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The present study aimed to provide an understanding of the roles of community-based financial service organizations (i.e. rotating savings and credit associations [ROSCAs] as institutional pillars in facilitating low-income, unbanked consumers’ access to informal financial services).

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 39 low-income, unbanked consumers participating in ROSCAs in Pakistan, where only 21% of adults have a bank account and almost four out of five individuals live on a low income. The obtained data were analyzed using the thematic analysis technique.

ROSCAs’ regulatory, sociocultural and cognitive aspects facilitate low-income, unbanked consumers’ utilization of informal financial services owing to their approachability by, suitability for, and fairness to such consumers. Thus, they promote such consumers’ financial inclusion.

Low-income consumers are mostly unable to access formal financial services due to the existing supply- and demand-side impediments. Understanding ROSCAs’ institutional functioning can help formal financial service providers create more transformative financial services based on the positive institutional aspects of ROSCAs to enhance poor consumers’ financial inclusion and well-being.

The inclusion of low-income, unbanked consumers in formal banking services will help them better control their finances.

Many low-income, unbanked consumers in developing countries utilize informal financial services to meet their basic financial needs, but service researchers have rarely investigated how informal financial institutions function. The present study showed that ROSCAs, as informal institutions, meet low-income, unbanked consumers’ personal, social and financial needs in a befitting manner, which encourages such consumers to use the financial services offered by ROSCAs.

To understand how Indian first-time mothers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) organisations returning to work cope with the perceived ideological psychological contract breaches from a work–home resources perspective.

This paper utilises interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) within the work–home resources (W-HR) model to analyse returning first-time mothers' lived experiences.

This study shows that significant life/work events such as childbirth/lack of career growth can trigger resource depletion at work and home and materialise in first-time mothers perceiving ideological psychological contract breaches at work. It has also been observed that key resource usage and macro support structures aid employees in attenuating work–home conflict by balancing contextual demands and personal resources. This study's participant accounts reveal that the recovery of volatile resources was possible by psychologically detaching and being silent.

The study offers a distinctive perspective by investigating the ideological PC breach experienced by first-time Indian mothers upon their organisational re-entry from a work–home resource model lens. Situated in a unique socio-cultural space and bringing forth the rich lived experiences of women working in the Indian STEM field, this paper explores how key resources shape the coping responses of first-time mothers in this context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions, experiences and behaviors of women entrepreneurs and industry professionals in raising finance for women-led businesses and associated problems faced by the women entrepreneurs.

This qualitative research adopts a narrative inquiry strategy. In-depth interviews are used to collect data from women entrepreneurs and women industry professionals in Pakistan. NVivo qualitative data analysis software is used to organize, analyze and find insights in the qualitative data.

This research finds that women entrepreneurs struggle to secure financing for their businesses, and most of them have not been successful in obtaining loans from banks. Women entrepreneurs have relied on various sources of funding, including microfinance banks, grants, personal finance and family members. Some of the barriers to finance attainment for women entrepreneurs include sociocultural inhibitions, lack of awareness and limited information dissemination by financial institutions. Women professionals suggest that entrepreneurs should maintain a bank account, have proper documentation and show dedication to their business to improve their chances of obtaining financing.

This research provides theoretical contributions and methodological advancements in the study of financial inclusion for women-owned businesses in Pakistan. This research raises awareness about the difficulties women entrepreneurs face when trying to obtain credit from banks and other financial institutions and provides policy recommendations to inform the government about financial inclusion policies and financing policies for women entrepreneurs. Overall, this research contributes to the literature on financial access and access to finance for women-owned businesses in developing countries.

Based on the vulnerable group theory and theory of discouraged borrower, this paper has two important theoretical and practical implications. First, the findings of this study reveal that the financial services are indifferent to women, and there is a denial of women being vulnerable in the financial system, hence requiring a major policy shift to not portray women as vulnerable, as they will rationally feel risky and prefer to opt out of the financial system. Second, the findings suggest that the issue of access to finance for women is not in the financial services but in the women's capabilities and awareness. Therefore, a policy shift is suggested from “financial services for women” to “capability and awareness of women” to avail and access the current services.

Expanding on the real-world financial market framework and considering the current market turmoil, with cryptocurrencies (where contracts for difference (CFDs) are extremely common) (Hasso et al., 2019) displaying unprecedented volatility, the authors aim to test in an online laboratory setting whether displaying a risk warning message is truly effective in reducing the level of risk taken and whether the placement of this method makes a difference.

To explore the impact of risk disclosure framing on risk-taking behavior, the authors conducted an online pair-wise lottery choice experiment. In addition to manipulating risk awareness through the presence or absence of risk warning messages of varying intensity, the authors also considered dynamic inconsistency, cognitive ability and questionnaire-based financial risk tolerance (FRT) scores. The authors aimed to identify potential relationships between these variables and experimentally elicited risk aversion. The authors' study offers valuable insights into the complex nature of risky decision-making and sheds light on the importance of considering dynamic inconsistency in addition to risk awareness and aversion.

The authors' results provide statistical evidence for the efficacy of informative and very salient messages in mitigating risky decision, hinting at several policy implications. The authors also provide some statistical evidence in support of the relationship between cognitive abilities and risk preferences. The authors detect that individual with low cognitive abilities scores display great risk aversion.

This study investigates the impact of risk warning messages on investment decisions in an online laboratory setting – a unique approach. However, the authors go beyond this and also examine the potential influence of dynamic inconsistency on decision-making, adding further value to the literature on this topic. To ensure a comprehensive understanding of the participants, the authors collect data on cognitive ability and FRT using questionnaires. This study provides a simple and cost-effective framework that can be easily replicated in future research – a valuable contribution to the field.

This study aims to investigate the impact of consumer ethnocentrism on consumers' evaluation of blockchain-based traceability information. It also examined how the use of quick response (QR) codes for traceability affects consumers' evaluation of traceable food products.

An online choice experiment was conducted to determine consumers' evaluation of the blockchain-based traceability of Feta cheese with a quota sample of 715 Greek consumers. Pearson bivariate correlation and mean comparison were used to examine the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism and QR use behaviour. Random parameter logit models were employed to examine consumers’ valuation of the examined attributes and interaction terms.

The results show that ethnocentric consumers are willing to pay more for blockchain-based traceability information. Ethnocentric consumers tend to scan QR codes with traceability information. Spending more time reading traceability information embedded in QR codes does not lead to a higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for traceable food products.

The findings suggest that patriotic marketing messages can draw consumers' attention to blockchain-based traceability information. The modest WTP for and low familiarity with blockchain-based traceability systems raise the need for educating consumers regarding the benefits of blockchain in traceability systems.

This is the first study to provide timely empirical evidence of a positive WTP for blockchain-based traceability information for a processed dairy product. This study is the first to attempt to distinguish the effects of the intention to scan QR codes and reading information embedded in QR codes on consumers’ valuation of food attributes.

The construction industry is one of the major contributors of greenhouse gas emissions (UNEP, 2022), but it provides numerous valuable opportunities to contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (IPPC, 2023). Innovation within the industry and the adoption of sustainable practices are key to achieve this. This is possible with the contribution of highly knowledgeable professionals and skilled workers. However, different countries, including Malta are facing skill gaps and resource shortages. The purpose of this paper is to define the existing skill gaps and mismatches in climate change adaptation in the built environment in Malta. The research focuses on the positionality of the professionals working in the sector as they operate within a legal framework guided through various policies, and through their role and responsibility, they are in contact with the other stakeholders in the sector.

The data generation strategy used in this study involved a pragmatic approach through a mixed method research methodology, namely, interviews, a questionnaire and a focus group discussion. The three tier scaffolding approach in the data generation strategy allowed for a progressive validation of the data generated.

The research indicates that the professionals in the sector are aware of their roles and responsibilities to address climate change in their practices, and they have the disposition to acknowledge the need of continuous professional training. Moreover, this study points out that the professionals in the built environment sector are concerned about other gaps within the industry and not solely by skill gaps. Their responsibility to address climate change through greener solutions is often hindered by fragmentation in the system including bureaucratic procedures, clients’ demands, lack of enforcement and general education of the need to address and adapt climate change among the general public. The professionals appeal for an overhaul in the “culture” of the construction industry through a comprehensive rather than a piecemeal approach. This research puts in the limelight the need of a comprehensive strategy to address skill gaps and mismatches in accordance with the need for climate change adaptation as the ultimate challenge rather than addressing different issues separately within the sector.

The paper is to define the existing skill gaps and mismatches in climate change adaptation in the built environment in Malta. By identifying these skill gaps and mismatches, it would be possible to devise an action plan to iron-out such hindrances as part of a broader climate action adaptation strategy.

The purpose of this study is to use a lifetime income measure to evaluate the long-run housing affordability for an understudied cohort of households in the literature – the millennials. The authors do this in the context of Malaysia, measuring long-run affordability for four housing types across geographic locations and income distributions.

This study calculates a long-run housing affordability index (HAI) using data on house prices and household incomes. Essentially a ratio of predicted lifetime incomes to house prices, the HAI is computed for four common housing types in Malaysia from 2005 to 2016 and for six states in the country. The HAI is also compared across four income percentiles.

The analysis reveals varying patterns of housing affordability among different states in Malaysia. Housing affordability has declined since 2010, with most housing types being unaffordable for millennial-led households with the lowest income. Housing is most affordable for those in the highest income bracket, although even here, there are pockets of unaffordable housing as well.

Based on the findings, this study proposes three targeted interventions to improve housing affordability for Malaysian millennials.

This study fills a gap in the literature by examining the long-run housing affordability of Malaysian millennial-led households based on both geographic location and income distribution. The millennial population is understudied in the housing affordability literature, making this study a valuable contribution to the field.

This paper aimed to study business model innovation by a work-integration social enterprise (WISE). Specifically, the study investigated how the organization developed novel value propositions and created and delivered value for multiple stakeholders.

An in-depth qualitative study was conducted at Foreword, a for-profit organization that uses persons with disabilities, mental health conditions and special needs. Data was drawn from semi-structured interviews with stakeholders of the organization and several secondary information sources.

The authors’ inductive analysis revealed the existence of an innovative and powerful business model that is integrated by the organization’s overarching social mission and anchors its ability to deal with multiple conflicting logics such as economic, social, ecological sustainability and community development, to co-create value with and for multiple stakeholders.

The study underscores the need for business model innovation through enhancing value creation for multiple stakeholders for for-profit WISEs. Since the analysis and resulting model in the study are based on a single organization in a geographically small, affluent country with a hands-on government, they may need to be modified before applying in other contexts.

The study identifies several pointers for other social enterprises – specifically the need for managers to build business models appropriate for their organizational and environmental contexts.

The study’s originality stems from the adoption of a stakeholder lens to examine business model innovation. It also proposes an integrative conceptual model of the antecedents and outcomes of business model innovation.

This chapter examines the ICC Advertising and Marketing Communications Code of 2018. The primary themes of this Code are advertising and marketing communications. This is a lengthy Code – in addition to an Introduction, it has been developed over four chapters and two annexes. The ‘technologically enhanced’ marketing communications seem to have prompted the International Chamber of Commerce to draft this Code of Conduct.

This Code emphasised the self-regulatory Codes of Conduct in the hope that self-regulatory codes of conduct should convince customers of their social responsibility. This Code also believes that high sense of social responsibility will achieve the principal purpose of it. This Code should be more useful if the member States take it seriously and implement its provisions in their own interests.

Research on online user privacy shows that empirical evidence on how privacy literacy relates to users' information privacy empowerment is missing. To fill this gap, this paper investigated the respective influence of two primary dimensions of online privacy literacy – namely declarative and procedural knowledge – on online users' information privacy empowerment.

An empirical analysis is conducted using a dataset collected in Europe. This survey was conducted in 2019 among 27,524 representative respondents of the European population.

The main results show that users' procedural knowledge is positively linked to users' privacy empowerment. The relationship between users' declarative knowledge and users' privacy empowerment is partially supported. While greater awareness about firms and organizations practices in terms of data collections and further uses conditions was found to be significantly associated with increased users' privacy empowerment, unpredictably, results revealed that the awareness about the GDPR and user’s privacy empowerment are negatively associated. The empirical findings reveal also that greater online privacy literacy is associated with heightened users' information privacy empowerment.

While few advanced studies made systematic efforts to measure changes occurred on websites since the GDPR enforcement, it remains unclear, however, how individuals perceive, understand and apply the GDPR rights/guarantees and their likelihood to strengthen users' information privacy control. Therefore, this paper contributes empirically to understanding how online users' privacy literacy shaped by both users' declarative and procedural knowledge is likely to affect users' information privacy empowerment. The study empirically investigates the effectiveness of the GDPR in raising users' information privacy empowerment from user-based perspective. Results stress the importance of greater transparency of data tracking and processing decisions made by online businesses and services to strengthen users' control over information privacy. Study findings also put emphasis on the crucial need for more educational efforts to raise users' awareness about the GDPR rights/guarantees related to data protection. Empirical findings also show that users who are more likely to adopt self-protective approaches to reinforce personal data privacy are more likely to perceive greater control over personal data. A broad implication of this finding for practitioners and E-businesses stresses the need for empowering users with adequate privacy protection tools to ensure more confidential transactions.