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PurposeThe study was initiated to test the relationship of social media site addiction on librarians' performance. Furthermore, the study also tested the mediating role of task distraction and moderating role of effective self-control in aforesaid relationship.Design/methodology/approachThis was an empirical study, and data for the research were collected through a standardized questionnaire from 503 librarians who were having Facebook accounts and are questionnaire developed through “Google Forms” and the link of the questionnaire was distributed using Facebook groups. Data was analyzed using descriptive analysis, correlation, Baron and Kenny's approach, and Normal Test Theory.FindingsResults indicate that social media addiction is an important factor for that is reducing librarians' performance. At the same time task distraction also adds to negative impact of social media addiction on librarians' performance. However, effective self-control can reduce the negative impact of social media addiction on their performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis research has some important theoretical as well as practical implications for librarians, library management, and well as for policy makers and government.Originality/valueSocial media is commonly used for communication but when it becomes addiction, it can reduce the employees' performance. Most of existing researched focused on positive aspects of social media; only few researches explored the negative impacts of social media. The proposed relationship was never tested on librarians. This study filled this literature gap and proposed as well as empirically tested a model for evaluating negative impact of social media on librarians' performance.

Our study focuses on the role of foreign capital which includes foreign direct investment, foreign aid, and economic freedom in poverty alleviation in developing and underdeveloped countries by using panel data from 1995 to 2018 for 71 countries. In the pursuit of achieving our objective, we employed several econometric techniques such as dynamic ordinary least square, fully modified ordinary least square, dynamic fixed effect, and pooled mean group regression methods. Furthermore, we performed the Granger causality test, impulse response function, and variance decomposition analysis. In our long-run estimations, we found that foreign direct investment could significantly alleviate poverty but increases poverty in the short run. Instead, foreign aid plays no significant role in poverty alleviation. Moreover, economic growth and economic freedom are essential as our findings consistently exhibited that they play a crucial role in poverty alleviation. We also found bidirectional causality between poverty alleviation and population growth, while a unidirectional causal linkage was found from poverty alleviation to foreign aid. We conclude that policymakers should look at a new paradigm of developmental assistance, and governments should also create an aiding environment for foreign investment to support their growth plan. First published online 13 December 2022

Using a pump in reverse mode as a hydraulic turbine remains an alternative for hydropower generation in meeting energy needs, especially for the provision of electricity to remote and rural settlements. The primary challenge with small hydroelectric systems is attributed to the high price of smaller size hydraulic turbines. A specific commercial pump model, with a flow rate of 12.5 m3/h, head 32 m, pressure side diameter of 50 mm, impeller out, and inlet diameters of 160 mm and 6 mm, respectively, was chosen for this research. This research aimed to investigate a pump’s flow characteristics as a turbine to help select a suitable pump to be used as a turbine for micro- or small hydropower construction. Numerical methodologies have been adopted to contribute to the thoughtful knowledge of pressure and velocity distribution in the pump turbine performance. In this study, the unsteady flow relations amongst the rotating impeller and stationary volute of the centrifugal pump made up four blades and four splitters. Intermittent simulation results of pressure and velocity flow characteristics were studied considering diverse impeller suction angles. The study was conducted by considering a wide range of rotational speeds starting from 750 rpm to 3250 rpm. From the results, it was found that PAT operation was improved when operated at low speeds compared to high-speed operation. Thus, speeds between 1500 rpm and 2000 rpm were suitable for PAT performance. This research helps to realize the unsteady flow physiognomies, which provide information for future research on PAT. This study makes useful facts available which could be helpful for the pump turbine development. Future studies should focus on cost analysis and emission generation in energy generation.

PurposeThis study examines the impact of network embeddedness (NE) on innovation performance in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and analyses absorptive capacity as mediator and openness as moderator.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 209 employees of SMEs using a convenient sampling technique. Partial least squares structural equation modeling in SmartPLS was used to analyze the various constructs.FindingsThe results exhibit a positive and significant relationship in NE and absorptive capacity. Also, this study found a positive and significant relationship in absorptive capacity and innovation performance. Moreover, absorptive capacity has a positive and significant mediation role in the relationship between NE and innovation performance. Also, openness positively moderated the relationship of NE and absorptive capacity.Practical implicationsSMEs should try to implement the functions of NE, such as interaction with other firms in higher frequency, developing trust among all parties, clear alliance among the partners to enhance innovation performance. Similarly, SMEs should focus on absorptive capacity and openness to enrich innovation performance.Originality/valueThis study adds in the current literature of the chosen constructs and empirically contributes the effects in the manufacturing industry of Jiangsu Province, China.

Based on the value co-creation theory, this study proposed a theoretical model of the effects of value co-creation on the growth of social enterprises. Primary data was obtained using field surveys through a close-ended questionnaire from January to June 2019. The respondents were employees of social enterprises working in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for quantitative data analysis and to verify the statistical significance of the direct link between value co-creation and social enterprise growth, and the negative moderating (substituting) effect of environmental dynamics on the relationship between value co-creation and social enterprise growth.

For the past decade, the level of carbon dioxide emission in most cities in China is on the ascendancy. Yet, better prediction of environmental pollution is at the fringes of recent studies. Several erstwhile researchers have attempted predicting pollution whilst utilising approaches including the ordinary linear regressions, multivariate regressions, autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA), evolutionary and some conventional swarm intelligence. These conventional approaches, however, lead but to imprecise predictions owing to the inherent parameter problems characterised in those approaches. Consequently, there is the need for a better prediction of the key antecedents that affect air pollution whilst using robust techniques. This current study, therefore predicts the carbon emissions levels of China into the next decade, in response to changes in key economic variables: energy consumption, economic growth, trade, and urbanisation. This is to aid in monitoring and implementing of tailored policies and transformations in China and in similar developing and emerging economies. Our findings revealed a steadily rise in emissions as the economy grows during the initial years but decline in the ensuing forecasted period. The findings of the impulse response function, revealed that in the next decade, urbanisation, and trade (import and export) will be the major contributors of carbon dioxide emission. The proposed Brainstorm optimisation algorithms prediction model was verified and validated with actual data. Our study revealed that the Brainstorm Optimisation algorithm predicts better with less prediction error even under uncertainty information.

The study examined the responsiveness of the environment of Ghana to changes in key economic indicators such as the international trade, energy consumption, urbanization, economic growth, and financial development. Our study utilized the ecological footprint as the indicator for environmental degradation as it encompasses the entire ecosystem that supports humankind consumption and activities. Consequently, the use of ecological footprint gives a clear and a bigger picture of environmental degradation than any individual pollutant(s). This study takes into cognizance the influence of structural break in the time series variables. The findings from the dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) established the existence of an inverted N‐shaped environmental degradation‐economic growth relationship for Ghana under the cubic EKC framework. The ARDL bound testing approach confirmed the presence of long‐run cointegration among the variables. Furthermore, the bootstrap causality revealed a unidirectional causality running from energy consumption to export and urbanization to export. Our study, therefore, advocates for the production and consumption of enhanced energy‐efficient products and commodities among the populace of Ghana.

Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan,1 Du Jianguo,1 Areeba Mann,2 Sharjeel Saleem,3 Kofi Baah Boamah,1 Usman Javed,4 Muhammad Usman4 1School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang Shi, Jiangsu Sheng, People’s Republic of China; 2Lahore Business School, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan; 3Lyallpur Business School, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, Pakistan; 4Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus, Lahore, PakistanCorrespondence: Du JianguoSchool of Management, Jiangsu University 301 Xuefu Road, Jingkou Qu, Zhenjiang Shi, Jiangsu Sheng, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-15052295614Email aamirkhanju@yahoo.comPurpose: The purpose of the present study was twofold. First, this study examined the relationships of work alienation with explorative learning and exploitative learning. Second, the study tested the role of emotional exhaustion as a mediator of the relationships of work alienation with explorative learning and exploitative learning. Job Demands-Resources model was used as the underlying theoretical foundation to establish these relationships.Methods: Two-source time-lagged data were collected from 225 middle-level managers and their 222 immediate supervisors in 87 Pakistani firms spanning different industries. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping were used to test the hypothesized relationships,.Results: The study revealed that work alienation is negatively related to both explorative learning and exploitative learning. Moreover, the study also established emotional exhaustion as a mechanism underlying the relationships work alienation with explorative learning and exploitative learning by showing that work alienation enhances emotional exhaustion, which, in turn, negatively influences both explorative learning and exploitative learning.Conclusion: By conceptualizing and providing empirical evidence of the negative relationships of work alienation with explorative learning and exploitative learning, both directly and via emotional exhaustion, the study signified some of the important but largely ignored dynamics of the employment relationship within the current regime of organizational structures. The findings suggest that the managers’ sensed estrangement from work and work context need to be addressed, as it can exhaust them emotionally and hinder their search and acquisition of new knowledge and competencies.Keywords: work alienation, emotional exhaustion, explorative learning, exploitative learning, Job Demands-Resources model

The present study examines the role of death anxiety as an important mechanism underlying the relationship between fear of Covid-19 and hotel frontline employees’ (FLEs) sense of work alienation. Importantly, the study proposes FLEs’ intrinsic spirituality as being a relevant boundary condition. Results, based on time-lagged survey data (three rounds, 2 weeks apart) from 203 FLEs in 91 hotels and analyzed using structural equation modeling, reveal that death anxiety mediates the association between fear of Covid-19 and work alienation. In addition, FLEs’ intrinsic spirituality moderates the direct relationship between fear of Covid-19 and death anxiety and the indirect relationship between fear of Covid-19 and work alienation, such that the relationships are weak when intrinsic spirituality is high (vs. low). The study offers several important suggestions that can help hospitality managers address FLEs’ sense of work alienation during traumatic conditions. Highlights Death anxiety mediates the relationship between fear of Covid-19 and work alienation. Intrinsic spirituality moderates the link between fear of Covid-19 and death anxiety. Intrinsic spirituality moderates the indirect fear of Covid-19-work alienation link. The findings can help hotel managers address FLEs’ sense of work alienation.

The increase of social media (SM) has led to continuous deviations in how day-to-day entrepreneurial activities can be carried out. Additionally, studies devoted to SM entrepreneurship and SM are relatively limited and fragmented in their focus. However there is growing interest from scholars, practitioners and academia for upcoming studies and exploration within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) context. This research explores the impact of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on SM adoption and SME performance in developing countries. We employed the resource-based view (RBV) as the foundation for developing the conceptual framework The present study employed a closed-ended questionnaire to collect data from SMEs located in Pakistan. Partial-least-squares-structural equation-modeling (PLS-SEM) was utilized for the analysis of 423 responses. The results proved a direct positive link between EO–SMEs performance, EO–SM adoption, SM adoption–SMEs performance, innovation capabilities (IC), and SME performance. Partial mediation was found between EO and SME performance, and the significant moderation effect of IC was found between SM adoption and SME performance. This paper has implications for practitioners and researchers regarding SM adoption in the SMEs. It builds an empirical, multi-dimensional hypothesized model, including mediating and moderating roles affecting the relationships.

Generally, it is difficult to work efficiently in a toxic environment. Surprisingly, leaders are found to be liable for such toxic atmosphere because they possess certain traits that employees perceive as victimization. This research assesses the relationship between the dark triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) and perceived victimization with a focus on the mediating effect of abusive supervision and the moderating effect of mindfulness. For this purpose, we surveyed 274 employees in the healthcare sector of Pakistan by using random sampling technique in three waves. To analyze the data, the structural equation model with partial least squares and PROCESS were used. The findings suggest that abusive supervision plays a mediating role in the association between the dark triad and perceived victimization. The results did not support the mediating role of abusive supervision in the association between narcissism and perceived victimization, however, the mediated moderation model was supported. Further, the findings suggest that mindfulness weakens the effect of abusive supervision on perceived victimization. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of the results are also discussed.

Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan,1,2 Jianguo Du,1 Farooq Anwar,2 Hira Salah ud Din Khan,1 Fakhar Shahzad,1 Sikandar Ali Qalati1 1School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of China; 2Lahore Business School, University of Lahore, Lahore, Punjab, PakistanCorrespondence: Jianguo DuSchool of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-157-5100-8313Email dujianguoju@hotmail.comBackground: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is emerging as a relevant subject in the business world and in the field of management research. Therefore, the current study incorporates classifications often used in organizational level CSR research that distinguish social responsibility relevant to its focus (internal and external), in proposing diverse routes that link various CSR practices (ie, internal and external) to employees’ choice of emotional labor strategy (ie, via perceived organizational support and perceived external prestige).Methods: Data were collected from front-line employees of banks operating in Pakistan. Due to the study’s focus on front-line employees, other personnel were excluded for data collection. We collected data through a self-administered questionnaire. The structural equation model (SEM) was employed on 376 valid responses using Smart-PLS3 to test the study hypotheses.Results: After the analysis, we found satisfactory results for the fitness of both measurement and satisfactory models. Moreover, the results strongly support our proposed theoretical framework, and all proposed hypotheses were accepted.Discussion: This study confirms that the perception of external prestige is a strong predictor of employees’ emotions and relevant behaviors. Moreover, this study discusses under the light of social exchange theory that perceived organizational support strongly predicts employees’ emotional labor, which diminishes the myth that prestige is the only factor to influence employees’ emotions in the workplace. Moreover, this study negates the findings of Anwar et al that perceived external prestige does not have a significant negative effect on surface acting. It provides an insight not only for managers and researchers but also for society, especially in an Eastern workplace setting like Pakistan’s banking sector.Keywords: CSR, perceived external prestige, perceived organizational support, emotional labor, employees’ welfare

Knowledge sharing between individuals is a key process for knowledge-intensive organizations to create value and gain a competitive edge. An individual is in the center of a complex set of factors, which are conducive to the knowledge-sharing process. The purpose of this empirical study is to explain the interaction mechanisms between personality and knowledge-sharing behavior and to examine the mediating effects of willingness to share knowledge and subjective norm. The theory of planned behavior, the social exchange theory, and the big five personality traits theory are combined to explain tacit knowledge-sharing behavior. A survey strategy and purposive sampling was applied, and the analysis was conducted on a sample of 288 employees from Croatia working on knowledge-intensive tasks for which high levels of tacit knowledge sharing are characteristic. A standard online questionnaire consisted of items evaluated on a 7-point Likert-scale, ranging from strongly agree (7) to strongly disagree (1). In the structural model, relationships between altruism, willingness, subjective norm, and tacit knowledge sharing were tested. Confirmatory factor analysis with maximum likelihood estimation was performed by using SEM software AMOS version 23. The findings of the study suggest that altruism has a direct impact on tacit knowledge sharing, reaffirming a relationship with knowledge sharing but distinguishing between sharing of different types of knowledge, assessing tacit knowledge sharing as a construct separate from general knowledge sharing. Our findings suggest that willingness to share is a predictive factor of knowledge sharing behavior between employees, having both direct impact on tacit knowledge sharing and being a mediator between the trait of altruism and tacit knowledge sharing. The mediation test also indicates that altruism has an indirect influence on tacit knowledge sharing when subjective norm was a mediator. The findings suggest that personality traits relying on social capital, such as altruism, have more influence on tacit knowledge sharing compared to personality traits that have accentuated intrinsic components. The study contributes to the better understanding of factors stimulating knowledge-sharing behaviors and provides recommendations based on empirical evidence, which may later be applied in the development of knowledge-sharing leadership styles, employee hiring, and auxiliary initiatives.

The main aim of the study was to empirically investigate the mediating role of organizational commitment (OC) and person–organization fit (POF) between the causal relationship of supportive work environment (SWE) and employee retention (ER). One thousand questionnaires were sent to the targeted population included employees of all chains of multinational fast-food brands (restaurants) in Lahore, Pakistan. The restaurants were selected from clusters by using a cluster sampling technique. Questionnaires were comprised of multiple items adopted from former studies to obtain responses using quantitative methodology. For statistical analysis and to test the proposed hypothesis, the partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was employed through Smart PLS 2.0 M3 software. The study’s findings elucidated that SWE has a positive and significant association with ER. In addition, OC and POF acted as mediators between the relationship of a SWE and ER. This study presented implications for human resource (HR) practitioners that they should endure developing mechanisms for imparting a SWE to foster healthy exchange relationships with people, which in turn will result in ER. This article significantly contributed to the extant literature on the relationship of the SWE and ER while highlighting the critical factors to be noticed for retaining key employees. This study also explicated the limitations and scope for further research.

This study investigates the impact of transformational leadership on employee retention in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and probes the mediating role of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and the moderating role of communication. Data were collected using convenience sampling from 505 employees of SMEs. A Smart PLS structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to estimate the various relationships. The findings of the study reveal a positive and significant relationship between transformational leadership and OCB. Similarly, this study finds a positive and significant relationship in OCB and employee retention. In addition, OCB had a positive mediating effect on the relationship between transformational leadership and employee retention. Furthermore, communication positively moderates the transformational leadership– OCB and OCB–employee retention relationships. Leaders at SMEs should implement the traits of transformational leadership such as developing a compelling vision for employees, focusing on goal achievement, having problem-solving techniques, having a sense of purpose, and spending time on the training and development of the team to enhance OCB and employee retention.

The research explores key factors impacting enterprise operational sustainability and the ability to transcend adversity during different stages of a crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study draws from the Theory of Crisis Management Teams, the Stakeholder Theory, and the Distributed Cognition Theory to build an “Enterprise Effectiveness and Sustainability Model during Pandemic.” Existing theoretical background joint with contemporary success case studies helped to identify the essential aspects and strategies enterprises should employ to survive and thrive during crisis and post-crisis. We have conceptualized an innovative approach to COVID-19 from the perspective of organizational characteristics, operations, digital transformation, and financial planning. The findings suggest that enterprises having distributed leadership, workforce and adaptive culture sustain business operations during a pandemic. Furthermore, resilient enterprises allow for more informed and decentralized decision-making. Prosperous organizations leverage Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) and integrate Intranet, social media, and online communication platforms into their daily business routines, as this helps to establish trust and build bonds with employees, stakeholders, and customers during and post-crisis. Finally, balancing between the stockpiling of resources and resiliency is crucial in anticipation of a crisis. Therefore, we conclude that enterprises with financial contingency plans sustain their business operations during a pandemic.

Synthesizing theories of ethical leadership, psychological climate, pro-environmental behavior, and gender, first, we proposed and tested a model linking supervisors’ ethical leadership and organizational environmental citizenship behavior via a green psychological climate. Then, we tested the moderating effect of gender on the indirect (via a green psychological environment) relationship between supervisors’ ethical leadership and organizational environmental citizenship behavior. Time-lagged (three waves, 2 months apart) survey data were collected from 447 employees in various manufacturing and service sector firms operating in China. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, bootstrapping, and multigroup techniques to test the hypothesized relationships. The results showed a positive relationship between employee ratings of supervisors’ ethical leadership and organizational environmental citizenship behavior. Moreover, a green psychological climate mediates the relationship between supervisors’ ethical leadership and organizational environmental citizenship behavior. Importantly, the multigroup analysis revealed that gender moderates the indirect relationship (via green psychological climate) between supervisors’ ethical leadership and organizational environmental citizenship behavior. The study carries useful practical implications for policymakers and managers concerned about environmental sustainability.

The idiosyncratic and knowledge-intense nature of the financial institutions requires them to rely more on intangible than on tangible resources. Over the past two decades, researchers have been motivated to embark on the relationship between intellectual capital (IC) and performance of financial institutions. Considering the knowledge-based intellect as a critical skill of this era, the current study examines the impact of IC on the performance of 111 Pakistani financial institutions (PFIs) over the period 2007&ndash, 2018. Two IC measures, i.e., value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) and modified value-added intellectual coefficient (MVAIC), were applied to examine the impact of IC on profitability and productivity. Robust results from the fixed effect regression and generalized method of momentum affirm the inverted U-shaped relationship between IC and performance, suggesting that the increase in IC performance of PFIs increases their profitability and productivity up to a certain level, and after that, a further increase in IC performance decreases profitability and productivity. The results further suggest that human capital is the most influencing intellectual resource which produces higher intellectual efficiencies and increases the performance significantly. The results of this study are likely to be helpful for management, regulators, policy makers, and academics and provide insights into the importance of IC and suggest that the investment in the IC improves the sustainable performance to a certain extent.

Several rivers and streams are available in Africa and Asian regions with great potentials not applicable for constructing large hydropower dams but feasible for small and mini hydro generation. This study strive for investigating the impact of splitter blade on pump as turbine performance considering different speed and flow rates. Two specific centrifugal pump models one with six blades without splitter and another with four blades and four splitters were used for the study. The inlet diameter and outlet diameters of both impellers were 104 mm/116 mm, and 160 mm respectively at a designed flow rate Q = 12.5 m3/h, head H = 16 m, rotational speed n = 1450 rpm and efficiency of 56%, outlet impeller width of 0.006 m, a blade outlet angle of 30° was used for the study. CFD simulations were conducted with the use of k-ε turbulence model. The influence of splitter blade position on the performance of pump as turbine in the selected specific pumps with and without splitter blades has been investigated both experimentally and numerically at three different flow rates and rotational speed. The simulated data were in good agreement with the experimental results, the maximum deviation error between the CFD and test for each model are 5.6%, 2.6%, for the head and efficiency; 7.5% and 3.6% at different flow conditions.

Purpose Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can adopt and use social media (SM) for communicating information with stakeholders with minimal cost. The ability to access and share information influences the SMEs' performance, but there is little scholarship on the association between the adoption of social media and SMEs' performance. This research aims to investigate the effects of technology-organizational-environmental (TOE) factors on the adoption of SM and SMEs’ performance in developing countries. Design/methodology/approach This study employed the TOE framework as determinants affecting the adoption of social media and SMEs' performance. The paper used a closed-ended questionnaire to gather data, through an online survey, from randomly selected respondents from SMEs operating in Pakistan. Partial-least-squares-structural-equation-modeling (PLS-SEM) was used for the path analysis of 423 responses from SMEs' owners, executives, and managers. The present study also explores the mediating role of SM between TOE characteristics and SMEs’ performance. Findings The findings revealed a direct positive relationship between TOE constructs, the adoption of SM, and SMEs' performance. Full mediation was found between technological factors and SMEs performance, and partial mediation was found between organizational and environmental factors and SMEs’ performance. Complementary mediation among the variables was also examined. Originality/value This paper has implications for practitioners and researchers interested in investigating social media adoption in SMEs. It builds an empirical, multi-dimensional hypothesized model, including several determinants that may influence the adoption of social media.

This study seeks to identify the influence of organizational compatibilities on green supply chain management (GSCM) efforts and estimate their influence on organizational performance. This study also explores the mediating influence of information technology (IT) capabilities on the association between GSMC efforts and organizational performance (operational, and environmental performance). The authors collected data online in order to examine 370 effective responses and verify the research hypothesis. The results show that the organizational compatibilities (technological, operational, and cultural) positively promote GSCM efforts and contribute to the expansion of dynamic capability theory in the context of IT capabilities. The results also indicate that IT capabilities are a key mediator that affects the association between GSCM efforts and organizational performance. These findings extend and improve the existing literature on GSCM efforts and provide scholars with a new perspective from which to further study this concept.

The core aim of this study is not only to explore the new phenomenon of mobile government (m-govt) security response systems (SRS) but also to identify some important factors from the user's perspective in order to build a strong and acceptable m-govt SRS for crisis management. In a comprehensive research model, the relationships between constructs were measured by a two-stage approach using structural equation modeling (SEM) and an artificial neural network (ANN) on data collected through a structured questionnaire from 574 valid respondents. The outcomes from the SEM and ANN analyses predicted that awareness, perceived compatibility, perceived response time, and trust are the top four major factors in adopting m-govt SRS, regardless of the factors' order of influence. This finding makes a significant contribution to the current literature on m-govt adoption and has practical significance for understanding various aspects of the development and implementation of m-govt SRS. The current study provides a broad perspective on the successful implementation of m-govt SRS by government agencies and practitioners, particularly in the provision of security services.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effect of a high-performance work system (HPWS) on employee performance and the intervening role of mediators in this relationship. Methods: The study was quantitative in nature and used a questionnaire as its instrument. Two hundred and fifty respondents from the private textile sector, located in Lahore and Faisalabad, Pakistan, were selected using a stratified sampling technique. For statistical analysis and to test the proposed research model, partial least squares-structural equation modeling was applied. Results: HPWS was positively related to employee performance. Furthermore, job satisfaction, perceived organizational support, and employee engagement positively and significantly mediated between HPWS and employee performance. Thus, the study provided evidence for the underpinning models of social exchange theory, and ability, motivation, and opportunity framework. Conclusion: The study emphasizes that practitioners should develop strategies that could foster positive work attitudes and increase perceived organizational support to achieve higher levels of performance. It further describes some limitations and gaps for future research.

Muhammad Aamir Shafique Khan,1 Du Jianguo,1 Ahmed Abdul Hameed,2 Tehseen UL Mushtaq,2 Muhammad Usman2 1School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Management Sciences, COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore, Pakistan Purpose: The purpose of the present study is twofold. First, we examined the relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance and tested the role of affective commitment foci – namely, affective coworker commitment, affective supervisor commitment, and affective organizational commitment – as parallel mediators in the relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. Second, we tested the moderating role of culture on the interrelationships between workplace romance, affective commitment foci, and employee job performance. Methods: A two-wave (3-month interval) survey data were collected from 312 paramedics– 162 and 150 from Pakistani and Chinese public-sector hospitals, respectively. The first and second waves of data collection took place in January and May 2017, respectively. Structural equation modeling (SEM), bootstrapping technique, and multigroup analysis were used to test the interrelationships between workplace romance, affective commitment foci, and employee job performance and to examine the cross-cultural differences in these interrelations. Results: Results obtained using SEM show that workplace romance positively influences employee performance. Importantly, the study revealed that the three foci of affective commitment – namely, coworker affective commitment, supervisor affective commitment, and organizational affective commitment – as parallel mediators fully mediate the relationship between workplace romance and employee performance. Moreover, national culture moderates the indirect relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance, where workplace romance is stronger for the Chinese data sample. Conclusion: It is concluded that workplace romance is positively related to employee job performance and that affective commitment foci fully mediate the positive relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. Moreover, culture moderates the indirect relationship between workplace romance and employee job performance. The study contributes to theory and practice by studying an essential but largely ignored aspect of the workplace and portraying it as a constructive influence on employee job performance and their affective commitment to coworkers, supervisor, and organization. Keywords: workplace romance, job performance, affective commitment, paramedical staff, health sector, cross-cultural comparison, People’s Republic of China, Pakistan

All over the world organizations have realized that skilled labor and talented employees develop the organization for better incentives and for improvements. How to reduce employee’s turnover intention is a very critical challenge for today’s HR managers and supervisors. Pay better incentives, high salaries and employee’s motivational techniques have been useless and old practices of the human resource management. This study is conducted to understand the factors that directly affect the turnover intentions in call center industry of Pakistan. Sample size of 137 call centre agents from call centre industry of Pakistan were used to examine relationship between turnover intentions, workload, compensation and benefits and job conditions as well. Various factors manipulate turnover intentions, including: workload and type of work, salary and other benefits, Organizational climate and culture, supervision and interpersonal relationships, position, sovereignty, job conditions, entirely environment in the call centers, the nature of tasks to be performed and job outcomes.