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The study hypothesized that the impact of board diversity on financial distress (FD) is not direct but rather mediated by the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of CSR as a mediator in the board diversity–FD relationship.

The study examined six board diversity dimensions – age, gender, nationality, education and tenure in 81 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX)-listed firms from 2010 to 2021. The CSR engagement of the sample firms is evaluated using a multidimensional financial approach and the likelihood of FD is computed using Altman’s Z-score. The system-generalized method of moments estimator is used to meet the study objectives. In addition, several tests are run to determine the robustness of the study’s findings.

Based on the procedure for mediation analysis outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986), the authors found that CSR is significantly inversely associated with the likelihood of FD. Second, board diversity variables age, gender and national diversity were positively associated with CSR. Third, board age, gender and national diversity are significantly inversely related to FD. Finally, it was found that there is partial mediation between board age diversity and FD, whereas full mediation is shown between board age diversity and FD and between board nationality diversity and FD.

This study provides practical insights into PSX’s board diversity for companies, regulators and policymakers.

This research studies the connection between board diversity and FD. In addition, the current study extended the analysis by testing for the first time the mediating role of CSR in the diversity–distress relationship, particularly in the context of an emerging economy.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance characteristics and the financial performance of both Islamic and conventional banks in the context of an emerging market, i.e. Malaysia.

This study includes 300 bank-year observations from Islamic and conventional banks over the period 2010–2021. The dynamic panel model (generalized method of moments [GMM]) was considered the primary estimation model that solves simultaneity, endogeneity and omitted variable problems as most governance variables are endogenous by nature. Hence, static models are considered biased after conducting the DWH test of endogeneity, and considering dynamic panel GMM is valid proven by Sargan and Hensen and first-order (ARI) and second-order (ARII) tests.

Based on the regression results, the authors discovered that board size, female participation in the board and director remuneration have a significant positive impact on bank performance, whereas board meetings have a significant negative impact. Furthermore, the board governance structure of commercial banks is found to be more passive than that of Islamic banks.

The study’s findings added a new dimension to governance research, which could be a valuable source of knowledge for policymakers, investors and regulators looking to improve existing governance mechanisms for better performance of conventional and Islamic banks.

The goal of this study is to add to the existing literature by focusing on the impact of female board participation and other board governance mechanisms in both conventional and Islamic banks on bank performance.

The present study aims to investigate the impact of corporate governance proxies by ownership structure and firm-specific characteristics, i.e. firm size, leverage, growth opportunities, previous year dividend, firm risk, profitability, and liquidity on dividend behavior of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) listed firms.

Final sample of the study consists of 140 PSX-listed firms. The study covers a period of six years, starting from 2015 to 2020. Dividend payout dummy, dividend payout ratio, and dividend yield were used to assess the dividend behavior of the sample firms. The appropriate regression procedures (logistic, probit, ordinary least square (OLS), and fixed effect regression) are used to test the study hypothesis. To check the robustness of the result, a system GMM estimation technique is also used in the present study.

The study reveals that institutional ownership, foreign ownership, and individual ownership have a significant positive whereas managerial ownership has a significant negative impact on the dividend decision of sample firms. Among firm-specific characteristics, it was found that liquidity, profitability, and the previous year's dividend were significantly positive, while growth opportunities were significantly inversely associated with dividend payout decisions of PSX-listed firms.

This study sheds light on the relationship between dividend policy, ownership structure, and firm-specific factors in the context of an emerging market like Pakistan. The study's findings have important implications for managers, minority shareholders, lawmakers, and investors looking for guidance on the dividend policy of publicly-traded non-financial firms.

The literature lacks studies that together analyze the ownership characteristics and firm-specific variables on dividend decisions, particularly in the context of developing economies. The current study aims to fill this gap.

The MENA region is very rich in terms of natural resources. At the same time, the MENA region has also been a victim of terrorism during the last few years. This study is an attempt to investigate whether there is any relationship between natural resources and terrorism in the MENA region.

We have focused on 15 resource-rich countries located in the MENA region for the period 2002–2019. We have applied appropriate econometric techniques and have also controlled for other dominant determinants of terrorism while studying the relationship between these two variables.

The results provide solid evidence in favor of the hypothesis that natural resources encourage terrorism. We find that natural resources have positively impacted terrorism. Besides, the natural resources, other factors such as per capita GDP, trade openness, political stability, domestic investment and government expenditures have negatively impacted terrorism. Moreover, the findings suggest that FDI and corruption are irrelevant in explaining terrorism while the findings regarding employment level and terrorism are unexpected. The obtained results are robust to alternative estimating methodologies.

The results have serious policy implications for the MENA region. The MENA region in general is suggested to devise appropriate policies regarding their huge natural resources so as to tackle the terrorism problem effectively. Similarly, paying favorable attention to trade liberalization, political stability, government expenditures, investment, rising income of the population in the presence of macroeconomic stability in the form of lower inflation would also help the MENA region to eradicate the problem of terrorism.

The available literature has largely ignored the role of natural resources in explaining the problem of terrorism. Therefore, this study has provided relatively new evidence regarding the determinants of terrorism.

Improving the quality of life of the masses is the prime objective of all policymakers of both developed and developing countries. However, the determinants of improved quality of life are not well explored in the empirical literature. This study has, therefore, tried to identify the determinants of quality of life by focusing on military expenditures.

Panel data from 1990 to 2017 are collected from internationally reliable sources for the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN hereafter) member countries, and suitable econometric techniques are employed to estimate the designed models.

The results show that military expenditures have affected the quality of life of the ASEAN member countries both negatively and significantly. Similarly, the inflation rate has also negatively affected the quality of life. In terms of magnitude, the negative impact of the inflation rate on quality of life has exceeded than the impact of military expenditures. On the other hand, trade openness, per capita income, urbanization and government expenditures have played a positive and significant role in improving the quality of life in the ASEAN region. Moreover, it is found that the positive impact of per capita income on quality of life is highest among other determinants.

This study provided comprehensive evidence about the relationship between military expenditures and quality of life in the ASEAN context. Consequently, the ASEAN member economies will benefit a lot from the results of this study.

This study aims to unfurl the mediating role of facets of voice behavior. The study also unearths the relationship between servant leadership and voice behavior.

The data were collected from follower manager dyads in two waves of data collection initiated after the completion of the preceding wave. The final sample size obtained was 312.

The study found servant leadership to be related to innovative work behavior and facets of voice behavior. The study also found promotive voice behavior and preventive voice behavior to be related to the innovative work behavior of employees. The study found promotive voice behavior and prohibitive voice behavior work as parallel mediators linking servant leadership to the innovative work behavior of employees.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to unearth mediation linking servant leadership to innovative work behavior through both facets of voice behavior.

The purpose of the study is to ascertain the mediating role of meaning between servant leadership and work engagement. The study also explores the relationship between servant leadership and work engagement.

The data were collected from 704 service sector employees working in Pakistan through survey design. The data analysis was done through structural equation modeling using PLS-Smart and hierarchical regression using SPSS.

The results revealed that servant leadership was related to meaning and work engagement. Moreover, meaning was found to be related to work engagement. Finally, meaning was found to mediate the relationship between servant leadership and work engagement.

The research has ascertained the previously unexplored mediating role of meaning between servant leadership and work engagement.

This paper intends to ascertain whether servant leadership can trigger servant colleagueship among subordinates. Additionally, the study is set out to divulge the mediating role of self-transcendence relating servant leadership to servant colleagueship.

Data were collected from the respondents in three waves that were two months apart. In the first wave, employees rated their managers' servant leadership behavior. In the second wave, employees rated their self-transcendence, and finally, they rated their colleague-directed servant behavior. The final sample size for the study was 209 employees employed in the service sector. Structural equational modeling through Smart-PLS and hierarchical regression through SPSS were used for data analysis.

The study found servant leadership to be related to self-transcendence and employees' enacted servant colleagueship. Additionally, the study found self-transcendence to mediate the relationship between servant leadership and servant colleagueship.

The study has established the previously unexplored mediating role of self-transcendence linking servant leadership to servant colleagueship. The study is also the first to empirically test the relationship between self-transcendence and servant colleagueship.

This study aims to ascertain the role of servant leadership in inducing flow at work. The study, along with confirming the relation between flow at work and innovative work behavior (IWB), intends to explore the mediating role flow at work plays in relating servant leadership to IWB.

The data collection was conducted through an interviewee-administered questionnaire in three waves that were four weeks apart. The data were collected from 267 respondents. To run the measurement model and structural model, Smart-PLS was used, and Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) was used to summarize the demographic information and conduct hierarchal regression.

Servant leadership is related to flow at work. Additionally, flow at work is related to IWB. Finally, flow at work mediates the relationship between servant leadership and IWB.

The study found servant leadership is related to flow at work. Moreover, the study unearthed the relation between flow at work and IWB. Finally, the study unveiled that flow at work acts as a mediator between servant leadership and IWB.

Based on social exchange and social learning theories, this study explicates the mediating role of individual-level human capital, structural capital and relational capital in linking servant leadership with the innovative work behavior (IWB) of employees.

Data were collected from 256 manager–employee dyads from the IT sector of Pakistan in three phases through a survey conducted two months apart.

Results showed that two dimensions of individual-level intellectual capital, namely, individual-level human capital and individual-level relational capital, mediated the relationship between servant leadership and IWB, whereas individual-level structural capital did not mediate the relationship between the two variables.

This study confirms the relationship between servant leadership and IWB and tests the mediating role of the three facets of individual-level intellectual capital in linking servant leadership with the IWB of employees.