The change in traditional banking with the effects of ICT

The application of Internet technology to the banking industry has transformed the traditional practice into a new era of convenient banking at your home or office with a touch of a button! This concept is new and practical to people who have the knowledge and means to accept this convenient and safe mode of operation.The objective is to survey all the local banks in Malaysia and observe what products and services they wish to offer to the community.A simple online survey of their available websites allowed one to view all the available transactions and activities connected to electronic banking or internet banking.The 10 local banks reviewed indicated that the most popular services and products available online are Current Account, Fixed Deposit, Saving Account, Home Loans and Credit Cards.Perhaps, the survey has proved that these facilities are the bread and butter for all local banks.Interestingly, all local banks have more than 80 types of transaction items stated on their websites.Not all of them can be practically done through the wireless technology; only a handful of them are acceptable to those who prefer the push of a button on the keyboard of the personal computer (PC). Nonetheless, the Internet or Web technology will pave the new wave of banking to the consumer who is knowledgeable in the area of the Information and Communicative Technology (ICT) in the local environment

What motivates and deters the ‘crowd’ in crowdfunding in Malaysia?

Objective: This study intends to theorize about how values and the perception of risk of the supporters of a crowdfunding project affect the success of the project. Methodology: A review of prior literature is carried out to identify the different dimensions of the decision making process. Implication: This research presents a conceptual framework to describe the influence of perceived values and risk on the success of crowdfunding in Malaysia. The crowdfunding phenomenon is relatively new in Malaysia and there is a lack of knowledge about the decision making of the ‘crowd’.  The success and sustainability of the crowdfunding phenomenon depends on the supporters of the funds

Social Justice Club - Miracle Makers

As members of the Social Justice Service Club our mission is to support the Social Justice LLC and to advance the mission the cause literacy throughout the Greater Miami Valley Region. To that end, we are also charged with fulfilling a voluntary service learning committment for our organization. This year in order to fulfill our obligation, we worked with the Miracle Makers After School Program at at the Ruskin Elementary School. As a service club co-hort, we were able to complete 150 hours of community service in the fall semester by mentoring the students, helping them with their homework, and engaging them in group and one-on-one recreational games. Our presentation will focus on our work and how it reinforces our committment to the Marianist ideals of lead, learn, and serve.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/stander_posters/1260/thumbnail.jp

Taking advantage of Ramadan and January in Muslim countries

Studies have shown that religious beliefs and practice play an important role in influencing share price behaviour. Evidence of a Ramadan effect has been documented in Muslim countries suggesting an increase in mean returns as well as a reduction in volatility during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. In addition to the Ramadan effect, studies have also documented a January effect in Muslim countries. The current study investigates what happens when the Ramadan effect and the January effect occur at the same time. Controlling for the effects of financial crises and time-varying volatility in returns, the results for individual company data from four countries with sizeable Muslim populations indicate higher returns and lower volatility when these two effects overlap, except in one, arguably more Western country, Turkey

On intellectual capital efficiency and shariah governance in Islamic banking business model

This paper empirically investigates whether intellectual capital (IC) and shariah governance jointly affect the economic performance of Islamic banks (IBs). In contrast to prior research, this paper disaggregate IC and corporate governance features and examine whether the two are jointly related to economic performance. These relationships are further explored before, during and after the financial crisis based on a sample of 64 Islamic banks operating in different regions during the period 2007–2014. The required data to calculate different constituents of IC efficiency and governance mechanism is hand collected from 512 annual reports. After controlling for other corporate governance and bank‐specific characteristics (operational type, bank size, listing status, risk, type of auditor, accounting standard and region), we find both intellectual capital efficiency and shariah governance proxies (size and dominance of prominent scholars of shariah supervisory board) to have a significant positive relationship with accounting measure of performance. However, based on market performance measure, only one proxy for shariah governance mechanism, that is, prominent scholars on SSB, is found to be significant but in the negative direction. These results provide important insights into the relationship between IC efficiency, corporate governance and performance in Islamic banking business model and have policy and practical implications

Determinants of Working Capital Investment: A Study of Malaysian PublicListed Firms

The paper examines the determinants of the level of investment in net operating working capital by firms in Malaysia. Data from 192 companies spanning a period of 8 years (2000- 2007) are analysed using the OLS regression technique for this purpose. The study finds that in times of economic expansion, younger and smaller firms with less tangible assets, low leverage, high immediate sales growth, high operating cash flows, less volatile revenues and low levels of asymmetric information are likely to have the highest investments in operating working capital. Board characteristics, namely size and the independence of the board, are not found to have any significant influence on the working capital investment of firms

Working capital and firm value in an emerging market

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between working capital efficiency and firm value and the influence of financing constraints on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach–Data from 192 firms spanning a period of ten years (1999-2008) are used for this purpose and analyzed using the ordinary least squares regression technique. Findings–The study finds that improvements in working capital efficiency through reduction in working capital investment results in higher firm value. However, this relationship is influenced by the financing constraints faced by a firm. For financially constrained firms, working capital efficiency significantly increases firm value but it is found to be insignificant for unconstrained firms

Industry characteristics and earnings management: a study of Malaysian industries

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to detect variations in earnings management activity across industries and the possible influence of various industry variables on these variations. Design/methodology/approach A total sample of 4,249 firm-year observations from 13 different industries spanning a total of eight years (from 2005 to 2012) is used for this purpose. The ordinary least squares regression technique is used to test the influence of various industry variables on earnings management activity. Findings The findings indicate the presence of earnings management practices in Malaysian industries. Among industry-level variables, capital intensity, volatility and profitability are found to influence aggregate earnings management. Further analysis shows that volatility only influences the smoothing measure while profitability influences the discretionary measure. Interestingly, industry competitiveness and leverage are not able to explain the variations in earnings management across industries. Originality/value To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which documents the role of various industry characteristics in influencing earnings management activity. It highlights the importance of considering industry-level variables in a study on earnings management and, hence, adds to the growing literature on earnings management

Religious anomalies in Islamic stock markets: The Hajj Effect in Saudi Arabia

This study focuses on the issue of religious anomalies, particularly the Hajj effect, influencing returns and volatility of the Saudi stock market (also known as the Tadawul All-Share Index). Using daily prices and trading volume of the index for a period of 9 years and the ARMA(1,1)–GARCH(1,1) model, it is found that returns are lower and volatility is higher during the Hajj period, although the effect is significant only for the volatility and not the returns