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This study aims to examine the status, explores the hurdles and identifies the prospects for developing a union catalogue of university libraries in Lahore, Pakistan.

Following a quantitative research approach, a questionnaire was developed from literature and authors’ experience. After ensuring its validity and reliability, data were collected from librarians after the census. A total of 105 librarians were approached, of whom 73 (71%) responded to the survey.

University libraries in Lahore are well organized, have adequate collections and information technology-literate staff, are well automated, have good internet connections, are equipped with integrated software, follow cataloguing rules and MARC standards; however, the absence of standardized software, lack of funds, absence of uniform policy, professional workload and absence of standardized vocabulary are significant challenges. Private-sector librarians reported facing more challenges. Librarians consider all prospects vital for developing a union catalogue. These prospects include the availability of relevant information, incentives to librarians, coordination with librarians, a realization that sharing is caring, the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan taking initiative and librarians’ training.

University librarians in Lahore are ready to cooperate with the development of a union catalogue; however, they seek support from higher authorities, professional library associations and the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first of its kind that examines the status, explores the hurdles and identifies the prospects for developing a union catalogue of university libraries in Lahore. It would lead to the development of a union catalogue of university libraries in Pakistan.

This study aims to analyze the relationship between Islamic governance (IG) and leverage and examine the interaction of corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) in the relationship between IG and leverage.

This study used 444 observational data comprising Asian, European and African Islamic banks (IBs) and analyzed using the regression analysis method to answer the research hypothesis.

This study finds that IG had a significant positive effect on leverage, indicating that it can increase the leverage of IBs. In other words, IG boosts the public confidence to entrust their funds to IBs through current accounts and savings. However, this study shows that CSRD weakens the relationship between IG and leverage. In addition, this study includes the control variables of board size, Islamic supervisory board size and company size, where all three variables showed their effect on leverage. These results were obtained through additional analysis by categorizing our sample based on CSRD.

The results of this study show that IG significantly positively affects IB leverage globally. This can be used as a basis for policymakers to include the ICG variable in analyzing IBs leverage. The weakness of this study is the use of IG variables based on disclosure so that IG components that affect leverage cannot be analyzed accurately. Future research can use the IG variable by using specific IG component values such as the number of meetings, member attendance and remuneration of SSB members in analyzing IB leverage globally.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first study to discuss the interaction of CSRD with IG on leverage in Islamic banking in Asia, Europe and Africa, thus adding to the existing literature on Islamic banking.

The banking industry faces increasing scrutiny from stakeholders regarding its environmental and social impacts, given its crucial role in fostering economic growth. Banks have been encouraged to adopt environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices to mitigate risks and safeguard their reputation. However, the effectiveness of ESG sensitivity within the banking industry is contingent upon ownership and structural factors. The extent to which banks can integrate ESG considerations into their operations and decision-making processes may vary based on their ownership structures. Therefore, this study aims to examine if the impact of ESG on the performance of Indian banks varies between private and public sector banks.

The study employs six years of panel data from two separate samples of 12 private sector banks and 10 public sector banks in India. It utilises fixed and random effect estimation techniques with robust standard errors to derive accurate and reliable econometric results.

The main findings of this study reveal intriguing insights into the relationship between ESG factors and bank performance, considering the influence of ownership structure. For private sector banks, the ESG composite score, particularly the social dimension, negatively impacts financial performance. However, there is a contrasting positive effect on efficiency. In contrast, public sector banks demonstrate a positive and significant association between the environmental score and return on equity and non-performing assets.

The findings highlight the need for tailored strategies that align with ownership structure to achieve sustainable financial and societal outcomes in the banking industry. Furthermore, it emphasises the need for private-sector banks to streamline their ESG initiatives, especially in the social dimension, to mitigate negative impacts on their financial performance.

This study introduces a novel dimension by addressing the “one size fits all” bias in prior research that overlooked bank ownership differences when examining the impact of ESG factors on bank performance.