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Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QAIP) is defined as “an ongoing and periodic assessment of the entire spectrum of audit and consulting work performed by the internal audit (IA) activity”. QAIP is an important component of internal auditors’ commitment to improve internal audit (IA) quality. The pressure towards improvement is urgent for central banks, in light of the vulnerabilities of their IA functions identified by the International Monetary Fund. The authors analyse the professional standards and the literature on IA and QAIP, aiming to propose general considerations to enhance IA quality and to develop and maintain a QAIP, with reference to central banks, also shedding light on the synergies among IA, QAIP and total quality management (TQM).

This paper reviews the most relevant professional standards in light of the professional and academic literature regarding IA quality, QAIP and their relationship with TQM. The analysis of these sources represents an important step to identify general measures to improve IA quality and develop effective QAIP in central banks.

This analysis shows that it is important to understand the rationale behind the development of an IA function and its theoretical and practical foundation, especially for complex organisations such as central banks. In addition, the authors show that QAIP represents an important tool to exploit the synergies between TQM and IA. These synergies could result in higher levels of quality for the IA function and more effective implementation of TQM within the whole organisation. Lastly, the authors provide practical suggestions to support the implementation of an effective QAIP in central banks and to spread TQM philosophy within the organisation.

The authors contribute to the scant literature on IA quality and QAIP by focusing on central banks and shedding light on the relationship with TQM. Regardless of their importance, these topics have been largely neglected by the extant literature.

This paper examines how soft skills training for owner-managers affects the financial performance of exporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Furthermore, the authors examine the differential influence of specific owner-manager skills, such as “team working skills”, “technical skills” and “leadership skills”, on performance.

The paper utilises the Longitudinal Small Business Survey, which is a nationally representative employer dataset of UK SMEs with up to 249 employees, including those with no employees. The dataset contains information on firms' turnover, export status of goods or services and training provision for employees or owner-managers.

The results suggest that owner-manager's training has a positive effect on turnover in non-exporting firms. Moreover, a combination of soft and hard skills is associated with higher turnover in exporting firms. Amongst the specific skills of owner-managers, training on “team working” has the most significant impact on exporting SMEs' performance.

The authors' findings imply that managerial training to develop soft skills such as leadership, decision-making and communication is a worthwhile investment. The knowledge that owner-managers acquire through soft and hard skills training enables them to develop essential internationalisation competencies. Moreover, the authors demonstrate that teamwork is a significant predictor of performance.

The authors contribute to the literature by examining the role of owner-managers' training in shaping internal systems, structure, processes and internationalisation strategies, thus affecting SMEs performance. The authors' also provide a nuanced analysis of how various types of soft and hard skills underpin the successful implementation of internationalisation initiatives.

Since the first definition of Total Quality Management (TQM) was established, its inseparable relationship with Human Resource Management (HRM) has been undeniable. However, many years have passed since this initial definition was made. During this time, not only have TQM and HRM evolved, but their relationship has also adapted in order to accompany and follow the environmental and technological changes that have ultimately changed the ways the authors work and how the authors perceive quality. This study provides a detailed map of the knowledge evolution of the TQM–HRM relationship. It also identifies interesting gaps for future researchers to consider to enable us to better understand emerging challenges and identify the next steps in the progression of TQM literature.

The study adopted a bibliometric analysis approach, using a systematic literature review of a data set that included 132 peer-reviewed articles published between 1991 and 2021 to identify thematic topics. In exploring each of these, the authors created a framework to spotlight future explorative and exploitative research questions.

The results show that literature on the relationship between HRM and TQM focuses on six topics: a different performance appraisal (PA); a different role for the human resources (HR) department; HRM practices, such as different bridges between JIT and TQM; the integration of job satisfaction into TQM goals; different TQM healers; and the different effects of HRM practices on firm performance. This paper provides clear interpretations of these topics and offers some recommendations for how HRM studies could contribute towards the development of TQM research, thus forming a clear agenda for the future of TQM–HRM research.

This study represents the first attempt to systematize, analyze and critically interpret TQM–HRM studies, promoting a collective reflection on the state of the art and stimulating further discussions on this topic.

Higher education institutions are undergoing a change in their teaching–learning practices, with the core goal of giving students the necessary skills and competencies to succeed in a complex and uncertain society. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of business simulation as a pedagogical strategy for teaching 21st-century competencies to undergraduate students. The study looks at students’ self-perception on how business simulation impacts future skills such as entrepreneurship, employability and sustainability.

The research incorporates a one-week workshop for undergraduate business students using AnyLogic business simulation. For this study, a 24-item skills-based survey was used as the instrument for eliciting input about students’ self-perceptions. To measure the impact of business simulation on overall student learning, a theoretical framework was developed and tested using SmartPLS version 4 for construct reliability, validity and hypotheses testing.

Based on the students’ feedback, the finding shows that most of the 24 soft skills were facilitated by the business simulation used. The simulation significantly affects the development of entrepreneurial and employable skills. On the contrary, it has little effect on enhancing sustainability skills. In addition, the study suggests that factors like gender and expertise had little overall impact on the results.

The most apparent practical implication of this study is that business schools should focus more on skill development by stressing on experiential teaching methods like business simulation to help students build various skills and become more prepared for the actual world of business.

The research presents fresh empirical data that add to the continuing discussion on active learning in business education and assist educators in avoiding some potential drawbacks of these innovative teaching techniques. With the right direction and criticism throughout the simulation, this learning experience has shown to be useful for everyone involved.

This study investigates the borrowing behaviour of public sector employees in Malaysia by focusing on religious belief and psychological factors. The first objective of the study is to examine the differences in the borrowing behaviour according to demographic and socioeconomic factors of the civil servants. The second objective of the study is to investigate the influence of religious belief, excessive consumption, materialism and financial literacy towards two aspects of borrowing behaviour: personal loans and credit card usage.

Primary data was collected using a digital survey which was distributed using a convenience sampling approach to public sector employees working in Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A sample of 340 public sector employees was obtained for analysis.

The study found that civil servants of different education backgrounds and income levels tend to differ in their borrowing behaviour. Specifically, those with lower levels of education, or lower income levels, tend to have a higher tendency of borrowing through personal loans. Multiple regression analyses reveal that public sector employees with either higher religious belief or higher financial literacy have a lower tendency of borrowing either through credit cards or personal loans. However, those who spend excessively or those who have higher levels of materialism tend to display more aggressive borrowing behaviour in terms of credit card usage and personal loans.

The study contributes to the literature by exploring the role of religious belief on borrowing behaviour. In addition, the study contributes to the literature by examining a specific group in the Malaysian society, i.e. public sector employees, due to the perturbing state of indebtedness among civil servants in Malaysia.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of financial education workshops (FEWs) on parent–adolescent communication about money by controlling for a parent's gender.

This study utilized a pre- and post-survey-based experimental research design for impact evaluation. Assuming that parents often claim that they frequently communicate with their children about money, the researcher asked children to rate their perception of their mothers' financial communication with them. Their mothers completed the pre-survey before agreeing to participate in FEWs. A follow-up survey was conducted for both study groups six months after completing the FEW series. The data consisted of 300 responses on 19 pairs of money communication items from both study groups. Neither the mothers nor the children were aware that data were collected from both the groups.

The results of the paired t-tests support the notion that financial education enhances monetary communication between mothers and adolescents.

This study is helpful to policymakers and financial educators not only to understand the need for “family-based financial education workshops” but also to design and implement such programs to open up the line of “money communication” between parents and children.

This important outcome provides a likely assumption that the enhancement in communication that had been previously constrained by factors such as a “parent's inability or unwillingness to discuss financial matters” is improved by empowering the parent on the subject of personal finance. Second, financial educators and policymakers need to understand that parents play a crucial role in the socialization process of their children. Parents' instructions and communications with their children not only impact the children's financial choices but also make them feel more competent about managing their finances. So, importance of financial socialization strategies should be included in the FEWs designed for the adults.

Existing research studies evaluated the FEW outcomes by reporting a positive change in various financial behaviors of the participants by considering only one unit of the household. This study extends the impact evaluation of FEWs to measure the behavioral outcomes at the household level by considering two units of the household, the mother parent and adolescent child by studying their communication about money.

Perceived risk and benefits have been proposed as crucial elements in consumers’ technology adoption intention. Therefore, this study aims to use the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework, with perceived risks and benefits, to explore how they affect consumers’ Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) behavioural intention.

An online survey was conducted among 537 users of BNPL. Partial least square structural equation modelling analysis was performed to examine the hypothesized relationships.

The study found that perceived benefits, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, habit and social influence increase consumers’ behavioural intention towards BNPL. In contrast, perceived risk reduces the consumer’s intention to use. Additionally, the study revealed that consumers’ intention towards BNPL services positively affects their usage.

The lack of information makes consumers hesitant to use BNPL. Therefore, marketers should optimize facilitating conditions, such as user-friendly interfaces, accessible resources and efficient customer support, which should be the business strategy of BNPL service providers to ensure a seamless user experience.

The research empirically investigates the effect of perceived benefits on consumer behavioural intention. This contribution is crucial because while there was speculation about benefits as a driving force to consumers’ adoption intention, there was a lack of sufficient empirical evidence to support it.

Buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) services can put consumers into a debt trap by encouraging consumers to buy things they cannot afford, leading to a culture of materialism and consumerism. Therefore, this research aims to investigate how materialism can influence BNPL use and impulsive and compulsive buying. Additionally, the authors examine if BNPL use and impulsive buying mediate between materialism and compulsive buying.

Data from 556 participants were collected through a structured questionnaire via an online survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) using SMART PLS 4 was employed to analyze the relationship between variables and to test the proposed hypotheses.

Materialism impact BNPL use and increases the inclination for impulse buying, precipitating compulsive buying behavior. However, BNPL use does not directly influence compulsive buying. The mediating relationship was identified, where BNPL use, and impulsive buying mediate the relationship between materialism and compulsive buying.

BNPL use alone does not inevitably lead to compulsive buying. The only way BNPL use could lead to compulsive buying is through impulsive buying. Therefore, BNPL service providers need to foster responsible buying habits due to the rise in impulsive buying, which, if not controlled, could lead to a debt trap resulting from compulsive buying.

This study contributes to the limited BNPL literature because there is speculation, but the scarcity of empirical evidence to substantiate, how materialism influences BNPL use and increases the inclination for impulse buying, precipitating compulsive buying behavior.

This study aims to examine the association between parental financial socialization and life satisfaction and the mediating roles of desirable financial behavior in the association between parental financial socialization and life satisfaction of college students in India. Furthermore, this research also explores the moderating effects of parents’ socioeconomic characteristics (education, income and professions) in the association between parental financial socialization and desirable financial behavior.

A sample of 1,161 college students was collected in India. Parental financial socialization is measured by direct parental teaching in this study. The first stage moderated mediation model is performed to examine the direct and indirect effects through financial behavior of parental financial on life satisfaction as well as the moderating role of parents’ socioeconomic characteristics.

The mediation analysis shows that parental direct teaching is positively associated with young adults’ financial behavior, which in turn contributes to their life satisfaction. Furthermore, this study also finds negative moderation effects of parental education on the association between parental direct teaching and children's financial behavior.

This study extends the knowledge of family financial socialization in the context of India. Moreover, it examines the mediation roles of desirable financial behavior in the association between parental direct teaching and children’s life satisfaction. Furthermore, this paper explores the potential influence of parents’ education, income and professions on children’s financial behavior and life satisfaction.

This study aims to provide evidence on the importance of parental financial heads in the family in promoting students' financial literacy levels and budgeting habits.

Using survey data on 730 college students in Vietnam, this study investigated the relationship between parental financial heads, students' financial literacy and budgeting habits. Multiple regression and logit function are the primary approaches in the study.

This study found a positive association between parental head roles and students' financial literacy and budgeting habits after controlling for demographics. Students whose parents are primarily responsible for financial decisions in the family perform higher in financial literacy and make a budget more frequently. The results are robust to alternative approaches.

This study’s results help parents, especially mothers who are often more vulnerable in the family, better understand the important role of being the financial deciders in the family and how this can increase their children's financial literacy and help their children manage money more effectively.

This is the first study to address the importance of parents' head roles in enhancing students' financial literacy and budgeting behaviour.