Journal of Management and Research

The Government–NGO Partnerships in Service Delivery: Strategic Roles and Challenges under Uncertainty for Equitable Performance

2025-12-31T13:58:21+00:00

This study examines the dynamics and challenges of Government–NGO partnerships in service provision within Palestine. In the context of limited resources, NGOs have emerged as critical actors in health, education, humanitarian relief, and other essential sectors, complementing governmental efforts. Using a qualitative Delphi method, conducted in three iterative rounds between June and August 2023 with 44 experts from government, NGOs, academia, and the private sector, the study identified 75 challenges to effective collaboration. These were categorized into six themes: structural misalignments, procedural differences, unclear roles and responsibilities, deficits in trust and communication, power asymmetries, and weak legislative frameworks. Trust deficits (91%), lack of coordination mechanisms (88%), and misaligned objectives (72%) emerged as the most critical barriers. The findings highlight the need to establish formal coordination platforms, clarify roles, enact supportive legislation, and balance power relations. Addressing these gaps is essential to foster sustainable, strategic partnerships.

Multidimensional AI Readiness Framework for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in an Emerging Economy: Evidence from Pakistan

2026-01-01T08:46:37+00:00

Artificial Intelligence (AI) holds transformative potential for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet its adoption in emerging economies remains low due to context-specific barriers. Existing AI readiness models, predominantly derived from developed economies, overemphasize technological factors. To address this gap, this study developed a comprehensive, empirically-grounded framework that captures the crucial strategic, organizational, and regulatory challenges salient in resource-constrained contexts, explicitly elevating 'Regulatory' to a standalone dimension. Evidence was drawn from Pakistani SMEs. A qualitative, multiple-case study methodology was employed, drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with management across three SME sectors (manufacturing, services, and primary). Data was analyzed using NVivo-12 for thematic coding and cross-case analysis. The research culminates in a multidimensional AI readiness framework comprising five critical dimensions: (1) Strategic, (2) Technological, (3) Organizational, (4) Environmental, and (5) Regulatory. The findings revealed a significant AI readiness gap among Pakistani SMEs, characterized by a universal lack of regulatory guidance, varying levels of technological infrastructure, and a strong dependence on top management support. Across the three sectors, only one SME progressed beyond the initial AI readiness stage, while all three showed very low regulatory preparedness, indicating a severe readiness deficit. Technological maturity ranged from minimal digitization to partial AI experimentation, indicating a pronounced technology readiness gap across these sectors. The proposed framework would provide SME managers and policymakers with a practical diagnostic tool to systematically evaluate their organizational AI readiness. Furthermore, it would also provide clear levers for intervention. This highlights the need for strategic vision, skills development, and the creation of internal AI policies in the absence of robust national frameworks.

Linking Employee Performance Expectations and Employee Work Creativity: Examining the Role of Workplace Fun, and Mental Well-Being

2025-12-30T06:52:52+00:00

Current study aims to examine the intricate relationships among performance expectations (PE), mental well-being, workplace fun and employees’ work creativity (EWC) within the domain of Pakistan’s higher education institutions. Using a quantitative research methodology, data was gathered from 38- employees with the help of structured questionnaires administered in 2024. By using SPSS 26.0, we utilized Preacher & Hayes process to analyze the data for the hypothesized relationships among the variables. Result findings indicate that PE has a positive significant relationship with EWC. Moreover, mental well-being mediated the relationship between PE and EWC. Workplace fun also moderated the relationship of PE and EWC when mental well-being mediated these relationships. In addition to the theoretical implications, the current study offers practical implications, particularly for the managers/practitioners who are concerned with the employees’ mental well-being and for EWC. This research investigates the relationships between expectation of performance, satisfaction, and enjoyment of the workplace using COR principles. The goal of this study is to provide companies that have efforts aimed at stimulation of creativity with useful information by analyzing the way personal needs and resources and satisfaction interact. After all, it is very important to be able to create and maintain an environment that is supportive and rich with resources that allows employees to cope with difficulties and translate stress into something positive in terms of creativity. Doing so not only helps the individual with his or her well-being and productivity, but also helps the organization cope with a challenging and ever-changing business environment.

The Role of Authentic Leadership in Promoting Environmental Behaviors: Hotel Industry Context

2026-01-06T06:27:31+00:00

Employee behaviour and work settings have a substantial effect in the context of hotel business because of its heavy reliance on human activities. This study seeks to examine the relationship between authentic leadership (AL), workplace environmental behaviors (WPEB), and green organizational support (GOS) based on social identity theory (SIT). The study also investigates how GOS mediates the relationships between WPEB and AL. 194 hotels’ employees in Pakistan participated in the investigation using snowball sampling through self-administered surveys. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses under study. The results demonstrate a significant positive influence of AL, GOS, and environmental focused behaviors in hotel workplaces. Furthermore, GOS acts as a mediator between AL and WPEB. Thus, this study suggests important insights by highlighting environmental behaviours in the workplace and the importance of supporting sustainable organizations in the hospitality sector. This study also highlights the need for the hospitality sector to enrich environmental behaviors in the workplace and promote policies that support the transition to a sustainable hospitality industry.

In addition, support for green organizations mediates between AL and WPEB. The results of the present study provide significant implications by highlighting environmental behaviours in the workplace and support for green organizations in the hospitality sector. This study required the hospitality sector to pay attention to and improve WPEB and strategies and policies that support green organizations to have a green hospitality sector.

Interplay of Change Climate and Participation in the Change Process and its Effect on Explicit Reactions and Consequences: Revolution in Pakistani Banks

2025-12-26T10:58:04+00:00

In today’s competitive environment, organizational change is crucial for survival. Despite its necessity, the majority of change initiatives fail. This negatively affects employee morale and commitment. This research investigates key factors that facilitate successful change implementation, focusing specifically on the impact of change climate and participation in the change process. It examines how these variables influence affective commitment to change, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment while implementing a high-paced and high-pressured strategic change, namely revolution. Grounded in Theory E, variance theory, and change management theory, the study develops a conceptual model and adopts a deductive, exploratory design within a positivist framework. The Pakistani banking sector serves as the research context, using multi-stage sampling and a structured questionnaire for data collection. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) via SmartPLS is employed for analysis. The findings reveal that a supportive change climate and active participation in the change process significantly enhance affective commitment to change, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment, contributing to the effective implementation of revolution. This research adds to the mainly western-centered literature by offering insights from Pakistan, a developing economy. The study’s exclusive focus on ‘revolution’ as a strategic change highlights its novelty, though suggesting that other types of strategic change warrant further exploration.

Ambidextrous Leadership Initiative Propelling the Circular Economy: The Moderating Role of SME Entrepreneur Orientation

2025-07-17T14:34:03+00:00

The current study aimed to investigate how the strategic approach of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) entrepreneurship innovation moderates the relationship between ambidextrous opening and closing behaviour and the adoption of three different circular practices. This study used a sample of 267 manufacturing SMEs in Nigeria. Through PLS-SEM structural equation modelling, it was discovered that only two of the three categories of circular economy (CE) practices are moderated by SME entrepreneurship innovation, despite opening leadership and closing leadership behaviour being positively connected to all three. This unique perspective adds to the body of CE literature, arguing that SME entrepreneurship innovation promotes the adoption of CE practices. In the context of Nigerian manufacturing SMEs, a differentiated perspective of adopting CE practices is also provided.

Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Resource Management Practices: A Qualitative Study in Hyderabad, Pakistan’s Banking Sector

2025-07-17T14:34:03+00:00

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping the way Human Resource Management (HRM) functions within organizations. The core areas, such as performance evaluation, employee motivation, retention strategies, and ethical practices are highly influenced by AI. Simultaneously, its use raises new concerns, for instance, data privacy. The current study adopted a qualitative approach to explore how AI is impacting HRM practices and how it can be applied effectively in real-world settings. A total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted with Human Resource (HR) professionals in the banking sector of Hyderabad, Pakistan. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis in NVivo 12. The findings revealed three traditional recruitment challenges and processes, ethical considerations, risks, challenges as well as future trends and perspectives. The results revealed that AI has the potential to make recruitment more efficient through automated candidate filtering, selection matching, and initial screening. This helps reduce delays and minimize bias. However, concerns were raised about employee data privacy and job insecurity associated with automation. The study emphasized the need for industry-specific metrics to guide effective AI implementation. It also highlighted how AI can support performance management by allowing HR teams to detect early signs of employee dissatisfaction. While AI may enhance career development and workplace motivation, its role in automating administrative tasks could also lead towards ethical dilemmas, especially related to job displacement. To address these challenges, the study recommended updating HRM practices to include employee protection strategies, ensuring a balance between technological advancement and workforce well-being.

Impact of Paradoxical Leader Behavior (PLB) on Employees’ In-Role and Extra-Role Performance in the Hospitality Industry: Moderating Role of Psychological Capital

2025-07-17T14:34:03+00:00

This study aims to examine the direct association between paradoxical leader behavior and the followers’ in-role and extra-role performance in the hospitality industry. Furthermore, this study also analyzes the moderating role of psychological capital. Data was collected through a questionnaire from supervisors and their immediate frontline employees working in the hospitality industry (specifically operating in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan). The results of multilevel path analysis demonstrated that paradoxical leader behavior (PLB) is positively associated with in-role and extra-role performance of frontline employees. Moreover, the followers’ psychological capital moderates the relationship between PLB and the followers’ in-role and extra-role performance, such that the relationship was determined to be stronger when the followers’ psychological capital was higher. The findings of this study extend our understanding of the construct of PLB and how it is related with the followers’ performance outcomes.

Examining the Relationship Between Leadership and Teachers' Moral Competence: The Mediating Role of Spiritual Climate

2025-07-17T14:34:03+00:00

This research examines how workplace buoyancy, somatic burden, autonomy-supportive and autonomy-thwarting leadership styles, and spiritual climate influence the moral competency of teachers. It may ultimately contribute to the development of a positive education culture. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire completed by teachers. This study also involved machine learning techniques including Random Forest Regressor (RFR) and Gradient Boosting Regressor (GBR). These techniques aim to identify correlations between the variables. In addition, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was adopted to analyse direct and indirect effects. The results indicated that autonomy-supportive leadership has a positive impact on moral competence, while spiritual climate mitigates the negative impact of somatic burden on moral competence. GBR and RFR were used to evaluate features, consistently showing similar relationships, with RFR demonstrating better predictive power. This shows that the use of machine learning in analysing educational data retrieves deep patterns within the data sets. Collectively, the results of the current study imply the importance of organizational change to promote autonomy-supportive leadership and to improve the spiritual climate to increase teachers’ moral competence. There is still room for further improvement concerning the generalization of results; therefore, further studies should use a larger sample of convenience. There is a need to examine other moderators, for instance, personality traits and to incorporate longitudinal designs to evaluate effects over time.

Effect of Toxic Leadership on Workplace Bullying: A Mediation and Moderation Analysis

2025-07-17T14:34:03+00:00

This study investigates the impact of toxic leadership on workplace bullying across multiple sectors in Gujranwala, Pakistan, emphasizing the mediating effects of employee silence and psychological well-being, as well as the moderating effect of employee voice. A systematic survey was conducted with 384 employees from various industries and the data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). Statistical results were drawn through SPSS and AMOS. The findings show that toxic leadership has a significant impact on workplace bullying, with employee silence and psychological well-being acting as essential mediators. Contrary to predictions, employee voice did not moderate the association between toxic leadership and bullying, implying that the impact of toxic leadership is widespread, regardless of employees' willingness to speak up. The results demonstrate how organizations can reduce workplace bullying and enhance employee well-being by addressing toxic leadership and fostering a positive work environment.