Islamic ethical identity scorecard for Islamic markets; a comparison

This study aims to continue the efforts of Adedokun (2015) in integrating Shariah screening methodology by using the Islamic Ethical Identity Scorecard. This study then applied the Islamic Ethical Identity Scorecard on Shariah compliance companies in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Results from both countries varied because of the different methodologies used in as well as the differences in reporting for annual reports in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Companies listed in the Chittagong Stock Exchange Shariah Index (CSI) of Bangladesh have higher quantitative compliances due to the fact that CSI used market capitalization in its methodology compared to the total asset base as used by the All Share Islamic Index of Pakistan. However, Pakistan scored better in qualitative screening due to the mandatory rule for public companies in Pakistan to showcase the payment of Zakat in their audited financial statements, which should be emulated in Bangladesh. It is hoped that this study would make a breakthrough in the process of unifying the previous models and improving Shariah screening standards. This would enable future researches to be developed based on this study’s formulated Islamic Ethical Identity Scorecard, which could be seen as a more wholesome and holistic approach to the Shariah screening methodology

Prevalence and correlates of mental health difficulties amongst LGBTQ people in Southeast Asia: A systematic review

No study to date has reviewed the evidence base concerning prevalence and correlates of depression, anxiety, non-suicidal self-injury, and suicidality amongst LGBTQ people in Southeast Asia. We carried out a systematic review of quantitative articles (n = 25) identified through electronic databases. Heightened prevalence of mental health difficulties and minority stressors were found amongst Southeast Asian LGBTQ people which included significant effect size differences relative to cisgender and heterosexual people. This review underscores the need for a more nuanced understanding of minority stressors and protective factors to inform mental health prevention efforts

Price efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks: evidence from panel data

Literature on the price efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks have focused mostly on cost efficiency while attention on profit and revenue efficiency has been lukewarm. This study examines how Islamic and conventional banks differ in terms of cost, profit and revenue efficiency. Using a sample of 18 countries with 70 Islamic and 374 conventional banks spanning from year 2009 to 2017 across the Middle East, South Asia and Southeast Asia regions, the empirical results derived from using the least squares dummy variable indicate that there is no significant difference between both types of banks. Further robustness checks utilizing random effects model also reveal similar findings. Among the sample countries, Islamic and conventional banks from Singapore, Malaysia and Qatar were found to be relatively higher in average profit efficiency compared to banks from other sampled countries, while Islamic and conventional banks from Indonesia, Iraq and Jordan were found to be relatively inefficient in generating profit. This study also found that banks from some countries did relatively better in terms of revenue efficiency compared to cost efficiency and vice versa. This indicates there is a need to look not just into the topic of costs but also how well banks fare in generating revenue

Ownership in Islamic banks: how home country development influences the performance of foreign Islamic banks

Purpose – This study aims to assess the performance of domestic and foreign Islamic banks as well as the influence of foreign banks’ home country development influence on the performance of foreign banks. Design/methodology/approach – This study uses data of 17 domestic Islamic banks and 11 foreign Islamic banks from Bahrain, Malaysia and Pakistan from 2010 to 2018. Pooled ordinary least square is used to investigate the relationship between home country development and performance of foreign Islamic banks. Findings – Results from this paper suggest domestic Islamic banks in Malaysia have higher performance than their foreign counterparts while foreign Islamic banks from Pakistan have higher performance than their domestic counterparts. However, as a whole, the performance of domestic and foreign Islamic banks is not significantly different from one another. Development of foreign banks’ home country measured by gross national income per capita and gross domestic product per capita show significant positive influence on the performance of foreign Islamic banks. Originality/value – Higher level of development of the home country of foreign banks appears to influence the performance of foreign banks in the host country

Ownership in Islamic banks: How home country development influences the performance of foreign Islamic banks

This study aims to assess the performance of domestic and foreign Islamic banks as well as the influence of foreign banks’ home country development influence on the performance of foreign banks. This study uses data of 17 domestic Islamic banks and 11 foreign Islamic banks from Bahrain, Malaysia and Pakistan from 2010 to 2018. Pooled ordinary least square is used to investigate the relationship between home country development and performance of foreign Islamic banks. Results from this paper suggest domestic Islamic banks in Malaysia have higher performance than their foreign counterparts while foreign Islamic banks from Pakistan have higher performance than their domestic counterparts. However, as a hole, the performance of domestic and foreign Islamic banks is not significantly different from one another. Development of foreign banks’ home country measured by gross national income per capita and gross domestic product per capita show significant positive influence on the performance of foreign Islamic banks. Higher level of development of the home country of foreign banks appears to influence the performance of foreign banks in the host country

Marketing mix and customer satisfaction of gyms and fitness clubs in Malaysia: a conceptual paper

Customer satisfaction is a major concern in every organization, including fitness. The fitness industry has grown steadily as consumers seek a healthier lifestyle and a more productive workout environment. The 7Ps marketing mix is considered a crucial determinant of consumer satisfaction. Understanding what influences customer satisfaction is critical to measuring and managing it in gyms and fitness clubs. This study focuses on the 7Ps marketing mix: product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence, and process. The conceptual framework includes theoretical framework and hypotheses development, research methodology, research implication, conclusion, as well as limitation and further research. Through the understanding of these factors, the researchers aim to show a better understanding of the 7Ps marketing mix concept and the factors that affect the customer satisfaction of gyms and fitness clubs in Malaysia

Bank ownership and non-performing loans of Islamic and conventional banks in an emerging economy

This study assesses the non-performing loans of conventional and Islamic banks as well as the influence of ownership on the non-performing loans of conventional and Islamic banks. Due to fundamental differences in Islamic and conventional bank such as funding, non-performing loans might have differing effects on Islamic and conventional banks. This study utilised data of 26 conventional banks and 16 Islamic banks from Malaysia from 2012 to 2020. A Random Effect model was used to investigate the difference between conventional and Islamic banks’ non-performing loans as well as the influence of ownership on non-performing loans of conventional and Islamic banks. Results showed no significant differences for non-performing loans of conventional and Islamic banks. This result implies that despite the fact that Islamic banks may benefit from lower agency costs, this does not considerably decrease the likelihood of non-performing loans. Foreign Islamic banks shows higher non-performing loans in comparison to domestic Islamic banks. However, there were no significant differences for non-performing loans between foreign conventional and domestic conventional banks. This study suggests that Islamic bankers, particularly those intending to expand into other countries, investigate non-performing loans, which can impact the risk of a foreign Islamic bank

Islamic ethical identity scorecard for Islamic markets; a comparison

This study aims to continue the efforts of Adedokun (2015) in integrating Shariah screening methodology by using the Islamic Ethical Identity Scorecard. This study then applied the Islamic Ethical Identity Scorecard on Shariah compliance companies in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Results from both countries varied because of the different methodologies used in as well as the differences in reporting for annual reports in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Companies listed in the Chittagong Stock Exchange Shariah Index (CSI) of Bangladesh have higher quantitative compliances due to the fact that CSI used market capitalization in its methodology compared to the total asset base as used by the All Share Islamic Index of Pakistan. However, Pakistan scored better in qualitative screening due to the mandatory rule for public companies in Pakistan to showcase the payment of Zakat in their audited financial statements, which should be emulated in Bangladesh. It is hoped that this study would make a breakthrough in the process of unifying the previous models and improving Shariah screening standards. This would enable future researches to be developed based on this study’s formulated Islamic Ethical Identity Scorecard, which could be seen as a more wholesome and holistic approach to the Shariah screening methodology

Searching for Growth-conducive Institutions in Emerging Economies: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis

This study aims to identify growth-conducive institutions unique to emerging economies. For that purpose, we examine the roles ofAnglo-American institutions in fostering total factor productivity growth through the improvement of technical efficiency in emerging economies. Specifically, the impacts of the liberalistic and paternalistic types of regulatory institutions are discerned. The results show that institutional qualities such as reverence for the rule of law and effective governments robustly promote total factor productivity by improving technical efficiency, while voices of citizens and political stability exhibit a symbiotic relationship, where the efficacy of one of these qualities requires the sufficient prevalence of another. Regarding regulatory institutions, we found evidence that calls for protectionist policies to foster innovation, which is the key driver of technical efficienc

Dividend and Excess Return in China

Investors are always chasing excess returns. To examine the three driving factors affecting China A-share excess returns, namely systematic risk, idiosyncratic risk and market sentiment, this study divided A-shares into non-dividend and dividend-paying groups based on the Dividend Paid for Common Shares in the notes of the financial report. In addition, this study used the Capital Asset Pricing model, Single-Index model, Arbitrage Pricing theory and Fama-French three- and five-factor model to analyse the three main driving factors. The Gibbons-Ross-Shanken test was used to test the model validity, and the optimal model for each group was extracted. Our findings show that after analysing the optimal models within each group, it becomes evident that systematic risk indeed exerts an influence on both dividend-paying and non-dividend companies. Nevertheless, when considering four specific systematic risks (inflation, exchange rates, crude oil and interest rates), this study’s findings establish that these risks do not significantly impact the stock returns of any company group across all time periods. As for idiosyncratic risks, firm size and book-to-market factors emerge as substantial influencers across all firms. Additionally, market sentiment significantly affects the stock performance of small-sized dividend-paying companies