Materialism has emerged as a growing global drift in the past decade. This study highlights the influence of materialism on consumers' attitudes and actions regarding the purchase of environmentally sustainable products (ESPs) in a country such as Pakistan, which environmental orientations are in the developing stage. Materialistic perspectives can hinder the formation of positive attitudes towards environmentally sustainable products, especially when consumers engage in product comparisons. To evaluate the effects of materialism and product comparisons on purchasing intentions and behaviors, a survey was conducted among university students. The results revealed that consumers tend to avoid purchasing experience goods primarily because these items require a higher degree of involvement and risk assessment due to their intangible and experiential nature. This avoidance is particularly pronounced when the subjective norms and attitudes toward these goods are influenced by materialistic values, which often prioritize tangible, ownership-oriented products.

This study investigated the impact of corporate financial strategies-(CFSs) on the performance of companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange-(SSE) from 2010-2023, analyzing data from 2,269 firms, yielding 31,766 balanced firm-year observations. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach with a quasi-experimental design grounded in pragmatism, the inquiry employed two-step System-GMM technique to address endogeneity, simultaneity, heteroscedasticity, reverse causality and Nickell bias. Fixed effects-(FE) and random effects-(RE) models were applied to handle unobserved heterogeneity, omitted variable bias and guarantee robustness. The results revealed that, total-debt-to-assets-ratio-(TDTAR) and dividend yield-(DY) significantly and negatively impacted firm performance-(FP), measured by return on assets-(ROA) and Tobin’s Q-(TQ). Contrary, cash conversion cycle-(CCC), current ratio-(CR), total-assets-turnover-(TAT), tangibility-(TANG), total-equity-to-total-assets ratio-(TETAR), dividend payout ratio-(DPR), firm size-(SIZE), and firm age-(AGE) had a significantly positive effect on FP-(ROA and TQ). The study emphasizes the importance of effective CFSs in improving FP and offers insights for policymakers, investors, and managers, highlighting the need for corporate deleveraging, capital structure optimization and efficient asset and working capital management. Although focused on China, the study’s framework is applicable to other emerging markets, providing valuable theoretical, conceptual, and methodological insights as it integrates CFS metrics into the resource-based view theory-(RBVT), extending the theory’s scope making it more robust and generalizable.

This study examined the causal relationships between inflation, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), domestic savings, and investment in Zimbabwe using Toda-Yamamoto causality tests and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach with secondary data spanning from 1990-2022. The Granger causality analysis revealed a bidirectional causal effect between inflation and GDP, indicating that inflation significantly impacts the country's economic growth. Additionally, the analysis showed a unidirectional causal relationship from inflation to domestic savings, suggesting that high and persistent inflation can erode the value of existing savings and discourage individuals from saving. Furthermore, the study found a distinct causal flow from savings to investment, without feedback in the opposite direction, highlighting the crucial role of a robust savings culture in providing the necessary foundation for sustained investment and economic growth. The ARDL approach provided further insights into the dynamic relationships between these variables. In the short run, lagged GDP and current and lagged savings positively influenced GDP, while the second lag of savings had a negative impact, supporting the Carroll-Weil hypothesis that savings typically follow, rather than precede, economic growth in the short run. The analysis also found a positive short-run and long-run relationship between investment and GDP, supporting the view that investment is an important factor of economic growth. The study recommends that the policy makers can leverage the synergies between savings, investment, and inflation management to foster sustained economic growth and development in line with the government development policies. Developing policies to attract savings and reduce the cost of savings, as well as promoting long-term savings over transactional savings, can increase the country's overall savings base.

This research tries to find a relationship between audit quality and audit software, impacted by the latter. In this study, multiple sentiments of audit professionals and finance executives on the relation of audit software and quality of audit in Kuwait are examined where, on the basis of agreed perspectives of professionals, it was found that audit software positively influences audit quality. This particular article tries to extend the previous works and emphasizes on the observation of audit professionals and their perspectives through a well-structured survey and semi-structured interviews. This study is to identify the distinctiveness of the audit industry in Kuwait comparing market size and available inadequate local auditors. The authors try to establish the relationship between audit quality and audit software considering the fact that acceptance of audits software will definitely give a more effective and robust audit process to cover market needs. The paper also considers the auditors’ training and experience as a moderating factor for the adoption and usage of audit software in auditing practices in Kuwait, resulting in useful insights on the effects of the adoption and use of auditing software in enhancing the quality of audit reports as well as suggesting resources for the use of technological developments in auditing practices. Thus, the study contributes to the extant literature on the dynamics for the adoption and usage of computerized systems in auditing practices to improve the quality of audit reports.

In this study, we examined the volatility trend of stock return in eight ASEAN stock markets. These includes the Singapore Exchange (SGX), Bursa Malaysia Stock Exchange (YSX), the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Indonesia stock exchange, the Vietnam Stock Exchange (VNX), the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX), the Lao Securities Exchange (LSX), and the Philippine Stock Exchange. Secondly, we evaluated the factors that influence the level of return in those stock markets with exchange rate volatility as a control variable. By employing FIGARCH-DCC and ARDL models, the study aimed to provide a more robust understanding of stock market dynamics. The findings reveal significant negative returns effect of market volatilities and liquidity crisis in all the stock exchanges of all sample countries in the study. In Singapore, money supply variation, market volatility, liquidity risks, and exchange rate volatility significantly influenced stock returns positively. The short-run model explains 52.26% of the variation in stock returns. Only in Malaysia, we had significant positive returns from exchange rate volatility. Nevertheless, the Russian model explains just 22.22% of the variation in stock returns. In Thailand and Indonesia alike, returns significantly and positively responded to variation in money supply, while the volatility in the market and currency rate exchange adversely impacted returns. The short-run models explain 53.66% and 65.21% of the variation in stock returns for Vietnam and Indonesia, respectively. The variation in money supply does not significantly affect stock returns and has no significant contribution to returns in Cambodia. The Cambodia model explains around 48.34% of the variation in returns. For Lao Stock Exchange, return effects of liquidity risk, and exchange rate instability were significant and negative. Market volatility had insignificantly impacted stock returns in Nigeria. The Lao model explains 50.38% of the variation in stock returns. In the Philippine Stock Exchange, the returns effect of exchange rate volatility and liquidity crisis are adverse and significant. Money supply variation and market volatility had insignificant influence on returns. The model explains 68.11% of the variation in returns. In the Philippines, market volatility, liquidity risks, and exchange rate volatility adversely impacted returns. Money supply variation had no such significant influence on returns. The panel model of the Philippines explains 62.9% of the variation in stock returns. The research accentuates the need for governments to stabilize exchange rates, boost liquidity, through targeted policies aimed at managing stock market dynamics especially as it relates to stock volatility in order to foster meaningful growth and development of the financial market.

The rapid evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL) has profoundly influenced various domains, including portfolio optimization. In today’s dynamic and interconnected global economy, understanding the development of scientific publications in this field is crucial for both academics and practitioners. This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric study of the scientific literature on portfolio optimization, focusing on the impact of AI, ML, and DL advancements. By analyzing key trends, influential publications, and emerging research areas, this study provides valuable insights into the progression of portfolio optimization research in the context of these transformative technologies, helping to map future directions and identify knowledge gaps in the field. This paper endeavors to present an exhaustive synthesis of the most recent advancements and innovations within the domain of portfolio optimization, particularly as influenced by progressive developments in AI, ML and DL from 1996 to 2024. Employing a rigorous bibliometric analysis, this study scrutinizes the structural and global paradigms governing this field. The analytical framework integrates several dimensions, including: (1) comprehensive dataset interrogation, (2) critical evaluation of source repositories, (3) contributions of seminal authors, (4) geographical and institutional affiliations, (5) document-centric analysis, and (6) exploration of keyword dynamics. A corpus of 745 bibliographic entries, meticulously curated from the Web of Science database, forms the basis of this inquiry, which utilizes advanced Scientometric network methodologies to extrapolate substantive research insights. The discourse culminates in a robust critique of the inherent strengths and methodological limitations, while delineating strategic avenues for future research, with the objective of steering ongoing scholarly discourse in the realm of portfolio optimization. The empirical outcomes of this study enhance the understanding of prevailing intellectual trajectories, thus laying a fortified foundation for future investigative pursuits in this critically evolving discipline.

The Resource-Constrained Project Scheduling Problem (RCPSP) remains a critical area of study in project management, focusing on optimizing project schedules under constraints such as limited resources and task interdependencies. This review synthesizes advancements from 2016 to 2024, encompassing problem variants, optimization techniques, objectives, and real-world applications. Key developments include the evolution of hybrid metaheuristics, multi-objective optimization approaches, and the integration of stochastic models to enhance robustness against uncertainties. Furthermore, the application of machine learning and sustainability-driven models has expanded the practical scope of RCPSP in dynamic and complex environments. Challenges such as scalability, uncertainty management, and the need for practical implementations are addressed, with future directions emphasizing AI integration, decentralized scheduling, and real-time adaptive solutions. This study provides a comprehensive perspective on RCPSP, bridging theoretical research with practical implications for diverse industries.

The organization strives to provide timely service according to customer needs. Organizations must communicate and make the right decisions quickly to improve performance. The research aims to assess the influence of project management capability, integration, and coordination in improving organizational performance. Data is collected using a questionnaire designed with a five-point Likert scale. The respondents are all suppliers or vendors of high school educational Institutions in East Java. The organization has a project manager responsible for all procurement and projects. The criteria of suppliers or vendors are those who have paid taxes, have a taxpayer number, and have an adequate bank account. Data analysis used the SEM-PLS approach employing SmartPLS software version 4.0. The data processing results showed that project management capability positively affected information technology integration by 0.712, supply coordination by 0.432, and process innovation by 0.250. Information technology integration positively impacted supply coordination by 0.445, process innovation by 0.254, and organizational performance by 0.304. Supply coordination positively affected process innovation by 0.366 and organizational performance by 0.385. Finally, process innovation had a positive effect on organizational performance by 0.234. The research provides insights for foundations to optimize the role of departments in building supply coordination using information technology. Project managers must optimize integrated information technology by maintaining investment and upgrading equipment, making a theoretical contribution to supply chain enrichment, and using a resource-based view.

This study analyses the association between CEO characteristics and financial performance as well as the role that a firm’s governance system may play in enhancing financial performance in the Jordanian context. To achieve this purpose, 2251 firm-year observations were collected from firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange from 2009-2022. Overall, the results show that there is a positive and significant association between CEO tenure and firm performance. The results also show that the CEO compensation is positively linked with firm performance. However, CEO age and ownership are found to be insignificantly associated with firm performances. Regarding the moderating role of governance quality, the result shows a positive and highly significant impact on CEO tenure and CEO age. Otherwise, whether the quality of governance is high or low, it does not affect the CEO’s compensation and ownership. This study recommends firms listed on the Amman Stock Exchange changing their policy regarding CEO compensation by, for example, including stock options to enhance firm performances.

This study aims at investigating the impact of marketing strategies, i.e., digital marketing, green marketing, and sensory marketing, on restaurant sales a s well as examining the mediating role of sensory marketing in the effect of digital marketing and green marketing on restaurant sales. Developing a literature-based questionnaire to harvest data from a sample consisting of owners or managers of small and medium-sized casual restaurants and analyzing such data using SmartPLS 3.0, it was acknowledged that restaurant sales as an endogenous variable is significantly influenced by these three marketing strategies. Moreover, it was revealed that sensory marketing is a significant mediator in the effects of digital marketing and green marketing on restaurant sales. The originality of this study is that it expands the literature emphasizing the importance of marketing strategies integration to achieve higher sales. Specifically, the study contributes to the literature indicating that restaurants must consider sensory marketing strategy as a key mechanism to enhance the efficiency of digital marketing and green marketing efforts.