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The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of the corporate social responsibility (CSR) on the corporate image in the banking sector. The focus of the study is on four main components of CSR, which are economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic.

A model was used in this study to show the impact of different CSR’s factors on corporate image; (240) banks customers were approached using a questionnaire, where (155) responses were received and (144) valid responses entered for analysis.

The findings revealed that customers perceive CSR activities as a main element when dealing with banks. The corporate image is strengthened when banks adopt such activities, and positive and significant relationships were statistically found between CSR activities and corporate image. These activities differ in importance as perceived by banks’ customers.

Enlarging sample size, involving more stakeholders such as employees and managers, and replicating the study in other countries would enrich the findings.

Banks are advised to consider the study factors in their activities and act as champions of CSR for the welfare of the society to strengthen their corporate image.

Many studies have discussed the issue of CSR, but very few are found in the Middle East, particularly in Bahrain, and in the banking sector. This paper calls for more investigation in this area for a better understanding of CSR activities and their effects on the corporate image.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the adoption of cloud computing as a digital technology by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and assess its impact on sustainability of such enterprises.

A model was developed that featured factors influencing SMEs sustainability. Primary quantitative data was gathered using a survey as an instrument. Total set of n = 387 responses were gathered using a convenience sampling method.

Findings reveal that cost reduction, ease of use, reliability and sharing and collaboration factors have significant statistical impacts on SMEs sustainability, whereas privacy and security factor has no significant statistical on SMEs sustainability.

The study poses significant implications on managers and SME development authority to create an inductive environment for technological support for SMEs’ sustainability.

The study enhances SMEs’ performance and sustainability by upgrading their existing information and communications technology as a digital infrastructure and benefiting from novel IT-based cloud revolution. Several studies have provided an understanding of the use of cloud computing services in SMEs but lack enough information about the challenges and impact on SMEs sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature by assessing factors that typically engender adverse drug reactions (ADRs) jeopardizing medical safety. These factors are population knowledge, clarity in disclosure of the risks inhering ADRs and ADRs incidence. It seeks to minimize negative effect by early identification of drug reactions.

On the one hand, the study employs a model that shows relationships between various factors, and on the other hand, ADRs medical safety in the public healthcare sector.

Clarity of consultancy services in public healthcare significantly impact ADR medical safety. Population and healthcare provider education on ADRs medical safety are necessities. Implementation of an ADR reporting system in every healthcare institute is essential. This helps service providers to give a clear and accurate information to patients. It also makes patients more aware of consequences of ADRs.

Time, place and sampling method are found to be the main study limitations. Researchers should take into their consideration the significant relationships between the factors and ADRs medical safety to improve level of awareness in the healthcare public sector.

Ways to improve ADR medical safety in healthcare sector are underscored. Healthcare service providers and professionals need to take into account the stipulated study factors in order to improve medical safety and reduce unnecessary medical costs.

Very few studies have been conducted on this topic; most of those that have been conducted were undertaken in western countries. This study assesses the level of healthcare safety in the country and suggests mechanisms to elevate that level.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the Islamic banking literature by examining the impact of different factors of customer service quality on customer satisfaction.

The paper presents a model which is not frequently used in Islamic banking literature and shows relationships between six factors of customer service quality and customer satisfaction in the Islamic banking sector. Customers of five main Islamic banks are contributing in this study.

This paper demonstrates strong and positive relationships between the six main dimensions of customer service quality (Compliance, Assurance, Reliability, Tangibility, Empathy and Responsiveness) and customer satisfaction.

The study may suffer from lack of generalization, as it is conducted in one country (Bahrain). It might also be useful to enlarge the study sample and include comparison between Islamic versus conventional banking with regard to service quality and customer satisfaction.

This paper can influence the current Islamic banks with regard to service quality with an ultimate aim of increasing customer satisfaction and retaining customers.

This study is one of the few that focus on effects of customer service quality dimensions on customer satisfaction in the Islamic banking sector. It reveals that, although customers pay special attention to Sharia’h laws (compliance) in their transactions with banks, the way services are delivered matters to them too.

This study aims to introduce a five senses concept (sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell) that enhances corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. It sheds light on the effective CSR senses, which are required by firms for better performance and sustainable development.

The main approach for collecting information for discussion is the literature review focusing on topics such as CSR strategy, CSR activities, sustainability and sensemaking.

While searching the literature, little was found on sensemaking and very little was found on CSR five senses, a gap which needs to be looked at. A gap was also found between what firms do and what are expected from them to deliver to society in terms of CSR activities which puts sustainability at risk.

Firms are expected to improve performance when these five CSR senses are incorporated in their strategy and activities. This approach makes firms work effectively to meet different stakeholders’ needs and wants internally and externally; hence, a better satisfaction level can be achieved and sustainable development is likely to be better secured.

The idea of CSR senses has been neither thoroughly discussed nor sufficiently developed as a five CSR senses concept in the previous studies. This study contributes to the CSR knowledge and practice in many venues by offering a conceptual model that suggests important senses of effective CSR strategy, hence, bridging the CSR gap that might exist in strategy and practice. Therefore, researchers and practitioners are expected to benefit from this study that can result in better CSR control and sustainable development.

Mainly in terms of human-machine interactions, this paper discusses salient issues related to work-based learning in reference to technologies in the Industry 5.0 era.

Several ideas are discussed based on recent thinking in the topic, putting forward visions that are likely to happen with Industry 5.0 revolution with prime focus on human-machine interactions.

The review elucidated a plethora of benefits in terms of human-machine interactions inasmuch as technology complements rather than replaces human efforts that includes enhancement of: efficiency and production, job security and skill-upgrading. To engender these benefits, however, legal, psychological, and ethical issues need to be transcended on the managerial level.

Positive externalities, associated with efficiency and production, are now possible with human-machine interactions without cost in terms of jobs being lost provided that skills are upgraded commensurate with the challenges posed by the new technological era.

People can benefit from life improvements and elevated standards of living stemming from robotics though optimization of the use of technology.

This paper presents original ideas on how Industry 5.0 technologies can be harnessed to buoy sustainable development by striking an optimal balance between human and technological capital.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of board independence on firm’s performance from the Stewardship theory perspective.

The study uses panel data of 162 firms listed in Bahrain Bourse and Saudi Stock Exchange during the period of 2013-2015. It also uses several econometric techniques to confirm the robustness of the results, such as firm fixed-effect approach and two-stage least squares (2SLS) in order to overcome the endogeneity which exists in such relations.

The study found an inverse effect of board independence on firm performance which was measured using two accounting-based measures: return of assets and return on equity. Based on these results, it was found that internal directors are more effective in enhancing performance of the firm than independent directors as information asymmetry problem and lack of firm-specific experience hinders the ability of independent directors of taking proper decisions that enhance firm's performance.

The study contributes to the ongoing debate about the relation between board independence and firm's performance in emerging markets, focusing on Saudi and Bahraini markets which have recently sought to form a system of laws that aims at protecting investors. The study indicates the importance of such laws rather than traditional governance measurements in enhancing performance.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure and firms' operational, financial and market performance (measured in the form of return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE) and Tobin's Q (TQ), respectively) in the Mediterranean countries from a stakeholder perspective.

Research is quantitative in nature, based on a cross-sectional and time-series analysis of 203 firms listed in six Mediterranean countries for 10 years from 2008 to 2017, with 1,689 observations. The theoretical model is built on a stakeholder theory. The practical model is built on the independent variable (CSR) and the dependent variables ROA, ROE and TQ.

The findings deduced from the empirical results indicated that CSR disclosure negatively affects operational and market performance but does not affect financial performance.

Studying the relationship between CSR disclosure and firms' operational, financial and market performance, with the consideration of variations, can bring many benefits internally by being more conscious of important activities that should be undertaken and externally by detecting what regulators and other stakeholders want for better sustainable development.

This research adds value to the existing limited literature of CSR disclosure on firm's performance in the Mediterranean countries, and it gives tips of advice for firms to manage CSR disclosure wisely.

It is important to implement artificial intelligence (AI) because it can simplify and solve complex problems faster than humans. Because AI learns about people and their behavior from the first purchase, AI marketing can boost marketing efforts by leveraging data to target extremely precise consumer groups. There is a debate about the efficacy of AI marketing due to the constraints and limits imposed by the system's nature. This chapter presents insights from published studies regarding the relationship of AI with marketing and how AI can affect marketing. A real-world example of Netflix's usage of AI in marketing has been demonstrated. Then, consumer attitudes regarding AI were revealed. Then, several ethical considerations concerning AI were highlighted. Finally, the anticipated future of AI marketing was addressed. This chapter demonstrated the significance of firms implementing AI marketing to get a competitive advantage. Although some of the difficulties mentioned in this study need to be resolved, AI marketing has a bright future. There are ethical concerns about bias and privacy that should be addressed further. This chapter will encourage firms to use AI systems in marketing, and it will open the door to concerns that will need to be investigated academically in the future.

Integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into various industries, including the financial sector, has transformed them. This paper aims to examine the influence of integrating AI, including machine learning, process automation, predictive analytics and chatbots, on financial institutions and explores its various aspects and areas. The study aims to determine the impact of AI integration on financial services, products and customer experience.

The research study uses quantitative and qualitative methods, as well as secondary data analysis. It investigates four AI subfields: machine learning, process automation, predictive analytics and chatbots.

The research findings indicate that integrating AI, particularly in machine learning and chatbot subfields, holds promise and high strategic potential for financial institutions. These subfields can contribute significantly to enhancing financial services and customer experience. However, the significance of predictive analytics integration and process automation is relatively lower. Although these subfields retain their usefulness, they might necessitate alternative workflows and tools that incorporate human involvement. Overall, AI integration minimizes human interactions and errors in financial institutions.

The research study contributes original insights by exploring the specific subfields of AI within the financial industry and assessing their strategic significance. It provides recommendations for financial institutions to adopt AI integration partially in multiple phases, measure and evaluate the impact of the transformation and structure internal units and expertise to strategize adoption and change.