Binod Ghimire

The study aimed to determine why consumers purchase smartphones. The paper examined product attributes, social factors, pricing, and brand image factors to assess how individuals purchase smartphones. The study was conducted in the Kathmandu Valley, the capital city of Nepal. The respondents of the study were smartphone users in the Kathmandu Valley. The study utilized positivist epistemology with predetermined hypotheses and a deductive approach with a single ontological foundation. The study employed a quantitative method. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted on a six-point Likert scale to obtain the primary data. The population for this study was comprised of Smartphone users, and a sample size of 398 was used. This study applied a convenient sampling technique and a causal research design. The effect of independent variables on consumer behavior was determined using structural equation modeling. The path analysis utilizing structural equation modeling demonstrated that product pricing (β = 0.21, p < 0.05), social factors (β = 0.37, p < 0.05), and brand image (β = 0.41, p < 0.05) significantly influence consumer behavior. In contrast, the product attribute has no significant impact (β = 0.05, p >0.05) on consumer behavior. The results provide future scholars and business executives with a road map to view the emerging context of market development.

The study examined the Nepalese youth’s self-directed learning and job-seeking characteristics. It collected primary data from fresh graduates of Nepal’s leading universities to understand self-directed learning motivations and job search behavior. It focused on graduates enrolled in different job preparatory programs to improve their chances of securing employment in 2022. Using a five-point Likert scale, the survey covered general information, self-learning, and job-searching. The purposive sample field survey in Kathmandu Valley from July to December 2022 targeted 500 respondents and yielded 327 completed surveys for analysis. Data analysis shows a substantial correlation between self-directed learning and job-seeking among Nepalese young people (β = 0.877, CR = 18.203, p < 0.01). A substantial positive correlation was identified between self-monitoring, adaptability, and job-seeking activity (β = 0.927, p = 0.000). Likewise, this study found a substantial positive correlation between motivation and job-seeking activity (β = 0.887, p < 0.00), and goal setting and planning have a significant favorable effect on job-seeking behavior (β = 0.445, p < 0.00). Such findings contribute valuable insights into the interplay of self-learning elements and their implications for the job-seeking behavior of young individuals in the Nepalese context. The importance of promoting self-directed learning and emphasizing fundamental attributes has grown significantly as young individuals navigate the dynamic job marketplace and seek assistance in integrating into employment.

Acknowledgment
The authors would like to express profound gratitude and appreciation to the University Grant Commission (UGC) Nepal for supporting this research (FRG-78/79-Mgmt 02).

Eliminating gender prejudice in job advancement is crucial to organizational success. The study aims to analyze the impact of invisible barriers (corporate culture and corporate practices) on the promotion of women working in Nepalese commercial banks. Structural equation modeling and path analysis have examined how the glass ceiling factors affect women’s career progression. The study’s targeted population consisted of female middle-level managers. It used convenience sampling to collect information from 288 female middle-level managers. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett’s tests for sphericity were used to test the study’s external validity. Construct reliability tests and average variance extracted tests were used to evaluate the convergent validity of the latent variables. Heterotrait-monotrait ratio test was used to assess the discriminant validity of the independent components. The result revealed that the corporate culture with seven observable items (β = –0.313; p < 0.05) and corporate practices with nine observable items (β = –0.507; p < 0.05) had a negative and statistically significant impact on women’s career progression in Nepal, accounting for approximately 64.0% of the variation. For organizations to be moral and effective, gender stereotypes regarding promotions must be eliminated. The study’s findings assist policymakers in understanding how the glass ceiling affects women’s promotion in businesses and recognizing discrimination based on gender to make promotional decisions impartial.

The Nepalese stock market has experienced substantial transformations in recent years. Research on investors’ herding behavior is of paramount importance since it explores the influence of collective choices made by investors, which could result in intensified market price fluctuations. This study examined the influence of behavioral biases on investment decisions among Nepalese investors – general individuals who actively participate in the country’s stock market, considering overconfidence, representative, anchoring, regret aversion, and herding biases as explanatory variables, with investment decisions as the response variable. The study employed a linear regression model, establishing relationships using a structured questionnaire with 379 observations. The study revealed the significant influence of overconfidence, anchoring, and regret aversion biases on investment decisions among Nepalese investors. Conversely, the influence of representative bias had a little impact on investment choices, and herding behavior showed no significant relationship with investment decisions. Hence, it suggests that behavioral biases have a greater impact on individual investment choices in the Nepalese financial market. It is essential for investors, advisers, and policymakers to be aware of and address these biases to make well-informed decisions, maintain financial stability, and foster market development.