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This study aims to address the critical challenge of implementing lean manufacturing (LM) in emerging economies, where sustainability complexities on the production floor hinder production efficiency and the transition towards a circular economy (CE). Addressing a gap in existing research, the paper introduces a path analysis model to systematically identify, prioritize and overcome LM implementation barriers, aiming to enhance performance through strategic removal.

The authors used a mixed-method approach, combining empirical survey data with literature reviews to pinpoint key LM barriers. Using the grey-based Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) along with the Network Knowledge (NK) method, they mapped causal relationships and barrier intensities. This formed the basis for developing a path simulation algorithm, integrating heuristic considerations for practical decision-making.

This analysis reveals that the primary barriers to LM adoption is the negative perception and inadequate understanding of lean tools and CE principles. The study provides a strategic framework for managers, offering new insights into barrier prioritization and overcoming strategies to facilitate successful LM adoption.

This research provides a strategic pathway for overcoming LM implementation barriers, empowering managers in emerging economies to enhance sustainability and competitive advantage through LM and CE integration. It emphasizes the significance of structured barrier management in the manufacturing sector.

This research pioneers a systematic exploration of LM implementation barriers in the CE context, making a significant contribution to the literature. It identifies, evaluates barriers and proposes a practical model for overcoming them, enriching sustainable manufacturing practices in emerging markets.

The purpose of this study is to cover the change that happened in the American foreign policy toward Iran by changing the American leadership from Obama to Trump. In addition to its coverage for the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region during the presidency period of Obama in the USA and also during the presidency period of Trump, to discover whether a change has happened in the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region is a result of the change in the American foreign policy or not. This can be discovered by concentrating on Yemen, Syria and Iraq, taking into consideration the Iranian and American national interests in the Arab region, as well as the regional role of Iran and its intervention in the Arab region.

This study was based on the analytical method of the foreign policy that is based on analyzing facts and events, as well as analyzing the roles and interests within the framework of the states’ foreign policy. This method was used in the study for the purpose of analyzing the impact of the change in the American leadership from Obama to Trump on the US foreign policy toward Iran in the light of the American interest; in addition to the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region (Yemen, Syria and Iraq) in the presidency period of both Obama and Trump in light of the regional role of Iran and its passion to achieve its national interest.

The study concluded that the change in the American foreign policy toward Iran is a result of the change of the American leadership from Obama to Trump by the American interest requirements in accordance to the respective of both of them. The change in the American policy led to a change in the trends of the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region in the term of the regional Iranian role. Under the American and Iranian convergence in the period of Obama, the Iranian role in the Arab region was limited to what could achieve its national interest and what did not threaten the American interest, especially after Iran had guaranteed that the USA is by its side. In the framework of the American and Iranian confrontation under Trump’s current presidency, the Iranian role has expanded in the Arab region, where Iran has intensified its intervention in Yemen, Syria and Iraq politically and militarily. Iran became more threatening to the American interest, as it became a means of pressure to the USA under Trump’s ruling in the purpose of changing its position toward it.

The importance of the study stems from the fact that it is seeking to analyze the change of the American foreign policy toward Iran within the period of two different presidential years of Obama and Trump, whereas, their trends were different in dealing with Iran between rapprochement and hostility toward it, on the basis of the American interest. In addition to testing whether this change in the American foreign policy toward Iran has been accompanied by a change in the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region.

This study aims to investigate the impact of gender diversity in top management teams and boards on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance. The authors propose a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee as a moderating variable in this relationship, drawing on resource dependence and legitimacy theories. This study is crucial in understanding the dynamics of gender diversity and its impact on ESG performance in the banking sector.

The study examines a sample of Islamic and conventional banks from 10 Middle Eastern and North African countries during 2008–2022. Initial analysis was conducted using fixed effects panel regression, whereas the robustness test used the generalized method of movement dynamic system.

The findings, which are significant for both conventional and Islamic banks, indicate that female directors are crucial in promoting ESG performance in conventional banks. In contrast, female executives do not appear to contribute significantly. However, for Islamic banks, neither board nor executive gender diversity significantly affects ESG performance. Moreover, the find that the positive moderating role of the CSR committee is significant only for the nexus between board gender diversity and conventional banks’ ESG performance and for the connection between executive gender diversity and Islamic banks’ ESG performance.

Despite the widespread belief that gender diversity in top management teams is pivotal in promoting ESG performance, empirical studies supporting these claims are scarce, particularly in the banking sector. The study, therefore, brings a novel perspective to this discourse. These findings have the potential to significantly assist stakeholders in evaluating how gender diversity in top management teams influences banks’ sustainability practices, thereby empowering them to make more informed and impactful investment decisions.

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) stands as a significant player in the hydrocarbon landscape of the Middle East, necessitating an in-depth analysis of its role in the exportation process to Turkey and Mediterranean ports, thereby fostering economic and political ties and projecting toward the future. Situated as a semi-autonomous entity in northern Iraq, the Kurdistan Region boasts abundant natural gas resources, attracting interest from Russian firms and Turkish stakeholders. However, Iran’s influence in Iraq and the wider region poses a regional threat to the Kurdistan Region’s natural resources. This chapter meticulously examines the oil and gas blocks within the Kurdistan Region amidst the backdrop of transformative global energy market shifts, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian–Ukrainian conflict. Through this lens, it seeks to delineate the Kurdistan Region’s political and economic positioning within the evolving regional order.

This paper aims to analyze the scientific trend of research on Islamic banking sustainability (IBS) through a bibliometric study. In particular, the paper extensively investigates all the articles issued through the Scopus database regarding the IBS.

The authors discovered 76 papers that met the function, subject and set requirements by using the phrase IBS. The authors used VOSviewer as an analytical tool and the Scopus website.

IBS publications were found in the period 2005–2022, and the publication trend of IBS research demonstrates that it is growing exponentially after 2018. Malaysia is the leading country in terms of productive authors, universities, number of documents, citations and collaboration research on IBS. The current research trends are summarized into five cluster maps for future research directions: sustainability measurement, sustainability practices, risk and governance, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and IBS theory. The Maqashid al Shariah approach conceptually influences the framework for constructing the dimensions and indicators used to measure the IBS.

The authors retrieved data for their research from the Scopus database; using other databases might result in totally different research patterns with this IBS bibliometric research.

The research encompasses valuable implications for Islamic banking as it offers valuable insights on how to assess the performance of IBS. Particularly, it contributes to identifying the dimensions and indicators needed to measure IBS performance. Furthermore, this research provides strategic initiatives to promote sustainable practices in Islamic banking in terms of green financing taxonomy, services, operations, risk management and governance.

This research is valuable for other scholars as it offers a foundation for the future growth of IBS research, focusing on important sustainability clusters obtained from selected reputable journals. This research is beneficial for regulators in enhancing the roadmap for establishing and enhancing long-term IBS with impacts on socio-economic, environmental and governance.

The study presents a concise review of the bibliometric study in IBS and provides recommendations for future research directions in cluster mapping of themes and subthemes. There is still insufficient research that examines the IBS, in particular, complete insights into the IBS literature review.

The monetary policy is an important driver of the real estate sector’s performance. The recent wave of monetary tightening in 2022 in response to the cost-of-living crisis has been associated with the decline in housing prices across the globe. There are two main channels through which the US monetary policy may affect the real estate market in the dollar-pegged countries: the cost of serving mortgages (financing cost) and the exchange rate channel (for example, the appreciation of the US dollar and consequently the local currency). The exchange rate channel, which involves the appreciation of the US dollar and the subsequent effect on the local currency, is particularly significant in the case of Dubai, given how international the housing market in Dubai and might be viewed as a tradable good. Using recent data, the purpose of this study to evaluate the spillover impact of the US monetary policy on the housing market performance in the dollar-pegged countries using Dubai as a case study.

For this purpose, this study collected unique longitudinal data on the volume of the monthly transactions of residential properties and performs a panel-data analysis using within-variation models. The changes in the interest rate policy in the USA are determined by the domestic inflation in the USA, thereby, representing an exogenous shock in the UAE.

The results are robust to different specifications and suggest that a strong negative correlation between the interest rate in the USA and the housing sector demand in Dubai. Fiscal policy measures can be taken to mitigate tighter financial conditions in case of policy misalignment.

Few studies have looked at the spillover impact of the global monetary conditions on the real estate market in the GCC region. This study fills this gap by exploring the impact of the US financial conditions on Dubai’s real estate, using panel data analysis.

In developing countries, including achieving Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Vision 2030, housing loans for low-income employees are challenging and may thwart housing-related sustainable development goals (SDGs). Studies investigating housing finance inaccessibility for KSA Vision 2030 low-income earners and its impact on achieving housing-related SDGs are scarce. Hence, this study aims to investigate KSA housing financial inaccessibility and its effect on housing-related SDGs. Also, it offered suggestions for achieving housing provision in Vision 2030 and, by extension, improving housing-related SDGs.

The study adopted a virtual interview approach and covered Alqassim, Riyadh and Medina. The researcher engaged 24 participants who were knowledgeable about KSA’s housing finance and SDGs. They include selected low-income earners, academicians, financial operators and government ministries/departments/agencies. The study manually analysed the collated data through a thematic approach and presented the main themes.

Findings reveal that KSA’s low-income earners’ housing finance inaccessibility threatens Vision 2030 and housing-related SDGs. Inadequate funding of the Real Estate Development Fund, inability to make down payment, absence of collateral, insufficient household income and failure to recover the loan and associated charges from the auction were perceived major issues contributing to low-income earners’ house-loan rejection and recommended measures to improve achieving housing-related SDGs.

The study investigated the factors contributing to low-income earners’ housing loan rejection and its impact on achieving KSA’s Vision 2030 and housing-related SDGs from the participants’ perspective. The findings reveal that low-income earners’ housing finance accessibility has been compounded by the slow recovery from the post-COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the link between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the amount of trust customers have in Somali Islamic banks. Furthermore, the role of gender in CSR activities and Islamic bank clientele is evaluated.

Throughout February and March 2022, 410 clients of Islamic banks in Somalia were surveyed using a questionnaire. The partial least squares approach and the structural equation model are applied to examine the data.

Findings indicate that all variables of CSR activities, such as social product, social legal, social needs, social environment and social employees’ responsibility, are influential and significant predictors of trust in Islamic banks in Somalia. Gender inequalities moderate the relationship between social product, social needs, social environment, social employee and trust. Conversely, only social legal responsibility was unaffected by gender differences in Somalia regarding people’s trust in Islamic banks.

A sample from a developing country such as Somalia is useful for shedding light on the outcomes of consumers’ perceptions of and trust in businesses’ CSR in the developing world. Furthermore, this study contributes to knowledge regarding CSR and how it can help the Islamic banking industry. Its findings will be useful to policymakers and regulatory bodies in the banking industry in their efforts to improve CSR.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical investigation of its kind about the understudied relationship among customer trust, CSR efforts and gender in Somalia context. Furthermore, it investigates how gender specifically moderates CSR in the Islamic banking sector in a developing country.