Impact of universities’ partnerships on students’ sustainable entrepreneurship intentions: A comparative study

This study investigated the impact of entrepreneurial attitude, perceived desirability, and perceived feasibility on sustainable entrepreneurship intentions under the moderating impact of entrepreneurial passion among undergraduate students of Malaysia. It was a quantitative study that compared two groups of students, i.e., Group A, comprised of students who have studied entrepreneurship modules and whose programmes did not offer any dual/triple award degrees and Group B, made up of students who have studied entrepreneurship modules and whose programmes offered dual/triple award degrees. Data were collected from 542 undergraduate students of universities located in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor through survey questionnaire. WarpPLS Software version 7.0 was used to analyse the data. The findings of this study revealed that Group B students’ entrepreneurial attitude, perceived desirability, and perceived feasibility positively and significantly impacted the sustainable entrepreneurship intentions under the moderating impact of entrepreneurial passion. However, the impact of entrepreneurial attitude was found positive and significant on sustainable entrepreneurship intentions among students of Group A and entrepreneurial passion was found to be significant moderator to improve the impact of only entrepreneurial attitude and perceived desirability on sustainable entrepreneurship intentions but not for the impact of perceived feasibility on sustainable entrepreneurship intentions among these students. Moreover, the direct impacts of perceived desirability and perceived feasibility were also found non-significant on sustainable entrepreneurship intentions among Group A students. The findings reveal that universities having partnership with other overseas’ universities may offer high quality entrepreneurship modules due to which their students have high entrepreneurial passion and develop more entrepreneurial attitudes, and are more willing and capable to start their own businesses as compared to students of other local universities who have no partnership with overseas’ universities

Gold prices and Nifty – Unravelling of an intricately interwoven nexus

With the ever-changing financial architecture prevalent in the economy and opening up of new vistas of financial engineering highlighting the financial inclusion and education schemes coupled with introduction of new financial instruments, India has been able to widen the net of investments either domestic or foreign direct. The scope of investment by individuals though hovers around safe avenues such as gold, the increasing trend of investment in stock markets cannot be ruled out. However, the euphoria and dysphoria associated with up rises and down falls in stock market prices, whether it is consequent to global recessionary factors or domestic political and economic scenario, often pulls or drives away investors to or from the stock markets, especially in the short run. Besides the influence of macroeconomic factors on stock prices, the influence of gold prices on stock prices has spurred the inquisitiveness of researchers all over the world. This paper presents the intricately interwoven nexus that can be established between gold prices in India and the vibrant National Stock Exchange index Nifty50. Published historical stock index data and historical movements in the gold price per gram in Indian Rupees obtained from official websites of National Stock Exchange (NSE), India and World gold Council are used to build and develop econometric models. The experiments to identify the dynamics and intricacies of nexus between the variables establishes the impact of gold price on stock market index Nifty vis-à-vis their short-run and long-run causal relationshi

The influence of knowledge-based HRM practices on productivity of knowledge workers: A Study on Malaysian universities

Knowledge workers have contributed significantly to the development of nations. There are various researches that extensively recognized the positive impact of knowledge-based HRM practices on knowledge worker's productivity. While there are studies regarding knowledge-based HRM practices across different countries and industries, however, there is dearth of research regarding the impact of knowledge-based HRM practices on universities' knowledge workers. Therefore, the aim of this current study was to fill up the gap by analysing the influence of various knowledge-based HRM practices on the productivity of knowledge workers in universities. This study investigated HRM practices namely knowledge-based recruiting practices, knowledge-based training and development practices, knowledge-based performance appraisal practices and knowledge-based compensation practices on the quality and quantity of the productivity of knowledge workers. Herzberg's Two-Factor Theory, Expectancy Theory, and MacGregor's Theory X and Theory Y were used as underpinning theories to support the proposed conceptual model. Eight hypotheses were developed based on the proposed research model and standard instrument was used to obtain data. By employing non-probability sampling method, a total of 129 knowledge workers in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur participated in survey. The data were collected at one point of time across the sample population. The data obtained were assessed using SPSS and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). Results revealed the positive and significant influence of knowledge-based recruiting practices and knowledge-based compensation practices on quality and quantity of knowledge workers' productivity. Knowledge-based training and development practices were found to have their positive and significant impact on quantity of knowledge workers' productivity but not on quality of knowledge workers' productivity. Additionally, knowledge-based performance appraisal was not found to have its positive as well as significant impact on quality and quantity of knowledge worker's productivity

Impact of green training on environmental performance through mediating role of competencies and motivation

This work aims to examine the impact of green training on green environmental performance through the mediating role of green competencies and motivation on the adoption of green human resource management. The convenience sampling technique was employed to collect data through an online survey undertaken at public and private universities in Malaysia. The analyses were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) v.25 and Smart PLS v.3 software, with the aim of testing the predefined hypotheses. It was revealed that green training has a significant impact on green environmental performance, and all six dimensions of green competencies, namely, skills, abilities, knowledge, behavior, attitude and awareness, were also green motivations. Both green competencies and motivations positively and significantly mediated the relationship between green training and environmental performance

The predators assuage to the prey – The effectiveness of CSR initiatives of companies in Kerala

The dimensions of the triangular relationship between companies, the state and the society has been rapidly transforming ever since the dawn of the present millennium and firms can no longer continue to act as independent entities regardless of the interest of the general public. The relationship between companies and society has been evolving from that of philanthropic coexistence to that where the mutual interest of all the stakeholders is given paramount importance. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become one of the key elements of sustainable business. An examination of the present status of corporate social responsibility (CSR) would be an ideal starting ground for the conceptual development of suitable corporate business practices for emerging markets. Kerala, has achieved social and educational development comparable to most Western nations and has been acclaimed worldwide for its Kerala model of development though this achievement is not yet matched by industrial growth or economic development. With over a thousand companies registered and head quartered within the state coupled with many national and international ones operating in the state, will this regulatory mandate on CSR spending be a shot in the arm in social development of the state is a question that seeks answer from various quarters. The combined CSR spending in Kerala by all the qualified entities put together will work out to be around Rs 350 core to Rs 400 crore. It is in the backdrop, the study examined the CSR effectiveness of seven drivers namely regulatory compliances, brand reputation, employee interests, community concerns, investor interests, environmental interests and sustainability initiatives as identified by companies in Kerala in design and implementation of their CSR initiatives. The study relied on structural equation modelling based on partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) using data collected from 91 executives, who are directly involved in CSR planning and implementation. The first order constructs as mentioned as drivers of CSR were modelled with five measured variables each and the second order construct namely effectiveness of CSR was evaluated using standardised construct scores of the first-order constructs as indicators. The results of analysis revealed that overall model fit was adequate, and all the drivers of CSR showed a high coefficient of determination of more than 0.43 except the employee interests which showed an R-squared of only 0.32. The dependent variable namely sustainability where all the other 6 drivers converge showed an R-square of 0.70

The impact of responsible leadership on knowledge sharing behavior through the mediating role of person−organization fit and moderating role of higher educational institute culture

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of responsible leadership on knowledge sharing behavior. Furthermore, we investigated the mediating role of person-organization fit in the relationship between responsible leadership and knowledge sharing behavior. Moreover, higher educational institute culture moderates the relationship between responsible leadership and person-organization fit. The data collected from 295 respondents (teachers, head of department and management staff) from universities located in different cities of China. The data were gathered at one time, and therefore, the study is cross-sectional. Because of COVID-19, there have been a few universities closed; therefore, data were also collected online. The data were analyzed quantitatively using the partial least squares (PLS)−structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The result indicated that responsible leadership is positively and significantly influential on knowledge sharing behavior directly, and also indirectly through mediator person-organization fit. Also, the higher educational institute culture positively and significantly moderates the relationship between responsible leadership and person-organization fit

The impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on the education sector

The COVID-19 outbreak has prevented students from contributing towards the economic growth of Pakistan. It first disrupted the education system in China and later entered Pakistan to close all levels of educational institutions/sectors since the middle of March 2020. This study aims to highlight the COVID-19 outbreak’s effects on educational sector in Pakistan. Pakistan’s overall public sector expenditure as a percentage of GDP before the pandemic was already low as compared to regional level, but due to the pandemic, it has dropped down significantly. This study seeks to answer two important questions: (1) What are the impacts of COVID-19 outbreak on Pakistan? (2) Will the closure of educational institutions impact the economic growth of Pakistan? According to empirical and theoretical findings, the results show that the lack of school education for a long period of time will contribute towards unskilled human capital. The COVID-19 outbreak has impacted student learning activities, which may increase the dropout rates, loss of mental health, and consequently, may impact the economic growth of Pakistan later

The nexus between global disruption due to the covid-19 and performance of the construction project

In the current COVID-19 pandemic, this paper attempts to empirically find out the increasing workplace bullying effect on project performance with employee deviant behaviour as a mediator, internal, and external locus of control as moderators. The random sampling technique was used to gather data from 777 employees, working in construction companies in Pakistan. The examination was established using WarpPLS software version 7.0. The results revealed that workplace bullying is positively associated with employee deviant behaviour which in return negatively affects the project performance. It can be inferred from the results that the “moderating role” of internal “locus of control” is insignificant; whereas the external “locus of control” significantly moderates the relationship between workplace bullying & employee deviant behaviour. The proposed research and hypotheses support social exchange theory and social behaviour exchanges. This study has clarified some unique points that are equally important for the managers, employees, and project-based construction organization as a whole. It is also recommended that once the pandemic COVID-19 passes, it would be the dire need of that time to re-evaluate that, what has been changed in terms of professional thinking, working & behaving as for as their project work and communication between the team members is concerned

Does governance in information technology matter when it comes to organizational performance in Pakistani public sector organizations? Mediating effect of innovation

Information technology governance (ITG) is recognized as a vital organizational ability to exploit opportunities for innovation and enhance organizational performance. However, the potential of ITG for public sector innovation and performance has not been fully grasped in Pakistani public sector organizations (PakPSOs). This study has presented an explanatory model to investigate the mediating effect of innovation in the relationship between ITG and organizational performance in PakPSOs. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM)–based hierarchical component modeling approach has applied to analyze the model by taking sample data from 97 PakPSOs. The results revealed that ITG positively affected innovation and organizational performance. Innovation positively affected organizational performance. Innovation partially mediated the relationship between ITG and organizational performance. The study corroborates the strategic use of information technology (IT) to enhance innovation and organizational performance in this context. The study contributes to the existing knowledge base through a new theoretical model and promotes academic rigor. The results are also significant for the practice as they can help to achieve organizational performance in terms of operational efficiency, transparency in costs and results, planning and decision making, performance monitoring and control, and collaboration and synergy. The other countries operating in a similar environment can also take the benefit of this study

Expert consensus on the management of acne in India

Acne, a common cutaneous disorder, is estimated to affect a significant proportion of the population at some point in their lifetime. It is one of the most common presentations reported in dermatological consultations in India. Treatment options for acne include topical, oral and procedural therapies. Patients with mild acne can be treated with topical therapies; however, those with moderate to severe acne require systemic cure. Oral antibiotic treatment, hormonal therapies and isotretinoin are the mainstay systemic therapies for acne. Additionally, procedural therapeutic modalities in dermatology include chemical peels, laser therapy, micro needling techniques, to name a few. Scientific advances are continually improving knowledge of acne and contributing to refinement of treatment options. Hence, it is vital for clinicians to regularly update their clinical practice patterns to reflect current standard. An experts’ panel discussion involving dermatologists from across India was conducted, to outline a practical approach for the management of acne. The present consensus document focuses on the assessment of acne, use of topical treatments, role of systemic therapy and procedures in treating acne and post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. It also emphasizes the role of patient education and counselling on prophylactic and treatment strategies in acne management