English for Specific Purposes (ESP) teaching is considered a separate activity in the domain of English Language Teaching \cite{dudley1998developments}. ESP primarily aims to prepare and fulfill a set of the communicative needs of ESP learners in academic and professional contexts. These needs serve as a guide to design relevant course content and adopt appropriate teaching method with particular emphasis on the kind of English to be taught and the topics to be covered. The current study attempts to investigate through the perceptions of ESP teachers and ESP learners the effective role of subject matter specialists (henceforth SMSs) in the teaching [...]

This article presents the results of an investigation of the impact of celebrity-endorsed advertisement and entrepreneurial marketing on purchase behavior of smart phone consumers in Karachi, Pakistan. The study has conceptually shaped celebrity-endorsed advertisement as formative construct with celebrity physical attractiveness, expertise, trust, and familiarity as inclusive factors. For this purpose, total 247 sample responses were collected by convenience sampling technique. The data has been analyzed by PLS method. The results revealed that celebrity-endorsed advertisement and entrepreneurial marketing has a significant impact on purchase behavior. The study can be concluded that celebrity-endorsed advertisement and entrepreneurial marketing plays significant role in [...]

This study examines the relationships between antecedents of psychological safety at the individual, group and organizational level. The data was collected from a sample of eighty-four employees (i.e. teachers and non-teachers) working in a higher education institute (HEI) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by using a structured questionnaire. The data is analyzed with the help of correlation and regression analyses. The findings indicate that the individual level antecedents had a positive relationship with psychological safety except for adherence to norms, whereas both the group and organizational level antecedents were positively related with psychological safety. The study also discusses implications, limitations and [...]

The main aim of this research is to determine the impact of intellectual capital on the financial performance of banking sector operating in Sialkot Pakistan. Integrated intellectual capital model (IICM) was used to achieve the objective of the study. Structured questionnaire survey forms were used to collect the data from the targeted respondents. Purposive sampling technique was used to choose the targeted sample. A total of 210 out of 250 completed and usable questionnaires survey were returned. Six research hypotheses were constructed to address the objectives of this study. Smart PLS 3.0 was used to test the proposed research [...]

Considerable research has performed to link the individual development strategies into organizational performance, but less is known about the role of talent management and career development in enhancing the organizational effectiveness. In the current study, we investigate how talent management and career development direct or indirect effect organizational effectiveness. Moreover, the present study also pursues to test the mediating role of employee engagement in the association between talent management and organizational effectiveness, and career development and organizational effectiveness. Using the survey method, data was collected from permanent employees of commercial banks and the proposed model was tested through structural equation [...]

It is evident from the existing research that transformational leaders play a vital role in project success, but little is known about the channels that elaborate on this effect. To unveil one of these channels, this study supposed project teamwork as the mediator between transformational leadership and project success. To test the stated empirical relationship, data were obtained from 125 project managers working on various projects of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan. The results revealed that project teamwork partially mediates the relationship between project leadership and project success. The study has also discussed valuable implications including theoretical, practical [...]

Management either for their informative or opportunistic purposes mask the true financial information of firms which is known as earnings manipulation practices. However, in turn such practices lead to a higher cost of capital. Therefore, in this study examined the effect of earnings manipulation on cost of capital in 144 listed sample firms of Pakistan Stock Exchange for the period of 2006-2016. Used panel data approaches for analysis and the diagnostic tests procedures of panel models selection suggests that fixed effect model is the suitable model. The result reports that firms that indulge in the activities of earnings manipulation their [...]

Pakistan came into being as a truly democratic Islamic state, she was once a state with strong economy, stable government and policies. The golden principles of peace, liberty, and justice were preserved in its basic idea which led to the creation of an independent state. This research investigates the causes and impact of war against terrorism on Pakistan's economy, governance and social life. The data was collected through sources available on official websites, available literature were taken into consideration and by using a questionnaire from 320 respondents living in FATA area. Evidence is highlighted through tables, percentage values and graphs. [...]

In contrast to the much examined external factors as determinants of SME success, the present study brought focus on the entrepreneurial psychological context. This research examines the impact of individual entrepreneurial orientation on the success of SMEs in Pakistan. Moreover, this study emphasize the role of `action' as a linking bridge to psychological factors and entrepreneurial outcomes, through the role of action characteristics (access to finance, social network, exploration activities, and response performance). Based on 182 responses obtained through a stratified sample of manufacturing SMEs, multiple mediation analysis was used to test the mediation. The results indicated that individual entrepreneurial [...]

Perceived employability is the workers' perception of comfortably getting a recruitment opportunity. This paper investigates role breadth self-efficacy and organization based self-esteem as important antecedents of individuals' perceived employability and tests its subsequent relationship with their career success. We collected primary data from 233 respondents working into banking, insurance, and health industries sectors in southern Punjab Pakistan. The results reveal that individuals' role breadth self-efficacy and organization based self-esteem are positively related to their employability perception which further plays a mediating role in the relationship between self-efficacy and employee career success and self-esteem and employee career success. Important theoretical and [...]

Effective utilization of agricultural credit effects repaying behavior of farmers and in turn leads towards non-performing loans (NPLs). The NPLs decrease profitability of banks and decrease financial credibility and motivation of farmers. This paper aims to determine the factors which may influence delay in loan repayment among small scale farmers in Sahiwal zone, Pakistan. Proportionate random sampling technique has been adopted by which 110 defaulters were randomly selected from 11 branches of Zarai Taraqiati Bank (ZTBL), which is a leading agriculture development bank of Pakistan. In addition, 30 credit officers were selected from each branch of ZTBL. The primary data [...]

This research work addresses the issue of improving the tax-compliance behaviour of the small business owners. Theocratical framework of this paper is based on two theories, Slippery Slope framework and Theory of Planned Behaviour. With the help of these two theories the aim of this research is to explore the determinants of the tax-compliance behaviour and to improve the tax-payers behaviour specially of small business owners. Data was collected from 340 small business owners those were operative in major cities of Pakistan i.e. Karachi, Islamabad (Pindi), Lahore, Multan and Faisalabad. This study is significant as it can help the [...]

This research analyses the importance of recognizing cultural factors in order to shape CSR Perceptions of employees to derive higher levels of employee's engagement. Hofstede's five cultural dimensions were explored in Pakistani context through a thorough review of the literature on the relationship between national culture, CSR Perceptions and employee's engagement, which were then contextually presented in the form of a hypothesized model. Primary data collection was done by administering questionnaires to 192 employees from technological industry of Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using latest ADANCO Software was employed to statistically validate the relationship between the variables. [...]

This study investigates the role of training and development methods in improving the empowerment and professionalism among the banking industry of Pakistan. It also determines the comparison between the modern and traditional methods in private and public banks. Using purposive and convenient sampling techniques, total 380 responses were gathered from professionals working in the banking sector of Pakistan. The results showed in that private banks, professionalism and empowerment significantly get improved under modern methods in contrast with traditional methods at public banks. Moreover, findings also revealed that professionalism and empowerment are positively affected by the modern methods of training whereas [...]