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The phenomenal proliferation of crowdfunding platforms raises concerns on the heightened occurrence of financial crimes since billions of funds are exchanged through these online systems frequently. Accordingly, some countries have implemented legislative responses to address these risks, although each countries’ laws have varying degrees of severity. Hence, the purpose of this study is to assess the efficiency and robustness of Mauritian laws to combat financial crimes that may arise from a crowdfunding transaction with a particular emphasis on money laundering and tax evasion.

To achieve this research objective, the black letter approach was used to analyse Mauritian rules and regulations on the researched topic and a comparative analysis was carried out against the corresponding laws on crowdfunding in some other jurisdictions, notably the UK and the USA with the view of suggesting the policy recommendations to Mauritian authorities.

It was found that there is still scope for improving the existing legal and regulatory framework on crowdfunding in Mauritius to prevent instances of money laundering and tax evasion. The paper suggests that a crowdfunding operator must be categorised as a reporting person and must carry out regular due diligence checks. There must also be more collaboration in terms of information exchanges and training sessions among the tax authority of Mauritius, crowdfunding operators, fund seekers and investors to shed light on the tax treatment of income and deductions to avoid issues of tax evasion.

At present, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is amongst the first academic writings on the efficiency of Mauritian laws in dealing with the risk of financial crimes through crowdfunding, and also, because existing literature is quite scarce on assessing the adequacy of crowdfunding rules in developing countries, this research aims at filling in the gap in literature. The study is carried out with the aim of combining a large amount of empirical, theoretical and factual information that can be of use to various stakeholders and not only to academics.

This study aims to highlight the risks and threats posed by crowdfunding. It also looks at the new European Union regulation on crowdfunding, which is intended to give participants confidence that there will be specific minimum regulatory standards to protect parties against mis-selling issues affecting some platforms.

This paper is based upon a thorough literature review.

Crowdfunding is an essential alternative for financing commercial and non-commercial projects. Although it is a fast-growing digital financial tool, it can also be considered extremely risky. It can be an ideal platform for money laundering and can facilitate the financing of terrorism and fraud.

Crowdfunding is still in its infancy, so the literature has not yet sufficiently addressed the compliance risks of crowdfunding. As a result, there is a significant research gap. Thus, this study aims to analyse and propose suggestions to mitigate the risks that all crowdfunding stakeholders may face when deciding to participate in a crowdfunding activity or when they want to set one up.

Crowdfunding is an increasingly popular channel for project fundraising for entrepreneurial ventures. Such efforts require fundraisers to develop and manage a crowdfunding campaign over a period of time and several stages. Thus, the authors aim to identify the stages fundraisers go through in their crowdfunding campaign process and how their engagement evolves throughout this process.

Following a multiple case study research design analysing six successful campaigns, the current study suggests a taxonomy of stages the fundraisers go through in their crowdfunding campaign management process while identifying the types of engagement displayed and their relative intensity at each of these stages.

The study proposes a five-stage process framework (pre-launch, launch, mid-campaign, conclusion and post-campaign), accompanied by a series of propositions outlining the relative intensity of different types of engagement throughout this process. The authors show that engagement levels appear with high intensity at pre-launch, and to a lesser degree also at the post-launch stage while showing low intensity at the stages in between them. More specifically, cognitive and behavioural engagement are most prominent at the pre- and post-launch stages. Emotional engagement is highest during the launch, mid-launch and conclusion stages. And social engagement maintains moderate levels of intensity throughout the process.

This study focuses on the campaign process using engagement theory, thus identifying the differing engagement patterns throughout the dynamic crowdfunding campaign management process, not just in one part.

This study aims to merge the world’s proven ways of housing finance, including musharakah mutanaqisah, housing cooperatives and real estate crowdfunding, to present an alternative housing unaffordability solution based on the Islamic finance principle. It is intended to reduce the burden of funding for both sides (consumers and developers) and create win–win chances for all stakeholders, including intermediaries. By moving away from debt financing and merging the features of crowdfunding and cooperative, it is hopeful that the burden of home ownership will no longer be the case.

This paper presents the opinions of potential Chinese homebuyers (minority Muslims and most non-Muslims) and a few industry experts toward the proposed model via a mixed research method.

According to the findings, the majority of respondents agreed with the proposed paradigm. Just concerned that China’s lack of community culture and trust could pose a major threat to implementation. However, this paper argues that Chinese local governments may perform pilot testing in places where Islamic culture is prevalent. Their unique community culture and fundamental understanding of Shariah law may affect the viability of the proposed model.

The proposed model would increase the applicability of Islamic finance as a way of protecting the social order of communities in the spirit of upholding justice and fairness. A new type of housing loan based on musharakah mutanaqisah may squeeze out the real estate bubble and provide stakeholders with a multidimensional investment channel. In particular, the study identifies the impact of Chinese Islamic financing on government and cultural needs. It presents possible challenges for implementing the proposed model in reality and helps bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Social interaction in comment sections has become a key factor for backers' decision making in crowdfunding platforms. However, current research on the two-way social interaction in crowdfunding is insufficient, and there exist inconsistent conclusions. This study focuses on the social interaction between creators and backers and explores its influence on the successful exit of crowdfunding projects.

The extended Cox model is used for the empirical analysis of 1,988 crowdfunding projects on the Modian (www.modian.com) platform, a crowdfunding platform for cultural and creative projects in China. The two-way social interaction is reflected in comment quantity and sentiment, as well as reply rate.

Results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between comment quantity/sentiment and the successful exit of crowdfunding projects. This relationship is strengthened by high reply rate.

This study focuses on comment quantity and sentiment. The inverted U-shaped results reconcile previous conclusions. Replies from creators are regarded as a separate factor, and their moderating role is explained. The study research proves the importance of social interaction in crowdfunding platforms and provides suggestions for backers, creators and platform managers.

The purpose of this study is to analyse potential models of Islamic crowdfunding as an alternative financing option for micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia. While crowdfunding has gained traction as an alternative funding source for businesses, it is unclear how far this concept can benefit a group of micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

This study uses a qualitative research approach by using data collected through semi-structured interviews with several experts and practitioners in crowdfunding, Shariah and entrepreneurship. Prior to discussing the facets of the findings, the data were analysed based on a thematic approach.

The findings reveal that while previous works of related literature suggest crowdfunding as a viable alternative financing option for entrepreneurs and their businesses, in reality, its practical implementation presents challenges. Numerous micro-entrepreneurs need more training in the areas of management and marketing. Such concerns raise questions about their ability to attract potential project backers. With the proper selection of Shariah contracts and several approaches to risk management, Islamic crowdfunding can potentially become an alternative funding source for microbusinesses.

Given the exploratory nature of this study regarding the applicability of Islamic crowdfunding as an alternative fund for micro-entrepreneurs, its findings may not fully encompass Malaysia’s context because of the limited number of participants involved.

The findings of this study offer guidelines on how to implement Islamic crowdfunding for micro-entrepreneurs. Consequently, Islamic crowdfunding has the potential to alleviate the government’s burden of providing funds for micro-enterprises and enhance their skills and mentality to be more independent, creative and able to promote their products.

While Islamic crowdfunding can be an alternative opportunity for business enterprises and community-based projects, it promotes the spirit of cooperation and collaboration within society.

Although Islamic crowdfunding is a topic that has been discussed previously, empirical investigations in this area remain scarce, mainly through qualitative approaches. Distinguishing from prior literature, this study analyses several potential models of Islamic crowdfunding from the perspectives of experts, practitioners and related agencies for micro-entrepreneurs. Moreover, this study bridges insights from related literature so that they offer practical applications to support micro-entrepreneurs in Malaysia.

The presence of securities crowdfunding (SCF) FinTech in the Islamic financial landscape opens investment opportunities through shares and sukuk (Sharia bond) instruments. This study aims to examine the effect of investment risk (IR), legal risk (LR), product knowledge (PK), Sharia compliance (SC) and subjective norm (SN) on investment decisions in businesses and projects run by small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The questionnaires were distributed to prospective investors with prior knowledge of SCF and Islamic investment. The data collected was then examined using partial least square-structural equation modeling using SmartPLS 4.0.

The results show that LR has positive and significant implications for supporting investment through SCF, while IR has the opposite. The main findings in this study explain that PK and SC are proven to strengthen the intention to invest in SCF. Meanwhile, SN, which also strengthens intention, is the greatest influence. Therefore, it is highly recommended that SCF organizers collaborate with regulators (OJK), universities, academics and the investor community, as well as Muslim entrepreneurs, to provide education and literacy regarding SCF products and the underlying contracts, along with the consequences and uniqueness of investment vis SCF.

From a managerial side, Sharia expert educators can be appointed to increase investors’ literacy and confidence to support SMEs’ business expansion via SCF. In addition, to minimize investment risk, SCF organizers are also advised to issue sukuk and shares in different low-risk businesses/sectors, followed by investment amounts that are more affordable for novice investors.

Research on SCF as an alternative to SME financing is still scarce. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first research to empirically test the relationship between risk, SC, PK and SN on potential investors’ decisions to support SMEs through the SCF mechanism.

Pandemics are frequent events, and the impact of each pandemic makes a strong and long-term effect on companies and markets. Given the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to investigate the crisis from a different perspective to know how companies have sustained growth in markets. The purpose of this paper is to understand how profit-oriented customer-centric companies (small, medium and large) have responded and adapted to COVID-19 crisis, using the complexity theory.

Drawing upon the complexity theory, a humble attempt is made to develop theoretical propositions by conceptualizing companies as complex adaptive systems. The paper examines companies from three dimensions (i.e. internal mechanism, environment and coevolution).

Companies self-organize, emerge into new states and become adaptive to the changing environment. Companies create knowledge to understand the dynamic anatomy and design survival and growth strategies during and post COVID-19 era. Complex adaptive systems perspective provides companies with insights to deal with complex issues raised due to COVID-19 pandemic. They can handle the impact of pandemic efficiently with complex adaptive systems by developing and implementing appropriate strategies post-COVID-19.

The study reveals how companies evolve and emerge into as complex adaptive systems to adapt themselves to the highly dynamic environment, which are uncertain, unpredictable, nonlinear and multifaceted, in the context of COVID-19. Implications for theory and practice of viewing companies as complex adaptive systems and coevolving structures in the COVID-19 context are discussed.

Introduction: This chapter examines the impact of Financial Technology (Fintech) on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) goals to promote a sustainable financial system. Digital payment platforms, blockchain applications, and AI-powered analytics have revolutionised the financial landscape in recent years. These advancements have made integrating ESG principles into investment decisions and business practices easier.

Purpose: The main aim of this chapter is to analyse the connections and possibilities that Fintech offers to achieve ESG goals. Understanding how Fintech can facilitate sustainable finance practices is crucial for promoting investment in Fintech.

Methodology: A series of indexes have been examined, including the Global FinTech Index (GFI) in Global and Regional Rank, the Global Sustainable Competitiveness Index, and performing the Green Growth Index, the Green Economic Opportunity Index, the Global Green Finance Index (GGFI), and the Financial Inclusion Index.

Findings: Through comparative analysis, it can be concluded that the countries with the highest rankings are Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany. Sweden ranks highly in the GFI. These results show that these countries rank highly in achieving ESG objectives. Balkan countries, specifically Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, have the weakest results compared to other countries. Policymakers can benefit from the study’s findings to design better regulations and frameworks that promote responsible fintech practices and foster sustainable finance.

Practical Implications: Regulators and agencies responsible for measuring fintech and ESG should strive to align the indexes associated with these two domains as closely as possible. In addition, businesses can utilise the findings of this study to increase awareness about the diverse solutions that fintech offers to achieve the objectives of ESG.

Research on online user privacy shows that empirical evidence on how privacy literacy relates to users' information privacy empowerment is missing. To fill this gap, this paper investigated the respective influence of two primary dimensions of online privacy literacy – namely declarative and procedural knowledge – on online users' information privacy empowerment.

An empirical analysis is conducted using a dataset collected in Europe. This survey was conducted in 2019 among 27,524 representative respondents of the European population.

The main results show that users' procedural knowledge is positively linked to users' privacy empowerment. The relationship between users' declarative knowledge and users' privacy empowerment is partially supported. While greater awareness about firms and organizations practices in terms of data collections and further uses conditions was found to be significantly associated with increased users' privacy empowerment, unpredictably, results revealed that the awareness about the GDPR and user’s privacy empowerment are negatively associated. The empirical findings reveal also that greater online privacy literacy is associated with heightened users' information privacy empowerment.

While few advanced studies made systematic efforts to measure changes occurred on websites since the GDPR enforcement, it remains unclear, however, how individuals perceive, understand and apply the GDPR rights/guarantees and their likelihood to strengthen users' information privacy control. Therefore, this paper contributes empirically to understanding how online users' privacy literacy shaped by both users' declarative and procedural knowledge is likely to affect users' information privacy empowerment. The study empirically investigates the effectiveness of the GDPR in raising users' information privacy empowerment from user-based perspective. Results stress the importance of greater transparency of data tracking and processing decisions made by online businesses and services to strengthen users' control over information privacy. Study findings also put emphasis on the crucial need for more educational efforts to raise users' awareness about the GDPR rights/guarantees related to data protection. Empirical findings also show that users who are more likely to adopt self-protective approaches to reinforce personal data privacy are more likely to perceive greater control over personal data. A broad implication of this finding for practitioners and E-businesses stresses the need for empowering users with adequate privacy protection tools to ensure more confidential transactions.