Dinesh Mani Ghimire

Purpose: Globally, employees’ sustainability and retention of competitive manpower are major issues across industries. The paper aims to examine the impacts of empowering employees, both direct and indirect, on the intention of banking staff in Nepalese A-class banks to quit their jobs. Methods: A systematic survey grounded in questionnaires is applied to gather firsthand information from 483 purposefully selected banking staff. SEM was applied to investigate the projected hypothesis and model. Results: SEM revealed powerful repercussions of employee empowerment indirectly on intention to quit jobs through job satisfaction, but showed an insignificant direct impact on quitting intention. It exposed that job satisfaction fully mediates the link between empowering employees and their job quitting intentions. Conclusion: It concludes that, psychologically empowered workers are more likely to receive favorable performance evaluations and be reluctant to quit jobs they enjoy, thereby reducing the desire to quit. Further, for gaining more insights a longitudinal data and mixed-method approach may also be taken into consideration. Concerned bank authorities may find the information of this paper useful in formulating strategic choices on employee empowerment. Study outcomes align with the social exchange theory.

Purpose – This research aims to assess the financial retirement planning strategies of employed individuals in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal by examining the relationships between financial risk tolerance (FRT), financial self-efficacy (FSE), financial literacy (FL), retirement goal clarity (RGC), and culture on financial planning for retirement (FPR). Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative research approach with explanatory research design was employed to a cross-sectional data, supplemented by correlational analysis to measure the strength of relationships between the variables. The study explores the mediating role of culture in the relationship between RGC and FPR. Results – Findings revealed that FRT, FSE, FL, and RGC significantly and positively influence FPR, with RGC exerting the strongest impact. This underscores the critical role of clear retirement goals in effective financial planning. Conclusion – The study concluded that employed individuals predominantly rely on retirement goal clarity when formulating retirement planning strategies. Implications – Theoretically, this research provides a foundation for further exploration of the financial, cognitive, and behavioral factors influencing retirement planning within the Nepali context. Economically, it highlights the necessity for individuals to prioritize retirement goal clarity in their financial strategies. Originality/value – This paper is significant in the Nepali research landscape, as it is among the few studies to investigate financial retirement planning, focusing on the roles of FRT, FSE, FL, RGC, and culture in shaping individuals' financial planning behaviors.

Purpose – This paper intends to investigate the impact of behavioral biases such as conservatism, overconfidence, regret, herding and anchoring on investment decisions of an individual capital market investor in Nepal. This paper also attempts to examine the mediating effect of emotional intelligence in the relationship between behavioral biases and investment decisions. Design/methodology/approach – This is a quantitative research approach. The research design employed for the study was cross-sectional including descriptive and causal. The data were collected with self-administered close ended structured questions. 299 investors from Lalitpur district of Nepal were surveyed using Google form. Data analysis was conducted through SPSS, and the mediating effect was conducted by using Hayes Process macro. Findings – The findings suggest that there is a significant effect of conservatism, overconfidence, and anchoring of Nepali investors on investment decision. However, herding and regret do not exhibit a significant impact on investment decisions. The study has also revealed that there is partial mediation effect of emotional intelligence in the relationship between behavioral biases and investment decisions. Implications – The research highlights the importance of investor education programs to mitigate behavioral biases and improve decision-making. Integrating emotional intelligence training into financial literacy initiatives can enhance investors' ability to manage market complexities. Originality/value – This research stands out as one of the few studies to explore the role of emotional intelligence as a mediating variable in the relationship between behavioral biases and stock investment decisions, particularly within the context of Nepal. It offers a unique perspective on how emotional intelligence may influence decision-making processes influenced by biases, shedding light on a relatively unexplored area in Nepalese financial research.

In an era marked by rising economic uncertainty, inflation, job market instability, and shifting social dynamics, understanding how young individuals develop financial stability has become increasingly critical. That is precisely why it is necessary to ensure Generation Z’s resilience to socioeconomic challenges. Even while youth financial habits are receiving more attention, few studies in a developing South Asian economy examine how attitudes toward money and family financial socialization affect their financial well-being. Therefore, this study investigates how financial attitudes, shaped by early family experiences, mediate the link between financial socialization and financial well-being. Between September and December 2024, a structured questionnaire was distributed both physically on campuses and digitally via online platforms to collect primary data from 452 Gen Z students (aged 18–28) enrolled in 10 management colleges affiliated with national and international universities operating in Kathmandu, Nepal, selected through a purposive sampling method. AMOS SEM was employed to analyze the proposed model comprehensively and test the hypothesized relationships and mediation effects. At the same time, Hayes’ PROCESS macro was used to examine the categorical moderation effect of parents’ education level and occupation. Regression analysis confirmed that stress on saving (β = 0.192), expected financial independence (β = 0.167), and media/peers (β = 0.180) significantly affect financial well-being. Attitude towards money mediated these effects, with significant conditional indirect effects across all parental occupations and education levels (p < 0.05). The findings highlight how social agents shape financial socialization and urge Nepalese youth to invest in their financial well-being amid socioeconomic challenges.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate how factors such as attitude toward retirement, financial risk tolerance, financial self-efficacy, future time perspective, and social group support influence individuals’ retirement planning. Furthermore, the study examines the mediating role of retirement goal clarity in linking these psychological factors to retirement planning behaviors. Design/methodology/approach – This paper employed a descriptive and causal research design to investigate the psychological determinants of retirement planning behavior. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data from 426 salaried professionals working in the service sector of the Kathmandu Valley. A purposive sampling method was adopted to ensure the selection of respondents relevant to the study objectives. Findings – The results reveal that psychological determinants—including attitude toward retirement, financial risk tolerance, financial self-efficacy, future time perspective, and social group support—have significant impacts on retirement planning behavior. Notably, retirement goal clarity was found to play a mediating role, strengthening the relationships between these psychological factors and individuals’ retirement planning actions. Conclusion – This paper underscores the critical influence of psychological factors on retirement planning behavior among salaried professionals. The findings highlight not only the direct effects of these determinants but also the central role of retirement goal clarity in shaping effective retirement preparation. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of how individuals in developing economies approach retirement planning and offer valuable directions for improving financial preparedness. Implication – The results provide actionable insights for financial advisors, policymakers, and educators. By integrating psychological considerations into workplace training and financial education programs, stakeholders can design tailored interventions that promote retirement goal clarity and enhance financial preparedness. Such initiatives are especially crucial in developing economies, where structured support for retirement planning is often limited. Originality/value – This paper offers a novel contribution by examining the financial planning behavior of salaried professionals within the context of a developing economy—an area often underexplored in the literature. The study presents a comprehensive framework for enhancing retirement planning through targeted educational and policy interventions.

Purpose: This paper examines the antecedents of e-commerce loyalty (ECL) in the Nepalese market, with the mediating role of e-commerce trust (ECT). It explores how factors such as perceived security risk, perceived privacy, user interface quality, information quality, and e-commerce awareness influence trust and subsequently drive loyalty. Design/Methodology/Approach: A quantitative method was utilized, employing structured Likert-scale questionnaire to collect data from 425 respondents in Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur. Hayes Process Macro Model 4 were employed to analyze and direct and mediated relationships among variables. Findings: The findings reveal that ECT significantly mediates the impact of information quality, and perceived privacy on ECL, with trust amplifying their effects emphasizing its pivotal role in alleviating consumer concern. E-commerce awareness emerged as direct predictors of loyalty. Perceived privacy and perceived security risk have significant influence loyalty indirectly through trust. Implication: Insights from this research are invaluable for e-commerce businesses and policymakers aiming to cultivate trust and loyalty in developing markets like Nepal. Strategies focusing on consumer-centric design and communication of privacy and security policies can enhance loyalty and sustainable growth. Originality: This research adds to the limited number of scholarly papers on e-commerce loyalty in Nepal, providing a comprehensive framework for understanding the mediating influence of trust in the e-commerce ecosystem.

This study examines the connections between heuristic prejudices, risk perceptions, and investment decisions among stock market investors in Nepal. The study explores how prejudices such as overconfidence, representativeness, availability, and anchoring and adjustment shape investment choices, with a specific emphasis on the mediating influence of risk perception. Through a quantitative approach, data were collected from 404 respondents via a self-administered survey, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used for analysis. The findings reveal that risk perception significantly mediates the effect of these biases on investment decisions, highlighting the complex interplay between behavioral factors and investor behavior. By highlighting the necessity of taking risk perceptions into consideration when addressing behavioral biases in investment strategies, these results have practical consequences for investors, financial consultants, and legislators. This research pays attention to the understanding of behavioral finance, particularly within the context of Nepal’s capital market, and lays the groundwork for further studies on factors affecting investment decisions in real-world settings.

This study focuses on the Nepalese telecom sector, where service innovation is crucial for increasing customer satisfaction and gaining loyalty. In the rapidly evolving technological landscape, telecom service providers must continuously improve their offerings and customer experiences to draw in new customers and maintain their competitiveness. Based on a sample of 245 telecom customers, this study investigates how innovative service offerings lead to higher satisfaction levels and, in turn, greater customer loyalty. This study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) and a quantitative research approach to examine the association between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and service innovation in Nepal’s telecom industry. The study confirmed that service innovation (β = 0.23, p ≤ 0.01) directly influences customer satisfaction and significantly (β = 0.32, p ≤ 0.01) enhances customer loyalty in the Nepalese telecom sector. However, the study finds a negligible indirect impact of service innovation (β = 0.12, UL = 0.292, LL = -0.003) on customer loyalty when customer satisfaction is considered a mediator, indicating that customer satisfaction does not fully influence this relationship in the Nepalese telecom sector, suggesting that other variables, such as price sensitivity, switching costs, and consistency in service quality may also affect the relationship between service innovation, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. The results of this study will help the Nepalese telecom sector reevaluate its service innovation attempts, guiding executives to update their programs by offering new, reliable, high-quality services at affordable prices while considering different aspects of service innovation for strategic planning to attract loyal customers.

This study analyzes the determinants of Digital Banking Adoption in Nepal, focusing on households in the Patan area of Lalitpur. Utilizing the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the research investigates the roles of perceived risk, performance expectancy, belief, and social influence in shaping user behavior. Data were collected through structured questionnaires from 355 respondents and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including correlation and regression analysis. The findings highlight that belief is the most significant predictor of Digital Banking Adoption, emphasizing the critical role of trust in fostering user confidence. Performance expectancy also plays a vital role, demonstrating that efficiency and functionality significantly influence adoption decisions. Social influence, particularly in Nepal’s collectivist culture, further enhances adoption through peer and familial recommendations. Perceived risk, while a lesser factor, underscores the importance of addressing security concerns to encourage broader adoption. The study provides invaluable insights for financial institutions and policymakers to improve digital banking services, enhance user trust, and leverage community dynamics to drive digital financial inclusion. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on the intersection of technology adoption and financial inclusion in developing economies like Nepal.

Digital financial technologies are reshaping the economic landscape, enhancing financial inclusion and sustainable development. This study examines the adoption of cashless transactions among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nepal, focusing on factors like privacy, security, and resource availability through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A structured survey was utilized to gather information from 389 SME owners in the Kathmandu Valley as part of a cross-sectional study design. Path analysis and other quantitative techniques were used to investigate the connections between the adoption of cashless transactions and the main adoption drivers, which include perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influence, privacy concerns, and resource availability. Results show a strong link between these factors and adopting electronic payment systems, with privacy and security being the most significant. While perceived ease of use and usefulness drive adoption, challenges like limited digital literacy and infrastructural constraints exist, especially in rural areas. This study highlights how cashless transactions can help SMEs become more resilient and operationally efficient, which aligns with global trends. It offers practical advice on how financial service providers and legislators can remove obstacles, encourage digital inclusion, and build a strong digital ecosystem.