Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability of theory of planned behavior (TPB) with special emphasis on measuring the direct and moderating effects of subjective norms on attitude, perceived behavioral control and buying intention in context of buying organic food. Design/methodology/approach – Structured questionnaires were randomly distributed among academic staffs and students of two universities in southern Punjab, Pakistan. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed model fit. Findings – Results of the study showed that subjective norms significantly moderate the relationship between attitudes and buying intention as well as between perceived behavior control and buying intention. Furthermore, subjective norms significantly influence attitude toward buying intention. Practical implications – The paper provides useful insights for the academics and marketers. Academics may further explore the role of subjective norms in order to have a better understanding of their effects on TPB components. Whereas, marketers can target the opinion leaders and reference groups to increase the demand of organic food. Originality/value – Majority of previous studies overlooked the role of subjective norms in determining the buying intentions with respect to organic food. The striking feature of this study is an in-depth emphasis on exploring the direct and moderating effects of subjective norms on the elements of TPB. Moreover, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this is a pioneer study that comprehensively examines the linkage of components of TPB with organic food purchasing in Pakistan.

The education sector in Bangladesh has been affected severely by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis like many other countries around the globe. Both the public and private universities faced different types of challenges to continue the teaching-learning process during this time. The chapter has explored these challenges and mitigation strategies based on quantitative and qualitative studies with undergraduate and graduate students of public and private universities. The study has covered both public and privately owned general and engineering universities to explore more specific issues and directives. Moreover, in-depth interviews were conducted with teachers to learn the problems they faced and subsequent strategies to cope with the challenges to minimize these challenges and educational loss. The study identified the infrastructural, technical, psychological, health, educational policy, and financial-related challenges faced by key stakeholders. The study incorporated directives to overcome these challenges and provide guidelines for policymakers at home and abroad.

Though COVID-19 has affected all sectors, the effect varies from industry to industry, and so does their employment condition. Layoff, retrenchment, salary cut, upskilling, and reskilling for new work conditions made the work environment agile. This chapter investigated the career challenges that employees faced to maintain a sustainable career in the education, telecom, retail, restaurant, fintech industries through a qualitative research approach. The information was collected through the in-depth interviews (IDI) method with the employees across five different industries. Findings of the investigation reflected that transition from offline to the online platform was common which required new skill acquisition and execution in the job to survive in the agile environment. Adaptability with technology, self-development with skill acquisition in digital mode, regular participation in training, innovation, and so on may help the employees across the industry to make their career sustainable in an agile environment.

Like in most developing countries, higher education in Bangladesh has experienced dramatic changes in recent years. This chapter examines four aspects—access, quality, equity, and governance—centring education in both public and private universities of the country. It also highlights obstacles and challenges the universities are facing and puts forward some recommendations in these respects. Two methods, (a) semi-structured informal interview and (b) document and publication study, were used in collecting data. Primary data were collected through semi-structured informal interviews. A total of 30 participants were interviewed. The study opines that higher educational institutions should not only have good governance but also be more devoted to instituting quality control. It also observes that sustaining the quality of education acceptable both nationally and internationally requires setting up an autonomous quality assurance body. It stresses that the active and sincere involvement of state and academia can help address issues related to four aspects—access, governance, equality, and quality—of higher education.

A university plays a fundamental role in establishing and developing an entrepreneurial-oriented economy. The entrepreneurship education has been recognized very important which helps students to understand and foster entrepreneurial intention and attitude. The purpose of the present study is to examine entrepreneurship education and associated entrepreneurial intentions of students of public and private universities of Bangladesh. Few empirical studies done in Bangladesh have examined the entrepreneurial intentions of the university students. This study will fill the research gap in this respect. This study implies that university role, types of course programs influence attitude and intention and elevates the chances that students would eventually choose an entrepreneurial career. The findings of this study have policy implications in inducing more university graduates to start their own businesses.