• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.151-158
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• 2022

The study aims to investigate Lebanese-Chinese relations within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Lebanon formally joined the effort in 2017; this paper emphasizes Lebanon's geostrategic importance. The paper presents an assessment of the investment risks in Lebanon, which is considered an economically unstable country with a volatile security situation, with many internal and external political hurdles. The paper refers to the obstacles and challenges that the Chinese investor may face in Lebanese society. The study employs qualitative descriptive analysis to address the status of Chinese investment in Lebanon and the consequences of this partnership; the paper examines previous research related to the Belt and Road Initiative and the Lebanese political, security, and economic situation literature. Due to the deteriorating security situation, external intervention, and the economic crisis, the results reveal that Lebanon is not a top investment priority for China, which is a big impediment to China entering into economic cooperation with Lebanon. The findings of this study suggest that the Lebanese government should adopt an anti-corruption policy to build confidence for the Chinese investor, reduce unnecessary public spending, and hold a national dialogue to build confidence among the Lebanese parties.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.863-872
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• 2021

The main goal of this research is to understand how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owners in Oman perceive the factors that drive or impede their growth and sustainability. Based on survey data of 395 SMEs in Oman, factor analysis was conducted to check if all the items load as one factor in each of the constructs. The results show that all the items measuring motivators and barriers loaded significantly for the respective scales, with high reliability (Cronbach alpha for Motivators = 0.991 and Barriers = 0.995). Relationships between the demographic factors of entrepreneurs and firm characteristics were tested and it was found that all the four variables: age of the entrepreneur (p = 0.00), qualification of the entrepreneur (p = 0.00), SME sector (p = 0.00), and age of the firm (p = 0.00) have a significant relationship with both the Motivators and the Barriers. The findings of this study could have significant implications for policymakers in Oman and other Middle Eastern countries. Since SMEs face similar problems and are given priority around the world, the findings could be applicable to other countries, as well. The findings also add important results to the empirical literature on SMEs.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.4
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• pp.591-599
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• 2021

The increased risk in financial firms, due to Global Financial Crises and high international trade activities, has encouraged banks to use derivatives for both managing their financial risk and earning non-operating income simultaneously. The present study brings new evidence in the existing literature by determining the drivers behind financial derivative usage in Pakistani banks for 2011 till 2016. Moreover, the paper examines how risk plays a moderating role in determining the relationship between derivative usage and bank value. While assessing the determinants, a two-stage test has conducted, first, the logit regression was used to test the drivers behind the derivative usage in banks. Second, Tobit regression was run to analyze the factors leading to determine the extent of derivative usage. The findings demonstrate that Pakistani banks are using derivatives for both risk management and speculative motive as they are customers and users of derivatives at the same time. Empirical results, regarding moderating role of risk on the value implications of derivative usage, provide mixed findings as derivative usage gives value premium in case of non-systematic risk and foreign exchange risk. Whereas value discounts have been observed for cases where systematic risk is high and managers try to earn non-operating income from speculative activities.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.9
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• pp.517-526
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• 2020

This research investigates the relationship among product quality, service quality, perceived value, customer satisfaction, and behavior intentions. Validated measurements were identified from a literature review. The measurement model and the conceptual model depicting hypothesized relationships were evaluated based on responses from 220 customers using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The testing results show that, for the direct path, product quality has a significant, positive influence on customer satisfaction, and behavioral intentions. Also, perceived value directly influences customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions and satisfaction is an antecedent of behavioral intentions. For the indirect path, service quality has a significant, positive influence on behavioral intentions through the customer satisfaction. The major finding of this study suggest that service quality easily attract more customers, especially the young consumers. About the sale personnel, communication skills, knowledge and ways of treatment to customers are crucial to retailers to gain competitive advantage over competitors. Therefore, it should have clear and consistent processes, procedures with criteria that create the best condition for organization and individual to open this kind of retailing store. Furthermore, product quality improvement is essential; all products must have clear originality; and diversifying products and services is also the way to appeal more consumers.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.43-54
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• 2022

Purpose - Government-funded research institutes are important national institutions socially and nationally but academic studies on Korean government-funded research institutes are scarce, especially in areas of human resources and organization. This study investigated the effects of job characteristics on organizational commitment, resilience, and organizational citizenship behavior for organizational members of government-funded research institutes in the field of science and technology. Research design, data, and methodology - Literature review on the effects of job characteristics on organizational commitment, resilience and organizational citizenship behavior for organizational members of government-funded research institutes in the field of science and technology. Based on the review, exploratory propositions were proposed to conduct future empirical study. Result - In this study, based on the results of previous studies, it was presumed that job characteristics would affect organizational commitment, and organizational commitment would affect resilience and organizational citizenship behavior. In addition, proposition on the mediating role of resilience on both organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior was formulated. Conclusion - It was propositioned that job characteristics would affect organizational commitment, and organizational commitment would affect resilience and organizational citizenship behavior. Resilience, along with the direct effect of organizational commitment on organizational citizenship behavior, would play a role in mediating organizational commitment and organizational citizenship behavior.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.29-38
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• 2022

Purpose - The present research aims to assess the meaningful association between the extension of sports leisure culture and the spread of wearable devices. The research will discuss the current utilization of wearable devices in sports leisure and the present and future application of wearable devices in sports perspectives. Research design, Data, and methodology - We have investigated and conducted the qualitative content analysis (QCA) to obtain the adequate textual dataset in the current literature and conducted an in-depth analysis of the incorporation of cloud computing in the leisure sports industry by focusing on the development of wearable technologies. Result - From the QCA, it is evident that there is a meaningful connection between the extension of sports leisure culture and the spread of wearable devices, figuring out four kinds of associations as follows: (1) Monitoring the Impact of Sporting Activities, (2) Benefits of Sensor Technology, (3) Reducing Sedentary Behaviors, and (4) Measuring Workload done in Sport Leisure. Conclusion - The present research concludes that wearable devices positively influence individuals to participate in sports and leisure activities. Various technologies are very effective in motivating individuals to adopt sports leisure culture mainly because there is a certain degree of satisfaction that individuals gain in seeing the level of physical activities.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.69-80
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• 2021

Purpose - This study investigated the development process of the Chinese distribution industry and analyzed the current status of China's offline and online distribution industries under the development process of the Chinese distribution industry. In addition, the current status of offline distributors in China and representative companies were analyzed as case studies. Research design, data, and methodology - This study analyzed the overall environment of the Chinese distribution industry by using literature data. Then, this study conducted a case analysis using RT Mart and Jingdong, major companies in the distribution industry. Result -The main research results of this study show that the Chinese distribution market has already matured, and retailers are fiercely competing to secure sales and operating profits through various methods such as finding new management methods, improving awareness and customer loyalty by expanding the number of stores. Conclusion -Recently, the characteristic of China's distribution industry is that the boundaries of distribution are breaking down. Chinese retailers are taking strategies to expand the scope of services by erasing the boundaries of distribution. In other words, distribution companies are promoting a borderless distribution strategy in which consumers purchase products online and offline without restrictions on time and space. In addition, small stores in residential areas are on the rise compared to large-scale stores in the city center. The existing distribution industry operates various types of distribution stores to prepare for the post-COVID-19 crisis.

• East Asian Journal of Business Economics (EAJBE)
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.21-30
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• 2021

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of affective commitment in employees of Korean companies' subsidiaries in Mexico. Specifically, we study the moderating effects of cultural orientation on the relationship between perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and affective commitment among these Mexican employees. Research design and methodology - This study was designed to explore the impact of perceived CSR on affective commitment and the moderating roles of collectivism and power distance on the employer-employee relationship. We applied hierarchical regression to survey data collected from 296 employees working for Korean company subsidiaries in Mexico to examine the proposed hypotheses. Results - The results show a significant positive effect from perceived CSR on affective commitment. In addition, this study confirms a positive moderating effect from collectivism and a negative moderating impact from power distance on the relationship between perceived CSR and affective commitment. Conclusions - Drawing upon social identity theory, this study found that Mexican employees' perceptions of their company's CSR and their own cultural value orientations influence affective commitment to the organization. This study extends the understanding of perceived CSR and affective commitment, and particularly demonstrates that the relationship between perceived CSR and affective commitment is influenced by employee collectivistic and power distance orientation.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.10
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• pp.601-611
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• 2020

The study aims to investigate the impact of ownership structure on corporate voluntary disclosure in the listed companies of Bangladesh. While many studies on the impact of ownership structure on voluntary disclosure have looked at developed and developing countries, few studies have been carried out in a transition economy. Using a three-step relative voluntary disclosure index, the study applies a multivariate analysis on the cross-sectional data for the year 2018. The findings indicate that the quality of voluntary disclosure in transition economy is still below average but has improved compared to findings from the previous literature. We found a significant inverse relationship between corporate voluntary disclosure and public ownership, while no significant relationships between voluntary disclosure and institutional ownership, director ownership, and foreign ownership have been found. The empirical findings of the study will provide evidence to promote the voluntary disclosure characterized by the ownership structures. The findings have important implications for both local and foreign investors as they make their investment decisions especially related to a transition economy. Besides, the findings will assist, not only the corporate executives in rearranging their reporting paradigm, but also the regulators and governments in similar transition economy in adopting and formulating their corporate policies and strategies.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.399-409
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• 2022

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of virtual community participation and engagement in the brand decision by building community and brand trust. In this study, two theories (Social Capital Theory and Theory of Collective Action) were tested. Both theories were linked based on existing literature, and empirical evidence was obtained through testing hypotheses. Students from five prestigious Pakistani business schools provided a total of 849 replies. The measurement model and structural model were both analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) method. The findings show that virtual community engagement and participation have a positive and significant impact on virtual community trust. Although virtual community engagement has a positive effect on brand trust, we found no evidence of a link between virtual community participation and brand trust. Later, these trusts positively influence brand choice. This study has several managerial implications. The suggested model of this study helps managers to get customers' insight, choose the right target market, and set integrated marketing communication strategies besides social media marketing strategies. The study represents a new perspective of consumer behavior that helps to understand how a customer behaves in virtual communities to trust and take the final decision to purchase.