زر اور معاوضۂ زر: سرمایہ دارانہ اور اسلامی نظام معیشت کے تناظر میں تجزیاتی مطالعہ

Money and its Compensation: An Analysis with Respect to Capitalism and Islamic Economic System In trade and commerce, money has remained the backbone of the business and trade. From the beginning to the end, money is an indispensable part of every economic activity. For this importance, money is treated as a factor of production. But the question is what is meant by money and whether the value of money can be recognized as a land, house, shop, car, bungalow and merchandise goods? And then what is the status if it is in the form of interest and it is linked to inflation? The research article underlines the key aspect regarding money and its compensation in the perspective of capitalistic and Islamic economic system. The qualitative and analytical approach was applied in this article. A literature review concluded that time value of money in capitalistic economy is unlimited while the Islamic economic system does not recognize its value in form of interest and with the association of inflation rate. It is recommended that business to be done on a profit and loss basis, rather than on debt and interest and instead of linking money to the inflation rate, alternatives should be proposed, for example if a person wants to take the loan, he should be given what he needs on cost plus profit basis.

Impact of Drug Advertising on Brand Equity: Evidence from an Emerging Market

Pharmaceutical industry has experienced tremendous growth and increased drug brand competition in recent years. Drug brand advertising is an imperative and key marketing tool used for the success of drug brands. Recent trend of increased use of drug advertising to build drug brands has received considerable attention of practitioners, academics and regulatory authorities. Therefore, investigation of the impact of drug advertising on brand equity has become a critical concern. While the impact of advertising on brand equity has been explored in few consumer goods sectors, the concept of brand equity is relatively less explored for drug brands. Using physicians and consumers’ sub-samples, this study objective is therefore to employ both quantitative (questionnaire) and qualitative (interview) research designs and methodology to examine the link between drug advertising and drug brand equity dimensions and overall brand equity. Results from structural equation modeling of questionnaire and thematic analyses of interview data reveal a positive and significant impact of drug advertising on drug brand equity dimensions and overall brand equity.Brand equity dimensions exhibit partial mediation for consumers’ sub-sample and full mediation for physicians’ sub-sample. Drug brand equity is achieved if drug advertising successfully targets brand awareness, perceived quality and loyalty. Drug advertising appears to influence brand awareness that leads to perceived brand quality and drug brand loyalty, ultimately impacting the overall drug brand equity. Results in the study indicate significant differences across demographic and drug brand categories. Taken together, outcome in the study suggest key role of drug brand advertising in building drug brand equity. Theoretically, the study contributes by highlighting the mediating role of brand equity dimensions in influencing drug brand equity. The study also has important implications for practitioners in devising their advertising strategies for various drug brand categories, and for regulators in providing useful insights in further strengthening of future drug brand regulation