A game theory-based analysis of merchants’ mobile payment adoption using hybrid SEM-neural network approach

Purpose – This study is driven by the evidence from the literature on the significance of mobile (m-)payment in economic growth and productivity and at the same time the relative dismal adoption of this service. Drawing upon the game theory framework, the present study set out to elucidate the merchants' m-payment adoption from the perspective of trust in the Malaysian context. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey consisting of 302 respondents was carried out to investigate the impact of trust and opportunism on merchants’ perceived trustworthiness using a two-staged SEM-neural network approach to determine the significance and relative importance of variables. This study also applies a game-theoretic approach to analyze the impact of trust on the relationship between merchants and m-payment service providers Findings – The results indicate a positive and statistically significant relationship between merchant trust, merchant opportunism and perceived trustworthiness; And a statistically significant negative relationship was found between m-payment provider opportunism and perceived trustworthiness. The findings from the prisoner’s dilemma two-player model indicate that the scenarios of mutual trust and mutual opportunism as paradigmatic of cooperation and defection produce the best and worse outcomes respectively. An intriguing result was the positive impact of merchant opportunism on perceived trustworthiness which indicates a very calculative orientation of merchants in m-payment contracting. Originality/value – To our knowledge, this is amongst the first attempts to propose a game theory approach to the interaction between merchants and m-payment providers under the framework of trust and opportunism. A game theory study in the context of mobile payment adoption can contribute to the theoretical literature by providing insights into the decision-making processes of merchants. By incorporating trust and opportunism into the game theory model, we can gain a better understanding of how they affect the decision-making process and overall adoption rates. The conclusions and implications provide useful insights for managers of both m-payment platforms and merchants in this relational exchange. The results of the present research can provide insights into the factors that influence merchant decisions and guide them towards suitable partnerships for successful adoption and can guide authorities for policy interventions and supporting adoption efforts

ESG and economic policy uncertainty: A wavelet application

In this study, we examine the relationship between country-level EPU and MSCI ESG Leaders for the US and the UK using wavelet coherence analysis and daily data. We find a significant negative relationship between ESG indices and EPU. However, the existence of the significant negative relationship depends on certain time scales and dates. For both countries, the ESG indices lead the EPU in general. However, for certain time scales and dates, EPU leads the ESG indices

The academic gender gap take phenomenon: the application of TRA to the behavioral beliefs of female students toward accounting discipline in IIUM and TARC

The aim of this study is to examine the factors affecting Malaysian male and female students’ intention to enroll in accounting program. The study is based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) as a theoretical framework. Based on TRA model, the factors that may affect students’ behavioral intention to choose accounting program are categorized into three dimensions: attitudes toward choosing accounting program (ATT), subjective norm (SN) and amount of information on accounting (AIA). The questionnaire is employed to collect data from a sample of 400 male and female students in IIUM and TARC in Malaysia currently enrolling in accounting program. According to our results ATT and SN have significant influence on behavioral intention of both male and female students to enroll in accounting program. In case of AIA, the results support its significant impact on males but not females’ behavioral intention to enroll in accounting program. Several implications and recommendation are also discussed in the light of our findings

Price discovery in carbon exchange traded fund markets

In this study, we analyze the price discovery in four carbon exchange-traded funds (ETF) markets: (i) VanEck Low Carbon Energy ETF (Vaneck), (ii) iShares MSCI ACWI Low Carbon Target ETF (iShare), (iii) SPDR MCSI ACWI Climate Paris Aligned ETF (SPDR), and (iv) Xtrackers Emerging Markets Carbon Reduction and Climate Improvers ETF (Xtrackers) using daily closing prices of the four carbon ETFs from December 6, 2018, to November 30, 2022. All four ETF prices are found to have a single unit root implying the efficiency of these ETF markets (LeRoy 1989). However, Johansen's (1991) cointegration test reveals that these four ETFs are driven by not one but three common stochastic trends. Further Analysis reveals that iShares and SPDR markets are driven by the same market force (common stochastic trend). Based on the generalized information share (GIS), we find that approximately 57.89% and 42.11% of the price discovery occurs in the iShares and SPDR markets, respectively. We further analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by dividing the whole sample into pre-COVID and COVID subsamples. In the pre-COVID period, the GIS measures for the iShares and SPDR are 88.69% and 11.31%, respectively. However, GIS measures for the iShares and SPDR are 1.04% and 98.96%, respectively, in the COVID period indicating a significant impact of COVID-19 on price discovery

A comprehensive appraisal of Sharīʿah governance practices in Malaysian Islamic banks

Purpose – This study aims to empirically investigate the impact of the Sharīʿah Governance Framework (SGF) on improving Sharīʿah governance practices in Islamic banks in Malaysia and in addressing its related issues. Design/methodology/approach – Data collection was carried out using a comprehensive questionnaire survey, which was developed primarily based on SGF-2010 and arguments in the literature. The sample for this study includes key functionaries in Sharīʿah governance including senior managers, Sharīʿah committee (SC) and Sharīʿah team members of Islamic banks in Malaysia. Findings – The analysis of scores obtained from the questionnaire survey–including 41 items representing current significant issues in Sharīʿah governance–indicates that SGF-2010 has been successful in achieving its objectives and in addressing related issues. The results of the paired sample t-test show significant improvements in Sharīʿah governance practices in Malaysian Islamic banks in light of the aforementioned guideline by Bank Negara Malaysia. Research limitations/implications – Findings of this research suggest that among the five essential pillars of Sharīʿah governance, namely, accountability and responsibility, independence, competence, confidentiality and transparency, most of the improvements and changes brought about by SGF-2010 are attributable to accountability and responsibility. However, there is still room for improvement in other components of the SGF, particularly with regard to transparency and the independence of the SC and Sharīʿah team. Originality/value – Given the importance of Sharīʿah governance and considering recent endeavours to improve Sharīʿah-compliant culture among Islamic banks in Malaysia, this research is among the first attempts to empirically and comprehensively delve into this subject and evaluate its main issues by directly contacting key players in the Islamic banking industry and providing first-hand highlights. This research also compares the findings based on SGF-2010 with the requirements of SGF-2017 and Sharīʿah Governance Policy Document (SGPD-2019), which were released after this research was completed, where applicabl

Exploring the impact of entrepreneurial indicators on CO2 emissions within the environmental Kuznets curve framework: a cross-sectional study

Many countries emphasize entrepreneurship promotion as a policy focus. However, empirical research has often neglected the complex environmental consequences associated with such initiatives. In this study, we analyzed data using a panel model from 14 countries, covering the years 2002 to 2018. Our goal was to thoroughly assess the impact of eleven distinct entrepreneurship indicators on CO2 emissions. Our findings indicate that some control variables, like trade liberalization, are fundamental in reducing emissions. This contrasts with traditional views, which typically revolve around a consistent Kuznets curve that depicts the environmental effects of economic growth. Instead, our research uncovers a dynamic pattern transitioning from a concave upward trajectory to an inverted U-shaped curve, primarily due to increased levels of entrepreneurship. Remarkably, various entrepreneurial indicators, such as government support and policies, taxes and bureaucracy, governmental programs, and cultural and social norms, demonstrate direct positive impacts on CO2 emissions. Conversely, other indicators show a mix of positive and negative effects. Furthermore, examining the spill-over effects of entrepreneurship indicators, particularly in their role in energy use intensity and GDP per capita, reveals significant implications for improving energy consumption efficiency. However, it is important to acknowledge that despite the potential for enhanced efficiency, the negative effects resulting from an increased scale of output may not be completely counteracted

CAPITAL STRUCTURE AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE OF LISTED HEALTHCARE COMPANIES IN MALAYSIA : Received: 21st October 2021; Revised: 09th February 2022, 11th February 2022, 13th February 2022; Accepted: 14th February 2022

This study is focused on describing the dependent variable phenomenon under study which is corporate performance. The study will evaluate the influences of capital structure and the dimensions towards the corporate performance of listed healthcare companies in Malaysia. The nature of the investigation is quantitative based correlation design, and the purpose of this investigation is to determine the existence of the relationship between debt to total asset ratio, debt to total equity ratio, and long-term debt ratio of capital structure with the corporate performance of listed healthcare companies in Malaysia. This study setting is non-contrived as there are no changes made in the study setting and it is merely collecting data from secondary resources. The data will be randomly selected from the company’s annual report. The sample size of this study is 24 listed healthcare companies in Malaysia from the year 2018 to the year 2020. To determine the influences of capital structure and the relationship towards corporate performance by using appropriate statistical techniques. The findings indicated that DAR, DER, and LDR had a statistically significant linear relationship on ROE; whereas DAR, DER and LDR had no significant linear relationship on ROA

Toward a comprehensive theoretical framework for Shariah governance in Islamic financial institutions

The purpose of this research is to develop a comprehensive theoretical framework for interpreting Shariah governance mechanism in Islamic financial institutions (IFIs). After reviewing existing theories that were used to explain the phenomenon of corporate governance, three most commonly used theories in the corporate governance and Shariah governance area namely agency theory, stewardship theory and stakeholder theory were used and integrated based on their interrelated concepts and their relationship with Shariah governance. The constructed theoretical framework includes five concepts, namely accountability, disclosure and transparency, competency, confidentiality and independency among the key functionaries in Shariah governance, which are perceived to be the principles of Shariah governance. This research is among the first attempts to build an integrated theoretical foundation for Shariah governance in IFIs and the developed theoretical framework can be used as the basis for interpretations and comparisons on the ideal versus practical situation of Shariah governance in IFIs

Adoption of fintech services: role of saving and borrowing mechanisms

This paper investigates the relationship between an individual's saving and borrowing practices and his/her propensity to use fintech services. More particularly, we examine whether having multiple saving and borrowing channels increases a person's likelihood to participate in online funding platforms, and use robo-advisors. Using a sample of over 2000 respondents to a survey we conducted in Malaysia, our main results indicate that individuals who save and borrow via multiple channels, and through external conduits, are more likely to use fintech services than their counterparts. This is consistent with the view that individuals who use multiple saving and borrowing conduits are more likely to perform mental accounting, a concept which is commonly used by fintech companies to facilitate personal wealth management. Further, our findings reveal that among respondents with multiple saving channels, those who put less importance on trust in financial products, and consider financial returns essential, are the most likely users of fintech services. Overall, our findings offer new insights by providing a better understanding of the factors that foster the use of fintech services