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One major challenge for urban planners and policymakers is how to strengthen and establish connections between humans and the environment. Evidence suggests that the physical characteristics of the environment enhance both place identity and user satisfaction. This study aims to investigate the mediating role of place identity in the relationship between place quality and user satisfaction in two waterfronts in Penang, Malaysia. However, only few studies have examined the impact of place quality on user satisfaction in waterfronts as natural outdoor recreation spaces.

A sample of 300 users was analysed via structural equation modelling, and results show that place quality is a second-order construct with three main dimensions.

These results support the theoretical findings in the literature that associate high place quality and place identity with user satisfaction. These results also support the mediating role of place identity in the relationship between place quality and satisfaction and can help policymakers create inclusive and attractive waterfronts that catalyse place identity and user satisfaction.

Place quality is an essential need for urban life with significant and extensive effects on the lives of residents nowadays. Organising physical activities can help attract more users to waterfronts and consequently increase their level of satisfaction. Local authorities, non-governmental organisations and local communities should also help in monitoring and maintaining the waterfronts.

Islamic finance and Halal product sectors are thriving successfully. This chapter is a general review of the perception of Asian consumers on Islamic finance and Halal sectors in the global Halal economy.

The first section will briefly describe the Halal concept in both Islamic finance and Halal industries, and the growth of both sectors in Asian countries. The second part highlights the review of Asian consumers’ perception towards Islamic finance products and Halal products.

The review found that the consumers’ perception towards the Islamic finance products and Halal products is distinctive. This is due to the diversity of Asian countries in terms of geography, religion, culture, ethnic, school of thoughts (madzahib), income per capita and government’s involvement.

The third part of the chapter concentrates on planning towards Halal marketing, which involves the move and future challenges in different layers of industries to gear up and strengthen the Halal economy.

This paper aims to derive determinants of loan loss provisions (LLPs) of commercial banks in Malaysia.

A single-stage panel data analysis multiple regression model that contains a mixture of quantitative and qualitative elements is used. The LLPs is a dependent variable or regressor, and non-performing loan (NPL), interest income, net profit, loans and advances and gross domestic product (GDP) are the independent variables or regressor/explanatory variables. The moderating variable is “credit risk management” (CRM) and the intervening variable is “relevance and faithful representation”.

This paper suggests in LLPs, NPLs, interest income, loans and advances, net profit and GDP, as well as the moderating effect of CRM and the intervening effect of relevance and faithful representation, are determinants of the LLPs. The moderating variable CRM strengthens the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable. The intervening variable “relevance and faithful representation” brings about a more accurate reporting on the levels of the LLPs.

The association of the factors is investigated further to detect possible effect of multicollinearity and research to better understand how banks manage their risk as the current investigation is limited to banks in Malaysia.

Loan loss provisioning issues of commercial banks in Malaysia are challenges for both regulators and the banking industry owing to the implementation of several new measures, the convergence with internationally accepted accounting standards and differences in loan grading and applications of different loan loss provisioning standards. Because of these challenges, Bank Negara Malaysia (the Central Bank of Malaysia) has tightened its supervision of commercial banks to ensure that banks are sufficiently and adequately provisioned. The banking sector plays a significant role, and it is important that it is resilient in the face of potential sources of systemic risk. And, like in other major ASEAN economies, the Malaysian’s financial system remains largely bank-dominated.

This study discovers whether Malaysian banks are sufficiently provisioned for the regional financial integration under the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) by the end of 2015, where several initiates have been initiated, including the harmonization of standards to encourage greater intra-regional investment flows and transactions and continued provisions of the much needed funds by the region’s private sectors.

This paper aims to investigate the adequacy of regulatory capital funds through loss provisioning policies because of worsening credit quality associated with distressed financial conditions. A financial distress occurs when banks have difficulty in honoring financial commitments. This paper is expected to unveil how the provisioning mechanisms can address concerns associated with pro cyclicality of regulatory capital funds requirements, and how the banks behave in distressed financial conditions to share risks. The pro cyclicality of regulatory capital funds is the effect of various components of the financial system that aggravates the economic cycle such as during the expansion of the economy when banks are able to provide more loans and meet regulatory capital requirements with ease, while during the contraction of the economic cycle, can lead to deterioration of asset quality, and the resultant need to make loss provisions and recognize impairment. In turn, the situation puts further pressures on the capital requirements held by banks and their risk-sharing behavior. The paper analyzes a sample of Islamic banks in Malaysia.

By estimating credit risk-related information through loss provisioning policies, the paper uses an unbalanced panel data on all Islamic banks in the Association of Islamic Banking Institutions Malaysia from 2003 to 2014. The association consists of full-fledged Islamic banks and several foreign-owned entities.

The paper findings support that Islamic banks during observed period of distressed financial conditions were less discouraged to increase their regulatory capital funds to share risks. Intuitively, they were more encouraged to engage in risk-shifting behavior. Also, the risk-shifting behavior was found to have a significantly high potential in foreign-owned Islamic banks than in domestic Islamic banks.

Although the study is based on a sample of Islamic banks in Malaysia, the findings suggest targeted interventions aimed at discouraging risk shifting or transfer of risks in an interest-free Islamic financing.

The outcome of this paper has practical implications for Islamic banks to build a buffer of capital funds to face downward pressures during heightened financial uncertainties while serving as protection to depositors. Moreover, this study has practical implications for shareholders to avail themselves the benefits of high investment accounts financing. The Islamic banks can continue to play their role in promoting inclusive growth, reducing inequality and accelerating poverty reduction.

Although the current study is based on a sample of Islamic banks in Malaysia, the finding suggests that the extent of risk shifting was significantly more incentivized among the foreign-owned rather than the domestic Islamic banks. This information can be used to develop targeted interventions aimed at discouraging risk shifting or transfer of risks in an interest-free Islamic financing.

This paper is the first that investigates on adequacy of regulatory capital funds of Islamic banks through loss provisioning policies.

Few studies exist which delve into the possible factors that prevent ethically minded consumers from translating their ethical perceptions into ethical purchase intention (EPI). Thus, this study aims to explore how consumers assess corporate social responsibility (CSR) based on several influencing factors toward EPI, with CSR skepticism (SKP) as a moderator.

This cross-sectional study is conducted through a self-administered questionnaire and uses a positive research approach with a quantitative basis of enquiry. The partial least squares–structural equation modeling- model is used to examine the causal relationship between seven independent variables of CSR assessment (i.e. CSR awareness, knowledge of CSR position of company, cause importance, price consciousness, CSR image of company, credibility of CSR efforts and peer influence) with EPI. In addition, this study also examines the moderating effect of SKP in the relationship.

The findings show that CSR assessment factors are important to convert mere purchase criteria into EPI and SKP does play a significant role in weakening the relationship.

This study examines the moderating effect of CSR skepticism, the exploration of which still remains very limited in current literature.

The purpose of this study is to conceptualise the relationship between information disclosure and Waqif commitment, taking into consideration the role of level of trust (mediator variable) and communication and type of payment (moderator variables).

The conceptual framework is developed from the theory of social exchange (mediated philanthropy model) and selected previous literature concerning commitment.

According to previous empirical research, a conceptual framework was developed to facilitate further analysis in the study. Nine propositions were raised in this paper where the factor of communication and payment method is proposed to no longer the factor that determined commitment but as moderator. There is five antecedent of information disclosure proposed, which is basic information, financial information, non-financial information, future information and governance information. Also, trust is offered to be the mediator variable between information disclosure and Waqf commitment.

By realising many factors that may influence the commitment of waqf such as demonstrable utility, emotional utility and familial utility, this study only focusses on the effect of information disclosure.

This paper provides an opportunity for further empirical studies to prove the relationship between information disclosure and Waqf commitment. This paper also brought opportunities to investigate both conceptually and empirically, other factors that could affect Waqf commitment.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, few studies have been done concerning donors commitment. While there are none yet, the research examined Waqf commitment. The originality value of this study is that there is a gap in knowledge regarding the analysis of Waqf commitment, the level of trust among waqif is the information that Waqf expected, the preferred communication between Mutawalli and Waqf and type of payment that Waqf favoured. This study is believed to be a novel based on the framework developed.

The purpose of this study is to propose a conceptual model of Islamic branding. Based on the theory of self-congruity and existing literature, the conceptual model proposes three antecedents that can form the building blocks of Islamic branding.

The authors have developed a conceptual model to propose the antecedents of the Islamic branding construct based on the theory of self-congruity. The antecedents are adapted from existing literature and customized according to the Muslim consumer market. Three hypotheses are formulated on the basis of the proposed model and justified from existing literature.

The proposed Islamic branding model can be applied to both local and multinational brands in both Muslim majority and minority markets. Religiosity, Islamic brand knowledge and Islamic corporate social responsibility are proposed as the antecedents of Islamic branding. Muslim consumers are attracted to brands that portray congruity with their religious values. The proposed antecedents of Islamic branding can result in the subsequent formation of an emotional attachment between the Muslim consumer and the respective Islamic brand, and thereby a stronger Islamic brand.

The proposed Islamic branding model has not been empirically tested in this study.

Islamic branding is in the infancy stage of conceptual development. Currently, limited research exists on the operationalization of this construct. A gap exists in the literature regarding models and instruments for the operationalization and development of Islamic branding. The proposed model attempts to fill the conceptual gaps while taking into account the heterogeneity of the Muslim consumer market. Up until now, religiosity, Islamic brand knowledge and corporate social responsibility have not been studied as antecedents of Islamic branding. This study offers new insights by proposing customized brand-building blocks for an organization’s Islamic branding strategy based on theoretical grounds.

This chapter provided systematic and comprehensive analysis on trawl fisheries management and conservation measures in the Straits of Malacca. Detailed analysis is conducted on Malaysian fishery management framework particularly domestic country's trawl fishery status, legal structure, input-control strategies, ecosystem protection plan, pollution, law enforcement, and complementary measures that designed to reduce and prevent overfishing in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Malacca Straits. Gaps and challenges found in existing trawl fisheries literature are presented followed by recommendations for improvement in the management and conservation of trawl fisheries.

In recent years, there have been many concerns about issues surrounding building maintenance, which are continually increasing. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies on building maintenance issues, their effects and the way forward. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to carry out a comprehensive review of building maintenance issues, their effects and the way forward. It also aims to develop a conceptual model that can support future research.

A systematic review of the literature published from 2009 to 2019 was carried out. Five relevant databases were searched, based on this study's search terms, and a narrative synthesis of the results from the included studies was carried out. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they fulfilled the inclusion criteria of this systematic review.

This study has identified and classified building maintenance issues, their effects and the way forward, and also developed a conceptual model that demonstrates the association between issues, their effects and the way forward. The way forward of the conceptual model focuses on effective management, technical capability, development of human resources and cost optimisation.

This paper addresses an important topic: the aspect in which it differs from existing studies is that, in the latter, the researchers studied a single sub-issue, whereas this systematic review includes a comprehensive study of building maintenance issues. Furthermore, this review has demonstrated how the way forward can moderate issues and their effects.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, religiosity, knowledge and Shariah-compliance with intention to hold Shariah-compliant credit card (SCCC) amongst Muslims and non-Muslims.

Researchers used survey questionnaire to collect data and applied a purposive sampling method, then analyzing the data using descriptive statistics and also multi-group analysis of SmartPLS.

For Muslims, attitude, subjective norm, Shariah-compliance, knowledge and religiosity are positively significant. While for non-Muslims, only attitude and subjective norm are positively significant to intention to hold SCCCs.

The behavioural study only focusses on intention to hold Islamic credit cards, which is constraining the extended model of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) without the actual performance of the behaviour, which is holding SCCCs. Secondly, the research caters for a single method, namely, quantitative without including the qualitative method to better understand and explore other factors affecting consumers’ behavioural intention. The qualitative part can be carried out by conducting interviews with practitioners, regulators and customers. Thirdly, the cultural dimensions are not combined as parts of TPBs’ antecedents for extended model that could be affecting intention, as Malaysia has diverse ethnic groups with different religious background.

In terms of managerial implications, the findings will further assist financial service providers to develop more effective marketing strategies for Islamic financial products not just to cater for the Muslims but also the non-Muslims, who are increasingly attracted to Islamic banking. As many Muslims are still holding conventional credit cards, it is timely for the Islamic financial institutions to attract them with the SCCCs.

Financial marketers are expected to be qualified and well-versed on the different Islamic product structures and also the conventional products. By having such enables them to enlighten and create awareness amongst the targeted consumers in seeking Shariah-compliant financial-related products.

The research will contribute to new theoretical knowledge of an extended behavioural model in relation to customers’ perception towards SCCCs’ acceptance.