Search results

The MENA region is very rich in terms of natural resources. At the same time, the MENA region has also been a victim of terrorism during the last few years. This study is an attempt to investigate whether there is any relationship between natural resources and terrorism in the MENA region.

We have focused on 15 resource-rich countries located in the MENA region for the period 2002–2019. We have applied appropriate econometric techniques and have also controlled for other dominant determinants of terrorism while studying the relationship between these two variables.

The results provide solid evidence in favor of the hypothesis that natural resources encourage terrorism. We find that natural resources have positively impacted terrorism. Besides, the natural resources, other factors such as per capita GDP, trade openness, political stability, domestic investment and government expenditures have negatively impacted terrorism. Moreover, the findings suggest that FDI and corruption are irrelevant in explaining terrorism while the findings regarding employment level and terrorism are unexpected. The obtained results are robust to alternative estimating methodologies.

The results have serious policy implications for the MENA region. The MENA region in general is suggested to devise appropriate policies regarding their huge natural resources so as to tackle the terrorism problem effectively. Similarly, paying favorable attention to trade liberalization, political stability, government expenditures, investment, rising income of the population in the presence of macroeconomic stability in the form of lower inflation would also help the MENA region to eradicate the problem of terrorism.

The available literature has largely ignored the role of natural resources in explaining the problem of terrorism. Therefore, this study has provided relatively new evidence regarding the determinants of terrorism.

Improving the quality of life of the masses is the prime objective of all policymakers of both developed and developing countries. However, the determinants of improved quality of life are not well explored in the empirical literature. This study has, therefore, tried to identify the determinants of quality of life by focusing on military expenditures.

Panel data from 1990 to 2017 are collected from internationally reliable sources for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN hereafter) member countries, and suitable econometric techniques are employed to estimate the designed models.

The results show that military expenditures have affected the quality of life of the ASEAN member countries both negatively and significantly. Similarly, the inflation rate has also negatively affected the quality of life. In terms of magnitude, the negative impact of the inflation rate on quality of life has exceeded than the impact of military expenditures. On the other hand, trade openness, per capita income, urbanization and government expenditures have played a positive and significant role in improving the quality of life in the ASEAN region. Moreover, it is found that the positive impact of per capita income on quality of life is highest among other determinants.

This study provided comprehensive evidence about the relationship between military expenditures and quality of life in the ASEAN context. Consequently, the ASEAN member economies will benefit a lot from the results of this study.

This study investigates the factors influencing household financial choices in Malawi. The authors also compare how household financial decisions differ in urban and rural areas.

The authors utilize the logit model to examine the factors that influence household financial decisions using the Malawi Integrated Household Survey 2019–20, while Oaxaca–Blinder decomposition is used to estimate the variations in household financial decisions between urban and rural areas.

The authors find that the likelihood of saving increases with income, secondary and tertiary education, and age. The likelihood of saving also decreases with household size and remittances. Additionally, the authors report that marriage reduces the likelihood of loans, whereas sex, age, and income raise the likelihood of loans. According to this study’s findings, income discrepancies between urban and rural samples account for most observed household financial variations. The authors also find that most of the observed variations in household financial decision-making between urban and rural households are reduced when income equality, participation in agriculture, university education, and household size are considered.

Using data from the Malawi Integrated Household Survey 2019–20, this research analyzes the components that affect household financial decisions. While most studies only look at one component of household finances, this study concurrently addresses debt and savings. The study also evaluates whether changes in the variables between urban and rural households impact those households' financing choices.

Based on the arguments of conservation of resource theory (COR), this study aims to investigate the mechanism underlying the linkage of COVID fear, work-family conflict (W-FC) and family-work conflict (F-WC) while investigating the mediating role of COVID stress and social distancing. The study also tests the moderating role of religiosity in these relationships.

In total, 401 survey responses from doctors and university teachers are collected through online and personally administrated questionnaires. Partial least square-based structural equation modeling technique is applied using Smart PLS software.

This study finds that COVID fear has a positive and significant impact on COVID stress and social distancing while religiosity negatively impacts COVID fear. Further, COVID stress and social distancing mediates the relationships between COVID fear and W-FC/ F-WC. However, the study found that COVID stress is a more effective mechanism as compared to social distancing in explaining the mediation process. It is also found that religiosity significantly moderates the nexus between COVID stress and both W-FC and F-WC negatively.

Findings imply that the teachers, as well as doctors, must be immediately be provided with the proper facilitation to maintain their work from home operations with the best of the institutional facilities. Moreover, the recruitment policy in such professions can also consider religious practices to be the indicators of problem-solving and stress management in such a challenging context.

This study provides timely and novel insight into the interplay between the domains of work and family during the period of stressful COVID outbreak. By distinguishing W-FC and F-WC, it provides a detailed understanding of the process during the COVID period. The groundbreaking finding in the research is with the moderation of religiosity.

Acceptance and use of mobile shopping as the preferred shopping medium is becoming the new normal today. The proliferation of mobile shopping practices follows unsteady growth patterns in different countries. Despite challenges of price, quality and privacy matters, young consumers still lead the race to engage in mobile shopping activity in developing countries. This research investigates the determinants that either support or hinder the mobile shopping intentions of aspirant young consumers in Pakistan.

The present research applies a consumer-centric approach to the technology adoption framework to unearth the behavioral patterns of these young consumers in Pakistan. Employing the structural equation modeling technique, this research examines the significant effect of structural assurance, perceived risk, trust and various unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model constructs on behavioral intention to engage in mobile shopping.

This research examines the significant effect of structural assurance, perceived risk, trust and various UTAUT model constructs on behavioral intention to engage in mobile shopping. Results also demonstrate a significant moderating effect of structural assurance and prior shopping experience on the relationship between perceived risk, trust and mobile shopping intentions. Further, the mobile shopping patterns for the male and female segment indicate a significant difference for perceived risk, trust structural assurance and social influence. The research contributes to the growing body of knowledge which advocates the application of consumer-centric customized model approach to explore various factors that either facilitate or impede the adoption of mobile shopping in a developing economy.

The study validates the need to enforce structural assurance mechanism for facilitating mobile shopping in a developing country. It also offers practical implications for online businesses and marketers striving to attract and retain more mobile customers.

The study offers practical implications for online businesses and marketers striving to attract and retain more mobile customers.

This study offers fresh insights about driving elements and impediments of mobile shopping behavioral intentions. Structural assurance and prior shopping experience appear to influence the mobile shopping behavior through direct and indirect effect.

Based on social exchange and social learning theories, this study explicates the mediating role of individual-level human capital, structural capital and relational capital in linking servant leadership with the innovative work behavior (IWB) of employees.

Data were collected from 256 manager–employee dyads from the IT sector of Pakistan in three phases through a survey conducted two months apart.

Results showed that two dimensions of individual-level intellectual capital, namely, individual-level human capital and individual-level relational capital, mediated the relationship between servant leadership and IWB, whereas individual-level structural capital did not mediate the relationship between the two variables.

This study confirms the relationship between servant leadership and IWB and tests the mediating role of the three facets of individual-level intellectual capital in linking servant leadership with the IWB of employees.

This study aims to analyze the connection between servant leadership and the promotive and prohibitive voice behavior of employees. In addition, this study explained how servant leadership affects promotive and prohibitive voice behavior through meaning.

For this study, data were collected from employee–manager dyads employed in the service sector. Each of the waves was initiated two months after the first wave. Finally, 286 useful responses were obtained. The collected data was analyzed through covariance-based structural equation modeling.

Servant leadership is related with meaning, promotive voice behavior and prohibitive voice behavior. Meaning is found to mediate the relationship between servant leadership and the two facets of voice behavior.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore the mediating role of meaning relating servant leadership to promotive and prohibitive voice behavior.

This paper intends to ascertain whether servant leadership can trigger servant colleagueship among subordinates. Additionally, the study is set out to divulge the mediating role of self-transcendence relating servant leadership to servant colleagueship.

Data were collected from the respondents in three waves that were two months apart. In the first wave, employees rated their managers' servant leadership behavior. In the second wave, employees rated their self-transcendence, and finally, they rated their colleague-directed servant behavior. The final sample size for the study was 209 employees employed in the service sector. Structural equational modeling through Smart-PLS and hierarchical regression through SPSS were used for data analysis.

The study found servant leadership to be related to self-transcendence and employees' enacted servant colleagueship. Additionally, the study found self-transcendence to mediate the relationship between servant leadership and servant colleagueship.

The study has established the previously unexplored mediating role of self-transcendence linking servant leadership to servant colleagueship. The study is also the first to empirically test the relationship between self-transcendence and servant colleagueship.

The purpose of this study was to explicate how leaders’ knowledge hiding results in employees’ knowledge hiding. In addition, the study was intended to explore under what conditions leaders’ knowledge hiding affects employees’ moral disengagement more deleteriously.

Data were collected from 321 employees at three different times which were two months apart from each other. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.

The study found leaders’ knowledge hiding to be related to employee moral disengagement. In addition, the study found moral disengagement to affect employees’ knowledge-hiding behavior. Moral disengagement was found to mediate the relationship between leaders’ knowledge hiding and employees’ knowledge hiding. Finally, the study found that employees with high moral identity show more perseverance to preserve their moral engagement when led by knowledge-hiding leaders.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the study was first to establish a relationship between a leader’s knowledge hiding and employees’ moral disengagement. The study also established the mediating role of moral disengagement to work as a mediating mechanism linking leaders’ knowledge hiding to employees’ knowledge hiding. Finally, the study found that moral identity moderates the relationship between leaders’ knowledge hiding and employees’ moral disengagement.

This study aims to ascertain the role of servant leadership in affecting the knowledge hiding behavior of employees. This study also unfurled the mediating role of prosocial motivation and moderating role of cynicism.

The data were collected from 324 employees working in the IT sector, a subsector of the service sector of Pakistan in two phases. The data was analyzed through hierarchal regression.

This study found servant leadership to be negatively related to knowledge hiding behavior. This study also confirmed the mediating role of prosocial motivation linking servant leadership to knowledge hiding. Finally, cynicism was found to moderate the relationship between servant leadership and knowledge hiding behavior.

This academic endeavor has confirmed the previously unexplored relationship between servant leadership and knowledge hiding behavior. Additionally, the study has explicated the mediating role of prosocial motivation in the said relationship. This study has also found that the relationship between servant leadership and knowledge hiding is moderated by organizational cynicism.