K. M. Anwarul Islam

This paper aims to examine the impact of emotional intelligence (EQ), employee empowerment (EE), and cultural intelligence (CQ) on commercial bank employees’ job satisfaction in Bangladesh. For this purpose, a survey questionnaire was developed based on pre-tested constructs. The study used a convenience sampling technique, supplemented by a non-probability sampling method. 200 bank employees were invited to participate in the survey; finally, 130 responses were received as fully complete, with a 65% response rate. Hence, the sample size is n = 130. Cronbach’s alpha value was used to determine the internal consistency of the study constructs. SPSS version 26.0 was used to analyze the correlation test and hypotheses test. The findings show that emotional intelligence (EQ) with a beta (β) value of 0.510 has a statistical and positive effect on bank employees’ job satisfaction. Also, employee empowerment (EE) with a beta value of (β) 0.418 and cultural intelligence (CQ) with a beta (β) of 0.372 were found to be significant predictors of job satisfaction. This indicates that bank managers should utilize EQ and CQ to increase bank employee satisfaction and focus on employee engagement at the workplace. According to the study, if bank employees become more emotionally stable and culturally intelligent at their workplace, they will be more satisfied with their current jobs. Besides, if bank employees are given more opportunities to carry out their job responsibilities, they will be more satisfied with their jobs. The paper outlines several significant implications for commercial bank managers and offers some notable directions for future research.

The paper strives to investigate the influential factors that might significantly affect consumers’ intention to shop from online websites. On this premise, this paper aims to examine the impact of perceived trust (PT), convenience (CONV), perceived website quality (PWQ), and subjective norm (SN) on individuals’ intention towards online shopping (ITOS). The paper proposed a study framework based on previous relevant literature. The study has drawn samples from private university students of Bangladesh. A quantitative research approach was adopted, followed by a survey method. Only undergraduate and postgraduate students of two Bangladeshi universities were considered as respondents as it is believed that they were the primary online shoppers in Bangladesh perspective. The sample size in this paper is 339, which was deemed adequate to run regression analysis. SPSS software has been utilized to conduct correlation and regression analysis. The convenience sampling method was applied in the study as the population is not known. This paper applied a 95% confidence interval to accept the hypotheses. Correlation results confirm that all independent variables correlated with ITOS. The findings of the paper report that PT, CONV, PWQ, and SN have a significant impact on students’ intention towards online shopping (ITOS). Henceforth, the online business managers can utilize the findings of this paper to understand the young consumer behaviors and develop a solid and effective online marketing plan for sustainable business performance.

E-commerce and e-business are necessary components of today’s internet banking due to the developing global economy. Alternatively, in this technological era, the banking sector’s success is associated with creating bank users’ intention to adopt internet banking services. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the influencing factors of intention to adopt internet banking services of commercial bank users’ in the Bangladeshi context. A survey questionnaire was formulated based on past works of literature to find out the research objective. The convenience sampling method has been used in this study. For the data collection purpose, 250 bank users were asked request to participate in the research. As a fully completed survey, 180 responses were received where the response rate was 72% and the sample size was n = 180. For correlation analysis and hypotheses testing, SPSS version 26.0 was used. The results of the study show that Perceived Security Risk (PSR), Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEU), Social Influence (SI), and Consumer Innovativeness (CI) have a statistical and significant impact on the intention to adopt internet banking services. It is concluded that the bank management committee should utilize PU, PEU, SI, and CI to amplify the level of willingness to adopt and embrace general banking services through internet platforms among bank users in their online banking transactions. For the future research study, this paper outlines several significant implications and offers some directions for the bank management committee of a commercial bank.

This study aims to identify the determining factors of digital entrepreneurial intention among university graduate students in Bangladesh. The study considered university students as a study sample (n = 358) who were either in their final year of bachelor’s program or in the master’s program from three private universities located in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. This study was quantitative in nature, and a survey questionnaire was used based on the previous studies. There were three parts: a questionnaire, demographic information analysis, and a Likert-based measurement of study variables. A Cronbach (α) coefficient value of 0.70 or above was regarded to examine the reliability of the constructs. A factor loading value of 0.50 or above was considered to measure the research validity of all constructs’ items. Regression analysis was run to test the hypotheses. A Google form-based online survey questionnaire was used to collect the data, followed by a non-probability sampling method. After scrutiny, incomplete responses were discarded, and finally, 358 responses were deemed usable. The paper used SPSS version 26.0 to perform relevant statistical analyses. The results show that digital entrepreneurial self-efficacy, digital literacy, entrepreneurship education, innovativeness, and creativity positively and significantly impact university students becoming digital entrepreneurs. Regression result shows that students’ innovativeness and entrepreneurship education have more impact on their digital entrepreneurial intentions, implying that policymakers and universities should design their academic policy to promote innovative and entrepreneurship activities in the academic pedagogy.

In this technological era, online business is expanding due to increased internet conveniences. Smartphone users are drastically growing in Bangladesh, where it plays a vital role as a strong catalyst for economic development. On the other hand, the success of the online business is associated with creating online purchase tendency by determining influencing factors of consumers’ intention. The ultimate purpose of this paper is to identify the influential variables of consumers’ purchase intention to buy smartphones on online platforms. To fulfill the aim, a structured questionnaire has been elaborated based on the literature review to find this study’s objective. Cronbach’s alpha value was used to assess the inner surface of this study. The non-probability convenience sampling method and a 5% significance level are used to accept the hypotheses. Altogether, 350 survey questionnaires were distributed among the online-based social media customers, and finally, 288 responses were received genuinely, where the response rate was 82%. Henceforward, the sample size of the study is n = 288. SPSS version 26.0 has been applied to scrutinize hypothesis tests in this study. This paper also offers implications for online business people and several impactful guidelines for future research studies.

Business organizations are facing ever-growing challenges in the competitive market regarding commitment, retention, engagement, and the belief of their employees. Employees are regarded as the lifeblood of every organization where the companies could not run their activities without skillful employees. The objective of this study is to explore the effect of job satisfaction, employee empowerment, and emotional intelligence on bank employees’ performance in the context of Bangladesh. In terms of the research purpose, non-probability convenience sampling has been used in this study. The targeted population was the commercial bank employees in Bangladesh. Regarding this study, total of 200 employees were asked to participate in this research. Among 200 employees, finally, 160 responses were received as complete with an 80% response rate. For analysis purposes, SPSS version 26.0 was used in this study. The study discovered that job satisfaction, employee empowerment, and emotional intelligence positively and significantly affect employee performance. The model explains 60 percent variance, and employee empowerment is found to have a higher impact on employee performance. Finally, this study will offer some extraordinary directions and implications for future research on commercial bank managers.

Recently, the demand for internet banking has been gradually increasing the number of online banking customers, where the banking clients or customers do not need to visit a bank branch for their transactions. The principal focus of this inquiry is to ascertain how various aspects of e-service quality relate to online baking customers’ happiness, particularly with regard to Bangladeshi commercial banks. Data information was collected from three commercial banks in Bangladesh using an online survey questionnaire, and this study is quantitative and exploratory in nature. The study considered those bank customers who use frequently online/internet banking services. The sample size was n=200, and the study adopted a non-probability sampling approach. Five-point Likert scale was used to measure an item-wise question where “1” stands for “Highly Disagree” and “5” stands for “Highly Agree”. The consequences of this study demonstrate that e-service quality dimensions play a significant role in creating customer satisfaction for online banking customers. The study proposes four hypotheses, and the hypotheses are accepted in this research. Based on this study, bank management should have utilized e-service quality dimensions such as perceived security risk, perceived ease of use, perceived website quality, and perceived responsiveness to create the relationship between e-service quality dimensions and online banking customer satisfaction. Bank management will receive some guidance on developing policies and strategies to improve the satisfaction level of online customers.

This study aims to examine the factors that affect organizational performance in the manufacturing industry of Bangladesh. This study identifies transformational leadership, human capital, and job satisfaction as significant determinants of organizational performance. The analysis focused on the employees of diverse manufacturing organizations in Bangladesh treated as the targeted population. The data collection was conducted using a survey methodology, wherein a questionnaire was distributed to the participants via postal mail along with a cover letter to enhance comprehension. The ultimate sample consisted of 294 participants, obtained from a pool of 400 individuals who were sent survey questionnaires. The response rate for the survey was 73.5%. Furthermore, a significance level of 5% was employed to assess the hypotheses, and the data pertaining to the research objective of this study were analyzed using SPSS software. The study results indicate that organizational performance is significantly influenced by transformational leadership, human capital, and job satisfaction. These three independent variables explain (R2) 59.6% variance in organizational performance. It is also found that transformational leadership (β-value = 0.443) has the highest impact on the organizational performance of manufacturing firms. This study provides implications for organizational management to improve long-term organizational performance.

The Shariah-compliant (Sukuk) bond has been recently introduced in Muslim countries. Sukuk is getting popular among the Muslim population because of its non-interest feature. Thus, this study explores the impact of attitude toward the Sukuk bond, Muslim people’s religiosity, and their subjective norms on the purchase intention of the Sukuk bond in a Muslim developing country: Bangladesh. The study involved 412 individuals who were current customers of Islamic financial products at different financial institutions in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The study used a convenience sampling technique. The study used a survey questionnaire to assess the three independent variables: attitude, religiosity, and subjective norms. The dependent variable was the purchase intention of the Sukuk bond. The statistical software package, SPSS version 29.0, was utilized to test the hypotheses considering a 95% confidence interval. The findings indicate that three independent variables significantly correlated with the dependent variable. The highest correlation was found between subjective norms (r = 0.644) and purchase intention. The regression results suggest that attitude, religiosity, and subjective norms statistically impact the individuals’ purchase intention of the Sukuk bond in Bangladesh. It also shows that consumers’ attitude (β = 0.386) has a greater impact on their purchase intention. Also, consumers’ subjective norms (β = 0.302) have the second highest influence on purchase intention. These variables explain a significant proportion of the variability observed in purchase intention. Also, the t-test shows that male individuals have higher purchase intentions than females.

This study’s objective is to examine the impact of employee innovativeness, readiness to change, employee creativity, and learning capability on the financial performance of private banks in Bangladesh. The study involved 334 bank employees from three prominent private banks in Bangladesh. Those banks were selected with better ratings by the central bank and have several branches across the country. First, branch managers were contacted about this study and collected employee emails from each branch information desk. Then, email invitations were sent to each employee of the selected bank branches. This study involved branch managers, senior officers, officers, and junior bank executives. Past studies also considered senior and junior bank officers as they directly contribute to a bank’s performance. The study utilized a methodical questionnaire to assess the three independent variables: employee innovativeness, readiness to change, and learning capability. The dependent variable in this study was financial performance, which was assessed through key financial indicators such as profitability and sales growth over three years. SPSS was utilized to conduct hypothesis testing by considering 95% confidence interval. Correlation results show that all three independent variables were significantly correlated with the bank’s financial performance. The study’s regression results suggest that bank employees’ readiness to change (β value = 0.393) significantly impacts the bank’s financial performance, followed by employee innovativeness (β value = 0.338). On the other hand, employees’ learning capability (β value = 0.202) has the least significant impact on financial performance. Moreover, three independent variables explain 42.9% variance in bank financial performance.

Halal brands are gaining popularity among Muslim consumers across the world. This study aims to explore the effect of brand awareness, religious belief, and brand trust on young Muslim consumers’ willingness to purchase halal-branded products. The electronic questionnaires were distributed to participants through Google Forms via a popular social media platform. The survey sample consisted of university students from Bangladesh who identified as Muslims. The paper utilized a purposive sampling technique to select participants for the study, resulting in a total of 517 respondents being included in the sample. Finally, 479 responses were found usable for this study, with a response rate of 92.70%. Among 479, 300 participants were male, while 179 students were female university students. The latest edition of the software SPSS has been employed to examine hypotheses and correlations, with a confidence level of 95%. The results showed a significant impact of brand awareness, religious belief, and brand trust on purchase willingness. Moreover, it indicates that consumers’ brand awareness about halal products (β = 0.392) has a greater effect on their purchase willingness. These findings have the potential to provide valuable insights for halal brands, as they can have a substantial impact on the purchasing choices of young Muslim consumers, particularly regarding their religious and halal concerns.

This study investigates the impact of five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (risk-taking, proactiveness, innovativeness, aggressiveness, and autonomy), an independent variable, on SMEs’ organizational performance in Bangladesh. The study surveyed 237 SMEs’ owners (out of 300, with a response rate of 79%) in Gazipur district, Bangladesh. Cronbach’s alpha (α) value of 0.70 was used to examine the reliability of the constructs in this study. Drawing from earlier research, a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was constructed to assess the links between entrepreneurial orientation and SMEs’ organizational performance. The dependent variable in this study was SMEs’ organizational performance, which was based on business growth, change in number of employees, profitability, and sales growth. The hypotheses were tested using SPSS with a 95% confidence interval. The results suggest that all five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation positively affect the organizational performance of SMEs in Bangladesh. It is evident that proactiveness (β-value = 0.330) has the greatest effect on SMEs’ organizational performance, and competitive aggressiveness has the least effect (β-value = 0.230). The independent variables explain a significant proportion of the variability observed in SMEs’ organizational performance (R2 = 57.4%). The research outcomes offer valuable implications for entrepreneurs, policymakers, and academics.

Acknowledgment
The authors acknowledge the Accounting Research Institute (ARI)-HICoE.

Fintech services such as mobile banking are gaining significant acceptance among the citizens in Bangladesh. Therefore, this study aims to explore the determinants that influence banking service users’ decisions to accept and use fintech services such as mobile banking in an emerging market, specifically in Bangladesh. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to individuals actively using banking services in Bangladesh. A total of 400 questionnaires were distributed to individuals who have active bank accounts. This study obtained a total of 315 valid responses that were deemed suitable for inclusion in the data analysis, with a response rate of 78.75%. Furthermore, a five-point Likert scale was utilized to evaluate the responses to the item-based questionnaire. To evaluate the hypotheses, a significance level of 5% was applied, and the data pertaining to the subject matter and purpose of this study were examined using the SPSS v.29. The results of the study display that the acceptance of mobile banking (fintech) services is pronouncedly shaped by perceived trust, privacy, and security but not by perceived risk. Importantly, perceived security (β value = 0.302) has the greatest impact on mobile banking acceptance among customers compared to other variables. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the propensity of using Fintech services within the context of mobile banking.

This study aims to investigate the effects of different corporate social responsibilities (CSR) on the organizational performance of the banking sector. The target population of this study was bank employees working at various bank branches in Bangladesh. In this investigation, the data gathering procedure was conducted utilizing a Google Form distributed via email, accompanied by a cover letter, to facilitate participation among bank employees. The study collected data from the current bank employees of several banking institutions in Bangladesh. They were sent a survey invitation to participate, and after their approval, their responses were gathered. A five-point Likert scale was used to determine the item-wise questionnaire, with ‘1’ indicating ‘Strongly Disagree’ and ‘5’ indicating ‘Strongly Agree’. The final sample size was 263. Moreover, to evaluate the hypothesis, a 5% significance level and SPSS software were used to analyze the data for research purposes. The outcome of this study shows that internal and external CSR activities have a positive and significant impact on the organizational performance development of Bangladesh’s banking sector. These factors can account for 52.70% of the variability observed in forecasting the performance of bank organizations. External CSR initiatives (β = 0.318; t = 5.937) have the highest effect on a bank’s performance. Additionally, a substantial correlation coefficient (r = 0.436) is present between internal CSR and bank performance. This study might provide significant clues to the management committees of the banking sector that can severely influence a bank’s performance development.

The primary aim of this study is to delve into the factors influencing individuals’ readiness to embrace financial technology (FinTech) services in Bangladesh. Specifically, the study focused on Bangladeshi fintech consumer’s knowledge about contemporary digital financial tools, such as mobile-based payment service apps. Data collection was carried out using a survey questionnaire tailored to the Bangladeshi context. Participants were invited to participate in the survey, and their responses were gathered upon their consent. A five-point Likert scale, ranging from ‘1’ for ‘Strongly Disagree’ to ‘5’ for ‘Strongly Agree,’ was employed to gauge the questionnaire items. The final sample size was 450 respondents. To assess the hypotheses, a 5% significance level was employed, with data analysis conducted using SPSS software. The findings underscore a positive and statistically significant impact of financial literacy, digital literacy, and financial self-efficacy on the adoption of FinTech services in Bangladesh. Collectively, these variables elucidate 48.20% of the variance (R2=0.482) in predicting individuals’ adoption behavior of FinTech. Financial self-efficacy (β = 0.574; t-value = 8.394) has the highest effect on FinTech adoption compared to the other two factors. Additionally, a substantial correlation coefficient (r=0.634) is present between digital literacy and FinTech adoption. This study contributes to the extant literature on FinTech services by providing valuable insights that enhance scholars’ understanding of the emerging financial technologies’ significance and their predominant impacts within the Bangladeshi FinTech ecosystem. These findings hold implications for policymakers, financial institutions, and stakeholders seeking to promote FinTech adoption and foster financial inclusion in Bangladesh.

The aim of this study is to identify the elements that motivate employees in small and medium-sized enterprises operating in Bangladesh. The data were obtained using a survey methodology targeting employees who work in small and medium-sized enterprises located in the northern geographic region of Bangladesh. The sample included 284 employees surveyed from May 2023 to June 2023. The paper utilized a five-point Likert scale to evaluate the responses. Regression techniques were used to test the hypotheses. Moreover, to evaluate the hypotheses, a significance level of 5% was utilized, and the data pertaining to the subject matter and purpose of this study were examined using the SPSS program. The results of the paper indicate that employee motivation at SMEs is significantly influenced by employee empowerment, job security, and job training opportunities. Employee empowerment (β = 0.583) has the highest effect on motivation compared to the other two factors. Additionally, a substantial correlation coefficient (r = 0.498) is found between employee motivation and employee empowerment. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the external determinants of employee motivation within small and medium-sized enterprises.

This study aims to investigate the influencing factors of consumers’ willingness to buy cryptocurrency in Malaysia. The targeted population of this study was Malaysian citizens who had knowledge about digital currency such as cryptocurrency. In this study, the data collection process was completed using an online survey questionnaire from several social media groups in Malaysia. They were sent a survey invitation to take part in, and after their approval, their responses were gathered. Five-point Likert scale has been used, where ‘1’ stands for “strongly disagree” and ‘5’ stands for “strongly agree”, to find out the item-wise questionnaire. The final sample size was n = 620. Moreover, 5% significance level and SPSS software were used to analyze the data and evaluate the hypotheses. The outcome of this study exposes that the perception of the price value of the cryptocurrency, perceived trust, and perceived security measure positively and significantly affect consumers’ willingness to buy cryptocurrency. Overall, these variables can explain 49.50% (R2 = 0.495) of the variance in predicting consumers’ willingness to buy cryptocurrency. It is found that among the three determinants, perceived trust (β = 0.569) in cryptocurrency had the highest impact on the intention among Malaysian consumers compared to other variables. This study contributes to the limited existing literature concerning Bitcoin and digital currencies, offering insights that can aid scholars in comprehending the significance of cryptocurrency and delineating its predominant impacts within the Malaysian cryptocurrency space.

The study aims to identify the effect of corporate governance factors on financial institution performance in Bangladesh. This study employs annual data for 20 financial institutions, including banks, NBFIs, and insurance companies, data is collected from 2011 to 2022. Here, three corporate governance indicators are utilized – board size, board independence, and director’s ownership. The performance of the financial institutions is measured using return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE), and net asset value (NAV). Apart from the corporate governance variables, three company-specific factors, i.e., firm age, financial leverage, and firm size, are used as the control variables. Panel data analysis is conducted through the dynamic Feasible Generalize Least Square (FGLS) method, and the robustness is performed using the random effect model. The results show that corporate governance parameter such as board size has a significant positive influence on financial institution performance in Bangladesh, where board independence and director ownership do not have a significant influence on the performance of financial institutions. Thus, the performance of financial institutions increases when board size increases. This indicates that board members are actively engaged in strategic decision-making and ensure the rights of all stakeholders, which helps improve financial institutions’ overall performance. Therefore, financial institutions may increase their board size to the maximum level to ensure better corporate governance practices in the organizations, which ultimately increases performance.

This study examines the downside risk, measured by semi-standard deviation and lower partial moment, and downside risk-adjusted return, measured by the Sortino ratio and Information ratio of Bangladeshi mutual funds. The study aims to explore the effect of macroeconomic variables such as deposit rate, broad money supply, GDP growth rate, remittance, exports and imports payments on downside risk and risk-adjusted returns. Month-wise downside risk and risk-adjusted return measures of 27 mutual funds are computed using the 12-month rolling window method, covering the period from January 2016 to December 2023. Here, the random effects model is utilized, and the results show that semi-standard deviation has a significant and positive relationship with deposit rate, broad money, and GDP growth rate and a negative relationship with export and remittance. Another downside risk measure, lower partial moment, is significantly and positively related to export and remittance but negatively related to deposit rate, broad money, and GDP growth. On the other hand, the risk-adjusted return Sortino ratio has a significant and positive relationship with the deposit rate, remittance, and GDP growth rate but also has a negative relationship with exports. Furthermore, the information ratio has a significant and positive relation with deposit rate, import and remittance, and a negative relation with GDP growth rate. Overall findings suggest that when broad macroeconomic factors performed well, mutual funds face reduced downside risk and increased risk-adjusted return, and vice versa. Practitioners and institutional investors can use this evidence in their decision-making in an asymmetric market situation.

This study examines the impact of sustainable finance factors on bank performance in Bangladesh. It utilizes annual data from 24 listed commercial banks in Bangladesh from 2016 to 2022. It focuses on three sustainable finance factors: green finance, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and digitalization. These factors ensure sustainable finance practices by prioritizing eco-friendly investments, responsible business operations, operational efficiency, and reduced resource consumption rather than focusing solely on short-term profit maximization. Return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE) are used to measure the performance of commercial banks. This study incorporates default rate and bank size as control variables to consider inherent risk and operational scale, resulting in a more precise evaluation of the impact of digitization, CSR, and green financing on bank performance. Traditional and dynamic panel regression models, including feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) and random effects models, are applied to ensure robust findings. The findings indicate that green finance exhibits an insignificant impact on bank performance. However, corporate social responsibility (CSR) demonstrates a statistically significant positive effect on ROE through positive marketing, enhancing reputation, and building shareholder loyalty towards banks. Conversely, digitalization shows a statistically significant negative effect on performance, implying that initial implementation costs and challenges may outweigh the benefits. In addition, control variables, including default rate and bank size, exhibit a statistically significant negative relationship with performance measures. This suggests that higher default rates indicate increased credit risk and financial losses, while larger bank sizes may lead to inefficiencies due to agency costs and organizational complexities.