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The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating effect of religiosity on the relationship between awareness and purchase decision of halal foods.

Using a convenience sampling procedure, 200 questionnaires were distributed to various local higher education institutions with a 64% response rate. A moderated regression analysis is used to test the relationship between awareness and purchase decision, with religiosity as the moderating variable.

As expected, the authors find that among the sample, the level of awareness toward halal foods is high, and that the effect of awareness on purchase decision is positive and significant. Importantly, they find that religiosity acts as a moderating variable on the relationship between awareness and purchase decision.

First, the sample was taken from higher institutions only and respondents were selected using convenience sampling. Hence, it may not be fully representative of the Brunei Muslim population. Second, there may also be omitted variables not considered in the study. Third, the survey instrument and conceptualization of religiosity are both issues that may require further investigation in the literature.

The results indicate that awareness is an important antecedent of Muslim students’ intention to purchase halal foods. Marketers should design their campaigns focusing on creating awareness regarding their compliance with halal products. Moreover, food manufacturers and sellers should use the reliable halal certification and logo as a way to inform their consumers that their products are truly halal.

This study adds to the current limited knowledge of halal foods research. In particular, the authors investigate the moderating effect of religiosity on the relationship between awareness and purchase decision of halal foods.

The purpose of this paper is to explore two main aspects of waqf: the characteristics of waqf property and the management of waqf. This paper also discusses the governance of waqf management as a source of funds for Islamic microfinance institutions (MFIs).

This research uses content analysis method to examine various literatures that discuss the concept and management of waqf.

The characteristics of cash waqf such as permanence, irrevocability and perpetuity differentiate waqf from other type of donations. Therefore, cash waqf-based Islamic microfinance needs to be sustainable. Good corporate governance is vital to ensure the sustainability. As the donors of cash waqf do not aim to make financial profit, waqf-based Islamic MFIs will be able to provide low-cost capital to the poor entrepreneurs. Furthermore, to ensure the perpetuity of the waqf, it is suggested that only revenue from the waqf property should be used for microfinance fund.

The cash waqf-based Islamic microfinance will help the micro entrepreneurs to get low-cost capital without collateral. At the same time, public can donate any amount they afford to contribute to cash waqf.

The creation of a cash waqf-based Islamic MFI must observe the issues of agency conflicts and the right of stakeholders to a transparent management. This paper emphasizes the importance of good governance in managing the waqf property as a source of fund for Islamic MFIs.

This paper aims to study the problems faced by microfinance institutions (MFIs) and relates it with Al-Tawhid to see the solutions.

An exploratory method was used to examine various literature that discuss MFIs, the challenge issues growing in tandem with the growth of the microfinance sector and the economic order of MFIs and tries to link it to Al-Tawhid.

The absence of Al-Tawhid concept in the practice of conventional MFIs caused the practices are not acceptable to Muslim micro entrepreneurs. Hence, the use of Al-Tawhid principles of contract suggested practices that are fair and free from elements of riba and gharar. It relates to the economics order by looking into the aims of providing finance up to reaching the consensus process or shuratic. Cash waqf is suggested as a source of fund for Islamic MFI for sustainability.

The findings need to be supported with empirical study to come up with suitable models.

Alternative sustainable source of funds for the Islamic MFI is suggested.

Activating the cash waqf will involve the society in large to contribute to the economic development. The beneficiaries, such as the poor and needy, will be able to find a source of living and be actively involved in generating income activities.

This paper highlights the cause of problems faced by conventional microfinance and relats the Al-Tawhid to overcome those problem conceptually.

Nowadays, organizations have to resist the rising competition more effectively than their competitors and take a step closer to excellence in offering the product to customer demands. To do this, organizations need agile leaders in order to implement agility principles and practices. Especially in the health sector, health managers must be agile because of the specific characteristics of health services. From this view, this chapter aims to develop a theoretical agile leadership model in healthcare organizations. First, the authors define agile leadership and its sub-dimensions based on previous literature. Then, the antecedents and outcomes of agile leadership have been analyzed. “Drivers of agile leadership,” “organizational factors affecting agile leadership” and “individual factors affecting agile leadership” are identified as the antecedents of agile leadership. “Organizational outcomes” and “individual outcomes” are determined as the outcomes of agile leadership in the health sector.

Today humanity is facing a time period, in which the speed and rate of change in different fields are faced. The rapid and effective change in the technological, economic, military, social and cultural fields all over the world in recent years has had important results in many topics such as informatics, interactive communication, production, data production and sharing and forms of consumption and perception. Changes and developments at very high speeds and rates affect the personal life, social life and work life in a deep manner, especially after the 1980s, paving the way for many concepts such as globalization, Industry 4.0, digitalization, new economy, new world order and digital transformation age to be the leading variables in every field of social sciences.

Production, consumption and communication forms at the global level are becoming more and more in depth and predicting the future is becoming more and more difficult and valuable. Understanding, analyzing and predicting the future for national and international companies and organizations directly and indirectly affect all economic, military and political variables. At this point, competition stands out as one of the most critical concepts for survival and growth for profit-oriented companies.

Based on this, the topics and contents selected in this study were created to cover the field of management and strategy. Indeed, in this study, the concept of organizational agility is explored theoretically from a historical perspective on the concept of Industry 4.0 and especially emphasized the dimensions and components of agility used in today’s world.

Within the scope of this study, the aim is to define and present the general framework of the Industry 4.0 and agile firms, which aim to combine the conceptual and theoretical infrastructure with the implementation of the agile firms within the field. In this respect, the study defines the situation coming from the past together with the world of today in the relationship of the technological and economical dimensions of globalization with the digitalization and latest theoretical view for the agile firm’s structure and management. On the other hand; in this study, the possible effects of the recent COVID-19 pandemic crisis on the management of organizations are interpreted in the context of Industry 4.0 and agile companies. This aim will provide a foresight for the future periods, with the conclusions added with the theory of senism, which present the dominant value of the study.

The present business environment of accelerated complexity, ambiguity, uncertainty and volatility seems not to be settling down soon. Today’s business world is consistently bombarded with turmoil and unprecedented change. This makes it very difficult for organisations to accurately predict possible future opportunities and threats. To overcome this scenario, organisations need to fully embrace and implement agility in their operations. However, for organisations to develop a considerable level of agility that corresponds to the current hypercompetitive and volatile environment, premium needs to be placed on agile leadership. Agile leaders are capable of setting the guiding principles, develop strategies and build mechanisms that will lead to smooth transition to organisational agility (OA). These leaders give directions on how to make organisations agile and ensure that there is a leadership culture that models and promotes a holistic agility in the organisation. The primary purpose of this chapter is to establish the position of agile leadership in determining OA. The study departs from previous studies by using empirical reviews to depict the significance of agile leadership and its key roles on OA. Specifically, the concept, evolution and characteristics of OA are explored, as well as its benefits and multidimensional nature are discussed. Furthermore, the chapter sheds light on agile leadership, levels of leadership agility and competencies of successful agile leaders. The chapter concludes that the leadership style suitable for OA is agile leadership. This calls for business investments in agile capacity building and development of frameworks suitable for agile leadership.

Malaysia has shifted from a labor-intensive, agriculture-based economy since its independence in 1957 to a knowledge and innovation-based economy. Human capital development (HCD) is a key enabler for driving and sustaining Malaysia's socioeconomic growth. The education and training system is the main platform for HCD intervention. To sustain and achieve goals, long-term survival, competitive advantage, and sustainability, the workforce is optimized through comprehensive HCD interventions to provide the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to work effectively in a rapidly changing and complex environment. Numerous efforts have been made by the government to ensure that the education and training system has the capacity to enhance the quality and availability of intellectual and skilled human capital to support the transition toward knowledge-intensive activities, sustain economic growth, and compete in the global market. The country's development plans and policies as well as the economic development which lead toward a knowledge-based economy with a knowledge-based workforce have charted out clear transformation journeys for the development of the human capital ecosystem. This chapter presents an overview of the landscape of HCD in Malaysia. Relevant reports, plans, policies, and strategies to strengthen human capital through education and training is reviewed. Finally, a few issues and challenges that Malaysia experiences are discussed.

This paper examines the financial challenges of single mothers in Brunei, illustrating how single parenting affects their lifestyle choices and the coping mechanisms these mothers employ to grapple with their financial hardships.

This study adopts a qualitative approach, utilizing semi-structured interviews with five single mothers living in the Brunei-Muara district. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results revealed participants described operating with a single income, covering bills alone, the high cost of living in Brunei and the absence of alimony contributed to their financial challenges. Financial stress caused them to change their spending habits, switch to cheaper alternatives, make sacrifices and struggle to meet the needs of their children. Coping mechanisms adopted by single mothers utilized social support, generating side income, and the unique roles of children played a significant role in cushioning the impact of their financial difficulties.

Single mothers are on the rise in Brunei. There is an acute lack of studies emphasizing the financial hardships experienced by single mothers in Brunei. This study attempts to narrow the missing gap and seek avenues of justice for single mothers in a progressive, equitable society.

The purpose of this study is to empirically assess the relationship between the dimensions of creditworthiness and access to finance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia, with creditworthiness as the mediating variable. The lack of empirical research on the relationship between creditworthiness and access to finance forms the motivation of this study.

Questionnaires covering various characteristics of the firms, their access to finance and creditworthiness were distributed to a total of 456 SMEs in the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor region for this purpose. A total of 158 responses were returned, of which 145 were usable responses and the relationships are tested using SEM-PLS.

This study finds that an SME and its owner’s character have significant influences on access to finance. An SME’s condition and its ability to provide high quality collateral are found to be highly significant in influencing its access to finance. Capacity is significant but its significance is low, while capital is insignificant. Creditworthiness has a significant positive influence on access to finance.

This study contributes to the important yet under-researched issue of access to finance for SMEs. It highlights the issue of character of applicant as an important dimension of creditworthiness that can significantly influence access to finance for SMEs.