An ounce of prevention or a pound of cure? Multi-level modelling on the antecedents of mobile-wallet adoption and the moderating role of e-WoM during COVID-19.

During the COVID-19 epidemic, personal safety has received increasing attention, leading to behavioral changes. Mobile-wallet (m-wallet) makes it easier for people to keep social distance, which helps stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Evolving Internet technology has brought about changes in consumer lifestyle. The current situation of COVID-19 has created a business environment to shift from traditional ways and adopt e-commerce solutions worldwide. Grounded in technology acceptance model (TAM) theory, this study's objective is two-fold: First, this study intends to examine perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, perceived severity of COVID-19, insecurity and discomfort as the predictors of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU). Second, the current research intends to test the moderating effect of electronic words-of-mouth (eWOM) on the relationship between attitude and usage intention. Using survey methods, 226 usable responses were collected through a mall intercept survey in Pakistan. Data were analyzed using partial least square (PLS). The results revealed that PEOU and PU positively influence attitude toward M-wallet. This study has found that attitude positively influences the usage intention in adopting M-wallet. The results also support the moderating role of eWOM. These findings contribute to the marketing literature in several ways, particularly in Pakistan. This is the first study to use eWOM as a moderating variable in the TAM theory. In addition, this study adds to the current body of knowledge by considering eWOM as a multi-dimensional construct novel in m-wallet literature.

Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner: Examining the Role of Religiosity on Generation M's Attitude Toward Purchasing Luxury Counterfeiting Products in Social Commerce.

Counterfeiting has become a prevalent business worldwide, resulting in high losses for many businesses. Considerable attention has been paid to research an individual attitude toward purchasing luxury counterfeit products in the offline context. However, there is currently lesser-known literature on the given phenomenon in the context of social commerce. Moreover, researchers observed that counterfeiting consumption is associated with consumer ethical values or beliefs. Practitioners and researchers are keen to find those factors that affect consumers' ethical consumption behavior to reduce pirated products' demand. However, the role of religion in shaping ethical behavior is less documented in the counterfeiting context. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of religiosity on the counterfeiting of luxury products in Pakistan. A five-dimensional Islamic religiosity model was adopted to understand the consumption phenomena. For quantitative research, cross-sectional data were collected from the generation M of Pakistan through self-administrative questionnaires. A total of 394 valid responses from active online users were collected to empirically examine the conceptual model by employing the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that all five dimensions of religiosity negatively affect the attitude of generation M. Moreover, it is found that knowledge has the highest negative effect on attitude, followed by orthopraxis, experience, central duties, and basic duties. The study also explains the theoretical and practical implications of the research. Finally, limitations and future research were also discussed.

The nexus between corporate environment, social, and governance performance and cost of capital: evidence from top global tech leaders.

The nexus between corporate environment, social, and governance (ESG) performance and the consequent financial performance have been extensively explored in the literature. However, little is known whether the investment in ESG endeavors has any implication for the cost of capital of an enterprise. The present study investigates the impact of ESG performance of top global technology leading firms on their cost of capital. Panel data fixed effects and random effects and generalized method of moment (GMM) regression estimation techniques have been applied to ascertain this relationship during a period of eight years (2010-2017). For a deeper insight, we segregate the cost of capital into the cost of equity and cost of debt. The empirical outcomes reveal that ESG performance is positively associated with both measures of the cost of capital i.e., cost of equity and cost of debt. It suggests that socially responsible top global technology leaders bear a higher cost of capital as investors perceive ESG as an additional financial burden and do not treat ESG costs as a value-added factor. Hence, corporate managers shall rationalize investment in ESG undertakings to curtail their cost of capital. Based on these findings, the policy prescriptions are discussed for the concerned stakeholders.

Does corporate environmental investment impede financial performance of Chinese enterprises? The moderating role of financial constraints.

China has emerged as the world's largest pollutant emitter due to rapid industrialization and a remarkable economic upsurge in recent decades. Rising carbon emissions have exerted more social and regulatory pressure on Chinese corporations to undertake environmental protection investments. However, the implications of such investments on the financial fundamentals of a firm remain unclear. Especially, little is known about how environmental protection investments affect the performance of financially constrained firms. This study explores the mediating role of financial constraints in the nexus between corporate environmental protection investment and the accounting and market performance of Chinese listed firms during 2009-2016. The empirical outcomes of the generalized method of moments (GMM)-based regressions reveal that environmental investments of non-constrained firms have a positive impact on the accounting and market performance of such firms as measured by ROA and Tobin's q, respectively. Interestingly, environmental protection investments have a significant negative association with both (i.e., the accounting and market) performance proxies of firms that are facing financial constraints. These findings imply that in pursuit of environment preservation and pollution abatement, regulators shall provide more financial flexibility and enabling environment to financially constrained firms to optimize their role in pollution abatement. Besides, financially non-constrained firms shall be assigned greater environmental responsibility to undertake a proportionately higher environmental investment than financially constrained firms.

Role of Gender-Based Emotional Intelligence in Corporate Financial Decision-Making.

PURPOSE: Business competition is getting more intense nowadays, and corporate survival is getting harder; consequently, corporate managers have to make financial decisions in complex and globalized scenarios. As a result, in order to compete in today's global economy, businesses are contemplating incorporating behavioural components of human psychology into their decision-making processes. Corporations are masters of quantitative analysis, but they rarely pay attention to behavioural elements of organizational success. Emotional intelligence is important in many parts of life; therefore, it is crucial to look at its dimensions when it comes to corporate financial decision-making. METHODS: A simple random sampling technique was used to collect data from 200 senior-level managers from the corporate sector located in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad of Pakistan. SPSS version 22 was used to test the hypotheses. RESULTS: Results of the study show the gender-based variation in corporate financial decision-making detailing the higher impact of EI of males on CFD than their counterparts in the corporate sector organizations. The elements of self-awareness, empathy, motivation and self-regulation affect the financial decision-making of both the genders with varying degrees of influence, whereas social skills do not affect CFD of both genders. CONCLUSION: The study findings explicate that the influence of self-awareness and empathy constructs of EI on corporate financial decisions is stronger in female managers than their male counterparts. However, male managers exhibit a significantly stronger influence of motivation, social skills, and self-regulation dimensions on their financial decisions compared to female managers in a corporate setting. Overall, the impact of EI on CFD is slightly higher in male managers. These empirical outcomes imply that organizations should assess the employees not only for technical skills but also based on their emotional intelligence during the recruitment process.

Exploring Brand Hate and the Association Between Similar Competitor Offer and Brand Equity: A Moderated-Mediation Model.

Using the assumptions of Sternberg (2003) Duplex Theory of Hate, the present study reveals the combined effects of similar competitor offer and narcissistic personality on brand equity through the underlying mechanism of brand hate. Specifically, we hypothesize that brand hate mediates the relationship between similar competitor offer and brand equity. Moreover, we propose that similar competitor offer and brand hate relationship are stronger for narcissistic individuals. By employing a multi-wave time-lagged research design, we collected data from a sample of (N = 338) dairy product consumers in Pakistan. The findings of moderated-mediation regression analyses indicate that (a) Brand hate mediates the relationship between similar competitor offer and brand equity; and (b) Narcissistic personality moderates a similar competitor offer and brand hate relationship such that a high similar competitor offer led to greater brand hate when narcissism was high. Furthermore, conditional indirect effects reveal that brand hate mediates the relationship between similar competitor offer and brand equity only with individuals exhibiting narcissistic personality traits. The current study offers great insights to managers that by managing similar competitor offer, they can manage the development of brand hate, which can subsequently effect brand equity. Moreover, by profiling customers on the basis of their personalities, marketing managers can effectively invest only in customers with positive tendencies. The current study is unique in that it highlights new avenues in existing research by extending the nascent domain of brand hate in consumer-brand relationships.

Understanding the Antecedents of Organic Food Consumption in Pakistan: Moderating Role of Food Neophobia.

Environmental and health problems have increased the interest of researchers and practitioners in investigating the factors that affect organic food consumption. However, little attention has been paid to the actual organic food buying behavior, particularly in developing countries like Pakistan. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to determine the actual buying patterns of consumers. For this purpose, a conceptual model based on green perceived value framework which predicts consumer's purchase intention and purchase behavior has been empirically tested. Likewise, moderating role of food neophobia has also been explored. Data is collected from millennials that are under rated but constitute the most important consumer segment in Pakistan. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is employed to analyze the data. Results from 221 university students reveal that functional value, social value, emotional value, and conditional value positively influence the consumer purchase intention. Moreover, purchase intention is positively linked to the consumer purchase behavior of organic food. Furthermore, the study findings also confirm the moderating role of food neophobia between purchase intention and consumption of organic food. This paper depicts some noteworthy insights of consumer behavior for organic food producers, marketers, and researchers. At the end, limitations and recommendations for future research are elaborated.