The prime objective of the current study is to examine the impact of knowledge sharing and employee ambidexterity on the sustainable performance of manufacturing firms operating in the KPK province of Pakistan. In addition to this, the study has examined the mediating role of employees’ ambidexterity in the relationship between knowledge sharing and sustainable performance. The final sample included 240 respondents, which represented a response rate of 68%. The study employed SEM-PLS for data analysis. The results indicate that the employee’s ambidexterity fully mediates between knowledge sharing and sustainable performance. Knowledge sharing appears as a significant determinant of employees’ ambidexterity and sustainable performance. Meanwhile, the employee’s ambidexterity also has a positive and significant relationship with sustainable performance. In the field of Management Sciences and other disciplines, knowledge sharing is considered a significant field of study. Globally, very little research has targeted these variables. This research offers conceptual highlights for developing the influence of knowledge sharing on the sustainable performance of employees particularly in the manufacturing sector.

This research study analyses the role of size effect in detecting the pricing of risk, various volatility dynamics, and economic exposure of firm returns on the Pakistani stock market by employing monthly data for the period from 1998 to 2018. Three generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity models were applied: GARCH(1,1) for capturing different volatility dynamics, GARCH-M for pricing of risk, and EGARCH for asymmetric and leverage effect. The findings of the study are as follows: Firstly, the authors untie that pricing of risk is subject to considerable variations with respect to firm size. Secondly, in the process of detecting whether the firm size matters in the case of asymmetry and leverage effect, they find that it is indeed the case. Thirdly, size effect plays a substantial role in determining various volatility dynamics. Finally, they uncover that economic factors affect stock returns differently based on firm size, signifying the role of size effect.

The recent financial and economic recessions have chiefly increased the importance of risk management and forecasting for business firms. Capital markets being the main pillar of economy are affected the most in such circumstances. The current study has attempted to investigate the impact of oil prices on the returns and volatility of Pakistani listed firms using the GARCH (1,1) model. Furthermore, this relationship has been investigated by categorizing the existing sectors of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) into oil producers, oil users, and oil substitutes for the period from January 2015 to December 2019. The findings of the study highlighted some strong evidence regarding the oil price movement and the firms’ returns across these sectors. Interestingly, firms’ returns behave differently about the magnitude of significance and direction of symbols based on their nature of the industry. Therefore, it is suggested for future studies to consider the nature of the sector of oil while exploring the relationship between oil prices and stock returns.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the effect of macroeconomic factors on the stock return volatility and volatility dynamics on comparative bases for Islamic vs. Conventional Banks. Methodology:The stock returns volatility of all the Pakistani listed banks from Islamic and Conventional sectors is considered for the period from Jan 1, 2010, to Dec 31, 2021. A time-series model GARCH(1,1) is applied for the relationship between stock returns volatility along with its various dynamics and economic fundamentals. Findings: All the macroeconomic factors prove their significance in finding the stock return volatility in both Islamic and Conventional banking systems. The market return shows a negative association with stock return volatility in both Islamic and Conventional Banks. For most of the Conventional and Islamic banks, the risk-free rate shows positive and negative effects, respectively. Finally, the exchange rate and oil prices show a negative impact on both Islamic and Conventional banks. The volatility shocks are quite persistent. Both the ARCH and GARCH effects play their role in generating conditional future stock return volatility. Moreover, the overall volatility process is mean-reverting; nonetheless, the speed of mean reversion varies across both sectors. Significance: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study of its kind that compares the Conventional and Islamic banks' stock volatility with regard to the economic fundamentals in Pakistan. Practical Implication: The results designate that there are significant dissimilarities (even carrying opposing or negative correlation) in both sectors; hence, the investors may diversify their investment and form their liquidity positions in both sectors to attain the maximum advantages from the market and bank's specific factors.

The evidence of lagged effect regarding firm size between macroeconomic factors and stock returns is found with GARCH model for the UAE firms. More precisely, exchange rate showed a significant effect on stock returns irrespective of size group and lag level. However, a positive effect is observed at lag four and a negative effect is observed on lag five and two for small and large size firms respectively. For majority of the firms in small size, the risk-free rate showed a negative lagged effect on stock returns; however, for the majority of the firms in large size, it showed a positive lagged effect on stock returns. Inflation also showed a significant effect on stock returns on each lag level except for large firms where at lag five it is insignificant. Moreover, as the lags increase from 1- 4 and size from small to large, the negative effect of inflation converts to positive effect on stock returns. The lag effect of real activity showed both positive and negative effects on relatively larger stock returns of small firms than big firms. Money supply showed positive significant effect on stock returns of all firms irrespective of the size group; however, this relationship is even more prominent at lag five. Finally, the oil prices showed a positive effect on stock returns (large size) which further maximizes at lag two; whereas, a negative maximization takes place at lag three. Hence, investors can make informed and effective decisions and UAE policymakers developed effective measures to control and promote macroeconomic growth and stability.