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This study aims to examine the key determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure of all listed banks that operate their function in an emerging market, Pakistan.

This study applied the principles of systems-oriented theories such as legitimacy, stakeholder and agency theory. The hypothesis is linking the bank’s social disclosure and its determinants are developed. The relevant data was gathered from the bank’s annual reports and Pakistan Stock Exchange from 2008 to 2018. Further, governance attributes and performance measures are used as the predictor variable and the CSR score as the predicted variable. This study applied panel data analysis on the sampled banks to examine the proposed hypothesis for empirical estimation.

This study’s inclusive results confirm that the hypothesized determinants of board size, foreign directors on board and female directors on board positively impact the CSR disclosure potential. Board size significantly explains the CSR disclosure in all bank samples. The determined performance measures, profitability and liquidity show a significant positive relationship with CSR disclosure except for few exceptions.

This study’s results lack generalizability due to its unique setting; future researchers can extend the research scope in national–international settings and a regional context.

This study enriches the literature on CSR disclosure determinants and is relevant to practice in an emerging context. It can be helpful from a policy perspective; institutions (bodies) that regulate banks should recognize the governance and performance aspects essential to enhancing CSR disclosure and enhancing the bank’s performance hence value.

This research offers empirical evidence that sheds light on the key governance attributes and performance measures that partially affect CSR disclosure and its extent. In doing so, this study’s findings contribute to the literature significantly, along with regulators, shareholders, deposit holders, individual–institutional investors.

This study aims to investigate the role of dynamic capabilities (DCs) in the financial performance of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during COVID-19. Furthermore, it took chief executive officer gender to moderate the relationship between DCs and financial performance.

This study used the survey approach to collect the data. Regression analysis was used on 563 responses to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results showed that DCs have a significant positive effect on the SME’s operating level and revenues. Moreover, it also moderates the DCs and financial performance during COVID-19. The results revealed that firms that used the DCs during COVID-19 not only survive during the COVID-19 tough time but also enjoyed a decent revenue level.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first study to establish the link between DCs and SMEs operating and revenue level during the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistani settings.

This study examines the direct and indirect effects of green intellectual capital (GIC) and innovative work behavior (IWB) on green process innovation performance (GPIP), with green knowledge sharing (GKS) as a mediator, in Pakistan’s hospitality industry. The aim is to provide a paradigm for assisting companies in transforming strategic green processes of green hotel innovation and its practices.

A total of 203 questionnaires were administered to front-desk officers of 15 hotels in Pakistan. Smart PLS-SEM 4 was used for analysis, and demographic statistics were analyzed using SPSS 21.0.

GIC (green human capital, green organizational capital and green relational capital) and IWB significantly and positively influence GPIP. GKS strengthens the relationships of GIC and IWB with GPIP. Finally, all hypotheses were significant and the constructs showed a positive association.

Research studies have revealed the impact of GIC on the hotel industry’s competitive advantage. However, the mechanisms underlying those impacts remain relatively underexplored. This study makes valuable contributions by providing crucial evidence from Pakistan’s hospitality industry.

This study examines the relationship between green intellectual capital (GIC) and competitive advantage (CA) and proposes the moderating role of corporate philanthropy types (cash, in-kind and both) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this study investigates the types of corporate philanthropy, strengthening the link between GIC and CA for Chinese listed firms during a pandemic.

Cross-sectional data were collected from 248 chief executive officers (CEOs) of Chinese firms listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange through a structured questionnaire. Regression analysis was employed to test the proposed hypotheses.

The findings reveal that all types of GIC positively influence a firm's CA. Furthermore, all three types of philanthropy – cash, in-kind and both – moderate the relationship between GIC and CA. However, the intensity of moderation was higher in the case of in-kind philanthropy than in the other two types.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first empirical study to examine the relationship between GIC (considering its three components: human, structural and relational capital) and CA in China. The study finds different types of philanthropy as moderating variables to better explain the relationship between GIC and CA. Further, it contributes to a new line of research that aims to study philanthropic aspects connected to the GIC debate.

This study aims to investigate the mediating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the link between board independence, board diversity and dividend payouts underpinning the agency theory perspective. As boards are ultimately responsible for decision-making, it includes CSR, dividend payouts and other strategic decisions.

Board independence and board diversity (female director, female independent director) are used as explanatory variables, CSR scores as a mediator and dividend payout explained variables. The relevant data were collected from 159 listed firms of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2013 to 2019, consisting of 1,113 year-firm observations. For empirical estimation, the study used the Tobit regression analysis and Sobel test to check the significance of the mediation to confirm the hypothesis.

The results confirm that independence and diversity on the board are positively related to dividend payouts. Further, CSR partially mediates the link between independence and diversity on board-dividend payouts, which confirms the argument that firms with involvement in CSR practices are also associated with dividend payouts.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is novel to address whether CSR mediates the link of the board’s independence and diversity and dividend payouts in Pakistan’s setting. The results of this study have restricted generalizability due to the specific nature of the sample characteristics; future researchers can extend the research scope.

Theoretically practically, the results imply that CSR spending also enhances the distribution to firms' shareholders, thus becoming attractive to investors. This study enriches the literature on board attributes-dividend policy nexus, which strengthens through CSR practices and is relevant to practice in line with sustainable development in an emerging context.

CSR practices are an understudied but significant factor that links stakeholders' beliefs about firms' decision-making strategies, enhancing dividend announcements. In doing so, this study's findings contribute to the literature, regulators, shareholders and investor at various levels.

The purpose of this paper is to empirically capture the impact of a chief executive officer’s (CEO) personal and organizational characteristics on firm performance in the context of a developing country and to explore whether capital structure mediates the relationship between CEO characteristics and firm performance.

In order to test the hypothesized model, CEO duality, tenure and personal characteristics (age, gender and education) were taken as explanatory variables to study their impact on firm performance. Data were collected from 179 Pakistani companies from 2009–2015. The collected data were processed via panel data regression analysis under fixed effect assumptions.

Results show that CEO duality has a negative impact on firm performance and that a CEO with a dual role is more inclined toward debt financing. Moreover, a CEO with a longer tenure tends to be opportunistic and prioritize his/her personal interest while making strategic financial decisions, thus creating agency costs for the firm. Furthermore, CEO characteristics like age, gender and education have significant effects on firm financial decisions and firm performance. Finally, the debt and equity ratio partially mediates the link between CEO characteristics and firm performance.

The findings of this study have limited generalizability due to the specific nature of the sample characteristics.

To the best of the authors knowledge, this study is the first to explore the impact of CEO characteristics on capital structure and firm performance. This work is also the first to explore the mediating role of capital structure in the relationship between CEO characteristics and firm performance by using Pakistani data.

Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study aims to investigate high involvement work practices (HIWP) as an antecedent to burnout with a mediating role of perceived work–family (WF) imbalance. Moreover, this study examines whether humble leadership moderates the relationship between HIWP and WF imbalance.

Using a time-lagged survey approach, data are collected from 200 employees working in the Indian services sector organizations.

The findings demonstrate that HIWP has a direct negative effect on burnout and an indirect effect via WF imbalance. Also, humble leadership moderates the relationship between HIWP and WF imbalance.

By studying the pessimistic view of HIWP in the Indian context, this study contributes to the scant studies available on its effect on burnout in collectivistic societies. Furthermore, humble leadership's moderating role in the relationship between HIWP and WF imbalance is unique to this study.

This case captures the experience of the newly hired investigation officer (IO) at the SECP, who crafts a front running case focused on the ethical transgressions by equity trader and KATS operator, at a famous brokerage house named Mir Ali Chaudhary Securities (MAC) Securities and three traders at DICE in Pakistan. The case outlines the whole series of investigation event that took place, from the IO identifying the smoke to all the pieces of puzzle together to form collectively evidence of front running. The case outlines and probes students to think at each stage of investigation as to how to answer the general claims that insider trading should be legalized. All these questions are viewed from the perspective of Pakistan’s regulatory environment.

The authors use a descriptive case study methodology approach.

The investigation trial held Sidney and Aslam guilty, sentencing them to imprisonment and making them pay fine to the Securities Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) worth Rs 5m and Rs 1m, respectively. Likewise, the three equity traders at DICE were sentenced to imprisonment and charged a fine of Rs. 1m each.

On March 21, 2018, Mr Sidney, the equity trader, Mr Aslam, a KATS operator at MAC Securities and three equity traders at DICE Securities (Pvt.) Ltd were convicted under Securities Act (2015) and Court of law. Sidney and Aslam were alleged of tipping off advance confidential information of their clients’ order to the three equity traders at DICE, whereas the three traders at DICE were alleged of trading shares based on the tipped information in their trading account before the MAC clients’ orders were filled.

The complexity of projects has become a serious issue and obstacle in their successful completion. In order to overcome these complexities, it has become imperative to identify the relevant management competencies of project managers. The purpose of this paper is to address the problem of cost, time and scope in engineering infrastructure projects due to their complexities through management competencies.

In the first phase of the study, 32 experts were interviewed through semi-structured pre-tested questionnaire. In this phase, essential elements of complexities were identified initially. This was followed by finding required dimensions of competencies to counter these complexities and to acquire improved performance. In the final stage, required levels of competencies for specific elements of complexity were identified. In the second phase, 85 “project managers” were also approached to get feedback about their recently completed public sector engineering infrastructure projects in Pakistan.

The study identified additional dimensions, i.e. honesty, enthusiasm and dedication, in the case of competencies and adverse law and order situation, political instability, land issues, energy crisis and weak authorization of project managers in the case of complexities. Leadership, management skill, communication skill, effectiveness and result orientation were identified as top quality traits required. The study concluded that there is a significant impact of management competencies and complexities on project performance.

The study contributes to a better understanding of how to improve performance in complex engineering infrastructure projects through adopting management competencies. It also empirically illustrates the relations among project management competencies, complexities and project performance. Although the research is grounded on public sector infrastructure projects, its findings may also be helpful for practices in project management of other sectors.

Organic food consumption decreases the risk of becoming obese or overweight. This study intends to see the influence of customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort and natural content on the intention to purchase organic food (IPOF) that leads to the actual purchase of organic food (APOF). Moreover, organic food availability is a moderator between IPOF and APOF.

PLS-SEM is used for hypothesis testing. A purposive sampling technique was followed to gather data from organic food consumers in Lahore, Gujranwala and Islamabad and a total of 479 questionnaires were part of the analysis.

The outcomes show that customer perceived value, effort and natural content is positively related to IPOF. Despite this, COVID-19 fear and food neophobia are negatively associated with IPOF. IPOF and organic food availability are positively related to APOF. Finally, organic food availability significantly moderated between IPOF and APOF.

This study outcome reveals that companies of organic food can recognize customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort, natural content and organic food availability in their decision-making if they determine the actual purchase of organic food. This study offers a valuable policy to companies of organic food to enhance customer’s behavior in purchasing organic food in Pakistan. Besides, practitioners and academicians can benefit from this study finding.

This initial research integrates customer perceived value, COVID-19 fear, food neophobia, effort, natural content, IPOF and organic food availability to determine APOF in the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, consumption value theory is followed to develop the framework.