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Brand crowdfunding, launched through brands’ social media platforms, can provide a myriad of crowdfunding and branding benefits, such as strengthening brands’ social networks, validating product launches, generating mass exposure and enabling cocreation. Gamification positions brand crowdfunding as an exciting and joyful activity that more deeply engages prosumers. Anchored on resource-based theory, theory of planned behavior and service-dominant logic, this paper aims to develop a brand crowdfunding framework for established brands with insights from two emerging markets: China and India.

A deductive cross-sectional design is used to gather data from an established brand’s (e.g. Xiaomi) social media followers in China (n = 826) and India (n = 358), which is analyzed through PLSc-SEM.

The results reveal that social media brand engagement is an antecedent of brand crowdfunding participation, brand crowdfunding intention is a predictor of brand loyalty and gamification is a significant moderator in technology-oriented societies.

The paper develops a brand crowdfunding framework that provides insights on how established brands can leverage crowdfunding to enhance their new product development process. The results contribute to the social media brand engagement, crowdfunding, gamification and emerging markets literature.

Transformational leadership, flexibility and visibility improves project responsiveness to highly unpredictable and impactful events referred as the ‘black swans’ in mega projects (Bloch et al., 2012; Raziq et al., 2018; Zailani et al., 2016). However, these concepts have never been empirically tested in a single framework to determine their significant impact on multi-dimensional project success. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the interactional effects of project flexibility and project visibility on the relationship between transformational leadership and “multi-dimensions” of project success including meeting design goals; impact on customers and benefits to project-based organization.

Empirical data derived from cross-sectional survey of 160 project managers from telecom intensive companies in Pakistan were used to test the conceptual framework developed from recent literature. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) provided detailed analysis of the measurement and structural model. The most recent reflective–formative PLS-SEM approach for higher-order constructs has been introduced.

The results indicate that project managers’ transformational leadership (β = 0.348, p < 0.01), project flexibility (β = 0.221, p < 0.01) and project visibility (β = 0.366, p < 0.01) are positively related with the multi-dimensional project success (second-order formative) construct. Interestingly, the relationship between transformational leadership and project success is influenced by significantly negative moderations established through project flexibility (β = −0.100, p < 0.01) and project visibility (β = −0.093, p < 0.05).

This study in the telecom sector examined the interactional effects of risk mitigating strategies (i.e. project flexibility and project visibility) on the relationship between transformational leadership and multi-dimensional project success. This study creates a basis for future investigations extending to various project types and relevant to different industries especially those involving higher-order (formative) assessments of project success.

The study findings assist project leaders to meet their escalating commitments in achieving project success from a multi-dimensional standpoint. Additionally, this study underscores a renewed perspective of transformational leadership and project outcomes. Despite prevailing understanding developed through prior research, transformational leadership may become less favorable for project success in conditions of increased flexibility and visibility in projects.

Earlier studies have overlooked the multi-dimensional nature of project success (second-order formative) construct, despite several attempts to examine the interplay between transformational leadership and project success. Based on the knowledge gap and non-existence of empirical evidence, the authors introduced and empirically tested the moderating role of project flexibility and project visibility in the relationship between transformational leadership and multi-dimensional project success.

Organizations are full of contradictions and leadership dilemmas. Managers often face challenges such as selecting between two contradicting options such that which one is more important can hardly be judged. To manage contradicting dynamics, today’s managers can adopt the paradoxical leadership approach. We build a theoretical model to investigate the influence of paradoxical leadership on multi-dimensional project agility (proactivity, adaptability, and resilience), and multi-dimensional project success (management, investment, and ownership success).

Drawing on survey-based data from the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) megaproject (N = 209), we performed covariance-based structural equation modeling to test the conceptual model.

The findings show that (1) paradoxical leadership has a significant positive impact on megaproject success, (2) paradoxical leadership has a significant positive influence on project agility, (3) project agility has a significant positive effect on megaproject success, and (4) project agility has a significant effect that mediates the link between paradoxical leadership and megaproject success. This research provides a theoretical and practical comprehension of paradoxical leadership with a new perspective on megaprojects.

This study provides an extension of the existing studies on paradoxical leadership and identifies the role of contradicting dynamics and their impact on multiple facets of megaproject success. It not only clarifies the relationship between paradoxical leadership and megaproject success, but also identifies the mediating role of project agility that can play an effective role in mobilizing success in megaprojects.

Project managers are under a never-ending pressure to demonstrate the expected value of projects to the project sponsors; however, in most cases, project managers fail to realize this strategic value due to the loopholes left in project governance throughout various stages of the project life cycle. Furthermore, another root cause of project failure might be linked to an exceedingly self-interested project leader who is exploitative of his/her team. This is a recurring yet still unexplored aspect of destructive leadership that requires attention from the scientific community as well as practitioners. Hence, the present study explored the relationship between project governance and information and communication technology (ICT) project success, as well as the moderating effects of exploitative leadership on this relationship.

With this aim, 357 responses were collected from project professionals in the emerging ICT industry in Pakistan, and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with partial least squares (PLS).

The findings provide new evidence that project governance significantly improves project success opportunities in the ICT industry; however, this relationship is negatively moderated by exploitative leadership.

The study findings extend the project leadership literature by uncovering the influence of the dark side of project leadership (i.e. exploitative leadership), in addition to revalidating the impact of project governance on project success through a multi-dimensional context.

Prior to the events of 11th September, 2001, international cooperation in the field of global financial crime prevention was already well established. Prompted by separate initiatives led by the United Nations Organisation and the Basel Committee in the late 1980s, the creation in 1989 of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) by the G7 countries set in place an international body to coordinate anti‐money laundering measures across 26 countries and jurisdictions. Subsequently, and prompted by the creation of the FATF, other regional interstate organisations in western and eastern Europe, across the Americas and the Caribbean, and also in Asia, have drafted similar anti‐money laundering standards for their respective countries. In turn, these interstate regulatory initiatives have been complemented by parallel business‐led ‘voluntary’ initiatives, such as the example of the Wolfsberg Anti‐Money Laundering Principles designed to promote greater transparency across the banking sector.

This paper argues that teachers’ promotion should also have an impact on turnover intention. The purpose of this paper is to determine the relationship between promotion and turnover intention of advance learning institutions of the Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa Province of Pakistan and the moderating effect of the analytical cognitive style.

A quantitative approach is used predominantly. A questionnaire survey research design is used to collect the data from the entire province and 502 completed questionnaires were collected from the respondents. The questionnaire included the Job Descriptive Index consisting of seven items on job satisfaction, the turnover intention questionnaire consisting of three items and a five-point Likert scale used to determine cognitive style index (CSI); the CSI was used. The fourth section included an open-ended questionnaire and the fifth section included demographic variables. Hierarchical multiple regressions were used to check how much variance promotion occurs upon turnover intention and it also determined how much variance analysis cognitive style occurs upon promotion and turnover intention of advance learning institutions of the KPK province of Pakistan. The correlation results from a bivariate Pearson correlation showed significant results, which were later strengthened by the regression results.

The findings suggested that a negative relationship was found between promotion and turnover intention, whereas a weak correlation was found between promotion and analytical. Moderating results show that analytical cognitive style does act as a moderator between the promotion and turnover intention.

This research was only carried out on advance learning institutions; thus, the findings can only be generalized to higher education institutions in the Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa state.

This extended model of job satisfaction will be useful to lead to changes in job satisfaction and turnover intention of academicians of the Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa province of Pakistan. The findings of this study could be used to guide the management of advance learning institutions and professional academicians to build targeted learning activities around key components of the academician’s promotion, determine where individuals are in their journey, set personalized goals and provide feedback to the management in the process of the development of policies for academicians of advance learning institutions.

The findings of this study will help the higher education commission of Pakistan to make policies that will enable higher education institutions to formulate flexible promotion policies for teachers in order to retain them.

The findings of this study are a valuable extension of the relevant research as this is the first empirical study to examine the effects of cognitive style on promotion policies and turnover intention in advance learning institutions of Pakistan. In the context of an efficient and effective educational policy, a greater understanding of an academician’s promotion could facilitate the development of a more effective policy practice that would increase not only the job satisfaction of the academicians but decrease the turnover intention of the academicians.

There is increased social discussion of the emerging issues of opioid use, health and well-being of young adults within contemporary Asian society. The purpose of this study is to contribute new knowledge of opioid-using young adults through ethnographic perspectives of the five main cultures of Pakistan. Furthermore, it tried to explore the values of opioid users.

It is a qualitative study. Semi-structured interview and observation techniques were used to gain the participants’ information, in a non-judgmental environment. Observation and life focus history interview methodology were used for data collection. The sample consisted of 18 male opioid users (approximately three from each area including: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoon Khah, Balochistan, Sindh, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir). An interview script was used in interviews after written informed consent. After the detailed interview and observation of non-verbal behaviours, the researchers analysed the data by using the content analysis of qualitative method.

The result showed that poor relationships, conflicts over property, lack of social support and family problems increased with the use of opioids by individuals. The individual’s mental health, such as hopelessness, curiosity, mistrust and lack of interest in social activities, was the major cause of opioid addiction. Moreover, peer influences and friends may also have played contributing roles in opioids use among men.

The current study added to the understanding of the relationship of different environmental, behavioural and social factors involved in developing opioid use among young individuals. The homogeneity of the sample may have weakened the generalisability of the findings of the study as all participants in the study were male.

Clinicians and allied professionals have shown a great interest in early intervention with opioid users. At the same time, there is a lack of qualitative studies exploring the lived experiences of young opioid users. That is why this study was done, to empower counsellors.

Opioids, including heroin, have strong addictive tendencies. They are easily available, particularly in unplanned urban areas of Pakistan. The present study tried to understand the lived experiences and beliefs of opioid users belonging to different cultures of Pakistan.

At the same time, there is a lack of qualitative studies exploring the lived experiences of adult opioid users. Therefore, this study presented 18 interview-based facts from the opioid users belonging to different areas of Pakistan residing in capital of Pakistan. The content of these vignettes was examined in the context of an ethnographic perspective, as it has a strong connection and contribution to drug abuse.