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Purpose This study aims to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities influence firm performance based on a longitudinal survey for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. Empirical studies suggest that the SME sector plays an essential role in the economic development of Pakistan and can be considered the backbone of the economy. Design/methodology/approach The data for this study were collected from SMEs located in the cities of Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad in Pakistan. A well-designed questionnaire was administrated over 240 entrepreneurs to analyze and measure the impact of CSR on financial performance for a 12-month period. The authors used econometric analysis of the data using structural equation modeling. Findings Results reveal significant relationships between CSR and two determinants of firm performance, namely, employee commitment and corporate reputation. Research limitations/implications Findings of the study are important for policymakers, entrepreneurs and other professionals in SMEs sectors both in under-developed and, with further application and exploration, in developing countries. Originality/value There is no single longitudinal study prior to this has been carried out on the relationships of CSR and firm performance in the SME sector in the context of the Pakistani economy. Hence, this study significantly fills an important gap in the research.

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Pakistan has long relied on fossil fuels for electricity generation. This is despite the fact that the country is blessed with enormous renewable energy (RE) resources, which can significantly diversify the fuel mix for electricity generation. In this study, various renewable resources of Pakistan—solar, hydro, biomass, wind, and geothermal energy—are analyzed by using an integrated Delphi-analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (F-TOPSIS)-based methodology. In the first phase, the Delphi method was employed to define and select the most important criteria for the selection of RE resources. This process identified four main criteria, i.e., economic, environmental, technical, and socio-political aspects, which are further supplemented by 20 sub-criteria. AHP is later used to obtain the weights of each criterion and the sub-criteria of the decision model. The results of this study reveal wind energy as the most feasible RE resource for electricity generation followed by hydropower, solar, biomass, and geothermal energy. The sensitivity analysis of the decision model results shows that the results of this study are significant, reliable, and robust. The study provides important insights related to the prioritizing of RE resources for electricity generation and can be used to undertake policy decisions toward sustainable energy planning in Pakistan.

Corporate sustainability is considered a fundamental paradigm and solution in creating a prosperous future for organizations. However, social sustainability issues and pandemic problems from COVID-19 have affected corporations and interrupted plans for sustainable development. To date, corporate sustainability frameworks have taken a relatively narrow view of this paradigm. This study highlights serious challenges to corporate sustainability while providing a framework in an attempt to enable more sustainable business practices. To fill the gap in the literature, we have developed a framework to organize and prioritize important sustainability indicators. The first phase of the study involves the classification of 45 sub-criteria of corporate sustainability under nine main categories by using a literature review and novel Fuzzy Delphi method. The resulting categories are Corporate Governance, Product Responsibility, Transparency and Communication, Economic, Environmental, Social, Natural Environment and Climate Vulnerability, Energy Consumption along with Energy Saving, and includes Pandemic COVID-19 as a new aspect of social sustainability. Next, we applied the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (FAHP) to help determine the weights and prioritizing the criteria and sub-criteria. The results revealed that the Pandemic, along with the Natural Environment and Climate Vulnerability, ranked higher among the main criteria category. Whereas, emergency response planning, social distances, modification of working hours, and just-in-time delivery are the most influencing sub-attributes among the 45 sub-barriers of different categories. Contributions of this study include new insights regarding corporate sustainability criteria and subcriteria, application of novel methods, and integrated framework for dimensions of corporate sustainability. This study is among the first of its kind to consider the COVID-19 pandemic as an essential category and social sustainability attribute of corporate sustainable business practices. Outcomes of this study can help assist scholars, corporations, and decision-makers in understanding sustainable development initiatives while simultaneously improving social sustainability practices.