Increasing consumer scepticism about corporate behaviour has led companies to actively manage and advertise their corporate brands. However, it remains unclear how receptive consumers across different markets have been to such efforts. This study examines (i) consumer involvement (a motivational state activated by personal relevance of a stimuli) levels and (ii) processes with corporate advertising to demonstrate differences and similarities with product advertising across multiple markets. Using between subject experimental design, the study was conducted across three different markets with varying degrees of economic development i.e. USA (n = 285), France (n = 217) and Pakistan (n=311). Results demonstrate that consumer involvement levels with corporate advertising is higher in USA than in France and Pakistan. American consumers tend to be involved with corporate advertising as much as they are with product advertising, whereas, French and Pakistani consumers are more involved with product advertising. Apart from differences in involvement levels, study findings demonstrate substantial similarities in involvement processing and how they impact ad attitude and consumers’ behaviour across both the markets. The study holds importance for corporate communication and product managers with cross national responsibilities as it establishes differences and similarities for corporate and product ad involvement across developed and emerging markets.

Malassezia pachydermatis (M. pachydermatis) otitis is an important infectious disease of dogs throughout the world. In the present study, the presence, diagnosis, clinical signs and chemotherapy of M. pachydermatis were studied in clinical otitic dogs of Lahore and its suburbs. During two-year study period, a total of 200 ear cerumen samples from otitic dogs were examined microscopically. Of these, 46 (23%) were found positive for M. pachydermatis. The difference in the prevalence of infection between the pendulous ear and erected ear dogs as well as sex predilection was found nonsignificant (P>0.05). However, a significantly (P<0.05) higher prevalence (86.90%) was recorded in dogs of more than one years of age group. The animals determined positive for the M. pachydermatis were divided into two groups (A and B) and treated with Clotrimazole and Nystatin, respectively. Efficacy of both the antifungals was evaluated on the basis of reversal of clinical signs scoring and cytological examinations at 7, 14, 21-day post treatment. The overall efficacy of Clotrimazole and Nystatin was 73% and 68%, respectively. Clotrimazole showed better results as compared to Nystatin in accomplishing cure rate from mycological infection. It was concluded that M. pachydermatis is a significant cause of otitis in dogs wherein Clotrimazole proves to be a more effective drug in eliminating the infection in the affected Dogs.

Transnational terrorism in the twenty-first century is a unique threat that has sparked equally unique responses from nations at the receiving end of it, particularly the US. Some of these responses, however, have ignored both provisions of international law and the political realities prevailing in regions of Pakistan where the Drone strikes have been conducted. This poses various policy problems as the US has continuously used legal lacunae in international humanitarian law to carry on its “war on terror.” This paper addresses the problem by proposing a new form of armed conflict known as “transnational armed conflict,” which accounts for the unique nature of a conflict between a State and a non-State actor operating from the territory of another State. It allows for the setting of appropriate impact and assessment thresholds that could effectively bring such countermeasures in compliance with the accepted principles of international humanitarian law.

The main objective of this paper is to sequentially analyze the major themes in rural devel-opment by taking the case studies of Pakistan and Korea using the framework proposed by Ellis andBiggs. The data presented in this paper is based on an intensive review of literature and in-depth inter-views with some key persons from different organizations in the Republic of Korea. It indicates that atthe time of independence, both countries had weak industrial base and the economy was largely depen-dent on agriculture. Agricultural development remained the main focus of Pakistan’s development poli-cies since independence; however, it was not until early 1970s when development of agriculture and ruralareas became the priority of Korean government. Though many development projects have also beenimplemented in Pakistan since its independence, inconsistent policies adopted by different politicalregimes is one of the main reasons for comparatively poor performance in agriculture and rural devel-opment sectors while the Korean government and policy makers have quickly responded to differentchallenges that emerged from time to time. It seems that Korean government is taking necessary mea-sures to diversify the rural economy through the promotion of agricultural value addition, rural tourismand improved marketing infrastructure to meet new challenges, along with the commendable efforts ofits research and extension organizations; however the response of Pakistan seems rather sluggish in thisrespect. The concluding argument is that though contextual, cultural and socio-economic differencesmay be taken into account while comparing the development history of different countries, developingcountries can learn substantially from the experiences of a developed country in some particular sector,notably in the problem solving approach, integrated strategy, agricultural value addition, strengtheningof local governments, livelihood diversification in rural areas, effective linkages between different orga-nizations and emphasis on sustainable livelihoods.

The origins of modern Consumerism can be traced back to the eighteenth century, whereby the concept ofconsumer societies began to flourish in the European block (Stearns, 2001).These were the economies that formed the hub of commercial activities, having had an access to the global products. Furthermore, post Second World War culminated into the ‗economy of abundance‘ as has been rightly suggested by Galbraith in his book ‗The affluent society‘, (1958). This affluence was the result of industrialization and technological revolution in United States and other developed countries that led to the mass production of goods and henceforth increased individuals‘standard of living. 21st century witnessed mushrooming growth in branded goods and consumer‘s aspiration to endlessly spend on luxury goods items. Since then there has been a continuous temptation on consumers end to spend extravagantly and acquire prestigious goods to appear more urbane, chic and sophisticated. Consumers choice of luxury brands is also considered as social indicators that also serve as an artifact for the reflection of their status, eminence and position in Society (Power and Hauge, 2008) Consumers incessant desire to spend on high end luxury brands such as Channel, Burberry, Gucci and Rolex have compelled researchers to understand the prime motivators and determinant factors that instigate consumer behavior towards branded goods. This paper seeks to understand the factors that influence consumer‘s selection of luxury brands in Pakistan and specifically those attributes on the basis of which different product categories are selected. The subsequent text reflects on the literature review related to consumer behavior towards conspicuous goods consumption with specific reference to luxury goods market in Asia and Pakistan.

This study is on issues of Muslim women’s predicament in Islamic culture, exarrurung these issues with the purpose to presenting the Christian mission imprative and its approach to Muslim women who are under oppression of Islamic systems. The hypothesis of this study is that the discrimination against women is due to Islamic social systems, which have been intensified according to the rulers' disposition supported by Islamists. Pakistan is a representative case of it. Pakistan established a Muslim state separately at the time of the independence of India from British rule, and required an attempt to solidifY the nation consisting of various ethnic groups under Islam for the social and political stability. Since political leaders have recognized Islamization as an effective means for Pakistani solidarity, they have established social systems by introducing Islamic laws as a part of Isamization. Islam has functioned importantly in uniting various component segments of society, and has been the ideology and crucial motive for the founding of Pakistan. The revival of the Islamic •fundamentalism in Pakistan was supported by rulers who thought of Islam as the ideology to solidify the nation. The impact of Ismization on the social status of women has been serious because women’s low place in that culrure in grounded on Isalmic Scriprure, Qur’an and Islamic traditions, Hadith. The gender discriminative references implied in Qur’an and Hadith have helped social systems to justify the discrimination against women over the time. Their usual practices are the purdah, the punitive law, the evidence law, the revenge and compensation law, and the family law. Those gender discriminative sαial systems have given rise to the domestic violences against women as well as restriaion of sphere of women, and the violences against women such as the honor killing in Pakistan have increasecL The honor killings in the name of the family honor have become a serious problem in Islamic countnes. Recently, the static of women’s education reveals an increasing nU01ber of women in education and in high position in Pakistan society. But many women in lower classes are still in illiteracy and poverty, and those women observe purdah，an Islamic social system. The image of women in God's Kingdom is srudied for understanding of the missions perspective toward muslim women who are segregated and have lost their rights under Islamization. The heaven which muslims describe is a paradise to be given to faithful Muslim men, where beautiful women among other compensation are prepared. πlÏs description of heaven suggests that women is subordinated to men. This srudy argues that the true image of women in the God's Kingdom is accomplished by liberation through Christ from patriarchism at the level of social structure and oppression by dark spirirual powers. To present true liberation to Muslim women, Christian misslon should be a rrusslon being with them, sharing their suffering, and thereby giving rise to transformation in their life and spirit. That is termed incarnational missions, which need hermeneutics considering the social and cultural contexts. The contextualization, however, should not allow the culture in which oppressing human right is justfied in the perspectibe of cultural relativism

This study examines the impact of corporate tax, a fiscal measure along with trade liberalization and research and development on total factor productivity for a panel of 153 industrial firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange over the period 1997-2017. For empirical analysis, we employ the system generalized method of moment estimator. In the first step, we estimate industrial production function and the results reveal that raw material, industrial labour force and energy play vital role in enhancing industrial production. Whereas, industrial capital exerts negative impact on industrial output. We also measured total factor productivity using the production elasticities. In the second step, we examine the impact of corporate tax, trade liberalization and research and development on total factor productivity. The results indicate that higher level of corporate tax exerts negative impact on total factor productivity. The findings reveal that higher corporate taxation discourages industrial firms to undertake research and development thereby exerting adverse impact on total factor productivity of firms. The impact of trade liberalization proxied by average tariff is positive while customs duty and sales tax negatively impact firm-level total factor productivity. These findings provide useful insights for managers, investors and policy makers in Pakistan.

This study investigates the role of logistics capability and logistics outsourcing on the performance of manufacturing companies in Pakistan. It examines how logistics capability affects firm’s performance, why outsourcing is essential and how firms benefited if they outsource the service rather than establishing their own logistics capability. This research is based on a survey using structured a questionnaire to collect the primary data. The target population is logistics specialists of manufacturing companies in Pakistan with head offices based on Karachi, that have their own logistics or outsource their logistics. The questionnaire has been distributed to 500 respondents in 113 manufacturing companies in Pakistan. Confirmatory factor analysis has been used as statistical techniques to check the factor loading of the components, and SEM (Structural Equation Model) is used to check the impact of logistics capability on firm’s performance as well as the role of logistics outsourcing as a mediator. The findings of the research suggest logistics capability has positive impact on the performance of the manufacturing companies in Pakistan, and logistics capability has also an impact on logistics outsourcing. On the other hand, the study found that logistics outsourcing has no significant impact on the manufacturing companies in Pakistan.

This study examines the nonlinear relationship between financial development and economic growth in Pakistan using the threshold regression model for the period 1980-2017. We also employed quantile regression with 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 quantiles of conditional distribution. The quantile regression is based on minimizing of sum of squared residuals. The result indicates that economic growth responds positively to financial development when the level of financial development surpasses the threshold value of 0.151. However, when financial development lies below the threshold value (that is, 0.151), its impact on economic growth is negative. Thus, when financial development of Pakistan surpasses the threshold level, it contributes more towards economic growth since greater level of financial development contributes more to boosts economic growth. This finding reveals that economic growth reacts differently to financial development, and the relationship between financial development and economic growth is U-shaped in Pakistan. Among the other variables, physical capital, labor force, and government expenditure exert a positive effect on economic growth. Furthermore, inflation rate and trade openness have an insignificant impact on economic growth. The results of quantile regression also confirm the non-linear relationship between financial development and economic growth in Pakistan. The finding of this study suggests revamping of financial sector policies in Pakistan.

The purpose of this study is to test both the alignment theory and entertainment theory on family firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange. To achieve these goals, we collected secondary data from 164 non-financial family firms in various sectors during 2014-18. These family firms are classified into two categories: family control firms and family owned firms. We take the audit fee and the audit quality as dependent variables while family control firms, family-owned firms, and family CEOs as independent variables. In addition, the study uses leverage, profit and export as control variables. To test the effect of the explanatory variables on the output variables, we use two econometric models, Ordinary Least Square and the Probit regression model. In addition, Huber Sandwich test is used to check the nonnormality and heteroscedasticity of panel data. Contrary to the alignment effect, the study supports the entrenchment effect and advocates that family-controlled firms as well as family-owned firms are not conscientious regarding the selection of external auditors during their contracts with audit firms. They are less likely to pay high audit fees for good quality audit in Pakistan. Furthermore, the study shows a statistically significant and positive relationship between audit quality and audit fees.

Based on the theoretical underpinnings of the agency theory and liquidity theory, the purpose of this study is to show how managers who want to enhance the performance of Pakistan’s non-financial sector can use liquidity policy in relation to corporate governance. Nowadays, Pakistan is facing a severe liquidity crisis; this study contributes by examining the mediating role of liquidity on the link of corporate governance-performance. We use data from 63 firms from 2010 to 2018, excluding 17 outliers. To analyze the data, we use the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SURE) model and nlcom-Stata test. Our findings support the mediating role of liquidity on the link between corporate governance and performance. In addition, the results show that corporate governance improves performance. Furthermore, the study supports a significant positive association of liquidity and performance. For robustness, we use two performance variables – return on assets (ROA) and Tobin’s q (TQ) – where ROA represents full mediation and TQ indicates partial mediation. This study helps to use liquidity policy to strengthen the inside and outside dimensions of corporate governance mechanisms that improve the performance of firms. Overall, these findings suggest better disclosure, transparency, and solutions to auditing issues that add value to the firms.

Existing studies disagree over the core predictors of firm-level financial choices in developing countries. The general practice only validates the traditional capital structure model, which leads to inconsistency and a lack of novelty. This study removed overfitting issues among existing factors and presented the most reliable and advanced capital structure model in Pakistani firms. The panel data include 368 Pakistani companies from 19 non-financial sectors over the period 2004 to 2017. We apply Akaike and Bayesian Information Criteria to remove overfitting issues among inconsistent proxies in the capital structure model. The fixed effects regression is used for basic results and the Generalized Method of Moments is applied to control the endogeneity. Besides the conventional proxies, we report that credit rating, distance from bankruptcy, managerial concentration, and institutional quality are the most advanced capital structure determinants in Pakistan. These predictors remain significant across firm size and growth levels. Also, the findings confirm that new predictors are reliable to define capital structure dynamics and improve the speed of adjustment in overall and sub-sample analysis. The major findings suggest that managers and policymakers should consider these advanced predictors to design their financial settings in firms.