Muhammad Haroon Hafeez | Bahauddin Zakariya University (original) (raw)

Papers by Muhammad Haroon Hafeez

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability of theory of planned beha... more Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the applicability of theory of planned behavior (TPB) with special emphasis on measuring the direct and moderating effects of subjective norms on attitude, perceived behavioral control and buying intention in context of buying organic food.

Design/methodology/approach
– Structured questionnaires were randomly distributed among academic staffs and students of two universities in southern Punjab, Pakistan. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed model fit.

Findings
– Results of the study showed that subjective norms significantly moderate the relationship between attitudes and buying intention as well as between perceived behavior control and buying intention. Furthermore, subjective norms significantly influence attitude toward buying intention.

Practical implications
– The paper provides useful insights for the academics and marketers. Academics may further explore the role of subjective norms in order to have a better understanding of their effects on TPB components. Whereas, marketers can target the opinion leaders and reference groups to increase the demand of organic food.

Originality/value
– Majority of previous studies overlooked the role of subjective norms in determining the buying intentions with respect to organic food. The striking feature of this study is an in-depth emphasis on exploring the direct and moderating effects of subjective norms on the elements of TPB. Moreover, to the best of authors’ knowledge, this is a pioneer study that comprehensively examines the linkage of components of TPB with organic food purchasing in Pakistan.

This paper reviews the literature in a thorough manner in a bid to propose a model proposing that... more This paper reviews the literature in a thorough manner in a bid to propose a model proposing that Innovation (technological and non-technological) and Relational learning can greatly influence the performance of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in a developing country like Pakistan. On the basis of literature review, research hypotheses have been formulated. In order to test the hypotheses, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) has been employed to analyze the study conducted in 352 SMEs in Pakistan. The proposed model leads to very useful insights as it proposes that SMEs must not ignore the importance of Innovation especially technological innovation and Relational learning in order to achieve higher performance. Results indicate that Technological Innovation and Relational Learning have a positive significant effect on firm performance; whereas the effect of non-technological innovation on firm performance has been found as insignificant. The paper concludes with the discussion of managerial implications and recommendations for future research.

Innovation is regarded as an engine for driving economic growth. Innovation is considered equally... more Innovation is regarded as an engine for driving economic growth. Innovation is considered equally important for the large enterprises as well as the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Role of innovation becomes of even greater importance in the context of the business environment of developing countries such as Pakistan, where most of the SMEs do not embrace rigorous innovation and at the same time there is lack of sufficient external support to encourage innovation. It has been discussed that despite of healthy economic contribution to Pakistan's Economy, SMEs are facing a low growth trap. Innovation can come up as a potential solution specifically for Pakistani SMEs and generally for SMEs in developing countries in other parts of the world. This paper reviews the literature in a thorough manner in a bid to build a novel conceptual framework proposing that innovation has causal linkages with entrepreneurial orientation, firm resources, branding and firm performance. On the basis of literature review, four thoughtful research propositions have been presented in this paper. The proposed framework can lead to very useful insights as it proposes that branding may lead to innovation as opposed to generally believed concept of innovation leading to branding. This paper is built on the underpinning theories like Resource Based View, Dynamic Capabilities Perspective, and Theory of Economic Development. This paper also provides useful implications for the entrepreneurs as well as external institutions responsible for ensuring higher extent of innovation in SMEs in Pakistan.

This paper studies the relationship of leadership styles, organization commitment and organizatio... more This paper studies the relationship of leadership styles, organization commitment and organization performance. A quantitative research was conducted by focusing the call centers particularly of telecom sector operating in Islamabad 280 questionnaires were distributed by using stratified random sampling out of which 245 questionnaires were used in the study. The research indicates that employee's organization commitment strongly mediated the process of impact of leadership style on the organization performance. Although there is a use of adopted questionnaire but there is a probability that the respondents do not actually understand the real meaning of the questionnaire in order to interpret the real meaning of results. For managers, the implications of these findings are relevant. Aspects the way the leadership style might have an impact on organization performance but in the presence of the organization's commitment this relationship get boosted up.

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This study aims to observe the gender role portrayal in food and non-food television advertisemen... more This study aims to observe the gender role portrayal in food and non-food television advertisement in Pakistan, in order to find out gender discrimination (if any) and association of gender with different content variables. Content analysis of selected TV commercials was used to fulfill the purpose of this study. Services of two independent coders (business graduates) were utilized to code content variables for a sample of 103 commercials (54 food and 49 non-food commercials). Based on the extant literature, seven content variables were selected for this study including: main product user, voiceover, primary character, end comment, soundtrack level, activity level and aggression level. The gender role portrayals in both food and non-food commercials have been compared and discussed. There exists gender discrimination in Pakistani television advertisement, where males dominate more. The reason behind this phenomenon is expected to lie in social and cultural values. This male dominance is higher in food advertisement as compared to non-food advertisement. Results also favor the association of male character with the relatively higher activity and aggression levels in television commercials. The findings of this study are supportive for key players in advertising industry like advertisers and advertising agencies, for self-regulation of their advertising campaigns with respect to gender role. However, more important implication for them is to know about the forces of traditional cultural values and preferences of target audience, for effective planning of the commercials and forecasting their impact. Such knowledge can provide them a better base to assess the need for self-regulation of their advertising campaigns, guiding them towards making more successful commercials. This study reflects the true picture of gender discrimination in Pakistani television advertisement. It has been concluded using a well defined methodology, provides original data for Pakistan and can be considered a good reference for further analysis.

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