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1 – 10 of 11Kamilah Ahmad and Shafie Mohamed Zabri
This study aims to explore corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and examines the role of management accounting…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore corporate social responsibility (CSR) implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and examines the role of management accounting practices (MAPs) in the relationship between CSR and performance in SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire survey was conducted among 1,000 SMEs in the southern region of Malaysia, and 203 valid replies were received.
Findings
The results indicate that most SMEs are informed about their social responsibilities across several CSR dimensions. There is evidence that supports the significant direct relationship between CSR and firm performance, and MAPs significantly and indirectly contribute to the effect of CSR on firm performance.
Originality/value
The findings contribute to an understanding of how the integration of CSR and MAPs can amplify the effect of CSR implementation on performance in SMEs. The finding may be useful for the relevant policymakers to increase socially responsible activities among SMEs to spur further growth for SMEs and society. SMEs may acknowledge MAPs as a significant intermediary in making CSR activities financially and operationally feasible.
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Kamilah Ahmad, Shafie Mohamed Zabri and Siti Anisah Atan
This study investigates the extent to which performance measures (PMs) are used, the relationship between multidimensional PMs and firm performance and the factors related to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the extent to which performance measures (PMs) are used, the relationship between multidimensional PMs and firm performance and the factors related to firms' PM use.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors surveyed a sample of Malaysian manufacturing firms. Participants responded to a questionnaire indicating their use of PMs, firm performance, level of managerial commitment, degree of environmental uncertainty and firm's use of technology.
Findings
The results indicate a high degree of PM use related to financial indicators, internal efficiency and customer-related metrics. The results also demonstrate that firm performance has significant positive relationships with use of PMs related to quality and customers, efficiency, innovativeness and social responsibility, as well as comprehensive PM use. Industry variation, firm size, technology use and environmental uncertainty are also significantly related to PM use.
Practical implications
Performance measurement systems (PMSs) are an important tool for improving organisational strategy in rapidly changing markets. These findings underscore the significant role of PMSs in manufacturing firms' performance, including emerging economies. The results suggest that individual PMS approaches should align with each firm's evolving needs and the characteristics of the sector and environment in which each firm operates.
Originality/value
This study advances understandings of the contingency approach to PMSs in manufacturing environments.
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Muhammad Ayaz, Shafie Mohamed Zabri and Kamilah Ahmad
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between leverage and firm’s performance in Malaysia by framing the relationship under the tradeoff theory and agency cost…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between leverage and firm’s performance in Malaysia by framing the relationship under the tradeoff theory and agency cost theory.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on insights drawn from the existing literature, we opted for fixed effects and system two-steps GMM models to establish the hypothesized relationship between leverage and performance. We analyzed 528 nonfinancial firms listed on the Bursa Malaysia Stock exchange for the period of 12 years (2005–2016).
Findings
The outcomes show that the leverage ratio improves the firm performance, consistent with leverage serving as an effective strategy in constraining managers from building their personal empire, revealing a proportionately greater benefit for Malaysian firms than the cost to debt financing. The authors also find that a positive relationship between leverage and firm performance switch to the negative when the level of leverage reaches beyond the optimal level. Consequently, switching from positive to negative indicates that debt has a twofold (nonlinear) impact on firm performance.
Practical implications
Our research provides several implications to potential stakeholders. For investors, firms having lower leverage ratios could achieve superior performance, thus investing in corporations pursuing higher performance. Managers should therefore strive for achieving higher performance to meet the needs of investors and shareholders. From the researcher’s perspective, our research suggests the need to go away from the searching linear association between leverage and firm performance and the relevance of nonlinear correlation. Moreover, our research can help managers to understand how their lender relates to their debt to assets ratios. Thus, they can design an optimal level of leverage that not only improves the firm’s performance but also reduce the associated costs.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the initial attempt in the context of Malaysia that documents evidence indicating that the lower leverage is likely to create value for shareholders while a higher debt ratio reduces firm profitability.
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Kamilah Ahmad and Shafie Mohamed Zabri
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that affect the use of management accounting practices (MAPs) in Malaysian medium-sized firms in manufacturing sector.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that affect the use of management accounting practices (MAPs) in Malaysian medium-sized firms in manufacturing sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research design involving the use of postal questionnaire was carried out to investigate the influences of key contingent factors on MAPs. The survey was conducted to 500 Malaysian medium-sized firms in manufacturing sector which elicited 110 useable responses.
Findings
The results indicates that size of the firm, intensity of market competition, commitment of owner/manager of firm and advanced manufacturing technology have significant influences on the use of certain MAPs. Thus the research provides support for a contingency-based explanation for the use of MAPs and identifies new variable such as commitment of owner/manager as one of a key factor that affect the extent of use of MAPs in smaller firms.
Research limitations/implications
The research focused on medium-sized firms in manufacturing sector. Therefore the empirical research results may lack generalizability to the overall Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Future study might investigate whether there is a variation of the significant contingent factors in medium-sized firms across economies.
Practical implications
This research fills in the significant research gap and provides a start for further research into MAPs among SMEs based on a contingency approach.
Social implications
The results contribute to a better understanding of the factors underlying the development of MAPs among smaller firms.
Originality/value
The paper discusses key contingency factors influencing MAPs in larger firms and SMEs and how these factors could affect the use of MAPs in smaller firms’ context.
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Sheela Sundarasen, Kamilah Kamaludin and Izani Ibrahim
The purpose of the study is to adopt Morlet’s wavelet method to examine the differences in the level of volatility (i.e. riskiness) between the conventional and Shari’ah indexes…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the study is to adopt Morlet’s wavelet method to examine the differences in the level of volatility (i.e. riskiness) between the conventional and Shari’ah indexes during the COVID-19 pandemic (February 4 to June 19, 2020) on selected Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. As a comparison, the equivalent time period of relative tranquillity is used; February 4 to June 19, 2019.
Design/methodology/approach
Morlet’s wavelet method is used in analyzing the volatility levels for both the conventional and Shari’ah indexes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic for the selected ASEAN and GCC countries.
Findings
This study has several findings; first, the markets in the ASEAN region appear to be more volatile during the pandemic than in the GCC region. Second, most of the Shari’ah indexes were more volatile during the COVID-19 pandemic than their conventional counterparts. Nevertheless, the GCC index pairs appear to show more similarities between both the Shari’ah and conventional index.
Practical implications
The findings from this study indicate that investors, government, regulators and all other stakeholders should stay vigilant during a pandemic or health threat period as it has become a pertinent source of volatility spillovers. As such, investors should devise optimal asset allocation strategies, portfolio diversification and portfolio rebalancing measures, taking into consideration not only financial adversity but also public health gravity as a potential source of turbulent markets.
Originality/value
This study uses the wavelet method to examine the volatility level of both the Shari’ah and conventional indexes during the COVID-19 pandemic and its equivalent time frame in 2019. It has further added to the Islamic literature by comparing the volatility between selected ASEAN and GCC countries. The wavelet method is most appropriate for short-duration studies as it captures both the time and frequency domains of the time-series behavior.
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Najib Mahfuz is the first Arab‐language author to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Born in 1911 the son of a middle‐class Jamaliyah merchant, he became the most popular novelist…
Abstract
Najib Mahfuz is the first Arab‐language author to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Born in 1911 the son of a middle‐class Jamaliyah merchant, he became the most popular novelist in Egypt and the Arab countries.
Farah Islam, Kashmala Qasim, Amal Qutub, Saamiyah Ali-Mohammed, Munira Abdulwasi, Yogendra Shakya, Michaela Hynie and Kwame McKenzie
The purpose of this study was to understand the unique mental health concerns and access barriers experienced by South Asian Muslim youth populations living in the Peel Region of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to understand the unique mental health concerns and access barriers experienced by South Asian Muslim youth populations living in the Peel Region of Toronto, Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
For this qualitative exploratory study, interviews (n = 15) were conducted with mental health professionals, educators and spiritual leaders (n = 11) who work with South Asian Muslim youth living in Peel Region, as well as with South Asian Muslim youth themselves (n = 4, aged 20–23). Interview transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Findings
Four primary themes emerged from the data: challenges and stressors, barriers, facilitators and hope and recovery. South Asian Muslim youth navigate a number of unique stressors related to the domains of culture, religion and family dynamics, as well as the impact of migration.
Practical implications
The findings stress the necessity of creating culturally safe, multilevel strategies to meet the nuanced challenges and diverse needs of South Asian Muslim youth communities.
Originality/value
This is one of the few papers to the knowledge that addresses the mental health needs and service access barriers of youth populations at the intersections of South Asian diasporic community belonging and Muslim faith in Canada.
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Abdulkader Zairbani and Senthil Kumar Jaya Prakash
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect impact of eco-innovation (EI) and open innovation (OI) on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) performance and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct and indirect impact of eco-innovation (EI) and open innovation (OI) on small and medium enterprises’ (SMEs) performance and competitive advantage (CA).
Design/methodology/approach
The population of this study consisted of Indian SMEs; a random sample was used to collect 186 responses by using the questionnaire method. The questionnaire was distributed to the top and middle-level managers in Bangalore city and rural areas; this paper used SMART-PLS to explore the relationship between the study variables.
Findings
The results demonstrate that OI has a significant relationship with a CA. Furthermore, EI has a significant relationship with SMEs performance; in contrast, OI has an insignificant mediation effect on the relationship between innovation culture and SMEs performance. While organizational capability has a mediation effect on the relationship between EI and SME performance. Moreover, environmental ordination has a positive moderator role on the relationship between EI and SME performance.
Originality/value
This study provides a critical theoretical and practical contribution of EI and OI on business performance and sustainable CA.
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Rajat Yadav, Shashi Prakash Dwivedi, Vijay Kumar Dwivedi and Anas Islam
This study aims to attempt to make an aluminum-based composite using reinforcement such as graphite and fly ash. Pollution is an enhanced serious issue of concern for global…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to attempt to make an aluminum-based composite using reinforcement such as graphite and fly ash. Pollution is an enhanced serious issue of concern for global. Industries play a major role in disturbing the balance of the environment system. Composite is made by using the stir casting technique. The waste that is generated by the industries if left untreated or left to be rotten at some place may prove fatal to invite various types of diseases. Proper treatment of these wastes is the need of the hour, the best way to get rid of such kinds of hazardous wastes is to use them by recycling.
Design/methodology/approach
Stir casting technique was used to make a composite. Graphite and fly ash were mixed with equal amounts of 2.5% to 15% in aluminum. The microstructure of composite formed after composite was noticed. After seeing the microstructure it was understood that reinforcement particles are very well-mixed in aluminum.
Findings
When graphite was mixed with 3.75% and 3.75% fly ash in aluminum, the strength of the composite came to about 171.12 MPa. As a result, the strength of the composite increased by about 16.10% with respect to the base material. In the same way, when 3.75% graphite and 3.75% fly ash were added to aluminum, the hardness of the composite increased by about 26.60%.
Originality/value
In this work, graphite and fly ash have been used to develop green metal matrix composite to support the green revolution as promoted/suggested by United Nations, thus reducing the environmental pollution. The addition of graphite and fly ash to aluminum reduced toughness. The thermal expansion of the composite has also been observed to know whether the composite made is worth using in higher temperatures.
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Goutam Kumar Kundu and Syed Khalid Perwez
This paper aims to identify and model the key barriers to implementation of project-based learning (PjBL) in higher educational institution.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to identify and model the key barriers to implementation of project-based learning (PjBL) in higher educational institution.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique, the study has developed a hierarchical-based model, depicting the mutual relationships amongst the key barriers to implementation of PjBL. Additionally, the paper has performed Matrice d’ Impacts Croises Multiplication Appliqué an Classement (MICMAC) analysis to categorize the barriers in terms of their driving and dependence power.
Findings
The study has identified the key barriers to implementation of PjBL and presented an integrated model using ISM. Higher educational institutions need to pay attention to diagnose and overcome these hindrances for effective implementation of PjBL in their programmes.
Research limitations/implications
The study adopts a systematic way to model the relevant barriers to implementation of PjBL. The ISM-based model would help higher education institutions to prioritize the issues as the barriers are hierarchically structured. As the input to model development is based on the experts’ opinions, it may be biased, influencing the final output of the structural model.
Originality/value
The presentation of PjBL implementation barriers in the form of an ISM-based model is a new effort. The model would be useful to understand the barriers and overcome these for the successful implementation of PjBL in higher educational institutions.
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