Purpose As the digital economy expands, examining Malaysians’ acceptance of digital financial services (DFS) becomes imperative. The intricacies of DFS necessitate that consumers possess both financial knowledge (FK) and digital financial literacy (DFL) to utilize DFS effectively. This study examines FK and DFL across demographics and their impact on DFS usage, aiming to bridge the gap between intended and actual adoption. Design/methodology/approach An online survey garnered 525 responses. Given that FK and DFL, DFS usage intention and actual usage were ordinally measured, ordered logistic regression was employed. Findings Age aside, socio-demographics similarly affect financial knowledge and digital financial literacy. FK strongly drives both intended and actual digital financial service (DFS) use. However, the impact of DFL varies: awareness and understanding are key for both intention and use, but digital financial risk control knowledge is vital for actual use. Digital skills mainly influence intended, not actual, DFS usage. Originality/value This research distinguishes between the impacts of FK and DFL on DFS adoption. Moreover, the study decomposes digital financial literacy into three fundamental components, yielding valuable insights for targeting specific knowledge domains to enhance DFS implementation.

Purpose This research aims to develop a model built from the job demand-resource (JD-R) theory which explains the psychological mechanism that leads to academic work-related stress in an educational context. This study investigates the conditional effect of ambidextrous working hard through mediation paths and the moderating role of perceived support on these conditional effects. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses were tested using cross-sectional data from 334 academics at Vietnamese institutions. Data were analysed within a moderated mediation model integrated from hierarchical regression. Findings The results revealed that while work engagement (WE) partially mediates the indirect effect of person-job fit (PJF) on job-related stress, workaholism (WKH) – as an escalated stage of working hard – fully explains the psychological mechanism with moderated integration from social supports. Originality/value This paper hopes to contribute to the growing educational literature exploring the complex, multi-conditional influences of personal and social factors to measure academics’ psychological changes that lead to a negative reaction at work.

Purpose This study examines the impact of structural shocks and policy interventions on the India/US exchange rate post the 1991 economic reforms in India. The study aims to improve forecasting accuracy by incorporating macroeconomic and microeconomic factors into the analysis using the threshold regression model (TRM), a nonlinear approach to estimation. Design/methodology/approach Extending Dornbusch’s (1976) overshooting model, the study incorporates micro factors, such as investor behaviour, beliefs and preferences, alongside traditional macroeconomic variables. Additionally, it introduces a capital control variable to assess monetary policy interventions. Using quarterly data from 1996Q2 to 2019Q3, TRM identifies two distinct economic regimes, providing a comprehensive understanding of India’s exchange rate dynamics. Findings The study reveals that macro and micro factors have varying effects on the exchange rate across regimes, reflecting India’s different economic conditions and policies. Furthermore, the TRM-based model achieves superior out-of-sample forecasting accuracy compared to the random walk model across all forecast horizons. Originality/value Unlike prior studies, where not all variables were deemed significant, our analysis demonstrates that all factors significantly influence the exchange rate. The innovative use of TRM deepens understanding of exchange rate behaviour, particularly in response to structural shocks and policy shifts. By identifying distinct economic regimes, the model offers insights into targeted policy measures tailored to India’s economic conditions, a previously unexplored perspective.

Purpose This paper explores the impact of financial stress (FS) on consumer confidence (CC) using survey data. Design/methodology/approach We use novel household-level survey data on CC by the Reserve Bank of India. FS data come from the financial stress index (FSI) released by the Tracking Asian Integration of Asian Development Bank. The sample period is 2015–2023. We align the lagged monthly values of FSI with the household-level data to uncover the impact of FS on household confidence in the economy. Findings Rising FS leads to increased pessimism among households regarding the state of the economy. Educated and well-off households are more sensitive to FS. Moreover, FS significantly impacts confidence regarding households’ own consumption basket and economic scenarios. A disaggregated analysis reveals that FS related to foreign exchange and debt spread causes greater pessimism among households than in the equity market and banking sector. Additionally, the impacts of FS are asymmetric, with above-average FS lowering household attitudes, while below-average FS increases optimism about the economy’s outlook. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the impact of FS on household CC using household-level data for an emerging economy such as India. Micro-level data allow us to explore the impact of FS on household perceptions of current economic situations and future outlooks. We also uncover the impact of FS on households’ confidence in their own economic outcomes.