Mosab I. Tabash

Islamic finance has grown rapidly in the recent years particularly in the Middle East and the world. It receives a great attention of bankers and financial scholars due to its stability during financial shocks and crises. The paper uses empirical analysis to test the role of Islamic banking in enhancing the economic growth of United Arab Emirates (UAE). Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross formation (GF), and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) are used as representatives for economic growth, while Islamic banks’ investments are used as a representative for Islamic financial sector in the UAE. The study uses time series techniques to test the link between the variables. In the current study, co-integration along with error correction models is utilized. All econometric work is done using Eviews. The findings reveal that the causal relationship between Islamic banks’ investments and economic growth of UAE is supply-leading direction. Furthermore, the findings depict that Islamic investments have contributed in increasing investments and in bringing FDI into the country in the long-term. The study also shows that there is two-way association between Islamic banks’ investments and FDI. It shows that FDI supports Islamic banking and Islamic banking brings FDI. The paper concludes that authorities of the UAE should devote more attention for this growing banking sector by facilitating regulations for establishing new Islamic banks and then creating a suitable environment for their growth and progress in the UAE.

The banking sector plays a vital role in growth-supporting factor for economic growth in the world’s fastest-growing economies like India. Recently, Islamic banking has become an increasingly popular method for alleviating poverty, financial inclusion and economic development around the world. Its importance is highly needed in developing and emerging countries such as India. The main purpose of the paper is to identify and prioritize the critical impeding factors for Islamic banking growth in India. The study is conducted in two stages: the first stage involves investigating the current literature works regarding the challenges facing Islamic banking industry in India, while the second stage is based on identifying and prioritizing these challenges according to its importance in hindering Islamic banking growth by Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). AHP is a multi-criterion decision making tool for organizing and analyzing decisions, based on qualitative and quantitative measures. The results show that the regulatory environmental challenge is the most significant factor among other factors in impeding the growth of Islamic banking in India followed by lack of Islamic banking experts and scholars. The third main challenge is lack of awareness for Islamic banking instruments followed by lack of standardization and the last is lack of cooperation and coordination between Islamic banking authorities. This study is considered the first one to address empirically the challenges facing Islamic banking industry in the world and particularly in India.

This study investigates the impact of political instability, macroeconomic and bank-specific factors on the profitability of Islamic banks in the context of Yemen. The study used two common measures of profitability, namely, Return on Assets (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) as dependent variables. Seven key independent (internal and external) variables are also used. There are five fully-fledged Islamic banks (IBs) working in Yemen. The study selected only three out of five IBs due to the availability of data for the period ranging from 2010 to 2014. The descriptive and multiple regression analyses were done. The results of the study indicate that operating efficiency and financial risk have negative and significant relationships with ROA and ROE. The findings also show that capital adequacy has a negative and insignificant relationship with ROA and ROE. Furthermore, the study reveals that assets size (LogA), assets management, liquidity and deposits have a significant and positive impact on banks’ profitability. GDP, Inflation rate (IR) and Political instability have positive and significant impact on Yemeni banks’ profitability. Based on the best knowledge of the authors, this study is considered one of the first and pioneering studies that determine the factors affecting the profitability of Islamic banks of Yemen. Therefore, the study gives good insights for the policy makers, regulators and interested parties for enhancing the profitability of Islamic banks in Yemen.

The main aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of demonetization on Indian firm’s quarterly financial performance before and after demonetization period (March-December, 2017), and to find out if companies’ age helps to face financial disruption. Four variables, which are net sales, total income, net profit after tax, and earnings per share, were taken as proxies for analyzing the quarterly financial performance of 2,892 companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Stock Exchange (NSE), and Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE). Nonparametric test, particularly Wilcoxon Matched-Pairs Signed Rank Test and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis of variance, were applied in analyzing the data. Results reveal that there is a statistically significant difference between the financial performance before and after demonetization at 5% level of significance. It was also found that the decrease/increase in the financial performance of all the firms was affected by the demonetization process, irrespective of their ages. The findings could be useful for financial managers and financial consultants, as they would be able to focus on the issues that matter most at the time of financial disruption.

This study seeks to verify the contribution of internal audit (IA), especially its role in improving financial performance in Yemeni commercial banks, with a specific focus on three factors, namely: the independence and objectives of IA, the quality of IA and the size of IA. This study reviews some existing literature on the contribution and role of IA in improving financial performance. It relies on available data from questionnaires. 90 questionnaires were distributed to nine commercial banks in Yemen (23 branches) working under the supervision of the Central Bank of Yemen; 81 questionnaires (90%) were regained and used in the process of analysis. To analyze the data, three analysis approaches were used, including description, correlation, and regression. The results showed that the IA has a significant impact on the overall performance of Yemeni commercial banks. Furthermore, the results showed that the auditors’ efficiencies, as well as their financial and accounting experiences, have a significant and positive impact on financial performance. It was revealed that the independence and objectivity of internal auditors are highly insignificant for financial performance. However, the size of IA and the frequency of the auditors’ meetings have a negative and significant effect on financial performance. This study provides some recommendations for improving the effectiveness of IA, which in turn will contribute to improving financial performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of financial performance, firm liquidity and financial leverage of Indian listed firms. This study uses both static models (pooled, fixed, and random effects) and Generalized Moment Methods (GMM). Financial leverage (FINLE) is defined by the ratio of total liabilities to total assets, whereas the current ratio and the quick ratio are used as firm liquidity factors. Further, a set of financial performance determinants such as return on assets, profit after tax, return on capital employed, return on equity, and Tobin-Q are used as independent factors. The results indicated that profit after tax, return on equity, return on capital employed, and Tobin-Q are the most significant financial success variables that influence financial leverage of Indian listed companies. Furthermore, profit after tax, return on capital invested, return on equity, and Tobin-Q are considered to have a substantial effect on financial leverage among the financial success indicators. In the case of firm liquidity, the findings show that the current ratio and the quick ratio have a substantial effect on the financial leverage of Indian listed companies.

Integration management is a significant factor of success in different types of organizations. Yet, the definition of integration management and ways to measure performance in a comprehensive framework need to be investigated in different environments. This paper analyzes the impact of integration management practices on company performance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The study uses a questionnaire that was designed with constructs and dimensions following the literature review. The components of integration management are supply chain integration, supplier integration, customer integration, knowledge transfer with customers, and managing knowledge transfer channels with customers. A questionnaire was distributed among organizations in the UAE. Statistical analysis methods were employed to analyze 94 responses, e.g. reliability tests, ANOVA, and correlation analysis. The results show that integration management improves organizational performance to a considerable degree in the UAE. The impact of these practices was positive and significant on the performance of organizations, with an average correlation coefficient of 0.81. The comprehensive assessment for integration best practices and performance and their relationship are done for the first time in the context of the UAE organizations.

To enhance the performance of organizations, the motivation of employees is a critical factor. The challenge is that motivation can be dependent on the culture and time of analysis. The timely studies are needed for different regions. The purpose of this study is to perform the motivation factors analysis of government employees to enhance their performance. Herzberg’s two-factor motivation theory was used, where the focus is on motivators, which were compared with financial rewards. Another classification of motivators and movers that contributes to ideas was extracted from the literature and included in the questionnaire survey. A survey was designed and 64 employees working in governmental service sectors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) responded to the questionnaire. Statistical analysis methods such as two proportion z-test, Chi-square, and Fisher tests, were used. Results showed that recognition, which was selected by 44% of employees, is the only source of satisfaction that has a higher effect than financial rewards. In addition, a sense of achievement, the opportunity to take responsibility, work itself, as well as advancement prospects have the same or lower effect than financial rewards. Moreover, results showed that, generally, factors associated with motivators are more important for ideas’ contribution than movers, except for the desire to overcome frustration at work. The practical value of the results is obvious since motivation can significantly enhance the performance of organizations in the UAE.

This paper observes the dynamic impact of market risks on the profitability of banks listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) from 2010 to 2018 in Jordan. To identify the link, the relevant data were retrieved from the annual statements of Jordanian banks and one-step Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach was employed to diagnose the error regarding endogeneity. The results of the applied methodology showed that market risks impacted the profitability of Jordanian banks. Furthermore, the study also presented factors that affected the banks’ profitability, such as capitalization and bank size. The previous year profitability has a positive effect on the next year profitability. Moreover, stock market returns (SMRs) directly affect ROA and ROE because when SMRs enhances, bank profitability will increase. Bank managers should ponder the volatility of the market risk while enhancing the profitability of a bank. This relationship of the variables regarding Jordanian banks listed on the ASE was not considered before in the financial economics literature. Recommendations were also provided for Jordanian bank managers to mitigate market risks.

As informal workers struggle to survive the current crisis, there is reason to believe that more strain would also be exerted on the already fragile sector in the post-crisis era. The implications of the COVID-19 outbreak for the informal economy will continue. Faced with a long crisis, the global economy would likely shrink demand for informal goods and services. The primary goal of this paper is to study consumer behavior during the pandemic, investigate government-implemented Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the unorganized retail sector, and determine if consumers prefer to have goods delivered to their homes rather than visit retail stores. This paper collected information from a number of Indian customers who made unorganized retail transactions in New Delhi and NCR Region. The sample was taken from 700 citizens of New Delhi, India. The study found that product variety, digital payment, scheduling, free delivery and lower speed have a significant effect on customer behavior. In addition, SOPs do not influence consumer behavior. The main reasons for choosing a specific channel are simple availability, security, less hassle, and compliance with all laws. The pandemic led to a renewed trust in the local Kirana shop, with new clients visiting metro and non-metro shops locally. The system in Kirana has changed from physical sales to digital aviation because of the pandemic.

In recent years, numerous models with various amounts of variance have been developed to estimate and forecast important characteristics of time series data. While there are many studies on asymmetric volatility and accuracy testing of univariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity models, there are no parallel studies involving multiple financial assets and different heteroscedastic models and density functions. The objective of this study is to contrast the forecasting accuracy of univariate volatility models with Normal and Student-t distributions in forecasting the volatility of stock, gold futures, crude futures, exchange rate, and bond yield over a 10-year time span from January 2010 through December 2021 in Indian market. The results of exponential, threshold and asymmetric power models show that the volatility stock (–0.12047, 0.17433, 0.74020 for Nifty, and –0.1153, 0.1676, 0.7372 for Sensex), exchange rate (–0.0567, 0.0961,0.9004), crude oil futures (-0.0411, 0.0658, 0.2130), and bond yield (–0.0193, 0.0514 and –0.0663) react asymmetrically to good and bad news. In case of gold futures, an inverse asymmetric effect (0.0537, –0.01217, –0.1898) is discovered; positive news creates higher variance in gold futures than bad news. The Exponential model captures the asymmetric volatility effect in all asset classes better than any other asymmetric models. This opens the door for many studies in Indian financial market.

Credit policy plays a vital role in the operational efficiency of credit departments as it reduces the ambiguity of credit departments’ functions by giving clear guidelines and instructions. It also reduces the loan default and speeds up accounts receivable turnover. This paper seeks to evaluate the effect of credit policy on the profitability of pharmaceutical firms listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), using a balanced panel data of 82 pharmaceutical firms from 2008 to 2017. The number of days’ collection period and the number of days’ payable deferral period are chosen for measuring firms’ credit policy, while return on assets (ROA) is used for measuring firms’ profitability. It is found that the number of days’ collection period and the number of days’ payable deferral period have a negative and significant effect on the profitability of the pharmaceutical firms, while the control variables leverage, firm size, and age negatively impact the profitability of pharmaceutical firms. Financial managers in pharmaceutical companies should reduce the number of days’ collection period and increase the number of days’ deferral period to reduce the risk of bad debts. Furthermore, they should conduct a credit analysis to evaluate potential clients as it prevents bad debts.

This article aims to measure the level of voluntary disclosure in the published annual reports of Yemeni Islamic banks. Four full-fledged Islamic banks from Yemen are selected for the current study. A disclosure checklist covering 266 items is prepared and a 10-year period, 2005–2014, is taken. The disclosure index items were classified into seven groups, such as basic information on Islamic banks, financial ratios, corporate governance information, financial statements data, corporate social disclosure, Zakat information, and other information that has been taken as an important attribute of voluntary disclosure. The obtained results show that the amount of voluntary disclosure that Yemeni Islamic banking institutions publish in their annual reports has gradually increased over the ten years examined. The results revealed that the highest average disclosure index score over the ten years was achieved by Tadhamon Islamic International Bank (TIIB), the second highest average disclosure score was obtained by Saba Islamic Bank (SIB), and the lowest average voluntary disclosure rating score during the ten years surveyed was achieved by Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain in Yemen during the study period. Substantially, the result of voluntary disclosure scores indicates that the degree of voluntary disclosure by Yemeni Islamic financial institutions has relatively expanded during the ten years investigated. The findings provide new evidence for voluntary disclosure, particularly, Islamic disclosure items. The survey findings can be useful for regulators in Yemen to improve overall disclosure practices by Islamic banks operating in Yemen.

Social insurance has been a pivotal tool in implementing social security. The purpose of the study is to analyze the existing information clusters (areas) in the field of social insurance. Clusters define related and unrelated groups in the field of social insurance. These groups will help streamline and identify areas where little or no research has been conducted to present. To achieve the objective, the study employed a precise and systematic procedure to gather 562 journal articles published in Scopus-indexed journals from 1926–2022. Subsequently, VOSviewer, Science of Science (Sci2), and Gephi were utilized to conduct bibliometric analysis (such as keyword co-occurrence and bibliographic coupling) and network analysis tests (such as citation and co-citation analysis). The results of keyword co-occurrence and co-citation analysis suggest there are three knowledge clusters: welfare provisions, benefits provided by social insurance, and social insurance operational aspects. Through analysis found top article-based Inequality, social insurance, and redistribution with 408(LC) and 1042(GC) and its page rank value is 0.010574 through prestigious analysis. Additionally, it is also observed that I. Nielsen had made the most substantial contributions as an author, with R. Smyth and C. Nyland following closely in the rankings. Also, observed maximum total link strength with 109 value on social security variable. The study also drawn attention to specific deficiencies, including regional concentration of research, insufficient research in developing and underdeveloped countries, inadequate knowledge sharing among researchers, limited methodological diversity, and a lack of research on the role of social insurance in facilitating society’s recovery from the pandemic.

This paper aims to analyze the link between the disclosure of zakat information and the performance of Islamic financial institutions in Yemen. Panel data of three Islamic banks working in Yemen were used. The study used a 16-item disclosure index to measure zakat disclosure information, and the financial performance of banks was calculated using two proxies, such as return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE). Based on secondary data, this study used correlation matrix, descriptive analysis and regression analysis. ROA results revealed that zakat data and the age of a bank significantly affected financial results calculated by ROA, while the size of Islamic banks had an insignificant influence of banking performance. Zakat information and the size of Islamic banks have a positive effect on bank performance, while the age of the bank negatively influences the performance of banks. The results concerning ROE indicated that zakat data and the age of a bank have a strong and significant influence on the performance of banks, determined by ROA, while the size of a bank has a negative and insignificant effect on the performance of banks, determined by ROE.

This article aims to empirically examine corporate governance features and their association with Indian listed companies’ profitability. Thirty-three listed firms are selected from the top 100 companies in India. Corporate governance is defined by two parts: board of directors (size, structure, diligence) and audit committee (size, structure, diligence). In contrast, the profitability of Indian listed firms is calculated by two indicators: return on assets (ROA) and earnings per share (EPS). The outcomes concerning ROA reveal that board diligence, size of audit committee, audit committee composition, diligence of audit committee, and size of a company has a significant relationship with ROA. In contrast, board size and board composition have an insignificant association with ROA. Concerning earnings per share (EPS) model, the results show that size of audit committee, audit committee composition, diligence of audit committee, and firm size have a significant relationship with EPS. In contrast, board size, board composition, and board diligence have an insignificant association with EPS. The results may be of benefit to those scholarly researchers, practitioners, and governors who are interested in exploring the quality of corporate governance practices in an emerging market such as India and its effect on firms’ profitability.

The main purpose of the current study is to examine the impact of Ramadan month on stock returns at the Palestine Exchange (PEX). The study sample consists of all Palestinian public shareholding companies listed in the PEX. The comparison period used in this study consists of 30 days before Ramadan month, 30 days after Ramadan month, and Ramadan month (30 days). This gives a total of 90 days in a year for ten years (2006–2016). The GJR-GARCH technique is used. The results of the study show that Ramadan month has a remarkable effect on the stock returns of the companies in the PEX. The results indicate a significant impact on earnings per share (EPS) in the PEX. Furthermore, there is a positive relationship between the stock returns and the market value in Ramadan month. The profits are increased in the industrial and investment companies due to the high demands in Ramadan month. Therefore, the companies should work to keep a steady performance in the whole year. Besides, the capacity of industrial and investment companies should be increased to meet the high demand in Ramadan month. This study will help Palestinian investors to effectively time their trading. This study is considered one of the pioneering studies that discuss the impact of Ramadan month on the stock returns in the context of Palestine Stock Exchange.

The desires of consumers as individuals are largely shaped by their aspirations in life, which play a crucial role in deciding their brand preference, but very few studies have focused on the demographic difference in aspirations and its relationship with brand preference, especially in the context of luxury brands, for the consumers in the emerging markets. This paper aims to empirically assess the role of key demographic factors (gender, age, and income) in influencing the aspirations of consumers in India, an emerging market, and their preference for luxury branded products. The hypotheses were developed based on the review of the extant literature and tested through t-test and ANOVA along with the moderation test using PROCESS extension in SPSS 22.0. The study included data collected from 915 Indian consumers, in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, with prior experience of buying luxury branded products in the fashion segment through a self-administered questionnaire. The results demonstrate that the aspirations, both intrinsic (F = 8.185; p = 0.004) and extrinsic (F = 7.14; p = 0.007) and luxury brand preferences (F = 5.762; p = 0.017) of males and females differ significantly. However, demographic factors of gender (R2 = 0.137; p > 0.05), age (R2 = 0.130; p > 0.05), and income (R2 = 0.132; p > 0.05) were not found to have any moderating effect on the relationship between luxury brand preference and aspirations. The results of the study would help luxury brand marketers to develop their strategic plans for marketing activities by providing insights into the differences in the desires and preferences of their customers.