The metaverse is swiftly flattering an important player in the e‐commerce domain. It provides innumerable opportunities and indicates a revolutionary paradigm shift in e‐commerce. Online businesses can now create virtual storefronts that enable immersive, lifelike product exploration within the metaverse, in contrast to traditional brick‐and‐mortar stores that cater to local customers. Current research offers a novel conceptual framework based on theories of interactive media effects and the stimulus–organism–response paradigm to understand consumer purchase intentions in the metaverse. Carefully gathered data from 342 survey participants were then examined using the analytical tools of structural equation modelling (SEM) and importance–performance map analysis (IPMA). The results of the study shed light on how much perceived augmentation and interaction affect consumers’ cognitive and emotive reactions, including feelings of realism, immersion, and telepresence. Remarkably, these reactions have a significant influence on how customers behave. The study’s distinctive worth is found in its creative recommendations, which can help tech firms and metaverse developers improve the purchasing experience in this dynamic digital environment.

This research is among the very few studies seeking a focalized examination on the relationship between knowledge sharing within a firm and organizational innovation. This specific study establishes that the knowledge sharing and innovation processes in Islamic banks are integral parts of the survival and progress of business organizations. Knowledge sharing and creativity are essential elements in the development of innovative strategies, but few studies have sought to investigate this relationship. This study proposes a framework with five hypotheses, which predicts the influences of knowledge sharing and organizational innovation on the Pakistani banking sector. This survey scrutinizes the impacts of knowledge sharing and innovation, and its primary objective is to determine how learning in Islamic banks mediates the relationship, and enhances the performance, of Pakistani Islamic banks. The authors distributed a self-administered survey, and randomly selected 554 employees from Mirpur AJ&K, Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan. We screened and tested the data received using SPSS version 25 for analysis purposes to measure the strength of the relationships which exist among the studied variables. The findings indicate that all of the proposed hypotheses have significant positive relationships, proving that knowledge sharing and organizational innovation have mediating impacts upon organizational learning. The findings can also be used to propose a systematic and holistic framework for attaining an improved performance in Islamic banks through the mediating role of organizational learning. This study offers empirical evidence and original data to examine the connection between knowledge sharing, innovation processes and learning culture in Islamic Banks. The generalizability of these findings is restricted to Islamic banks, and the study delivers valuable insights and suggestions for imminent research studies.

The restoration of the ancient Silk Road intends to reconnect China with Africa, the Middle East, and Europe through a railway network, airports, roads, seaports, and an optical fiber system. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has three components. One Belt, One Road (OBOR) is based upon two parts of the BRI; the maritime Silk Road and the Silk Road economic belt. OBOR is based upon six economic corridors. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is the smartest corridor under OBOR, which passes only through Pakistan, and after completion, will provide a safe and cheap route for China to import oil and energy. CPEC is a multidimensional project under which much infrastructure development initiative has been started to improve the infrastructure and economic development of Pakistan. Infrastructure development is an essential requirement in economic growth, one which further leads to industrialization and is helpful in economic development. The present study was conducted in Pakistan and explored how infrastructure development under the CPEC is useful for the sustainable development of Pakistan, as well as which kind of infrastructure development projects have been included in the CPEC to improve the socio-economic paradigm of Pakistan. A sample of 500 respondents was selected through a multistage sampling technique from the two-node cities. A questionnaire survey was used to collect primary data. The results of the study show that the CPEC is a catalyst for Pakistan to improve its socio-economic conditions and to achieve sustainable development. The participants of the survey agreed that CPEC will improve the socio-economic paradigm of Pakistan and will be helpful in the achievement of sustainable development goals.