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Considering the ongoing debate regarding the roles of business in society, this paper aims to examine the managerial understanding of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in Nepal.

This study uses explanatory sequential design under mixed methods of research. First, the questionnaire survey method was used to collect data from 168 managers of listed companies in Nepal. Second, semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 senior-level managers of listed companies to verify the results obtained from the survey and to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomena.

The survey results show that managerial understanding of CSR is mainly guided by the notions of corporate philanthropy, stakeholder approach and political CSR, respectively. However, the managerial understanding vis-à-vis political CSR and corporate philanthropy were found to be remarkably positively influenced by the firm’s size, whereas the stakeholder perspective was widely held by the managers regardless of their firm’s size. The interview results largely substantiated questionnaire survey findings and further revealed vivid dimensions within the philanthropic approach, stakeholder approach and political CSR.

Given the recent legal provisions vis-à-vis mandatory CSR spending in Nepal, the policymakers may devise and update common core and firm-size-specific informational, fiscal-economic, legal and partnering instruments based on the findings of this study. Besides, companies may go for appropriate institutional arrangements for CSR as needed.

The reaffirmation of conventionally accepted roles and the approval of relatively nascent political roles of business in a distinct socio–political–legal–economic context of Nepal can be an important contribution to the literature.

This study aims to establish the factors affecting the financial investment decision-making of an investor, with specific reference to investors’ emotions and how various events such as festivals, the pandemic and sports matches affect their investors’ investment decision-making. The authors further intend to understand the role of these investor emotions in creating stock market anomalies.

Twenty-nine semistructured exploratory interviews with fund managers from the top 10 asset management companies in India, who deal with individual investors regularly, were taken. The interviews were conducted to identify and describe the underlying ideas and sentiments that influence an individual’s investment behavior.

Although risk and return are the primary motivators of investment decisions, fund managers’ daily interactions with individual investors are affected by unpredictability and technical ambiguity, and investing is an inherently emotionally arousing process, according to the findings of the in-depth interviews.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies in Indian market to report the views of financial professionals about the emotional aspect of investors in making an investment decision. With most of the research conducted using quantitative methods, the current study brings in the perspective of financial professionals using primary data.

This paper aims to uncover the key enablers of an agile supply chain in the manufacturing sector amidst disruptions such as pandemics, trade wars and cross-border challenges. The study aims to assess the applicability of existing literature to manufacturing and identify additional industry-specific enablers contributing to the field of supply chain management.

The research methodology is comprehensively described, detailing the utilization of extent literature and semistructured interviews with mid- and top-level executives in a supply chain. The authors ensure the robustness of the data collection process and results interpretation.

The study identifies six essential dimensions of an agile supply chain: information availability, design robustness, external resource planning, quickness and speed, public policy influencing skills and cash flow management. The study provides valuable insights for industry professionals to develop agile supply chains capable of responding to disruptions in a rapidly changing world.

This study is limited by its focus on the manufacturing sector, and future research may explore the applicability of these findings to other industries. By focusing on these essential dimensions identified in the study, managers can develop strategies to improve the agility and responsiveness of their supply chains. In addition, further research may investigate how these enablers may vary in different regions or contexts.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced executives to reconsider their sourcing strategies and reduce dependence on suppliers from specific geographies. To ensure business continuity, companies should assess the risk associated with their suppliers and develop a business continuity plan that includes multisourcing their strategic materials. Digital transformation will revolutionize the supply chain industry, allowing for end-to-end visibility, real time insights and seamless integration of business and processes. Companies should also focus on creating a collaborative workforce ecosystem that prioritizes worker health and well-being. Maintaining trust with stakeholders is crucial, and firms must revisit their relationship management strategies. Finally, to maintain business leadership and competitiveness during volatile periods, the product portfolio needs to be diversified and marketing and sales teams must work in tandem with product teams to position new products accordingly.

This work contributes substantially to the literature on supply chain agility (SCA) by adding several new factors. The findings result in a more efficient and cost-effective supply chain during a stable situation and high service levels in a volatile situation. A less complex methodology for understanding SCA provides factors with a more straightforward method for identifying well-springs of related drivers. First, the study contributes to reestablish the factors such as quickness, responsiveness, competency, flexibility, proactiveness, collaboration and partnership, customer focus, velocity and speed, visibility, robustness, cost-effectiveness, alertness accessibility to information and decisiveness as applicable factors for SCA. Second, the study suggests a few more factors, such as liquidity management, Vendors’ economic assessment and economic diversity, that are the study’s unique contributions in extending the enablers of SCA. Finally, public policy influencing skills, local administration connects and maintaining capable vendors are the areas that were never considered essential for SCA. These factors have emerged as a vital operational factor during the lockdown, and academicians may consider these factors in the future to assess their applicability.

This study provides new insights for decision-makers looking to enhance the resilience and agility of their supply chains. The identification of unique enablers specific to the manufacturing industry contributes to the existing body of literature on agile supply chains in the face of disruptions.

Policy coherence is a complex and tough task for many developing nations because their capacity to examine and deliver evidence-based inputs to policymaking is limited, and policy dialogue platforms need to be effectively used. Resolving these difficulties is a critical requirement for policy consistency. As a result, the study focuses on the level of policy coherence for climate change adaptation (CCA), disaster risk reduction (DRR) and sustainable development goals (SDG) in Sri Lanka and suggests routes for policy coherence for Resilience. This study aims to investigate the coherent approach of CCA, DRR and SDG; to identify concerns in policy documents addressing the coherence of CCA, DRR and SDG in local context; and to propose policy coherence suggestions for resilience in Sri Lanka.

Methodology comprises a review and content analysis of 17 policy and legal documents in Sri Lanka and a qualitative study. The qualitative approach consists of semistructured interviews that obtained deep and broad expertise knowledge with ten government representatives and stakeholders. Both content analysis and interview data were analyzed by using NVivo.

It was discovered that there are several issues with the coherence of policies in Sri Lanka, including the fragmented approach, lack of integration, inadequate coordination, limited resources and lack of monitoring and evaluation. The policies are inspired by international frameworks, and local implementations are not focused, leading to inadequate implementation of policies. The lack of development cooperation for the use of innovative approaches, such as climate-resilient infrastructure and environmentally friendly solutions for CCA and DRR, further aggravates the situation. Another concern is the lack of land use management and responsibility for the development of physical infrastructure for DRR integration with CCA. It is found that there is a limited community involvement which is vital for the implementation of policies. Local implementations are encouraged to fill the gaps in existing policies/acts. The analytical framework of the study is based on a preliminary examination of policy documents, a review of the literature and discussions with practitioners. The framework reflects the current situation of policy integration which addresses strategic, conceptual, institutional, operational and financial coherence. The research suggests pathways for achieving policy coherence in CCA, DRR and SDG in Sri Lanka, such as enhancing the strategic coherence by improving goals to increase the coherence within CCA, DRR and SDG; improving the credibility of the unified approach for developing DRR and CCA risk assessments; intensifying institutional cooperation and stakeholder management; improving the common monitoring and evaluation; establishing implementation strategies; and increasing the community involvement.

The study on policy coherence in Sri Lanka recommends increasing community and professional involvement, conducting more research, developing a national strategy, increasing capacity building, strengthening international collaboration and fostering multisectoral collaboration. These recommendations can help improve policy coherence between CCA, DRR and SDGs, align policies with national goals and priorities and improve implementation effectiveness. By implementing these recommendations, Sri Lanka can address the challenges of climate change and natural disasters and achieve SDGs.

The study on policy coherence for resilience in Sri Lanka has practical implications, including improved coordination and resource allocation, increased capacity building, improved reputation and sustainability. By integrating CCA, DRR and SDGs, this study can help Sri Lanka become more resilient to climate change and natural disasters, achieve SDGs and become a responsible actor in the international community. These implications can contribute to a more sustainable future and ensure that development goals are achieved in a way that is resilient to climate change and natural disasters.

Increased community participation: the study emphasizes the importance of community involvement in the policy development process. This can help build trust between communities and government agencies, improve transparency and ensure that policies are developed in a way that is responsive to local needs and priorities.

Based on the identified existing loopholes in the policies and pathways to policy coherence, the issues in policymaking could be overcome. It could be used to establish strong linkages between policies based on CCA, DRR and SDGs to achieve long-term resilience.

This study aims to explore the factors that build positive leadership identities in women and reduce woman-leader identity conflict in societies with low gender equality. In doing so, it responds to calls to examine the role of “context” for women aspiring to leadership roles.

The required data were collected through semistructured interviews with 30 senior-level female leaders in the corporate sector of Pakistan and analyzed using NVivo.

Successful professional women are often facilitated by various social and organizational factors that boost their confidence and ability to view themselves positively as leaders, reducing woman-leader identity conflict. The main facilitators observed were egalitarian values practiced at home, male sponsorship in organizations and individual leadership experiences. Furthermore, the age and socio-economic status of women have also emerged as important factors contributing to the success of women leaders in Pakistani society, which is characterized by gender inequality and high power distance.

Organizations committed to developing women for leadership roles and attaining their gender diversity goals need to address the structural and psychological barriers that hinder women’s progress in the workplace. Moreover, men need to be engaged as allies to enable women’s advancement as organizational leaders.

This study highlights how culture, gender norms and significant experiences of women moderate equality lows in patriarchal societies. It aims to demonstrate that women can progress as leaders within a low gender-egalitarian culture in the presence of factors that facilitate the establishment of their identities as leaders, thus reducing identity conflict. In addition, the role that men can play in creating a supportive environment for establishing women’s leadership identities is particularly highlighted in this study.

This study aimed to understand coopetition in the context of Brazilian specialty coffee grower Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), based on the need to differentiate the beans in and outside the farm level, taking into account the stakeholders’ influence.

In this study twenty semistructured interviews were carried out with coffee growers and managers of cooperatives, associations and supporting institutions involving two Brazilian coffee geographical indications. Data were analyzed using a mixed grid composed of qualitative, semantic and categorical factors.

Strategic moves undertaken by coffee growers and stakeholders have shaped the pathway of coopetition among coffee growers, as determinants to frame it as a deliberate or emergent pattern (intentional or unplanned, respectively). Our findings provide evidence that coopetition development among firms is deliberate when influenced by firms’ or stakeholders’ cooperative moves and emergent when influenced by firms’ or stakeholders’ competitive moves.

Although the firm/stakeholder relationship is often approached as a joint wealth creation effort, stakes are not always fairly distributed, so one of the parties may be negatively affected, with consequences for the development of coopetition. Underpinned by a stakeholder-oriented resource-based theoretical lens, this investigation of the development patterns of coopetition linked to the strategic actions undertaken by firms and stakeholders has resonance on competitive advantages.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the corporate social responsibility performance among small and medium enterprise (SME) owners in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) before and during COVID-19. This study shows insights into the barriers that could affect the CSR performance practices of UAE SMEs, and related implications are discussed in the study.

This study used a longitudinal qualitative research design. The research comprised 30 interviews from 15 SME owners that were studied prior to and during the pandemic. The 15 interview participants are the sole owners of these SMEs and are Emirati citizens. They were identified through personal contacts and referrals.

Study findings show that there was a clear shift during the pandemic to place more focus on employees. CSR performance practices are dominated by strategies for caring for the environment and employees. During the pandemic, the priority was paying employees at least a portion of their salary despite financial hardships and ensuring their health and well-being. Prior to the crisis, the key barrier to the implementation of CSR performance practices was a lack of knowledge. During the pandemic, barriers identified included uncertainty and financial constraints. Furthermore, all the owners believe that big corporations should be more socially responsible and SMEs should be the recipients of CSR practices. Lastly, the owners expressed their belief in the values of transparency, integrity, commitment, efficiency and responsibility.

This study is a novel attempt to gain an in-depth understanding of CSR among SMEs in the UAE in the context of a pandemic. It looks specifically at the performance practices pursued by SME owners in the UAE before and during the COVID-19 crisis.

The purpose of this study is to find what kind of leadership is suitable for developing a business in an Islamic boarding school.

This study used a qualitative research method by conducting in-depth interviews with 16 informants.

This study resulted in three critical factors leadership qualities, entrepreneurial qualities and Muslim qualities. The unique combination of these essential elements must be in the soul of a business leader in a boarding school in carrying out its business activities to meet school operational costs while developing it into a sustainable business.

This research is limited to being conducted in Indonesia’s most densely populated areas, namely, West Java Province, which also has the highest number of Islamic boarding schools. Not all Islamic boarding schools have business units because their operational needs have been met either by tuition fees or outside assistance.

These findings are expected to be a guideline for other Islamic boarding schools to find out how business leadership in Islamic boarding schools should be in carrying out their activities so that their business not only survives but also develops and competes with other companies.

This study presents a combination of theories of entrepreneurship, leadership and Muslim qualities obtained from the literature review and empirical data from the results of in-depth interviews.

This paper aims to evaluate the Digital Government Collaborative Platform (DGCP), which facilitates collaborations between the citizens and the government to address environmental issues in Sri Lanka. The DGCP is an artifact developed by the value-sensitive design approach.

The DGCP is evaluated following the Framework for Evaluation in Design Science Research (FEDS). In total, 224 citizens participated in the survey based on the User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ) and open questions about human values embedded in the design. Fifteen government officers were interviewed to enhance the evaluation.

The DGCP received positive evaluations from the citizens and government officers. The platform is attractive, novel and pragmatic, also generating hedonic experiences for the citizens. The users believed that human values are reflected in the DGCP. Furthermore, they shared a few suggestions to improve it.

The paper contributes knowledge to evaluating digital government systems, especially in developing countries. The human-value-centered DGCP was evaluated using multiple methods of quantitative (i.e. UEQ Survey) and qualitative (i.e. qualitative interviews with stakeholders) techniques. Furthermore, the systematic process of DGCP evaluation produces a case-based guideline for evaluating related and similar digital government systems using FEDS.

The purpose of this study is to identify the norms that underlie and condition the decisions made by preparers of financial reports.

This interview-based study illustrates how financial report preparers engage in behaviors linked to the perception of recognition and measurement of internally generated intangible assets by important stakeholders. All of the companies included in the study adhere to International Financial Reporting Standards when creating their consolidated financial statements. The participants selected for the study are involved in accounting decisions related to research and development in accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 38.

The authors identify the normative assumptions underlying the recognition and measurement of internally generated intangibles, which are based on concerns of consistency, credibility and reasonableness. The authors find that the normative basis for legitimacy in financial accounting is primarily related to cognitive legitimacy and is not of a moral or pragmatic nature.

The study reveals that recognition and measurement of internally generated intangibles in financial accounting relate to legitimacy. The authors identify specific norms that form the basis of this legitimacy, namely, consistency, credibility and reasonableness. These identified norms serve as constraints, mitigating the risk of judgment misuse within the IAS 38 framework for earnings management.