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The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the marketing orientation and market-oriented cultural elements of integrated Islamic schools. These integrated schools teach modern science curriculum alongside comprehensive religious instruction in an Islamic environment.

This is an inductive, exploratory research from an interpretivist study. Narrative inquiry was undertaken to understand the perceptions, attitudes and actions of school senior management and teachers. Content analysis of the school websites and social media pages was carried out. In total, 7 schools and 16 respondents became part of the purposive sample.

The presence of several integrated Islamic schools, experienced Islamic education leadership and Islamic education consultants are evidence of a growing sector. The schools are technologically enabled, strongly customer-oriented and adept at inter-functional coordination. The need-gap found in this sector is in competitor orientation, curriculum development and recruitment of specific criteria-based staff.

With the mushrooming of integrated Islamic schools in Pakistan, the level of competition has also risen. The schools have made a considerable investment and strives to maintain and increase the enrollment rate of the institute. This research can enlighten integrated Islamic educators about effective education marketing practices and the prevalence of marketing orientation in such schools.

In Pakistan, private primary schools strive to differentiate themselves and competitively position their value proposition. The marketization of education has begun to affect perceptions of school staff, teachers, students and academic work itself. Yet, there is scarce exploratory research on marketing done by integrated Islamic primary schools. This study will contribute foundational work for the development of a holistic marketing model tailored to the requirements of integrated Islamic schools.

This study aims to explore whether religiosity influences consumer purchase behavior among Muslim consumers in Pakistan.

An in-depth, semi-structured interview protocol was developed and administered to a sample of 90 participants, both male and female, across eight metropolitan cities of Pakistan. Professionals, university students and housewives were part of the sample. NVivo Version 11 was used for data analysis to answer the research questions raised in this study. Moreover, the purposive sampling method has been used in this research.

The behavior of consumers was found to vary with the degree of involvement and the degree of religiosity. Study findings are divided into three themes. Firstly, a high level of religiosity makes Muslim consumers follow the Islamic principles of food consumption, by evaluating the product ingredients, spending moderately and verifying a halal logo at the time of purchase. Secondly, a major theme is the view that religiosity has no influence on food consumption; it is more about individuals’ needs and priorities. Finally, the consumers’ overall perception of quality, product value, purity and health consciousness over-powers the concept of religiosity.

Because of its qualitative and exploratory nature, the generalizability of this paper is limited. In addition to that, this research is just focused on one Muslim country.

This study suggests that western food exporters may use religiosity and other factors as probable segmentation variables to effectively position their brands. Religious images and other factors may be highlighted in product packaging and communication campaigns by marketers to gain recognition and usage of western food and consumption among religious, Pakistani Muslim consumers. The output of this research may support prospective entrants into the food business; those interested in exploring the Asian consumer market. Findings from this study may also be helpful for those in the west interested in exploring Pakistan as an emerging consumer market.

The presence of western imported food may improve the quality of life by having more opportunities and healthier options for the nation. Western food products can also bring cultural convergence whereby the underdeveloped nation feels upgraded and modern. Moreover, if the western food products are certified halal, the product has a fair chance of adoption and penetration in the society. Also, the food products coming from the western world induces mindfulness, people are more aware about innovative and useful ingredients that can satisfy their taste buds, improve their health, increase their life expectancy and contented approach toward life.

Thus far, limited research has analyzed religiosity of an overwhelmingly Muslim population and its impact on consumer behavior. This study is a preliminary effort to provide a basic understanding of the behavior of Pakistani Muslims, who have been insufficiently investigated by marketing and consumer researchers. The intriguing results are to remind marketers that there are several factors that govern religiosity and lead to a purchase decision.

Child malnutrition is a grave concern for Pakistan, as the country has one of the highest incidences of child stunting in the developing world. The present study examines the relative significance of parents' education on a child's nutritional status in Pakistan.

For analysis, the study has used data from Phase 7 of the Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) (2017–2018). Since the dependent variable ranges from 0 to 1 (1 indicates not a stunted child, while 0 represents a stunted child), binary logistic regressions are used for the analysis.

The results show that mothers' and fathers' education positively contributes to a child's nutrition. However, mothers' education is considered more significant, especially in the long run. The mother's education categories are positive and significant in the long run, while only their higher education is positive and significant for the father's. Moreover, the magnitude of the effect also shows that the probability of stunting is less if the mothers are educated. The long-run coefficient for mothers' higher education is 0.752, while that of fathers' higher education is only 0.232.

The present study compares the importance of mothers' and fathers' education in child nutrition and concludes that the role of the mother is more crucial for child upbringing. There are rarely any studies that focus on the role of fathers' education in child nutrition and compare whose role, mothers' or fathers,' is more important for child well-being.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-06-2023-0483

This study aims to identify the impact of corporate governance on performance of sugar mills. In order to study this relation, a model is constructed in which ownership structure and independent directors are taken as independent variables. Whereas firm performance is analyzed by using proxy variables such as return on asset (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and sales growth. Moreover, size of board, working capital management (WCM) and philanthropy are taken as mediating variables between governance variables and firm performance.

The data of 32 sugar mills listed at Pakistan Stock Exchange for the period of four years (i.e. 2014–2017) is used for this research. Moreover, to investigate the model, generalized least squares statistical method is used to measure the relationship between variables.

The results revealed that there is significant but positive relationship between independent directors and ROA while ownership structure and ROE have significant but negative relationship. Thus, the board of directors should make it sure that all stakeholders and organizations should increase the nonfamily ownership in firms for better corporate performance. Moreover, philanthropy and WCM mediate the relationship between corporate governance and firms' performance.

This research work will be helpful in the corporate governance, and further researchers can conduct their study by considering executive/nonexecutive director and institutional owners as governance variables.

This paper fulfills an identified need to study how Corporate Governance effect the performance of firm.

Constructed upon knowledge-based view theory, this study investigates the influence of internal marketing (IM) on knowledge management (KM) processes in higher educational institutes (HEIs) in China and Pakistan. The study investigates the direct link between KM processes and organizational performance and indirect links via knowledge workers' productivity (KWP).

Data were collected from HEIs in China and Pakistan, and 784 survey responses were reported from academic and administrative staff (HEIs).

The result revealed that IM has a significant impact on KM processes, and KM processes impact organizational performance via the partial mediating effect of KWP in China, Pakistan and the overall sample. The multi-group analysis confirmed the substantial differential effect of KM processes on KWP in culturally different HEIs.

A lack of research establishes the inter-relationship between KM enabler (IM), KM processes, KWP and organizational performance in culturally diverse environments. This is one of the initial studies that examine the relationship between IM, KM processes, KWP and organizational performance in HEIs. Furthermore, this study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by conducting an in-depth empirical examination of IM, KM processes, KWP and OP in culturally diverse environments (i.e. China and Pakistan).

1. This research examines the influence of internal marketing (IM) on knowledge management (KM) processes by using knowledge workers' productivity (KWP) as a mediator between knowledge management (KM) and organizational performance.

2. Through the partly mediating effect of KWP, it was discovered that IM considerably influenced knowledge management processes and organizational performance in China, Pakistan and throughout the sample.

3. The multi-group analysis indicates that KMPs have a statistically significant influence on KWP.

This research examines the influence of internal marketing (IM) on knowledge management (KM) processes by using knowledge workers' productivity (KWP) as a mediator between knowledge management (KM) and organizational performance.

Through the partly mediating effect of KWP, it was discovered that IM considerably influenced knowledge management processes and organizational performance in China, Pakistan and throughout the sample.

The multi-group analysis indicates that KMPs have a statistically significant influence on KWP.

Building on the conservation of resources theory, this research explored the processes underlying the association between perceived workplace incivility and deviant behaviors. Specifically, we tested a mediating mechanism, an interpersonal conflict that has received less consideration in the workplace incivility literature. The authors also tested the organizational climate (i.e. a resource) as a moderator in the perceived workplace incivility–employees’ deviant work behavior relationship.

Time-lagged research design was followed to explain the relationship of variables. Survey data were collected at time 1 and time 2 from 220 service sector working professionals to test the proposed model.

The findings suggest that intrapersonal conflict partially mediates the workplace incivility–deviant work behavior relationship. Further, the authors found that the harmful effects of workplace incivility on employees’ deviant work behavior attenuate in the presence of organizational climate as a resource. The results shed light on the beneficial consequences of organizational climate on employees’ work behavior by attenuating workplace incivility and mitigating their deviant work behaviors.

Overall, the study contributed to understanding the mediating role of interpersonal conflict and the moderating role of organizational climate in explaining the workplace incivility–deviant work behavior relationship.

Given innovation's significance, this research examines the link between empowered leadership and frugal innovation. The research also explores how collaborative cultures and organizational commitment mediate empowered leadership's effect on frugal innovation.

Quantitative method is used with the approach of hierarchical regression to test the hypotheses with data obtained from Pakistani small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the questionnaire from 288 participants.

The results of this study show that empowered leadership has a considerable impact on the firm's capacity for frugal innovation. Additionally, this study shows that organizational commitment and collaborative culture significantly moderate the association between empowering leadership and frugal innovation.

Future studies should examine mediating factors, including employment experience, education and perceived organizational support, and moderating variables like employee psychological empowerment and leadership styles.

This research advises SMEs in developing nations to utilize frugal innovation since they cannot afford to spend extensively on technologies that add creativity and innovation to goods and services.

This study advances how leadership both directly and indirectly helps organizations strengthen their capacity for frugal innovation through the mediating roles of collaborative culture and organizational commitment.

Fear of COVID-19 is a new workplace hazard that has made drastic changes at workplaces globally. Based on the conservation of resource (COR) theory, this research investigates the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and employee engagement. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating role of emotional stability in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and employee engagement.

Data were collected using self-administrated questionnaires from bank employees located in different cities of Pakistan. PROCESS macro by Hayes et al. (2017) was used to analyze 267 valid responses.

Consistent with the hypotheses of this study, fear of COVID-19 was negatively associated with employee engagement. In addition, the moderating role of emotional stability was confirmed in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and employee engagement. The findings of this study support the notion that fear of COVID-19 can be considered a workplace stressor that affects employee engagement. By contrast, emotional stability acts as a personal resource with a buffering effect.

This study investigates only the moderating mechanism in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and work engagement. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect the data. For future studies, other sources can be used to reflect the actual situation.

This study is currently relevant because of the sudden occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic that has mentally and emotionally challenged the service employees. Unlike most prior studies, which investigated the impact of fear of COVID-19 on the health sector professionals, this study investigated the impact on the bank employees. Moreover, this study is among the first to provide insights on the role of employee's personality to maintain positive work attitudes during uncertain circumstances from COVID-19.