Journals of UMT (University of Management and Technology, Lahore)
Not a member yet
397 research outputs found
Sort by
Effect of Governance Quality on Credit Ratings of Pakistani Firms: Moderating Role of Liquidity and Innovation
No full textThe present study identifies the moderating role of liquidity and innovation to determine the credit ratings of non-financial firms in Pakistan integrated with corporate governance. In Pakistan, non-financial firms are facing increasing challenges to maintain favorable credit ratings, which are essential for financial stability and financing access from external resources. Certain characteristics like weak governance practices, low innovation levels and limited liquidity often hinders the firms from achieving strong credit profits. In the previous studies, in the context of Pakistan limited evidence exists on how governance quality interacts with liquidity and innovation as the determinants of credit ratings. In the present study panel, data regression analysis is used to analyze data from 50 non-financial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) from 2015 to 2019, based on purposive sampling technique. In the present study, credit rating serve as the dependent variable, governance quality as the independent variable, whereas liquidity and innovation as moderating variables. The findings show that governance quality has a positive effect on firms’ credit ratings, while on the other hand, both liquidity and innovation improved this relationship as significant moderators. Among the control variables, only a few showed statistical significance indicating that the internal firm factors are the primary determinants of credit outcomes. It is concluded that strong governance integrated with sufficient liquidity and innovation results in improved credit ratings. The study suggests that managers should focus on improving governance structures and practices, fostering innovation and enforcing financial stability to strengthen firms’ creditworthiness and long-term financial adaptability
Asset Index as an Indicator of Household Permanent Income in India: Comparison with Total Expenditure and Income
Full text linkFinding an appropriate proxy of permanent income has always remained a challenge to empirically analyze a diverse range of microeconomic questions. This challenge gets even more complicated in developing economies where adequate and reliable household survey data is limited, to say the least. As the commonly employed measures of economic status, in this case, that is, total consumption expenditure and income are prone to various errors, especially so in developing economies, asset indices, constructed through different methods, are employed as an alternative. The current study attempted to examine how far these measures correspond with each other. More importantly, it also represented the permanent income of households in the context of India through both phases of India Human Development Survey (IHDS). The assumption employed to determine which one of these is a better proxy of permanent income was that the permanent income of households would remain relatively the same over a decade or less. IHDS’s approach of surveying exactly the same households over 7–8 years ensures that which one of these is a better proxy of permanent income can be discerned based on the aforementioned assumption. All these measures were found to be positively correlated with each other to a moderate extent, affirming the relationships explored in the literature. Asset index was found to be a strong and much better proxy of permanent income than the other two. This study highlighted the need to explore the potential in order to employ asset index as a proxy of permanent income in different research contexts, beyond current areas of its application.  
Institutional Quality and Tax Revenue Mobilization in Nigeria (1996 - 2021)
Full text linkThe current study aimed to investigate the critical nexus between institutional quality and tax revenue mobilization in Nigeria from the time period (1996-2021). The study employed preliminary tests including descriptive statistics, the unit root test, and the Autoregressive Distributed Lag Model (ARDL). Unit root test was employed to determine the dataset, and ARDL was the econometric technique employed to assess the effect of institutional quality on tax revenue mobilization while a diagnostic test was conducted to ensure that the results of the model are statistically valid, reliable, and not misleading. The results highlighted that improvements in bureaucratic efficiency positively correlate with enhanced tax collection, emphasizing the importance of streamlined administrative processes. Additionally, the study underscored the negative effect of corruption on tax revenue mobilization. Policy implications emanating from the study include strengthening institutional quality and the need to support long-term economic growth through human capital development, infrastructure, and diversification to expand the tax base
Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Resource Management Practices: A Qualitative Study in Hyderabad, Pakistan’s Banking Sector
Full text linkArtificial 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
Determinants Shaping Choices for Robo and Human Advisors in German Financial Market: A Theoretical Review
No full textThe financial industry has experienced a radical change brought about by the development of robo-advisors, a technology that combines financial technology (fintech) and artificial intelligence (AI). With the ongoing growth of digitalisation, AI-based advisory services are transforming the ways in which people engage in financial services to provide new inclusion and access possibilities. These platforms help people, especially those who are not financially smart enough to take advantage of investment options previously available only through the traditional advisory channels. The current theoretical analysis is a critical explanation of the introduction of robo-advisors in German financial marketplace, which is marked by high regulation, cultural conservatism, and a high degree of trust in human advisors. Based on Schumpeter’s Innovation Theory, the models adopted in terms of technology include the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), the Technology Adoption Life Cycle (TALC), and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), all of which discuss the behavioural and structural levels of adoption. Although these frameworks provide useful insights into the process of innovation diffusion and user acceptance, they do not tend to consider key cultural and ethical aspects of the innovation process, such as privacy, trust, and institutional credibility. Through a synthesis of these models, the current review reveals a comprehensive picture of the interplay of technological advancement, behavioral intention, and cultural context in the decision-making process of technology adoption. It underlines the need for responsible and culturally sensitive innovation in the German fintech market and suggests its practical implications for policymakers, financial institutions, and tech developers who want to drive responsible and sustainable digitalisation
From Data to Decisions: Role of Machine Learning in Predicting Cash Holdings of Manufacturing Firms in Pakistan
Full text linkEffective cash management is essential to maintain a firm's financial health and sustainability. Hence, this study evaluates the prediction performance of various machine learning (ML) algorithms in identifying firm-specific determinants of cash holdings among the manufacturing firms of an emerging market, namely Pakistan. Using secondary data, the analysis employs ML techniques such as multiple linear regression, LASSO regression, ridge regression, elastic net regression, as well as random forest, gradient boosting, support vector regression, and decision tree models. The findings reveal that random forest and gradient boosting models outperformed others in predicting cash holdings, while the decision tree model exhibited the poorest performance. These insights are valuable for managers and decision-makers in optimizing cash retention, capital allocation, and investment planning. Additionally, policymakers can leverage these findings to develop policies that enhance financial resilience and foster growth in the manufacturing sector of Pakistan
Microcredit and Women Empowerment: A Case Study of Akhuwat Beneficiaries
No full textWomen's empowerment is one of the most debated and challenging topics in empirical research. In developing countries, women face numerous challenges related to their socio-economic conditions. Microcredit is a powerful tool to empower women. Microcredit institutions provide their services to poor women. The main objective of this study is to analyze the effectiveness of microcredit in promoting women’s empowerment among the borrowers of Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance Bank. Towards this end, we perform the non-parametric test and descriptive analysis based on the sample of 120 women who have taken loans from Akhuwat Islamic Microfinance in the city of Chakwal. Five dimensions of empowerment are used to arrive at an aggregate index of empowerment. These dimensions are economic empowerment, social empowerment, political empowerment, psychological empowerment, and technological empowerment. The study is unique in the sense that no one has used technological empowerment in a previous study. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire and conducted interviews to assess the complexity of the phenomenon of women's empowerment. The collected data were analyzed through SPSS v. 20 and STATA 14 by using the technique of non-parametric tests (Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test) and descriptive statistics. The findings of the study have shown that there are positive results of microcredit on women's empowerment. The most influential dimensions to empower women include economic, social, and technological empowerment. The findings suggest that microcredit plays a crucial role in shaping women's empowerment. The study concludes with recommendations for lenders to leverage microcredit
Impact of Digitalization and GDP Growth on Instigating Entrepreneurship: The Moderating Effect of Human Capital
Full text linkDigitalization has become an economic force in the modern era, restructuring traditional business models, approaches, and procedures. The embracing of widespread digital technology, along with continuous development of human capital, to promote entrepreneurship is a significant challenge. This paper investigates the effect of digitalization and GDP on entrepreneurship, as well as the moderating effect of human capital. For this purpose, fixed effect estimation technique was used on annual unbalanced panel data of 139 countries collected for a period of 9 years, that is, from 2011 to 2019. The findings show that digitalization has a positive and a statistically significant impact on entrepreneurship in the singleton model, as well as a positive and significant impact in all other models. Similarly, GDP growth also has a positive and significant effect across all the models. Human capital, proxied as tertiary school education, was also found to have a positive and significant impact on entrepreneurship. The analysis shows that the impact of digitalization is more significant in countries where tertiary education fosters the development of human capital, than in those countries that offer primary and secondary education. Furthermore, human capital also moderates the nexus between digital financial inclusion, economic growth, and entrepreneurship. The results of the regional comparison also depict that there is a strong positive and significant impact of all the proxies of digitalization and GDP growth on entrepreneurship in Europe and Central Asia, as compared to East Asia and the Pacific. These results show that the higher the level of digitalization, economic growth, and human capital, the higher the level of entrepreneurship
Ambidextrous Leadership Initiative Propelling the Circular Economy: The Moderating Role of SME Entrepreneur Orientation
Full text linkThe 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
The Government–NGO Partnerships in Service Delivery: Strategic Roles and Challenges under Uncertainty for Equitable Performance
No full textThis 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