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This study aims to investigate the impact of dividend policy on a firm’s participation in corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related activities in the context of Pakistani firms. Furthermore, the role of the board governance mechanism in dividend policy-CSR is investigated.

The study’s sample consists of 115 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange-listed firms from 2010 to 2021. A multidimensional financial method is used to assess the firm’s CSR engagement, and dividend policy is assessed using the dividend payout ratio and dividend yield. The authors used the fixed effect model and the random effect model to fulfill the study’s objectives. Furthermore, the system-generalized method of moment estimation technique is used to test the robustness of the result. In addition, the authors perform reverse causality analysis and investigate the effect of financial constraints on the dividend policy–CSR relationship.

The authors find that dividend policy has a significant positive impact on CSR. The authors also find that dividend policy is significantly positively associated with components of CSR, i.e. donation, employee welfare and research and development. Furthermore, the authors find that the board governance mechanism strengthens this positive relationship between dividend policy and CSR.

The government and authorities must mandate or at least encourage enterprises to pay dividends as doing so not only keeps shareholders happy but also encourages firms to make CSR initiatives to balance stakeholders. Furthermore, the regulator should take steps to strengthen the board governance structure as it strengthens the positive dividend policy–CSR relationship.

Although little previous research has focused on the CSR-dividend policy link, the authors believe that this is the first study to look at the influence of dividend policy on CSR and the moderating impact of board governance mechanisms in an emerging country, namely, Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to study the counterfeit currency network in India. This research is an endeavour to bring out various layers which act as source, collection and distribution points in a counterfeit currency network in India. This paper also deals with the fake currency network and its linkages to terrorism.

Methodology adopted is a descriptive one which conducts a content analysis on materials derived from secondary sources supported by information from primary source data acquired through the Right to Information Act.

This paper argues that the existing measure of calculating the incidence of counterfeit notes per million is understated by the relevant stakeholders in India. This measure changes drastically when other factors such as high denomination notes and police seizures are taken into account, which has not been attempted, though it is duly acknowledged by the stakeholders. This paper has attempted to map the locations in India which act as ingress, distribution and circulation points based on evidentiary data derived from the seizure records. This paper also highlights the fact that criminal gang-operated networks of fake currency are compartmentalised, while the networks operated by terror groups are de-compartmentalised.

In the process, this paper attempts to enlighten stakeholders like law enforcement agencies, banking regulators and counter terrorism community on the penetration levels of the fake Indian currency note (FICN) networks in India and the need to target these important nodes or points or layers to break up the FICN network. This also highlights fund-raising mechanisms of terror groups, where FICN acts as the main funding resource for groups like the Indian Mujahideen for carrying out low-cost terror attacks.

The key findings of this research lie in its originality of presentation of facts in a systematic fashion.

This paper aims to examine the impact of innovativeness on customer satisfaction through mediation of perceived quality and also examines the effect of consumer involvement and communication strategy as moderating variables to validate relationship between innovativeness and perceived quality from the perspective of Generation M.

Cluster sampling method is used and data is collected from 451 graduates studying in different universities of Sahiwal division to know their perception regarding mobile phones brands. Structural equation modelling technique is used, and all analyses are performed using SPSS 23.0 and SmartPLS 2.0 to know the findings of the study.

This study finds positive significant nexus between innovativeness-satisfaction, innovativeness-perceived quality and perceived quality-customer satisfaction at brand level. This study also finds that perceived quality is a significant mediator between brand innovativeness and customer satisfaction. However, moderating variables do not help to boost the relationship among brand innovativeness and perceived quality to transmit their impact on customer satisfaction.

This study may help to understand the preferences of different generations. Findings of the study can also benefit the firms in investment decisions, brand management and formulation of innovative strategies for future.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is one of the first studies to investigate the integrated model of BI-CS through mediating and moderating variables to know the perception of Generation M regarding smartphone brands in developing economies like Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to obtain greater insights into the implications for human resource development (HRD) in times of economic development, with a focus on China–Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC). In recent times of economic development, a number of economic corridors have emerged globally as tools of regional cooperation and development. In the context of Pakistan, there is a lack of appropriate attention to the field of HRD, which has suffered neglect through the decades (Abbasi and Burdey, 2008; Asrar-ul-Haq, 2015). With this conception, the present economic interventions merit a well-constructed and proper HRD policy for Pakistan. This study will provide HRD insights for policymakers, researchers, entrepreneurs and business executives.

The research approach of this study is purely based on literature review and on secondary data.

Based on the facts and literature reviews, this study concluded that One belt, One Road in general and CPEC in particular as an economic corridor can bring sustainable and long-lasting impact on the economy only if HRD is given proper attention.

To the best knowledge of the researchers, this is the first study that highlighted the HRD issue in CPEC.

This study aims to compare the friction and wear performance of commercial brake pads for four wheelers among metallic, semimetallic and non-asbestos organic (NAO) formulations to identify one with the right combination of properties for optimal performance.

Three commercially available brake pads for four-wheeler automotive applications were acquired. Samples were cut from the brake pads to study their physical and mechanical properties. The effects of friction and wear were analyzed using a pin-on-disk tribotester. Surface morphology on the worn-out surface of the brake pads was studied.

It was observed that the frictional properties remained stable and less fluctuating in the semimetallic and NAO pads, whereas the coefficient of friction of all the pads varied between 0.35 and 0.55. The wear rate of the metallic pads is less than that of NAO and semimetallic pads. The surface morphology studies revealed that the metallic pads contained more primary plateaus and smaller amounts of secondary plateaus compared to semimetallic and NAO pads, resulting in better wear resistance characteristics.

Because the market is flooded with various options for brake pad materials, it is imperative that the vehicle manufacturers choose the right pad material with great care not only to ensure the optimal functioning of the braking system but also passenger safety. Mechanical and tribological properties of brake pads contribute greatly to their effectiveness. There is a requirement to choose the proper material for a certain application that has a consistent friction coefficient and reduced wear.

Total quality management (TQM) has been a universally applienod management strategy to improve organizational performance and thereby to achieve competitiveness. Compared with the scholarly and practical attention paid to identify the consequences of implementing TQM practices, little is known about how those practices enhance organizational image and employee satisfaction. This paper aims to address that research gap and is designed to empirically prove the relationship between TQM practices, organizational image and employee satisfaction.

A questionnaire-based survey of 285 employees including administrators, managers and heads of departments of 21 National Accreditation Board for Hospital and Healthcare providers-accredited hospitals in India was conducted. The proposed research model was tested using partial least squares based structural equation modelling.

The results revealed that TQM practices have positive direct and indirect effects on employee satisfaction, confirming the partial mediation role played by organizational image in the relationship between TQM practices and employee satisfaction.

From the findings, leaders can understand that by implementing TQM practices, organizations can enhance image of the organization and bring high level of employee satisfaction.

The study tries to answer questions largely ignored in the TQM literature: the effect of TQM practices on organizational image and employee satisfaction, and the mediating role of organizational image on TQM practices and employee satisfaction.

The adequate culture of knowledge sharing in organizations is considered a key factor for improving the employees’ performance. Along with knowledge sharing, total quality management (TQM) practices are the ways to achieve business excellence. The purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating effect of knowledge sharing on the relationship between TQM practices and employees’ performance.

The quantitative study has been carried out in software houses of Pakistan. Data were collected from 340 employees using survey questionnaires from software houses of Pakistan and is analyzed through structural equation modeling technique using SPSS 22.0 and SmartPLS 2.0.

The results reveal that knowledge sharing partially mediates between TQM practices and employee performance. Furthermore, the results indicate that the TQM practices should be implemented holistically rather than individually.

The generalization of the results is limited as the sample size is relatively small and represents software houses of only four regions in Pakistan. Moreover, the study findings were only based on software houses. So, these should be applied to other sectors with caution.

This study complements the previous researches and seeks to extend literature that how the core elements of knowledge sharing mediate between TQM practices and employees’ performance especially, in developing countries like Pakistan.

Despite growing interest in workplace spirituality (WPS) and its impact on employee behaviors, there is a dearth of literature discussing an underlying mechanism of how it affects adaptive performance. Against this backdrop, this study aims to develop and test a comprehensive model that examined the effects of WPS on adaptive performance through serial mediation of job satisfaction and emotional labor strategies.

Using a multi-stage sampling technique, the data is collected from 390 faculty members of the higher education institutions in two-time lags.

The findings indicate that spirituality practices at the workplace help to increase the adaptive performance of employees through serial mediation of job satisfaction and emotional labor strategies.

This study offers important implications to researchers as well as practitioners and highlights the significance of WPS in increasing the adaptive performance of employees.

This research is among the initial attempts to assess the impact of WPS on adaptive performance through serial mediation.

The present work investigated the effect of corporate social responsibility and top management support on employee ecological behaviour (EEB) with the mediating role of green culture and green commitment. Social identity theory (SIT) was used to describe the association between green culture, green commitment and EEB. Further, a conceptual model that summarises the interaction between perceived corporate social responsibility, top management support, green commitment, green culture and the adoption of ecological behaviour was developed.

The paper opted for a quantitative design using convenience sampling by collecting the data through a structured questionnaire gathered from 308 academics working in five Malaysian higher education institutions.

Corporate social responsibility and top management support positively influence green culture and commitment. Moreover, green commitment positively influenced EEB and fully mediated the relationship between corporate social responsibility and EEB and between top management support and EEB.

The academic staff of universities was the target population of this research. Nevertheless, universities have a diverse population with complex activities that can affect the implementation of a sustainable workplace within the campus. Future research should also examine non-academic staff, including administrative, technical and operational staff, due to different employees' perceptions.

As far as the authors know, this is the first study to assign the mediator role to green culture in a relationship between top management support and EEB amongst academic staff in the Malaysian context. Future research should consider other intervening variables that influence adopting ecological behaviour.

This study aims to examine whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities influence firm performance based on a longitudinal survey for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. Empirical studies suggest that the SME sector plays an essential role in the economic development of Pakistan and can be considered the backbone of the economy.

The data for this study were collected from SMEs located in the cities of Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad in Pakistan. A well-designed questionnaire was administrated over 240 entrepreneurs to analyze and measure the impact of CSR on financial performance for a 12-month period. The authors used econometric analysis of the data using structural equation modeling.

Results reveal significant relationships between CSR and two determinants of firm performance, namely, employee commitment and corporate reputation.

Findings of the study are important for policymakers, entrepreneurs and other professionals in SMEs sectors both in under-developed and, with further application and exploration, in developing countries.

There is no single longitudinal study prior to this has been carried out on the relationships of CSR and firm performance in the SME sector in the context of the Pakistani economy. Hence, this study significantly fills an important gap in the research.