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The study aims to understand why women-owned microenterprises (WOMEs) in India experience a lower growth rate, where growth can be represented in increments in the venture’s size or scope. There is no conclusive understanding of the factors that affect the sustained growth of WOMEs in India.

What personal, social and economic factors support or hinder the choice, growth and sustainability of women-owned ventures? What role do institutional factors (government, nongovernment organizations (NGOs), self-help groups and microfinance institutions) play toward the sustainability of WOMEs? The answers to these questions were obtained through a qualitative design by interviewing 30 micro women entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu, a Southern state of India and one of the largest hubs for WOMEs and their responses were content analyzed using NVivo 12 software.

The findings capture and apply the fundamentals of two key theoretical perspectives, resource-based view (RBV) and self-determination theory (SDT), in identifying the links between the individual, social and economic factors and their combined effect on the sustained growth of women-owned micro businesses. The findings add value in identifying the ingrained cultural norms and traditions and several internal and external factors that support or challenge the growth of WOMEs. This study highlights that the interventions by the government need to be strengthened for the growth and sustainability of WOMEs.

The study’s findings provide suggestions to policymakers, banks, funding agencies, financial institutions and NGOs to design applicable policies and schemes toward the sustained growth of WOMEs.

This study contributes toward a better understanding of the trends in the context of WOMEs from an Indian context. This topic has received little attention in the academic literature. Second, the study’s conceptual contribution is an application of SDT and RBV to understand and categorize the enablers and deterrents in the path of growth of WOMEs, which is a novel pursuit.

This paper aims to explore consumer perceptions of product design awards (PDAs) and their impact on consumer product evaluation and attitude formation about the award-winning product, the award-winning organization and the award-granting organization.

Based on the grounded theory approach, an exploratory qualitative study is conducted, using 16 semi-structured in-depth interviews with Turkish consumers through discussions on real-world examples.

Results show that consumers develop emotional responses to PDAs (e.g. interest, curiosity and confusion), hypothesize reasons for products receiving awards and cite rewards as confirmation of their existing judgments about products. PDAs are perceived as extrinsic cues signaling quality and price, and their impact is increased when consumers feel that the award is based on functional feature superiority. Consumer responses to PDAs are also influenced by the perceived expertise of the award-granting organization and beliefs about the award-granting process. Finally, PDAs can lead to positive brand-perception outcomes, influencing consumer perceptions of the product company as resourceful, competent and prominent.

This study shows that it is critical for companies to inform consumers about the specific features that resulted in a given product receiving a design award, as well as to provide information about the PDA itself.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to explore consumer perceptions of and reactions to PDAs, with significant implications for both the marketing managers of PDA-winning products and award-granting organizations.

This research aims to determine the levels of education quality (EQ), technology usage (TU), students' satisfaction (SS) and the impact of EQ on SS. Also, it seeks to find out how TU as a moderator affects EQ and SS in Pakistani private higher education institutions (HEIs).

A total of 440 postgraduate students at eleven private universities in Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan, participated in empirical research and data were obtained through the use of an online questionnaire. Simple random sampling was used to choose participants and partial least square structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data.

The findings revealed that Pakistani private HEIs have a medium level of EQ, TU and SS. Furthermore, the data reveal the existence of a significant positive relationship between EQ and SS, whereas TU as a moderator was found to negatively affect EQ and SS.

Postgraduate students of private HEIs in Pakistan were considered for this investigation and this study was limited to testing only in Punjab province. Another limitation of this study is that it was based on a research framework from previous research and literature. This study employed questionnaire surveys to conduct evaluations of teachers' teaching quality by university students. Furthermore, the questionnaire employed student self-evaluations to assess the quality of teaching. The research data would be more detailed if it were possible to include teachers' self-evaluations of their teaching quality.

The current study provides key insights for policymakers, higher education commission and HEIs. The results suggest leveraging the identified medium levels of EQ, TU and student satisfaction in Pakistani private HEIs. In an effort to boost the medium levels, policymakers are encouraged to enhance the teaching and learning experience by robustly integrating Web 4.0 technologies. Institutions can intervene strategically by investing in infrastructure and innovative tools aligned with students' technological needs. Likewise, policymakers and institutions can optimize learning management systems (LMS) by developing and implementing policies that encourage their adoption and optimization across HEIs. This may contribute to the accomplishment of the United Nations' sustainable development goal of providing quality education. Moreover, with the help of this research HEIs can establish minimum quality standards regarding academic teaching and learning materials. Implementing the above-mentioned practical implications might boost student satisfaction in HEIs which would benefit not only students but also the institutions.

The novelty of the article lies in the fact that it addresses the gap in the existing literature by exploring the levels of EQ, TU and student satisfaction in the context of private higher education in Pakistan. Furthermore, this study investigated whether TU served as a moderator in the relationship between student satisfaction and UNESCO-recommended EQ. This study elaborates on EQ indicators recommended by UNESCO in Pakistan’s private higher education sector.

Through focusing on the Peruvian context, this paper aims to identify the main determinants of the continuity of entrepreneurial activity among women artisans.

The empirical sample comprises semi-structured interviews with 28 women artisans in Peru during their participation in a fair organized by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture in Lima (Peru). Thematic analysis was subsequently used to determine the main ideas in the transcripts from the interviews conducted.

The findings empirically identified the following job-related (number of work hours, perceived income, future of artisanal jobs), functional (availability and relevance of workstations, the necessity to travel) and socio-cultural determinants (government support, perceived recognition, level of affiliation with Peruvian traditions) as the main drivers of the continuity of entrepreneurial activities among women artisans.

This paper contributes by filling a gap in the literature on women entrepreneurship and artisan entrepreneurship in which empirical studies of Latin American women artisans continuing with their entrepreneurial activities have been limited so far.

This paper aims to describe several artificial intelligence (AI)-based applications that librarians can use to serve and design virtual library instruction, so it will be more effective and efficient.

The approach involves a comprehensive review of AI-based applications that bring benefits to librarian to enhance the virtual instructional services (AI). This study explores the existing papers to reveal the potential use of AI for research consultation, designing the instructional services and conducting evaluation of the program.

There are some AI-based applications that are available for free that will help instructional librarian jobs. Librarians use the AI to increase effectiveness of the services. The AI-based applications that can be used to support instructional services on research inquiries include virtual assistance, knowledge mapping and note making, and to support designing virtual instruction, librarians can use design apps, image generators, voice generator, grammar checker and paraphrasing.

There are many studies on AI at the library; however, it’s still rare a paper studied AI-based application that potentially will bring benefit for virtual instructional services. This paper will give overview of AI application that will help instructional librarian on transactions with users and help librarians to create innovative instructional media.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relevant literature to gain deeper insights into understanding what directions of research are needed with reference to entrepreneurial orientation and competitive aggressiveness in the oil and gas sector of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.

This paper is a conceptual evaluation of literature.

The extant body of research on both entrepreneurial orientation and competitive aggressiveness is based on quantitative studies without previous systematic, exhaustive and comprehensive grounded theory-based theorizing processes rooted in qualitative approaches. This accounts for inconsistencies and controversies of findings reported in the field.

The grounded theory-based approach advocated by this paper is likely to generate a more precise estimation of the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation, competitive aggressiveness and firm performance. Consequently, an accurate understanding of the interplay between these factors can empower managers to make finely-tuned strategic decisions, achieve sustainable competitive advantage and optimally adapt to dynamic and unforeseen environments.

The paper reports on important limitations of the existing literature indicating that current findings may be an artifact of studying a small number of industries.

This study assesses the factors influencing customers’ intention to adopt e-banking in the context of the technology acceptance model and the moderation role of cybercrime.

The variables in the study are measured using a five-point Likert scale with measures adopted from existing literature. The independent variables are perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and security and privacy. These are postulated to be moderated by the perceived risk of cybercrime and to influence e-banking adoption intentions. A quantitative approach is used. Primary data are collected from a sample of 209 randomly selected bank customers. The study uses a two-step (measurement model and structural model) approach to data analysis.

The key findings in this study are that perceived risk of cybercrime strengthens the positive relationship between perceived ease of use and e-banking adoption intentions but dampens or weakens the positive relationship between perceived usefulness and customers’ e-banking adoption intentions. The study makes several recommendations to inform scholarship, policy and practice.

Unlike existing literature, the study makes a unique contribution by including perceived risk of cybercrime as a moderating variable of theoretical significance in the relationship between adoption of e-banking and its determinants.

In 2016, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) initiated Saudi Vision 2030, an ambitious plan to lessen the country's dependency on fossil fuels and increase economic diversification. The Vision 2030 framework strives to establish a thriving economy, a vibrant society and an ambitious nation. This study aims to investigate the role of green service innovation (SI) and green work engagement (WE) in mediating the nexus between green human resource management (HRM) and green creativity (GC) under conditional role of spiritual leadership (SL).

A survey was done of 300 female intrapreneurs working in the organization within Saudi Arabia. This study has collected data via stratified random sampling technique. The framework was tested using PLS-SEM software.

The findings reveal that WE fully intervenes the nexus between green HRM and GC. Moreover, SL positively moderates the nexus between green HRM and SI.

Thus, based on findings, it is recommended that female intrapreneurs prioritize environmentally responsible operations to gain and sustain competitive edge over rivals in Saudi competitive market.

This study explores the phenomenon of compassionate leadership, a promising concept in management literature. Despite significant contributions towards the understanding of its antecedents and consequences, the specific role of compassion concerning the leader behavior under extreme pressure remains unexplored.

Drawing empirically on the case of three banks under three different logics, the authors trace how heads of banking branches, namely, middle managers, deal with the paradoxical phenomenon of integrating their human nature with the coetaneous need to achieve aggressive objectives. The authors analyzed interviews using the interpretive research method (Hatch and Yanow, 2003).

The authors identified that the logic of savings banks and credit cooperatives, together with specific human elements, created a healthier environment to develop compassionate behaviors compared to commercial banks. The authors found coherence when linking the institutional message of putting the spotlight on a personalized treatment of customers, and the middle manager compassionate actions towards customers and subordinates.

Suggestions for future theorizing and research are advanced, along with constructive practical implications to rehumanize the dark side of banking for both employees and customers.

The findings provided in this paper are original because they provide further evidence of linking business logics with compassionate leadership of middle managers and its impact on employees and customers.

This study aims to investigate the impact of service quality, as measured by the SERVQUAL model with extended variables of safety awareness and energy conservation, on consumer satisfaction. It also explores the mediating effect of energy conservation and the moderating effect of consumer residence of electricity on this relationship.

The study uses a quantitative research approach, with data collected from 1,004 respondents through a questionnaire from the household consumers of UGVCL. The survey measures service quality using the SERVQUAL model with the additional variables of safety awareness and energy conservation. The data is analyzed using structural equation modeling, mediation and moderation to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results show that service quality, safety awareness and energy conservation all have a positive impact on consumer satisfaction expect responsiveness. Energy conservation also mediates the relationship between service quality and satisfaction, indicating that when consumers perceive higher service quality, they are more likely to conserve energy and thereby increase their satisfaction. Additionally, the moderating effect of consumer residence of electricity shows that the impact of service quality and safety awareness on satisfaction is stronger for consumers living in areas with higher electricity rates.

The paper lies in its investigation of the impact of service quality on consumer satisfaction using the SERVQUAL model, with the inclusion of two additional variables, safety awareness and energy conservation. Furthermore, this study examines the mediating effect of energy conservation and the moderating effect of consumer residence of electricity on the relationship between service quality and consumer satisfaction. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to incorporate these variables in examining the relationship between service quality and consumer satisfaction in the context of energy services. Therefore, this study offers a novel contribution to the existing literature on service quality and consumer satisfaction.