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This study aims to evaluate the awareness level of Islamic finance principles among employees of financial institutions in Moscow, Russia.

A quantitative method is used with a Likert scale questionnaire. A survey was conducted to 310 financial institutions’ employees to determine the level of their awareness of major Islamic finance principles. The sample population is selected using the judgment sampling technique. A descriptive analysis with frequency, percentage and weighted mean are used to analyze the data.

The study finds that the level of awareness of financial institutions’ employees towards Islamic finance is low. This is probably due to the minority of the Muslim population and geographically far from to the countries where Islamic finance is being implemented. All respondents have a good education background, thus implementing some training sessions for its employees or hiring some outside specialists could transfer the knowledge and widespread the adoption of Islamic finance instruments.

The academic institutions such as universities in Russia could play a pivotal role to offer Islamic finance-related subjects, while the government as a regulatory body, should support the Islamic finance initiatives.

This study aims to examine the moderator effect of religiosity on the relationship between halal brand awareness and habit towards purchasing decisions of halal products.

The quantitative method is used in this study. Descriptive and statistical (multiple and moderated regression) analyses are employed to test the hypothesis according to the research model. The data is collected using a cross-sectional design from 197 respondents consisting of business owners in North Sumatera, Indonesia.

It is found that both halal brand awareness and habit have a positive and significant effect on the purchasing decision of halal products. Meanwhile, religiosity significantly acts as a moderating variable in the relationship between awareness and purchasing decisions, as well as habit and purchasing decisions.

This study revealed the important factor of religiosity as a moderating factor in purchase decisions of halal products. The government may need to collaborate with Islamic educational institutions to raise awareness of the halal concept and product awareness. It is assumed that individuals who know about the Islamic religion will have a higher degree of awareness of halal products compared to individuals with limited knowledge of Islam; thus, providers of Islamic education play a crucial role in raising the level of awareness of halal products. Schools may serve as catalysts for the dissemination of knowledge of halal products.

Developing halal product markets can be done by enhancing the religiosity level of consumers, one of them through attending formal or informal religious classes.

Digital technology's integration into education has transformed learning frameworks, necessitating the exploration of factors influencing students’ engagement in digital informal settings. This study, grounded in self-determination theory (SDT), proposes a model comprising artificial intelligence (AI) competence, chatbot usage, perceived autonomy (PA), digital informal learning (DIL) and students’ engagement.

The study collected survey data from 409 participants at Saudi Arabian universities, ultimately using 387 valid responses for analysis. This dataset was subjected to a thorough examination to confirm the validity of our proposed model. To decipher the complex interactions within our model, we utilized partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The study adopted a disjoint two-stage method to formulate a reflective-formative higher-order construct (HOC).

The study's findings showed that cognitive learning (CL), metacognitive learning (MCL) and social and motivational learning (SML) are the essential components of DIL. Significantly, the study determined that AI competence, chatbot usage, PA and DIL markedly affect students’ engagement. Moreover, the R² value of 0.592 for student engagement indicates the model's robustness in explaining 59.2% of the variance, highlighting its effectiveness in identifying key drivers of student engagement in DIL contexts.

This research enhances understanding by detailing the intricate relationships among AI competence, chatbot usage, and students’ engagement in informal digital learning. It extends SDT to emphasize intrinsic motivations and AI capabilities, introducing reflective-formative HOCs for comprehending educational intricacies. It provides practical strategies for enhancing AI abilities and chatbot use in education, promoting personalized, engaging and autonomous digital learning spaces, thereby advancing educational theory and practice.

This paper aims to attempt to first examine the competitiveness of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the logistics industry; second, to identify the MSMEs’ perception towards takāful (Islamic insurance); third, to recognise the challenges in the adoption of takāful; and fourth, to suggest strategies to enhance the micro-takāful penetration rate.

The SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis was used to measure the MSMEs’ competitiveness. Interview sessions were conducted with 13 owners of MSMEs in the logistics industry from the period November 2018 until January 2019 in Selangor, Malaysia.

The SWOT analysis identified several strengths (e.g. advanced infrastructure, rising number of new entrants and contribution to the local economy), weaknesses (e.g. lack of digital culture and training and a dearth of expertise), opportunities (e.g. supportive government initiatives and evolution of the mobile internet) and threats (e.g. changing customer expectations and limited financing facilities). The MSMEs’ perception towards micro-takāful and challenges in the adoption of takāful were also identified.

This paper provides an understanding of the MSMEs’ perception towards micro- takāful products, sheds light on the challenges faced by MSME owners in protecting their businesses from risk exposures and offers strategies to enhance the micro- takāful penetration rate. This study, however, is limited to Malaysia’s experience.

The identification of MSMEs’ SWOT will be useful for these businesses as it provides solid information that can be used to improve business performance while also seeking takāful protection. This paper, other than serving as a guideline for stakeholders in the logistics industry to have a better understanding of their business environment, may also provide useful insights to practitioners and policymakers.

This paper integrates the SWOT analysis into a study on business risk exposure and takāful protection from the MSMEs’ perspective. Hence, the findings could broaden available knowledge on MSMEs, especially for businesses in the logistics industry. The knowledge may also facilitate matters for takāful operators interested in tapping into the market.

This study aims to identify the factors that influence the willingness of Bangladeshi retail investors to invest in ṣukūk.

The authors surveyed Bangladeshi retail investors using a structured questionnaire to understand their perspectives on potential investment in ṣukūk. The authors considered the behavioral aspects of retail investors and the desired ṣukūk features to analyze the demand side. Factors and regression analyses were performed to identify the persuading factors.

The results indicate that investor awareness is a fundamental factor in potential investments in ṣukūk. Investors perceive the security represented by government and third-party guarantees as a persuasive feature of ṣukūk. The tradability and tenor of ṣukūk also affect the investment intention. Sharīʿah consciousness of the investors also plays a significant role in their investment decisions.

One limitation of this study is that it incorporates potential individual investors only, and precludes institutional investors. In the future, there is scope for research to explore the demand factors impacting institutional investors of ṣukūk in Bangladesh.

The authors expect that the study will aid policymakers and ṣukūk issuers in crafting strategies to cater to the needs of Bangladeshi retail investors.

This study is the earliest research conducted in Bangladesh to determine the factors impacting the willingness of individual investors to make their potential investments in ṣukūk. To the best of the authors' knowledge, no study has analyzed the desired ṣukūk features from the perspective of Bangladeshi retail investors.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide historical and current records about the state of Uqubat Hudud and/or Ta’zir against any person who performs gambling deeds that are in fact perceived to be ineffective in its implementation in Langsa City, as it still has not caused the maximum deterrent effect for the community in Kota Langsa. So there are always new actors to maisir action. Therefore, this research is to know the effectiveness of punishment for gamblers in Langsa City and to know the obstacle to punishment for gamblers in Langsa City.

Design/Methodology/Approach – The type of research used in this study is empirical research.

Findings – The findings of law enforcement research have not been effective in enforcing law enforcement against gambling. At the level of investigation and investigation conducted by the police is often that the case of gambling is not disclosed or unchecked and no further handling efforts were undertaken in order to enforce the law. While WH, which is a special sharia police handling cases of jinayat law violations in Aceh, also do not have or qualify as PPNS. Similarly, the case of gambling always continues to exist in the midst of society and does not cause deterrent effect for people in Langsa City Aceh Province, Indonesia. Obstacles in punishment for gamblers in Langsa City consists of two factors namely law enforcement factors and community factors.

Limitations of Research/Implications – This study highlights the problem of the effectiveness of the implementation of Qanun Jinayat in the punishment of gamblers in Aceh, especially Langsa City. Then the legal awareness of the community in Langsa City of Aceh Province is also seen.

Practical Implications – The solution offered enhances the professionalism of police investigators’ performance in Langsa City, provides human resources/Police Wilayatul Hisbah in Langsa City of Aceh Province as civil servant investigator, provides socialization of law on Qanun Jinayat to the people in Langsa City.

Originality/Value – Gambling case always continues to exist in the middle of society and does not cause a deterrent effect for people in Langsa City of Aceh Province Indonesia.

The market for counterfeit goods worldwide has continued to grow significantly over the years, attracting the curiosity of researchers in the marketing field. This study aimed to analyse the influence of price-quality inference and attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products on the intentions to purchase non-deceptive counterfeit products.

The research adopted a quantitative methodology and utilised the cross-sectional survey method to collect data from a sample of 381 respondents comprising university students. The data was then analysed using the computer software Smart PLS 4.

The results established that the respondents’ price-quality inference of counterfeit products was positively associated with the attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products and intention to purchase counterfeit products. Furthermore, the study revealed that attitudes towards economic rewards of purchasing counterfeit products partially mediated the influence of price-quality inference on customer intention to acquire non-deceptive counterfeit goods. A multigroup analysis of the proposed relationship did not find any statistically significant differences in the pattern of results concerning the gender groups.

The significance of the study findings is hampered by the singular focus on university students as a reference point for young people’s perceptions of counterfeit goods in South Africa. The study, however, presents verifiable evidence that marketers and brand managers of genuine products may utilise to develop intervention measures to sway young African consumers away from counterfeits and towards genuine brands.

This is one of the few studies in the literature that addresses young adults’ deliberate purchasing of non-deceptive counterfeits in South Africa, an important consumer market in Africa.

Technology acceptance is a measure of that technology’s usefulness. Oil palm is one of the biggest contributors to Indonesia’s revenues, thus fueling its economy. Using remote sensing would allow a plantation to monitor and forecast its production and the amount of fertilizer used. This review aims to provide a policy recommendation in the form of a strategy to improve the added value of Indonesia’s oil palm and support the government in increasing oil palm production. This recommendation needs to be formulated by determining the users’ acceptance of remote sensing technology (state-owned plantations, private plantation companies and smallholder plantations).

This review’s methodology used sentiment analysis through text mining (bag of words model). The study’s primary data were from focus group discussions (FGDs), questionnaires, observations on participants, audio-visual documentation and focused discussions based on group category. The results of interviews and FGDs were transcribed into text and analyzed to 1) find words that can represent the content of the document; 2) classify and determine the frequency (word cloud); and finally 3) analyze the sentiment.

The result showed that private plantation companies and state-owned plantations had extremely high positive sentiments toward using remote sensing in their oil palm plantations, whereas smallholders had a 60% resistance. However, there is still a possibility for this technology’s adoption by smallholders, provided it is free and easily applied.

Basically, technology is applied to make work easier. However, not everyone is tech-savvy, especially the older generations. One dimension of technology acceptance is user/customer retention. New technology would not be immediately accepted, but there would be user perceptions about its uses and ease. At first, people might be reluctant to accept a new technology due to the perception that it is useless and difficult. Technology acceptance is the gauge of how useful technology is in making work easier compared to conventional ways.

Therefore, technology acceptance needs to be improved among smallholders by intensively socializing the policies, and through dissemination and dedication by academics and the government.

The social implications of using technology are reducing the workforce, but the company will be more profitable and efficient.

Remote sensing is one of the topics that people have not taken up in a large way, especially sentiment analysis. Acceptance of technology that utilizes remote sensing for plantations is very useful and efficient. In the end, company profits can be allocated more toward empowering the community and the environment.

The purpose of this research is to develop an enhanced understanding of the drivers of trust and loyalty in a conventional and Islamic banking setting.

The study’s sample included South African retail bank customers who had Islamic or conventional products and who were 18 years or older. A field services company collected data from respondents through the distribution of self-administered questionnaires and a total of 949 questionnaires were deemed suitable for data analysis. SmartPLS 3.2.7 and Hayes Process Macro for SPSS tested the study’s hypotheses.

Comparing conventional banking customers with Islamic banking customers, the path from trust to customer loyalty was statistically significantly different across customer type, while the paths between trust and customer orientation, information sharing, and service fairness were not statistically significantly different across customer type. A closer examination of the path coefficients reveals that the relationship between trust and loyalty is stronger for conventional banking customers than for Islamic banking customers.

The findings of the study guide both conventional and Islamic banks in South Africa on how banks should redesign their purpose as the providers of financial resources to their customer segments. It highlights the need for these banks to secure a more focused approach on how to deliver financial resources and consulting services to customers in a trusting, engaging and reliable manner.

The study provides insight into Islamic and retail bank customers’ perceptions of the drivers of trust and loyalty and how these constructs’ interrelationships differ between Islamic and conventional banking customers.