Purpose -The purpose of this study is to empirically test the relationship between intellectual capital (i.e. human capital, structural capital, relational capital) and business performance within the pharmaceutical sector of Jordan. Design/methodology/approach -A valid research instrument was utilized to conduct a survey of 132 top-and middle-level managers from all 15 members of the Jordanian Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers. Findings -A correlation and path analysis were conducted to ascertain the validity of the measures and models. Statistical support was found for the hypothesized relationships.Research limitations/implications -The findings offer valuable insights on the generalizability of intellectual capital in a novel research setting. Practical implications -Intellectual capital measurement is of primary interest for senior executives of pharmaceutical firms in Jordan. Originality/value -The research reported is among only a few to investigate the issue of intellectual capital in Egypt and the first to study pharmaceutical firms.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effect of Lean Six Sigma elements on the Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations’ business performance. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 120 managers out of about 300 managers by means of questionnaire. After confirming normality, validity and reliability of the study tool, correlation analysis was carried out, and then multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses. Findings The results show that there is an agreement on high implementation of Lean Six Sigma variables among Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations; there are strong relationships among Lean Six Sigma variables, except between non-utilized talent and transportation; there are strong relationships between Lean Six Sigma variables and business performance. All Lean Six Sigma variables have effect on business performance, except extra processing and waiting time. Research limitations/implications This study was carried out on the pharmaceutical industry in Jordan, generalizing results of one industry and/or one country to other industries and/or countries may be questionable. Extending the analyses to other industries and countries represents future research opportunities. Practical implications Implementing Lean Six Sigma variables in all Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing organizations can improve their business performance; also, it can be applied to other manufacturing industry. Social implications The aim of all organizations is to reduce waste, which leads to reserve the natural resources, which is considered as a corporate social responsibility. Originality/value Only few studies related to Lean or Six Sigma have been carried out in pharmaceutical industry in Jordan. Therefore, this study might be considered as an initiative study, which studies the effect of both Lean and Six Sigma on pharmaceutical industry in Jordan.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of implementing corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives (social responsibility, economic responsibility and environmental responsibility) on Jordanian Pharmaceutical Manufacturing (JPM) industry’s business performance. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a quantitative descriptive design. The data were collected from 116 managers working at seven JPM organizations by questionnaire. After confirming validity and reliability of the tool, the statistical analysis means, standard deviations and t-values were used to test implementation and finally multiple regressions were used to test the hypothesis. Findings Results show that there are relationships between CSR variables, and all the three variables are strongly related to business performance. The results also indicate that the three sub-variables together affect JPM industry’s business performance. The environmental responsibility has the highest effect on JPM industry’s business performance, followed by the economic responsibility, and then the social responsibility. Research limitations/implications This study was directed toward pharmaceutical industry in Jordan. Generalizing the results to other industries and countries is questionable. Therefore, further research on other industries and countries will help mitigate the issue of generalizing conclusions. Practical implications CSR should be formulated clearly within JPM corporate strategy. The elements of CSR need to be integrated with the present performance management criteria, leadership development programs and organizational development programs, and a champion for CSR needs to be assigned. Social implications The CSR initiatives should be derived from local culture and match with international initiatives because CSR is the responsibility of every person. Originality/value Still the topic of CSR is not well implemented and does not have priority by Jordanian companies; therefore, this study may be considered as one of the few studies dedicated to study this topic and create awareness about it in Jordan.

Developed countries are increasingly concerned about the relationship between corporate governance and corporate social responsibility disclosure while developing countries recently started to take care of this issue. Therefore, the main objective of the study is to examine the effect of the board mechanisms of corporate governance on the extent of social responsibility disclosure of Jordanian public industrial companies during the period (2010 to 2014). In this research, descriptive statistics are used to study variables, both correlation matrix and collinearity diagnostic are used to test whether multicollinearity problem exists. Finally, OLS regression analysis is used to test the hypotheses of the study. The results show that the extent of social responsibility disclosure is positively affected by board size and percentage of women on board, negatively affected by duality and board average age. Board meetings and board composition are insignificant to social responsibility disclosure. The study faces several limitations where the measurement of corporate social responsibility requires human judgment, which is subjective and ambiguous. Furthermore, the study sample was limited to industrial companies. Understanding the relationship between CG and CSR is very important because the CG mechanism is an obligation to protect and improve social, economic, and environment, as well as the welfare of society. CSR elements should be included within the companies' vision, mission, strategies and daily practices to maximize the shareholder value.

This study aims at investigating the influence of Intellectual Capital (IC) on Jordanian Tourism (JT) organizations' Business Performance (BP). To approach the aim of the study, practical data were used in the empirical analysis collected from 205 managers (organizations) out of 490 managers (organizations), by means of a questionnaire. Statistical techniques such as descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA test, correlation, multiple regressions and stepwise regression were employed. To confirm the suitability of data collection instrument, a Kolmogorov-Smirnov, Cronbach's Alpha and Factor Analysis were used. The results of the study indicated a positive significant relationship between IC and JT organizations' BP. However, the RC indicators were the most important indicators to distinguish the organizations from one another, followed by HC, while still they have a lot of work to improve SC. The empirical analysis showed that only RC and HC affect JT organizations' BP, while SC did not show any significant effect on JT organizations' BP. Furthermore, empirical results indicated that there are strong inter-relationships and interactions among the three components of IC with each others. The use of a single industry study design limits its generalisability to other industries. The data is also limited to Jordanian organizations; therefore, generalizing results of a Jordanian setting to other countries may be questionable. Extending the analysis to other settings represent future research opportunities. The data suggest that a similar set of IC indicators could be developed for other organizations and industries whether government, public or private, profitable or non-profitable organizations.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a vital factor in how organizations run their businesses. Consumers are becoming more aware of it and are expecting it from organizations. With the rise of social media, organizations have another channel to communicate their CSR activities to their stakeholders. A good deal of research has been conducted on CSR and its relation to consumers. However, there is limited research on its influence on consumers via social media channels. Therefore, this research studied the impact of an organization’s CSR activities on consumer purchase intention with the mediating effect of consumer engagement via social media. A total of 21 questionnaire surveys were provided. A sample size of 250 responses was successfully collected via different social media platforms. Results show that ethical responsibility has a positive significant impact on customer engagement (15%) and purchase intentions (35%). Environmental responsibility has a positive significant impact on consumer engagement (11%) and purchase intentions (18%). Meanwhile, Philanthropic Responsibility and Economic Responsibility have an insignificant effect on Customer engagement. Customer engagement has a positive and significant effect on Purchase Intension (47%). Finally, the purchasing intention of consumers is mediated positively and significantly by consumer engagement with CSR activities on social media. In addition, consumer engagement with CSR activities on social media has a positive impact on purchase intention. However, contrary to other research, economic and philanthropic responsibilities have no significant impact on consumer engagement with social media activities.

People use social media not only for social purposes but also for business purposes. It is used in management and marketing as a tool to manage organizations and market products and services, especially to influence customers’ intention and satisfaction. Therefore, the research purpose is to define factors that influence continuous intention to use TikTok in Jordan and to what extent satisfaction with TikTok influences continuous intention to use TikTok. The current research uses a quantitative cross-sectional approach. Data was collected by online surveys and shared on several social media sites such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. A total of 402 responses were valid for further analysis. Then, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed. The results indicate that the following factors significantly affect satisfaction: self-expression, informativeness, a sense of belonging, and trendiness in TikTok. However, the following factors do not significantly affect satisfaction: sociability, affection in TikTok, and past time in TikTok. The factors can explain 48.5% of satisfaction. Finally, satisfaction has a positive significant influence on users’ continuous intention to use TikTok and can explain 30.6% of the user’s continuous intention to use TikTok. In conclusion, the organizations have to heavily use the factors that influence the users’ satisfaction to increase users’ continuous intention.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of service quality on graduates’ satisfaction as perceived by Middle East University (MEU) graduates. Design/methodology/approach This research is cross-sectional and aims to explore the effect of service quality dimensions (academic staff, administration, classrooms and library services) on graduates’ satisfaction. Data were collected from 399 graduates. After confirming validity, reliability and normality of the data, and the correlation between variables, multiple regressions were used to test the hypothesis. Findings The results show that all service quality dimensions are highly implemented by the MEU. The relationships between all service quality dimensions and graduates’ satisfaction are strong. Finally, results show that all service quality dimensions affect graduates’ satisfaction. Research limitations/implications To generalize the results of this research, further studies are recommended to be carried out on other universities especially in Jordan. Testing the perception and satisfaction of other universities, stakeholders will help to improve service quality and to gain suitable competitive strategies. Practical implications Service quality is a key driver for universities’ sustainable competitive advantage; therefore, dimensions of service quality should be included within universities plan, strategies and daily activities. Social implications Considering service quality in higher education improves countries’ economic development, quality of life and well-being. All corporate social responsibility pillars (social, economic, environmental responsibilities and national and international regulation and norms) should be adapted and adopted within services quality systems and programs. Originality/value Most of previous studies were carried out to test the students’ perception while this research is dedicated to explore graduates’ perception regarding service quality offered by the MEU.