Why should I trust ICT? An empirical study examining teachers and students usage of ICT for knowledge sharing and seeking

The purpose of conducting this study is to examine factors affecting teachers and students trust on ICT and ICT usage behavior for knowledge sharing and seeking.  Two empirical studies were conducted; and data was collected from teachers and students of two public sector universities that specifically offer distance learning programs and use ICT for knowledge sharing and knowledge seeking.  For study-1, data was collected from 350 students,; whereas for study-2, data was collected from 150 teachers. Statistical tests for descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, reliability analysis and mediation analysis were conducted.  The mediation results suggested that trust mediates the relationship between facilitating condition (FC) and usage Behavior (UB) for both the studies as proposed. Moreover, trust and intention sequentially mediated the relationship between performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI) and UB in both the studies except between EE, SI and UB of study-2. Keyword: Knowledge sharing, knowledge seeking, Trust, ICT, UTAU

Examining the Role of Trust in Virtual Environment for Knowledge Exchange: A Study on Pakistani Universities

The rationale behind conducting this study is to investigate the influence of Performance Expectancy on user ICT use Behavior for Knowledge Exchange. And inorder to examine this relationship trust and intention were proposed and tested as mediating variables. In addition, previous researchers merely focused on knowledge sharing behavior, ignoring the fact that to make an “exchange relationship successful” it is important to examine whether ICT supports users in getting knowledge or not. Hence to obtain these objectives, two longitudinal field studies were conducted at two different time-periods. Study-1 reported 150 usable questionnaires to address ICT use Behavior for knowledge sharing behavior whereas Study-2 reported 350 usable questionnaires to address ICT use Behavior for knowledge seeking. The analysis of the data revealed full serial mediation in both the studies. Moreover, all the individual links also depicted positive and significant relationships. Keywords: Performance Expectancy, Trust, Intention, Knowledge Exchange, ICT, Behavio

Dynamic Capabilities, Innovation, and Sustainable Competitive Advantage under Environmental Uncertainty in Textile Industry

This study examined the relationship between dynamic capabilities and sustainable competitive advantage through technological and non-technological innovation under environmental uncertainty.  The proposed interactive model has been explained using the dynamic capabilities theory. Data were collected from 246 managers in the textile manufacturing industries in Pakistan through a two-point survey. The measurement model showed excellent psychometric qualities for all variable measures. Findings provide that dynamic capabilities have a significant positive relationship with sustainable competitive advantage mediated by technological and non-technological innovations in parallel and serial ways. Environmental uncertainty accelerated the positive impact of dynamic capabilities on both these forms of innovation, leading to sustainable competitive advantage. Findings emphasize the importance of dynamic capabilities in the manufacturing industry and support investment in developing such capabilities, which enhance industry innovation and competitiveness

Volatile Constituents of Leaves of Trifolium alexandrinum

This study presents the volatile constituents from leaves of Trifolium alexandrinum from Pakistan. The dried leaves were subjected to hydrodistillation for extraction and extracted volatile oil was subsequently characterized by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry technique. A total of 22 compounds were identified where the most dominant constituents were: phytol (46.00%), palmitic acid (9.26%), phytol acetate (6.44%), and linolenic acid (3.47%). Most of these are well-known constituents to exhibit antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory activities

LEVERAGING STRATEGIC MANEUVERABILITY TO AUGMENT BUSINESS MODEL INNOVATION FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE DURING ENVIRONMENTAL TURBULENCE

ABSTRACT   Purpose: Ensuring that businesses thrive in turbulent environments is as challenging as navigating the proverbial stormy waters. Drawing upon attention-based and action-based views of firms’ dynamic capabilities, we examined whether firms with high strategic maneuverability can gain a competitive advantage in turbulent environments by adopting business model innovation

Online Customer Experience Leads to Loyalty via Customer Engagement: Moderating Role of Value Co-creation

With the increasing growth of online shopping, businesses are intertwining to establish new shopping antecedents. Customer experience has steadily become the most important source of retailers’ long-term competitive advantage via difference. To preserve long-term and sustained consumer loyalty, retailers must continually improve the customer experiences. This study presents a framework for online retailing in a digital environment called the Online Customer Experience-Engagement Context model in the presence of value co-creation (VCC). Data was gathered from 189 people who purchased products online. For additional analysis, testing the hypothesis, and model construction, SPSS 26 and Smart-PLS were used. The data was then evaluated further using descriptive statistics, path analysis, measurement, and structural model. The findings show that the online customer experience (measured as shopping environment, shopping procedure, staff service experience, and product experience) substantially influenced customer engagement, which improved customer loyalty. The VCC strengthened the link between online customer experience and customer engagement. It suggests that including consumers in co-creating a delightful online customer experience from time to time may be a valuable strategy for online retailers to increase customer engagement and loyalty. To create an overarching outcome, information integration theory (IIT), multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT), and the attitude-behavior-context theory (ABC) theories are converged to explain the proposed model in the study

Doing good for organization but feeling bad: when and how narcissistic employees get prone to shame and guilt

Abstract As competition for gaining high-profit margins and survival among organizations (in the situation caused by COVID-19) grows, the number of business scandals or unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPOB) increases simultaneously. The current study investigates the mediating role of employees' UPOB and the moderating role of organizational change between narcissism and guilt/shame. Data were collected from 272 employees of the Pakistani telecom sector using a temporally segregated research design based on three-time lags. The analysis was performed using the statistical software AMOS 20, SPSS 20, and MACRO PROCESS. The results found that vulnerable and grandiose narcissism could have an adverse impact on employees’ UPOB. This type of behavior mediates the relationship between vulnerable, grandiose narcissism and guilt/shame. In addition to this, organizational change moderates the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and UPOB. Lastly, in contrast, grandiose narcissism is negatively related to guilt and shame

Knowledge-based HRM and business process innovation in the hospitality industry

Abstract This study examines the impact of knowledge-based HR practices on business process innovation under the moderating role of Knowledge-Centered Organizational Culture (KCOC) and the mediating role of Absorptive Capacity (AC). Data was collected from the managers of hospitality firms via questionnaires from May to September 2022, using a quantitative data analytic process. The results demonstrate that formal and informal knowledge-based HR practices are vital to achieving business innovation performance with interpersonal AC mediating and KCOC moderating. The findings of our study provide research-based practical implications for various stakeholders and a significant theoretical contribution to fill the research gap in the literature. This research presents empirical insights that are applicable to the management of the hotel industry

Učinak visokih razina kroma i bakra na zdravlje i proizvodnost tovnih pilića tijekom tropskih ljetnih vrućina.

The effects of higher levels of chromium alone, and in combination with copper, were investigated in broiler chicks divided into seven equal groups. Group G served as control, receiving no treatment. Groups A, B and F received chromium chloride at a rate of 2 g/kg and nicotinic acid 150 mg/kg, while groups C, D and E received chromium chloride 8 mg/kg and nicotinic acid 150 mg/kg. Broilers in groups A and C received copper sulfate at a rate of 200 mg/kg, while groups B and D received 400 mg/kg feed. Both live and carcass mass showed non-significant difference between treatment groups and control during the treatment period. However, during the withdrawal period these were higher (P<0.05) in chromium-fed birds (alone and in combination). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was better in the treatment groups. Relative mass of liver to body mass during the first two weeks showed lower (P<0.05) values in birds fed low levels of chromium alone, or in combination with two levels of copper, and those fed high levels of both compounds, compared with control. At the third week the relative mass of liver to body mass was high in all treatment groups than in the control. Relative mass of lung to body mass showed a significant increase in birds fed higher levels of both chromium and copper during the early period, whereas it decreased significantly after the third week than in the control group. During the withdrawal period, relative mass of kidney, lung and heart to body mass were lower (P<0.05) in birds fed chromium alone. Relative heart mass to body mass during termination of treatment showed a significant relationship with relative liver (0.99, P<0.05) and lung (0.99, P<0.05) mass to body mass in the low chromiumfed group, while during the withdrawal period a significant relationship developed of relative heart mass with relative liver (0.99, P<0.05) and lung (0.78, P<0.05) mass to body mass in birds fed high chromium with high copper. Both gross and histological studies showed no change in any organ studied.Istražen je učinak većih razina samog kroma i u kombinaciji s bakrom na zdravlje i proizvodnost tovnih pilića. Pilići u skupinama A, B i F bili su hranjeni hranom u koju je bio umiješan krom u obliku krom klorida u količini od 2 g/kg te nikotinska kiselina u količini od 150 mg/kg. C, D i E skupine bile su hranjene hranom u koju je primiješan krom klorid u količini od 8 mg/kg te nikotinska kiselina u količini od 150 mg/kg. Pilićima skupine A i C bio je primiješan bakreni sulfat u dozi od 200 mg/kg, dok je skupinama B i D primiješan bakreni sulfat u dozi od 400 mg/kg. Težine pilića pokusnih skupina nisu se znatno razlikovale u odnosu na kontrolu, iako su u razdoblju bez primjene bile više u ptica hranjenih kromom odnosno onih kromom i bakrenim sulfatom. Konverzija hrane bila je bolja u pokusnih skupina u odnosu na kontrolu. Relativna težina jetre u odnosu na težinu tijela tijekom prva dva tjedna bila je niža (P<0,05) u svim skupinama bez obzira na razinu kroma i bakra. U trećem tjednu relativna težina jetre je porasla u svim pokusnim skupinama u odnosu na kontrolnu. Relativna težina pluća u odnosu na ukupnu težinu bila je veća nakon primjene visokih razina kroma i bakra u ranom razdoblju. Ona se znatno smanjila u trećem tjednu. Tijekom razdoblja uskraćivanja relativna težina bubrega, pluća i srca u odnosu na tjelesnu težinu bila je niža (P<0,005) u ptica koje su dobivale samo krom. Relativna težina srca u odnosu na tjelesnu težinu pri kraju primjene odgovarala je relativnoj težini jetre (0,99, P<0,05) i pluća (0,99, P<0,05) ptica u skupini koja je dobivala manje kroma. U razdoblju bez primjene uočena je povezanost relativne težine srca s relativnom težinom jetre (0,99, P<0,05 ) i pluća (0,78, P<0,05) u ptica hranjenih visokim razinama kroma i bakra. Patološkoanatomskom i histološkom analizom nisu dokazane nikakve promjene

Role of Business Intelligence in Banking Sector for Achieving Competitive Advantage- An Empirical Analysis

With recent advancements in information technology, organizations’ capability to acquire and analyze data for efficient decision making has increased. Good strategies promote alignment among processes and technology in use, which may result in better firm performance. However, there has been little focus on how firm strategies and business intelligence (BI) systems might play their part in forming organizational information and getting a competitive edge. Therefore, the purpose of conducting this study is to investigate the impact of firm strategy on firm competitive advantage with mediating role of BI adoption and moderating role of BI capabilities. For this, a quantitative research methodology was used, and data was collected from 300 middle-level managers in Pakistan’s telecom sector. Statistical tests such as descriptive statistics, correlation, reliability analysis, one-way ANOVA, confirmatory factor analysis, and mediation analysis through Hayes process were performed using SPSS and AMOS. The findings revealed a positive link between firm strategy and competitive advantage, with business intelligence adoption serving as a mediating factor. Business intelligence capabilities positively moderate the relationship between BI adoption and competitive advantage. Hence, all proposed hypotheses (H1, H2, and H3) were approved. The contribution and Limitation of the study are also discussed