Ahmed Rabeeu

Despite the widespread belief that spirituality has a favorable influence on morals and ethics, research has yielded varied results. There is also a dearth of cross-cultural studies examining spirituality, Perceived Role of Ethics and Social Responsibility (PRESOR), and their relationship. This study examines the relationship between spirituality and the PRESOR in Pakistan and China, two culturally and religiously distinct nations, using a sample of managers enrolled in part-time MBA programs. Our findings indicate that spirituality positively affects PRESOR responses after controlling the effects of national differences. However, if adopting sub-samples in two countries, the relationship between spirituality and PRESOR responses is still positive in Pakistan but insignificant in China. This study contributes to the exploration of the context sensitivity of spirituality, PRESOR and their relationship, which expands the knowledge of them in Pakistan and China.

Grounded in signaling and legitimacy theories, this study explores consumers' responses to implicit and explicit ESG‐related claims on product labels as well as the moderating effect of ESG disclosure in China's consumer‐packaged goods industry. In a two‐by‐two between‐subject experimental design with 329 Chinese consumers across diverse regions, the study reveals that explicit ESG claims generate stronger brand attachment and purchase outcomes compared to implicit claims. Moreover, the study finds support for the moderating role of ESG disclosure such that it amplifies both implicit and explicit ESG‐related claims significantly. This study extends both signaling theory and legitimacy theory by explaining the mechanisms through which ESG‐related claims and ESG disclosure interact to influence consumer decision‐making in an emerging market context, thus filling critical gaps in existing literature. Practically, the study provides actionable strategies for organizations to optimize ESG communication by leveraging both explicit and implicit claims as well as ESG disclosure to drive favorable consumer outcomes.

This study investigates the relationship between the motives behind CSR and consumer extra-role behavior, as well as green purchase intention, specifically within the hospitality industry of an emerging market. This study uses two scenario-based experiments with high and low CSR fit contexts to examine how ethical corporate identity moderates the relationship. Both studies examine the impact of customers’ perceptions of a company’s CSR motivation (public-serving or firm-serving), on their extra-role behavior towards the company and intention to make green purchases. This influence is particularly relevant when the company actively communicates its ethical identity. The first study is conducted within a high-fit setting where the company’s locus aligns with its CSR program. In contrast, the second study replicates the research in a low-fit situation. The results indicate that CSR activities have a favorable effect on customer extra-role behavior and green purchasing intention, regardless of the CSR fit contexts. This effect is shown when the company’s ethical stance is known before engaging in CSR activities and when the goal is to serve the firm. Nevertheless, these endeavors demonstrate limited efficacy in prompting such conduct when the organization’s ethical identity remains implicit, even within a context driven by a desire to serve the public.

This research highlights the critical role that entrepreneurial capital (EC) plays in organizational development and resilience by examining the connections between EC and the success of new joint ventures (NJVs) in developing nations. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is becoming more popular in the early phases of a company’s growth because of its capacity to improve credibility and competitive differentiation. Traditionally associated with well-established corporations. This study uses a mediated-moderation model to explore theories on how EC affects the disruptive innovation, economic, social, legal, and environmental sustainability of NJVs. Using quantitative survey data from 270 NJVs, this paper highlights the strategic interdependencies influencing NJV trajectories, as well as the functions of disruptive innovation and CSR. The findings demonstrate that EC greatly enhances NJVs performance in every category, promoting CSR and innovative projects. NJVs benefit from early CSR participation because it reduces risks and boosts entrepreneurial vitality. Disruptive innovation transforms EC into measurable performance advantages. This study has important policy and management implications because it shows that NJVs can stay ahead of the competition and improve their performance by strategically using EC for CSR and innovation projects. Overall, this study emphasizes how crucial CSR is to the startup environment, supporting resilient and long-term growth in emerging economies.

Research on individuals’ attitudes toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) from a micro level has increasingly emerged in recent years, yet the role of spiritual values and principles has been ignored as its antecedents in extant literature. To fill the research gap, we examine the relationship between spirituality and individual CSR attitudes and further analyze this relationship by revealing the mediating role of idealism and the moderating role of relativism. Data were gathered from a two-wave survey conducted in Pakistan and 147 questionnaires were collected. The results indicate that spirituality is positively related to CSR attitudes, and this relationship is mediated by idealism. Relativism strengthens not only the positive relationship between spirituality and idealism but also the indirect relationship between spirituality and CSR attitudes via idealism. The findings contribute to the research on the micro-foundations of CSR by taking spirituality into account. Theoretical and practical implications for future research are also discussed.

Extant studies have found that the inscription of World Heritage sites (WHS) has no or negative effect on tourism in China, which does not explain why Chinese local governments are eager to apply for WHS. This study employs the difference-in-difference approach and city-level data from China to assess the effect of WHS over a more extended period, starting from initiation instead of inscription. The results indicate that WHS initiation can promote tourism, while WHS inscription reduces tourism revenue. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis reveals that WHS initiation has a more positive effect on domestic tourism revenue in the eastern region of China. In contrast, WHS inscription has a more negative effect on tourism revenue in the western region.

Background: The wave of digital disruption has been experienced across different industries in the fourth industrial revolution, altering processes and procedures as well strategies of many industries. Purpose - As businesses strive to attain supremacy in their respective industries, reliance on technology has become an inevitable tool for sustainability and competitive advantage. Firms are employing novel business strategies and streamlining their operations by adapting to technology in order to transform digitally. Based on the theory of structural empowerment, we assess, from employees' perspective, the efficacy of key employeecentric digital transformation initiatives, namely, digital skills training and access to digital platforms on employees' performance through the mediating role of employee digital empowerment. Design/methodology/approach - Survey data was collected from a sample 214 employees and their 89 direct supervisors across four banking institutions in China for the purpose of this study. Correlation and regression analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. Findings - The result of the study showed support for the positive impact of both digital skills training and employees' access to digital platforms at the workplace on job performance and also for the mediating role of employee digital empowerment. This study contributes to the empowerment literature by identifying key structural empowerment initiatives in an organization that enhance employee digital empowerment and performance at the workplace as firms transform digitally. Practical implications - The results of the study suggest that firms should view digital transformation as an employee empowerment tool which, when implemented properly, could help enhance employees' performance and the overall organizational goal achievement potentials. Hence, organizations should align their digital transformation strategy with the needs of its human resource in order to ensure overall success of such transformations. Limitations/future research - The study focuses on the banking sector only. Further research could focus on other industries that are equally affected by the waves of digital disruptions.

The Chinese outbound market has surpassed that of any country in the world in recent years. It specifically became the leading source market for many Asian countries. In this respect, this study uses a monthly dataset of tourist arrivals from 1995 to 2019 to investigate the seasonality patterns of Chinese outbound tourists in eight tourist destinations in Asia popular among Chinese tourists. The Gini coefficient and the Seasonal Index were used to examine the seasonality patterns. The results of this research reveal a generally consistent pattern across all destinations examined, confirming the occurrence of two distinct peaks (i.e., February and July to August) and off-peak (i.e., March to June and November to December) periods. The findings further show the expansion of the Chinese market has considerably softened the seasonality in the inbound tourism of the countries studied. Finally, key implications of the study findings are discussed, highlighting some practical insights that might help practitioners manage seasonality.

The tourism sector of the Maldives has seen rapid growth since its inception in 1972. One significant development is the transformation of the market composition in recent years. China has surpassed traditional European markets as the single largest source market. In this regard, this study seeks to assess the seasonality in the Maldivian tourism sector using a monthly dataset of visitor arrivals from 2003 to 2019. The seasonality ratio, the seasonality indicator, the Gini coefficient and the seasonal index were used to examine the seasonality patterns. The results of this study show that there are three distinct peaks (January to April, August, and November to December) and two off-peaks (May to July and September) periods. The findings also reveal that the rise of the Chinese market has significantly lessened the seasonality of Maldivian inbound tourism. Finally, some important implications are discussed.