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This paper aims to examine the existing practices and pertinent issues affecting Islamic banks and their customers in abandoned housing projects (AHPs) to ensure compliance with Sharīʿah and statutory requirements.

This study employs the qualitative research method using the inductive approach to analyze both primary and secondary data and sources. Data collection involved a series of semi-structured interviews with five volunteering Islamic banks and a representative of Abandoned Property Owners Association Malaysia (Victims). Statutory acts, regulatory policies, guidelines, directives and standards were also analyzed.

The result indicates developer’s default, underlying contracts, regulatory arbitrage and bureaucracy, attitudinal disposition of customers and sell-then-build approach as major factors of AHP’s conundrum.

This study has suggested both short- and long-term solutions based on the principles of justice, public interests and removal of hardship to resolve and effectively manage financial hardship indebtedness arising from housing abandonment. Further, part of the proposed solutions would also reshape housing development policies and home financing transactions.

The quest for this research demonstrated Islamic banking industry’s initiatives to find lasting solutions to perennial issues of AHPs.

This paper seeks to analyze the family firm's capital structure decisions, focusing on the speed of adjustment (SOA) as well as on the effect of distance from the target capital structure on the SOA towards target short-term and long-term debt ratios in unlisted small and medium-sized family firms.

Methodologically, we use dynamic panel data estimators to estimate the effects of distance on the speeds of adjustment towards those targets. Data for the period 2006–2014 were collected for two research sub-samples: one sub-sample with 398 family firms; the other sub-sample contains 217 non-family firms.

The results show that the deviation from the target debt ratios impacts negatively on the speeds of adjustment towards target short-term and long-term debt ratios in unlisted family firms. These results suggest that family firms, deviating from target debt ratios, face deviation costs, i.e. insolvency costs, inferior to the adjustment costs, i.e. transaction costs. Therefore, family firms stay away from the target debt ratios for a long time than do non-family firms.

The research sample comprises a low number of family firms, therefore for future research we suggest increasing the size of the sample of family firms to get a deeper understanding of family firms' SOA towards capital structure. Additionally, we suggest the analysis of other potential determinants of the speed of adjustment towards target capital structure.

The results obtained suggest that the distance from the target short-term and long-term debt ratios can be avoided if these firms do not depend almost exclusively on internal finance to adjust towards target capital structure. Moreover, for policymakers, we suggest the creation/promotion of alternative external finance sources, allowing reduced transaction costs that contribute to a faster adjustment of small family firms towards target capital structure.

The most previous research focusing on capital structure decisions have focused on listed family firms. To fill this gap, this study examines the speed of adjustment towards target debt ratios in the context of unlisted family firms. Moreover, transaction costs are a function of debt maturity, therefore this study examines separately the speeds of adjustment towards target short-term and long-term debt ratios. This paper shows that the adjustment costs (i.e. transaction costs) could hold back family firms from rebalancing its capital structure.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the incentives for fixed asset revaluation. The motives that are investigated include firm size, fixed asset intensity, firm foreign operations and acquisitions, firm indebtedness and earnings management inclination.

The study utilises logistic and linear regressions to test the hypothetical relations set up in the study. The categorisation of sample companies into those that perform asset revaluations and those that do not is based on the examination of firms’ annual reports.

The findings of the study provide evidence that firm size is positively related to fixed asset revaluation. Firms with foreign operations, with low fixed assets, and with high debt capital needs are more likely to perform fixed asset revaluations. This is also the case for firms that carry out acquisitions. The study also shows that fixed asset revaluation is negatively related to earnings management.

Firms that revalue their fixed assets should examine the signals that are likely to be conveyed to investors about their managerial ability and financial prospects. Firms would tend to revalue their fixed assets when it is likely to result in maximum favourable financial consequences. Future research should investigate the possible opportunism in firms’ behaviour, as well as the stock market reaction to fixed asset revaluations.

The paper is useful for investors and financial analysts, as it sheds light on the motives for fixed asset revaluations. The reporting of asset values based on fair values would assist them in making unbiased predictions about firms’ future performance. The paper gives insight about the financial attributes of firms that perform fixed asset revaluations. For example, firms with capital needs would be inclined to undertake a fixed asset revaluation in order to reinforce their financial position.

The purpose of this paper is to explore two financial inclusion measures adopted within the local welfare context of the city of Milan, Italy, examining their functioning and underpinning representations. The aim is also to understand how such representations take concrete shape in the practices of local actors, and their implications for the opportunities and constraints regarding individuals' effective inclusion. To this end, this paper takes a wide-ranging look at the interplay between the rise of financial inclusion and the individualisation and responsibilisation models informing welfare policies, within the broader context of financialisation processes overall.

This paper draws on the sociology of public action approach and provides a qualitative analysis of two case studies, a social microcredit service and a financial education programme, based on direct observation and semi-structured interviews conducted with key policy actors.

This paper sheds light on the rationale behind two financial inclusion services and illustrates how the instruments involved incorporate and tend to reproduce, individualising logics that reduce the problem of financial exclusion, and the social and economic vulnerability which underlies it, to a matter of personal responsibility, thus fuelling depoliticising tendencies in public action. It also discusses the contradictions underlying financial inclusion instruments, showing how local actors negotiate views and strategies on the problems to be addressed.

The paper makes an original contribution to the field of sociology and social policy by focusing on two under-researched instruments of financial inclusion and improving understanding of the finance-welfare state nexus and of the contradictions underpinning attempts at financial inclusion of the most vulnerable.

The crisis exposed Greek municipalities to bilateral financial pressures from cutbacks and increased needs for social assistance. They were directly affected by cheese-slice austerity measures that were implemented in the whole public sector (hiring freeze, cutbacks of salaries, dismissal of employees on contract basis) and successive cutbacks of state grants. In this chapter we discuss the case of four Greek municipalities. The sample was selected by taking into account the average financial performance of municipalities in terms of accrual accounting surplus/deficit over operating revenues and the volatility of this measure of financial performance over the period 2002–2012. In all four municipalities, interviews with an elected politician and municipal officials were conducted on the basis of a structured questionnaire that has been given to the interviewees before the meeting. The analysis revealed that all cities did not show significant anticipatory capabilities. This might be due to several shocks related to central government policies that were difficult to predict and to the ambiguity of the financial condition in the country. Municipalities proved to be particularly flexible and open towards social innovation and responded to the crisis through adaptation but they exhibited limited internal transformation. Nevertheless, the shock due to the crisis and the unprecedented decrease in municipal budgets has triggered a cultural shift towards more prudent management and parsimony. These findings show that Greek municipalities are still rather vulnerable to future shocks and especially to a further deepening of the on-going financial crisis.

Football is significant in the global economic context. However, the same significance is not identified in the value added to the chain, as the elements that make it up act in a disintegrated and independent manner with undesired effects. Consequently, it is necessary to structure the undesired effects to seek the basic causes that sustain this problematic situation. Thus, this paper aims to use a CRT to structure the undesired effects and basic causes that limit the positive economic impacts of the south Brazilian football value chain.

A semi-structured questionnaire was applied with questions about the existing constraints. Based on the answers in the interviews, the current reality tree was elaborated, premised on identifying the basic causes that sustain the undesirable effects detected.

Among the main results, it was identified that management problems of the traditional leaders of football clubs and federations are considered the main reason why south of Brazil football cannot fully exploit its economic potential.

It is evidenced that the paper shows the undesired effect that has the most impact on the development of this chain, and it is important to propose improvements to its root causes, aiming at greater efficacy of the resulting actions.

The importance of and viability of the college student cohort for credit card firms and banks are well documented and so are the challenges facing marketers interested in this target market. The first purpose of this paper is to examine college students’ motivation for consuming credit cards and the usefulness of the latter to them. The second purpose relies on marketing scholars’ advice by replicating and then validating an extant scale that measures college students’ decision criteria for credit cards. Specifically, the paper attempts to answer two questions: what is the compelling reason for a college student to want to own and use a credit card? In addition, how important is the credit card to the college student?

The authors adopted the classical multi‐step scale development procedure, which demands that thorough attention is paid to every step of the process. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to assess the reliability and validity of the results.

This study has replicated and validated an extant scale measuring college students’ consumption of credit cards. The findings confirm four key factors: “customer service;” “incentives;” “need for credit;” and “buying power.” In addition, 66 per cent of the respondents claim that credit cards provide a sense of security for them. Furthermore, while 49 per cent of the sample uses their cards up to three purchases monthly, 51 per cent use their cards more than four times in a month. Moreover, 25 per cent of the respondents regularly use their cards (i.e. more than seven purchases or more per month).

The cross‐sectional research basis and convenience samples are weaknesses of this study, as they pose generalizability questions. Although the study is consistent with the literature and directions from academic and practitioner experts, the authors acknowledge the lack of (true experimental) control over the identified factors.

Credit card marketers and bank managers may assess the dimensions in this study and adapt them as the basis for marketing and positioning strategies, marketing communication tactics, and brand management, particularly within the college student and the youth target markets. This can lead to the basis upon which credit card policies, i.e. college students’ compulsive buying habits, college students’ credit card debt, and banks’ marketing activities may be proposed.

The paper proposes a rigorously validated scale that reflects both psychometric and parsimonious measures dealing with college students’ consumption of credit cards. In view of the scarce stream of empirical studies dealing with college students’ consumption of credit cards, this paper comes at an opportune time as scholars continue to debate and research about college students’ credit card debt and credit card firms’ ethical practices on college campuses. Moreover, the paper supports the importance of generalizability of findings and replication studies.

The linkage between strategy and performance is central to strategic management. Empirical studies have nevertheless produced mixed results on the nature of this relationship, and in recent decades, very little advancement has been made in research aimed at elucidating this relationship. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to identify the approaches to the strategy-performance linkage in previous studies and defines five principles that should characterize future research on this relationship. The paper develops a novel research design that follows these principles and tests the usefulness of this research design in practice.

This paper is exploratory in nature and its empirical methods include content analysis, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis. The primary difference between this paper and studies in the mainstream literature on the linkage between strategy and performance relates to the application of an endogenous strategy typology instead of predefined strategy categories.

The analysis shows that the adopted research design based on five principles is applicable to research on the linkage between strategy and performance and that such a research design produces meaningful results. The results support the findings of earlier studies regarding the potential of “hybrid” strategies for achieving superior firm performance.

This paper challenges the dominance of generic strategies in research on the strategy-performance linkage and provides statistical data that lay the foundation for more detailed investigation on this relationship. The paper argues for a contextually bound view of strategic management.

This paper invigorates the discussion on the linkage between strategy and performance, which has long been diminishing as a research topic in the literature because of contradictory results and the lack of fresh research opportunities. This paper further introduces a methodology that has been underutilized in the study of strategic management.

RECENTLY Thomas Waide & Sons Ltd, a Leeds firm of colour printers, Rcelebrated their centenary and published a book recording their 100 years of existence.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the pharmaceutical supply chain for artemisinin‐based combination therapies (ACT) in Ghana.

This study employed an inductive approach in examining the dynamics of the pharmaceutical supply chain. The study also used analytical hierarchical process in identifying factors that are detrimental to the ACT supply chain.

The study revealed that there are basically two main supply channels through which ACT enters the Ghanaian pharmaceutical system – private and public. The ACT network depicts a strong evidence of actor interdependence and long‐term relationships. However, the key supply chain enabler – the use of information technology – was found to be lacking, leading to delays and disruptions in the supply chain system. Disruption was found to be the main detrimental factor to the supply chain although delay was found to be occurring more frequently. Price increases indicated a low effect on the supply network at the pharmacy level, but the general price of the highly subsidised effective ACT (Coartem) remains very high.

Owing to constraints in accessibility, it was challenging to contact all the actors in the network individually, especially the consumer. Drugs considered in the study were the WHO approved ACT, even though efforts were made to compile available anti‐malarial drugs on the market.

This study has provided insights into the supply chain for ACT. The findings of the study are relevant in improving the supply chain system.

The paper brings to the fore the need for a proper pharmaceutical supply chain management in the health sector with regards to one of the world's most infectious and deadly diseases – malaria.