Companies are reassessing outsourcing strategies in response to heightened competition, including COVID-19 impact. They are seeking ways to optimize competitive advantage through outsourcing while addressing concerns about dependence on suppliers. Our research reveals that industries that utilize outsourcing often do so to enhance their productivity levels, tapping into the productivity of supplier industries. The outsourcing rate plays a critical role in the client industry's capacity to focus on its core and essential activities and shield them from the influence of the supplier industry. In scenarios of low outsourcing rates, client industries typically engage in outsourcing when faced with low competition, [...]

In today’s competitive academic landscape, business schools increasingly rely on university service marketing to attract and retain students. In Karachi, where market saturation and cultural factors influence educational choices, understanding the effectiveness of such strategies is vital. Despite its relevance, research on the practical implementation of service marketing within Pakistan’s higher education sector remains limited. This study addresses that gap by examining how business schools in Karachi utilize service marketing and the challenges they face in doing so. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with 17 stakeholders, including program managers, marketing directors, and public relations officers. [...]

Organizational politics has become a common and inevitable part of modern organizations, in which people struggle for limited resources. This study employs implies social exchange theory to examine the moderating role of inclusive leadership in mitigating the negative impact of perceptions of organizational politics on employee commitment and citizenship behavior. It also hypothesizes that inclusive leadership buffers the effects of workplace politics. Data were collected from 347 full-time employees working in Pakistan’s the telecommunications sector using a quantitative approach. The data were analyzed through variance-based structural equation modeling using Smart PLS-4. The findings offer valuable insights revealing that inclusive leaders [...]

The research examines Sustainable Project Management (SPM) on Sustainable Project Success (SPS) in the healthcare sector. Project Team Attitude (PT) toward Sustainability is considered a mediating variable, and Stakeholder Engagement (STEG) is examined as a moderator between PT and SPS. The sample of 389 healthcare professionals related to projects in Pakistan was taken. By employing the PLS-SEM, the results indicate that all hypotheses are statistically significant. The sustainable success of a health project is improved by Sustainable aims, stringent planning, and adequate evaluation. Moreover, a positive team attitude to sustainability magnifies these effects, and stakeholder involvement strengthens the association between [...]

Artificial intelligence (AI) has altered business activities and their processes of evaluating consumer experiences and mapping their purchase journey. Myriad classes of big data have been employed along with diverse modes of investigation using machine learning. The research aims to review the studies on AI and consumer behavior (CB) identify the trends, patterns, and gaps in the research and present the future research agenda. By using a comprehensive dataset of 398 articles extracted from Scopus, we employ a hybrid review approach that includes statistical methods to analyze bibliographic data and a critical review of state-of-the-art literature on CB and AI. [...]

This study explores the influence of ambidextrous leadership and emotional intelligence in leaders on the development of employees' moral courage, which in turn fosters internal whistleblowing behavior within mid-to-large organizations. The study adopts a quantitative approach, analyzing survey data from 250 employees across mid-sized to large organizations to examine the impact of various leadership styles on moral courage and internal whistleblowing behavior. The results indicate that both ambidextrous leadership and emotional intelligence significantly enhance moral courage, which in turn plays a crucial role in motivating employees to report unethical behavior. The findings highlight moral courage as a key psychological mechanism [...]

This study delves into the relatively underexplored role of internal drivers of corporate sustainability within Pakistan's manufacturing sector. It aims to elucidate the relationship between internal corporate-sustainability drivers, firm practices, and performance. By leveraging empirical analysis, the research seeks to provide actionable insights for policymakers and organizations committed to worldwide sustainable development goals. The primary objective of this research is to examine the increasing viability of sustainable practices in manufacturing, propelled by technological innovations and advancements, stricter internal policy frameworks, and the growing influence of corporate social responsibility awareness. It also highlights the pivotal role of government support and the [...]

This study explores the factors that shape how women both in their households and professional roles make financial decisions. A mixed-method approach was used to answer the research questions. In the first phase, a survey was conducted to assess aspects such as financial support, personality traits, professional orientation, perceived risk, and financial knowledge. In the second phase, interviews were carried out with women from both household and professional backgrounds to understand their decision-making processes. Insights from these interviews were used to validate the chosen research questions and tools. Once validated, questionnaires were distributed to collect data. The findings reveal that [...]