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This paper aims to provide an overview of research topics and publications produced by Islamic Finance scholars in Malaysia, focusing on six research domains (Shariah-based, Islamic Finance, Islamic Economics, Islamic Accounting, Islamic Management and Halal Management) in five public universities in Malaysia.

This study seeks to analyse the research gaps and recommend future research based on publications produced by Islamic Finance scholars from five public universities in Malaysia. Data on talents were collected from the MIFER report 2016 and each universities’ website, while research and publications of the talents were collected from Google Scholar and the Scopus database. The extracted data were analysed using bibliometric analysis in VOSviewer version 1.6.15.

The results show that the five selected universities talents have different research strengths according to six research domains highlighted in MIFER 2021 and Beyond Report. All five universities are found to contribute the least research in Halal Management domain. In view of the increasing prominence of this area of research in the national and international levels, these universities and other universities in Malaysia can generate more research in Halal Economy, Halal Management, and other related areas within this domain. The finding indicated that each university tends to have a strength according to the different domains, and 2019 is the most productive year for Islamic Finance publications. Analysis from productive scholars and co-citations shows that the authors collaborate within the same university to create a different topic for each research cluster.

The bibliometric analysis only captures the general keyword terms, which may be limited to the only generalised sub-research areas.

This bibliometric study, which is based on the expertise of researchers, complements meta-analysis, and qualitative structured literature reviews aid researchers or talents in developing future research directions such as Green economy, Cryptocurrency, Fintech, Halal Management and others. In addition, this is a case study in nature and can serve to enhance understanding the landscape of Islamic finance education and as a reference for practices in institutions of higher learning from around the world.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is a new research initiative comparing five top programme providers in the field of Islamic finance using a bibliometric approach to enhance talent development and capacity building. With the government’s efforts to further promote Malaysia as the Islamic Financial Hub, this study highlights the research gap in Islamic finance based on scholars’ publications from selected five Malaysian universities and potential topics for future research. This study focuses on the research domain for each university, the trend of publishing, the number of journals published by academics, productive scholars and citations by Malaysian universities, and examines if the publications align with current industry needs.

Research management has evolved significantly in Malaysia from being part of generic administration into a more specialised yet diverse field. The importance of research and innovation in the government’s agenda is reflected in the five-year Malaysia Plans and policies. The GERD percentage of GDP has grown steadily each year since 1996. Business enterprises and non-profit organisations are important players in the R&D ecosystem. Universities record the highest percentage of R&D personnel, including contracted staff and seconded academics for research management. Recognising the importance of professional RMAs led to the formation of the Malaysia Association of Research Managers and Administrators (MyRMA). It provides a platform for the community of practice to develop professionalisation pathways.

Gender disparity is a global phenomenon where females outnumber male participants. It has been observed that males are the early leaver from higher education, thus reflecting a severe concern about social instability. Malaysia is a prominent example where females outnumber males in higher education. In this context, this paper aims to examine the effect of individual, social and financial factors on the higher education self-efficacy of male and female students. It develops a comprehensive understanding of gender-based decision factors in pursuing higher education.

The hypothesis was formed based on a comprehensive literature review following the hypothetico-deductive positivist approach. These hypotheses were tested based on a sample of 250 respondents. A multiple regression analysis was deployed to test the relationship between the dependent variable and its predictors.

The results suggest that male and female students’ self-efficacy depends on five determinants, i.e. family influence, peer influence, career expectancy outcome, gender roles and institutional factors. Male students tend to be influenced more by these five determinants than females. Additionally, male students with better financial backgrounds are more likely to have higher self-efficacy, whereas gender roles negatively affect male and female students’ self-efficacy for higher education.

The breakout of COVID-19 resulted in the selection of limited students in Malaysia. Due to restricted movement orders, it was impossible to reach out to the students for data collection. Future research could include a broader area to include multiple other regions of Malaysia. For a broader aspect, the study could be conducted in other areas/countries where the problem of less male participation exists.

The relationship between higher education self-efficacy is assessed with social, financial and institutional factors for male and female students. It will enable the stakeholders and policymakers to make better decisions in increasing the self-efficacy of students to attain equity in higher education institutions.

The finding of this paper will assist in increasing male participation in higher education institutions to avoid any social instability.

This paper contributes to the literature in understanding the causes of gender gap reversal, focusing on Malaysian higher education institutions. It also provides empirical evidence to look at potential factors that affect the higher education self-efficacy of male and female students.

Building upon the attribution and brand resonance theories, this paper aims to investigate the effects of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) in higher education institutions on brand reputation, trust, equity and loyalty.

The data for this study were collected from international students of one public and one private university in Malaysia. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data.

The findings revealed very strong effects of perceived CSR on brand reputation and trust. Moreover, the results determined the positive effects of brand reputation and trust on brand equity and loyalty. Additionally, findings support the positive indirect effects of perceived CSR on brand equity and loyalty through brand reputation and trust.

This study provides unique theoretical and practical contributions which can inform countries how to attract international students, particularly in post COVID-19 era.

The recent development in integrated reporting (<IR>) demonstrated a potential government tool for decision-making in allocating resources and developing sustainable policies for higher education institutions. This paper aims to examine the extent of the disclosure level of <IR> content elements in the annual reports of Malaysian Public Universities (MPUs). Additionally, the relationship between the disclosure level of <IR> content elements and the specific characteristics of MPUs is investigated.

The study performed descriptive statistics analysis for each component of <IR> content elements. This idea is achieved by examining the annual reports of MPUs between 2016 and 2018. The relationship was also investigated using ordinary least squares, fixed effect and lagged models.

The findings showed an increasing trend in the disclosure level of <IR> content elements in MPUs’ annual reports, supported by institutional theory. Furthermore, RUs exhibited a significant positive relationship with the disclosure level of <IR> content elements, whereas university size and report conciseness are insignificant variables.

The study adds to the body of knowledge in public sector accounting and has significant implications in the industry. This implication is specific to achieving sustainable development goals within the context of a developing country, paving avenues for further MPU reporting studies.

The purpose of this study is to explore mathematics teachers' collaboration within their professional learning communities (PLCs), and to gain insight into how the teachers developed their collective efficacy through it to focus on improving student learning.

Using a qualitative approach, data were collected from three high-performing secondary schools, mainly through semi-structured in-depth interviews with the Heads of Mathematics Unit. For explication and triangulation purposes, focus group interviews with the mathematics teachers and students and document analysis were also conducted.

The findings indicate that PLCs were the vessel through which a culture of disciplined teacher collaboration was fostered. More importantly, this culture encouraged teachers to participate in reflective dialogues that became a driver for their learning, and eventually led to their changed professional practice for improved student learning. The collaborative setting within the PLCs allowed teachers to pool their resources, knowledge and individual expertise to identify their student learning focus, and administer and measure their student intervention strategies. This collaborative professional learning reduced professional isolation, and as a result, improved teachers' collective pursuit of professional growth to impact student outcomes.

The aim of this qualitative study was to provide a detailed description of the teachers' collaboration within their PLCs based on the researchers' interpretation of how the participants make sense of their PLC practices and experiences. Hence, findings are indicative, and not definitive. In addition, the Heads of the Mathematics Unit, and the mathematics teacher participants in this study illustrated salient aspects of subject subcultures, where their beliefs, norms and practices were non-generic, or specific only to their subject context. Therefore, the implications to practice were built from commonalities shared only among the mathematics units.

This is a study in a Malaysian context that provides empirical evidences that are concerned primarily with the process of teachers developing their collective efficacy through disciplined collaboration within their PLCs.

This longitudinal study aims at assessing the impact of openness to experience and neuroticism on affective states experienced by the academics from the Malaysian public universities during the first strict COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

The author collected data for openness to experience and neuroticism at the beginning of the lockdown, and for positive and negative affect, when the lockdown ended. The author used the efficient partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLSe2-SEM) methodology to fit the model to the screened data (N = 291).

The results showed that openness to experience had a negative effect on negative affect and a positive effect on positive affect. The author also observed that neuroticism had a positive effect on negative affect and a negative effect on positive affect. These findings provided support for the proposition of the impact of personality traits on affective states amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in academic settings.

The study shows that careful assessment of lecturers' personality traits should be considered during the process of selection and recruitment since these factors, theoretically and empirically, trigger affective states which, in turn, lead to behaviors and attitudes.

This is the first study on examining the impact of academics' personality traits on their affective states. Also, it is amongst the few longitudinal studies on evaluating personality traits during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a methodological novelty, the author used the PLSe2 methodology to test the model and compared the results with maximum likelihood (ML) results.

The purpose of this paper is to build a relationship between the quantitative and structural indicators of maqashid sharia studies produced from bibliometric analysis and the conceptual discussion developed through a thorough review of selected key literature.

The study uses bibliometric analysis, collecting information drawn from 219 articles published in 68 journals during the period of 2006–2022. This study uses VOSviewer, RStudio, Microsoft Excel, and an examination of research time periods using the Scopus database to illustrate the citation analysis and keyword map. It is also strengthened by content analysis of selected studies.

The main research theme found in this study is the application of maqashid sharia in Islamic banks, with Islamic banks and Islamic finance among the most frequently used keywords. Meanwhile, the geographical spread of maqashid sharia research has reflected its universal acceptance, as it has spread across both Muslim-dominant and non-Muslim-dominant countries. Besides, maqashid sharia is found to be an extremely important subject for ensuring the ethical dimension of Islamic finance products and services, a more inclusive human development index, and contributing to the international agenda of Sustainable Development Goals. Lastly, future research is expected to broaden it into a multi-dimensional horizon, with several recommendations offered to enrich the understanding of maqashid sharia.

The findings of this study can be beneficial to multiple stakeholders in Islamic finance industry, including the management of Islamic banks, who can enhance the values of maqashid sharia in designing their products/services, and the regulators, who can formulate regulatory frameworks which are reflective of maqashid sharia principles.

This study will assist future scholars in this field to formulate and design exciting research ideas and models to address the deficiencies found in the current implementation of maqashid sharia within Islamic finance industry.

The primary contribution of this study is to provide comprehensive review and discussion of selected significant literature on maqashid sharia and give direction for future research. In addition, this study also extends and incorporates the results of bibliometrics using the recent maqashid sharia studies published at the end of 2022.

This study aims to investigate the contextual challenges of emergency Web-enabled teaching from instructors’ point of view and their future preference for online education.

A total of 165 instructors from various public and private universities and university colleges in Malaysia participated in this online survey. Data were analyzed using multiple regression.

The significant challenges for future preference for online education in terms of their relative importance were supporting learners, effectiveness, disadvantages and advantages of emergency Web-enabled teaching.

This study discusses theoretical, practical and public policy implications for the future of teaching in higher education due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.