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The sustainable development of the energy–economy–environment (3E) needs to ensure the balanced interplay between the energy–economy and the environment. Likewise, creating such balance has become a critical policy issue among countries worldwide. However, in the past, studies have ignored to create a balanced interplay of the energy–economy and environment. Therefore, to address said research gap, this paper aims to develop a graph model for conflict resolution (GMCR)-based strategy for the sustainable development of the 3E to ensure better environmental quality.

To develop a strategic framework for the balanced interplay between the energy–economy and the environment, the study used the GMCR approach and designed a mechanism for the sustainable development of the 3E to ensure better environmental quality in the context of Pakistan.

The results from the GMCR indicate that sustainable development of the 3E to ensure better environmental quality is possible when government focuses on the sustainable growth of the economy through environmental policies and the use of renewable energy.

By solving the 3E conflict, this study provides policy insights for the government of Pakistan for the sustainable development of the energy economy and the environment to ensure better environmental quality in the country.

For the first time, this paper tried to put forward a way through which conflicting objectives can be achieved together for the sustainable development of the 3E to ensure better environmental quality.

The study examines the relationship between consumers’ ethical sensitivity, corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and impulse behaviors. Ethical behavior has been a subject of increasing research interest. However, there is an imperious need to inspect ethical decision-making through holistic attention to impulse purchasing.

The study develops a set of hypotheses to understand the relationships. The online survey method was used to collect data, and 420 valid questionnaires, in total, were retrieved. In a two-step process, first, reliability and validity were initially measured. Second, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to test the hypotheses.

The analyses support the social marketing theory (SMT) and the general theory of marketing (GTM) ethics related to business strategy. Moreover, the study examines the mediating role of organizational trust, organizational identification and eco-branding in these relationships. The ethical and CSR practices for stakeholders positively affect organizational identification and trust that mediate the relationship between impulse buying and ethical attempts. Furthermore, from an ethical and climate change perspective, eco-branding positively mediates the relationship between impulse buying and environmental advertising. The moderating role of trust is significant in the relationship between impulse buying behavior (IBB) and repurchase behavior.

A critical factor explaining individuals’ behaviors has never been investigated using a holistic approach to IBB with ethical and CSR practices. The study profoundly contributes to knowledge about consumer ethics, with potential effects for ethical public relations, while also offering new research avenues for future exploration.

The present study aims to identify and evaluate the socioeconomic barriers to effective COVID-19 pandemic transmission control in Pakistan.

The study identifies multiple socio-economic barriers through an extensive literature review. The preliminary analysis unveiled 15 socio-economic barriers. Nine experts were contacted to collect data and finalize the most prominent barriers to COVID-19 transmission control using the DELPHI method. The Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method was used to process and interpret the data collected and a cause–effect relationship was established among the barriers.

The finalized barriers to effective COVID-19 pandemic transmission control were evaluated using DEMATEL which grouped criteria into two grouped criteria – cause and effect. The DEMATEL analysis shows that poor safety culture, lack of strategy and goal setting, lack of resources, late realization and recognition of the pandemic problem and lack of expertise and capacity in disaster and risk management fall into the cause group. These factors are critical as they directly affect the remaining barriers identified in the study.

Despite the collective global efforts, the national economies have been struggling to completely control COVID-19 transmission control. Pakistan’s economy has been facing the third wave of the pandemic. It is mandatory to identify the barriers and evaluate them to develop a comprehensive strategy ensuring that there would be no fourth wave. The study identifies and evaluates the barriers to COVID-19 transmission control in Pakistan using the integrated DELPHI-DEMATEL framework. The findings would help the government, experts and strategists to develop a comprehensive disaster and risk management strategy.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) ISO standards have been noted as an essential marketing strategy by which firms can achieve consumer trust while improving environmental, social, and quality factors. This study discloses the contextual relationship between CSR ISO standards and sustainable impulse buying behavior. This study also looks to uncover the CSR ISO driving and linkage factors that motivate consumers to make sustainable impulsive purchases.

Three distinct research methods were employed in this research. First, a consumer expert opinion-based Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) approach was adopted to reveal the contextual relationship between CSR ISO factors and sustainable impulse buying behavior. Secondly, Matrice Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliques Classement (MICMAC) was used to examine these factors' driving and dependent power. In addition, Minitab package software was also used to check the statistical validation of ISM-MICMAC results.

The results indicate that although environmentally responsible CSR ISO 14001, socially responsible CSR ISO 26000, and consumer perception of product quality CSR ISO 9001 standards contain strong driving power, their dependent power was weak. All these CSR ISO factors (14,001, 26,000, and 9001) strongly impact each other and sustainable impulse buying. Therefore, these three CSR ISO factors have been placed at the bottom of the ISM model. The CSR ISO 14020 standard (labeling of the product), knowledge of CSR ISO standards, consumer trust, and advertising about CSR ISO standards have been placed in the middle. The mentioned factors have intense driving and dependent power and are classified as linkage factors for sustainable impulse buying. Impulse buying behavior has weak driving and strong dependent power, yet this factor strongly depends on other CSR ISO factors. Hence, this factor is placed at the top of the ISM model. In addition, the Minitab package software results indicate that ISM-MICMAC results are statistically valid.

To the best of our knowledge, this research is unique and examines the influence of CSR ISO factors on sustainable impulse buying in the context of Pakistani consumers. Secondly, our study has thoroughly investigated several CSR ISO factors and allied these factors in the context of consumer buying behavior. Third, several CSR ISO factors and impulse buying behavior were examined using a mix of ISM-MICAC and Minitab methods. Thus, including these steps in our study has led to the development of a novel technique.

The book chapter discusses the various leaders in postcolonial Egypt to understand their contributions to developing postcolonial Egypt. After the veiled independence, the first set of leaders in Egypt were surrogates of the imperial lords who had absolute power even when self-rule was granted. The true nationalists applied force to wrestle control from Britain and their surrogates. This started the institutionalization of force as a means for social change in Egypt. Almost all the rulers from 1952 to 2022 were either military or military personnel turned civilian. The ideological direction for Egypt was set after the 1952 coup that included Arabism, Africanism, and Islamism but excluded turning Egypt into an Islamic state. Some rulers attempted to circumvent this and turn Egypt into an Islamic state despite the nation's wish not to. They failed through the constant intervention of military personnel in governance. Egypt also suffered from a complete disconnect between the activities and successes of the ancient era and those of the colonial and postcolonial periods. The colonial lords truncated the progress made in the bygone era because it did not align with the motives for the occupation of Egypt. The postcolonial leaders had no link with the colonial because it was anti-Egyptian progress. Like all other African countries, all the criteria used in gauging the quality of governance and development showed that the performance of the postcolonial leaders was poor and left Egypt underdeveloped.

In order to achieve sustainable development objectives, safeguard the ecosystem, combat global warming and preserve biodiversity for a more sustainable and secure future, the ecological footprint (EF) must be reduced. Therefore, embracing holistic methods, emphasizing renewable energy (RN) and environmental taxes (ET) is crucial. Therefore, the present study aims to capture the effect of ET and RN on EF in Germany.

To achieve this aim, the novel Fourier-based Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ADL) cointegration and the time and frequency-based connections among the variables are investigated in this work throughout the 1994–2021 time span using the wavelet analytic methods, including wavelet power spectrum (WPS) and wavelet coherence (WC) methods, respectively.

The study’s results express that (1) RN, ET and EF are cointegrated in the long run; (2) EF and RN have volatility; (3) RN use in Germany prevents environmental deterioration and (4) ET decreases EF.

The research findings imply that Germany needs rigorous environmental restrictions and enforcement of alternate energy sources for energy use plans and sustainable production objectives.

To the best of our knowledge, the effect of RN and ET on EF in Germany has not been comprehensively explored by using newly developed econometrics techniques and a single dataset. Therefore, the study provides important policy implementations for the German government and is also likely to open debate on the concept.

Extending on the resource-seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) hypothesis, this paper aims to uncover the potential relationship between financial and non-financial channels and inward FDI before and after the global financial crisis.

The sample includes 561 year-country observations on 33 developed and developing countries during 2001 and 2017. This study investigates several determinants such as inflation, gross domestic product growth, exchange rate, trade openness, financial openness, Sharpe ratio and country market capitalization, using ordinary least squares, fixed effects and system generalized method of moments.

The results indicate a negative relationship between inflation and financial openness with FDI inflow while market capitalization and exchange rate were positively connected to FDI inflow. All three financial channels of FDI inflow: financial market size, financial openness and Sharpe ratio significantly influenced FDI inflow. Moreover, inflation, financial openness and Sharpe ratio imply a meaningful impact on the FDI inflow of developed and developing countries, with a relatively stronger influence during the post-crisis periods. Asymmetric impact tests also revealed similar results.

These findings offer an impression that financial market development channels may significantly boost FDIs in developing and, as well as developed countries. With special reference to the developing countries, a disciplined financial market and financial openness may help attract more FDIs.

Impact of the financial crisis on FDI inflows while observing the impact of the financing channels in developing and developed countries is rare in the academic domain. This study forwards that a structured and open financial market may help in recovering from the financial crisis.

The study aims to map the links between Industry 4.0 (I-4.0) technologies and circular economy (CE) for sustainable operations and their role to achieving the selected number of sustainable development goals (SDGs).

The study adopts a systematic literature review method to identify 76 primary studies that were published between January 2010 and December 2020. The authors synthesized the existing literature using Scopus database to investigate I-4.0 technologies and CE to select SDGs.

The findings of the study bridge the gap in the literature at the intersection between I-4.0 and sustainable operations in line with the regenerate, share, optimize, loop, virtualize and exchange (ReSOLVE) framework leading to CE practices. Further, the study also depicts the CE practices leading to the select SDGs (“SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation,” “SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy,” “SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure,” “SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production” and “SDG 13: Climate Action”). The study proposes a conceptual framework based on the linkages above, which can help organizations to realign their management practices, thereby achieving specific SDGs.

The originality of the study is substantiated by a unique I-4.0-sustainable operations-CE-SDGs (ISOCES) framework that integrates I-4.0 and CE for sustainable development. The framework is unique, as it is based on an in-depth and systematic review of the literature that maps the links between I-4.0, CE and sustainability.