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This study aims to investigate the impact of extensive board diversity on firm performance from the perspective of resource-based view (RBV) theory in the context of Pakistan.

The analyses are made using a panel random-effects model and generalized method of moment (GMM) across 188 non-financial firms listed in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) over the period of 2009–2020. The robustness of findings is checked through alternative measurements of the variables and alternative estimation techniques.

The results show that board members' nationality, ethnicity and educational level diversities are significantly positively related to firm performance. In contrast, age and educational background diversities negatively affect firm performance. However, gender and tenure diversities have an insignificant relationship with firm performance.

This study is conducted in the context of Pakistani firms; thus, the findings may not be generalizable to other economies because different economies have different institutional settings and governance structures.

The policy-makers should encourage the inclusion of board members' nationality, ethnicity and educational level diversities having relevant educational backgrounds to improve firms' competitive performance. The suggested structure of the corporate board may improve firm performance by attracting multiple stakeholders and fulfilling their expectations.

The appointment of a director should be based on merit rather than on political connections or personnel relationships to improve social welfare and avoid their negative impact on firm competitive performance.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates the impact of board diversity on firm accounting-based performance and market-based performance in the emerging economy of Pakistan. This study uses RBV theory to provide a unique corporate governance structure based on board diversity, particularly in Pakistan.

This study aims to investigate the presence of the audit partner ethnicity on audit fees within the Indonesian context.

The sample consists of 803 firm-year observations from the Indonesia Stock Exchange during the period of 2014–2018. The study uses fixed-effect regression analysis to examine the relationship between audit partner ethnicity and audit fees.

This study reveals that firms audited by audit partners from the main ethnic group demonstrate lower audit fees, indicating a more extensive audit business network for this particular group of auditors compared to those from minority ethnic groups. Particularly, the study finds that firms audited by audit partners from the three largest ethnicities, namely, Balinese, Javanese and West Sumatranese, are associated with lower audit fees compared to others. These findings further contribute to the existing narrative and literature that highlight the ethnic background of audit partners as a form of social capital that influences lower audit fees.

This study provides valuable practical and academic implications regarding the impact of audit partner ethnicity on audit fees. The findings highlight the importance for audit firms to strive for a balanced representation of ethnic diversity in their auditor characteristics, as it can positively influence both governance and marketing strategies. By recognizing and addressing the significance of ethnic diversity among audit partners, firms can enhance their overall effectiveness and success in the auditing profession.

This study makes a unique contribution by providing empirical data on audit pricing theory in Indonesia, specifically focusing on the role of ethnic diversity as a determinant of audit pricing. Previous research has not extensively explored the connection between auditor ethnicity and audit fees, particularly in relation to the business network as a channel mechanism. The theoretical explanations for the fee differentials have also been limited in prior studies. The current study addresses this gap by offering a theoretical basis that highlights the advantage of the dominant ethnic group in establishing an efficient audit market system. Consequently, these auditors are able to charge lower fees to clients without compromising on the quality of their services. This finding aligns with the existing literature on audit fees and underscores the importance of the main ethnic group in fostering an effective audit market, resulting in lower audit fees compared to mixed audit markets.

The purpose of this study is to identify the drivers and future scenarios of Iran’s Social Security Organization.

The research is applied in terms of orientation and mixed in terms of methodology. In this research, the methods of theme analysis, root definitions, fuzzy Delphi and Cocoso were used. The theoretical population is the managers and senior experts of the social security organization, and the sampling method was done in a judgmental way. The tools of data collection were interviews and questionnaires. The interview tool was used to extract the main and subdrivers of the research and develop the scenarios.

Through theme analysis, 35 subdrivers were extracted in the form of economic, sociocultural, financial and investment, policy, marketing, environmental and legal themes. Due to the large number of subdrivers, these factors were screened with fuzzy Delphi. Eleven drivers had defuzzied coefficient higher than 0.7 and were selected for final prioritization. The final drivers were prioritized with the CoCoSo technique, and the two drivers of social security holdings governance and state of government revenues had the highest priority. Based on these two drivers, four scenarios of prosperity, resilient social security, unstable development and collapse have been developed.

Some of the suggestions of the research are: using the capacity of FinTechs and financial startups to invest the government revenues of the organization, using digital technologies such as business intelligence for more efficient decisions and developing corporate governance in the organization.

Various scholars suggest that there is a lack of research on the recruitment in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and also a scarcity of theoretical basis for the recruitment procedures used by these companies. As the vast majority of studies concentrate on larger organizations, they may not accurately reflect the challenges faced by smaller-sized entities to profoundly and accurately comprehend their recruitment procedures. In addition, the use of technology in recruitment has grown in importance in today’s quickly evolving business environment, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic footprint. This study aims to examine the recruitment procedures used by SMEs and how they have been compelled to adjust to different extents to these technological improvements by the effects of the aforementioned epidemic.

With the aim to investigate the current recruitment practices in SMEs and the extent to which digital technologies are embraced by these companies within human resources (HR) procedures, this research relied on interviews with SMEs representatives. The qualitative methods used provided access to relevant data and insights, as they allowed close interactions with top managers and CEOs of ten companies from various sectors. Thus, the research results draw a vivid and reliable image of the procedures and practices used by small and medium-sized companies to attract, select and retain their staff.

This study’s findings are of increased interest to HR professionals, recruiters and managers in SMEs, who aim to attract and retain the best talent and optimize their recruitment strategies in a rapidly changing business environment, enabled by technological advancements. Effective HR recruitment procedures adapted to the specific needs of small and medium-sized companies can lead to several benefits for the organization, including improved employee selection, reduced turnover and increased organizational productivity.

Although the interviews examined here encompass recruitment techniques from SMEs in a variety of industries, the results’ generalizability is limited by the sample size and geography. Furthermore, the findings’ dependability is dependent on the accuracy of the data provided by the respondents.

This investigation confirms some of the theoretical underpinnings which point to the lack of formalized structures and procedures in the recruitment process in SMEs, which enjoy more flexibility in managing HR processes. In addition, the results reinforce the arguments indicating an adjustment between HR strategies or policies and organizational goals in smaller enterprises which adapt faster to changes in the market. Moreover, it becomes apparent that there is a relationship between the quality of job descriptions and the successful fit in attracting the right candidates for the open positions. Furthermore, digital technologies offer opportunities for expanding the recruiters’ reach to a wider audience and also support the selection stage, thus increasing the chances of finding suitable staff. As the need to shift from traditional recruitment to e-recruitment in SMEs has been highlighted in the literature, the qualitative research revealed that this need was driven on the one hand by the COVID-19 pandemic when these companies successfully adapted and implemented new online methods of recruiting, but also by the lack of skilled labor, leading to the expansion of recruitment to other parts of the country or even to other countries.

With regard to the proportion of men and women used in small and medium-sized companies, there is a clear need to involve and train more women in the predominantly male-dominated industrial and IT sectors. From this point of view, companies tend to devote more interest to integrating communities of women in these industries, as well as in key management positions. Another point of interest that the study highlights is the fact that SMEs have started to get creative with the benefits package they propose to candidates and focus on remote work, hybrid office–home working, or seasonal work to offer future employees a better work–life balance.

The added value of this investigation is filling the gaps in the current literature concerning recruitment procedures currently used by SMEs, the challenges they face and the solutions they advanced to solve them. Furthermore, SMEs often drive innovation and competition in the market and play a crucial role in the supply chain of larger companies, providing them with the goods and services they need to operate and supporting the availability and reliability of products from larger companies. They are often the driving force behind revitalizing local economies and creating new employment opportunities. Consequently, the underlying significance of this study is rooted in the need to modernize and simultaneously improve HR recruitment procedures through the integration of technology and a focus on innovation.

The purpose of this study is to examine how companies integrate cyber risk into their enterprise risk management practices. Data breaches have become commonplace, with thousands occurring each year, and some costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Consequently, cyber risk has become one of the gravest risks facing organizations, and has attracted boardroom-level attention. On the other hand, companies already manage many kinds of difficult and growing risks, and that firms lose less than 1% of annual revenues as a result of cyber incidents. Therefore, how should firms appropriately address cyber risk? Is it indeed a materially different kind of risk area, or is it simply just one more risk that can seamlessly be integrated into existing enterprise risk management (ERM) practices?

The authors performed thematic analysis based on semi-structured interviews, with non-probabilistic, purposive sampling, to answer two main questions. First, how do firms manage enterprise risks, generally? And second, how are they integrating cyber risk into these existing processes?

The authors find that there is considerable variation in the approach and sophistication in ERM practices, such as whether they are driven more like an auditing function, or as a risk champion. The authors also find that despite the novelty of cyber risk, it can be integrated like other enterprise risks, and that cyber risk is most often seen as an operational risk (similar to workplace accidents or fraud), rather than a strategic risk, emerging from, for example, technology innovation and R&D.

The generalization of the results is limited by the sample size and variation of firms interviewed. While the authors attempted to interview enterprise risk managers across a wide variation of firms, there were clear limitations in the scope. That being said, the authors were fortunate to be able to examine ERM and cyber risk practices across small and large, private and publicly traded companies, from a variety of business sectors.

The authors believe these finding are important because they present evidence that while cyber risk may be new, it does not require specialized handling or processes to track it at the enterprise level. While some firms may choose to provide special accommodations or attention because of their data collection or business practices, this approach is neither necessary nor required of all firms in all situations.

This research is one of the only papers that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, examines how cyber risk is integrated at an enterprise level.

This study aims to examine the influence of social media usage (SMU) on minimalist consumption and how the fear of missing out (FoMO) underlies this effect.

Four preregistered correlational/experimental studies (n = 1,763) are used. A pilot study (n = 436) examines the correlations between SMU, FoMO and minimalism. Studies 1 (n = 409), 2 (n = 415) and 3 (n = 503) further investigate the influence of SMU on minimalist consumption intentions, including mindful purchase, forgoing free products and decluttering, and test for evidence of mediation via FoMO by measuring or manipulating FoMO.

The results show that a high SMU makes consumers susceptible to FoMO, leading to impulsive purchases and careless product acquisition. However, when campaigners promote minimalism as a social media movement, they can activate FoMO, persuading consumers to practice decluttering.

Future research might examine how subjective age affects FoMO and minimalist consumption tendencies. Could campaigners use young social cues to make older consumers more susceptible to FoMO appeals? Could old social cues cause younger consumers to perceive greater social responsibility and to embrace minimalist consumption?

Minimalist lifestyles can promote sustainable consumption. This research provides insights into how SMU is a double-edged sword – it can cause FoMO users to disdain minimalism. However, it can promote minimalism if a minimalist campaign is strategically positioned as a social media movement using a FoMO-laden appeal.

Extant consumer behavior research on minimalism has just begun to investigate the antecedents of minimalist consumption. FoMO is conceptually related to minimalism, but the relationship between FoMO and minimalist consumption has not yet been empirically tested. This research fills these gaps by examining SMU and the associated FoMO as antecedents of minimalist consumption. Empirical evidence for the impact of SMU on various minimalist consumption behaviors and the mediating role of FoMO is provided.

Managing resources is crucial for firms to gain competitive advantages and succeed, particularly for startups with limited resources. It is important to understand how digital startups in general and digital academic spin-offs (ASOs) in particular may orchestrate their resources to optimize value. This paper integrates the resource-based perspective with digital entrepreneurship to analyze the resource configurations leading to success of digital ASOs.

The paper adopts an inductive approach and applies qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) on a longitudinal dataset of digital ASOs to identify the resource configurations for a successful outcome.

The authors' paper identifies two main paths to success among digital ASOs, consisting of five distinct resource configurations. The first path is termed “market exploiters” that operate in favorable market conditions where specific technological resources and research collaboration resources are lacking. The second path involves “technology explorers” that combines both technological and commercial resources to achieve success.

By outlining distinct pathways to the success of digital ASOs, this paper contributes to the digital academic entrepreneurship literature and the resource-based view of entrepreneurial firms. The paper also suggests implications for policymakers and managers in managing resources for the success of digital ventures.

By exploring the resource configurations leading to the success of ASOs commercializing digital technologies, the paper shows that favorable market conditions and complementary resource configurations can be alternative pathways to success.

Literature around the careers of female academics is targeted mainly toward identifying and examining career progression inhibitors, while the drivers appear largely unexplored. This paper aims to contribute to contemporary knowledge by identifying drivers to the career progression of female academics in Australia. With COVID-19 currently impacting the careers of female academics this knowledge can assist universities and human resource (HR) professionals in developing policies and practices to better facilitate female academic career progression.

Empirically this paper draws on a qualitative study of 18 male and 29 female academics, as well as nine senior university stakeholders. The authors employed semi-structured interviews and a novel methodology, Draw, Write, Reflect.

In line with attribution theory, senior stakeholders mainly identified organisational efforts, including leadership, gender equity endeavours, recruitment and promotion approaches, as well as a construct known as “relative to opportunity considerations”, as drivers of female academics’ career progression. Female academics, however, largely attributed their career progression to personal factors, such as family support, informal mentoring, and determination and persistence.

The findings have implications for universities and HR practices seeking to facilitate female academic career progression. Implementation of the drivers identified may enhance female academics’ abilities to progress their careers.

By focussing on the drivers of, rather than the barriers to, female academic careers, the research is novel in its identification of a previously unexplored mismatch between organisational attribution and individual attribution of career progression drivers thereby advancing knowledge of gender differences in academic careers.

The present study provides a comprehensive review of the advancements in five active heating modes for cold-proof clothing as of 2021. It aims to evaluate the current state of research for each heating mode and identify their limitations. Further, the study provides insights into the optimization of intelligent temperature control algorithms and design considerations for intelligent cold-proof clothing.

This article presents a classification of active heating systems based on five different heating principles: electric heating system, solar heating system, phase-change material (PCM) heating system, chemical heating system and fluid/air heating system. The systems are analyzed and evaluated in terms of heating principle, research advancement, scientific challenges and application potential in the field of cold-proof clothing.

The rational utilization of active heating modes enhances the thermal efficiency of cold-proof clothing, resulting in enhanced cold-resistance and reduced volume and weight. Despite progress in the development of the five prevalent heating modes, particularly with regard to the improvement and advancement of heating materials, the current integration of heating systems with cold-proof clothing is limited to the torso and limbs, lacking consideration of the thermal physiological requirements of the human body. Additionally, the heating modes of each system tend to be uniform and lack differentiation to meet the varying cold protection needs of various body parts.

The effective application of multiple heating modes helps the human body to maintain a constant body temperature and thermal equilibrium in a cold environment. The research of heating mode is the basis for realizing the temperature control of cold-proof clothing and provides an effective guarantee for the future development of the intelligent algorithms for temperature control of non-uniform heating of body segments.

The integration of multiple heating modes ensures the maintenance of a constant body temperature and thermal balance for the wearer in cold environments. The research of heating modes forms the foundation for the temperature regulation of cold-proof clothing and lays the groundwork for the development of intelligent algorithms for non-uniform heating control of different body segments.

The present article systematically reviews five active heating modes suitable for use in cold-proof clothing and offers guidance for the selection of heating systems in future smart cold-proof clothing. Furthermore, the findings of this research provide a basis for future research on non-uniform heating modes that are aligned with the thermal physiological needs of the human body, thus contributing to the development of cold-proof clothing that is better suited to meet the thermal needs of the human body.