Purpose: The purpose of this research is to assess the tax stakeholders’ intention towards the adoption of blockchain technology (BT) for a transparent and effective taxing system in Bangladesh. It examines the factors influencing the behavioural intention of the users to adopt BT with a blended model built on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and self-determination theory (SDT). This research develops a prescriptive model to demonstrate how the stakeholders are interested in adopting BT for the taxing system.Design/methodology/approach: Data were obtained through a structured questionnaire from the stakeholders of the taxing system, including tax policymakers, tax commissioners, tax officers, lawyers, tax consultants and the taxpayers. Statistical analyses were performed using partial least square-structural equation modelling.Findings: Results reveal that out of the two primary TAM antecedents known as usefulness (PU) and ease of use (PEU), PU has a significant influence on the BT adoption intention. The only cognitive variable called autonomous motivation picked from SDT has a positive and significant impact on BT adoption for tax purpose as well. Finally, trust is found to be another important determinant for explaining stakeholders’ intention to adopt BT for an efficient taxing system where transparency can be ensured.Research limitations/implications: The proposed model does not include any moderator though there might be a moderating effect in this regard. The variation described in the behavioural intention to adopt BT by the predictors is half of the total possible variations. Hence, the inclusion of variables such as social influence and controlled motivation could be interesting.Practical implications: This study is expected to provide valuable insights into policymaking for tax administrations to enhance the tax collection net and maintain transparency and efficiency in the taxing system.Social implications: This research has social consequences for a recently graduated developing economy such as Bangladesh, where transparency and efficiency are a matter of question. Because BT adoption can assure a convenient and favourable environment for the taxpayers upholding the principles of taxation, it can play a significant role by ensuring social justice and equity through a transparent and effective taxing system.Originality/value: This research is among the first few studies to address the issue of implementing a modern technology such as BT for an efficient taxing system from a developing country perspective. Furthermore, it combined TAM and SDT to propose a hybrid model for explaining behavioural intention to adopt an emerging technology such as blockchain, which is a new phenomenon.

Purpose: This research aims to assess the consumers' intention to purchase organic foods for balanced physical and mental growth. It examines the decision-making process in buying organic products built on the extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). This study designed a model to show how Bangladeshi consumers wish to purchase organic food.Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected by means of a formal questionnaire from shoppers in different markets who buy organic and non-organic foods. Statistical analysis is done by applying partial least square-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).Findings: Findings refer that among the four antecedents called social norms (SN), personal attitude (ATT), perceived behaviour control (PBC) and health consciousness (HC), three (ATT, PBC and HC) have a significant influence on the intention to consume organic food in Bangladesh. The only cognitive variable called social norm (SN) has no statistically significant impact though it positively relates to the behavioural intention to purchase organic food.Research limitations/implications: The fitted model did not consider any moderating or mediating variable though there might be such effects regarding organic food purchase and consumption. The study includes a major portion of the respondents from less than Tk. 20,000 monthly income group, which is a price-sensitive group from Bangladesh perspective. Hence, this price sensitivity might have a slight influence on the results of the study.Practical implications: This study includes four variables as the predictors to describe consumers' intention to purchase organic food products in Bangladesh. Among the predictors, health consciousness or awareness is found to be most powerful. Though consciousness is the key, the awareness of Bangladeshi citizen regarding organic food is lower than in other parts of the world. Hence, the research model directs the policymakers to increase awareness through different social campaigns.Social implications: Under Vision 2040 of promoting sustainable development, the government of Bangladesh is trying to increase organic food consumption. Production and consumption of organic food will positively impact society since organic fertilizers are environmentally friendly and do not harm society. This research promotes a strategy formulation to ensure the consumption of organic foods for a positive social impact.Originality/value: This study is a unique research to concentrate on the importance and factors influencing the consumption of organic foods in Bangladesh, a recently graduated developing country. Furthermore, it extended the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and proposed a new conceptual framework.

Although Fintech services benefit the hospitality industry significantly, studies conducted in Bangladesh are limited. Investigations on the mediating role of customer experience and attitude in the relationship between Fintech services and customer-loyalty intention are also scarce. Therefore, this study explores the association between Fintech services and customer-loyalty intention in the hospitality sector in Bangladesh. Additionally, it looks into how customer attitude and experience mediate the link between Fintech services and customer-loyalty intention. Data were collected from 365 respondents (customers) selected conveniently from 15 hotels (3-, 4-, and 5-star) in the two most renowned cities in Bangladesh, i.e., Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar. Smart-PLS was used to test the proposed model. The results of the study revealed that Fintech services, customer experience, and customer attitude significantly impacted customer-loyalty intention. Moreover, customer experience and customer attitude mediated the relationship between Fintech services and customer loyalty intention. The distinctive contribution of this investigation is the mediation of customer experience and customer attitude in the Fintech services and customer-loyalty intention relationship, as well as adding value to the existing Fintech literature. The study’s findings will help the hospitality sector in Bangladesh become more competitive and improve the quality of its services. Fintech companies and hospitality organizations must make careful plans to encourage the widespread implementation of Fintech.

Owing to the lack of research in emerging Asian nations, this research aimed to unearth the determinants of blockchain acceptance for supply chain financing by a Bangladeshi financing company called IPDC. Centred on a technology acceptance framework called UTAUT (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology) and open innovation research, an expanded model with a mediating variable is developed for this study. This research work employs the deductive inference method in conjunction with the positivism paradigm. A structural questionnaire was used to gather data, which were then processed through Smart-PLS (partial least square) for SEM (structural equation modeling). The survey includes all the people who are directly or indirectly involved in the supply chain financing platform of IPDC. The study consists of seven direct hypotheses and one mediating hypothesis. The results show that all the direct hypotheses except the impact of social influence on the behavioural intention to use (BINTU) blockchain are significant. The mediating hypothesis indicating the role of BINTU in the relationship between facilitating conditions (FCON) and the actual use of blockchain is also supported. FCON and BINTU together explain 88.7% variation in blockchain use behaviour for supply chain financing. The research advances past findings by employing an expanded UTAUT framework and validating observations with the other relevant studies throughout the world.

The deadly effect of Covid-19 has changed the world dramatically. The education sector is one of the worst sufferers due to the official closures of educational institutions worldwide. The government of Bangladesh has declared all the on-campus activities shut in March 2020. This paper explains the effect of faculty and student readiness in adopting virtual classes considering the mediating effect of technology adoption intention. Teachers and students from private and public universities in Bangladesh are surveyed for this research. The findings revealed that the private universities are well ahead of providing online education as their faculty and students are ready with logistics and mindset to adopt technology-based virtual learning while the public university stakeholders are yet to initiate it. It is concluded that the lack of readiness of public universities will create a massive gap between public and private university education and rural and urban students as well. The proposed model of this research can help the policymakers and the government in formulating policy guidelines for bringing all the students and teachers on virtual education platforms irrespective of their university affiliations.

The present study intends to investigate the impact of corporate attributes in disclosing Human Resource information from the lens of Stakeholder theory. A sample of 100 annual reports of 20 commercial banks operating in Bangladesh for five years starting from 2015 to 2019 has been considered for this research. Content analysis and multiple linear regression have been used to meet the objectives. The results reveal that large firms disclose more information due to higher social reputation and greater accountability towards stakeholders. Further, human resource cost and human resource disclosures (HRDs) are positively related. It implies that corporations that invest more in human capital disclosure it in the annual report to let people know about it and enhance their credibility. The findings also demonstrate a negative relationship between HRDs and the firm’s age, which implies that, to be trustworthy, reliable, and retain public confidence, young firms disclose more information. In contrast, established firms tend to disclose less information. The findings of the study may exert remarkable contribution in devising corporate policy and setting measures of regulatory and accounting standard-setting bodies.