Purpose The adoption and use of financial services by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are pivotal in the development of inclusive financial markets. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of attitude on financial decision making of SMEs owner-manager. The attitude of SMEs owner-manager comprises of several factors; however, current study identifies few critical factors such as motivation, awareness and risk in the context of Pakistan. The study also includes the personal and firm characteristics as moderating variables to examine their effect on the relationship between attitude and financial decision making of owner-managers. Design/methodology/approach With the help of a structured questionnaire, total 285 valid responses are analyzed to accomplish the research objectives. The study uses SPSS and partial least square-structural equation modeling techniques in order to conduct analysis. The results of study highlight the importance of attitudinal factors such as awareness and risk. Moreover, the moderating effect of personal characteristics on the relationship between attitude and financial decision making has been found strong instead of firm characteristics. Findings The results show that the low awareness level of owner-managers regarding financial products and procedures significantly affects their attitude. Moreover, the less knowledge of financing terms as well as dominant role of owner-managers in taking firm decisions also increase the negative effect of risk factor on SMEs owner-manager attitude. Research limitations/implications The study suggested that policy makers should focus on the financial awareness of SMEs owner-manager to reduce the negativity of risk factor. Originality/value The study contributes toward the literature of inclusive finance and sustainability studies through better understanding of financial decision making of SMEs in emerging economies.

SMEs paly major role in poverty reduction and employment generation, therefore experts considered this sector as engine of economic growth. However, access to finance in developing countries is one of major issue in development of SME sector as well as hurdle in economic growth. Financial institutions banking and non-banking shows reluctant behaviour in providing financing to SMEs and the issue is more severe in emerging economies. Bank financing has been found as main source of funds for SMEs in Pakistan, however, to obtain these funds not easy for small and medium firms. Recently digital micro financial services have been introduced by a number of micro finance banks.  Current study examines the role of digital micro financial services in enhancing SMEs’ access to finance and thereby enabling a more inclusive financial market for SMEs especially in context of emerging and developing economies. By digging out the existing literature and secondary data, the study discusses that digital financial services have greatly helped owner managers of SMEs in smooth management of their transactions and finances. The study concludes that to strengthen SME sector for economic growth, it is important to further reduce the cost of using digital financial services and increase the financial product portfolio on digital platforms.

Leadership in business and society is responsible for a large part of the decision-making related to policymaking and resource allocation that in turn influences social and environmental outcomes and economic windfalls. The theory and practice of education and learning in business schools is being called on for reforms in order to nurture responsible leadership for business and society that may align well with the triple bottom-line challenge of sustainability (i.e., economic, social, and environmental). We can find state-of-the-art research studies from definition to historical evolution and dimensions of responsible leadership specifically related to corporate sustainability. The role of curriculum design is central to enabling business schools to nurture responsible leaders who are considerate toward the external effects of their internal decision-making, thus seeking to balance the broader stakeholders’ objectives. Several global initiatives have been undertaken by multilateral institutions such as the UN, business schools, and enterprises in the corporate sector to foster a commitment to responsible leadership and allied reforms in teaching in business schools regarding corporate sustainability. These forums, at both the corporate and academic fronts, have contributed to theoretical development and practices for teaching and learning related to responsible leadership in higher education, specifically in business schools. These initiatives stress that business schools and their academic faculty, who intend to serve as custodians of business and society, must make necessary curriculum reforms to meet the challenges of sustainability by embracing their own transformation.

Academic institutions cannot survive and perform well without competent and committed academic staff. Therefore, it is important to address the issue of faculty members’ turnover. Focus of this study is to investigate the impact of human resource practices (salary, performance appraisal, training and development) and career growth (career goal progress, professional ability development, promotion speed, and remuneration growth) on faculty members’ turnover intention. The study has used a cross sectional survey data from a sample of 270 full time faculty members of universities in Pakistan.  The Partial Least Square (PLS) two step path modeling was used to test the direct and indirect hypotheses. The results indicate that salary and performance appraisals are significantly and negatively related to turnover intention. Besides, it was found that out of four dimensions of career growth, only promotion speed and remuneration growth have significant direct relationship with turnover intention. With regards to mediated relationships, it was found that organizational commitment mediates the relationships between career growth (career goal progress, promotion speed, remuneration growth) and turnover intention. These findings suggest that in order to reduce turnover intention among faculty members, the higher education institutions must institutionalize human resource policies and practices that enhance career growth and employees’ development.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of leadership commitment on implementation of green banking in Pakistan through the lens of moderating role of responsible leadership. The concept of green banking in modern banking industry is associated with provision of environment friendly banking services through environment friendly banking operations and infrastructure. It can be referred to sustainable lending and depository product and services provide by banks through sustainable banking operations and infrastructure. Design/Methodology/Approach- An exploratory qualitative research design is used to postulate the theoretical model relating leadership role with implementation of green banking practices in Pakistan. Limitations/Implications- Further studies are needed to empirically examine the postulated relationships signified by proposed model of the study. Originality/ Value- The proposed model and relationship will significantly contribute to better understanding of role of banks leadership towards transformation of conventional banking into sustainable banking practices and products.

It is evident from the existing research that transformational leaders play a vital role toward the project success, but little is known about the channels that elaborate this effect. To unveil one of these channels, this study supposed project teamwork as the mediator between transformational leadership and project success. To test the stated empirical relationship, data were obtained from 125 project managers working on various projects of Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. The results revealed that project teamwork partially mediates the relationship between project leadership and project success. The study has also discussed valuable implications including theoretical, practical and managerial.

The purpose of this study is to find the impact of consumer perception on green supply chain practices in fast food places in South Punjab, Pakistan. Green supply chain practices focus on assimilating environmental thinking into the conventional supply chain, including areas like product design, material sourcing and selection, manufacturing processes, delivery of the final product as well as end-of-life management of the product after its useful life. To put it simply, green supply chain practices deal in creating an environmentally friendly supply chain that will result in an organization that not only sustains itself, but also the environment around it. This research work was conducted in South Punjab, Pakistan to see whether or not people perceived green supply chain practices important and whether that would affect their decision to dine at a certain place. To serve the purpose of the research, the data was acquired from the general population of South Punjab. The respondents included students from intermediate, people who held jobs, housewives etc. with a sample of 260 chosen randomly. The overall findings state that consumer perception is significantly affected by green supply chain practices in the fast food industry. The research is limited due to the time constraints, financial constraints and limited availability of the data. The results of this research study may not generalize to other province of the Pakistan as the study is conducted only in the context of South Punjab.

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