Women-Empowerment is one of the most crucial challenge in Pakistan. Pakistani women are con-tributing only 25-30% in nation’s economy which is quite low as compared with other developed as well as developing countries such as United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Ma-laysia, China, Indonesia and India. To address this problem, the primary objective of this study was to examine the role of microfinance institutions in women-empowerment. Moreover, moderating role of vulnerability was also examined. Quantitative research approach and cross-sectional research design were adopted. Data were collected from the female clients of microfinance institutes in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. Survey was conducted to collect the data and questionnaires were dis-tributed by using area cluster sampling. SmartPLS (SEM) was used to analyze the data. It was found that non-financial services of microfinance institutes such as training/skill development pro-grams and social capital development had positive contributions towards women-empowerment. Moreover, vulnerability moderated the relationship between social capital and women empowerment. Thus, this study contributed in the body of literature by investigating vulnerability as moderating variable. Hence, this study is beneficial for microfinance institutes to enhance women-empowerment through training/skill development and social capital development.


This article has been retracted.

Six Sigma approach is based on decreasing defects and variations in the products and processes, and it provides important benefits to healthcare organizations. This study aims to identify managers’ opinions, who work in private healthcare organizations, about the reasons behind not using Six Sigma in their organizations. The research was performed between December 2016 and March 2018 in private healthcare organizations (private hospitals and medical centers) operating in Turkey and not using Six Sigma approach. Data were collected from managers, who have knowledge about Six Sigma, through using surveys. In this study, survey methodology was used to collect data. According to the results, the biggest barrier related to not using Six Sigma is based on the lack of knowledge about Six Sigma. The other important barrier about the diffusion of Six Sigma within this organizations is related to the lack of support from top management and leaders. Another finding about the reasons of not applying Six Sigma approach is that there is not a statistically significant difference among managers in terms of their managerial position. In order to overcome the lack of knowledge about Six Sigma, it is advised that managers should take steps in the direction of promoting Six Sigma within their current organization, and provide necessary support and leadership about the process.

Rapid economic changes and globalization have triggered urgent response from firms to devise ef-fective strategies in improving performance and ensuring long-term survival. This study examined the influence of environmental strategy and competitive advantage on business performance. Subsequently, it determined the different effects of environmental strategy and competitive advantage on business performance. This cross-sectional study involved a total of 222 hotel managers as respondents. Data in the study was obtained via self-administered questionnaires. Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis was used to test the hypotheses of study. Findings of this study revealed the significant and positive effects of environmental strategy and competitive advantage on business performance. Competitive advantage has been found to contribute towards a higher variance on business performance than environmental strategy. Results obtained have proven the robustness of the theory applied in this study to explain the business performance of the tourism industry in the context of a developing country. The results close the gaps in previous research findings that will add to the current body of knowledge.

n this era of industrialization, it is very difficult for firms to develop and sustain the competitive advantage. Industrial competition spread so rapidly worldwide, which neglect the differentiation of products and it is very difficult to sustain the competitive advantage in the market. Large economies capture the maximum world market and give tough time to small economies such as Iraq. Thus, the primary aim of the current study is to present a comprehensive theoretical framework for competitive advantage, which leads to better firm performance. Many studies have highlighted the area of competitive advantage of the firms, however, in a rare instance, literature has reported limited discussion on sustainable competitive advantage, especially in the context of Iraq. This research gap formulated four hypotheses, which are proposed the relationship between empowerment strategy, organizational learning and competitive advantage. The pick and drop method was adopted to distribute the questionnaires among four hundred manufacturing firms of Iraq. The results of the current study found a positive and significant relationship between empowerment, organizational learning and competitive advantage. Furthermore, the current study found a significant relationship be-tween empowerment strategy and organizational learning. Moreover, organizational learning was found the main contributory factor between empowerment strategy and competitive advantage in Iraq industrial context. This work contributes to the consistency of knowledge by developing a comprehensive theoretical account to build and sustain the competitive advantage of Iraq industry. Hence, the current work is helpful for sustainable competitive advantage of companies to achieve the highest firm performance.

The field of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has been growing very exponentially over the past decade. There are continuous opposing views of the role of the firms in society and disagree-ments as to whether wealth maximization should be the sole goal of any corporations out there. With Insurance companies facing and fulfilling in the intense demand of diverse stakeholders, this study explores the impact of CSR disclosures on Financial Performance among the listed domestic-owned companies in Malaysian insurance sector. Although CSR is a hot topic in Malaysia and throughout various industries, no detailed study has been conducted to ascertain whether Malaysian insurance companies derive any benefits therefrom. The study examines the impact of CSR on financial performance using an extensive content analysis method on annual reports from 13 domestic-owned Malaysian insurance companies over the past 9 years (2008-2017). The content analysis data is further transformed into GRI CSR Disclosure Index table before matching the findings against the Financial Performance indicators (return on assets (ROA), return on equities (ROE) and earnings per share (EPS)). The relationship between CSR and ROA, ROE and EPS is tested using correlation analysis. The results indicate significant relationship between CSR disclosure and Financial Performance; designates CSR has significant impact on ROA; whereas relationship between CSR and ROE & EPS is found to be insignificant. The study suggests and indicates that insurance companies in Malaysia ought to carry out efforts continually in a bigger scale so that their CSR activities are more aligned with the reporting regulatory standards as well as to bring a positive impact in the current prospect. In addition, the remedial action proposed by Bursa Malaysia from year 2016 is expected to improve the findings of this study and bring a tremendous improvement to the exiting regulatory guidelines.

Many financial crisis are related to public corporations, which are increasing. Many investors and creditors are having trouble predicting a financial crisis, especially when managing profits. Recent studies identify the factors associated with earnings management to determine the relationship between the factors and manipulated profits. In order to reduce the risk of financial crises and to help investors avoid large losses in the stock market, it is necessary to develop a model for predicting profit management. In addition, for traditional auditing technologies, it is also difficult to limit the time, human resources, costs, and the impact of abnormal behaviors on complex and large financial information. Therefore, developing a prediction model for managing profits for auditors is useful in identifying the degree of manipulation in financial statements. This paper examines the effect of corporate financial distress on unpredicted net earnings and corporate profits on accepted companies in Tehran Stock Exchange over the period 2010-2015. The models used to test the hypotheses of the research are linear regression using panel data. The results show that the coefficients of the financial distress, institutional ownership, annual sales growth, company loss, company size, the company's market share and firm fixed costs are statistically meaningful. In other words, these independent variables influence on unforeseeable profit and earnings management.

This study examines the predictive factors of job performance involving work stress, social support and emotional intelligence. Using two stage cluster random sampling, data were collected from 424 police in Selangor, who responded to Police Stress Questionnaire (PSQ), Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), Emotional Intelligence Self-Description Inventory (EISDI) and Formal Performance Appraisals. The findings show that work stress, social support and emotional intelligence were significantly correlated with police job performance. In addition, regression analysis reveals that emotional intelligence was the most significant predictor of job performance. Implication of this study indicates the important of emotional intelligence in enhancing job performance among police per-sonnel in Selangor. The paper concludes by highlighting future research directions which can offer a more comprehensive study in predicting job performance particularly in the context of Malaysia.

This study examines the role of social support in the relationship between work family conflict (work to family; WFC & family to work; FWC) and family satisfaction for private sector employees. Using simple random sampling, data were collected from 260 employees from eight private companies in Terengganu, who responded to the Job Content Questionnaire, Work Family Conflict Scale and Family Satisfaction Scale. Results indicate that both WFC and FWC had significant relationships with family satisfaction. The results of the regression analysis confirmed that FWC was a significant predictor of employees’ family satisfaction. However, social support did not buffer the relationship between work family conflict and family satisfaction. Implication of this study indicates that the organizations need to emphasize the effective strategies of development and implementation for work family balance in improving family satisfaction among employees. The suggestions for future research are also addressed, especially in the Malaysian context.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the difference between the brand selection decisions before and after the ad serving and to examine the impact of attitude, which is owned by the consumer before the ad, to the changes in consumer decisions in the selection of the brand. This study was conducted using causal research design. The sampling method used was non-probabilistic sampling and sample size of 540, consisting of 270 users for brand Pantene and 270 users for brand Rejoice. The results of this study indicate that the attitude of consumers before ad serving had an influence on several changes in the selection decision. This research is important for marketers to continuously understand consumer attitudes, by knowing the type of information on the brand owned by the consumer, the ability of consumer groups in information processing, and the ownership of motivation to process the information.

The factors affecting the success of knowledge management (KM) tools play an important role in knowledge processes. This research investigates the factors affecting the success of KM tools in the research projects of a corporate university. The research method is descriptive and the statistical population of the study consisted of all professors and knowledge workers of a university. 147 of them were selected through a targeted sampling method. Data collection was conducted through a questionnaire. To determine the validity of the questionnaire, content and formal validity were used and its reliability was calculated by using Cronbach's alpha with the value calculated of 0.83. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, t-test and Friedman test. In this study, the factors of culture, information technology, strategy and goal, organizational infrastructure, employee motivation, leadership and management support, human resources management, education, financial resources, measurement, processes and activities, structure and communications in the knowledge management cycle of research projects of the university studied were identified as the effective factors in the KM cycle.