Corporate governance (CG) is the set of rules and regulations through which organisations account to their stakeholders. An effective CG system promoting the efficient use of organisational resources is instrumental in the economic growth of a country. Based on the existing literature, this research identifies board structural features i.e., 'Board Independence', 'CEO Duality', 'Board Diversity', 'Number of Board Committees' and 'Audit Committee Independence' as key variables of an effective CG system. Previous studies have largely examined the direct relationship between CG systems and firm performance. This research develops a multi-theoretical model that links the Board structural characteristics with firm performance measured in Tobin's Q, Return on Assets and Return on Equity, via two crucial mediating variables, 'Board Size' and the 'Frequency of Board Meetings', and two additional moderating variables, 'Code of Corporate Governance' and 'Ownership Concentration'. The conceptual model that is developed is tested with the help of an econometric study based on a comprehensive set of balanced panel data of 265 companies listed on the Karachi Stock Exchange for a period of six years. The first panel (2009-2011) represents the time-period before the implementation of the revised Code, and the second panel (2013-2015) covers the time-period following the implementation of the revised Code. The results show that the Number of Board Committees (discussing strategic issues) is significantly related to performance and the 'Size of Board' significantly mediates the relationship between the number of board committees and performance. The relationship is also moderated by the Code of Corporate Governance and ownership concentration held by the largest shareholder. The results also show that the links between additional Board structural variables (board independence, CEO duality, board diversity and audit committee independence) and the financial performance are positive but not significant to draw conclusive result. Comparison between pre-and post-implementation of the revised Code of CG suggests that the intervening relationship between the board variables and the performance is stronger after the implementation of the revised Code. This research is a significant milestone in the country context of Pakistan that reflects the socio-economic set of several emerging economies. A key implication of this research is that the corporate sector in Pakistan needs to move away from the tick-box culture of CG. The sector needs to implement CG as a tool to mitigate business risks, appoint and empower non-executive directors to achieve an effective monitoring of management. The companies also need to establish their own ethical and governance principles applicable to the Board of Directors in order to deal with factors that are likely to reduce Directors' efficiency. The research offers new insights and conceptual framework for further research in this area.

Research suggests that there are now two distinct approaches to Emotional Intelligence (EI): ability and trait. To date, however, the literature indicates that the construct remains poorly defined and not always adequately measured. Focusing on trait EI, the current thesis identifies a number of research questions that centre on what it is that defines EI in relation to existing definitions and other constructs, namely, happiness, self-esteem, mood and personality. Moreover, a programme of empirical study investigates whether a training intervention can enhance levels of EI and thus contribute to the emerging applied field of enquiry. This has been achieved through the employment of a series of studies. The initial study used the Repertory Grid Technique (RGT) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to generate a definition of EI, which directed this thesis towards alignment with the trait approach. The second study aimed to identify correlations and explore possible predictor variables through the application of Pearson’s r and Hierarchical Regression analysis. Moreover, a Mediation and Moderation analysis investigated whether EI has a mediating or moderating role when combined with other predictors. Two further experimental studies examined whether EI could be experimentally enhanced through a programme of relaxation and positive thinking when compared with a control group engaged in a non-demanding reading task. The results of the first study produced a definition of EI that included descriptions of work-related qualities with the second study yielding results of high correlations between EI, happiness and self-esteem, which were also identified as predictor variables. EI was found to act as a mediator and moderator. Analysis of Variance generated results for the first experimental study that showed overall non-significant interactions. To investigate beyond these findings, the second programme showed that the training programme induced positive changes. It was concluded that, overall, the results contribute to a definition beyond existing definitions of EI, demonstrating EI’s strong associations particularly with happiness, self-esteem and, its mediating and moderating role with other predictors. Primarily, the results from the second experimental study demonstrate the potential of EI in the applied field, including education, work and health.

Cette thèse de doctorat a pour objectif d’examiner de quelles manières le rôle parental influence la consommation d’alcool des femmes et des hommes et plus précisément, si les relations dynamiques entre le rôle parental, les circonstances au sein desquelles il est mis en acte et les contextes immédiats de consommation permettent d’expliquer les différentes façons individuelles de consommer de l’alcool. Cette étude repose sur le constat qu’en alcoologie, il existe une tendance à considérer l’acteur et l’action comme étant détachés de leur cadre social immédiat. Conséquemment, il existe des limites importantes aux modèles permettant d’expliquer les mécanismes par lesquels les rôles sociaux influencent la consommation d’alcool. Afin d’avoir une meilleure compréhension sociologique de la consommation d’alcool, cette thèse propose un cadre théorique qui insiste fortement sur la nécessité de tenir compte de la situation. L’acteur agit en fonction de certaines circonstances (perception de conflit de rôles) au sein desquelles son rôle est mis en acte. L’action de boire est dépendante du contexte (caractéristiques spatiales, temporelles, symboliques et relationnelles) au sein duquel l’action se déroule. L’hypothèse générale de recherche stipule que pour comprendre la relation entre les rôles et la consommation d’alcool, il faut situer à la fois l’acteur et l’action. La validité empirique du cadre théorique a été testée à partir d’une analyse quantitative des données de l’enquête GENACIS Canada (GENder Alcohol and Culture: an International Study) ainsi que des données de l’Enquête sur les Toxicomanies au Canada. La présentation des résultats des analyses prend la forme de trois articles soumis pour publication. Les données analysées révèlent le bien-fondé du cadre de théorique proposé. Situer l’action a permis de constater que les contextes de consommation sont un médiateur de la relation entre le rôle parental et la consommation d’alcool et plus spécifiquement, que les parents boivent moins fréquemment de façon excessive que les non-parents parce qu’ils boivent dans des lieux différents. Situer l’action a aussi révélé que les femmes et les hommes ont tendance à adopter des comportements de boire qui s’accordent au contexte immédiat, plutôt qu’à la position qu’ils occupent. Par contre, observer les circonstances individuelles au sein desquelles le rôle parental est mis en acte n’a pas permis d’améliorer notre compréhension de la relation à l’étude. Les évidences scientifiques apportées par cette thèse de doctorat ouvrent la porte au développement de mesures préventives environnementales qui visent le contexte de l’action plutôt que l’acteur, pour limiter la consommation excessive d’alcool des femmes et des hommes. / The objective of this doctoral thesis is to examine how the parental role influences women and men’s alcohol consumption. More precisely, it explores whether the dynamic relationships between the parental role, the circumstances into which it is enacted and drinking contexts provide an explanation to the various individual manners to consume alcohol. This research is based on the observation that within the alcohol field, there is a tendency to treat social actor and the social action as if they were detached from their immediate social environment. Therefore, existing models that focus on the mechanisms through which social roles influence alcohol consumption are limited. To achieve a better sociological understanding of alcohol consumption, this thesis proposes a theoretical framework that highlights the necessity to take into account the situation. A social actor behaves according to certain circumstances (between-role stressors) into which his/her role is enacted. Drinking depends on the contexts (spatial, temporal, symbolic and relational characteristics) in which it occurs. The general hypothesis of this research postulates that to understand the association between social roles and alcohol consumption, both the social actor and social action need to be situated. The empirical validity of the theoretical framework has been tested from quantitative analyses of data from the GENACIS Canada (GENder Alcohol and Culture: an International Study) survey and data from the Canadian Addiction Survey. The results of these analyses are presented in three articles submitted for publication. The analyses reveal the legitimacy of the proposed theoretical framework. Situating the act of drinking has allowed to observe that drinking contexts are mediators of the relationship between the parental role and alcohol consumption and more specifically, that parents report to less frequent abusive drinking than non-parents because they drink in different locations. Situating the act of drinking has also revealed that men and women tend to consume alcohol in accordance with the immediate drinking context rather than their positional role. However, observing the circumstances into which individual enact their parental role has not improved our understanding of the relationship under study. The scientific evidences provided by this doctoral thesis open the door to the development of preventive environmental measures that focus on the immediate drinking context instead of the individual in order to reduce abusive drinking behaviors among both men and women.

The aim of this study was to find the relationships between leadership style, organisational culture and organisational performance and subsequently develop a conceptual framework for enhancing Organisational Performance through the linkage between Leadership style and Organisational Culture in the public sector, in the South African Police Service (SAPS). Many of the previous studies have explored the direct relationship between specific culture domains and a specific performance measure and researchers have paid attention to mediators and moderators of the link between organisational culture and performance only in private sectors. According to the literature, leadership style and organisational culture have been independently linked to organisational performance (Ogbonna & Harris, 2000; Denison & Mishra, 1995; Xenikou & Simosi, 2006; Cameron & Quinn, 2011). All these authors focused on the effect of organisational culture and leadership style on organisational performance in the private sector. In order to achieve the research aim and objectives extensive an intensive literature review of the relevant and current literature was done. The mixed methods approach was applied. Data was collected by the use of self-administered questionnaires for the quantitative data and in-depth interviews and observations for the qualitative data. Regression analysis was used to investigate the relationships between the key study variables and more importantly the mediating and moderating effect on the effect of leadership style on organisational performance. The results of this study indicated that the transformational leadership style does not have a direct effect on organisational performance but rather through organisational culture as a mediating and moderating variable. It was also found that transformational leadership style and organisational culture affect each other. The implication was that leaders should cultivate an organisational culture which is conducive to work in order to enhance organisational performance. / Business Management / D.B.L.