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Exploring the role of Social Proof and Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) in Social Media Influencer Marketing among Gen Z in Pakistan: Impact on Consumer Purchasing Decision and Trust
No full textABSTRACT
This study explored the psychological drivers surrounding social media influencer marketing among Gen Z consumers in Pakistan, with a specific focus on social proof, fear of missing out (FOMO), and the impact of paid promotional tactics such as fake followers and sponsored reviews. Based on Cialdini\u27s Theory of Social Influence and Self-Determination Theory, the study employed a mixed-methods approach through quantitative survey responses from Gen Z participants and qualitative interviews with marketing professionals in agency and brand management roles.
The quantitative analysis revealed that although FOMO did significantly affect Gen Z\u27s purchasing decisions, its effect size was somewhat low, which suggested that psychological urgency was moderated by situational factors such as monetary constraints and the salience of the product. Curiously enough, social proof seemed to have limited control, which meant online consumers at the time were becoming increasingly skeptical of measures such as the number of likes and followers. Moreover, the qualitative findings provided insightful comments on how marketers evaluated influencers, with authenticity, relevance of content, and credibility being more critical than reach or engagement figures. Interviewees noted that more consumers were identifying sponsored content, potentially damaging the reputations of both influencers and brands in the long term.
The overall findings demonstrated that while emotions such as FOMO dictated consumer purchasing, the factors of trust and authenticity were crucial in helping influencers continue to be effective in the long run. The study called for more transparency in online advertising campaigns and hinted at global policy models in development, like Germany\u27s legal requirement for labeling sponsored content by influencers, as potential models for governing the expanding influencer economy in Pakistan
THE OTHER AWAKENING: The Social Political Impacts of the Islamic Revolution in Iran on the Shias of Pakistan
No full textThe study explores the socio-political impacts of the Islamic Revolution of Iran in 1979 on the Shia community in Pakistan. It specifically focuses on shifts in religious practices, political mobilization, and how the Shia identity transformed. The study utilizes both historical analysis and qualitative interviews to examine the changes in Shia religious practices and political activism following the revolution, particularly during General Zia-ul-Haq\u27s Islamization policies. The research aims to identify the evolution of Shia rhetoric pre- and post-revolution by using Social Identity Theory and Social Movement Theory and ultimately seeks to highlight how the Iranian Revolution provided the Shia community with a new ideological framework, which strengthened their collective identity and enabled them to resist the state-imposed policies of the Zia-ul-Haq regime. Through historical analysis and in-depth interviews with members of the Shia community, the research shows how the socio-political ideologies of the Shia community shifted after the Islamic Revolution in Iran
The Thought that Aches: Exploring the Understanding of Psychosomatic Pain in Pakistan
No full textPain is a type of sensation felt by humans worldwide on a daily basis. The causes of it are commonly perceived to be physical such as that resulting from cuts, scratches, accidents, injuries or tissue damage. Rarely do we try to understand our bodies in a holistic manner taking the physical as well as mental factors into account. Hence, this research has been done to understand the pain that emerges from the manifestation of our thoughts, feelings and emotions on our physical bodies. This type of pain is termed as ‘psychosomatic pain’ and my research explores its understanding, beliefs and perception in the Pakistani context.
A qualitative method of data collection was adopted for this research. 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted in which participants were asked about their experience of psychosomatic pain, their understanding of it and their relief mechanisms. The qualitative data obtained through the interviews was then thematically analyzed.
This research serves to add the context of Pakistan in the deep literature of psychosomatic pain. Several research have been conducted under the domain of psychosomatic pain analyzing the belief systems of people living in various countries including Germany, America, Africa etc. but not Pakistan. As Pakistan is a developing country, the mental health resources and understanding of psychosomatic pain is quite different when compared to other countries. Moreover, the study of psychosomatic pain gives an opportunity to understand mental health awareness amongst the young generation of Pakistan
Grad-Lify | Podcast: Navigating Professional Growth with Expert Perspectives
No full textFeaturing Mr. Hamid M. Ismail—CEO of Ismail Global & Director at Ismail Industries—and Ms. Nadia Sayeed, Visiting Faculty at IBA and host of the series.
This session explores the mindset, motivation, and strategic decisions that contribute to building impactful careers. Drawing from real-world experiences, the conversation provides actionable insights to support professionals in shaping their own career trajectories
The Future is Now and Sideways: Queer Erotics of Space and Time in 1970s Pakistani Urdu Cinema
No full textThis thesis moves through 1970s Pakistani Urdu cinema, lingering in the bourgeois household—bedrooms, kitchens, drawing rooms—as a space where gender, class, and desire are constantly staged, disciplined, and yet occasionally undone. These films arrived in my life as carriers of memory, affect, and care: gestures, repetitions, and haunted interiors that connected generations, that hovered between pedagogy and pleasure. Here, the house is never inert; it is thick with rules, but also porous, a moral and spatial architecture where bodies are coded, desire circulates sideways, and queer traces accumulate in the interstices.
Through close readings of Aabroo (1974), Sharafat (1974), Naukar (1975), and Aina (1977), I follow moments of masquerade, domestic labor, erotic proximity, and classed misrecognition—what I call chronotopic pause and chronotopic torsion—where narrative time stutters, heteronormative forward motion bends, and possibility gathers in small, sometimes imperceptible folds. Drawing on queer, film, and urban studies scholarship, this project engages with Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the chronotope alongside Elizabeth Freeman’s theory of chrononormativity and temporal drag to imagine cinematic space as archival, affective, and queer: a repository where memory, power, and desire refract, multiply, and unsettle expectation. Subsequently, the bourgeois house, in these films, is less a container of resolved morality than a site of tension, excess, and lateral desire. Bodies that masquerade, linger, or refuse destabilize hierarchy, temporal logic, and moral legibility. By attending to these frictions, this thesis offers a queer historiography of Pakistani cinema. In doing so, it asks what it might feel like to move through cinematic space and time not forward, but alongside, around, and in the folds of possibility
Using explainable AI techniques for feature extraction purposes
No full textThis thesis proposes a novel framework for feature selection aimed at enhancing machine learning model performance, interpretability, and computational efficiency. Feature selection is a critical step in machine learning pipelines, as it directly impacts model accuracy and scalability. However, traditional methods often fail to strike a balance between adaptability across diverse datasets and computational efficiency. This research introduces an integrated approach that combines complementary feature selection techniques to optimize the selection process.
This research presents a robust, model-agnostic, and scalable feature selection method. The proposed framework was evaluated on datasets spanning various domains, including healthcare, finance, and environmental science. Experiments with baseline algorithms such as Random Forest, XGBoost, and Naive Bayes demonstrated that the combined methodology consistently outperforms traditional feature selection methods. The findings show that integrating multiple strategies for feature ranking results in superior performance, particularly when applied to complex, high-dimensional datasets. By focusing on the most impactful features, the framework improves model accuracy and reduces computational overhead without compromising reliability
Remote Working: Systematic Literature Review
No full textPurpose: The purpose of this paper is to consolidate existing literature on Remote Working (RW). It categories the antecedents and consequences of Remote Working. Additionally, the study also examines key authors, prominent journals, emerging trends in the context of remote working.
Study design/methodology/approach: This study considers a systematic literature review of articles published in Elsevier and Springer. Review was proceeded with key terms “Remote Work”, “Virtual Work”, “Work at Home”.
Findings
After applicability of inclusion criteria several core themes emerged, 36 articles relevant to remote working in empirical studies were considered relevant for review. Helped in understanding antecedents, consequences, relevant journal, authors, and trends related to remote working.
Originality/value: This study offers a novel contribution by systematically doing literature review on remote working. It highlights specific trends in context of remote working. Also, examines remote working relevancy in antecedents and consequences.
Research limitations/implications: Key limitations of the study is that the study relied on specific key terms. Besides, it limits the broader scope of Remote Working. Future studies might consider diverse key terms to be explored.
Practical implications: This paper provides diverse literature and scope for various researchers. It has several managerial implications for practitioners. It provides relevant applicability of remote working in different contexts.
Social implications: This study provides pathway for the managers in applicability and relevancy of remote working in the organizations which shows crucial contribution in digital era
Family Firm Internationalization and Role of Contextual Resource Availability
No full textThe Current body of research has highlighted the importance of familiness in firm performance and internationalization but the specific firm-level conditions, and the role of contextual resources in the form of government support are largely unexplored. To address the gap, this study attempts to extend the conceptualization of the Resource-based view (RBV) at the industry level by proposing government support as an essential, rare, inimitable, and non-substitutable (VRIN) resource that grants competitive advantage to the industry. Using the sample of 100 family firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), findings reveal that contextual support, especially in the form of resource availability from government plays an important role in family firm internationalization. Furthermore, it was identified that firm performance, profit retention, and leverage are key boundary conditions for family involvement and internationalization in the absence of government support. The study has important theoretical and practical implications for future researchers, policymakers, and family firms
Leadership Under Pressure: Managing Resistance in a Traditional Organization
No full textThe below case study highlights and examines the complication of changes in organization i.e. leadership transition and resistance which were faced by the senior management of International Textile Limited, a business built from the ground up and driven for modernization in the textile sector of Pakistan by the son of the original owner Azad Khan’s son Adnan Khan. ITL initiated the modernization process under the leadership of Adnan Khan. This initiative was taken to improve operational efficiency and competitiveness via technological advancement and being the pioneer in implementing SAP in textile sector. Ali Murtaza a top performing Finance expert and a key player in digital transformation, is promoted to the Finance Manager amid reorganization. While attempting to establish data driven system, Ali face significant opposition from Bilal, a senior team member devoted to conventional practices who views the technological advancement as burden and unnecessary for organization. Disagreement between Ali’s forward approach towards the technology and Bilal’s resistance to adjust to changes being made resulted in clashes and delays in reporting. The resistance and clashes adversely affected the team morale, productivity and cooperation between departments. Ali encountered leadership challenges, juggling between tasks to achieve outcomes while preserving team unity. This case features analysis of strategies for managing change, leadership and way forward to for resolving conflicts. It provides important perspective for the readers and professional on managing resistance, promoting organizational harmony and maintaining transformation initiatives amid significant cultural and individual resistance
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Project Based Education Organizations: Challenges and Opportunities
No full textThis qualitative study compared DEI practices in modern and traditional private-sector education organizations in Pakistan. Twelve interviews were conducted with leads, managers, associates, and HR personnel, half from each organization type. The study explored how DEI relates to core organizational elements such as communication, leadership, and strategy, identifying challenges and opportunities for implementing DEI principles. The interview data was transcribed, and themes and sub-themes were identified through thematic analysis. The themes of this study are 1) Effective diversity support system in education organizations, 2) Inclusion and equity for people of diverse & underrepresented background, 3) Clear and swift communication for stable DEI culture, and 4) Leadership role in promoting DEI culture