Search results

This study aims to explore and analyze the issues in weightages-based profit distribution mechanism in Islamic banks from Shari’ah, practical and regulatory perspectives.

A qualitative research approach was used in this study based on primary data collected through semi-structured interviews from Shari’ah practitioners and senior industry experts in the field of pool management in the Islamic Financial Services Industry of Pakistan.

The current study found that the weightages-based mechanism conforms to the rules of Mudarabah and; therefore, permissible. However, the elements of exploitation, transparency and fairness require further research, as these elements seem to exist in this mechanism. It was also found that there are many loopholes in the regulatory guidelines for pool management in Islamic banking institutions (IBIs) in Pakistan resulting in practical issues.

The findings of this study may help improve pool management in IBIs, which in turn may cater the objections raised by academicians, customers and industry experts. Moreover, the alternative solution based on the findings of this study can be transformed into a proposal for regulators to take necessary actions against unfair profit distribution and issue further improved guidelines for IBIs in Pakistan.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, very limited studies have been conducted on pool management particularly with issues from different perspectives and alternative solutions have been suggested that may act as a proposal for IBIs as well as regulatory authorities.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the job satisfaction levels between International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001-certified and non-ISO 9001-certified project-based companies in Jordan, for project managers (PMs) and project team members (consultants, engineers and architects).

The study sample consists of individuals from the aforementioned four roles of ISO 9001-certified and non-ISO 9001-certified companies. A questionnaire survey was used to collect the data from 57 companies. In total, 72 valid questionnaires were returned, yielding a response rate of 92.98 percent. The data obtained were statistically analyzed, and then the independent t-test was used to test the study hypotheses.

The results revealed that ISO 9001-certified companies experience higher job satisfaction level for the four roles compared to non-ISO 9001-certified companies. Between the two samples, it was noted that there is a significant difference in the PMs’, consultants’ and engineers’ satisfaction with co-workers and without any remarkable difference in the specific satisfaction. No significant difference between the two samples in general satisfaction was found for PMs and engineers. Finally, no significant difference was found in three satisfaction elements for architects.

Understanding the linkage between being ISO 9001-certified company and project members’ job satisfaction can provide a new strategic direction for project-based companies’ performance management that can help in achieving superior work outcomes. A small sample size is considered the main limitation of this study.

This study attempts to fill the knowledge gap that is rarely investigated in the literature, i.e. the link between being ISO 9001-certified company and the level of project members’ job satisfaction.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of audit committee (AC) characteristics, such as AC size, AC independence and gender diversity on firm risk in the context of an emerging market.

The sample data includes 102 nonfinancial Pakistan Stock Exchange listed firms from 2004 to 2018. Firm risk is measured through three proxies, namely, idiosyncratic risk, total risk and capital expenditure. Along with this, profitability, leverage, market-to-book ratio, firm age, net property plant and equipment (NPPE) and surplus cash are used as control variables. The Housman test is used to select the best model from the fixed-effect model and the random effect model to conclude the findings.

According to the study's findings, AC characteristics have a negative and significant relationship with idiosyncratic risk. In addition, a gender-diverse AC has a significant negative relationship with capital expenditure. In connection with total risk, AC characteristics fail to shows any significant relationship. Among the control variables, the results show that profitability stand for return on asset (ROA) and NPPE have a significant negative relationship, whereas market-to-book value has a significant positive relationship with both idiosyncratic and total risk.

The study's findings offer policymakers, managers and investors guidance. This study will provide new insights to the Pakistani Government, stock market, companies and accounting and auditing regulators in terms of understanding the determinants influencing risk management activities. Furthermore, this study will assist financial institutions in making credit decisions. In addition, this study provides policymakers, such as the stand for Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), with guidelines for developing policies that strengthen the board governance mechanism.

This study investigates the impact of AC characteristics on corporate risk, which is rarely discussed in emerging economies.

A novel framework for expedited antenna optimization with an iterative prediction-correction scheme is proposed. The methodology is comprehensively validated using three real-world antenna structures: narrow-band, dual-band and wideband, optimized under various design scenarios.

The keystone of the proposed approach is to reuse designs pre-optimized for various sets of performance specifications and to encode them into metamodels that render good initial designs, as well as an initial estimate of the antenna response sensitivities. Subsequent design refinement is realized using an iterative prediction-correction loop accommodating the discrepancies between the actual and target design specifications.

The presented framework is capable of yielding optimized antenna designs at the cost of just a few full-wave electromagnetic simulations. The practical importance of the iterative correction procedure has been corroborated by benchmarking against gradient-only refinement. It has been found that the incorporation of problem-specific knowledge into the optimization framework greatly facilitates parameter adjustment and improves its reliability.

The proposed approach can be a viable tool for antenna optimization whenever a certain number of previously obtained designs are available or the designer finds the initial effort of their gathering justifiable by intended re-use of the procedure. The future work will incorporate response features technology for improving the accuracy of the initial approximation of antenna response sensitivities.

The proposed optimization framework has been proved to be a viable tool for cost-efficient and reliable antenna optimization. To the knowledge, this approach to antenna optimization goes beyond the capabilities of available methods, especially in terms of efficient utilization of the existing knowledge, thus enabling reliable parameter tuning over broad ranges of both operating conditions and material parameters of the structure of interest.

Sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices and green entrepreneurial preference (GEP) have gained increasing attention from academicians; however, their impacts on business' competitive performance (BCP) post-coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) remain unclear. Although SSCM is vital for supporting BCP, the previous publications indicate the absence of significant relationships among GEP, SSCM and BCP. This study tries to fill this literature gap by investigating if GEP and SSCM can shape BCP. This study also suggests the moderation effect of digital innovations such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics (AIBD) on those relationships from a COVID-19 viewpoint.

Data were collected from 245 Halal food firms in Yemen, and the research framework was assessed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The empirical findings show that there are significant impacts of GEP on SSCM and subsequently on BCP. The findings also reveal that SSCM practice mediates GEP-BCP link. Besides, digital innovations such as AIBD positively moderate the link of GEP-SSCM.

This study is the first attempt that advises Halal food firms to formally adopt GEP, SSCM and digital innovations to boost BCP, especially in uncertain times like post-COVID-19. Unlike earlier studies that observe SSCM usage as a direct predictor of firm performance, this study delivers an innovative insight that digital innovations can assist in GEP and SSCM incorporation in the in-house operations of the firms post-COVID-19.

This paper aims to examine whether family business groups’ (FBG) having the same network auditor among their affiliates mitigates earnings manipulation (EM).

This paper used unbalanced panel data from the years 2010–2019. The sample of the study is composed of 327 nonfinancial listed Pakistan Stock Exchange firms, consisting of 187 FBG-affiliated firms and 140 nonaffiliated firms. The ordinary least square and generalized least square regressions have been used to check the hypothesized relationship. Furthermore, the propensity score matching technique is used to ascertain comparable companies’ features and to control the potential endogeneity problem. Finally, the results are robust to various measures of EM and FBG’ proxies.

The findings of the study show that the same network auditor is reducing EM in FBG affiliates. In addition, the BIG4 same network auditors are also instrumental in constraining EM as compared to non-BIG4 audit firms. Overall, the results of this study depict that the same network auditor in FBG’s affiliated firms significantly influences EM. These results are robust with respect to generalized least squares and the endogeneity problem.

This research study has two important implications for the interested parties. First, although the authors find in this research study that the same network auditor is negatively associated with EM in the FBG-affiliated firms, however, FBG-affiliated firms might use opportunistically the real activity manipulation. Second, regulators highlight the change in audit partner/firm rotation, though the study findings indicate that regulators and practitioners may consider the benefits associated with the same network auditors for FBG.

This research study adds a new investigation to previous literature by examining the role of the same network auditors in the EM of the FBG’ affiliates. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to bring new knowledge by investigating the role played by the same network auditors along with the BIG4 same network audit firms in constraining EM in FBG.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of intellectual capital (IC) efficiency on the banks’ risk-taking and stability of Asian emerging markets.

This study uses a sample of 204 listed banks from 12 Asian emerging countries for the period 2010 to 2019. Data were analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares regression and checked for robustness using system generalized methods moment (GMM) estimation. The dependent variable of bank stability is measured using Z-score-based return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). The second dependent variable of bank risk is proxied by the standard deviation of ROA, ROE, non-performing loans and loan loss provision.

The results suggest the IC efficiency has no association with bank risk-taking and stability. The findings lend no support to the resource-based theory. The robustness of this result is confirmed by the system GMM estimation. However, support is found for the competition fragility view as high market power is associated with low risk-taking. The IC subcomponents, human capital efficiency (HCE) report a negative coefficient for bank risk-taking thereby having no support for the hypothesized relationships. Diversified banks with a higher deposit to total asset ratio resort to high risk-taking.

IC efficiency does not have an impact on the bank’s risk-taking behavior and stability for Asian banks. Managers can use these findings to improve their IC and boost investor confidence. Regulatory authorities should increase its monitoring function of banks when the GDP decreases as risk-taking behavior are galvanized during this period.

This research is one of the first to provide empirical evidence of IC efficiency’s relationship with bank stability and bank risk-taking. The implications are useful for policymakers, managers and governing bodies to enhance the banks’ IC efficiency.

This study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the existing literature on corporate governance (CG) aspects of the Malaysian market. It offers insights into the phases of Malaysian CG, identifies crucial gaps in the literature and outlines an agenda for impending research.

Following a systematic literature review approach, a final sample of 125 studies from Scopus and Web of Science databases was used in this study. These studies were selected based on quality assessment criteria. Then, the sample literature was evaluated in terms of journals, methodology, theories, modelling, research outcomes and CG characteristics.

The results show that there is a growing interest among researchers to further explore CG aspects in Malaysia due to the continuous development of the Malaysian CG codes. Likewise, the review reveals that the majority of prior studies are quantitative and were carried out using archived data from non-financial firms. Also, the existing literature has primarily focused on the outcomes of CG, especially firm performance.

Overall, the results show that there is ample room for future research. The present paper identifies a number of methodological problems and concerns, and discusses the implications of these problems, while also providing recommendations for future research. The main caveat is that the authors use scholarly papers published in academic journals only, but this approach offers them with opportunities for considerable further developments.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study contributes to the literature by being the first of its kind to concentrate on the Malaysian context. It provides a comprehensive knowledge assessment of the Malaysian CG research and offers advice regarding improvements in research, policy and practice by identifying possible knowledge gaps. Consequently, this study provides a cohesive story of the past and a road map for future research on Malaysian CG.

This study aims to examine how audit committee (AC) attributes influence quality and quantity disclosure of energy consumed by the listed nonfinancial firms for the period of five years (2016–2020). The study aims at providing empirical evidence on how board of director’s independence influences the relationship between AC attributes and firms’ energy in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) on world climate policy.

The study obtained data from a sample of 83 listed nonfinancial firms, content analysis technique was used to compute energy disclosure indexes using global reporting initiative standards, while regression analysis was conducted to test the relationship among research variables.

The study revealed that AC independence, diversity and meetings were significantly related with energy disclosure. Also, the study found that other variables were insignificantly related with energy disclosure.

The study is constrained for not considering all listed firms in the country. Furthermore, the study considered selected attributes, other important audit-committee size attributes such as audit-committee size, audit-committee size tenure could be study in by the future study.

The study’s findings would have practical implications for corporations and other business organizations seeking to actively involve the energy-related SDGs 7 and 13 in their business models and successfully communicate these efforts to stakeholders.

To the best of author’s knowledge, this is the first study that provides empirical evidence on the effect of AC attributes on the energy disclosure using effect of board independence as moderator in Nigeria.