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This paper aims to investigate the impact of adopting lean manufacturing principles on operational efficiency by eliminating seven major lean wastes (or Muda) in a Malaysian stationery manufacturer. Much of the research on lean considers its application to larger organisations with stable demand patterns. This research examines a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) with a volatile demand pattern.

A process activity mapping (PAM) methodology was utilized to identify the potential for waste elimination. PAM is a visual tool that considers every step in a production process. Value-added and non-value-added activities are therefore examined to understand hidden wastes and their sources.

The results revealed that the adopted lean principles significantly reduce the waiting times. This time reduction resulted in savings (reduction of cycle time) and to a certain extent, can be a crucial driver in continuous improvement sustainability in the production process.

The study focuses on a single case study and provides a springboard for further research. Future studies examining the results across a broader sample of organisations would develop the findings further.

The extant literature cites mixed success for lean implementation programmes. The results demonstrate that lean is still recognised as a powerful approach to improving operations in SMEs.

This paper reflects on the application of lean in a real case study showing the impact of lean on operational performance of an SME.

This paper aims to investigate the behaviour determinants towards cash waqf for productive purposes between two different classes of Muslims: the upper-middle class and the lower-middle class.

Under the Theory of Planned Behavior framework, this study modified previous literature to investigate the determinants of two Muslim classes’ behaviour towards cash waqf for productive purposes. A structural equation model was applied to test the hypothesis, and an in-depth interview was conducted to explain the findings further.

The behaviour of participating in cash waqf for productive purposes differs between the two Muslim segments. Upper-middle-class Muslims’ intentions will not necessarily consider subjective norms, even though they will consider religiosity as their deciding factor. Meanwhile, this study found different results on the influence of attitude, religiosity and subjective norms to intention in the lower-middle-income group. Other attributes such as perceived behaviour control, knowledge, trust and perceived benefits show positive and significant effects on the intention for both income classes of Muslims.

The current findings may not accurately reflect ideal conditions due to the low level of waqf literacy and actual participation of Muslims in cash waqf for productive purposes. Researchers can conduct further studies based on other criteria, such as gender, age, education level or area of residence, using experimental or simulation methods to complement the research.

This study’s findings can support policymakers and related waqf stakeholders to set strategies for cash waqf literacy and participation by providing more detailed information about the differences in Muslims characteristics based on the income classes.

This study specifically modifies the behavioural framework to investigate differences in the behaviour of two classes of Muslims towards their participation in cash waqf for productive purposes in Indonesia.

This study aims to explore the COVID-19 impact on the sustainability of gharimin (genuine debtors) in Islamic financial institutions (IFI) in Malaysia. The analysis was further conducted to expand the interpretation of gharimin in zakat institutions (ZI) to use the role of zakat distribution during the post-pandemic period due to income shock and long-term unemployment.

This study adopted a qualitative research approach with grounded theory analysis to integrate theoretical insights into the interpretation of gharimin and current practices from the perspectives of ZI and IFI. An in-depth interview with 18 informants was conducted, and data were collected from senior management positions in the zakat distribution department, academicians who are experts in the area of zakat, and heads of Shariah departments in IFI.

Expanding the interpretation of gharimin could help ZI and IFI recover the sustainability of gharimin for preparedness during post-pandemic and any emergency crisis in the future.

This study implies the potential role of ZI in combating the risk of defaulting debtors in IFI to prepare for pandemic recovery in the future.

The new interpretation assists gharimin in reducing the burden debt using the zakat fund and protects genuine debtors by preventing IFI from declaring default or bankruptcy.

This study narrows the literature gaps about gharimin in IFI in the context of the pandemic. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is, perhaps, the first paper to present the expansion of interpretation for gharimin into mu’sir in IFI in Malaysia.

Many scholars have primarily disregarded employee motivation in the context of Western and Islamic ideas. To better understand employee motivation, this paper aims to explore a novel approach of fusing McClelland’s needs theory (i.e. achievement, power and affiliation) with Maqasid Shariah.

This study adopts a theoretical research design. There will be a thorough literature study of McClelland’s theory, Maqasid Shariah, and employee motivation. Qualitative content analysis is used to examine and compile pertinent ideas. To give a thorough framework for comprehending employee motivation from both Western and Islamic ethical viewpoints, McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah are integrated.

This paper has conceptualized the integration of Maqasid Shariah’s five requirements with McClelland’s need theory. It is suggested that Maqasid Shariah and McClelland’s need theory be combined to understand employee motivation. For employees, the integration of McClelland’s need theory and Maqasid Shariah entails developing a work environment that attends to their many needs, is consistent with Islamic principles, encourages justice and equity, supports both professional and personal development and promotes social responsibility. By combining McClelland’s need theory and Maqasid Shariah, 15 propositions are developed to explain employee motivation. The study offers a measurement index to explain employee motivation based on the two theories.

The integration of McClelland’s theory of need and Maqasid Shariah offers expected positive implications. By considering the cultural and religious context in Islamic societies, researchers can adopt a more sensitive approach to studying motivation. This blend provides a holistic understanding of motivation, incorporating individual needs and broader ethical dimensions. Studies may explore the impact on prosocial behavior, organizational values, leadership practices and employee well-being. Understanding the alignment between personal motives and ethical principles can benefit organizations in diverse workplaces, emphasizing long-term sustainability and fostering employee engagement and commitment.

The integration of McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah shows the potential implications to increase employee motivation. This study contributes significantly to Maqasid Shariah theory in business research by guiding ethical decision-making aligned with Islamic values, fostering inclusive workplaces and offering strategies for boosting employee morale. It emphasizes ethical practices, legal compliance and community engagement, while also encouraging sustainable business models that consider societal well-being and the environment.

This paper provides its unique value by being among the first to integrate McClelland’s theory and Maqasid Shariah and providing an innovative approach in developing a new measurement index in the context of employee motivation.

The purpose of this study paper is to highlight certain related barriers and issues of housing affordability and examine the factors that influence housing affordability in Malaysia.

This study used panel data including several variables, namely, household expense, population, home financing, interest rate, inflation rate (IF) and rental rate (RR). The regression models of panel data, namely, the ordinary least square model, the fixed effects model and the random effects model, were evaluated for their suitability.

The findings revealed that RR and IF have a positive and significant impact towards housing affordability. The results provide strong evidence that RR as alternative in determining the home affordability as it helped in reducing the cost and the financing duration period of houses while at the same time increasing the level of capability of homeownership. Meanwhile, the level of IF has positive and significant impact towards housing affordability because it will cause a drop or increase in the purchasing power of households, as well as a decline or increase in the capability to own a house.

The most significant aspects to consider when analysing housing affordability in Malaysia are demand and supply. However, this study focuses on only five variables and only covers Malaysia. As a result, future researchers should analyse the study’s location, such as by region or district, and include additional variables from both the demand and supply sides. Homeownership of affordability requires a broader and more realistic definition in the current context of a more disruptive environment where technology such as fintech, blockchain and the internet of things acts as enablers for not only promoting homeownership but also ensuring homeownership sustainability. As a result, democratising Islamic home financing appears to be a viable option that requires rethinking, and further research is recommended.

The study proposes an end-to-end solution to promote homeownership levels by considering the level of RR as significant variables among stakeholders such as the house buyers/owners, sellers, investors as well the government agencies in influencing affordability in Malaysia.

This paper discusses the indicators of housing affordability index over the 21-year period of 2000–2020, covering all states in Malaysia. The comparison of affordability level can be seen through all states and by regions. Besides that, the findings revealed that RR and IF have a positive and significant impact towards housing affordability. RR is considered an essential variable in promoting homeownership in Malaysia and warrants further investigation towards policy implication. This paper also provides contribution on data on RR by states in Malaysia that can be used by policymakers to some extent.

This paper aims to examine how information and communication technology (ICT) coordination, information reliability, social pressure, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use affect citizens’ intentions to use e-government services.

The study is a quantitative type of study conducted through a causal study design. Noncontrived and cross-sectional methods were used, targeting Malaysian citizens who were 18 years of age or older. Due to an inaccessible sample frame, convenience sampling was used. After cleaning and removing necessary outliers, the final data set used for hypothesis testing consisted of 323 responses, which is considered sufficient as the study required a minimum sample size of 220.

A study has found that social pressure, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness positively affect people’s intention to use e-government services. The impact of social pressure is influenced by perceived usefulness and ease of use, suggesting that government agencies can encourage usage by improving perceived usefulness and leveraging social pressure. The study emphasizes the significance of perceived usefulness and social pressure in promoting adoption. To enhance the user experience, agencies can use targeted marketing, improve service quality, collaborate with communities and develop mobile applications.

The study underscores the importance of examining the relationship between perceived usefulness, ease of use and the popularity of e-government services while emphasizing the need to comprehend the impact of ICT coordination, information reliability and social pressure on the adoption of e-government applications in developing countries.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of halal awareness on the relationship between halal supply chain knowledge and purchase intention for halal meat products in the millennial generation.

The quantitative approach with the respondents of 177 millennial generations in Indonesia is selected to understand the relationships between variables. Structural equation model-partial least square is used to analyze the relationship between variables.

The findings of this study found that the purchase intention of halal products in the millennial generation is influenced by several factors such as halal supply chain knowledge, halal certification and logo and religious beliefs. However, the results of this study also show that concern for halal products failed to moderate the relationship between these three main variables on the purchase intention of halal products.

This study provides insights into the concern that strengthens the relationship between the main variables on the intention to purchase halal meat products for the millennial generation.

This study aims to examine the impact of agency cost, Islamic board characteristics and corporate governance on the performance of Islamic institutions.

Based on the selected criteria, 92 Islamic banks (IBs) from 20 countries were selected for further research. The authors used generalized method moments (GMM) estimation method. The agency cost and Shariah board characteristics are the explanatory variables. The author uses the age of the bank and the size of the bank for variable control.

Empirical results indicate that first, agency costs represented by cast/total assets negatively affect IBs’ return on equity and net income. As agency costs rise, IBs’ financial performance declines. Second, Shariah supervisory board (SSB) size and board independence affect IB performance. The study found that SSB size positively affects IB performance.

This research contributes to the literature on IBs in different countries, which policymakers and practitioners can use to improve agency cost functions and Shariah board characteristics. Second, this analysis shows that IBs require specific attention for agency charges, given their operations and business structures. This study contributes to agency theory, which requires Islamic banking information and practices. Finally, the author has aided regulators and IBs by identifying the sources of agency cost practices that can be resolved. The other bank governance contribution is twofold. First, the author studied dual board governance in IBs (SSB and ordinary boards of directors). Second, the author examines how SSB and traditional board governance affect IB performance. This research focuses on banks listed on stock exchanges in the 20 countries analysed.

The research has policy and practical implications for central banks and IBs. By outlining appropriate regulatory guidelines and reporting systems, regulatory authorities can ensure Sharia compliance and protect the independence of IB Shariah department officers. Regulators and relevant stakeholders must ensure Sharia compliance, audits, inspections, reporting and accurate disclosure for IBs.

This paper offers original contributions to professionals in the field of IBs and stakeholders investigating the relationship between agency costs, governance of IBs, characteristics of Islamic supervisory boards and the performance of IBs.

Total risk score (TRS) is considered one of the main indicators for risk evaluation. Several studies attempted to employ different types of risk indices for the evaluation of cost overrun causes. Hence, this study aims at performing a comparative analysis to evaluate the efficiency of three different approaches for TRS calculation.

Thirty-eight unique causes of cost overrun in urban-related construction projects were identified and a survey was conducted among construction professionals in Iran. The TRS for each cost overrun cause is calculated using single-attribute (SA), double-attribute (DA), and multiple-attribute (MA) approaches, and eventually, causes were ranked. Furthermore, principal component analysis (PCA), logistic regression analysis (LRA), and K-means clustering are utilized to compare the differences in the generated TRS using different approaches.

The results revealed that the TRS generated through the MA approach demonstrated the highest efficiency in terms of generating correlation between causes and their identified latent constructs, prediction capability, and classification of the influential causes in the same group.

The originality of this study primarily stems from the adoption of statistical approaches in the evaluation of the recently introduced TRS calculation approach in comparison to traditional ones. Additionally, this study proposed a modified application of the relative importance index (RII) for risk prioritization. The results from this study are expected to fulfill the gap in previous literature toward exploring the most efficient TRS calculation approach for those researchers and practitioners who seek to utilize them as a measure to identify the influential cost overrun causes.

This study aims to explore the phenomenon of Islamic religious communication and how Islamic banks in Pakistan use religion-based communication, along with its expected outcomes.

Transcendental phenomenology approach is opted using a multi-stage data collection strategy consisting of observations, documentary reviews and semi-structural interviews to get deep into the phenomenon in a particular context.

Findings highlight Islamic religious communication as workplace Islamic da’wah that is majorly categorized into compulsive da’wah, objectics da’wah and impulsive da’wah, serving its role in bringing spirituality to work through work-faith integration.

The finding of the study can be used in planning, formulating and implementing Islamic da’wah-based model to induce spirituality at work.

This study is the first of its type exploring Islamic da’wah in an organizational context as a mean to bring spirituality at work.