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In the context of digitalizing the supply chain of different sectors, the blockchain technology (BT) is emerged and becomes one of the most interesting and debated research topics. A few years ago, this technology was implemented for the first time in the financial sector, which is currently extended to be used in many other areas, mainly the health-care sector. The success of this technology stems from its ability to enhance the performance, security, consistency of sharing medical data within the whole system and the analysis of medical records. Technically, the BT is defined as a decentralized digital ledger that records transactions between the stakeholders in a supply chain. Thus, they could gain better control and find severe mistakes and the unsafe ones in the medical field. The purpose of this paper is to address a preliminary study of the BT adoption in a real pharmaceutical supply chain (PSC) of the Tunisian case.

Indeed, the authors propose an interpretive structural modeling (ISM) combined with the cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) analysis. This methodology is known as an effective one used to identify the criteria that influence the implementation of the BT, analyze the relationships between them and delighting the most impactful ones.

The readiness criteria for the adoption of the BT for the considered system are identified which are 10 ones and the structural relationship between them is uncovered through many interviews with experts. Hence, the found results define the most crucial criteria that should be valorized amongst the other criteria.

The originality of this study stems from its theoretical and practical relevance regarding the potential of the pharmaceutical system and the importance of the integration of new technologies as the BT. The ISM-MICMAC approach seems to be very performant for such preliminary study of the BT adoption in the Tunisian pharmaceutical system.

This paper aims to provide an acceptable level of security while taking into account limited capabilities of the sensors. This paper proposes a mobile approach to securing data exchanged by structured nodes in a cluster.

The approach is based on mobile nodes with significant calculation and energy resources that allow cryptographic key management and periodic rekeying. However, mobility in wireless sensor networks aims to increase the security and lifetime of the entire network. The technical methods used in this paper are based on cryptography elliptic curves and key management through a balanced binary tree.

To maintain the effectiveness of critical applications based on wireless sensor networks, a good level of nodes security must be ensured, taking into account their limited energy and computing. Collaboration between powerful mobile nodes provides better coverage and a good key management. Owing to the significant capabilities of the mobile nodes, they can be used to secure critical applications at the same time if needed in applications requiring difficult operations.

To compare the performance of the proposed approach with other mobile algorithms, the following metrics are focused on: the energy consumed by normal sensors and cluster heads, the number of packets exchanged during key installation, time to generate and distribute cryptographic keys and the memory used by the different sensors to store keys.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Islamic banks (IBs) and conventional banks (CBs) in Malaysia choose their capital structure and what are the most significant factors that affect their decisions regarding their capital structure.

This study applies the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach for a sample of 54 Banks listed on Malaysian stock market over the period 2010–2018.

The study findings show that the capital structure of IBs appears to be driven by similar factors to those previously found in the corporate finance literature. They also provide evidence of the existence of a long-run and short-run relationship between leverage and its main determinants for Islamic and CBs. However, the results show that various independent variables on the capital structure do exhibit different effects (in magnitude of the coefficient) among Islamic and CBs. Moreover, we find that IBs slowly adjust their capital structure toward the desired leverage ratio than CBs.

This research contributes to the theory in re-validating capital structure theories on IBs. It helps understand the capital structure of IBs in comparison with CBs. If in conventional finance, the standard presiding decisions of an economic agent is optimizing the risk-return ratio, this standard is not the only or the primary decision criterion in the Islamic finance context where spiritual and theological considerations are taken into consideration.

This research can contribute to managers in understanding the choice of capital structure for IBs within the bound of Sharia requirement. Such an understanding provides managers with applied knowledge of determining their appropriate capital structure to compete locally and globally in which IBs operate.

This paper offers some insights on the determinants of capital structure by investigating Islamic and CBs. It explores the implication of relevant Islamic principles on capital structure. Moreover, it analyses the determinants of capital structure using ARDL method that permits to identify the short-run and long-run relationships between capital structure and its main determinants.

This paper aims to explore how Sharia principles could impact capital structure determinants and speed of adjustment of Islamic banks (IBs) compared to conventional banks (CBs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC).

This study applies the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach for a sample of 69 banks listed on GCC stock markets over the period 2009–2018.

Regression results indicate that tangibility and bank size are positively related to book leverage of both IBs and CBs, whereas profitability, liquidity and risk are negatively related. For growth opportunities, the results show opposing effect on book leverage of IBs and CBs, regarding macroeconomic variables, the authors find that gross domestic product and financial development are negatively related to book leverage of both IBs and CBs, whereas oil price change is positively related. Moreover, the authors find that IBs slowly adjust their capital structure toward the desired leverage ratio than CBs. In sum, the capital structure of IBs appears to be driven by similar factors to those previously found in the corporate finance literature.

This research contributes to the theory in re-validating capital structure theories on IBs. It helps understand the capital structure of IBs in comparison with CBs. It highlights some areas where further research on topics related to capital structure of IBs is needed.

The paper can contribute to policymakers and governance function in understanding the choice of capital structure for IBs within the bound of Sharia requirement in different economic climate through its relation with the macroeconomic variables. Practically, the directors and managers can predict the best capital structure to be achieved by IBs in ensuring their performance is at par, in their quest of additional capital.

This paper offers some insights on the determinants of capital structure by investigating IBs and CBs. It explores the implication of relevant Islamic principles on capital structure. Moreover, it analyses the determinants of capital structure using ARDL method that permits to identify the short-run and long-run relationships between capital structure and its main determinants.

Drawing on new insights from the perspectives and experiences of board members, the purpose of this study is to determine the board attributes that influence board roles in improving the integration of corporate social responsibility (CSR) into corporate governance structures. In total, 10 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with directors of listed Jordanian companies to explore their perceptions of the effect of board of directors' composition on CSR and CSR disclosure (CSRD). The key findings show that boards with a diverse range of directors is essential independent/nonexecutive members, directors with business and/or accounting backgrounds, and foreign members to determine if they aim to better manage their CSR. To take CSR to the next level in the Arab region, we need to strengthen corporate governance mechanisms, and put more pressures on companies to make changes in board composition. For example, we suggest that companies that appoint business-educated and foreign members to their boards tend to engage in more impactful social and environmental-related activities and reflect their sustainable development more effectively. The study responds to calls for further research adopting qualitative methods, such as case studies and interviews in order to obtain a complete and in-depth understanding of the influence of board composition on CSR/CSRD. The findings provide useful insights for practice, policymakers, and future research.

This paper aims to explore individuals’ economic empowerment and political empowerment association and the moderation role of entrepreneurship development programs on this relationship in the context of post-revolution Tunisia, which is a newer developing democracy.

The study uses a quantitative approach based on econometric modeling. A questionnaire was designed and administrated to a stratified random sample of 343 participants in the Entrepreneurship for the Participation and Inclusion of Vulnerable Youth in Tunisia program, funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund and implemented in rural northwestern Tunisia between 2017 and 2021. A coarsened exact matching method is also applied for robustness analysis.

The analysis shows that when individuals have enhanced economic decision-making agency and are involved in economic networks, they are more likely to demonstrate higher political empowerment. It also shows that expanding rural individuals’ economic opportunities by providing entrepreneurial resources, such as entrepreneurial training and microcredit, strengthens individuals’ economic empowerment and political empowerment association.

The study provides practical implications for policymakers in newer developing democracies. Citizens’ political empowerment and inclusion in rural areas could be promoted by developing entrepreneurship development programs, which could help reinforce the citizens-state relationship and establish more stable social contracts. The research also provides practical implications for the international development community, donor agencies and program designers through duplicating similar programs in other countries with weak central government structures (i.e. post-conflict environments, post-revolution).

The research attempts to contribute to the ongoing debates linking entrepreneurship, economic empowerment and political/citizen empowerment. It focuses on a Middle East and North Africa country, Tunisia, characterized by socioeconomic issues and low civic participation.

In this chapter, we examine the multifaceted challenges that feminist labor organizations face in decommodifying the lives and labor of poor and working-class women. Using an in-depth case study of domestic worker organizing in South Korea, we find that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as the National House Managers Cooperative and the Korean Women Workers Association became entangled in hegemonic state projects that linked support for women’s basic livelihoods to the proliferation of part-time, informal domestic work in the context of widespread crises. To challenge the discriminatory and market-driven logics of state-driven social protection efforts, these NGOs have advanced an emancipatory agenda to improve the working conditions, labor rights, and social dignity of domestic workers through consciousness-raising grassroots organizing methods and contentious policy advocacy campaigns. Their social movement transformation goals, however, have been constrained by the relative organizational isolation and limited organizational capacity of feminist labor NGOs in a broader context of neoliberal precaritization and gender-stratified labor markets. The myriad dilemmas facing domestic worker organizing in an era of global hegemonic market rule highlight the need to develop new political imaginaries to contest gender and economic injustice.

This paper aims to investigate the influence of company-specific attributes on capital structure decisions of Islamic banks (IBs) in Gulf Cooperation council (GCC) countries during the period 2009-2011.

To improve the econometric estimates’ efficiency, the paper uses the generalized least square (GLS) regression model to increase the levels of freedom and reduce collinearity.

The empirical results indicate that bank size, liquidity and corporate age are positively associated with the leverage ratio of GCC IBs, supporting the trade-off theory. Inconsistent with theoretical predictions, it is found that the profitability, tangibility and growth have positive insignificant relationship with the level of leverage, suggesting these determinants are not important in capital structure decisions. Furthermore, gross domestic product (GDP) and non-debt tax shield have negative effects on the leverage ratio and significant for GDP.

Overall, the evidence provided in the study highlights the significance of company-specific characteristics in determining and affecting the capital structure decisions of IBs in GCC countries. It is useful to use these variables in the analysis of IBs’ capital structure in the GCC region before the financial crisis in 2007. One limitation for this study is that the sample is restricted to only the Islamic banking sector. Future research could include all Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) operating within the Gulf region. Second, the study only concentrates on GCC countries to the neglect of other countries. Finally, the study controls for the country level only and does not account for firm factors. Future research could consider all these limitations. Another possible avenue is by examining other variables, such as corporate governance mechanisms.

Despite that most previous studies investigated the determinants of the capital structure of financial conventional industries, research on Islamic banking is almost non-existent. Moreover, the extant literature on Islamic finance has been theoretically explored, and the empirical research regarding capital structure is still in the infancy stage. Accordingly, it is evident that based on the Islamic trade-off perspective, theoretical hypotheses and empirical findings provide a novel addition to the capital structure theory for IFIs.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that it is important to focus on the apprentices' collaborative learning processes when addressing issues of learning transfer.

The claims about the importance of addressing processes of collaborative activities and learning in relation to learning transfer are based on the study following the completion of questionnaires by 243 apprentices and interviews in which 19 baker apprentices participated.

The research results prove that it is important to pay attention to collaborative activities among learners in order to ensure learning transfer.

One limitation of the study is that it does not elaborate on reasons that some apprentices are motivated to integrate what they were taught at vocational college in a workplace setting while others are not motivated to do so.

Educators will become more aware of individual and collective initiatives to cross the boundaries between vocational school and workplace practice.

The study adds to the discussion of learning transfer through an investigation of learning transfer from a collaborative perspective. Most transfer studies have focused on the nature of knowledge or the structural barriers between college and workplace practice, while this study emphasizes the collaborative nature of learning transfer.

Introduction: The global financial crisis has affected the financial markets and has had social consequences in addition to economic ones. The concept of ‘sustainability’ concerns firms reaching their main corporate goals. So, to maximise corporate financial performance (FINP), firms pay attention to non-financial data, such as elements of governance, social, and environmental concerns (henceforth referred to as ESG). Therefore, non-financial information provided by EGS factors measured by the ESG score has a crucial role in incorporating strategy and firm performance.

Purpose: This chapter looks at how ESG scores affect the performance of firms. The term ‘ESG’ describes how corporate operations include ESG principles. The ESG score is a novel way to gauge a company’s sustainability.

Methodology: ESG practices are a current phenomenon that has taken the attention of researchers in the last decades. Besides the amount of research conducted, researchers still need consensus regarding its impact. This chapter implements a systematic literature review to compile the research on ESG performance (ESGP) and how it affects business performance.

Findings: Businesses can incorporate sustainability practices into their operations with the help of ESG reports. ESG reports and scores provide non-financial information, which is crucial for businesses to achieve sustainability in their activities and attract more investors. The chapter contributes to the literature by creating value through a comprehensive and theoretical literature review.