, and technological risk were selected and analyzed together with 24 disclosure items based on the proposed framework. The findings show a large disparity between the technological sophistication of the company and its level of accounting disclosure on artificial intelligence. The fermentations described in the present disclosure examples were at 25%, but only 25% of the disclosures were reached, and disclosures of assumptions underlying predictive models and related risks were missing. The results also suggest that the introduced framework, if adopted, would cover all the 24 disclosure items with a maximum proposed disclosure score of 100%.Also, based on model assumptions, data sources, levels of confidence, responsibilities in governance, and procedures for verification, transparency would be increased, the credibility of accounting estimates would be strengthened, the level of information uncertainty would be decreased, and the level of investor confidence in financial reports produced in an artificial intelligence milieu would be enhanced

This paper examines the integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and their high value in supporting strategic competitiveness. To examine the links among strategy formulation, ICT, AI, and uncontrollable factors affecting business operations, this study proposes an interpretive model of these relationships, with strategic competitiveness as the dependent variable. Drawing on interviews and real-world data from several SMEs, the research findings indicate that although adopting AI and forecasting practices may pose challenges, mid-level and top managers increasingly recognize the importance of ICT and AI in formulating and implementing competitive strategies that enhance organizational competitiveness. The key results are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.

This study examined the effect of deposit diversification on the financial performance of Deposit-Taking Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (DT-SACCOs) in Kenya and evaluated the moderating effect of corporate governance on this relationship.  The study adopted a positivist research philosophy and a causal research design. The target population comprised 176 SASRA-licensed DT-SACCOs in Kenya, from which 122 SACCOs with complete financial records for the period 2015–2024 were selected using simple random sampling. Panel data techniques, including fixed-effects and random-effects regression models, were employed to estimate the direct and moderating effects, while hierarchical regression was used to test the moderation hypothesis. The findings revealed that non-withdrawable deposits significantly and positively influenced both surplus and dividend payout after introducing lags, whereas withdrawable deposits had no significant effect on financial performance. The results further established that corporate governance had a positive and significant direct effect on financial performance and significantly strengthened the relationship between deposit diversification and financial performance. The findings provide practical guidance for DT-SACCO managers and policymakers to strengthen stable deposit mobilization and corporate governance as mechanisms for enhancing financial sustainability and institutional performance.

Transformational leadership has been touted by several scholars as the real deal in necessitating organisational change. The approach encourages, inspires and motivates followers to be innovative and create change that necessitates growth and shapes organisational success. While several studies have confirmed that leadership plays a crucial role in effective change management, very few have gone further to identify the specific leadership style(s) necessary for effective change management. As such, the study sought to assess the influence of transformational leadership on organisational change in the mining industry with specific reference to ABC Mine in Zimbabwe. Guided by the interpretivism research philosophy and the inductive approach, the study adopted a qualitative research design where primary data was collected through semi structured interviews from 26 participants chosen through purposive sampling. The study found that transformational leaders act as key influencers in driving organisational change by fostering trust, inclusivity, and collaboration. It was also found that transformational leaders effectively address and mitigate employee resistance to change by fostering open communication and psychological safety. The study concluded that transformational leadership is effective and necessary in managing organisational change. The study also concluded that employee engagement and involvement, personalised employee relations and continuous training are key practices necessary for facilitating organisational change implementation.

This study examines the effects of Mobile Financial Services (MFS) on the growth and composition of bank deposits in Bangladesh over the period 2015-2024 based on bank-level panel data for 26 commercial banks. Using Fixed Effects (FE), Random Effects (RE), and Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimation and controlling for COVID-19 dummy, the study finds that MFS transaction volume has a negative and statistically significant effect on deposit growth. This indicates that rising mobile financial activity slows the pace at which banks accumulate deposits. However, MFS positively and significantly affects both current and savings deposit levels, consistent with the financial inclusion channel through which mobile platforms channel funds into the formal banking system. The effect on total deposits and fixed deposits is statistically insignificant, indicating no direct substitution at the aggregate or long-term deposit level. Bank size and loan-to-deposit ratio are the most consistent determinants across all models. Non-performing loans negatively affect depositor confidence. The COVID-19 pandemic dampened deposit growth and total deposit accumulation but exerted limited influence on current and savings deposit levels. These findings suggest that MFS and traditional banking are complementary rather than substitutive, and that well-designed policy interventions can harness MFS-driven financial inclusion to strengthen rather than undermine the deposit base of commercial banks in Bangladesh.

This study investigates whether Strategic Communication Competence (SCC) predicts Organizational Performance (OP) among employees of Mbeya City Council (MCC), a Tanzanian local government authority, and whether Financial Resource Management (FRM) independently predicts OP and moderates the SCC–OP relationship. Grounded in Communication Accommodation Theory and the Resource-Based View, a structured questionnaire was administered to 501 MCC employees, of whom 471 provided valid and fully completed responses, yielding a 94.0% response rate. The data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. The findings indicate that SCC emerged as the strongest predictor of OP, while FRM also significantly and independently predicted OP (β = 0.243, p < .001). However, FRM did not significantly moderate the SCC–OP relationship, suggesting that, within Mbeya City Council, the two capabilities function as parallel and independently associated predictors of organizational performance rather than as interacting capabilities. Collectively, SCC and FRM explained 58.3% of the variance in OP, while the measurement model demonstrated sound reliability and validity. Given the cross-sectional and single-site design, these findings should be interpreted as evidence of significant associations and predictive relationships rather than causal effects. Based on these findings, recommendations are offered primarily for MCC and, more cautiously, for similarly structured Tanzanian local government authorities pending multi-site replication. In particular, MCC should prioritize strategic communication capability-building through feedback systems, information-sharing routines, and communication training, given SCC’s comparatively greater contribution to the explained variance in organizational performance. At the same time, financial resource governance should be maintained as an independently justified budgetary priority rather than being contingent upon communication outcomes.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is fundamentally transforming accounting practice by displacing traditional data-processing tasks, augmenting auditing functions, and reshaping the professional competency requirements of financial reporting. While these technological developments generate substantial efficiency gains, they simultaneously introduce unprecedented ethical challenges, including algorithmic opacity, accountability diffusion, bias propagation in automated judgment, and the erosion of professional scepticism — that threaten the integrity of financial reporting and the public trust upon which the accounting profession's social licence to operate ultimately depends. This paper develops a rigorous, theoretically grounded analysis of the intersection between artificial intelligence and accounting ethics, drawing on institutional theory, agency theory, virtue ethics, and the stakeholder trust framework to diagnose how AI adoption reconfigures the ethical architecture of financial reporting and to prescribe the governance, professional, and regulatory responses required to safeguard ethical standards and trust in this transformed environment. The paper makes three original contributions: first, it develops a multi-dimensional taxonomy of AI-related ethical risks in accounting, distinguishing technical, professional, and systemic risk categories; second, it proposes the Ethical AI Accounting Governance Framework (EAAGF), an original implementation model that integrates algorithmic governance, professional ethics renewal, regulatory adaptation, and stakeholder assurance mechanisms; and third, it situates these contributions within a comparative empirical analysis of AI adoption experiences across major accounting contexts, integrating evidence from surveys, regulatory reports, and case illustrations. The paper argues that the central challenge is not whether AI will transform accounting — this is already occurring — but whether the profession, regulators, and organisations can collectively construct the ethical governance infrastructure required to ensure that transformation advances rather than undermines the accountability, transparency, and trust that constitute the profession's foundational social purpose.

In small and emerging markets like Botswana, what drives the financial resilience of non-life insurers? This study takes a closer look at this question, evaluating audited financial statement data from 14 Non-Bank Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority (NBFIRA) licensed insurers across the year 2010–2022 period. The resulting unbalanced panel dataset of 127 firm-year observations in total is used to test ten potential determinants: profitability, underwriting risk, reinsurance dependence, firm size, leverage, liquidity, asset tangibility, premium growth, firm age, and ownership structure. Following diagnostic testing via the F-test, Breusch-Pagan LM test, and Hausman specification test, the Fixed Effects (FE) model was retained as the preferred estimator. As findings, underwriting risk, rather than weakening solvency, showed the strongest positive association with capital adequacy. The most credible explanation for this is regulatory, companies with heavier claims exposure appear to respond to supervisory pressure by holding more capital, not less. Reinsurance dependence, firm size, liquidity, and asset tangibility were also positively significant, highlighting the importance of risk-transfer mechanisms and effective liquidity management. On the other hand, profitability, leverage, growth, and firm age fell short of significance reflecting the structural constraints of a concentrated, domestically oriented market rather than any theoretical irrelevance of these factors. Risk management practices and firm-specific structural characteristics positively influence solvency adequacy among Botswana's non-life insurers instead of profitability or growth considerations. This research adds to the already existing limited empirical evidence of drivers of solvency margins in Botswana and the Sub-Saharan Africa providing useful insights for insurers, regulators, and policymakers seeking to strengthen risk-based supervision and promote the long-term stability of the insurance sector in Botswana.

The aim of this study is to investigate the moderating role of cultural dimensions in the relationship between corporate governance mechanisms and financial performance, examining a sample of 9,316 companies from 47 countries. A mixed dataset with variables extracted at the company and country levels is statistically analysed, while multilevel robust regressions with random intercept modelling are used for econometric estimations. Based on information for the period 2020-2022, the moderating effects of three of the six cultural dimensions developed by Hofstede are examined at specific times of multiple constraints that could act as a stress factor in management decisions. The results show that the corporate governance-performance nexus is stronger in countries orientated toward masculinity, short-term benefits, and indulgence. Combining national cultural values, the national business system framework, agency, stakeholder, and legitimacy theories, the research provides nuanced empirical evidence of cultural tingent for academics and practitioners. The investigation shapes an original perspective, highlighting the need for culturally orientated corporate governance mechanisms. This approach complements the body of literature on corporate governance, financial performance, and national culture by demonstrating that the interaction between the governance score and cultural dimensions may play a pivotal role in shaping financial performance. Muchmore, the findings have valuable entrepreneurial implications for investors in resource allocation, while managers could broaden their scenarios for decision-making purposes, especially when companies face stakeholders from diverse cultural backgrounds.

The transformation of village areas into community-based tourist destinations represents a strategic pathway for achieving sustainable tourism in Indonesia. This study explores the potentials, challenges, and strategic directions for developing Dukuh Mejing, Bantul Regency, as an emerging community-based agro-edutourism village. A qualitative descriptive approach with an intrinsic case study design was employed, involving in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis. Data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña, supported by NVivo 12 Plus for coding and thematic mapping.  The results reveal that Dukuh Mejing possesses strong physical and socio-cultural assets, including modern goat farming, rice-based agriculture, and preserved local traditions such as Nyadran and Kenduri. However, key constraints remain in infrastructure, community awareness, and institutional coordination. The SWOT analysis indicates that strategic development should focus on optimizing agritourism and cultural-based experiences, enhancing community capacity, improving accessibility, and adopting digital innovation to expand market reach.  The findings emphasize that collaborative governance, community empowerment, and innovation-driven competitiveness are fundamental to building a sustainable and resilient village tourism model. This study proposes an integrated framework that aligns community-based tourism principles with destination competitiveness and sustainable planning approaches. Practically, the model provides policy insights for local governments to strengthen participatory planning, institutional synergy, and adaptive monitoring systems. Theoretically, it contributes to the understanding of how village tourism destinations can achieve sustainability through community-led innovation and inclusive governance.

The problem addressed in this paper relates to the high road fatalities among the youth in South Africa. The high youth fatality rate is concerning as it results in immediate economic impacts as well as the future loss of productive people. The objectives of the paper include identifying the most prominent educational strategies and ascertaining the applicable communication media for mitigating road fatalities among the youth in South Africa. The research followed a quantitative approach to determine the perceptions of traffic offi3cers and crash investigators regarding the driving behaviour of the youth. It was found that the most effective education strategy is to include road safety in the school curriculum and educate future drivers from a young age. The study further found that social media is the most effective medium for promoting road safety for the youth. Policymakers are encouraged to take a holistic approach when educating the youth and include all educational stakeholders. The paper makes a theoretical contribution because it tested the most applicable strategies with the associated educational media to circumvent fatalities among the youth. Recommendations regarding the strategies are made towards road safety authorities. The paper further makes a managerial contribution by providing guidance towards policymakers and transportation providers on developing road safety strategies aimed at the South African youth that will benefit the greater community.

Job satisfaction is widely recognised as a critical determinant of employee performance, organisational productivity, and long-term institutional effectiveness across diverse economic sectors. This paper examines the relationship between job satisfaction and employee performance through a comparative lens that considers both developed and developing country contexts. Drawing on a systematic literature review of empirical studies published between 2015 and 2025, the study synthesises evidence from a broad range of industries, including education, telecommunications, banking and financial services, information technology, automotive, healthcare, retail, construction, agriculture, logistics, energy, public administration, and manufacturing.The findings reveal a consistently positive and statistically significant association between job satisfaction and employee performance, either directly or through mediating mechanisms such as work engagement, organisational commitment, and motivation. Across sectors, job satisfaction is shaped by a combination of structural and motivational factors, including working conditions, training and development, leadership quality, compensation, career advancement opportunities, organisational support, and job design. Employees who report higher satisfaction levels tend to demonstrate stronger commitment, greater discretionary effort, higher productivity, and improved service quality.

Decentralized approaches to solid waste management (SWM) have gained global attention because of their provision for the effective participation of local communities. This study investigates community participation in decentralized solid waste management policy-making processes, drawing insights from Ghana. Using mixed methods, the study reveals that community participation only takes place at the policy implementation stage and takes the form of planning and managing community-led solid waste management initiatives such as occasional community clean-up exercise during festivals and public holidays, which are usually organized on a frequent basis. Regarding the factors that promote the solid waste management policy-making process, it was realized that “including the community in the solid waste management policy-making process” was the most important factor for the community to participate in the solid waste management policy-making process. Based on these findings, the top-down approach in solid waste management policy should be reversed to bottom-up approaches.

Population growth at the household level increases pressure on water and land resources. This study examined the impact of household population growth on water and land resource depletion in Limpopo Province of South Africa, using a desktop research approach with secondary data from academic journals, government reports, and relevant policy documents. The findings show that as household population size increases, the demand for water and land also rises, leading to overuse, environmental degradation, soil erosion, pollution, and reduced availability of these resources. The study also found that low use of family planning and contraceptives contributes to faster household growth and unsustainable resource use, threatening ecosystem services and food security. Using the lens of the Second Demographic Transition (SDT) theory, the study highlighted that improving access to family planning and reproductive health education could help manage household population growth and reduce pressure on natural resources. The study concluded that household population growth negatively affected water and land resources in Limpopo Province and recommended promoting family planning programs, sustainable development practices, effective resource management, and stronger local government involvement in planning and policy implementation to ensure environmental sustainability.

In contemporary organizations, leaders are increasingly required to manage contradictory demands while supporting employees’ psychological resources in dynamic and uncertain work environments. This study examines the effects of paradoxical leadership on two important employee-level outcomes: creative self-efficacy and resilience. Drawing on Social Cognitive Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory, the study aims to explain how leaders who simultaneously balance autonomy and control, flexibility and structure, and support and challenge can strengthen employees’ confidence in generating creative solutions and their capacity to adapt to workplace difficulties. A quantitative research design was employed, using survey data collected from employees working in the Information and Communication Technology sector. The proposed relationships were tested through structural equation modeling, after assessing the reliability and validity of the measurement model. The findings indicate that paradoxical leadership has a significant positive effect on both creative self-efficacy and employee resilience. These results suggest that paradoxical leaders can help employees interpret complexity as manageable, maintain confidence in their creative abilities, and recover more effectively from setbacks. Theoretically, the study contributes to paradoxical leadership research by positioning creative self-efficacy and resilience as key psychological outcomes of paradoxical leader behavior. Practically, the findings suggest that organizations, particularly in technology-intensive sectors, should develop leaders’ capacity for paradoxical thinking and balanced leadership behaviors in order to foster a more creative, adaptive, and resilient workforce.

The aim of this study is to examine the dynamic relationships among alternative investment instruments in Turkey using advanced time-series methods. The findings indicate evidence of granger causal relationships among some of the variables. However, the direction and statistical significance of these relationships vary across the variables examined. The analysis employs monthly data covering the period from February 2010 to December 2018. The stationarity properties of the variables were examined using the Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) test. Causal relationships among the variables were subsequently investigated using the Toda–Yamamoto causality test. The findings indicate that there are statistically significant short-term and long-term relationships among alternative investment instruments. It was determined that the exchange rate and gold prices have on the stock market. Furthermore, its interest rates play in both financial markets and housing prices. This study contributes to the literature by examining the relationships between alternative investment instruments using linear methods. Moreover, the results offer researchers and policymakers important implications for financial stability for investors' portfolio diversification strategies at both the national and international levels.