This paper examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on financial inclusion in China, a country with a significant agricultural sector and an evolving digital landscape. The pandemic has accelerated the shift towards digital financial services, underscoring disparities in access. This study explores the pre- and post-pandemic scenarios of financial inclusion in China, evaluates the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, and assesses the role of digital transformation in the financial sector. It also investigates the changing roles of commercial banks and microfinance institutions, the integration of technology in finance, and the development of rural-urban economic linkages. The paper aims to propose strategies to enhance financial inclusion, ensuring it reaches the most vulnerable, and concludes with recommendations for creating a more equitable and robust economic system.

In the rapidly expanding Chinese high-tech industry, high employee turnover poses a significant challenge. This study employs a mixed-methods approach to explore the association between transformational leadership and turnover intentions, utilizing both survey responses and detailed interviews. Findings from this investigation demonstrate a strong negative correlation between transformational leadership and turnover intentions. Increased job satisfaction and organizational commitment, crucial factors for employee retention, mediate this relationship. The study underscores the strategic significance for high-tech enterprises in China to nurture transformational leadership as a means to mitigate turnover, thereby fostering a more engaged and dedicated workforce, and sustaining a competitive advantage in this dynamic industry.

As digital technologies continue to shape the economy, countries are faced with increasing scrutiny in the use of digital transformation to aid productivity and improve performance. In South Africa, the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated Small and medium-sized businesses’ (SMEs’) uptake of digital technologies, as many businesses had to shift their operations online and adopt new digital tools and technologies to solve the challenges posed by the pandemic. This has led to an increased focus on digital transformation mechanisms among South African firms. Therefore, the study examines the effect of digital transformation on the productivity of firms using cross-sectional data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) (2020). The survey was based on firms and is a representative sample of the private sector in the South African economy and covers a wide variety of business environment themes, such as infrastructure, competitiveness, access to finance, and performance indicators. We found that digital transformation improved productivity of South African firms. Furthermore, empirical findings are reassuring robust to the IV-2SLS and quantile regression model, size of business, sectoral and provincial analysis. Finally, we recommend that policy makers should develop and implement initiatives to improve digital infrastructure, including high-speed internet access and reliable connectivity, especially in rural and underserved areas.

Organisational competitiveness hinges on the strategic integration of digital transformation (DT), emerging skills (ES), and organizational health (OH) to foster sustainable performance. Despite the pivotal role of these variables, limited research investigates their interplay in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia. This study addresses this gap by empirically examining how MSMEs navigate challenges and opportunities amid the digital transformation landscape. Specifically, the research probes the intermediary function of the synergistic integration between DT and ES, influencing organisational performance (OP) moderated by OH. Utilizing a validated questionnaire, a three-month convenience sample involved 120 MSME managers. Partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis was employed to assess hypotheses. Findings indicate a significant relationship between DT, ES, and OH, with DT influencing OP. Interestingly, ES alone does not impact OP. Structural equation modelling reveals OH as a mediating variable between DT, ES, and OP. While the proposed model is preliminary, offering avenues for further research, this study underscores the importance of emerging skills in the MSME sector, contributing to a nuanced understanding of organisational competitiveness dynamics.

This paper explores diverse conceptualizations of leadership, emphasizing its profound impact on individuals and organizations. Leadership's influence on followers' daily lives, necessitating adaptation to modern complexities. Various theories offer distinct perspectives: distributed leadership emphasizes shared expertise. While charismatic leadership focuses on vision alignment. Authentic leadership promotes ethical climates, while Emotional Intelligence theory emphasizes emotional competencies. Ethical leadership underscores moral conduct. Five Domains Leadership highlights talent management and strategy execution, while Leadership Transition Theory discusses dynamic changes. Other theories include direct/indirect leadership, entrepreneurial leadership, and leader-member exchange. Participative leadership explores decision-making styles, and situational leadership aligns styles with follower maturity. Trait and behavioral theories focus on inherent traits and learned behaviours. This review underscores leadership's complexity, offering insights into its diverse conceptualizations and practical implications across contexts.

This study aims to evaluate theories and ideas about social values and determine the high quality of virtues that potentially change social practices, thinking, self-awareness, and behavior of the individual and society. The relevance of the study of value components is determined by the fact that such values as “spirituality and morality”, “responsibility”, “justice”, “rationality”, and “security” are capable of capturing the greatest value of many interests, which allows for the integration of society. An experimental study was conducted using sociological research methods based on developed questionnaires with questions touching on the parameters of sustainable development of society, determining the high quality of virtues and behavior of the individual and society. The study was conducted from May to June 2023 (N = 1387). Based on Demoethical values, special attention is paid to global problems related to climate change and inefficient use of energy and water resources, thereby achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. As a result of the study, Demoethical values are revealed in interaction with the economic components of demography, democracy, and demoeconomics as a tool for social transformation, as they shape the harmonious vision of the world, human behavior, decisions, and relationships with other people.