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This study investigates the impact of transformational leadership and transparent communication on employees' openness to change with the mediating role of employee organization trust and moderating effects of change-related self-efficacy.

A sample of 260 employees from banking sector of Pakistan through self-administrated questionnaire participated in this study and the data was analysed through partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The results reveal that transformational leadership and transparent communication help to create trust among employees of the organization which ultimately have positive effects on employee openness to change. Further, the results suggest that the presence of change-related self-efficacy significantly moderates relation between the transformational leadership and employee openness to change. However, change self-efficacy does not change the relationship between transparent communication and employee openness to change.

This study contributes to change management literature and helps organizations to understand the importance of employees and their positive behaviour during change.

The researcher provides the guidelines for employers to craft change communication policy during the change implementation phase.

This study tests a mediating role of employee organization trust and moderating role of change-related self-efficacy in relation with transformational leadership and transparent communication on employees' openness to change which had not been tested theoretically and empirically in the context of Pakistan.

The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge of head and neck cancers (HNCs), their risk factors, signs and symptoms among the general public of Karachi, Pakistan.

Initially, 503 individuals were approached for data collection, out of which 404 fit the inclusion criteria (response rate = 80.03%). Nonprobability convenience sampling was utilized to select participants who fell under the age group of 15–60 years, barring the fields of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelors of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelors of Dentistry (BDS). Knowledge was evaluated by a 9-item questionnaire, the scores of which yielded the following interpretations: No (0), low (1–3), moderate (4–6) and high (7–9) knowledge.

Of the 404 participants who completed the questionnaire, 357 (88.4%) participants claimed to be aware of HNC. The HNC knowledge scores had a statistical relevance with socioeconomic status (p = <0.01) and level of education (p = 0.02). Most participants recognized a “lump or swelling in the throat” (87.1%) as the most common symptom, followed by “bleeding in mouth or throat” (84.7%). Surprisingly, 75.25% of participants thought HNCs were inclusive of brain cancer.

Overall, knowledge of HNCs among the general public of Karachi surpasses the knowledge in other regions around the world. Our study demonstrated that people indulge in unhealthy habits despite having sufficient knowledge and this warrants prompt interventions and counseling of the people.

Consumer purchasing behavior (CPB) plays a crucial role within the hospitality sector, specifically in restaurants situated in China, as it directly impacts the performance and profitability of businesses. In this context, there is a need to assess the factors influencing CPB. Therefore, this research seeks to inspect the influence of consumer attitudes (CA) on interpersonal influences (II) and CPB. Additionally, seeks to explore the mediation of II and the moderation of corporate social responsibility (CSR).

This study utilized cross-sectional data obtained through online surveys. To analyze the data, structural equation modeling was employed.

The research unveils a substantial and positive association between CA, II and CPB. It also found that II partially mediates CA and CPB association. Moreover, CSR was identified as a moderator in the connection between CA and CPB.

The implications of this study are of great significance for companies operating in the hospitality industry. They indicate that cultivating favorable CA and promoting II, while considering CSR initiatives, can effectively augment overall purchasing behavior. As a result, it can contribute to the achievement of business success.

This study offers a unique perspective on the factors driving purchasing behavior, shedding light on how businesses can enhance their performance and profitability in this specific setting.

This study aims to find out the dynamic and causal long-run and the short-run relationship between energy consumption (electricity usage) and energy production (electricity creation) and also find out the relationship of these two variables based on past values for the SAARC nations (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal).

Vector auto-regressive (VAR), auto-regressive distributive Lag (ARDL) and Granger causality test have been used in this study to estimate the dynamic and causal relationship between variables.

The unit-root tests were found insignificant at a magnitude but significant at the initial difference. VAR test results were found insignificant, which means co-integration among variables exists, which was tested by ARDL approach. Results suggested that energy consumption has a short-run relationship with energy production, but it was found insignificant in the other way round. The results of this study also suggest that both variables cause each other in the long run.

This study was conducted in a limited environment as we do not have access to energy policies of SAARC countries, and also data access was limited; only five countries’ data was available. This study can help government bodies and policymakers to exchange the electricity across borders to diminish the electricity shortage in the SAARC region, as countries with abandoned resources can produce electricity at a little cost.

Penal data for this study was collected from World Development Indicators from the year 1971 to 2015.

The purpose of this study is to identify and rank total quality management (TQM) enablers and information technology (IT) resources to provide a reliable and valid measurement instrument for evaluation in Indian information and communications technology (ICT) organizations.

Based on a literature review of TQM enablers and IT resources, 17 factors are identified, of which, 9 are TQM enablers and 8 are IT resources. The empirical data, retrieved from 801 ICT organizations, is tested by descriptive analysis and factor analysis (FA). FA is used to ensure that items in each scale sufficiently reflect the scope of each factor.

This paper has developed an instrument that can be used to evaluate items to implement TQM enablers and IT resources. The instrument identifies 17 reliable and valid factors, out of which 16 are input factors, while 1 is an outcome factor.

This instrument will provide a practical understanding to enable the monitoring of TQM enabler and IT resource activities in ICT organizations. Along with this, these instruments will help to build models related to constructs that will further achievement of customer satisfaction (CS).

This paper presents an instrument which validates the different items of TQM enablers and IT resources. It also shows the relationship between the two in terms of CS.

An estimated 52% of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 25, and like their counterparts elsewhere around the globe, Generation Z in Pakistan was born into a world overrun with technology, Internet, and social media. This generation of consumers possess information processing ability that is much faster than any other generation. Generation Z consumers in Pakistan are active users of social media platforms connecting with local and international users, brands and exchanging information, photos, videos, ideas, and opinions with people inside and outside Pakistan. To develop insights into the consumption patterns, preferences, attitudes, and preferences of this segment of consumers, this chapter provides an overview of cultural and social values underpinning consumption choices and social media preferences. The chapter identifies and discusses the dynamic nature of Generation Z in Pakistan by identifying some of its defining features: the generation consists of confident, able, and multilingual consumers who are largely collectivists in orientation but shows strong individualistic tendencies. Such consumers have a global outlook and actively seek engagement with brands via digital platforms and influencer marketers expecting authenticity, respect, and equality. The chapter discusses work-related implications such as the need for providing transformational leadership and training programs to harness the intellectual skills of Generation Z in Pakistan. The chapter concludes by identifying and discussing issues relevant to handling Generation consumers in Pakistan including effective marketing strategies.

This paper aims to examine various factors affecting the pricing of audit services and the selection of auditors in the Indian audit market. This paper also aims to investigate the impact of financial distress conditions on the audit pricing and auditor choice decisions of a firm, particularly in the context of a developing economy.

The sample comprises 22,644 firm-years for 1,366 Indian firms from 1990 to 2015. The authors adopt ordinary least squares regression technique to model audit fee, and logistic regression technique to model auditor choice as a function of various factors relating to firm attributes and auditor characteristics.

This paper finds that auditors tend to charge an audit fee premium when they are affiliated to a Big 4 auditor, have industry specialization or jointly provide auditing and non-auditing services. Additionally, firms with larger boards, higher proportion of independent board of directors and CEO–Chairman separation are more likely to choose a Big 4-affiliated auditor. The results also suggest that financially distressed firms tend to pay significantly lower audit fees and are more likely to choose non-Big 4 auditors.

This paper is among the few studies which investigate how financial distress impacts the audit pricing and auditor choice decisions of a firm in the context of emerging economies. The findings of this paper raises serious concerns about the credibility of the audited financial statements and corporate governance mechanisms of firms undergoing financial distress. The empirical results of this paper have strong implications for practitioners, regulators and investors.