Abstract In the era of digital transformation, businesses are forced to realign strategic priorities, innovate their operating models, improve service quality and increase customer-centricity to maintain competitiveness. As customer expectations continue to rise, the extent to which firms adopt customer obsessed behaviours has become a critical topic in contemporary strategic management. However, the limited empirical evidence exists on how customer obsession, innovation and service quality influence firm performance in Asian markets. This study aims to examine the effects of customer obsession, innovation, and service quality on firm performance using accounting-based profitability indicators. Building on the Resource Based View, Dynamic Capabilities and Service-Dominant Logic, the study develops an integrated analytical framework and applies panel data regression techniques to firm level secondary data. The empirical analysis is conducted using data from 50 publicly listed Taiwanese firms over the period from 2020 to 2025. The findings reveal three key insights. First, customer obsession exhibits only a weak association with firm profitability, indicating that the financial returns of customers centric strategies tend to emerge gradually rather than immediately. Second, firm resource variables, particularly innovation related investment and firm scale, demonstrate strong and stable positive effects on profitability outcomes. Third, innovation activities and service quality enhancement show negative short-term effects on financial performance, reflecting the substantial costs associated with innovation investment and service quality improvement. The research contributes additional empirical evidence from the Taiwanese context and proposes an integrated framework linking customer obsession, innovation, and service quality in the analysis of corporate strategy and firm performance.

Abstract This study explores the influence of psychological pricing on students’ perceptions of the value of higher education programs in Morocco. It focuses on how the perception of tuition fees affects students’ views on academic quality, institutional reputation, and post-graduation employability. With a sample of 691 students from a variety of Moroccan higher education institutions, this research adopts a quantitative approach, utilising multiple regression analysis to examine the relationships between these variables. The primary research questions investigate how tuition fee perceptions impact students’ assessments of academic quality, the prestige of the institution, and their expectations regarding employability after graduation. The findings reveal that higher perceived tuition fees are significantly correlated with better academic quality and a stronger institutional reputation. Students who perceive higher fees tend to associate them with superior education and more prestigious institutions. On the other hand, the influence of tuition fees on post-graduation employability is moderate, suggesting that while higher fees are seen as an indicator of quality, other factors—such as internships, professional networks, and industry partnerships—also play crucial roles in shaping students’ perceptions of employability. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how psychological pricing strategies shape student decision-making in higher education. It offers valuable insights for educational institutions looking to optimise their pricing strategies and enhance the appeal of their programs. By recognising that psychological pricing can influence not just financial decisions but also perceptions of academic quality and future career prospects, institutions can better align their tuition pricing with students’ expectations. Future research should explore the impact of socio-economic factors, as well as the moderating effects of other variables, on the relationship between tuition fees and the perceived value of higher education.

Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the phenomenon of quiet quitting within Romanian companies and its relationship with organizational culture, demographic factors, leadership styles, and peer/supervisor pressure. The research aims to determine how and if these characteristics influence the phenomenon of quiet quitting in any way. The findings reveal a strong association between organizational culture and quiet quitting, suggesting that the nature of an organisation’s culture directly influences employees’ inclination to consider such actions. Additionally, leadership style significantly impacted quiet quitting, indicating that managerial approaches play a pivotal role in employees’ decision-making. Furthermore, the study did not identify a substantial connection between peer influence and the relationship between corporate culture and quiet quitting. These findings emphasise the critical role of organizational culture and leadership approaches in understanding and addressing the quiet quitting phenomenon. The results highlight the need for employers to foster a positive and healthy work environment and to implement effective leadership strategies to mitigate the likelihood of employees considering quiet quitting.

Abstract Existing literature on the impact of intrapreneurial behavior on performance has been largely focused on individual and organizational-level performance. As a matter of conjecture, managers are assumed to display higher competence than their subordinates (operational staff) in marketing organisations. Empirical evidence is scanty on the comparison/s between managers and operational staff, on the influence of intrapreneurial behaviors on task and contextual performance in pharmaceutical marketing organisations. This paper builds on role theory to examine employee-level differences (managers vs operational staff) by testing the influence of intrapreneurial behaviors on task and contextual performance in a pharmaceutical marketing context. Covariance-based multigroup structural equation modelling in LISREL was used to develop the model and address this gap. Data was collected using a self-reported online questionnaire from 220 participants composed of managers (n=58) and operational staff (n=162) in the pharmaceutical marketing industry in Nigeria. Confirmatory factor analysis established the validity of constructs. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis established configural invariance among the groups, justifying a multigroup analysis. Intrapreneurial behavior positively influenced task and contextual performance in the general path model. Risk-taking behavior had no impact on task and contextual performance. Managers showed stronger proactive behavior on task and contextual performance compared to operational staff, while the latter group had stronger innovative behavior impact on task performance only. The study identified the low risk-taking propensity of employees as a gap in intrapreneurial behavior. Therefore, it proposes risk management training for both managers and operational staff. The study concludes that intrapreneurial behavior aligns more with proactivity for managers, while operational staff tend to be more innovative toward their core responsibilities.

Abstract Soft skill practices play an extensive role in creating sustainable and trustworthy relationships between employees and employers in the service sector. Organizational success largely depends on attracting and retaining a talented workforce for which soft skill practices are essential. The banking sector in Bangladesh emphasizes practicing leadership, communication, and teamwork as the most prevalent soft skills for gaining employees’ trust and enhancing the efficient performance of the employees. This study aims to identify the impact of managers' practising these three pivotal soft skills on attaining employees’ trust in the workplace. This study has been conducted by administering a structured questionnaire survey using a convenient sample of 104 employees from different private commercial banks in Bangladesh. Collected data were examined by using Pearson’s correlation and multiple regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The results of the analysis reveal that practising leadership, communication, and teamwork skills create a significant and positive impact on employee trust in the workplace. This paper noticeably contributes by creating awareness among bank managers regarding the selected three skills practices to create employee trust in the workplace, which is considered to be bridging the gap of current managerial practices in the private bank organization of Bangladesh. The findings of this study help practitioners realize the intensive utilization of leadership, communication, and teamwork skills to gain greater employee trust in the workplace.

Abstract The continuous level of consumption in the fast fashion industry has a concerning effect and needs to be addressed through a strategic approach, as it has a considerable environmental, social, and economic impact. The study contributes to a better understanding of the barriers hindering the transition toward a more sustainable future in the fast fashion industry through qualitative research. We conducted the qualitative research using the Grounded Theory, which allows an evaluation from different and multiple perspectives, resulting in a more exhaustive and justified result. Our approach was exploratory, and the results will be tested in future studies. The purpose of the paper was to map the road to sustainable fashion by understanding the obstacles/barriers, and solutions/drivers for sustainable development. The sustainability fast fashion organizational barriers were identified in the international literature through a structured literature review and further tested for the Romanian market through interviews. After the NVivo Analysis, the identified barriers referenced the most to least, from a Romanian organisational dimensions perspective were financial barriers, insufficient management engagement, lack of Romanian governmental support and infrastructure, eco-friendly packaging, and stakeholder and supplier barriers. The most mentioned driver dimension from an organisational point of view was the existence of a financial reward system for stakeholders, funding programs from the Government and EU, the implementation of mandatory regulations, and the possibility of creating an infrastructure.

Abstract In a globalized economy, innovation is a priority of ensuring the competitive advantage and organizational performance of agile companies, competitiveness being the core of the development in any economic activity. Consequently, the purpose of this research is to provide an overview regarding the connections between four main constructs, respectively innovation management, competitive advantage, agility and organizational performance, through performing a bibliometric analysis by using the VOSviewer visualization tool. The information has been selected from the Web of Science Core Collection database (WoS) during February 2023. This preliminary study aims to grant relevance to the potential research areas prone to be exploited when discussing the matter of innovation management in relation to organizational performance, competitive advantage achievement and agility. The main premise is that every company has its particularities and acts accordingly to stay competitive through innovating its business model and through an articulate innovation management, also encompassing agility, with a view to reach organizational performance and strong competitive advantage. In terms of findings, the bibliometric analysis conducted confirms the existence of compelling relationships between constructs, thus supporting further scrutiny in this direction.

Abstract Macroeconomic expectations influence long-term output, investment, and employment through households’ behavior. Policymakers and politicians attempt to predict the behavior of citizens and voters. How individuals form expectations and perceive sovereign indebtedness brings into question public finance sustainability and incumbents’ credibility. Based on a cross-country survey in Central and Eastern European countries, we estimate several probit regressions to uncover the effects of economic knowledge on sovereign debt expectations. Robustness tests and additional control confirm the initial results. We find that knowledge about public debt increases the chances of forming negative expectations, while higher financial literacy tends to have the opposite effect. More specifically, individuals with higher public debt knowledge are 5.4 percentage points less likely to show positive expectations, while individuals with higher levels of financial literacy (interest rate and inflation knowledge) are approximately 3.5 percentage points more likely to form positive expectations. The results indicate that public debt expectations are driven by negative biases resulting from the lack of economic knowledge together with insufficiency in understanding economic causal mechanisms. Financial literacy programs could benefit from including information about macroeconomics in curricula. Improving individual abilities to understand macroeconomic mechanisms, including public debt, has the potential to influence expectations and shift behaviors towards desired policy outcomes.

Abstract This empirical study aims to identify and evaluate the crucial factors that influence customer satisfaction and their intention to reuse a food ordering app (FOA) in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam. A data sample of 413 observations from customers who used the FOA was used to test hypotheses using a quantitative technique and a structural linear model. The results indicated that among the four key factors, performance expectancy, price value, and online reviews had direct and indirect effects on customers’ continued intention to use the FOA. By contrast, hedonic motivation only had an indirect effect. Satisfaction level was the mediating factor that affected customers’ continuance intention. This study provided insights into the online service and how the key factors affected customers’ satisfaction level towards the intention to reuse the FOA. When the management of the online providing service improves the key factors – performance expectancy, hedonic motivation, price value, and online reviews – they will improve the level of satisfaction towards the intention to reuse the FOA of customers in HCMC. The management of food companies should refer to this research model for restructuring and improving their business to satisfy the needs and wants of their target customers in the competitive market.

Abstract The purpose of this study is to examine the Efficiency Market Hypothesis (EMH) from the perspective of the Algerian exchange rate market. We apply different tests of dependence, long memory, volatility clustering and unit root tests over the three main Algerian exchange rate returns series vis–à-vis the US Dollar, the Euro, and the British Pound. Empirical findings suggest that combined Autoregressive Moving Average (ARMA)-Fractionally Integrated Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (FIGARCH) models were the most appropriate to represent the behavior of exchange rate returns. We also compare the predictive qualities of the estimated models and the Random Walk (RW) in terms of out-of-sample forecasting. The results are held to imply the rejection of the EMH in the Algerian exchange rate market. Therefore, the exchange rates fluctuations can be predicted, which may help public authorities intervene in the exchange market and assess the consequences of different economic policies.