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This study aims to investigate whether quality of governance (QoG), trustworthiness and confidence impacted bank credit growth in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In addition, it examined whether credit growth differed between Islamic and conventional banks in GCC countries.

Using data from 104 (56 conventional banks and 48 Islamic banks) banks located in GCC countries from 2012 to 2019, the two-step system generalized method of moments estimator was used to analyse the data.

Evidence was found of the influence of trust in institutions in boosting credit growth. The QoG generally expanded credit growth which instilled confidence in the economy and the banking sector. Credit growth was more pronounced for Islamic banks. This paper has contributed to the literature evaluating the determinants of credit growth in GCC.

This paper has been one of the few studies exploring the effect of trustworthiness and confidence (informal institutions) and macro governance (formal institutions) in GCC. GCC is different from other regions, as it is oil-dependent and shares similar legal, social and cultural aspects. This suggested that these might yield different results than expected.

This study examined the impact of; COVID-19 investor sentiment, COVID-19 cases, geopolitical risk (GPR), economic policy uncertainty (EPU), oil returns and Islamic banking on bank stock returns. In addition, it examined whether Islamic bank stock returns differed from conventional banks when interacting with selected variables.

This study consisted of 137 conventional and Islamic stock market listed banks in 16 Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries from February 2020 to July 2021. Monthly data were used for bank stock returns, number of COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 investor sentiment, oil price and EPU, while GPR data were obtained annually. This paper used unconditional quantile regression (UQR) in its analysis.

COVID-19 investor sentiment and EPU negatively influenced bank stock returns. However, oil returns were only positive and significant in first quantile. Conversely, GPR negatively impacted bank returns up to the median quantile, while the impact was positive in upper quantiles. Islamic banks outperformed conventional banks in all quantiles. Additionally, GPR negatively influenced Islamic bank returns up to 75th quantile, while oil returns negatively impacted Islamic bank returns up to 95th quantile. Ultimately, COVID-19 investor sentiment and EPU positively influenced Islamic bank returns up to 95th quantile.

Market conditions must be considered when implementing investment decisions and policies, as the effects of market shocks are mostly asymmetrical. For example, it is important for international investors to take into consideration asymmetric factors, such as market uncertainty in oil market. Especially in bearish Islamic markets, bad news concerning uncertainty can be perceived as riskier than good news.

A change in health sentiment, such as COVID-19 cases and COVID-19 investor sentiment, can be used to determine future direction of conventional and Islamic stock markets. Asymmetric effects associated with market news can make portfolio management more effective. COVID-19 investor sentiment states can be used to predict Islamic market index dynamics in MENA region.

This paper offered insight into heterogeneity of market conditions and dependencies of Islamic banks' stock market returns on COVID-19 investor sentiment and uncertainty, among others that should be considered when implementing investment decisions and policies.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence of several core behavioural propensities on financial risk tolerance (FRT). Additionally, this paper examines the moderating effect of ethnicity on the relationship between behavioural propensities and FRT.

A sample of 1,204 completed and usable questionnaires were collected from undergraduate students majoring in business, economics and finance and analysed them using SmartPLS 2.0 software.

The findings reveal that propensity for trust has the highest impact on FRT followed by propensity for regret and happiness in life, while propensity for social interaction is not significantly associated with FRT. Ethnicity significantly moderates the relationship between three behavioural propensities (propensity for regret, propensity for trust and happiness in life) and FRT.

This study contributes to the assessment of individuals’ FRT incorporating behavioural propensities, which in turn contributes to the field of behavioural finance.

This study aims to examine the impact of workplace happiness, coworker support and job stress on employee innovative behavior. The mediating effects of coworker support and job stress are also explored.

The study uses survey data from 328 employees from different departments in four- and five-star hotels in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Based on an extensive literature review, five main hypotheses were formulated and explored. These were tested through multiple regression analysis using the SPSS Process Macro plugin.

Workplace happiness is the most significant determinant of employees’ innovative behavior, while coworker support plays a significant mediating role. Contrary to the study hypothesis and assumption, job stress alone is not a significant mediator; it only plays a mediating role when combined with coworker support.

The sample is from a single sector (hotels) in a single country. Future research would benefit from examining the above relationships in other sectors (such as health and education) in the UAE. It could also explore the validity of these relationships in the tourism/hotels sector of other countries in the Middle East and Gulf regions.

Few studies have attempted to investigate factors that may promote or impede innovative behavior among employees in the hotels sector, particularly in the UAE. The data, model and findings of this study address this gap and add to the current state of knowledge.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to global economic policy uncertainty, which has increased the need to investigate ways to mitigate the uncertainty. This study aims to examine the potential of cryptocurrencies as a hedge and safe haven avenue against economic policy uncertainty.

This study investigates the behavior of the five leading cryptocurrencies in relation to country-level and group-level economic policy uncertainty indices, as measured by the text-based method developed by Baker et al. (The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2016, 131, 1593–1636). The research covers a broad range of emerging and developed economies from July 2013 to September 2020. The study employs the approach of Narayan et al. (Economic Modelling, 2016, 53, 388–397) to examine the hedging and safe-haven properties of cryptocurrencies.

This study finds that the top cryptocurrencies play a hedging role against economic policy uncertainty, with some exceptions. Additionally, there is evidence to support the idea that cryptocurrencies can serve as a safe haven during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, investors may benefit from using cryptocurrencies as a risk-management avenue during times of uncertainty.

This research contributes to the existing literature by testing the cryptocurrencies' hedging and safe haven properties in a new way, by analyzing their lead and lag behaviors using a recent and innovative approach. Additionally, it examines a wide range of emerging and advanced markets, providing insight into the potential of using cryptocurrencies as a risk mitigation avenue.

This study aims to examine the effect of future time perspective (FTP), financial risk tolerance (FRT) and knowledge of financial planning for retirement (KFPR) on retirement saving behavior (RSB).

Primary data were collected using a non-probability judgmental sampling technique. A questionnaire was distributed either manually (by hand) or through email where 370 United Arab Emirates (UAE) residents used in the higher education sector participated. The data analysis was obtained by using SPSS and Smart-PLS software. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the linear relationship between FTP, FRT, KFPR and RSB.

The findings from this study are consistent with previous research. FTP and KFPR had a significant positive effect, while FRT had an insignificant negative effect on RSB.

This study examined the effect of a few psychological variables on RSB and was conducted on a sample of university employees in the UAE. Additional research should examine environmental influences, individual differences and other psychological process factors. Furthermore, future research could extend the current study into other industries and other the Middle East and North Africa countries.

A better understanding of the factors that influence RSB can help working individuals, financial advisors/financial planning professionals, financial institutions and government/policymakers strengthen their understanding and initiatives toward retirement planning.

To the best of the authors knowledge, none of the previous research papers studied RSB in the UAE. Additionally, it is important to note that the results of this study can be generalized to all Gulf Cooperation Council countries because of the similar economic, political, ethical, social and cultural factors.

This study examines the effect of general trust (GT) and confidence in banks (CIB) on bank risk-taking. Besides, it explores the moderating role of CIB on the relationship between GT and bank risk-taking.

Secondary data was obtained from the World Value Survey, World Bank and BankFocus from 2011 to 2018. Two-step system GMM estimator was used to examine the links between the GT and CIB with bank risk-taking in MENA region.

Results indicated that both GT and CIB negatively influenced bank risk-taking. Moreover, CIB weakened the negative relationship between GT and bank risk-taking. However, the results were different for MENA region as compared to the full sample.

The studies on the link between trust and bank risk-taking are either carried out on an international sample or using a developed economies sample. However, the authors believe that developing economies might exhibit different relationships due to cultural and structural differences present in developed countries. Besides, the authors believe that testing the moderating effect of CIB could shed more light on the differences between developing and developed countries.

Several research models have been proposed in the existing literature to understand the intention to use Islamic banking where conventional bank customers are not primarily addressed. Upon measuring the level of Islamic financial literacy (IFL) among the customers of conventional banks in the UAE, the purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and indirect effects of IFL, awareness, cost and benefit, reputation and attitude towards Islamic banking on the intention of potential customers to use Islamic banking.

Using judgmental sampling techniques, questionnaires were distributed to working individuals who did not have accounts with Islamic banks. A total of 350 completed and usable questionnaires were received and used for further analysis. The SmartPLS 3.0 software was used to analyse the data.

The results revealed that the level of IFL was high across the respondents and differed significantly as a function of gender, income level and years of work experience. The findings showed that IFL, awareness, reputation and attitude towards Islamic banking significantly influenced the intention to use Islamic banking, while cost and benefit appear not to. Interestingly, IFL was negatively correlated with the intention to use Islamic banking, but when the attitude towards Islamic banking mediated the relationship between IFL and the intention to use Islamic banking it then became positive.

Future research should consider looking at non-Muslim economies, which might be more vulnerable to IFL. In addition, a comparison between the current customers of Islamic banks and potential customers might be relevant to see whether the IFL of the current customers differs from the new customers.

The implications of the research are twofold. First the study suggests that IFL is crucial for an Islamic bank’s potential new customers. Islamic bank managers should design and focus their policies toward enriching the knowledge of the public about Islamic banks and their products. Second, IFL alone does not lead to a higher level of intention to use Islamic banks unless there is a positive attitude towards such banks.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to consider the IFL measure used in this paper. Therefore, this study will be the foundation for future research on IFL.

This study aims to concern with Malaysian consumer involvement in fashion clothing. To achieve this, materialism, fashion clothing involvement and religiosity are examined as drivers of fashion clothing purchase involvement.

Gender, race and age are explored to have better understanding of fashion clothing purchase involvement in Malaysia. Data were gathered using a Malaysian university student sample, resulting in 281 completed questionnaires.

The results support the study’s model and its hypotheses and indicate that materialism, fashion clothing involvement and religiosity are significant drivers of fashion clothing purchase involvement. Also, materialism is a significant driver of fashion clothing involvement, and fashion clothing involvement mediates the relationship between materialism and fashion clothing purchase involvement. The results also show that Malaysian youth do not possess a high level of materialistic tendencies.

This study offers enormous opportunities for the international apparel marketers to formulate relevant business policies and strategies.

This paper investigates the behavior of contrarian strategy payoffs under varying degrees of financial liberalization in the context of Asia-Pacific emerging market namely China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines and Thailand for the period 1997–2017. These markets represent economies that display a gradual change in the degree of financial liberalization instead of fully opening their markets to foreign investors at once.

Using a daily dataset of 2,468 firms and four different measures of the degree of financial liberalization, the paper employs portfolio formation, panel regressions and binary modeling methods to reveal the impact of partial and complete financial liberalization on contrarian returns.

This paper documents a negative relationship between the degree of financial liberalization and contrarian strategy payoffs. The results further indicate that small-sized emerging markets reveal more significant and higher contrarian returns as compared to their larger counterparts. Moreover, the returns are significantly higher during negative market states, higher volatility and crises periods. The study findings are consistent with the investor-base broadening hypothesis.

The findings may serve as a useful input for investors and fund managers to devise contrarian investment strategies in emerging market economies. Together, the study provides additional insights for policymakers in managing financial liberalization and integration policies within their respective countries.

This study provides a novel viewpoint by examining the relationship between the degree of financial liberalization and contrarian strategy payoffs. The authors contribute to the existing debate by shifting the discussion to the investor-based broadening argument in which small and less liberalized emerging markets offer opportunities for investors and fund managers to produce abnormal contrarian returns that cannot be earned by other conventional investment strategies.