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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the information-seeking behaviour of international students in terms of their information needs and to highlight the role of social media.

In this paper, a systematic literature survey was conducted in order to investigate information-seeking trends among international students while using social media. As a result, an exhaustive systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out in order to investigate social media as a source for the observation of the behaviours of international students. For this purpose, 71 articles were selected from various well-known sources after an intensive SLR process of searching, filtering and enforcing the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

As an outcome of this study, the information-seeking behaviour of international students was highlighted with respect to social media as a source of information. In addition, this research identifies the information needs of the international students and categorizes them by the roles played by the social media in fulfilling the information needs.

A comparative study that highlighted the dearth of studies which merge the social media and information-seeking behaviour of international students as well as identify the future direction for the researchers and for benefits of international students.

A detail SLR which highlights the need of shifting the information seeking behaviour from libraries to social media in regard to the new environment for international students.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the quality and efficacy of data collected from Muslim respondents, particularly women, through an examination of Islamic teachings and illustrated using a “conservative” paradigm of practice. The paper is designed to be helpful to researchers in designing both their projects and their data collection methods.

The paper is conceptual, in that it provides an overview of some important, often overlooked or misunderstood areas on which studies have been based and gives frameworks and also ethical pointers to researchers.

Framed to explain approaches to “conservative” Muslim women in societies across the globe, what is presented herein allows insight into all varieties of Muslim practice. This is achieved by explaining the possible objections to different methodologies and techniques of research for Muslim women at the “conservative” end of the practicing spectrum – this allowing a highlighting of ideas and ideals applicable across the spectrum.

Useful for academic researchers and also commercial researchers, potentially saving both time and money by pointing out possible errors in research design while also ensuring good ethical practice. The paper is offered to assist researchers in eliciting full and frank responses from Muslim respondents based on informed and thoughtful research design and data collection and providing possibly contextualisation(s) of what is said to enhance data analysis and interpretation.

Believed to be the first paper of its kind in English, this conceptual paper provides insight for researchers aiming to get the most useful and ethically sound outcomes for those interviewed, as well as those interviewing.

The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the determinants of purchase intention of Halal vaccination and compare the results between Muslim consumers in Malaysia and Pakistan. It focuses on analyzing the influence of various factors on the purchase intention of Halal vaccination and determining whether the relationships are significantly different in the two Muslim-majority countries.

The study is based on the extended theory of planned behavior and self-congruity theory. The variable of religiosity was added with the three variables of the theory of planned behavior, i.e. attitude toward Halal vaccinations, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control. It shows the congruity between Muslim consumer and Islamic brands and proposes a wider range of determinants in the framework. The study’s sample size was 378, and the respondents were Muslim consumers in Malaysia and Pakistan. Purposive sampling technique was used to extract the sample from three cities in each country. Partial least square (PLS) was used to statistically analyze the data using PLS–structural equation modeling approach. The measurement model was analyzed, and invariance of the measurement model was established. Afterward, the hypotheses were tested, and multi-group analysis was performed through Henseler’s multi-group analysis (MGA) and Permutation test.

The results indicate a lack of significant relationships between the independent variables and the purchase intention of Halal vaccination except in the case of subjective norms. This construct has a significant but inverse relationship in the case of Pakistan’s Muslim consumers, which can be attributed to the presence of consumer skepticism regarding the issue of Halal vaccination. The MGA results reveal a statistically significant difference in the influence of religiosity on purchase intention between the two countries, depicting differences in the brand–self congruity perceptions of consumers in the two countries.

The sample size was relatively small due to the limited time duration.

The area of Halal vaccination has been given limited attention in academic literature. This study addresses this area that has limited research and is greatly attractive to a large number of brands targeting the Muslim consumer market. The results of the study can form a foundation for creating the branding strategy of this product category and assessing its demand in various Muslim markets.

As the benefit of gender diversity continues to receive significant attention, a holistic investigation of its effect on corporate financial distress (CFD) is lacking. Therefore, this study examines the effects of board gender diversity, measured in different forms, such as the presence and proportion of female directors, family-affiliated female directors and the chief executive officer (CEO) gender, on CFD in Pakistan. The study also investigates the interacting effects of family-controlled (20 and 50% family-owned) companies on the association between board gender diversity and CFD.

The study applied the pooled cross-sectional logistic regression model to examine the effect of board gender diversity (presence and proportion of female directors, family-affiliated female directors and CEO gender) on CFD through a sample of 285 non-financial companies in Pakistan over the period of 2006–2017.

The results reveal that gender diversity on boards is significantly and negatively associated with CFD in Pakistan. In addition, when family ownership is 50% or more, the interacting effect of family control is found to be significant, while gender effects remain negative. The results suggest that female directors contribute to the long-term viability of companies, especially family-owned companies. Female directors are also found to be more prevalent in family-owned companies compared to their non-family counterparts.

The findings imply that female directors may efficiently manage and control all functions necessary to guarantee the company's long-term prosperity. Similarly, gender effects can outweigh the detrimental impact of family control when female directors are in reasonable numbers and of high quality in the boardroom.

The practical relevance of the findings is that female directors play a significant role on the corporate board. Thus, it is a wakeup call for Pakistani companies to recognize the critical role and uniqueness of women on the corporate ladder. Family companies can also galvanize on the uniqueness of women to improve their governance structure.

This study adds to the literature on the benefits of gender diversity in family and non-family-owned companies. Specifically, this study applied multiple measures of gender diversity and family control in a single study. In addition, the study was conducted in a country that is ranked as the second worst country in the Global Gender Gap Index 2022, implying that investigating this type of research would go a long way towards changing the minds of corporate executives and regulators about the critical role that women can play in the economy.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the mechanisms underlying hiring discrimination against transgender men.

The authors conduct a scenario experiment with final-year business students in which fictitious hiring decisions are made about transgender or cisgender male job candidates. More importantly, these candidates are scored on statements related to theoretical reasons for hiring discrimination given in the literature. The resulting data are analysed using a bivariate analysis. Additionally, a multiple mediation model is run.

Suggestive evidence is found for co-worker and customer taste-based discrimination, but not for employer taste-based discrimination. In addition, results show that transgender men are perceived as being in worse health, being more autonomous and assertive, and have a lower probability to go on parental leave, compared with cisgender men, revealing evidence for (positive and negative) statistical discrimination.

Targeted policy measures are needed given the substantial labour market discrimination against transgender individuals measured in former studies. However, to combat this discrimination effectively, one needs to understand its underlying mechanisms. This study provides the first comprehensive exploration of these mechanisms.

This study innovates in being one of the first to explore the relative empirical importance of dominant (theoretical) explanations for hiring discrimination against transgender men. Thereby, the authors take the logical next step in the literature on labour market discrimination against transgender individuals.

Departing from the spirit of environmental concern, this study aims to connect green practices of Islamic banking with green customer loyalty, both directly and through the role of green trust, green perceived value and green satisfaction.

In responding to the research hypothesis, this study analyzed 341 customer questionnaires using the structural equation modeling-partial least squares method.

This study found that a solid green practices program directly makes customers loyal to Islamic banks. It also discovered an indirectly convincing relationship between green practices and green loyalty through the mediation path of green satisfaction and less convincing through the mediation path of green perceived value and green trust.

Practically, this study highlights the importance of green practices innovation and the development of green practices programs that please customers because these programs can generate their loyalty toward the Islamic banking industry.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate the relationship between green practices and the green loyalty of customers in the Islamic banking industry.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how religious values of Islamic banking users influence their active social media engagement behavior (SMEB), when exposed to online brand related-content.

The method used for data collection was an online self-administered questionnaire. A total of 448 valid responses were obtained from Islamic banks customers, who are members of at least one online brand community (OBC) on Facebook. Responses were analyzed and processed by means of structural equation modeling.

The results of the online survey reveal that religious values have a positive influence on the active SMEB in terms of contributing (like and/or share) and creating (posting positive comments) of brand related-contents via Facebook OBC. Religious values play a key role in encouraging Islamic banks’ customers to share and forward posts, advertisements and/or contents. Furthermore, religious values encourage customers to forward contents that comply with their religious values and beliefs and are also compatible with the Islamic rules of Shari’ah.

The findings of this study suggest that religious values are likely to impact customer behavior when consuming, liking, sharing and commenting on the online contents generated by Islamic banks. Given the fact that Islamic religious values are universal and persistent, there is a potential for long-term benefits for those Islamic banks that identify profitable religious consumer segments within the domestic and global markets as well as to promote and enhance active SMEB in terms of number of positive comments, likes and shares of brand-related contents.

This paper aims to explore the root cause of growing gap in Islamic moral ideals and practices by examining paradigmatic foundation and moral axioms of Islamic business ethics. It compares and contrasts Tawhidi and secular paradigms in terms of their moral axioms and ethical mandates.

The paper first presents the paradigmatic foundation of Islamic ethics, namely, ihsan ethics. Second, it compares Tawhidi paradigm of Islam with secular paradigm in respect to their ontological, axiological, anthropological and teleological differences. Third, it links to Islamic moral axioms to the relevant paradigmatic pillars. Fourth, it defines “ihsan ethics” based on Tawhidi paradigm and moral axioms. Finally, it sheds some light on the gap between moral ideals and realities through the theory of ihsan ethics.

The paper attempts to provide strong conceptual and theoretical tools to understand ethical problems in the Muslim societies. The paper makes a strong case that Muslim minds shall be de-secularized to perceive the reality, truth and telos within Tawhidi worldview. As Muslims reach the level of ihsan by perceiving transcendental reality, they are likely to practice what they preach.

The paper proposes “ihsan ethics” based on Tawhidi worldview and Islamic moral axioms.

Few studies only focus on halal cosmetics, although several previous studies have examined halal food and beverages. This study aims to explore the relationship between knowledge, emotional attachment and religiosity on purchase intention, mediated by satisfaction and brand trust. This study stems from the theory of reasoned action (TRA), which merges the knowledge, emotional attachment, religiosity and purchase intention of halal cosmetics.

The researchers distributed online questionnaires to respondents via Google Form using social media (Instagram)/messaging application (WhatsApp). The respondents were Indonesian and Malaysian millennial Muslims. The sampling technique used was purposive sampling. A total of 528 respondents were involved, consisting of 335 Indonesians and 193 Malaysians. However, data for 381 respondents were successfully screened for normality, outliers and multicollinearity. Furthermore, the data was used for examining the hypotheses proposed.

The results for Indonesian and Malaysian samples showed that there is a significant positive effect of knowledge, emotional attachments and religiosity on satisfaction and brand trust. But the Indonesia sample showed that there is no significant effect of religiosity on satisfaction. For Indonesia, there is a positive significant mediating role of satisfaction on purchasing intention. For Malaysia, there is no significant mediating role of satisfaction on purchasing intention. For Indonesia and Malaysia, there are positive significant mediating role of brand trust on purchasing intention.

The study compared consumers of the millennial generation in Indonesia and Malaysia with limited samples. For future research, it is suggested to exploring and combining non-Muslims and Muslims in the millennial generation and testing it in more than two countries.

The study provides an accurate understanding of the relationships proposed, such as knowledge, emotional attachment and religiosity, on satisfaction, brand trust and purchasing intention of millennial Muslim woman consumers in Indonesia and Malaysia, because the millennial Muslim woman consumers in Indonesia and Malaysia had the same behavioral characteristics: Muslim consumers and product characteristics.

The study of halal cosmetics can provide a spiritual commitment for Muslims, who consciously prefer socio-religious values in choosing cosmetic products. Therefore, the halal label of the product is also a reason for social and religious values to increase the social awareness of the Muslim millennial generation in Malaysia and Indonesia.

This research discusses the antecedents and consequences of satisfaction and brand trust on the purchasing intention of halal cosmetics. The response of Muslim consumers to halal cosmetics has not been widely studied in Indonesia and Malaysia. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the halal label on all products has recently been made mandatory by the Indonesian Ulema Council. Therefore, this research offers insights into the attitudes of Muslim consumers towards halal cosmetics products.

This study aims to gain new insight into how a set of maqasid-based consumption intelligence variables mediates exogenous variables (i.e. religiosity, Islamic university role and normative belief) and halal purchase intention as an endogenous variable.

The research model is empirically tested with a data set of 370 responses retrieved from the students of the millennial generation from the cross Islamic state university in Indonesia. Data were analysed with Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The sample size of this study is computed with preliminary power analysis.

The SEM finding revealed that two maqasid-based consumption intelligence variables had mediated the exogenous and endogenous variables, i.e. halal purchase intention. These variables mediating the exogenous and endogenous variables have explained 63.5 R² variances in halal purchase intention. Concerning individual impact size of cognition and motivation as a component of maqasid-based consumption intelligence has shown medium-level effect size (f²) in mediating the halal purchase intention. Interestingly, the exogenous variable does not directly affect halal purchase intention but must be mediated with maqasid-based consumption intelligence variables. However, before including variables of maqasid-based consumption intelligence, the R² was relatively small. It is just 30.4% in R² that explains the variance of halal purchase intention.

This study explores maqasid-based consumption intelligence as a relatively new model to explain the variable halal purchase intention. Therefore, it takes many types of exogenous variables to test how relevant maqasid-based consumption intelligence variables can define endogenous variables. Notwithstanding, this study does not do that because it only limits three exogenous variables (i.e. religiosity, Islamic university role and normative belief). Therefore, in further research, these limitations seem to be perfected by other scholars concerned about halal purchase intention.

The findings of this study allow Islamic universities to mainstream halal issues as a subject of learning, especially concerning consumption ethics. In addition, the empirical results of this study encourage the industry to pay attention to the essential components in determining the halal quality of the products offered because the millennial generation is now very aware of the importance of halal products.

This study contributes to the existing literature on halal purchase intention by testing maqasid-based consumption intelligence variables as mediators. Moreover, this is a pioneer study to consider and construct maqasid-based consumption intelligence as a model that explains halal purchase intention.