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Sharjah is the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) third largest city and third highest waste producer (9.9% of ˜26 million in 2012). A total of about ˜$1bn has been invested into programs pursuing zero-landfill waste by 100% recycling. Besides infrastructure, assessing knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) are needed for effective waste management. The purpose of this study is to examine recycling KAP in Sharjah.

A cross-sectional study, using pilot-tested questionnaires, was conducted among public venues during March and April 2016. A total of 400 residents (18–55 years) were selected via convenience sampling. SPSS-22 was used for analysis.

Mean age [28 years (±9.4)] with 56.5% females. Knowledge level [51.8% (±18.1)]; students reported the highest (53.7%, p = 0.007, 95% CI [51.4–56.1]). 22.9% knew recycling benefits, 31.2% knew how to correctly prepare items. Attitude level 92.6% (±16.5); 51.1% and 46.8% would recycle more with a financial reward or penalty, respectively. 70.4% reported practicing recycling; 16.0% always recycle. Logistic regression model indicated knowledge (OR = 1.013, 95% CI [1.001–1.025]) and attitude (OR = 1.014, 95% CI [1.001–1.028]) as the only significant predictors of recycling practice.

This is the first study measuring recycling KAP in the UAE. Results could be starting points for improved local waste management and subsequently reduced public health concerns.

The paper aims to provide empirical evidence of the impact of IFRS adoption on the value relevance of accounting information in the emerging market of Saudi Arabia.

The sample consists of 98 non-financial listed firms operating in Saudi Arabia from 2014 to 2019, representing the years before and after IFRS adoption. The authors apply basic and extended price models to examine the value relevance of select accounting figures.

The authors findings provide evidence that accounting information is, generally, value relevant to the Saudi Arabian capital market. However, mixed results exist for particular accounting variables. Both earnings and cash flows are value-relevant in the period before and after IFRS adoption; equity is only relevant in the post-adoption period. Furthermore, IFRS adoption also increases the explanatory power of earnings. An increase in the value relevance of earnings and equity hurts the value relevance of cash flows. The effects are moderated by leverage and dividend policy.

The authors contribute to the ongoing discussion of the economic effects of IFRS adoption in emerging markets. The empirical findings show that initial concerns about IFRS adoption, as reflected by the negative coefficient within the regression analysis, are mitigated once the usefulness of the individual accounting variables published in financial statements is investigated.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the characteristics and dynamics of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the ICT sector in Qatar.

The methodology of this research is based on a literature review and information collected through semistructured interviews with the different stakeholders involved in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the ICT sector in Qatar.

The results show that two opposite forces shape the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the ICT sector in Qatar. On one hand, the strong determination and intervention of the Qatari government to diversify the economy by creating a vibrant ecosystem in the ICT sector. On the other hand, entrepreneurs in this sector are still facing some barriers and difficulties, and those issues are tightly related to Qatar's economic characteristics as a rentier state whose economy is driven by hydrocarbon resources.

These findings contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the current dynamics of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in the ICT sector in Qatar, which would have several policy implications.

This paper aims to empirically assess the performance of Islamic banks (IBs) and conventional banks (CBs) in Qatar before and after the imposition of the economic blockade on Qatar and the significance of the blockade’s subsequent impact.

This study focuses only on the domestic commercial banks comprising four IBs and five CBs operating in Qatar. The banks’ financial reports are used as a secondary source to generate data. A study period from 2015 to 2019, separated into pre-blockade and post-blockade periods and comprising data on a semi-annual basis, was examined. Financial ratios and t-tests are used to compare bank performance and test the significance level of the blockade, respectively.

Generally, the findings show that IBs slightly outperformed CBs. Solvency ratios show strong capitalization (measured by capital adequacy ratio, CAR) and external fund (measured by equity multiplier ratio, EMR) reliance of the banks, despite minor fluctuations. Yet, only the CAR of CBs has been significantly affected by the blockade. Profitability (measured by return on assets, ROA and return on equity, ROE) of both bank groups grew unsteadily over the period, but IBs remained more efficient (measured by operating efficiency, OEOI) than CBs. Liquidity ratios indicate almost similar depositor fund utilization (measured by loans to deposit ratio, LDR) and credit offering (measured by loans to assets ratio, LAR) by the banks. All three metrics were weakly impacted. In terms of asset quality, bad loans (measured by non-performing loans ratio, NPL) and provisions (measured by loan loss provisions, LLP) surged moderately post-blockade. The blockade affected both groups’ asset quality.

To the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to comparatively examine the performance of Qatari IBs and CBs during the latest economic embargo and their exposure to the crisis.

The purpose of the paper is to examine current companies’ compliance with value-added tax (VAT) and the evolving role of the compliance officer in the listed companies at Muscat Stock Exchange (MSX), Oman.

The study has collected various compliance measures set by Capital Market Authority (CMA) from 2011 to 2019. On top of the websites of CMA, MSX, Oman Tax Authority and other related websites, the paper has considered real data of specific compliance or disclosure measures set by CMA on all companies listed under MSX. The focused period from 2011 to 2019 is where CMA has provided disclosure data as part of mandatory disclosure requirements.

This paper identified that there is a lack of timely compliance by companies under the existing law, and these companies may face pressures for compliance with VAT enforcement in Oman. Therefore, to comply with the disclosure requirements of listed companies, there is a growing need to appoint a full-time compliance officer and do a compliance audit.

The results of the study indicate the value of full-time compliance officers and compliance audits. The findings are able to aid in the appraisal of VAT accounting, compliance audit research, and in the selection of proper assessment methods and criteria.

This paper reviews the literature and provides new empirical analysis that are possibly beneficial for both scholars and accounting practitioners.

The purpose of this study is to understand and analyze the key topics on which scholars have engaged in relation to crowdfunding and its starring role in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from an Islamic perspective. A Structured Literature Review (SLR) is used in this study to assess how scholars carried out their studies in order to better understand future research directions.

The study adopted a SLR methodology and considered 89 peer-reviewed studies published between 1981 and 2021 in GCC countries.

The study identified the starring role of crowdfunding from the Islamic perspective, its role in economic development and its role as a source of finance for new business startups in GCC countries.

Because the research was conducted by a single person, his subjective interpretation might have an impact on the results. Furthermore, only journal papers limited to GCC and published between 1981 and 2021 were examined.

Countries in GCC might recognize the starring role of crowdfunding for their SMEs and economic development.

The authors draw avenues for future research by considering the starring role of crowdfunding using SLR from the Islamic perspective. This helps future researchers to identify the starring role of crowdfunding to contextualize in GCC countries.