The challenge of online privacy preservation in Muslim-majority countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

© 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: E-learning has become a predominant platform for education as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, privacy issues have emerged from online learning that posed challenges on the users of e-learning systems. Privacy preservation in Muslim-majority countries with conservative cultures was a concern based on socio-cultural norms. This paper aims to analyze this situation through the lens of social identity theory. Design/methodology/approach: This practice paper represents a conceptual viewpoint. Findings: In this paper, the authors offer recommended solutions as best practices for Muslim-majority countries and similar contexts. Such proposed solutions consider social and cultural influences in e-learning systems to have an effective education process. Originality/value: This practice paper is unique in its approach, as it documents the privacy concerns in Muslim-majority countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

To Blow or Not to Blow the Whistle? An Islamic Framework

In this paper, we draw upon Islamic teachings to address two questions. How do Islamic ethics deepen and advance our understanding of the whistleblowing act? To what extent are Islamic ethics of whistleblowing promoted in practice? First, we have undertaken a thematic content analysis of the holy book of Qur’an, supported by the Sunnah (Prophetic Traditions). This has yielded a novel Islamic ethics-based framework of whistleblowing comprising the five aspects of the whistleblowing process: What should one blow the whistle about? Who should blow the whistle? Why should one blow the whistle? How should one blow the whistle? And to Whom should one blow the whistle? Second, using the developed framework, we have analyzed the whistleblowing policies of 20 Islamic banks and financial institutions across 11 countries. This analysis reveals that there exists a narrow view of what ought to be reported as wrongdoings, a confined scope of potential whistleblowers, a lack of connection with Islamic motivations, missing steps in the actual whistleblowing process, and a lack of gradation in relation to rectifying corrupt acts, thus highlighting a framework–policy gap. This is the first study to conceptualize the whistleblowing process from an Islamic perspective. The developed framework offers guiding procedures that individuals can consult to guide whistleblowing reasoning behavior and that organizations can use while developing whistleblowing policies. It also serves as a foundation for the development of organizational whistleblowing policies in different sectors

The Importance of Character Education for Tweens as Consumers

Tweens is a term that denotes a market segment mentality that falls between children at the lower end and teens at the upper end. Tweens marketing strategies are considered critical for most global brands. Advocates against excessive consumerism and materialism polluting innocent childhood, specifically tweens, call for values implantation through character education in the school to breed more educated consumers. The effect of implanting character building programs in schools on the consumer behavior of the exposed children in the marketplace, however, has never been tested before. This research endeavor is, in essence, an overlap between consumer behavior and educational psychology, investigating the link between personality and behavior in the market. It falls under both positivist and interpretive consumer research, specifically the consumer socialization of children. The aim of this work is to develop a conceptual model linking character education to purchasing lifestyles and consumption patterns of the exposed children as consumers. Following, prospects for future research are highlighted.Educational psychology, character education, attitudes and lifestyles, opinion-leadership, humanitarianism, ethnocentrism, adolescents and middle schools

Individual choice of management research agendas: ethical guidance from Islamic prioritization heuristics

Purpose: The main research attempts guiding questions about management research agendas had been relevance questions versus rigor questions. Researchers have also attempted to set management research agendas in particular sectors. No research, however, has addressed the infrastructural and foundational questions of what moral priorities and ethical principles should guide the future development of management research. Since the Islamic theological approach is a “transcendental values integration” approach, it presents a viable source of reference particularly for scholars interested in ethical philosophical paradigmatic approaches. Islamic literature has presented guiding principles as to how to balance priorities through the Jurisprudence of Priorities (Fiqh Al-Awlawiyyat). The aim of this conceptual paper is to synchronize the Islamic background literature on jurisprudence of priorities with management research development and agendas. The research is exploratory in nature. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper is conceptual merging Islamic literature with management research for the development of a framework to guide management researchers in prioritizing their research agendas. Findings: The research resulted in the conceptualization of a framework aiding researchers in the prioritization of their research agendas. Originality/value: Our paper addresses the unique and foundational question of what moral priorities and ethical principles should guide the future development of management research. We build on a religious philosophical approach, drawing on the Islamic jurisprudence of priorities as a literature base. We, therefore, address the key principles of responsible research regarding how it can be relevant on the infrastructural level to society, and how the benefit to key stakeholders should be tackled. This was not done in previous literature

Qur’anic wisdom and the sustainability mind-set: deciphering the relationship

Purpose: This paper aims to examine practical wisdom from the Islamic religion elaborating on how it pertains to the sustainability mind-set. The purpose is to assess whether the Islamic and sustainability mind-sets coincide and if so, how they do. Design/methodology/approach: The first two chapters of the Holy Qur’an were divided into parts based on the divisions in the exegesis by Abu Bakr Al-Jaza’eri. Next, a qualitative content analysis of the main sustainability themes in these chapters was conducted. The first stage of the content analysis involved the collection of Qur’anic verses related to the sustainability concepts. Following that, inductive interpretive analysis was conducted in the second stage of the content analysis, where key sustainability lessons within the agreed upon Qur’anic verses were extracted. Findings: The empirical study reported in this paper reveals 10 lessons from the examined Qur’anic text that pertain to the sustainability mind-set. Each of these lessons appears to foretell the wisdom behind the sustainability mind-set. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on sustainability and Islam in two ways. First, the analysis results in key lessons relating to sustainability, the majority of which were not covered in existing literature. Second, the research takes a holistic approach to finding commonalities between the sustainability mind-set and the Islamic mind-set, instead of focusing on a specific aspect of sustainability such as the environment

To Blow or Not to Blow the Whistle? An Islamic Framework

In this paper, we draw upon Islamic teachings to address two questions. How do Islamic ethics deepen and advance our understanding of the whistleblowing act? To what extent are Islamic ethics of whistleblowing promoted in practice? First, we have undertaken a thematic content analysis of the holy book of Qur’an, supported by the Sunnah (Prophetic Traditions). This has yielded a novel Islamic ethics-based framework of whistleblowing comprising the five aspects of the whistleblowing process: What should one blow the whistle about? Who should blow the whistle? Why should one blow the whistle? How should one blow the whistle? And to Whom should one blow the whistle? Second, using the developed framework, we have analyzed the whistleblowing policies of 20 Islamic banks and financial institutions across 11 countries. This analysis reveals that there exists a narrow view of what ought to be reported as wrongdoings, a confined scope of potential whistleblowers, a lack of connection with Islamic motivations, missing steps in the actual whistleblowing process, and a lack of gradation in relation to rectifying corrupt acts, thus highlighting a framework–policy gap. This is the first study to conceptualize the whistleblowing process from an Islamic perspective. The developed framework offers guiding procedures that individuals can consult to guide whistleblowing reasoning behavior and that organizations can use while developing whistleblowing policies. It also serves as a foundation for the development of organizational whistleblowing policies in different sectors

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at CréditAgricole Egypt: Bridging the Academic–Practitioner Divide

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a notion of growing importance and relevance to both scholars and practitioners alike. In the academic literature, different theories have addressed the philosophical postulates behind CSR. These are agency theory, stakeholder theory, stewardship theory, and institutional theory, among others. This case study emphasizes the relationship between theory and practice and explores how the academic literature on CSR can benefit the profession in this field. The case study is on Crédit Agricole, one of the largest banks worldwide and a market leader in France. As CSR is an integral part of Crédit Agricole’s business, Crédit Agricole Egypt began its CSR initiative in 2012 with the aim of developing the Egyptian community. In an attempt to bridge the academic–practitioner divide in the CSR field, this case study demonstrates the most prominent CSR theories and identifies which of the academic approaches is followed by Crédit Agricole Egypt