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Poor mental health in men and women is attributable to disparities in physical traits, social roles, power and health-seeking behaviours. This study aims to examine the gender differences in mental health among Pakistan and German university students and focuses on their right to seek mental health care.

Data on depression, anxiety and stress symptoms, as well as positive mental health (PMH), resilience, social support and life satisfaction, were gathered from Pakistani and German students.

In contrast to the Pakistani group, where no such gender differences were seen, women in Germany reported higher degrees of stress, anxiety and depression, as well as a lower level of overall good mental health. In comparison to German men and women, Pakistani women scored equally high on resilience. While gender had no bearing on life happiness in either Pakistan or Germany, women in both countries perceived more social support than men did.

The study’s strengths include its large sample size and battery of mental health measures. The results of partial weak measurement Invariance (MI) on the stress subscale underlined the importance of using MI in cross-cultural studies. The validity of a direct comparisons on sum score between different language versions or country samples shall be cautious. Still, there are limitations. Firstly, the authors did not differentiate gender and biological sex, and there was no group of non-binary gender. Pakistani (N = 1,840) and German (N = 7,890) students were in unequal numbers. Again, only university students were sampled, so the results cannot be generalised to older (probably less educated) populations. Self-reported data that mainly obtained via online survey were the third limitation. This design is cost-effective and easy to administer for cross-cultural survey research. However, social desirability and memory bias are common in self-report inventories. Fourthly, although English is an official language in Pakistan and the medium of instruction in education, the authors recommend future study to use questionnaires that have been translated and validated into Urdu (Pakistan’s national language) and investigate gender differences in a general population. Fifthly, this is a cross-sectional survey; the authors were not able to explore the causality or risk factors that contribute to the poor mental well-being in Pakistan students in general or the relatively worse mental health in German women. Future studies may investigate the mechanism behind the phenomena observed in this study with longitudinal or experimental design. Last but not least, Germany and Pakistan differ in so many different aspects from culture, religions and history to social structure and economic status, which make it hard to claim whether the observed differences were due to national differences, cultural differences, economic differences, gender inequality differences or other effects. It would be helpful for future studies to include more country samples with clear definitions of different “culture” aspects for a better understanding of gender differences in other countries and in different mental well-being constructs.

The current study is the first attempt to compare the gender difference patterns in positive and negative mental health between European and South Asian counties and focuses on gender-specific approaches. Although Pakistani university students reported in general worse mental well-being, the differences between the two genders in mental health (e.g. depression, anxiety, general PMH) were not as pronounced as in the German student sample. Gender comparisons in these mental health constructs would help to improve protective factors against mental illness and to develop appropriate management programmes based on cultural differences. The results suggest that the gender differences found in western countries cannot always be directly translated into the South Asian cultural framework. Our results also highlight the importance of improving the general situation of Pakistan (students) instead of focusing on one gender. At the same time, in Germany, prevention and intervention plans are more warranted for women. It could be that once the general situation in Pakistan is improved, the gender-related differences in mental health will be clearly observed.

These findings imply the significance of cultural context when inferring gender variations in mental health. Moreover, it supports the advancement of comprehensive policies to reduce gender-related mental health inequalities and focuses on the equal rights of men and women to get mental health care.

The increasing accumulation of synthetic plastic waste in oceans and landfills, along with the depletion of non-renewable fossil-based resources, has sparked environmental concerns and prompted the search for environmentally friendly alternatives. Biodegradable plastics derived from lignocellulosic materials are emerging as substitutes for synthetic plastics, offering significant potential to reduce landfill stress and minimise environmental impacts. This study highlights a sustainable and cost-effective solution by utilising agricultural residues and invasive plant materials as carbon substrates for the production of biopolymers, particularly polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), through microbiological processes. Locally sourced residual materials were preferred to reduce transportation costs and ensure accessibility. The selection of suitable residue streams was based on various criteria, including strength properties, cellulose content, low ash and lignin content, affordability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, shelf-life, mechanical and physical properties, short maturation period, antibacterial properties and compatibility with global food security. Life cycle assessments confirm that PHB dramatically lowers CO₂ emissions compared to traditional plastics, while the growing use of lignocellulosic biomass in biopolymeric applications offers renewable and readily available resources. Governments worldwide are increasingly inclined to develop comprehensive bioeconomy policies and specialised bioplastics initiatives, driven by customer acceptability and the rising demand for environmentally friendly solutions. The implications of climate change, price volatility in fossil materials, and the imperative to reduce dependence on fossil resources further contribute to the desirability of biopolymers. The study involves fermentation, turbidity measurements, extraction and purification of PHB, and the manufacturing and testing of composite biopolymers using various physical, mechanical and chemical tests.

This study aims to examine the direct influence of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention and the mediating roles of employee cynicism and job embeddedness.

Surveys were conducted to collect data in 3 waves, and 211 samples were finally obtained. The hypothesised relationships were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analyses and ProClin bootstrapping.

The results suggested that supervisor ostracism was positively related to employee turnover intention and that employee cynicism and job embeddedness played mediating roles. The analysis further confirmed that employee cynicism and job embeddedness played serial, double-mediating roles between supervisor ostracism and employee turnover intention.

This study helps understand the influence of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention, mitigating undesirable consequences that lead to employee turnover intention.

This study refines the knowledge on workplace ostracism, explores the impact of supervisor ostracism on employee turnover intention from different perspectives and reveals the relationship between them. It integrated cultural factors in a Chinese context, providing a further reference for local management practices.

This study examines the relationship between HR practices and millennial employee retention in the tourism industry in Bangladesh. It investigates the moderating role of the work environment in the relationship between HR practices and employee retention in the industry.

The researchers used non-probability judgemental sampling to collect 384 questionnaires through a survey of millennial employees. Partial least square-based structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data.

The results reveal that HR practices included in this paper have significant relationships with millennial employee retention in the tourism industry in Bangladesh, except employee participation in decision-making. In addition, the results show that the work environment only moderates the relationship between two HR practices (compensation, training and development) and millennial employee retention.

The results suggest that managers in tourism organisations must develop HR practices and foster a positive work environment to retain millennials.

This is the only study that examines the moderating role of the work environment on the relationship between five selected HR practices (training and development, job security, performance appraisal, employee participation, compensation) and millennial employee retention. Previous studies used fewer HR variables.

Despite the current progress in realizing how Big Data Analytics can considerably enhance the Sustainable Manufacturing Supply Chain (SMSC), there is a major gap in the storyline relating factors of Big Data operations in managing information and trust among several operations of SMSC. This study attempts to fill this gap by studying the key enablers of using Big Data in SMSC operations obtained from the internet of Things (IoT) devices, group behavior parameters, social networks and ecosystem framework.

Adaptive Prospects (Improving SC performance, combating counterfeits, Productivity, Transparency, Security and Safety, Asset Management and Communication) are the constructs that this research first conceptualizes, defines and then evaluates in studying Big Data Analytics based operations in SMSC considering best worst method (BWM) technique.

To begin, two situations are explored one with Big Data Analytics and the other without are addressed using empirical studies. Second, Big Data deployment in addressing MSC barriers and synergistic role in achieving the goals of SMSC is analyzed. The study identifies lesser encounters of barriers and higher benefits of big data analytics in the SMSC scenario.

The research outcome revealed that to handle operations efficiently a 360-degree view of suppliers, distributors and logistics providers' information and trust is essential.

In the Post-COVID scenario, the supply chain practitioners may use the supply chain partner's data to develop resiliency and achieve sustainability.

The unique value that this study adds to the research is, it links the data, trust and sustainability aspects of the Manufacturing Supply Chain (MSC).

This paper aims to examine how high involvement HRM (HIHRM), technology adaptation and innovativeness influence employees to respond to technology innovation performance – that is, radical innovation performance and incremental innovation performance – in distinct ways.

The purposive judgmental sample technique is used to assess the perceptions of 545 IT employees in Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) industry. The partial least square-structural equation modeling (SEM-PLS) method is applied to analyze and interpret the data.

Findings of the analysis show that HIHRM, technology adaptation and innovativeness influence employees to exhibit technology innovation performance. Furthermore, both technology adaptation and innovativeness show the significant mediating effects between HIHRM and technology innovation performance.

First, this study’s findings contribute to HIHRM and technology innovation performance within the context of the resource-based theory. Second, the RMG organizations would acknowledge the role of HIHRM on employee technology adaptability and innovation capability in this regard. A future study might point to the models' ability to create the best work environments, which can help organizations to boost employee productivity through adaptation and innovation.

The study would offer a distinctive perspective on higher-order HIHRM and how they affect IT employees in RMG organizations in Bangladesh that could be approached in other labor-intensive and developing nations. This study also expands the research on technology adaptation and innovativeness by exploring the mediating roles between HIHRM and employee technology innovation performance in the organization.

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 the increasing intensity of highly competitive markets, this study aims to evaluate the effect of salespeople's emotional regulation, adaptive selling and customer-oriented behavior on sales performance.

A research model was tested by using a sample of 288 respondents from the logistics industry in Taiwan. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships between emotional regulation, adaptive selling, job resourcefulness, customer-oriented behavior and sales performance.

The results indicate that emotional regulation, adaptive selling and job resourcefulness can improve customer-oriented behavior, and that customer-oriented behavior and job resourcefulness can enhance sales performance. By highlighting the role of job resourcefulness, the authors find a positive moderating effect among these four dimensions.

The findings can help salespeople integrate customer-oriented behaviors into strategic changes to regulate their own emotions and those of others to productively address and resolve difficult business conditions. The theoretical and managerial implications of this work's contributions to international logistics are also discussed.

Research on the effects of feedback frequency has reported mixed findings. To tackle this problem, the current study focuses on specific feedback signs (i.e. negative feedback). By integrating the face management theory and attribution theory, this study examined the mediating effect of trust in supervisors and the moderating effect of employee-attributed performance promotion motives for negative feedback.

A field study with 176 participants and two supplemental experiments with 143 and 100 participants, respectively, were conducted to test the theoretical model.

Results revealed that the frequency of supervisory negative feedback negatively influenced employees’ trust in supervisors, which in turn influenced employees’ perceptions of feedback utility and learning performance. These indirect effects can be alleviated when employees have high degrees of performance promotion attribution for supervisor motives.

This research extends feedback research by integrating feedback frequency with a specific sign of feedback and revealing a moderated mediation effect of the negative feedback frequency.

Market discipline is an important part of financial regulation, under Basel II and III. This paper aims to provide evidence on market discipline in Pakistan. Specifically, the authors have analyzed the impact of CAMEL variables on costs of funds and deposit switching.

This study has used panel data related to different banking and macroeconomic variables. The sample period is 2004–2017 so it has covered the changing regulations that became binding for banks under Basel II and III. Quarterly data has been collected from the financial disclosure of publicly listed banks. The total number of banks in the sample is 26. Among these, 24 are publicly listed. Foreign banks have not been included because their activities in Pakistan are quite limited.

It has been found that efficiency, liquidity, asset quality and capital adequacy are negatively related to costs of funds for banks. Capital adequacy, liquidity and profitability are negatively related to deposit switching.

These results indicate the presence of market discipline and have generated valuable implications for bank managers and regulators.

In this study, the case of Pakistan is interesting. The country has experienced financial liberalization that sought to avoid government intervention and encourage a more “market-based” approach. This change in the system was made more pronounced by the privatization of nationalized banks, improvement in the market structure, reduction in barriers to entry and consolidation of smaller banks. As a result, the banking system has emerged as an important source of financing and it provides us motivation to look deeper into depositor discipline in banking sector.