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The purpose of this paper is to examine the management styles adopted by project managers in the software industry in Oman.

A sample of 208 project management professionals is drawn from the Omani software industry. Data analysis is based on factor analysis and analysis of variance techniques.

The results suggest that project managers in the Omani software industry mainly adopt three management styles: people oriented, task oriented and organization oriented. Furthermore, the management styles of project managers are affected by their experience and age, and the organizational structure.

The paper contributes to the literature by examining management styles adopted by managers in a temporary organization environment from an under-researched context, Oman.

This study aims to highlight the issues encountered by Islamic Banking Institutions (IBIs) while financing the agriculture sector and explore the feasibility of Muzara’ah (crop sharing contract on partnership basis) model based on the concept of revolving credit as an alternative to current models.

To validate the proposed model and gauge the feasibility of Muzara’ah contract, a qualitative research method is applied based on 10 in-depth interviews with qualified industry experts and practitioners. These interviewees are selected following the purposive sampling method, and they belong to Sharīʿah board members of banking institutions, banking industry professionals engaged in agriculture lending, financial regulators (i.e. central bank personnel) and the farming community. Thematic analysis was applied to analyze the data.

The findings of this study document that Muzara’ah can be a useful alternative/solution for the growth of agriculture sector portfolio of financial institutions. Muzara’ah is cost-effective than other Islamic products, including Salam (a kind of sale in which payment is made on the spot while the delivery of the goods is deferred), and carries the features of revolving credit as offered by conventional banks/counterparts.

The main limitation of the study is that only 10 in-depth interviews are conducted.

The application of the Sharīʿah compliant Muzara’ah model based on the concept of revolving credit could help increase agricultural productivity and revenues and reduce poverty and food insecurity. The research will help IBIs to develop products on the concept of Muzara’ah for farmers and other sectors of the agriculture industry.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, Muzara’ah contract is not offered by formal banking institutions in Pakistan. Hence, the findings contribute to the existing literature and facilitate the policymakers and practitioners in implementing this financial product for the growth of the agriculture sector.

This study aims to explore whether religiosity influences consumer purchase behavior among Muslim consumers in Pakistan.

An in-depth, semi-structured interview protocol was developed and administered to a sample of 90 participants, both male and female, across eight metropolitan cities of Pakistan. Professionals, university students and housewives were part of the sample. NVivo Version 11 was used for data analysis to answer the research questions raised in this study. Moreover, the purposive sampling method has been used in this research.

The behavior of consumers was found to vary with the degree of involvement and the degree of religiosity. Study findings are divided into three themes. Firstly, a high level of religiosity makes Muslim consumers follow the Islamic principles of food consumption, by evaluating the product ingredients, spending moderately and verifying a halal logo at the time of purchase. Secondly, a major theme is the view that religiosity has no influence on food consumption; it is more about individuals’ needs and priorities. Finally, the consumers’ overall perception of quality, product value, purity and health consciousness over-powers the concept of religiosity.

Because of its qualitative and exploratory nature, the generalizability of this paper is limited. In addition to that, this research is just focused on one Muslim country.

This study suggests that western food exporters may use religiosity and other factors as probable segmentation variables to effectively position their brands. Religious images and other factors may be highlighted in product packaging and communication campaigns by marketers to gain recognition and usage of western food and consumption among religious, Pakistani Muslim consumers. The output of this research may support prospective entrants into the food business; those interested in exploring the Asian consumer market. Findings from this study may also be helpful for those in the west interested in exploring Pakistan as an emerging consumer market.

The presence of western imported food may improve the quality of life by having more opportunities and healthier options for the nation. Western food products can also bring cultural convergence whereby the underdeveloped nation feels upgraded and modern. Moreover, if the western food products are certified halal, the product has a fair chance of adoption and penetration in the society. Also, the food products coming from the western world induces mindfulness, people are more aware about innovative and useful ingredients that can satisfy their taste buds, improve their health, increase their life expectancy and contented approach toward life.

Thus far, limited research has analyzed religiosity of an overwhelmingly Muslim population and its impact on consumer behavior. This study is a preliminary effort to provide a basic understanding of the behavior of Pakistani Muslims, who have been insufficiently investigated by marketing and consumer researchers. The intriguing results are to remind marketers that there are several factors that govern religiosity and lead to a purchase decision.

The measurement of women's economic welfare and exploring its underlying factors have been undervalued in the context of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. This study addressed this gap by focusing on assessing women's subjective economic welfare and its socioeconomic and cultural determinants in the education and health sectors within Mardan, Northern Pakistan.

The study used stratified random sampling techniques for the selection of sample respondents and collected data through a well-structured questionnaire. To measure women’s economic welfare, the study utilizes Lorenz curves, the Gini index, the Sen Social Welfare function and an individual's gross monthly income. Furthermore, the ordinary least squares method was utilized to analyze the determinants of economic welfare.

The findings show greater income inequality and a lower welfare level for women in the education sector compared to the health sector. Likewise, the study identifies several key determinants, such as age, educational qualification, job experience, respect for working women, outside and work-place problems and the suffering of family members of working women for their economic well-being.

This study makes valuable contributions to the literature by focusing on the cultural perspective of Pakhtun women in Mardan and providing a context-specific understanding of subjective economic welfare. Additionally, the authors collected first-hand data, which gave an original outlook on working women's current economic welfare level. Furthermore, this study undertakes a comparative analysis of working women's welfare in the health and education sectors. This comparison offers a more accurate portrayal of the challenges and opportunities specific to these occupations.

The peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-04-2023-0246

One area of concern for Islamic economics is the challenges and discrimination experienced in Muslim societies and the lower human development indices compared to the Western counterparts. It is possible that the application of the theory of Maqāsid al Sharī’ah (TMS) could provide some insight on the problems and probably offer some support to the policymaker on the direction to take. The purpose of this paper is to apply TMS to validate the factors of human development.

The primary data were collected using a questionnaire. The target respondents were Muslims from Nigeria. Both stratified and purposeful random sampling techniques were used to collect the data, and the analyses were done by SPSS and AMOS statistical software.

In validating factors that contribute to human development, TMS framework is used, and the model integrates five factors which are considered most likely to have influence on human development. The model proposes that individual factors such social justice and human rights have effects on the factors of human development.

This study provides understanding on the contributing factors to the persistent challenges of human development in predominantly Muslim settings. Previous research which has applied TMS focused more on its financial relevance and has not attempted to understand the situation and proffer solution.

Since 2004, Pakistan carried the banking sector under the umbrella of the Islamic financial paradigm, consequently the Islamic Banking Industry (IBI) placed an upright position in the banking and financial market of Pakistan. In this context, this study aims to analyze the effect of Shariah-compliant products of the IBI on the pace of economic growth in Pakistan.

The data set covered 13 Pakistani Islamic banks comprising four full-fledged Islamic banks and 9 conventional banks holdings standalone Islamic Branches, for the period 2004–2019. Considering nature of the empirical model and data set, the estimation was carried out with the Pooled Ordinary least squares estimation technique.

The findings of the study reveal that Shariah-compliant products have a positive effect on the pace of economic growth. This indication is based on the fact that five out of six Shariah-compliant products hold positive signs and are statistically significant. In addition, the empirical evidence shows that at large conventional financial sector signifies its role in the Shariah-compliant products and pace of economic growth nexus. Among the control variables, foreign direct investment, human capital, trade openness, inflation and private credit pose negative, whereas money supply and stock market capitalization have a positive effect on the pace of economic growth in Pakistan. Findings of the study points towards the fact that Shariah-compliant financing has great potential to enhance the economic growth of Pakistan therefore to touch the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Having played a significant role in the growth process, Islamic bankers should portray a positive image of their industry to the government authorities. The government should design a public policy to encourage Islamic modes of finance at a macro level to increase the pace of economic growth and therefore SDGs realization.

Findings of the study present new insight into the application of Shariah-compliant products of IBI toward the realization of SDGs in case of Pakistan.

This study aims to find the determinants of internal and external customer satisfaction of Islamic banks of Pakistan through service quality indicators that are assurance, reliance, empathy, tangibility, responsiveness. Compliance has also been added as a determinant of customer satisfaction. In this study, customers are divided into two groups, internal customers are those who are an employee in the Islamic bank and also an account holder. While external customers are account holders only in Islamic banks of Pakistan.

In this study, a quantitative research approach is used for analyzing the behavior of internal and external customers of Islamic banks in Pakistan. The instrument which is used to analyze the study’s data, is a structured five-point Likert-scale questionnaire. The structural model was analyzed with the help of the partial least squares structural equation modeling approach.

This study concluded that internal customers of Islamic banking are well aware and have full information and their level of satisfaction is positive toward the bank’s services. While external customers feel satisfied while using the Islamic banking services in Pakistan. Service quality indicators are positively and significantly related to customer satisfaction in the external customer model. On the other hand, some of the indicators are not showing a significant impact on the internal customer multi-group analysis shows a difference of coefficients are insignificant between internal and external customers.

This study helps policymakers, to understand the behavior of internal and external customers of Islamic banking in Pakistan for creating favorable policies for an interest-free banking service.

This research study provides an analysis of the customer satisfaction of Islamic banks in Pakistan by dividing Islamic bank customers into two groups (internal and external customers). The purpose for dividing Islamic bank customers into two groups is that this study wants to highlight that external customer’s perception is the same as internal customers or not? Before this study, it is difficult to find single research on this topic, whereas only one study is find-out on the factors that affect internet banking adoption among internal and external customers.

The study aims to analyze how the characteristics of intellectual capital (IC) facilitate green entrepreneurship development in the context of ecology, environment and sustainability. Specifically, the evolution of IC and green entrepreneurship was explored through a systematic review, including the relationships and interactions between human, structural and relational capital and green entrepreneurship.

Meticulously combing the Web of Science Core Collection, the researcher conducted a bibliometric analysis of 800 English-language articles from 2002 to 2023. Employing co-word analysis and visualization, the literature on IC and green entrepreneurship was synthesized and systematized, exploring core topics, knowledge architectures and their evolutionary trajectories.

The IC elements such as human, structural and relational capital interact with green entrepreneurship; IC enhances the innovation and competitiveness of green entrepreneurship, while green entrepreneurship orientation influences the accumulation and reshaping of IC. The flow of IC impacts the establishment of green start-ups and the emergence of green industries, promoting sustainable growth.

The dynamic interplay between IC and green entrepreneurship is marked by intricate relationships and diverse attributes. Currently, no comprehensive theoretical model has been established to address the complexities intrinsic to this study. The evidence suggests that the green entrepreneurial orientation influences corporate initiatives to bolster human and structural capital, with structural capital serving as both a constraint and catalyst for human capital. The paper presents an embryonic framework of IC for green entrepreneurship, highlighting its critical role in the aggregation and reconfiguration of IC or venture creation and industry evolution. This contributes to a more profound understanding of IC in entrepreneurial contexts, providing a basis for future research and practical strategy.