The study is aimed at assessing the opinions of vital Islamic banking stakeholders including members of various Islamic banking Shariah Supervisory Boards (SSBs) and pertinent personnel from Pakistan’s central bank – The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The research analyzes the percepts of respondents regarding various aspects relevant to Islamic banking (IB) products, service and objectives. The paper employs qualitative research approach in analyzing the Shariah and regulatory experts’ viewpoints regarding Islamic banking. The study is conducted using semi-structured interviews of twelve Shariah supervisors and nine SBP staff members serving in the Islamic banking department and Islamic banking focus groups in the regional/field offices of the State Bank of Pakistan. The study is of pioneering nature involving qualitative research design and inclusion of two of the most significant stakeholder groups from the Islamic banking sector of Pakistan who have not been included in the past studies regarding Islamic banking perceptions. The research findings highlighted that Shariah objectives are top priority of Islamic banks as per the views expressed by members of Shariah boards of various banks while in opinion of Islamic banking regulators, Islamic banks’ major concern is to achieve their business objectives.

Keywords: Islamic Banking, Islamic Finance, Pakistan, Products, Perceptions, Shariah Compliance.

The purpose of this study is to determine the role of anchoring bias in the economic and financial information. An experiment involving the business students is carried out by providing them information about recent economic and financial anchors about stock market, index returns, inflation and exchange rates in groups where one groups is exposed to some relevant anchors. In the first group, which is the “control group” the participants were given no relevant information and were asked to give their best estimate for all the respective indicators. In the second group the “anchoring group” participants were asked the same questions but are provided indicator anchors to deduce their anchoring estimates, for instance the current value of KSE-100 index is provided, and the respondents were asked to predict the current value of KSE-30 index. The results show that there is significant degree of anchoring bias for each of the questions and it is higher for males as compare to females. Similarly, the respondents when exposed to relevant anchors show significant anchoring bias than for irrelevant anchors.

Keywords: Anchoring Bias, Relevant Anchoring, Irrelevant Anchoring, Perceived Relevance, Financial Indicators.

The present study is based on the Process Model of Time Management by Macan (1994). The study aimed to examine the mediating role of perceived control of time between time management behaviour and psychological outcomes among university teachers. Data of university teachers (N = 300) was collected through Time Management Behaviour Scale, Perceived Control of Time Scale, Warwick Edinberg Mental Well-being Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, In Role Performance Scale and Role Overload Scale. Regression analysis explained that perceived control of time mediated between time management behaviour and well-being among university teachers. Perceived control of time mediated between time management behaviour and stress among university teachers. Perceived control of time mediated between time management behaviour and job satisfaction among university teachers. Similarly, perceived control of time mediated between time management behaviour and job performance among university teachers. The study has both theoretical as well as applied significance. The findings confirmed the underlying theoretical assumptions of the Process Model of Time Management Overall the findings are valuable in the fields of educational and organizational psychology.

Keywords: Time Management Behaviour, Perceived Control of Time, Well-Being, Scale, Job Satisfaction, Job Performance, Role Overload.

This study sought to ascertain the impact of corporate governance on dividend decisions of non-financial firms listed on Pakistan stock exchange (PSX). Panel data was collected from 2011to 2016. Data was collected from Non financial firms annual reports and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data base. The STATA software was used to analyze the data. The study investigates the association of firm’s performance and corporate governance. Specifically, this study investigate dividend decision (dividend per share(DPS)), corporate governance (board independence ,board size, size of firm, leverage, profitability, Insider ownership, individual ownership, and institutional ownership). A total of 42 non-financial firms are used to determine this relationship. The results show a positive significant relation between the Profitability, individual ownership with DPS. This study also found a negative and significant relationship between insiders ownership, financial institution ownership with DPS. It has also been found that Board independence, board size, firm size and leverage have negative and insignificant relationship with dividend per share (DPS).

Keywords: Corporate Governance, Dividend Decisions, Dividend Policy.

The aim of this paper was to study the impact of intrinsic rewards on loyalty of employees working in restaurants situated in district Swat. This cross-sectional study was quantitative in nature and used non-probability sampling of 202 employees from restaurants. The self-administered questionnaire included demographic section, the intrinsic rewards and Swat Loyalty Scale (SLS). The data was analysed by applying Pearson Correlation and Regression. The results of the study confirmed a positive and significant relationship between intrinsic rewards and employee loyalty of employees working in restaurants. This study contributes to the employee loyalty Literature and, more specifically, to the relationship between intrinsic rewards and loyalty in the restaurants sector of district Swat. The outcome of the study draws the attention of decision makers to the importance of intrinsic rewards and its impact on the employee loyalty.

Keywords: Intrinsic Rewards, Employee Loyalty, Swat Loyalty Scale, Restaurants.

The main objective of the firm is to maximize the shareholder’s wealth; to achieve this objective the management indulge the earnings information by manipulation practices such practices reduce investors’ confidence. Furthermore, a hypothetical dispute recommends that a better quality of financial reporting reduce the information asymmetry, by refining the corporate governance compliance, result in reducing earnings management practices. Thus the main aim of this study is to explore the impact of corporate governance on earnings management by using panel data sample of 257 non-financial firms listed in Pakistan stock exchange for the period of 2012 to 2019 through Fixed effect model along with control variables. The results disclose that the CG system of Pakistan negatively and significantly impacts the EM activities of the companies registered in Pakistan stock exchange. Hence, concludes that the CG system is more effective to prevent the EM process. The entire results are seamless with prior research work that the effective CG scheme of the firms controls the EM and collapse of businesses.

Keywords: Earnings Management, Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance Index.

The present research investigated moderating role of decision-making situations between leadership styles and decision-making styles in services providing organizations of Pakistan. The study was based on Full Range Leadership Theory of Bass and Reggio (2006) which comprise of three leadership styles including transformational, transactional, and laissez faire style. The study incorporated five decision-making styles including rational, intuitive, dependent, avoidant, and spontaneous style. The study comprised of three decision-making situations including certainty, risk and uncertainty. Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, Decision Situations Scale and General Decision-making Styles Questionnaire were administered on 1200 employees. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that certainty moderated between transformational style and rational style. Uncertainty moderated between transformational style and spontaneous style. Certainty moderated between transactional leadership and rational style. Uncertainty moderated between laissez faire and dependent, avoidant decision-making style. Overall, the present study contributes to style, situational and contingency theories of leadership.

Keywords: Decision-Making Situations, Leadership Styles, Decision-Making Styles.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of employee’s perception of HRM system strength and high performance work practices based on ability enhancing, motivation focused and opportunity creating practices on affective commitment. Furthermore, this paper explores the mediation effect of the line manager's ability, motivation, and opportunity to implement human resource practices between the high performance work practices, perception of HRM system strength, and affective commitment. This study is based on a quantitative research design. Data collected from 761 bank employees from different branches of private banks in Pakistan. A structural equational modeling technique was used to analyse the data. The result supported the positive impact of ability, motivation, and opportunity enhancing high performance work practices and HRM system strength on affective commitment. However, the mediation results indicated partial acceptance. The findings of this paper are expected to encourage researchers to be more thoughtful about the connection between these variables.

Keywords: High Performance Work Practices, HRM System Strength, Line Manager Role, AMO Framework, SHRM Practices.

The paper focuses on analyzing the relationship between learning organization and employee engagement in the education sector. Data was collected from a sample of 221 faculty members of HEIs in Peshawar, Pakistan. Pearson Coefficient correlation analysis was used for analysis, the result of which suggested a significant relationship between learning organization and employee engagement. The study provides insights into how faculty members will be more committed and involved if they are given a culture of learning and support, where they feel valued.

Keywords: Learning Organization, Employee Engagement, Higher Education Institution.

The purpose of this review paper is to present the application of herding behavior in online buying. The simplest description of herding behavior is the imitation of others in making decisions. Online buying platforms have facilitated observing others' buying behavior, thereby increasing possibilities of social influence on our information search, evaluation, and buying. The concept of herding is multi-disciplinary; however, the literature review on herding behavior is mainly grounded in economics and finance. There is little understanding of herding behavior in marketing literature. Therefore, this study covers herding behavior literature through high-quality research papers published from 2000 to 2020 in journals indexed in the social science citation index, science citation index expanded, and emerging source citation index. This paper discusses the conceptualization of herding in online buying, herding situations, information-processing view of herding, measuring herding effect, herding models and theories, and areas for future research to enrich herding literature in online buying. This paper proposes a herding model (HCMMD) based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory to study herding behavior.

Keywords: Consumer Herding Behavior, Herding Literature Review, Herding Models, Online Buying, Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) Theory.

The study examined the relationship between emotional intelligence, emotional regulation and emotional expressivity in employees. Present study was descriptive research based on survey research design conducted in various offices situated in Sargodha. Data from A purposive sample of employees (N =200) was collected using three scales. Results revealed significant relationship between emotional intelligence, emotional regulation and emotional expressivity in employees.: The finding has theoretical and applied significant in term of relationship between three interrelated constructs based on management of emotions at workplace.

Keywords: Emotional Expressivity, Emotional Regulation, Emotional Intelligence, Employees.

Price reduction is one of the civil law remedies incorporated in the Vienna sales convention. On the other hand, Pakistan is neither the signatory of the convention nor its national sales law posses this remedy. Therefore a research is highly required to fill this vacuum and find out a solution for international buyer who is involved in trade with parties in Pakistan. Thus the study aims to investigate the suitability of price reduction in compatibility with existing legal regime. The study reveals the raison d'être in contract making via relative analysis of the existence of price reduction as an assurance for performance and certainty. The results depict that adding price reduction as remedy will be a good legal cover to the buyer's claims and a better response to the business practices in Pakistan. Especially, where the buyer is facing difficulties to prove his loss he may simply opt to reduce the price. Hence, study recommends that introducing the 'price reduction' as a remedy in the local legal system will enhance the confidence of a commercial buyer from the international community.

Keywords: Sale of Goods, CISG, Price Reduction, Remedy.

Maintaining employee safety and satisfaction can result in increased sales, lower costs, and a stronger bottom line. Employees often support the company's mission and work hard to help it achieve its goals when they believe the company has its best interest at heart. Hence, the study aims to examine the role of employee satisfaction between HR practices and organizational performance. A quantitative research methodology and a deductive research approach are used to assess the relationship between variables. HR practices, such as selection, training, compensation, performance evaluation, and employee engagement, were used as independent variables, and their effect on organizational performance, the dependent variable, was measured, with employee satisfaction as a mediating variable. The primary data was obtained from Pakistani bank employees using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, and the data was analyzed using smart PLS. According to the results of this study, HR practices are found to be substantially and positively linked to organizational success. In the present study organizational performance and employee satisfaction and have been assessed as unidirectional measures in the context of the impact of HR practices on the performance of the banking industry. In the future, the addition of secondary data will add value to the findings of the present study. The study's findings would also act as effective guidance for other organizations in terms of the value of HR practices that result in profit maximization.

Keywords: HR Practices, Banking Industry, Employee Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Performance.

Online purchasing is a valuable opportunity for the new generation in Pakistan. The use of the internet and smartphones is rapidly increasing day by day due to several reasons one of them is emergencies in COVID-19. However, recently the majority of consumers prefer the traditional way of purchasing goods and services instead of online shopping. Hence, numerous studies identified that there is a lack of trust and security in online shopping in the perception of customers. Therefore, the scholar aims to investigate the role of e-trust in the relationship between website quality and e-customer satisfaction in online shopping. The quantitative research technique, the judgmental sampling technique, and the adopted questionnaire are used for the data collection from e-consumer. The findings of the study indicated that through the mediating effect of e-trust, website quality has a significant impact on e-customer satisfaction. Besides, e-trust serves as a primary mediating factor between website quality and e-customer satisfaction. To satisfy the shopper in online purchasing through websites, the development of trust is the crucial factor because of cybercrimes that harm the e- consumers.

Keywords: Website Quality, E-customer Trust, E-customer Satisfaction.

The purpose of this paper is to test the relationship between HRM practices and employee’s retention. To test this relationship, data was collected from faculty members of Khyber medical college (KMC), using a convenience sampling technique. A Chi-square test was used to evaluate the aforementioned relationship. The effect of three HRM practices (reward, selection, and training) on employees’ retention were studied. The results reflect that reward and compensation is not associated with retention factors, while selection and retention are associated with each other. Similarly, training also has a significant association with employee’s retention. Results help us to conclude that KMC needs to consider reward and compensation, while selection and training should be further strengthened to enhance employee’s retention.

Keywords: Retention, Turnover, HRM practices, Selection, Training, Reward.

This research paper is aimed to explore the influence of personality traits on stress management. As for the achievement of organizational goals, the management has to be assured that its’ employees are not stressed due to any reason for productive outcomes. Stress is unavoidable in any organization especially if it belongs to the teaching sector. However, students and teachers are normally found under stress because of the demanding environment that is generated in physical schools and classrooms. For this purpose, this study has examined to what extent personality traits including extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience influence stress management. This leads to the fact which personality traits of employers especially those that belong to educational institutes can manage their stress and how their personality affects them to take decisions at the time of stress. This research article proposed a descriptive methodology in which cross-sectional data are randomly collected from the different public higher educational universities of Sindh, Pakistan. For the data collection, the survey questionnaire is applied. After the process of data cleaning, 252 responses of teaching faculty as respondents were found accurate for further analysis. By applying the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 26.0 the data was data analyzed. The results of Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis showed that agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience have a positive and significant influence on stress management. On the other hand, extroversion and neuroticism have not found a significant influence on stress management. This research study may provide useful insights for policymakers and top management in public higher educational institutions like universities to identify the stress management strategies that are implemented by the management of education institutions to manage workplace stress among the teaching faculty.

Keywords: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, Openness to Experience and Stress Management.