The homogenization of the banking segment has made it difficult for banking institutions to practice the quality of services that are needed in order to retain consumers. Thus, these days, finding ways to increase consumer loyalty—especially green loyalty—has become a challenge for the banking industry around the planet. Research has long acknowledged that corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a strategic concern that could help organizations to increase consumer loyalty. However, the impact of CSR practices on green consumer loyalty is rarely addressed in the extant literature. Hence, the present research investigated the impact of CSR on green consumer loyalty with the mediating effect of co-creation in the banking industry of Pakistan. The study also introduced green banking initiatives as a moderator between the mediated relation of CSR and green consumer loyalty, with the intention that such a moderator would strengthen this indirect relationship. The structural equation modeling technique was used for the data analysis. The results confirm that CSR enhances consumer loyalty, and that co-creation partially mediates this relationship. Furthermore, green banking initiatives further strengthen this relation. The results of the current survey could help banking institutions learn how they can develop core strategic considerations based on the integration of CSR co-creation and green banking initiatives.

Technological advancement and the highly competitive nature of business have forced organizations to use multiple strategies to streamline their business operations. Current research investigates the relationship between sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) and business performance, focusing on operational and financial performance. It provides insights into the operational structure, resource utilization, and the identification of strategic tools needed to strengthen organizational performance. The researchers conducted unstructured interviews with 41 industrialists and analyzed them via open-source coding and deducing reasoning. A questionnaire was developed by analyzing critical scientific literature and unstructured interviews. Empirical responses were taken from 202 industrial corporations. The structural analyses indicate that the effective execution of SSCM significantly improves firms’ operational and financial performance. The findings also provide detailed information about different components of SSCM, namely supply chain strategy (SCS), supply chain network design (SCND), organizational structure, and information system, and explain how it relates to the previous literature review by using a multivariate statistical analysis, followed by structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings of current research highlight the significant role of SSC in accelerating firms’ operational and financial performance and suggest that SSCM should be taken as a secondary strategy and must be integrated with the overall business strategy.

Creativity at the level of employees is of utmost importance for every sector of an economy, with no exception to a healthcare system. The reason why employee creativity is important lies in the fact that employees have profound knowledge of their job and thus can serve as a source of meaningful innovation in an organization. Research shows that employee creativity is largely dependent on leadership. Corporate leaders significantly influence subordinates’ behavior. However, with the economic development, globalization, and changing business environment, a traditional authoritative leadership style can no longer be effective in understanding employees’ psychological needs to foster their creative behavior. In this regard, the role of inclusive leadership as an effective organizational management strategy was recently discussed in literature at different levels. It was also stated that an inclusive leader could foster employee creativity. However, such relationships in healthcare systems of developing economies have largely remained under-explored previously. We explored employee creativity in a healthcare context of a developing economy in an inclusive leadership framework to bridge such knowledge gaps. We also investigated the mediating roles of psychological safety and polychronicity in the above-stated relationship. We collected the data from hospital employees through a questionnaire (paper–pencil method). A hypothetical model was developed, which was tested through structural equation modeling in AMOS. Based upon the statistical outcomes, we found that an inclusive leadership style in a hospital can significantly foster employee creativity, whereas psychological safety and polychronicity mediate this relationship. This study offers different theoretical and practical insights, especially to a healthcare system. An important finding was that an inclusive leader can motivate the followers to be more creative. This finding is significant for a hospital because creative employees provide a hospital with a solid competitive base.

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It is of great significance to construct heterojunctions using industrially produced co-catalysts. The direct Z-scheme composite photocatalyst provides an effective separation of photogenerated carriers. Herein, a kind of novel 2D/3D direct Z-scheme NiFe-LDH/Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S is prepared. Compared with fresh catalysts, the NiFe-layered double hydroxide (LDH)/Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S composite exhibits advantages including excellent visible light response ability and photoelectric performance and improved H 2 evolution rate by 11.6 times. Combining with theoretical calculations, ESR, XPS, and experimental results, the direct Z-scheme mechanism of the photocatalytic reaction is proposed. There is a channel for electron transfer between Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S and NiFe-LDH, and the electrons of Zn 0.5 Cd 0.5 S directly combine with the valence band holes of NiFe-LDH. Finally, the electrons remaining on NiFe-LDH can reduce H + to generate H 2 . This process effectively achieves separation of photogenerated carriers and increases photocatalytic H 2 evolution.

We have theoretically investigated the structural, electronic, and optical properties of perovskite SrTiO3 nanowires for use in visible light photocatalytic applications using pseudopotential density-functional theory calculations. The electronic structure calculations show that the band gap is modified in the SrTiO3 nanowires compared with that of the bulk. For TiO2-terminated nanowires, the mid-band states induced by the combination of oxygen and strontium atoms on the surface lead to a shift in the valence band toward the conduction band without interference from the edge of the conduction band, which reduces the band gap. On the contrary, the electronic states induced by the combination of oxygen and strontium atoms on the surface of SrO-terminated nanowires lead to a shift in the conduction band toward the valence band. The calculated optical results indicate that the absorption edge of the nanowires shift towards the red-light region. These theoretical results suggest that perovskite SrTiO3 nanowires are promising candidates for use in visible light photocatalytic processes such as solar-assisted water splitting reactions.

High quality ultrathin MgB2 superconducting films with thickness down to 7.5 nm have been synthesized via hybrid physical–chemical vapor deposition. The films are phase-pure and oxygen-free. The 7.5 nm thin film shows a Tc(0) of 32.8 K and residual resistivity of 120 µΩ cm, and the 10 nm thin film shows a Tc(0) of 35.5 K and high critical current density Jc∼106 A cm−2 at 20 K.

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