NCC Journal

AI-Driven Customization in Financial Services: Implications for Social Innovation in Nepal

Srijana Khadka, Bharat Rai, Ajaya Kumar Khadka — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The study examines the association and influence of Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and social innovation on decision-making within the Nepalese banking sector. A descriptive and causal-comparative research design is employed in the study. With a purposive sampling design, the study used 230 respondents from commercial banks in Nepal. The study findings show that AI technologies (β = 0.205) and social innovation (β = 0.395) significantly contribute to decision-making (|p < 0.05|). The study scrutinizes specific approaches for fostering social innovation by implementing AI-driven decision-making. Findings revealed meaningful associations between AI, social innovation, and decision-making, emphasizing the interconnected nature of these elements. The study identifies actionable strategies for leveraging AI to promote social innovation. The research implications extend to strategic management, urging financial institutions to integrate AI technologies strategically, aligning technological advancements with societal needs, and fostering a holistic approach to responsible AI adoption. This study contributes valuable insights to the evolving discourse on AI in financial services, providing a nuanced understanding of its implications for decision-making and social innovation within the unique context of Nepalese commercial banks.

Assessment of Receivable Management on the Financial Performance of NEA

Rajesh Gurung, Purna Man Shrestha — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This research examined the influence of effective management of receivables on the financial performance of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA), the sole electricity supplier in the country, with a specific emphasis on how effective receivables management influences its profitability. Within challenges such as seasonal power output adjustment and increasing unpaid dues, this research emphasizes the need for effective management of receivables for the enterprise's financial sustainability. This study uses multiple regression analysis of annual data from 2013 to 2022 to look into the connection between NEA's return on assets and important receivable management variables, namely the receivable collection period, the ratio of net sales to accounts receivable, and the ratio of accounts receivable to total assets. The study findings reveal a negative relationship between the receivable collection period and return on assets, whereas positive associations exist between the account receivable turnover ratio and the account receivable to total assets ratio. This suggests that NEA can enhance its financial performance by improving billing and collection procedures and efficiently managing accounts receivable. It is concluded that the NEA should regularly monitor receivable collection and management practices to ensure the financial well-being of the enterprise.

Assessment of the Relevance of Goleman's Emotional Intelligence Model among the Managers of Commercial Banks in Nepal

Indira Shrestha, Rewan Kumar Dahal — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Even if today's managers can use technology, they are accused of lacking emotional stability. However, to manage the corporate house effectively, a leader needs to possess the decisive trait of emotional stability. So, the study aimed to examine how Goleman's notion of emotional intelligence applies to bank managers. The study's participants included branch heads of commercial banks located in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur districts. Information about emotional intelligence was obtained from 215 branch heads using convenience sampling. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were employed using 25 test items to confirm the constructs of emotional intelligence. Due to a low standardized regression weight, one out of 25 items could not be retained. According to the findings, self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills are the five categories into which Nepalese bank managers fall under the emotional intelligence concept. Thus, companies can use this emotional intelligence measure to assess the characteristics of managers who constitute true leaders.

HR Practices Beyond Compliance: Enhancing Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Nepalese Banking

Binod Ghimire, Sujan Budathoki Magar — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Amidst the ever-changing ICT landscape, shifting employee demographics, and heightened global competition, the efficacy of human resource management (HRM) is an indispensable determinant of organizational success in the current dynamic business environment. In this context, this study investigates the impact of HRM practices on organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) within private commercial banks in Nepal. The study assessed nine HRM aspects, including hiring, compensation, job security, career development, training, performance evaluations, job design, motivation, and work environment, by conducting in-person interviews with 308 banking employees. As a result, job security emerged as the primary determinant of OCB, as evidenced by a 0.298-unit increase in OCB for every one-unit increase in job security, all other variables being held constant. Additionally, the research unveiled the diverse effects of additional HRM elements, including performance appraisal, development and training, compensation and motivation, recruitment and selection, workplace conditions, and job design, all of which contributed to OCB in a decreasing order. With respect to strategic recruitment, meaningful job roles, conducive work environments, effective incentives, career advancement opportunities, fair compensation, comprehensive training, and structured performance evaluations, the research highlights the critical need for Nepalese private commercial banks to implement refined HRM strategies in order to promote OCB and achieve organizational goals.

Influence of University's Role, Curriculum, and Teaching Methodologies in Promoting Entrepreneurship Intention

Prajwal Karki, Surendra Prasad Joshi, Sugam Subedi — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Entrepreneurship is acknowledged as a powerful force that drives innovation, job creation, and the establishment of new markets, making it critical for long-term growth and economic advancement. Entrepreneurial intention plays a crucial role before initiating a business venture. The study investigated the educational process by examining university culture, curriculum development, and teaching methodologies to predict student motivation levels. The study examined how a university's role, curriculum, and teaching methods affect students' entrepreneurial intentions. The study used a causal-comparative technique to explore the causal links between these characteristics and the intention to pursue entrepreneurship. Convenience sampling was utilized to collect data from 384 university students in Nepal. Correlation and regression methods revealed strong positive relationships between the entrepreneurship curriculum, the university's involvement, teaching methodologies, and entrepreneurial intent. The study emphasized the significance of a comprehensive approach to entrepreneurship education, focusing on practical teaching methods and a supportive academic atmosphere. The study highlighted teaching approaches as influential factors in shaping students' entrepreneurial intentions. The findings gave valuable insights for curriculum developers and government officials, allowing education to better address the expanding demand for entrepreneurship. The study addressed the need for curriculum modifications to enhance entrepreneurial skills and initiatives to align education more effectively with industry requirements.

Macroeconomic Determinants of the Stock Market in Nepal: An Empirical Analysis

Krishna Bahadur Thapa — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The stock market plays a critical role in the field of the economic sector of a country, facilitating capital flow to businesses and reflecting the national economic health. The purpose of this study was to conduct an empirical analysis of co-integration and causality tests between the stock market and macroeconomic factors. The study used indicators such as the consumer price index (CPI), exchange rates (EXR), money supply (MS), and remittances (REMIT) to determine their potential impact on stock market dynamics. To analyze the data collected from June 2005 to November 2023, advanced econometric models like co-integration were employed to explore long-term equilibrium. Vector auto-regression (VAR) was used to analyze the impact and Grangers’ causality tests were used to identify cause and effect. The results of the VAR model emphasized the market index's (INDEX) dependency on its own lagged values, with insignificant influence from consumer prices (CPI) and money supply (MS), but significant effects from exchange rates (EXR), and remittances (REMIT). Granger causality tests revealed no causality between CPI, MS, and REMIT in the INDEX. However, this test exhibited a significant causality from EXR to INDEX. This highlights the predictive power of exchange rates on the stock market.

Nature and Dynamics of Stock Market: A Bibliometric Analysis of its Development and Operations as an Economic Agency

Dipendra Karki, Ganesh Bhattarai, Prajjwol Bikram Khadka — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study methodically examines the pivotal role of stock markets in global economies, emphasizing their evolution from theoretical concepts to essential economic infrastructure. It employs advanced bibliometric tools and analysis, including co-authorship, citation, bibliographic coupling, and visual mapping techniques using VosViewer, to explore into stock market research from 1990 to 2023. The findings offer unprecedented insights into the academic and practical fields of stock market research. These analyses explore detailed collaboration networks, influential research contributions, and thematic clusters, highlighting the dynamic interplay between stock market developments and economic growth. This study documented the multifaceted nature of stock market development, with particular emphasis on four factors: supply, demand, institutions, and economic policies. The findings also emphasize that stock market development is a dynamic and long-term process, intricately linked to the broader development of a financial system. Although stock markets are primarily a private sector endeavor, the government's supporting role is pivotal for their success. The integration of this framework not only enriches our understanding of stock market dynamics but also charts the course for future research directions in the field, emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary approaches and global research collaborations in advancing our understanding of financial systems.

Strategic Human Resource Management Practices in Banks and Insurance Companies

Prakash Shrestha, Mamata Prajapati — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study aims to examine the essential dimensions of strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices in Nepalese banks and insurance companies. It was carried out among managerial-level staff of eight banks and eight insurance companies in Nepal. A total of 240 questionnaires—15 for each of the 16 organizations—were distributed. 163 questionnaires in all (67.92%) were returned and used in the study. This study used a checklist measure of SHRM practices. The degree of application is assessed by assigning 1–6 points to each practice item. Six dimensions—career development and promotion, employee participation, quality control (QC) program, management by objectives (MBO), team management, and corporate culture—are used to classify SHRM practices. The results indicate that all SHRM practices are typically well-perceived. Commercial banks and insurance businesses differ significantly in all aspects of SHRM practices. Employees in banks perceive more positive SHRM practices than those of insurance companies. Due to their alluring employment opportunities and strong SHRM practices, banks may be able to lure individuals from the insurance companies. Compared to commercial banks, which might acquire qualified workers from the labor market, insurance companies are more likely to have higher staff turnover. As such, they must take these realities into account. Because of this, both the banks and insurance companies must ensure that their SHRM policies and HR investments draw in and keep competent applicants from the job market.

Tax Avoidance and Corporate Social Responsibility: A Bibliometric Review and Future Agenda

H. A. C Jeewanthi — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This review explores the intellectual structure, research trends, and nexus within tax avoidance (TA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature using the bibliometric research approach. Seventy-five peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2003 and 2022 in 56 journals were identified for the final analysis from Scopus databases. The articles were analysed and visualised with VOSviewer based on the keyword occurrence, authors, countries, and journal distribution. Even though 75 articles were identified on the interplay between CSR and tax avoidance, over sixty percent of papers were published during the last four years from only five countries. It indicates that combined CSR and tax avoidance research is emerging and has recently become a critical concern of scholarly investigation. Although the number of publications is increasing, author and country network analyses do not show a strong connection among authors and countries of publications. While the publications have been dispersed within a broader range of sources, only five journals are dominant, with three or more articles. Considering co-occurrence analysis, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and Tax avoidance are the frequently occurring terms within the publications, and they have been explored with other related areas such as corporate responsibility and sustainability, tax evasion, business ethics, corporate governance, tax havens, and earning management. Although keyword analysis shows that CSR and tax avoidance literature have been extensively studied during the past decade, this area of research is still in its infancy. Hence, more empirical research is needed from both developed and developing countries. Accordingly, this study provides exciting findings on the knowledge structures and patterns of tax avoidance and CSR research and valuable insights for future studies.

The Structure of Wage and Salary Administration in Japan

Katsuhiko Hirasawa, Wenjing Shi — Sun, 31 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The purpose of this paper is to reveal the basic structure of wage administration in Japan. Total wages are the subject of labor-management negotiations in Japan. The base wage (average rate) serves as a basis for negotiations. This means that wage negotiations in Japan are conducted between labor and management within the framework of administration. Negotiations over average wages were proposed by the government immediately after the defeat in the war to stabilize prices. Originally, labor unions demanded minimum wages by age group. However, the method of negotiation over average wages has been rooted in the rise of labor-management cooperative labor unions. In this way, a structure has been established in which total wages are determined through negotiations over average wages on the assumption of labor-management cooperative labor unions, and total wages are allocated to individual employees based on seniority. This, along with the centralization of wage negotiations to management and labor union leaders, has led to a decline in employee interest in wages through the backdown of wage negotiations in the workplace.