The Saudi Arabian insurance sector has two distinctive features. First, major revenue for this sector comes from the mandatory medical and motor insurance. Second, this sector is dominated by a few companies which generally provide the same products in the sector. Therefore, a company may focus on providing better service quality in order to attain future growth and stability. High-quality service is essential to gain a competitive advantage in the insurance sector. In this context, the present study identifies a gap in assessing the quality of service in the insurance sector of Saudi Arabia, using the SERVPERF scale in particular. Structural Equation Modeling is used to assess the quality of service. The results indicate that SERVPERF is not adequate to measure service quality in the context of Saudi Arabia. In the process, this study opens a debate on, whether a universally acknowledged SERVPERF scale is suitable to apply in an environment where service is of mandatory nature.

This study aims to examine the effects of electronic word of mouth communication (eWOM) among consumers on purchase intention and brand image, specifically, Generation Y and Z groups in relation to smartphone brands. The study utilizes an empirical research model using data collected from 402 valid respondents among consumers who use smartphone brands in North Cyprus. The study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to explore and conduct the analysis. The results confirm the significant effects of eWOM on purchase intention through brand image and the moderating role of product type among eWOM, purchase intentions and brand image. The study also recommends that firms and marketers must concentrate on online communication channels to affect consumers’ intention toward purchasing brands and brand image. Moreover, the current study model suggests that future study can be extended in different context, countries (i.e. developed, emerging, developing), industries (i.e. banks, e-commerce, tourism) and different social me-dia platforms sites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter).

Present research is aimed to analyze the performance factors of flexible manufacturing systems by combined decision-making methodologies like analytical hierarchy process (AHP), combinatorial mathematics-based approach (CMBA) and improved ELECTRE. Six variables affecting the three factors of performance of flexible manufacturing systems viz. productivity, flexibility and quality are considered for the evaluation of performance factors. The weights of the attributes are calculated with AHP and the index score is calculated with CMBA methodology. CMBA methodology is the fusion of AHP and GTMA. ELECTRE approach has been used for the outranking of factors. The results show that productivity had the maximum impact on the performance of manufacturing systems. A high Spearman’s rank correlation also exists among the methods used.

Researching on the concept of work life balance (WLB) becomes imperative for any organization in order to enhance performance efficiency especially the sector concerned. This empirical research is focused on investigating the effect of work-life balance on the performance of money deposit banks in south-south region of Nigeria. In reviewing literature, the study explores alternative work ar-rangement and managerial support as dimensions of work like balance (the predicting variable), and performance as a criterion variable used for goal attainment as measure. 2562 staff of 12 banks spanning through six states was used as population size. Cochran sample size determination statistical technique was used to determine 485 sample size for the study. Questionnaire was used to col-late data and was analyzed with Simple Linear Regression and Pearson product moment correlation with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 17.0 windows). The result shows that work life balance demonstrated a great significant effect on the performance of money deposit banks as the dimensions alternative work arrangement such as compress work weeks, telecommut-ing, flexi time, job sharing and managerial supports predict employee goal attainment. Based on the findings, the study recommends that management should judiciously adopt and implement alternative work arrangement in order to offer a family-friendly atmosphere to attract and retain qualified employees to increase productivity.

Nowadays digitalization is an important topic for businesses and government agencies. There are important reports publishing about digitalization or digital transformation. This study aims to meas-ure the relative efficiency of digital transformation among EU Countries based on data envelopment analysis (DEA). The necessary data are extracted from Digital Transformation Scoreboard 2018 published by European Commission. DEA is one of popular methods for measuring the relative efficiency of similar units. This study empirically proposes an alternative ranking for countries with respect to digital transformation efficiency by using “enablers and output” approach of Digital Transformation Scoreboard. Digital Infrastructure, Investment and Access to Finance, Supply and Demand of Digital Skills, E-Leadership and Entrepreneurial Culture are considered as input while ICT start-ups and Digital Transformation are considered as the output of DEA model. The results indicate that while some countries like Denmark, Italy and United Kingdom are considered relatively efficient, Netherland and Germany are not very efficient according to our results.

This research is conducted for assessing the relationship between disclosure levels of environmental accounting information and financial performance. Data were collected from the firms listed in Vietnam from 2013 to 2017, including the firms disclosed and the ones did not disclose the environmental accounting information. The study uses two regression models to investigate the rela-tionship between environmental accounting information and return on assets. The results indicate that there was a close relationship between disclosure level of environmental accounting information and financial performance. In addition, there was a difference in terms of financial performance between the firms had not disclosed environmental accounting information and the ones disclosed the environmental accounting information.

This paper presents a statistical process control (SPC) chart for variables in a new feature for the paper machine in the paper industry. The traditional control charts like X-bar and R charts may be inadequate sometimes when the process exhibits abnormal situations which could lead to false decisions. When we are interested in detecting small shifts, Exponentially Weighted Moving average (EWMA) control chart provides the correct picture to make right decisions without affecting the process unnecessarily. This study is aimed at designing EWMA control chart in paper manufacturing process.

The development in internet technologies provides various innovative business opportunities and creates competitiveness among the electronic marketers in online marketing. The satisfaction of customers in e-purchase depends on various problems and facilities which are prevailing in the online market. The study was conducted with the aim of analyzing and ranking the problems of customers in online purchase. The study also examined the relationship between the demographic variables and problems faced by online customers. The data was collected from 512 online customers who are living in Bengaluru city, Karnataka through questionnaires during the month of August 2018. Garret ranking was used to find out the ranking distribution pattern of customers in online purchase. The problems ‘product variation’ and ‘faulty products’ have been quoted as the major problems faced by the online customers irrespective of the demographic their profile. The ranking pattern of the third major problem ‘delay in delivery’ differs with respect to education and customers’ income. The ranking pattern for the problem ‘fake website’ was significantly different with respect to gender, age and education of customers.

Sustainability risk management (SRM) is an approach that manages the broad spectrum of risks arising from sustainability issues such as climate change, resource depletion and natural catastrophes. SRM is an extension to Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) that aims to maximize environmental, social and economic performances for a company’s survival. In an SRM practice, knowledge management is a strategic resource for companies to sustain in the rapidly-evolved business environment. It provides a solution to address the unknown risks associated with environmental complexity. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine the moderating effect of knowledge management on the relationship between SRM critical factors (ERM bases and organizational resil-ience) and company survival among public listed companies (PLCs) in Malaysia. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique is used to analyze the hypothetical model which is developed in this study. The result shows that knowledge management moderates the relationship between organizational resilience and company survival. This finding signifies that knowledge management is an important strategic resource to assist companies to develop effective risk management strategy. This will lead to better decision-making and risk controls which influence stakeholder value and company reputation. The study also finds that ERM bases and organiza-tional resilience were significant towards company survival. Companies with strong ERM bases such as procedures, infrastructure and methods have higher chances of successful SRM implemen-tation. Organizational resilience refers to the ability of a company to manage crises and disaster risks, which is crucial for a company’s survival. This study has both theoretical and practical implications. The result of this study provides relevant insights on the value of knowledge management to meet stakeholder expectations. It also provides a better understanding of the relationship between SRM implementation, its critical factors and company survival.

This study aims to examine the entrepreneurial orientation (EO) of the Small Rural Business (SRB) entrepreneurs in Malaysia by taking Business Networking (BN) as the antecedent. BN is used to explain the influence of EO as a mediator and its’ consequences towards SRB Business Sustaina-bility (BS). The survey method was employed in this study and the data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) multivariate data analysis. Based on the SEM analysis, it can be concluded that in this study, the relationship between BN and BS was not mediated by EO. However, BN has direct effect towards EO. Moreover, EO and BN were significant as predictors towards BS. Size, age and technology of SRB were used as control variables in this study.