Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age: The Impact of Technology and Innovation in the Financial Services Sector 9783031272950, 9783031272967, 3031272951
This book focuses on understanding Innovation in the Financial Services Sector. The collection of contributions gathered
114 11 21MB
English Pages 844 [799] Year 2023
Contents
Determinants of Investor´s Behaviour Towards Mudarabah Investment Deposits: A Case of Pakistan Islamic Banks
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
1.2 Significance of the Study
2 Literature Review
3 Research Methodology
4 Results and Discussion
5 Conclusion
References
Empowering the Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Malaysian Higher Education Institution (HEI) Towards Developing Income Ge...
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
2 Literature Review
2.1 Digital Entrepreneurship
2.2 Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
2.3 Income Generation
A Proposed Conceptual Framework
3 Methodology
4 Discussion
5 Contribution of the Study
References
Restarting Start-Ups Post-COVID-19: The Case of Malaysian Start-Ups that Reshaped Its Business Performance
1 Introduction
1.1 Background of Study
2 Literature Review
2.1 Start-Up Companies´ Business Performance
2.2 Change of Start-Up Post-Covid-19 Business Performance
A Proposed Conceptual Framework
3 Methodology
4 Discussion
5 Contribution of the Study
References
Coping Behaviour Among High School Students Towards Social Media Anxiety: Experiences from Cluster and Non-cluster Schools in ...
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Subsection Coping Behaviour
2.2 Cyberbullying
2.3 Sexual Solicitation
2.4 Exposure to Explicit Content
3 Research Methodology
4 Results
4.1 Profile of the Respondents
4.2 Reliability Analysis
4.3 Correlation Analysis
5 Discussion and Implications
6 Conclusion
References
The Effect of Social Entrepreneurship Orientation Towards Sustainability Performance in Indonesia
1 Introduction
1.1 The Important Role of Social Entrepreneurship Orientation
2 Literature Review and Hypothesis Development
2.1 The Role of Social Resource-Based View (SRBV)
2.2 Hypothesis Development
3 Methodology
3.1 Data Modelling
3.2 Data Collection
3.3 Measurement
4 Result and Discussion
4.1 Construct Convergent Validity and Reliability
4.2 Construct Discriminant Validity
4.3 Bootstrapping
5 Conclusion
References
Corporate Governance Practices Affecting Performance: A Case Study of Malaysian Elderly Care Centres NGOs
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Development of NGOs´ Governance in Malaysia
2.2 Corporate Governance and Performance
3 Methodology
4 Findings and Discussion
4.1 Demographic Data
5 Discussion
5.1 Recommendation for Future Research
6 Conclusion
References
Saving Behaviour Among the University Students in Malaysia
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Methodology
4 Results and Discussions
4.1 Demographic Analysis
4.2 Descriptive Analysis
4.3 Normality Test
4.4 Reliability Test
4.5 Pearson Correlation Analysis
5 Conclusion
References
Corporate Ethics and Financial Reporting Quality: A Thematic Analysis from Accountants´ Perspectives
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Research Method
4 Data Analysis Procedure
5 Result and Discussion
5.1 Corporate Ethical Values
5.2 Corporate Ethical Commitment Attributes
5.3 Financial Reporting Quality Features
5.4 Best Practice of Corporate Governance
6 Conclusion
References
Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on SME Digitalization in Taiping, Perak
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 SME Digitalization
2.2 Customer Behavior
2.3 Government Regulation
2.4 Cost Reach and Resources
2.5 Conceptual Framework
3 Results
3.1 Spearman Correlation Analysis
3.2 Recommendation and Conclusion
Information Technology Utilization and Acceptance Framework for Private Clinic in Malaysia: CLIMS (Clinical Information Manage...
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Review of Information Technology Frameworks Acceptance in Hospitals
TAM2 for Framework Implementation in Hospital
HOT-FIT Framework for Evaluating HIS in Hospital
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Interview Setting and Procedure
3.2 System Observation and Business Process of U.N.I Klinik
4 Qualitative Data Analysis and Results
4.1 System Observation and the Business Process of U.N.I Klinik
4.2 Interview Results
4.3 The CLIMS Conceptual Framework for U.N.I Klinik
Proposed Hypothesis
4.4 Discussion on CLIMS Conceptual Framework
5 Conclusion and Future Research
References
Comprehensive Supervision Platform (CSP) on Padlet as Open Educational Resources Initiative: Our Experience
1 Introduction
2 Related Works
3 Evaluation of CSP
4 Result and Discussion
5 Conclusion
References
Qar al-asan for SME Financing Using Non-permissible Earnings: Islamic FinTech Solutions for Yemeni IFIs
1 Introduction
1.1 Literature Review
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Islamic Banking and Finance
Qard al-Hasan Definition
Qar al-asan Financing through FinTech
The Non-permissible Earnings in Islamic Banking and Finance
Using the Non-permissible Earnings in Islamic Banking and Finance
2 The Non-permissible Earnings in Yemeni Islamic Financial Institutions
2.1 An Overview of Islamic Banks in Yemen
2.2 The Proposed Technology
2.3 Non-permissible Earnings in Yemeni Islamic Financial Institutions
3 Conclusion, Findings, and Recommendations
3.1 Conclusion
3.2 Findings
3.3 Recommendations
References
Toward Faith-Based Financing for Poverty Alleviation: The Influence of Religiosity on Entrepreneurship
1 Introduction
1.1 Objectives
2 Literature Review
2.1 Shariah Rules and Entrepreneurship
2.2 Religiosity
2.3 Shariah Business Knowledge
2.4 Microfinance Experience
3 Methodology
3.1 Research Design: Conceptual Framework
4 Findings
4.1 Respondents´ Demography
4.2 Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)
4.3 Hybrid Model
4.4 Composite Model
4.5 Bootstrapping and Hypothesis Justification
4.6 Moderating Effects
4.7 Limitations
5 Concluding Remarks
References
Examining the Wasta Scale Reliability and Validity
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Wasta Phenomenon
2.2 Wasta Dimensions
Mojamala
Hamola
Somah
3 Methods
3.1 Procedures and Data Collection
3.2 The Wasta Survey and Exploratory Factor Analysis
3.3 Reliability Assessment
3.4 Content Validity
3.5 Construct Validity
3.6 The Model Analysis
3.7 Results and Analysis
4 Conclusions
4.1 Theoretical and Practical Implications
4.2 Future Research
References
How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Influenced University Students´ Performance Negatively through Mental Health and Well-being Prob...
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review and Proposition Development
2.1 COVID-19 Pandemic
Grade Point Average (GPA)
2.2 Stress and Anxiety
COVID-19, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Well-being, and Academic Performance
3 Methodology
3.1 The Study Sample and Method of Data Collection
3.2 Data Analysis
4 Findings
5 Discussion
6 Conclusions
7 Research Limitations
References
China´s Economic Development and Response to COVID-19
1 Introduction
2 China´s Economic Situation in the Context of COVID-19
2.1 The Supply Level
2.2 The Demand Level
2.3 The Price Level
2.4 Financial Level
3 The Main Influencing Factors and Trends of China´s Economic Development After the Epidemic
3.1 Main Influencing Factors
3.2 Trend of Economic Development
3.3 International Economic Situation
3.4 China´s Economic Risk Points
4 Economic Development Policies in the Context of the Pandemic
4.1 Overall Economic Objectives
4.2 China´s Economic Measures
5 Conclusion
References
From the Perspective of Sustainable Development Concept: Research on Enterprise Environmental Accounting Information Disclosur...
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Problem Statement
4 Proposed Methodology
4.1 Dataset
4.2 Hypotheses Development
4.3 Measurement of Variables
4.4 Statistical Analysis
5 Result Evaluation
5.1 Results for Collinear and Multicollinearity Test (CMCT)
5.2 Results for Bartlett´s Test
5.3 Accuracy
5.4 Specificity
6 Discussion
7 Conclusion
References
Is Your Organization´s Operational Risk Management Practice Up to Snuff? A Multiple-Case Study on Businesses in Kelantan, Mala...
1 Introduction
2 Problem Statement, Research Objectives, Questions
3 Literature Review
4 Research Methodology
4.1 Research Context
4.2 Research Design
5 Analysis, Results, and Discussion
6 Conclusion
References
Examining the Affect of Impulse Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming E-Commerce Among Generation Z
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Generation Z
2.2 Impulse Purchase Behavior
2.3 Usage Intensity and Impulse Purchase Behavior
2.4 Online Social Interaction and Impulse Purchase Behavior
2.5 Sales Promotion and Impulse Purchase Behavior
2.6 Environment and Impulse Purchase Behavior
2.7 Family Influence and Impulse Purchase Behavior
3 Methodology
4 Analysis and Discussion
4.1 Demographic Profiles
4.2 Realibility and Validity Test
4.3 Normality Test
4.4 Pearson Correlation Coefficient
5 Discussion and Conclusion
5.1 Discussion
5.2 Conclusion
References
Predicting the Waste Separation Intention and Behaviour Among the Malaysian Households
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Theoretical Foundation
2.2 Hypotheses Development
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Data Gathering and Sample Choice
3.2 Research Instrument
3.3 Data Analysis Method
4 Data Analysis
4.1 Descriptive Data
4.2 PLS-SEM Analysis
5 Discussions, Implications and Limitations
5.1 Implications
References
Examining the Intention and Adoption of E-Learning During COVID-19 Among the Malaysian Students
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review and Hypothesis Development
2.1 Theoretical Foundation
2.2 Performance Expectancy (PEY)
2.3 Effort Expectancy (EEP)
2.4 Subjective Norms (SIN)
2.5 Facilitating Conditions (FCD)
2.6 Behavioral Intention (BIN)
3 Research Design
3.1 Common Method Variance
4 Data Analysis
4.1 Analysis of Variables´ Validity and Reliability
4.2 Path Investigation
5 Discussions, Implications, and Limitations
Appendix
References
Green Purchase Intention: The Exploration of Chinese Food Consumers
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Theoretical Foundation
2.2 Green Purchase Intention (GPI)
2.3 Eco-Label (ECL)
2.4 Eco-Packaging (ECP)
2.5 Green Advertising (GAD)
2.6 Environmental Attitude (ETA)
2.7 Environmental Awareness (EAW)
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Data Collection and Study Sample Design
3.2 Measurement and Scales
3.3 Assessment of Common Method Variance (CMV)
3.4 Multivariate Normality
4 Data Analysis
4.1 Reliabilities and Validities
4.2 Path Analysis
5 Discussion, Implications, and Limitations
5.1 Discussion
5.2 Implications
5.3 Limitations
Appendix
References
Exploring the Intention and Use of E-Wallet Among the Young Malaysian: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Study Hypotheses
Performance Expectancy (PEX)
Effort Expectancy (EEX)
Social Influence (SIN)
Facilitating Conditions (FCD)
E-Wallet Use
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Data Gathering and Sample Size
3.2 Research Apparatus
3.3 Valuation of Common Method Variance (CMV)
3.4 Multivariate Normality
3.5 Data Analysis Scheme
4 Data Analysis
4.1 Descriptive Statistics
4.2 PLS-SEM Analysis
Analysis of Validity and Reliability
4.3 Path Examination
5 Discussion
5.1 Formation of Intention and Use of the E-Wallet
6 Conclusion
Appendix
References
A Narrative Review on Mee Siput-Making Machine for Small Industries: User-Friendly or Worst
1 Introduction
2 Objective
3 Specification for the Solution
4 Materials and Methods
5 Results and Discussion
6 Conclusion
References
Discovering the Adoption of Eco-Friendly Furniture Among Chinese Customers
1 Introduction
2 Review of Literature
2.1 Theoretical Setting
2.2 Purchase Intention (PIN)
2.3 Factors Affecting Attitude Toward Eco-Friendly Furniture
Social Factors (SFTs)
Personal Factors (PFTs)
Brand Image (BIM)
Positive Attitude (PAT)
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Data Collection and Study Sample Design
3.2 Measurement and Scales
3.3 Assessment of Common Method Variance (CMV)
3.4 Multivariate Normality
4 Data Analysis
4.1 Reliabilities and Validities
4.2 Path Investigation
5 Discussions, Implications, and Limitations
Appendix
References
Moderating Role of Organizational Culture on Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Management of Selected Tertiary Institutions ...
1 Introduction
2 Literature and Development of Hypothesis
2.1 Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Management
2.2 Organizational Culture and Conflict Management
2.3 Interactive Effects of EI and OC on Conflict Management
3 Methodology
3.1 Research Design
3.2 Sample Selection Plan
3.3 Instruments/Measures
4 Study Results
4.1 Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results
Model Fitness Statistics
4.2 Multiple Regression Results
5 Discussion of Results
6 Recommendations
7 Conclusion
References
Human Resources Management Practices in Ghana Health Service Institutions: Employee Welfare and Relations
1 Introduction
2 Review of Related Literature
2.1 Employee Welfare
2.2 Motivation
2.3 Job Satisfaction
2.4 Commitment
2.5 Safety and Health Measures
2.6 Employee Relations
2.7 Organizational Conflict
2.8 Conflict Management
2.9 Conflict Management (CM) Styles
3 Methodology
3.1 Study Design and Setting
3.2 Sample Size and Sampling Technique
3.3 Data Collection and Analysis
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents
Employee Welfare
Safety and Health
Employee Welfare Status of the GHS Institutions in Upper West Region
Employee Relations
Conflict Management Styles
Disciplinary Measures and Channel of Expressing Grievances
Recommendations and Conclusion
References
Financial Planning for Retirement: An Integrative Literature Review of the Hershey Model
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Specification of Statement
4 Discussion
5 Conclusion
Appendix
References
The Effect of E-commerce Promotional Tools on Customer Intention to Buy
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review, Research Questions
2.1 Funnel and Flash Sales Are Important
3 Methodology
4 Analysis, Findings, and Discussion
4.1 Outer Model/Test Indicator
4.2 Structural Test/Inner Model
4.3 Hypothesis Test
5 Conclusion
5.1 Limitations
References
Business Analytics for Business and Economic Sectors: A Review and Bibliometrics Analysis from 2012 to 2022
1 Introduction
2 Research Methodology
2.1 Data Collection and Analysis Methods
3 Results
3.1 Number of Articles Published
3.2 Analysis of Research Areas
3.3 Most Dominant Journals with Highest Publications
3.4 Analysis of Most Dominant Countries/Regions
3.5 Most Dominant Authors Who Contributed to the WOS
3.6 Analysis of Most Cited Articles
3.7 Analysis of Author Keywords
4 Conclusion
References
Survival of Family Business Partnerships in Malaysia: Governance and Legal Obstacles
1 Introduction
2 Governance of Family Business Partnership and Family Business Corporation
2.1 Mechanisms for Growth for Family Business Limited Liability Partnership and Family Business Corporation
3 Governance of a Family Firm Partnership Operated Under a Conventional Partnership in Malaysia
3.1 Legal Obstacles from the Purview of the Law of Partnership 1961 and Case Laws
4 Conclusion
5 Recommendations for Future Research
References
The Moderating Role of Trust on Pro-environmental Purchasing Behavior: The Case of Malaysian Consumers in North Malaysia
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Pro-environmental Purchasing Behavior
2.2 Perceived Value
2.3 Environmental Concern
2.4 Trust
3 Methodology
3.1 Research Respondents
3.2 Composite Reliability Test
3.3 Average Variance Extracted
3.4 Variable Correlation-Root Square of AVE
3.5 Hypothesis Testing (Path Coefficient)
4 Discussion
4.1 Limitations
4.2 Contribution
5 Conclusion
References
Financial Behavior, Religious Knowledge, and Debt Decision-Making: A Conceptual Paper
1 Introduction
2 Islamic Behavioral Finance
3 Debt Decision-Making
4 Conclusion
References
The Influence of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Financial Performance of Private Higher Education in Pekanbaru, Indonesia: A Co...
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Entrepreneurial Leadership
Vision and Mission
Innovative and Creative
Passionate and Persistent
Opportunity Focused
Risk Taker and Propensity
Capacity Building and Trust
2.2 Financial Performance
3 Theoretical Framework
4 Methodology
5 Conclusion
References
Impact of E-CRM Implementation, Customer Experience, and Customer Loyalty in E-Commerce: Literature Review
1 Introduction
2 Objective
3 Conceptual Framework
3.1 E-CRM and Customer Experience
3.2 The Connection Between E-CRM and Customer Loyalty
3.3 Customer Experience and Customer Loyalty
3.4 E-CRM, Customer Experience, and Customer Loyalty
4 Literature Review
5 Conclusion
6 Future Discovery
References
Human Competency Effect on the Usage of Government School Information System ``DAPODIK´´ in Pekanbaru City: A Conceptual Paper
1 Introduction
2 Human Competency
3 Human Organization Technology Fit (HOT Fit) Model
4 Conclusion
References
Entrepreneurship and Motherhood: A Narrative Analysis of a Woman Entrepreneur
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Methodology
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 The Profile of the Woman Entrepreneur and Her Business
4.2 The Decision to Start NWB
4.3 The Familial and Business Pressure
4.4 Business Challenges
5 Conclusion
References
Application of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the Adoption of Accounting Information System (AIS) Among Indonesia Privat...
1 Introduction
2 The Technology Acceptance Model
3 Tam Explanation on the Adoption of AIS in PHEIs in Indonesia
3.1 Exogenous Variable
4 Conclusions
References
Accounting Practices´ Intention Among Student Entrepreneurs
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Accounting Practices´ Intention
2.2 Theory of Planned Behavior (Attitude, Subjective Norms, and Perceived Behavioral Control)
2.3 Technology
2.4 Perceived Difficulties
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Sampling Method and Data Collection
3.2 Analysis and Findings
4 Discussion and Findings
5 Conclusion
References
The Impacts of Social Capital Toward Indigenous Entrepreneurs Socio-Economic Development
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Indigenous Entrepreneur
2.2 Indigenous Entrepreneurial Characteristics
2.3 Social Capital
3 Methodology
3.1 Creating More Business Opportunity
3.2 Increased Confidence to Expand
4 Conclusion and Implications
References
Service Quality Affecting Customer Loyalty at Sharia Banks Driven by Islamic Personality
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Loyalty Customer
2.2 Service Quality
2.3 Islamic Personality
3 Framework of Analysis
4 Research Method
4.1 Research Approaches
4.2 Population and Sample Size
4.3 Research Instrument
4.4 Data Analysis Method
4.5 Research Validity and Reliability
4.6 Demographic Profile of the Respondents
4.7 Data Analysis and Interpretation
5 Conclusion and Recommendation
References
Household Financial Management Based on Maqasid Shariah Toward Sakinah: Case of Pekanbaru
1 Introduction
1.1 A Subsection Sample
2 Literature Review
3 Research Methodology
4 Analysis Data
5 Conclusion
References
Factors Influencing Customers´ Perception of Online Zakat Payment Among Muslim Employees in Kelantan
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Customers´ Behaviors
2.2 Ease of Use
2.3 Customers´ Satisfactions
3 Research Framework
4 Methodology
4.1 Research Design
4.2 Sampling Technique
4.3 Data Collection
4.4 Data Analysis
5 Findings and Discussion
5.1 Frequencies
5.2 Descriptive Analysis
5.3 Reliability Analysis
5.4 Correlation Analysis
6 Conclusion and Recommendation
6.1 Recommendation
6.2 Conclusion
References
Indonesian Sharia Banking Transformation Model in the Digital Era: An Overview
1 Introduction
2 The Digital Era and the Response of the Business World
3 Factors Driving the Transformation of Conventional Business to Digital
4 Research Method
5 Results and Discussion
5.1 Transformation of Conventional Bank to Digital
5.2 Barriers to Technology Adoption
6 Conclusions
References
The Factors Influencing E-Learning Adoption Behavior: A Conceptual Paper
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
1.2 Purpose of Study
2 Literature Review
2.1 Learner Quality
2.2 Service Quality
2.3 Information Quality
2.4 Technical System Quality
3 Conceptual Framework
3.1 Research Questions
3.2 Research Hypotheses and Framework
4 Methodology
4.1 Research Design
4.2 Data Analysis
5 Conclusion
References
Intention to Pay Zakat on Digital Money Among Cryptocurrency Users in Malaysia
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Zakat on Cryptocurrency
2.2 Theoretical Underpinning and Conceptual Model
3 Methodology
4 Findings
4.1 Respondent Profile
4.2 Reliability Test (Cronbach Alpha)
4.3 Correlation Matrix Analysis
4.4 Multiple Regression Analysis
5 Discussion
6 Conclusion
References
The Influences of Online Food Images Towards People´s Behavioural Intention to Visit a Restaurant
1 Introduction
2 Online Food Images
2.1 Visual Presentation of Food Images
Colour of Visual Food Images
Visual Food Plating
2.2 Behavioural Intention to Visit Restaurant
The Relationship Between Online Food Images and Behavioural Intention to Visit a Restaurant
3 Methodology
3.1 Sampling and Instrument
3.2 Research Instrument
4 Findings and Discussion
4.1 Respondents Profile
4.2 Multiple Linear Regression Analysis
5 Conclusion
References
Legal Assurance Against Nursing Professional Nurse Students in the Implementation of Nursing Practice (A Political Urgency of ...
1 Introduction
2 Methodology
3 Results and Discussion
4 Conclusion
Adoption of Food Quality and Safety Standards Among Food Handlers in Malaysia
1 Introduction
2 Food-Handling Regulations
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Results and Discussion
4 Conclusions
References
Financial Planning Literacy Among Retirees: Issues and Challenges
1 Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
2 Literature Review
3 Methodology
4 Findings
4.1 Issues
4.2 Challenges
5 Suggestion
6 Conclusion
References
Agripreneur Insaniah Model in Malaysia: Questionnaire Development and Validation
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Basic Concepts of the Good and the Bad
3 Research Objectives
4 Research Methodology
5 Results and Discussion
6 Conclusions
References
Influence of Online Marketing on Gen X´s Loyalty Towards E-Commerce Platform in Malaysia: Case Study of Lazada
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Customer Loyalty
2.2 Perceived Informativeness
2.3 Interactivity
2.4 Perceived Value
2.5 Online Trust
3 Research Framework
4 Research Methodology
5 Findings
5.1 Confirmatory Factor Analysis
5.2 Internal Consistency Test
5.3 Construct Validity Test
5.4 Discriminant Validity
5.5 Predictive Model Fit
5.6 Path Coefficients
5.7 Hypotheses Test
6 Discussion
7 Conclusion
References
Awareness of Islamic Consumers Baitul Maal Wat Tamwil (BMT) in Riau
1 Introduction
2 Cognitive Theory
3 Maqashid Syariah
4 Baitul Maal Wat Tamwil (BMT)
5 Research Methodology
6 Discussion
6.1 Inclusion of Syariah Financial
7 BMT Syariah Consumer View from Maqashid Syariah
8 Public Awareness as Sharia Consumers Toward BMT in Riau
9 Conclusion
References
Kifayah Limits and the Determination of Asnaf Among the Poor and the Needy Based on Practicing Zakat Institutions in Malaysia
1 Introduction
2 Literature Research
2.1 Asnaf Among the Poor and the Needy´s Position in Zakat Management Institutions
2.2 Kifayah Limits as a Parameter of Asnaf Poor and Needy
3 Result and Discussion
3.1 Basic Needs Elements
3.2 Aspects of Dependents in the Family
4 Conclusions
References
Factors of Islamic City Image in Kota Bharu Islamic City Through View of Visitors at Kelantan, Malaysia
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Overview of Kota Bharu as an Islamic City
2.2 The Formation of Islamic City Image Through Islamic Built Environment
3 Methodology
3.1 Instrumentation and Measurement of Variables
3.2 Population and Sampling
3.3 Data Collection and Analysis
4 Finding
4.1 Demographic Profile
4.2 Descriptive Analysis
5 Discussion and Implication
6 Conclusion
References
Sustainable Funding Model for the Bottom 40 Startups: Item Validation
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Sustainable Social Funding Landscape
3 Research Objectives
4 Research Methodology
5 Results and Discussion
6 Conclusions
References
Institutional Isomorphism, Accountability, and Local Government Performance in Era of Public Governance: A Conceptual Framework
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 The Concept of Performance
2.2 Institutional Isomorphism
2.3 The Concept of Accountability
2.4 The Conceptual Framework
3 Proposed Method
4 Conclusion
References
Displaying Colorful Products in Physical Stores and E-Commerce Sites Without Impacting Color Blind People
1 Introduction
1.1 Color Vision Defect (CVD)
1.2 Different Types of Color Blindness
1.3 Color Vision Defects and Color Wavelengths
1.4 Common Scenarios Involving Color Vision Defect (CVD)
1.5 Colorful Product Array and CVD
2 Methodology
3 Hypothesis
4 Analysis and Findings
5 Conclusion and Recommendation
References
Does Shariah Audit Framework Matter? Views from Practitioners in Islamic Banks
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Current Shariah Audit Guidelines in Malaysia
Shariah Governance Policy Document (SGPD2019)
Internal Audit Guidelines by Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)
Minimum Audit Standards for Internal Auditors
3 Research Methodology
4 Results and Findings
5 Conclusions and Recommendations
References
Investigating the Role of Job Demands and Job Resources in Predicting Burnout Among Nursing Home Nurses
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Job Demands
2.2 Job Resources
2.3 Job Satisfaction
3 Methods
4 Research Findings
4.1 Measurement Model
4.2 Structural Model
5 Discussion
6 Conclusion
References
From Waste to Health: An Innovation of High-Fiber Biscuit Using Brown Rice and Banana Peel
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Brown Rice
2.2 Banana Peel
3 Methodology
3.1 Processing of High-Fiber Brown Rice Biscuit and Banana Peel Flour Mixes
3.2 Product Formulation of High-Fiber Brown Rice with Banana Peel Flour Mixed
3.3 Sensory Evaluation
3.4 Proximate Analysis
3.5 Shelf Life Study
3.6 Consumer Test
4 Findings
4.1 Sensory Evaluation
4.2 Proximate Analysis
4.3 Energy Content
4.4 Storage Quality Study
4.5 Consumer Test
5 Conclusion
References
COVID-19 Evidence: Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior Toward Online Purchase Intention Among Young Adults in Cote d´Ivoire
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Price Sensitivity and Online Purchase Intention
2.2 Product and Service Availability and Online Purchase Intention
2.3 Website Quality and Online Purchase Intention
2.4 Social Media Influencer and Online Purchase Intention
2.5 Brand Image and Online Purchase Intention
3 Research Findings
3.1 Data Analysis and Results
3.2 Internal Consistency and Convergent Validity
3.3 Discriminant Validity
3.4 Multiple Linearity (Collinearity Statistics)
3.5 Predictive Model Fit (R2)
3.6 Path Coefficients
3.7 Hypotheses Test
4 Discussion
5 Practical Implications and Recommendations
6 Future Research
References
The Effect of Food Hawkers´ Behaviour Towards Environmentally Friendly Food Packaging
1 Introduction
2 Literature Reviews of Intention to Use EFFP
2.1 Attitude
2.2 Subjective Norms
2.3 Perceived Behavioural Control
3 Conceptual Framework
4 Research Methodology
5 Finding
5.1 Structural Model
6 Conclusion and Discussion
References
An Application of Actor Network Theory (ANT) in Business-to-Business Procurement Platform
1 Introduction
2 The Case Study: Business-to-Business Procurement Platform
3 Actor Network Theory: The Actors in Wholesale Operations
3.1 WhatsApp Application
3.2 The Case Company Official Website
3.3 The Case Company Admin
3.4 3CX Phone System
3.5 Microsoft Excel
3.6 Wholesale Operation Staff
4 Factors that Promote the Usage of Digital-Based Actors
4.1 Highlight of Easy-to-Use and Manage Technology
4.2 Collaborate Smart Technology Learning with Other Development Methods
4.3 Expand Learning Options to Include a Workforce Education Program
4.4 Soft Skills Oriented
4.5 Comprehending the Unit or Division Goals with the Ultimate Goals of the Business
5 Discussion and Conclusion
References
The Study on Technology Acceptance in Healthcare Business Operation
1 Introduction
2 Implementing New Technology in Healthcare Business
3 The Case Study: The Healthcare Business Operation and Digitalization
4 Actor Network Theory: The Actors in Healthcare Business Operation
4.1 Purchasing Executive
4.2 Purchase System
4.3 Purchase Documents
4.4 Purchasing Officer
5 Discussion and Recommendation
6 Conclusion
References
Noncultural Theorisations of Capital: A Review in Capital Management of Family Business
1 Introduction
2 Overview of Capital
3 The Perspectives on Capital
3.1 Economic and Noncultural Perspective on Capital: Keynesian
3.2 Economic and Noncultural Perspective on Capital: Piketty
4 Conclusion and Future Research
References
The Effects of Online Review on Online Impulse Buying Behaviour
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Online Impulse Buying Behaviour
2.2 Online Review
2.3 Utilitarian-Based Online Review
2.4 Hedonic-Based Online Review
3 Methodology
4 Data Finding
4.1 Data Filter
4.2 Demographic Profile
4.3 Common Method Bias
4.4 Measurement Model
4.5 Discriminant Validity (HTMT Ratio)
4.6 Path Coefficient
5 Discussion and Finding
6 Conclusion
References
The Importance of Financial Literacy Towards Entrepreneurship Intention Among University Students: A Conceptual Paper
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
3 Methodology
4 Suggestions for Future Research
5 Conclusion
References
A Review of Housing Affordability Disparities in Malaysia
1 Introduction
2 Housing Affordability Vs Affordable House
3 Research Methodology
4 Research Findings
5 Conclusion
References
Intention to Participate in Cash Waqf Among Muslims in Shah Alam, Selangor
1 Introduction
2 Practice of Cash Waqf
3 Problem Statement
4 Research Objectives
5 Theoretical Framework
6 Hypothesis Statement
7 Research Methodology
8 Results and Discussion
8.1 Descriptive Analysis
8.2 Independent Variable
8.3 Relationship between Dependent and Independent Variables
9 Conclusion
References
The Mediating Effect of Work Engagement on the Relationship between Perceived Organizational Support and Job Performance
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Perceived Organizational Support and Job Performance
2.2 Perceived Organizational Support and Work Engagement
2.3 Work Engagement and Job Performance
2.4 Work Engagement Mediates Relationship between Perceived Organizational Support and Job Performance
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Method
Measurement of Variables
Perceived Organizational Support
Work Engagement
Job Performance
The Study Sample
Statistical Analysis
4 Results
4.1 Hierarchical Regression Analysis and Sobel Test
5 Conclusion
References
Adoption of Islamic Banking in Mauritius
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Adoption of Islamic Banking
2.2 Relative Advantage
2.3 Complexity
2.4 Observability
2.5 Uncertainty
2.6 Compatibility
2.7 Trialability
2.8 Consumer Awareness
2.9 Proposed Framework (Fig. 1)
Research Hypotheses
3 Research Methodology
3.1 Measurement and Collection of Data
4 Finding
4.1 Descriptive Analysis
4.2 Reliability Test
4.3 Inferential Analysis
5 Discussion and Recommendation
References
The Impact of China and Vietnam´s Economic Growth on the Exports Performances of the ASEAN Countries
1 Introduction
2 Economic Growth of China and ASEAN Countries
3 Research Methodology
4 Results and Discussion
4.1 The Export Trends in Electronic Trades (SITC 751, SITC 752, SITC 764)
5 Conclusion
References
Food Practitioners´ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Food Safety: A Case Study of Pasar Basah Sungai Siput
1 Introduction
2 Literature Review
2.1 Food Safety
2.2 KAP Model
2.3 Theory of Planned Behavior
3 Methodology
4 Research Findings
4.1 Profile of Respondents
4.2 Food Safety Knowledge
4.3 Level of KAP on Food Safety
5 Conclusion
References
Recommend Papers
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Contributions to Management Science
Nadia Mansour Lorenzo Mateo Bujosa Vadell Editors
Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age The Impact of Technology and Innovation in the Financial Services Sector
Contributions to Management Science
The series Contributions to Management Science contains research publications in all fields of business and management science. These publications are primarily monographs and multiple author works containing new research results, and also feature selected conference-based publications are also considered. The focus of the series lies in presenting the development of latest theoretical and empirical research across different viewpoints. This book series is indexed in Scopus.
Nadia Mansour • Lorenzo Mateo Bujosa Vadell Editors
Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age The Impact of Technology and Innovation in the Financial Services Sector
Editors Nadia Mansour Department of Finance University of Sousse-Tunisia and University of Salamanca-Spain Monastir, Tunisia
Lorenzo Mateo Bujosa Vadell Faculty of Law University of Salamanca Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain
ISSN 1431-1941 ISSN 2197-716X (electronic) Contributions to Management Science ISBN 978-3-031-27295-0 ISBN 978-3-031-27296-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
Contents
Determinants of Investor’s Behaviour Towards Mudarabah Investment Deposits: A Case of Pakistan Islamic Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zalina Zainudin and Asfaq Ahmad Empowering the Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Malaysian Higher Education Institution (HEI) Towards Developing Income Generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sabrinah Adam, Nursyazwani Mohd Fuzi, and Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan Restarting Start-Ups Post-COVID-19: The Case of Malaysian Start-Ups that Reshaped Its Business Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sabrinah Adam, Nur Atikah Aliah Md Akhir, and Nursyazwani Mohd Fuzi Coping Behaviour Among High School Students Towards Social Media Anxiety: Experiences from Cluster and Non-cluster Schools in Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yukthamarani Permarupan, Syed Ali Fazal, Roselina Ahmad Saufi, Nur Fadiah Mohd Zawawi, Abdullah Al Mamun, Ali Saleh Alshebami, and Abdullah Hamoud Ali Seraj
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The Effect of Social Entrepreneurship Orientation Towards Sustainability Performance in Indonesia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Noor Raihani Binti Zainol and Reni Mutiarani Saraswati
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Corporate Governance Practices Affecting Performance: A Case Study of Malaysian Elderly Care Centres NGOs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N. Fadzlyn, Filzah Md. Isa, and Shafi Mohamad
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Saving Behaviour Among the University Students in Malaysia . . . . . . . . Uma Thevi Munikrishnan, Nor Aziyatul Izni, Aeshah Mohd Ali, Nur Ilyana Ismarau Tajuddin, Nur Faradilla Haron, and Nor Asiah Mahmood
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Corporate Ethics and Financial Reporting Quality: A Thematic Analysis from Accountants’ Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nur Athirah Mohd Aluwi, Noorul Azwin Md Nasir, Hafiza Aishah Hashim, Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad, Noorshella Che Nawi, and Mohd Nor Hakimin Yusoff Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on SME Digitalization in Taiping, Perak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thushnitha A/. P. Damodaram, Md Zaki Muhamad Hasan, Rooshihan Merican Abdul Rahim Merican, Abdullah Muhamed Yusoff, Muhaammad Naqib Mat Yunoh, Abdul Aziz Mat Hassan, Norfazlirda Hairani, and Mohd Afifie Mohd Alwi Information Technology Utilization and Acceptance Framework for Private Clinic in Malaysia: CLIMS (Clinical Information Management System) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fahad Shah Bukhari, Juliana Jaafar, and Shahrinaz Ismail
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Comprehensive Supervision Platform (CSP) on Padlet as Open Educational Resources Initiative: Our Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Norizan Mohamad, Hasiah Mohamed Omar, Norulhidayah Isa, and Mohd Talmizie Amron Qarḍ al-Ḥasan for SME Financing Using Non-permissible Earnings: Islamic FinTech Solutions for Yemeni IFIs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Abdellah Ali Ahmed AL-Melahi and Auwal Adam Sa’ad Toward Faith-Based Financing for Poverty Alleviation: The Influence of Religiosity on Entrepreneurship . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Reazul Islam, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Muhammad Khalilur Rahman, Noor Raihani Zainol, and Mohd Salahudin Shamsudin Examining the Wasta Scale Reliability and Validity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Yousif Abdelrahim, Aliah Zafer, Omaima Al Badry, and Marim Alenezi How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Influenced University Students’ Performance Negatively through Mental Health and Well-being Problems: The Case of Saudi Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 Yousif Abdelrahim and Aliah Zafer China’s Economic Development and Response to COVID-19 . . . . . . . . . 171 Han Yue, Nur Haiza Nordin, and Nur Naddia Nordin From the Perspective of Sustainable Development Concept: Research on Enterprise Environmental Accounting Information Disclosure Mechanism and Influencing Factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 Xia Fang, Noorshella Che Nawi, and Siti Afiqah Zainuddin
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Is Your Organization’s Operational Risk Management Practice Up to Snuff? A Multiple-Case Study on Businesses in Kelantan, Malaysia . . . . 191 Farahwahida Mohd Abu Bakar, Siti Afiqah Zainuddin, Borhan Abdullah, Noorshella Che Nawi, Noorul Azwin Md Nasir, Tahirah Abdullah, Mohd Rushdan Yasoa’, Nur Izzati Mohamad Anuar, Liyana Ahmad Afip, and Siti Zamanira Mat Zaib Examining the Affect of Impulse Purchase Behavior in Live Streaming E-Commerce Among Generation Z . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Gan Huey Miin, Dahlan Abdul Ghani, Noorshella Che Nawi, Siti Afiqah binti Zainuddin, Tahirah Abdullah, Mohd Nizamuddin Abdul Rahim, Md Zaki Muhamad Hasan, Edo Aribee, Risnal Diansyah, and Muhammad Ahyaruddin Predicting the Waste Separation Intention and Behaviour Among the Malaysian Households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215 Wang Chunye, Naeem Hayat, Jian Yao, Qing Yang, and Abdullah Al Mamun Examining the Intention and Adoption of E-Learning During COVID-19 Among the Malaysian Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Fan Yichang, Naeem Hayat, Jian Yao, Qing Yang, and Abdullah Al Mamun Green Purchase Intention: The Exploration of Chinese Food Consumers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 Jifu Jiang, Qing Yang, Samsidine Aidara, Naeem Hayat, and Abdullah Al Mamun Exploring the Intention and Use of E-Wallet Among the Young Malaysian: Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology . . . . . 253 Zhao Meng, Naeem Hayat, and Abdullah Al Mamun A Narrative Review on Mee Siput-Making Machine for Small Industries: User-Friendly or Worst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Aminudin Hj Abu, Zaenal Abidin Ali, Radhir Sham Mohamad, Asnizah Sahekhaini, Mohd Azlan Abu, and Mohamad Fadzli Haniff Discovering the Adoption of Eco-Friendly Furniture Among Chinese Customers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Jianchao Jin, Muhammad Rafiq, Naeem Hayat, Qing Yang, and Abdullah Al Mamun Moderating Role of Organizational Culture on Emotional Intelligence and Conflict Management of Selected Tertiary Institutions in Kumasi, Ghana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285 Solomon Gbene Zaato, Elizabeth Dorothy Eshun, Evelyn Asare, Mohammad Ismail, and Amin Jan
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Human Resources Management Practices in Ghana Health Service Institutions: Employee Welfare and Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 299 Abigail Abida Sulemana Zaato, Solomon Gbene Zaato, Balakrishnan Parasuraman, Amin Jan, and Nik Ahmad Rizal Wan Ismail Financial Planning for Retirement: An Integrative Literature Review of the Hershey Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 Han Ren and Thien Sang Lim The Effect of E-commerce Promotional Tools on Customer Intention to Buy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 Dianta Hasri Natalius Barus Business Analytics for Business and Economic Sectors: A Review and Bibliometrics Analysis from 2012 to 2022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 Fatihah Mohd, Nurul Izyan Mat Daud, Noor Raihani Zainol, Nur Ain Ayunni Sabri, Nik Madeeha Binti Nik Mohd Munir, and Azila Jaini Survival of Family Business Partnerships in Malaysia: Governance and Legal Obstacles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 Alifah Hj Hamid and Norman Zakiyy The Moderating Role of Trust on Pro-environmental Purchasing Behavior: The Case of Malaysian Consumers in North Malaysia . . . . . . 359 Muhammed Abdullah Shiban, Nik Maheran Nik Muhammad, Filzah Md Isa, and Shaliza Alwi Financial Behavior, Religious Knowledge, and Debt Decision-Making: A Conceptual Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371 Wira Ramashar and Nik Maheran Nik Muhammad The Influence of Entrepreneurial Leadership on Financial Performance of Private Higher Education in Pekanbaru, Indonesia: A Conceptual Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 Siti Samsiah and Nik Maheran Bint Nik Muhammad Impact of E-CRM Implementation, Customer Experience, and Customer Loyalty in E-Commerce: Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 Evans Fuad and Zailani Abdullah Human Competency Effect on the Usage of Government School Information System “DAPODIK” in Pekanbaru City: A Conceptual Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 Edo Arribe, Noorshella Che Nawi, and Siti Afiqah Zainuddin Entrepreneurship and Motherhood: A Narrative Analysis of a Woman Entrepreneur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 Salmah Topimin, Noor Fzlinda Fabeil, Haslinda Hasan, and Beatrice Lim
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Application of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the Adoption of Accounting Information System (AIS) Among Indonesia Private Universities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419 Citra Ramayani, Siti Afiqah Binti Zainuddin, Nadzirah Binti Mohd Said, Ami Anggraini Samudra, Desi Areva, Gustia Harini, Jimi Ronald, and Nisha Selvia Accounting Practices’ Intention Among Student Entrepreneurs . . . . . . . 429 Noorul Azwin Md Nasir, Siti Afiqah Zainuddin, and Nadzirah Mohd Said The Impacts of Social Capital Toward Indigenous Entrepreneurs Socio-Economic Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 441 Derweanna Bah Simpong, Nur Azimah Othman, Nur Dalila Mat Yusoff, Nadzirah Mohd Said, and Hazzyati Hashim Service Quality Affecting Customer Loyalty at Sharia Banks Driven by Islamic Personality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 Wahyi Busyro and Azwan Abdullah Household Financial Management Based on Maqasid Shariah Toward Sakinah: Case of Pekanbaru . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 Putri Jamilah and Azwan Abdullah Factors Influencing Customers’ Perception of Online Zakat Payment Among Muslim Employees in Kelantan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 471 N. M. Said, S. A. Zainuddin, N. A. M. Nasir, T. Abdullah, M. N. H. Yusoff, M. R. Yasoa’, S. F. Muhamad, D. B. Simpong, and A. Othman Indonesian Sharia Banking Transformation Model in the Digital Era: An Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481 Muhammad Lisman The Factors Influencing E-Learning Adoption Behavior: A Conceptual Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 Risnal Diansyah, Noorshella Che Nawi, and Siti Afiqah binti Zainuddin Intention to Pay Zakat on Digital Money Among Cryptocurrency Users in Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 497 Juliana Hajirul@Ajirul, Dayangku Aslinah Abd. Rahim, and Roslinah Mahmud The Influences of Online Food Images Towards People’s Behavioural Intention to Visit a Restaurant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 Nur Azimah Othman, Derweanna Bah Simpong, Nur Dalila Mat Yusoff, Nadzirah Mohd Said, Hazzyati Hashim, and Fadhilahanim Aryani Abdullah
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Legal Assurance Against Nursing Professional Nurse Students in the Implementation of Nursing Practice (A Political Urgency of Health Law) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 Ismansyah, Siska Elvandari, Yussy A. Mannas, and Tenofrimer Adoption of Food Quality and Safety Standards Among Food Handlers in Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533 Nor Raihana Asmar Mohd Noor, Liziana Kamarul Zaman, Norhayati Yaacob, Muhammad Syafiq Hassan, and Syed Azlan Al Jaffree Syed Khadzil Financial Planning Literacy Among Retirees: Issues and Challenges . . . 541 Azwan Abdullah, Zulfaris Salleh, Mohd Nazri Zakaria, Hasannuddiin Hassan, Rooshihan Merican Abdul Rahim Merican, Mohd Ikhwan Aziz, Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad, and Hanis Shamma Agripreneur Insaniah Model in Malaysia: Questionnaire Development and Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 Raja Suzana Raja Kasim and Nurul Azreen Salleh Influence of Online Marketing on Gen X’s Loyalty Towards E-Commerce Platform in Malaysia: Case Study of Lazada . . . . . . . . . . 565 Yap Pei Hua and Morakinyo Dada Awareness of Islamic Consumers Baitul Maal Wat Tamwil (BMT) in Riau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583 Rika Septianingsih and Azwan Abdullah Kifayah Limits and the Determination of Asnaf Among the Poor and the Needy Based on Practicing Zakat Institutions in Malaysia . . . . . . . . 593 Noraini Junoh, Ahmad Murshidi Mustapha, Nor Asmira Mat Jusoh, Shafiza Safie, Mohamad Sayuti Md Saleh, and Zanirah Mustafa@Busu Factors of Islamic City Image in Kota Bharu Islamic City Through View of Visitors at Kelantan, Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603 Hasnina Hassan, Roslizawati Che Aziz, Nurul Hafizah Mohd Yasin, Siti Afiqah Zainuddin, Ruzanifah Kosnin, Suchi Hassan, and Mohd Hafzal Abd Halim Sustainable Funding Model for the Bottom 40 Startups: Item Validation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 613 Raja Suzana Raja Kasim, Muhammad Fazlan bin Mohd Husain, and Rooshihan Merican Abdul Rahim Merican Institutional Isomorphism, Accountability, and Local Government Performance in Era of Public Governance: A Conceptual Framework . . 623 Muhammad Ahyaruddin, Mohd Nor Hakimin bin Yusoff, and Siti Afiqah binti Zainuddin
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Displaying Colorful Products in Physical Stores and E-Commerce Sites Without Impacting Color Blind People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635 Morakinyo Dada, Mohammad Tawhid Reaz, and James J. Ribero Does Shariah Audit Framework Matter? Views from Practitioners in Islamic Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649 M. R. Yasoa’, S. F. Muhamad, T. Abdullah, N. M. Said, S. A. Zainuddin, N. A. M. Nasir, A. Jamil, and Z. K. C. Musa Investigating the Role of Job Demands and Job Resources in Predicting Burnout Among Nursing Home Nurses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663 Nurul Hafizah Mohd Yasin, Razli Che Razak, Fadhilahanim Aryani Abdullah, Nurhaiza Nordin, Nur Naddia Nordin, and Mohd Safwan Ghazali From Waste to Health: An Innovation of High-Fiber Biscuit Using Brown Rice and Banana Peel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 Nurul Hafizah Mohd Yasin, Mazne binti Ibrahim, Nur Farihin Abd Hadi Khan, Zaimatul binti Awang, Mohd Hafzal Abdul Halim, and Siti Salina Saidin COVID-19 Evidence: Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior Toward Online Purchase Intention Among Young Adults in Cote d’Ivoire . . . . . 685 Aminah Diakite and Morakinyo Dada The Effect of Food Hawkers’ Behaviour Towards Environmentally Friendly Food Packaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 701 Nur Dalila Binti Mat Yusoff, Nurul Fardila Binti Abd Razak, Nur Hafizah Binti Muhammad, Siti Fatimah Binti Ab Ghaffar, Fadhilahanim Aryani Abdullah, Nur Azimah binti Othman, Derweanna Binti Bah Simpong, and Nadzirah Bt Mohd Said An Application of Actor Network Theory (ANT) in Business-to-Business Procurement Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 715 Siti Afiqah Zainuddin, Farahwahida Mohd Abu Bakar, Tahirah Abdullah, Siti Rohana Mohamad, Amira Jamil, Siti Fariha Muhamad, Nur Izzati Mohamad Anuar, Liyana Ahmad Afip, Zul Karami Bin Che Musa, Siti Bahirah Saidi, and Siti Zamanira Mat Zaib The Study on Technology Acceptance in Healthcare Business Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727 Siti Afiqah Zainuddin, Husna Sarirah Husin, Tahirah Abdullah, Hana Yazmeen Hapiz, Farahiah Azmi, Nurul Hafizah Mohd Yasin, Najihah Mahmud, Noorul Azwin Md Nasir, Amira Jamil, and Wan Farha Binti Wan Zulkiffli
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Noncultural Theorisations of Capital: A Review in Capital Management of Family Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737 Tahirah Abdullah, Husna Sarirah Husin, Siti Afiqah Zainuddin, Nadzirah Mohd Said, Amira Jamil, Noorul Azwin Md Nasir, Siti Fariha Muhamad, Mohd Rushdan Yasoa, Bazilah Raihan Mat Shawal, and Eni Noreni Mohamad Zain The Effects of Online Review on Online Impulse Buying Behaviour . . . . 749 Lu Man Hong, Nur Hazwani Dzulkefly, Wan Farha Wan Zulkiflli, Noorshella Che Nawi, and Nur Izzati Mohammad Anuar The Importance of Financial Literacy Towards Entrepreneurship Intention Among University Students: A Conceptual Paper . . . . . . . . . . 763 Zurina Kamarudin and Nor Hafizah Abd Latiff Khan A Review of Housing Affordability Disparities in Malaysia . . . . . . . . . . 769 Hafirda Akma Musaddad, Selamah Maamor, and Zairy Zainol Intention to Participate in Cash Waqf Among Muslims in Shah Alam, Selangor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 779 Izni Nadirah Najmuddin, Siti Fatimah Zahrah Johari, and Sharifah Faiqah Syed Alwi The Mediating Effect of Work Engagement on the Relationship between Perceived Organizational Support and Job Performance . . . . . 789 Lew Kai Wen, Abdul Latif Salleh, Azura Abdul Rahman, and Hafirda Akma Musaddad Adoption of Islamic Banking in Mauritius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801 Sameerah Ramjane and Abdul Latif Salleh The Impact of China and Vietnam’s Economic Growth on the Exports Performances of the ASEAN Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 813 Abdul Latif Salleh, Hafirda Akma Musaddad, and Nor Azizah Elyas Food Practitioners’ Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Regarding Food Safety: A Case Study of Pasar Basah Sungai Siput . . . . . . . . . . . . 823 Farhana Mohd Nazmi, Nurul Afiqah Ahmad, and Hidayati Ernida Hassan Azahari
Determinants of Investor’s Behaviour Towards Mudarabah Investment Deposits: A Case of Pakistan Islamic Banks Zalina Zainudin and Asfaq Ahmad
Abstract Islamic banks in Pakistan use Mudarabah contract to attract investors’ deposits as an alternative to conventional term deposit products. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors affecting investors behaviours towards Mudarabah deposits. A quantitative approach is used to collect data from 354 respondents from five Islamic banks through a survey instrument. The variables used are Shari’ah governance, moral hazard, religiosity, awareness and interest rate as benchmark. The study shows that Shari’ah governance and interest rate as benchmark and religiosity have a positive relationship to the Mudarabah deposit product, while the moral hazard has negatively affected the Mudarabah deposit demand. Furthermore, the study found that knowledge and awareness mediate the relationship between Shari’ah governance, moral hazard/agency problem, religiosity, and investors’ behaviour towards the Mudarabah deposits. The findings would help the Islamic banks to improve the Mudarabah product structure to increase the market share of Mudarabah deposits.
1 Introduction Pakistan’s Islamic banking industry has experienced significant growth over the past decade [1]. As per Moody’s (2022) report, the government and SBP target an Islamic banking share of 25% by 2023. These deposits are raised mainly through Mudarabah and on Qard or wakalah al Ithmar bases [2]. Saving and investment deposits are grown based on Mudarabah/Musharakah, whereas current deposits are obtained as Qard [3]. The Mudarabah deposit is one of the leading contributions to the funds raised by Islamic banks [4]. In the Mudarabah contract, the rab-ul-mal (customer) seeks the investment opportunity and invests through the Mudarib (bank) that
Z. Zainudin (✉) · A. Ahmad Business School, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_1
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manages the fund [5]. The revenue and profit-loss sharing model is used by the Islamic bank to replace the element of interest [6]. Various factors affect the Mudarabah deposits on the Islamic banks, such as knowledge and awareness, Shari’ah governance framework, attitude, subjective norms, perceived value, religiosity, interest rate as a benchmark, agency problems and proportion of the return on investment [7–11]. The changes in the profit rate of the Mudarabah contract influence the changes in Mudarabah deposits [12]. Arshad and Nurfadilah [13] highlighted that other factors could affect the changes in the Mudarabah contract besides changes in the profit rate. For instance, it has been revealed that product knowledge influences the customer selection criteria for retail banking [14]. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the factors that affect the investor’s behaviour towards the Mudarabah deposits in Islamic banks. The factors identified are interest rates as a benchmark, Shari’ah governance, moral hazard and religiosity. This study also aims to determine whether knowledge and awareness mediate the relationship between the identified determinants of investors’ behaviours towards Mudarabah investment deposits.
1.1
Problem Statement
Mudarabah investment deposits are a crucial and cheap source of funding for Islamic banks in Pakistan to finance their long-term projects [15]. It is a matter of grave concern that despite the 95% Muslim population, the market share of Mudarabah investment deposit is relatively low, that is, PKR 425 billion compared to PKR 2493 billion of conventional banks. Therefore, Islamic banks, regulators and policymakers must understand the investor preferences and priorities to strengthen the long-term liquidity position of Islamic banks. It is still arguable that investors’ reluctance to invest in Mudarabah investment deposit is due to the risk aversion approach or other factors [16]. It is a general perception among the masses of depositors in Pakistan that conventional and Islamic bank deposit rates are the same. Thus, research on investors’ behaviours towards Mudarabah investment deposits is required to empirically examine the factors that influence the investors to invest in Mudarabah investment deposits and whether knowledge and awareness mediate the relationship between the factors that affect the investor’s behaviour towards the Mudarabah investment deposits in Islamic banks of Pakistan.
1.2
Significance of the Study
It is evident from the existing research material that research done in this area is limited. Only a handful of researchers suggested some practical solutions to resolve the investors’ concerns in Mudarabah deposit product. Most of the studies are
Determinants of Investor’s Behaviour Towards Mudarabah. . .
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conducted in Malaysia, and few studies are conducted in Pakistan [9, 10, 17]. The study provides a comprehensive insight into market forces and factors that instigate a particular choice made by investors/depositors. Consequently, the outcome would be an improved Mudarabah product structure acceptable for stakeholders and would also help to strengthen the long-term liquidity position of Islamic banks in Pakistan.
2 Literature Review A sound and effective Shari’ah governance is vital for Islamic banks to provide confidence and assurances to investors on Islamic banking products and services [18]. Shari’ah governance plays a significant role in influencing the investor’s behaviour about Islamic bank’s deposit products. Various studies have concluded that Shari’ah board structure and Shari’ah regulatory framework may significantly influence investors’ perception and behaviours towards Islamic bank products and services [19–22]. Mukhibad [22] highlights the role and importance of the Shari’ah supervisory board in the Islamic bank. It is suggested that the bank’s internal function of Shari’ah compliance helps the bank maintain its reputation and public image; thereby, strong measures are required to strengthen the Shari’ah governance structure for investors confidence and longterm sustainability [23, 24]. H1: Shari’ah governance has a significant relationship with investors’ behaviour towards Mudarabah investment deposits. The occurrence of asymmetric information between two parties leads to moral hazards [25]. Asymmetric information means any situation where one party has a greater material knowledge than the other party. In Mudarabah contracts, the moral hazard/agency problem results from asymmetric information when the contracting parties have incomplete or different levels of information. Most investors and depositors do not understand the Mudarabah terms due to a lack of knowledge and awareness of Islamic contracts [26]. They also pointed out the agency problem in Mudarabah contract and argued that agency problem arises when reserve are insufficient to cover the risk and leads to moral hazards. It is concluded that investor’s behaviours are also linked with moral hazard and asymmetric information in the Mudarabah contract; thereby, the following research hypothesis is formulated: H2: Moral hazard/agency problems have a significant relationship with investors’ behaviour towards Mudarabah investment deposits. Interest rate as a benchmark for pricing of Islamic banking products is a significant factor influencing the investors’ behaviour for bank selection. Islamic banks also used interest rates to benchmark Islamic deposit product pricing to make it market competitive [27]. Since the birth of Islamic banking, the issue of interest rate as a benchmark has been under debate in seminars and conferences [28]. Most of the research studies reviewed above indicate the positive relationship between the rate of
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return of Islamic banks and the interest rate of conventional banks [27, 29]. In Pakistan, the investors have the opinion that profit on their investments is not linked with actual economic activity. Hilman [30] concluded that in Indonesia, the profit rate on Mudarabah deposits was influenced by external factors such as Jakarta Islamic Index. Therefore, investors have serious concern when Mudarabah profit rate is linked with interest rate. H3: Interest rate as a benchmark has a significant relationship with investor’s behaviour towards Mudarabah investment deposits. The term religiosity is the degree to which people adhere to the values, beliefs, and practices of the Islamic religion in their daily life [31]. It is a belief in one God and practices that are based on the set of Shari’ah-compliance norms and values [32]. Religiosity has been a significant determinant of the impact of young intellectuals’ behavioural intent in adopting Islamic finance products [33]. Ong and Moschis [34] highlighted the significance of perceived religiosity level in determining people’s behaviour towards participating in Islamic banking products. Many researchers concluded in their research that religiousity directly influences the investors’ behaviors towards deposit product selection [35–37]. H4: Religiosity has a significant relationship with investor’s behaviour towards Mudarabah investment deposits. Knowledge and awareness about Islamic banking principles and procedures of its products play a significant role in Mudarabah deposit selection. The awareness of Islamic deposit products has a significant impact on the decision-making of investors/depositors. Riaz and Hunjra [38] also believe that more reliable knowledge and awareness may help investors make risky decisions. Cakici and Shukla [39] reported that consumers with higher product knowledge would better understand and appreciate the new product, generating higher purchase intention. Ringim [40] concluded that Muslims’ level of perception was positively linked with the decision of Muslim account holders to support Islamic banks. Riaz, Khan and Naimat [41] found that awareness, knowledge and religiosity were the significant factors that would affect the decision-making of depositors for Islamic bank selection. H5: Level of knowledge and awareness mediates the relationship between Mudarabah deposits’ determinants and investors’ behaviour towards the Mudarabah deposits.
3 Research Methodology A quantitative research approach was used to explore the structural relationships between the various determinants of investors’ behaviour towards the Mudarabah investment deposits in the Islamic banks of Pakistan. A five-point Likert scale closed-ended survey instrument was used to gather the primary data as it is an
Determinants of Investor’s Behaviour Towards Mudarabah. . .
Shariah Governance Moral hazard Interest Rate as Benchmark Religiosity
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Knowledge & Awareness
Behaviour towards Mudarabah Deposits
Fig. 1 Research model Table 1 Sample and response rate Full-fledged Islamic banks 1 Al-Baraka Bank (Pakistan) Ltd. 2 BankIslami Pakistan Ltd. 3 Dubai Islamic Bank Pakistan Ltd. 4 Meezan Bank Ltd. 5 MCB Islamic Bank Ltd. Total
Total No. of Br. 181 227 210 802 180 1600
% 11.3 14.2 13.2 50.1 11.2 100.0
Sample 45 57 53 200 45 400
Response rate 38 50 44 179 43 354
efficient, fast and inexpensive means of collecting extensive data from sizeable sample volumes. The questionnaire was categorised into two sections: (a) presents questions about the respondent’s demographic characteristics in terms of their age, gender, education and years of banking experience and (b) presents questions about the investor’s behaviour towards Mudarabah investment deposits. The questionnaire is adapted from earlier studies by [42, 43]. The study population is the employees of Islamic banks who are directly involved in dealing with depositors/investors of Mudarabah investment deposits in Islamic banks of Pakistan. It includes operations managers, branch managers, Mudarabah account opening officers and relationship managers. The study has employed a simple random sampling technique to gather data as it effectively analyses the information included in the sample size [44]. Moreover, the study has considered only the capital cities of Pakistan provinces due to the limited financial resources. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, validity analysis and structural equation modelling (SEM) were employed using Smart PLS to analyse the data and hypothesis testing. Demonstrated in Fig. 1 is the research model, while Table 1 presented sample and response rate of this study. The regression equation models in this study are: BB = α þ β1 ðSGÞ þ β2 ðMHÞ þ β3 ðRLÞ þ β4 ðIRBÞ þ ε
ð1Þ
BB = α þ β1 ðSGÞ þ β2 ðMHÞ þ β3 ðRLÞ þ β4 ðIRBÞ þ β5 ðKAÞ þ ε
ð 2Þ
where BB is the investors’ behavior towards Mudarabah deposits, SG is the Shari’ah governance, MH is the moral hazard, RL is the religiosity, IRB is the interest rate as benchmark, α is constant, β1–5 is coefficients and ε is the error term.
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4 Results and Discussion Table 2 depicts that Shari’ah governance (SG) mean value is 4.33, moral hazard (MH) is 4.01, religiosity (RL) is 4.32, interest rate as a benchmark (IRB) is 4.19, knowledge and awareness (KN) is 4.64 and investor’s behaviour towards Mudarabah deposits is 4.29. Moreover, Kim (2013) suggested that skewness and kurtosis values, either positive or negative, should be closer to 0 for a bell-shaped distribution. Besides, George and Mallery [45] suggested skewness values between -1.96 and +1.96 and kurtosis values between -3.0 and + 3.0. It appears that all variables have skewness and kurtosis values within the range, thus representing normal distribution. Reliability Analysis Table 3 provides the reliability results of the variables. It defines the instrument’s internal stability [44]. The findings suggest that Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability value are greater than 0.7, as suggested by Hair et al. [46]. Outer Loadings Factor loadings refer to the correlation coefficients between the common latent factors and observed variables [47]. They ascertain that the factor loading for every item should exceed 0.5 for newly developed items, whereas it should be 0.6 or higher for established items. The findings suggest that the factor loadings of each item is above 0.6, and any factors having a loading below 0.6 are deleted from the measurement model. Discriminant Validity The discriminant validity ensures that the nonoverlapping factors do not overlap. Henseler, Ringle and Sarstedt’s [48] criterion is employed in
Table 2 Descriptive analysis Variables Shari’ah governance (SG) Moral hazard (MH) Religiosity (RL) Interest rate as benchmark (IRB) Knowledge & awareness (KA) Behaviour towards Mudarabah deposits (BB)
Mean 4.33 4.01 4.32 4.19 4.64 4.29
Std. dev. 1.08 1.02 1.01 1.07 0.99 1.05
Skewness -1.19 -1.37 -0.82 -1.09 -1.25 -0.78
Kurtosis 2.41 2.68 1.02 1.42 2.59 1.11
Table 3 Reliability analysis Sr. # 1 2 3 4 5 6
Scale name Shari’ah governance (SG) Moral hazard (MH) Religiosity (RL) Interest rate as benchmark (IRB) Knowledge & awareness (KA) Behaviour towards Mudarabah deposits (BB)
Cronbach’s alpha 0.796 0.794 0.718 0.706 0.882 0.890
Composite reliability 0.853 0.859 0.741 0.829 0.914 0.918
Determinants of Investor’s Behaviour Towards Mudarabah. . .
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Table 4 Discriminant validity IRB BB KA MH RL SG
IRB 0.787 0.092 0.323 -0.210 0.268 0.555
BB
KA
MH
RL
SG
0.831 0.131 -0.117 0.018 0.167
0.825 -0.385 0.449 0.469
0.780 -0.281 -0.347
0.707 0.323
0.734
AVE 0.620 0.691 0.680 0.608 0.500 0.538
Note: The bold values represent the AVE square root, while non-bolded values represent the correlations Table 5 Hypothesis testing # H1 H2 H3 H4 H5 H6a H6b H6c H6d
Variables SG→BB MH→BB RL→BB IRB→BB KA→BB SG→KA→BB MH→KA→BB RL→KA→BB IRB→KA→BB
Coefficient 0.280 -0.195 0.291 0.048 0.131 0.037 -0.026 0.038 0.006
Std. error 0.060 0.051 0.062 0.051 0.051 0.017 0.013 0.017 0.008
t-stats 4.658 3.795 4.682 0.934 2.582 2.116 2.027 2.197 0.740
p-values 0.000*** 0.000*** 0.000*** 0.351 0.010** 0.035** 0.043** 0.029** 0.460
Decision Accepted Accepted Accepted Rejected Significant Accepted Accepted Accepted Rejected
***p < 0.01, **p < 0.05, *p < 0.10
the current study to determine the construct’s discriminant validity. It stated that the square root of the AVE value for each construct should be higher than its correlation value compared to other constructs. From Table 4, it is evident that discriminant validity is established as the AVE value square root is above the highest construct’s correlation. Convergent Validity Convergent validity is about how closely the new scale is related to other variables and other measures of the same construct—the study employed Hair et al.’s criteria to examine the convergent validity. It states that at least half of the indicators variance should be explained by the latent construct. The factor loading value should exceed or equal to 0.707 as its square root value equals 0.5 [46]. Hypothesis Testing Table 5 shows the direct and mediation hypothesis testing for all independent variables on the investor’s behaviour towards the Mudarabah deposits. The study’s findings revealed that Shari’ah governance has a positive and statistically significant influence on the investor’s behaviour towards the Mudarabah investment deposits in Islamic banks of Pakistan, β = 0.280 and p < 0.05. Such findings were similar to the earlier study of [19]), who contributed that an effective Shari’ah governance mechanism is vital for Islamic banks for longterm sustainability [24]. also concluded that investors consider those banks for
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deposits and investments where internal Shari’ah governance is compelling and robust. The relationship between moral hazard and investor’s behaviour towards Mudarabah deposits was negative but statistically significant at the 0.05 level of significance, β = -0.195 and p < 0.05 [49, 50]. suggested that the investor’s major reason for giving less priority to Mudarabah products is a presence of a moral hazard and asymmetric information, which may change the behaviour or conduct of contracting parties. In the bank-firm relationship, this stems from the firm’s incentive to indulge in excessive risk-taking behaviour; thereby, investors show a lack of trust in taking participation in such activities. The influence of religiosity on the investor’s behaviour towards Mudarabah deposits found to be positive and statistically significant, β = 0.291 and p < 0.05 [35] also suggested that religious obligations are the vital factor influencing people’s choices regarding Islamic banking products. In terms of mediation analysis, the study finds that knowledge and awareness act as a mediator between the Shari’ah governance, moral hazards, religiosity and investor’s behaviour towards Mudarabah investment deposits at the 0.05 level of significance, p < 0.05. It implies that the knowledge and awareness mediate the relationship between these determinants of investor’s behaviour towards the Mudarabah deposits; that is, the decrease in the regression coefficient for Shari’ah governance, moral hazards and religiosity for the mediated model compared to the unmediated model indicated a possible mediating effect of knowledge and awareness. However, the relationship between interest rate as benchmark and investor’s behaviour towards Mudarabah deposits has a positive but statistically insignificant relationship, p = 0.460, depicting that knowledge and awareness do not mediates the relationship between interest rate as benchmark and investor’s behaviour towards the Mudarabah deposits (Fig. 2).
5 Conclusion The study is conducted to determine the factors that affect the investor’s behaviour towards the Mudarabah investment deposits in Islamic banks of Pakistan. Based on the discussion above, it can be concluded that a few variables affect the investor’s behavioural intent towards choosing the Mudarabah investment deposits, such as Shari’ah governance, moral hazard/agency problem and religiosity. Furthermore, it showed that knowledge and awareness mediate the relationship between Shari’ah governance, moral hazard/agency problem, religiosity and investor’s behaviour towards the Mudarabah deposits. The study also concluded that Shari’ah governance, interest rate as benchmark and religiosity have a positive relationship to the Mudarabah deposit product, while the moral hazard has negatively affected the Mudarabah deposit demand. It is further concluded that Islamic bank operators concentrate on these factors to attract new customers who are considering to invest in Mudarabah deposits in Islamic banks. It can be accomplished by creating
Determinants of Investor’s Behaviour Towards Mudarabah. . .
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Fig. 2 The structural model
awareness about the Islamic banking product offered by Islamic banks. The current study provides empirical evidence that determinants of Mudarabah deposits cannot work alone in influencing investors’ behaviour to invest in Mudarabah deposits without the involvement of knowledge and awareness as a mediating variable.
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Empowering the Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem in Malaysian Higher Education Institution (HEI) Towards Developing Income Generation Sabrinah Adam , Nursyazwani Mohd Fuzi and Mohd Zaidi Abd Rozan
,
Abstract This study aimed to determine how well low-income household Bottom 40 (B40) students might generate income by utilizing the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem. Although several initiatives have been put in place to assist the B40 students in overcoming poverty, it has been shown that a number of factors influence their engagement in digital entrepreneurship. Therefore, this study will be conducted in four universities as a pilot study in order to better grasp this issue. This research enables the students to be digital entrepreneurs as a career of choice by having their own business as one of the strategies to generate income towards achieving the Envision 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The Entrepreneurship Action Plan 2021–2025, which aims to build a competitive and sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem, is in line with the study’s objectives. There will be 400 data gathered altogether. This study will use a mixed-method approach using sequential design whereby quantitative method will be carried out in the first phase follows by qualitative method. The quantitative approach will be conducted using online preand post-questionnaires. The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26 and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis will be use at this stage to identify the integration between the relationship. Further, interview with the focus group is needed to obtain more information. The expected findings of this study are to provide a conceptual framework of the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem, which would benefit the crucial problem to be addressed holistically for B40 students in higher education institutions (HEI) in creating an income generation through digital entrepreneurship. This study contribution will be able to develop graduates with entrepreneurship mindset and choose entrepreneurship as a career of a choice in addressing the needs and uplifting the socioeconomic in line with the national agenda assisting the marginalized groups in Malaysia.
S. Adam (✉) · N. M. Fuzi · M. Z. A. Rozan Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_2
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1 Introduction 1.1
Problem Statement
According to statistics, there are 2.7 million families in Malaysia that fall within the low-income household Bottom 40 (B40) group, with 44% of them residing in rural regions and 56% in urban areas. According to Malaysia’s Eleventh Malaysia Plan, a B40 household is one with an average monthly income of less than RM4,850. The Department of Statistics Malaysia states that in the second quarter of 2020, Malaysia’s unemployment rate has risen by 5.1%. With a total unemployment rate of 29.3%, more than half of the total, these figures demonstrate that graduate unemployment is a significant factor, making it extremely difficult for graduates to find employment. In truth, the Covid-19 pandemic’s modest movements are still a major obstacle to looking for work and going to in-person interviews. Sadly, the majority of jobless graduates were from households in the Bottom 40 (B40) group. It is hard for these graduates to help their families get out of poverty lifestyle. These graduates find it challenging to lift their families out of poverty. Therefore, the Ministry of Higher Education’s (MOHE) Entrepreneurship Action Plan (PTK) 2021–2025 intends to promote digital entrepreneurship by assisting students in starting their own online business. It should not be surprising that digital entrepreneurship is on the increase given the effects of a worldwide epidemic. Despite this, there is interest in digital entrepreneurship, although this concept still needs further exploration [1]. Education and entrepreneurship are the two important factors that are frequently emphasized in the endeavor to make Malaysia a high-income and inclusive developing country. Applying and being exposed to entrepreneurial culture and values is a learning process that can free up students’ minds and creative spaces so they can be more original, viable, and creative in areas where these qualities are anticipated to lead to innovation, job opportunities, and stronger economic growth in the future. Students, however, lack direction and don’t think that entrepreneurship will be important in the future. When a university runs an entrepreneurial program or activity, it gets less attention since the institution believes it is a waste of time, does not see the advantages, and consequently considers it unimportant. The condition has led to an increase in the number of unemployed people and graduates [2]. Entrepreneurs are quickly coming to trust and value the potential of digital marketing for a bigger market. The majority of micro-, small-, and medium-sized businesses have been motivated to explore and expand their digital marketing strategies in the multinational commercial sector in order to further increase the importance of the company’s competitiveness and credibility as a result of the expansion of the industries affected by the pandemic crisis. Every organization and community that wants to enter the commercial world has to learn about digital marketing in order to avoid becoming overwhelmed by industry rivalry. It is crucial in the current business climate to periodically improve digital policy in order to maintain economic growth. This viewpoint is extremely fruitful and has the potential
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to significantly advance the discipline. Therefore, the percentage of B40 students that engage in digital entrepreneurship is an issue that requires immediate attention.
2 Literature Review One of the most basic behavioural shifts in human society, particularly in the way both established and up-and-coming businesses conduct business, has been influenced by digitalization. According to a prior study [3], taking into account the positive effects on job creation and economic growth, understanding the conditions and factors that encourage digital entrepreneurship is important for academic study and guides business practice as well as government policies to support this development.
2.1
Digital Entrepreneurship
Digital entrepreneurship is a subcategory of entrepreneurship in which some or almost all of the physical elements of a traditional organization have been digitized. It thus integrates emerging technologies for developing and doing business in the digital age [4]. From this, a previous study [5] suggests that digital entrepreneurship in education is able to influence the use of digital technologies and is able to accelerate entrepreneurial knowledge and skills among students. A recent study [6] highlighted that digital entrepreneurship is an entrepreneurship activity which involved innovation skills and competitive aggressiveness characteristics in order to compete in the digital market. A type of entrepreneurship known as ‘digital entrepreneurship’ refers to businesses where some or almost all of the physical components are digital. As a result, it incorporates emerging technology for establishing and doing business in the digital era [4]. According to this and previous research [5], digital entrepreneurship in education has the potential to affect how students utilize digital technology and to expedite their acquisition of entrepreneurial knowledge and skills. In addition, recent research [6] emphasized that in order to compete in the digital market, digital entrepreneurship required both innovative abilities and competitive aggressiveness traits. In order to effectively acquire, process, distribute, and consume digital information, digital entrepreneurship is defined as the process of producing digital value for entrepreneurship using a variety of socio-technical digital enablers. This concept can be broadened to include certain sorts of enterprises, including start-up companies and digital entrepreneurs. In Malaysia’s higher education institutions, the digital entrepreneurship module was added to the present entrepreneurship course in 2016. This convergence was brought about by the introduction of fresh inventions like social media and websites [5], which have altered the employment market and corporate environment. Digital
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entrepreneurship was regarded as one of the emerging elements in Malaysian education, in line with the Industrial Revolution 4.0. Undoubtedly, the government and academic institutions have worked together to integrate entrepreneurship education into the academic curriculum in an effort to foster entrepreneurial attitudes and skills. In fact, the creation of a holistic, entrepreneurial, and successful graduate is the first priority listed in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015–2025 [2]. The goal is to equip students with entrepreneurial abilities to become autonomous and resourceful entrepreneurs in the future, in addition to developing graduate entrepreneurs.
2.2
Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem
Digital entrepreneurial ecosystem is an ecosystem where digital entrepreneurship emerges and develops. An environment where digital entrepreneurship begins and grows is known as the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem. The success of digital entrepreneurship depends on the ecosystem because it makes it easier to integrate resources and auxiliary components above the enterprise level [7]. A digital entrepreneurial ecosystem, in the context of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, is a confluence of social, political, economic, and cultural factors in a region that promotes the expansion and growth of creative start-ups exploring novel business prospects [7]. Potential customers and suppliers, universities and research centers, social and cultural operators, institutions and policymakers, large corporations, start-ups and innovative entrepreneurs, experts and professionals, investors, and talent pools can all be brought into the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem [8, 9]. The dynamic and institutionally embedded interaction between entrepreneurial attitudes, abilities, and aspirations of individuals drives the resource portion through the creation and operation of new ventures in the digital entrepreneurial ecosystem [10, 11]. Beginning in the year 2016, the digital entrepreneurship module was introduced into existing entrepreneurship courses at Malaysian higher learning institutions. Because of the expansion of digital technologies such as social media and websites, which have revolutionized the labour market and corporate environment, this integration occurred. According to the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0), digital entrepreneurship is one of the growing subjects in Malaysian education. Most universities provide entrepreneurial education through programs or activities that aim to foster entrepreneurial behaviour, attitude, skills, and values among students through lectures, hands-on activities, industry participation, and entrepreneur talks. Entrepreneurship embeddedness is thought to not only drive students to pursue entrepreneurship careers but also to generate graduates with entrepreneurial competences, that is, the ability to act and think like an entrepreneur [2, 12]. Entrepreneurship-related teaching and learning may foster knowledge and skills in tertiary students and provide them the chance to become lifelong entrepreneurs. This implies that they can utilize their acquired business knowledge and abilities throughout their whole lives. Higher education institutions play a vital role in
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delivering entrepreneurial education that provides students with the necessary skills [13]. There are two types of skills, which are hard skills and soft skills. The hard skills are related to technical and practical skills that can be observed, quantified, and measured. On the other hand, soft skills are known as the behavioural skills needed in organizations to apply hard skills and knowledge [14].
2.3
Income Generation
According to Jarvis (2016), positivity towards entrepreneurship is more likely to result from the ability to perceive business opportunities. By seeing possibilities and launching their own business, individuals may become competitive. The B40 group must devise strategies to guarantee their continued ability to support the family financially. Even while some members of the B40 group who are affected are still working, their incomes may not be enough to cover the high cost of living [15]. During the epidemic, those who were unemployed and without a job needed to be proactive in looking for work to support their family. These individuals must take the initiative to investigate the unmet needs of the neighborhood and convert the resources at hand into opportunities. It is challenging for these graduates to assist their family in escaping poverty without a suitable job or salary. In addition to finding work that would allow them to support their families, many also struggle to fully return the school debts they took out throughout their study years, whether it was for a diploma or a degree [16].
A Proposed Conceptual Framework This conceptual framework shows the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem in higher education institution. The independent variables for this study are the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem which consist of modules, skills, and experiential learning. Meanwhile the dependent variable is the income generation among B40 students. This conceptual framework is applied and adapted based on several previous researches (see Fig. 1).
Digital Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Modules Skills Experiential Learning Fig. 1 A proposed conceptual framework
Income Generation
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3 Methodology This study will apply a mixed method approach based on sequential design. This sequence helped in strengthening the findings, whereby quantitative results obtained in the first phase were explained or elaborated in the second phase. In this study, quantitative data aided in explaining the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem (module, skills, and experiential learning) in promoting income generation among B40 HEI students using purposeful sampling technique. Next, a qualitative approach will be applied to explain why or how digital entrepreneurship ecosystem helps in generating the income among B40 HEI students. The intent of conducting this qualitative method is first to further explore the quantitative results. Secondly, it is to ensure that suitable participants for the qualitative phase comprise of those who have same characteristics contributed to the quantitative data set [17]. The participants from the focus group for the qualitative phase will be selected based on results from the first phase’s statistical test. Furthermore, the results from quantitative and qualitative phases will be integrated during discussion of the entire study’s outcomes. The quantitative approach will employ online pre- and post-questionnaires to assess the efficiency of the digital entrepreneurship ecosystem (comparison before and after). This study’s population comprises of B40 students from four Universities, namely, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia. These four universities were chosen as a pilot project in order to closely examine the impact and efficacy. If the pilot project is successful, a similar concept will be implemented to other Malaysian HEI/Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET). The sample size for this study will be 400 B40 students from the four universities. The B40 students serve as the study’s unit of analysis. For evaluating research hypotheses and probability sampling using the SEM approach, the sample size for this study should be between 100 and 500, according to previous research [17]. As a result, it was determined that the 400-sample size will be more than enough for SEM analysis. By limiting the sample to those people who might be able to aid based on this study, the purposeful sampling technique will be able to help out to meet the goals of this study [5, 12]. To restate, the following criteria will be used to determine who are eligible to participate in the study: (1) the student must come from the low-income household Bottom 40 group (B40); (2) the household income of the student family must below RM4850; and (3) the student must be an active student. This data will be analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 26 to determine pre- and post-analysis, and the partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique will also be utilized to determine the integration of the connection. The second stage is the qualitative method, and it is designed to meet the rigor and trustworthiness of the study, and then a thick and rich data could be deemed important. For the qualitative method, a semi-structured interview will be conducted to get as many explanations and feedbacks as possible pertaining to the input, output,
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and outcome to strengthen the findings on the study. For this purpose, the semistructured interview will be analysed using ‘thematic analysis’ [18]. This method involves three components which are data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing and verification, and this analysis will start after the interview takes place.
4 Discussion The anticipated outcomes of this study will throw some light on the emergence of IR 4.0 in enhancing the digital economy by encouraging digital entrepreneurship in adopting and using knowledge and skills in solving social needs among B40 students at four universities (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia). Furthermore, as a research contribution, the development of a proposed conceptual framework will help those B40 students to enter into online business to be a digital entrepreneur and produce a social effect in promoting income generation and a more sustainable community. The execution of this study is also in line with the Shared Prosperity Vision 2030, whereby the second objective is addressing economic disparities across income groups, ethnicities, and regions to protect and empower the citizen in ensuring that no one is left behind. Hence, the establishment of a conceptual framework that integrate the effectiveness of digital entrepreneurship ecosystem towards income generation is seen pertinent, especially in uplifting the societal well-being of B40 graduates in HEI. Besides, this research also in line with the 10–10 MySITE framework whereby this framework is able to produce a fresh holistic ecosystem approach to cocreate a new future for the nation by developing digital entrepreneur among B40 graduates towards enhancing economic competitiveness and quality of life.
5 Contribution of the Study For contribution to the new body of knowledge, this study will establish a conceptual framework for digital entrepreneurship for B40 students toward enriching digital economy by developing income generation which solves social problems and uplifts societal well-being among B40 students in HEI. In particular, this conceptual framework will bridge two different contexts of digital entrepreneurship which are digital entrepreneurship from B40 students in HEI and community-based which is relatively unexplored much by scholars and industrial practitioners. In order to cocreate a new future for the country, particularly for the B40 students for whom the research has not yet received enough attention, particularly in Malaysia, this framework will also be integrated using a quadruple helix approach, which consists of government, universities/researchers, industries, and communities working
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together in the pipeline. As a result, it is anticipated that this research would create a framework for digital entrepreneurship for B40 students at HEI, improving their socioeconomic well-being. Next, the practical contribution of this study, the findings of this study will shed some light on the emergence of Industry Revolution 4.0 (IR 4.0) towards enriching digital economy in facilitating the digital entrepreneurship to adopt and apply the knowledge and skills in addressing social needs among the B40 students in HEI. Besides, the establishment of the conceptual framework would assist those digital entrepreneurs to venture into online business and create a social impact in creating income generation and more sustainable community. This finding will ensure that the B40 students is equipped with the right skills and knowledge that enable them to contribute effectively to the community. Thus, this may enhance competitiveness of the graduates. This study aligns well with one of the 12 National Key Economic Areas proposed by the Government, which is to nurture innovation and broaden the country’s knowledge and skills base by expanding the country’s areas of specialization into new, untapped sectors, especially for community development. Acknowledgement This research was supported by the Ministry of Education (MOE) through the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS/1/2021/SS01/UTM/02/3). We also want to thank the Research Management Centre of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia through vote numbers V29000 (B29000) for this research (R.J130000.7855.5F465).
References 1. Yaghoubi Farani A, Karimi S, Motaghed M (2017) The role of entrepreneurial knowledge as a competence in shaping Iranian students’ career intentions to start a new digital business. Eur J Train Dev 41(1):83–100 2. Fabeil NF (2019) Entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial behaviour among undergraduate students in Sabah, Malaysia. J Econ Bus 2(4):1064–1072 3. Sahut J, Iandoli L, Teulon F (2019) The age of digital entrepreneurship. Small Bus Econ 56(3): 1159–1169 4. Rippa P, Secundo G (2019) Digital academic entrepreneurship: The potential of digital technologies on academic entrepreneurship. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 146:900–911 5. Zainal NTA, Yong K (2020) Examining the digital entrepreneurship education effectiveness on soft skills among undergraduates. MANU 31(1):139–151 6. Valigursky DI, Kuzmina TT, Maslova EL, Ryzhova IO, Goncharenko VI (2020) Entrepreneurship at the stage of development of the digital economy. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-03057831-2 7. Spigel B (2015) The relational organization of entrepreneurial ecosystems. Entrep Theory Pract 41(1):49–72 8. Isenberg DJ (2010) How to start an entrepreneurial revolution. Harv Bus Rev June:1–11 9. Cohen B (2006) Sustainable valley entrepreneurial ecosystems. Bus Strateg Environ 15:1–14 10. Acs ZJ, Autio E, Szerb L (2014) National systems of entrepreneurship: measurement issues and policy implications. Res Policy 43(1):476–494 11. Elia G, Margherita A, Passiante G (2020) Digital entrepreneurship ecosystem: How digital technologies and collective intelligence are reshaping the entrepreneurial process. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 150:119791
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12. Salamzadeh Y, Sangosanya TA, Salamzadeh A, Braga V (2022) Entrepreneurial universities and social capital: the moderating role of entrepreneurial intention in the Malaysian context. Int J Manag Educ 20:1–14 13. Toding M, Venesaar U (2018) Discovering and developing conceptual understanding of teaching and learning in entrepreneurship lecturers. Educ Train 60(7/8):696–718 14. Zainal NTA, Yong K (2020) Examining the digital entrepreneurship education effectiveness on soft skills among undergraduates. J Centre Prom Knowl Lang Learn 31(1):139–151 15. Sahut J-M, Peris-Ortiz M (2014) Small business, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Small Bus Econ 42(4):663–668 16. Khan YK, Arshad ASM, Arshad AAM (2021) Embarking in entrepreneurship during covid-19 pandemic: determinants of entrepreneurial readiness of b40 group in Malaysia. Glob Bus Manag Res 13(4):46–65 17. Adam S, Fuzi NM, Ramdan MR, Mat Isa R, Ismail AFMF, Hashim MY, Ramlee SIF (2022) Entrepreneurial orientation and organizational performance of online business in Malaysia: the mediating role of the knowledge management process. Sustainability 14(9):50–81 18. Miles MB, Huberman AM (2014) Qualitative data analysis. Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA
Restarting Start-Ups Post-COVID-19: The Case of Malaysian Start-Ups that Reshaped Its Business Performance Sabrinah Adam , Nur Atikah Aliah Md Akhir, and Nursyazwani Mohd Fuzi
Abstract Malaysian start-ups have started to open post-coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) lockdowns, but they have run into a lot of problems and need to enhance their business performance. This study aims to identify the challenges Malaysian start-ups have in successfully functioning following COVID-19. The start-issues, ups which include those related to finances, human resource management, and marketing are the independent variables in this study. The dependent variable is the company performance following COVID-19. The analysis for this study will be done using a partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique using a quantitative approach. The 200 active start-up firms in Malaysia will participate in the study. The expected findings showed that start-up businesses perform better when faced with financial obstacles, human resource management issues, and marketing challenges. The results of this study will be used as a reference to help start-up owners understand the effects of Covid-19 on organizations. This study’s contribution will offer a beneficial roadmap for how start-ups may learn and adapt after Covid-19 to survive in the market.
1 Introduction 1.1
Background of Study
In January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly named the sickness coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), classifying the illness as the SARS-CoV2 or a new coronavirus found in 2019 as the cause of this pandemic epidemic [1]. Since then, the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak has rapidly spread to the majority of countries, making it a global issue. As this issue garnered international notice, the majority of the country’s businesses and the national economy struggled with the
S. Adam (✉) · N. A. A. M. Akhir · N. M. Fuzi Faculty of Management, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_3
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new standard operating procedure (SOP) and steps to limit the virus’ spread. Therefore, Covid-19 certainly has a significant impact on the global economy. The start-up firm has not been immune to this serious global health crisis, since start-up businesses are significantly impacted by the onset of this global issue, which has left a dreadful economic environment in its wake. Over the past ten years, startups have emerged as the primary engine of economic development in the majority of emerging nations. This is so because start-ups have a reputation for being creative and capable of upending the established business paradigm. Since start-up companies are heavily touched by the emergence of this worldwide problem, which has left a terrible economic climate in its wake, they have not been immune to this serious global health epidemic. In the majority of emerging countries over the past ten years, start-ups have become the main force behind economic growth. This is true since start-ups are known for being innovative and able to challenge the conventional business model. Given the current economic situation, it is difficult for start-ups to establish themselves in the market. In an era of huge economic uncertainty, containment measures, and a steep drop in demand, start-ups are put in an even more difficult financial position and require support with their critical cash demands [2]. During the Covid-19 epidemic, the Malaysian government has suggested financial aid or a stimulus package to help start-ups maintain their operations. The federal government has distributed these cash in three economic packages since March of last year. The Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN), the Short-Term Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA), and the Perlindungan Ekonomi dan Rakyat Malaysia (PERMAI) are each valued RM250 billion, RM35 billion, and RM15 billion, respectively [3]. The Global Start-up Ecosystem Report 2020 ranked Malaysia as the 11th among the Top 100 Emerging Ecosystems due to the success and market reach of start-ups. Malaysia was ranked second in the upper middle-income group by the Global Innovation Index 2020, just behind China. The expansion of start-ups has benefited Malaysia’s economy by increasing employment opportunities and raising the nation’s GDP [3]. Start-ups provide a significant contribution to economic growth by establishing new markets, more employment prospects, and incubators for eco-innovation. Even though they are crucial for economic and social advancement, start-ups struggle to maintain themselves and fail at a rate of between 50% and 95%, especially in developing nations like Malaysia during the Covid-19 pandemic [4]. The outbreak damaged the economy of the country and created significant difficulties for start-ups, particularly in terms of finance and demand. Furthermore, according to MaGIC, of the firms they spoke with, 35% need loans, 24% grants and subsidies, 4% needed loan repayments to be postponed, and the remaining 20% of start-ups desired nonfinancial help such as company matching, market access, and capacity building [5]. This illustrates that new businesses in underdeveloped economies face a range of challenges that might decide their success or failure [6]. Start-ups face four different types of issues: ones related to money, challenges related to human resource management, challenges related to marketing, and challenges related to crisis management. Both financial and nonfinancial components are included in these situations [7]. There are not enough resources to undertake strategies that will preserve or
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increase corporate performance, which provides a “strategy/funding chicken-andegg problem” for startups [8]. Evidence suggests that during the economic crisis in China [9] and the UK [10], start-ups had financial problems. However, crises can present new opportunities for businesses to improve performance if they are able to take advantage of strategic opportunities following Covid-19 [11, 12]. Additional research has been urged into business model changes in reaction to unexpected events and external shocks, as well as the significance of opportunities recognized when taking part in business model changes [13]. Start-ups have been largely ignored in the crisis management literature [14]. Because of this, we are yet unsure of how start-ups modify their business plans and search for opportunities during the post-Covid-19 crisis [15, 16].
2 Literature Review Numerous start-ups continued to contribute to economic growth during the Covid-19 issue by responding quickly to the pandemic and assisting the nation’s transition to totally digital employment, education, and healthcare services. Interdependence between business, the state, and society must be developed in order to address the issues posed by Covid-19, just as it is in every crisis situation [17]. Covid-19 causes severe disruption for start-ups, forcing them to review their business plans across industries as their principal operations and partnerships with other firms are disrupted, as are changes in client needs [18].
2.1
Start-Up Companies’ Business Performance
In general, the term “start-up” has been used to refer to a new enterprise, company headed by a young individual, or company based on high technology, sometimes notably in the IT sector [7]. A start-up is a new firm created by one or more entrepreneurs to produce a new distinctive product or service and secure the product’s market position. Typically, a typical start-up begins with bare-bones operations and limited funding from the founders or their friends and families. At the early stages of a start-up, entrepreneurs are looking for financial support and must demonstrate the viability and capability of their venture to potential lenders and investors. Start-ups are new entrepreneurial ventures that exhibit seven traits, including the use of market experiments, business models based on innovation, a need for outside funding, a more flexible management style, a focus on solving particular problems, a lack of income, and a propensity to act globally [17]. According to a survey of Spanish start-up businesses, the achievement of a sizable quantity of revenue and securing finance were the two key metrics used to assess the performance of the company. More than 75% of business owners and investors said that the threshold of EUR 100,000 was necessary to judge the success
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of a start-up in terms of generating a sizable quantity of income. Additionally, the likelihood of making money is significantly influenced by the location. In the meantime, the explanatory elements that impact the likelihood of acquiring finance include the commitment of the promoting partners, being or having been in an incubator and/or accelerator, the age of the start-up, having nonpromoting partners, and having founded a start-up in the past. Additionally, a start-likelihood ups of success increases with its capacity to reach the breakeven threshold [14].
2.2
Change of Start-Up Post-Covid-19 Business Performance
The Covid-19 problem still has the potential to have long-term repercussions on economic growth, including implications on employment and innovation. Even though there may be recessions, this economic turbulence will boost new business ventures and existing start-ups. This is due to the fact that recessions frequently result in more restructuring, which might make the economy stronger and more robust. In spite of the fact that there are fewer new businesses being registered during recessions, many start-ups or existing enterprises have survived the crisis. Having financial flexibility is very advantageous for a company’s long-term performance [19]. They analyze data for the first two quarters of 2020 from a sample of Taiwanese publicly traded companies, estimating a significant and positive impact of financial flexibility upon companies’ return on assets and also revealing that Taiwan’s asset-light manufacturing industry suffered the most from the Covid-19 crisis. In their robustness tests section, return on equity is employed as an alternative dependent variable proxy. In firms where ownership and control are divided, debt is a critical instrument for resolving problems [1]. In order to change the start-ups’ business performance after Covid-19, managers have a motive to improve the value of their company because doing so directly increases their authority, prestige, and compensation [20]. Thus, the following hypothesis is proposed: H1: Financial challenges has a significant relationship to the start-up post-Covid-19 business performance in Malaysia. The truth is that properly applied human resource management (HRM) strategies actually improve employees’ performance at work. However, given that work motivation is defined as the degree of employee incentive to perform job duties successfully, factors beyond the workplace, such as the environment and culture of the business (including HRM issues), can have an impact on work motivation [21]. The study discovered that in order to improve organisational performance, HRM practises directly impact employee motivation, behaviour, and skill development. More specifically, it has been demonstrated that the HRMC can guarantee improved organisational and employee performance. Consequently, following COVID-19 may possibly enhance organisational performance [22]. Based on the literature review, the following hypothesis is proposed:
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H2: Human resource management challenges have a significant relationship to the start-up post-Covid-19 business performance in Malaysia. Start-ups are struggling during the Covid-19 epidemic, and many of them are cash-strapped. Due to limited financial resources and other considerations, start-up founders and management cannot rely on traditional marketing channels [23]. It would have been prohibitively expensive and virtually impossible for start-ups to reach clients on a worldwide scale during and after a pandemic occurrence without the use of social media technologies and digital marketing. Both the public and business sectors have become social media leaders. Maintaining a strong online presence is one of the most important factors influencing the success of a new business. Consequently, it is suggested that: H3: Marketing challenges has a significant relationship to the start-up post Covid-19 business performance in Malaysia.
A Proposed Conceptual Framework This conceptual framework shows relationship between start-up challenges (SuC) and start-up post-Covid-19 business performance (BP) in Malaysia may be investigated using the study framework presented by the researcher. This conceptual framework is applied and adapted based on several previous researches (see Fig. 1).
3 Methodology In this study, surveys or questionnaires were used to collect data from owners of start-up companies in Malaysia. Self-administered questionnaires will be employed by the researcher to collect the data. The questionnaire will be designed which consists of four sections (Section A, Section B, Section C, and Section D). The cover letter will be attached to briefly explain about the purpose of the study. For Section A, the measurement will be involving on the demographic factors of the respondent. Meanwhile, in Section B, the measurement will be involving on the company background such as the business sectors, years of operation, and number of employees. For Section C, the measurement will be involving the performance of the
Start-ups Challenges Financial Human Resource Management Marketing Channel Fig. 1 A proposed conceptual framework
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start-up after Covid-19. For Section D, the measurement instrument that will be involved are the three types of challenges that they might face which are financial challenges, human resources challenges, and marketing challenges. The five-point Likert scale will be used in this study to increase the number and quality of answers and decrease respondents’ degrees of dissatisfaction [24]. A fivepoint Likert scale was used to score the study’s items (1 = strongly disagree, and 5 = strongly agree). The questionnaire will be sent to the right specialists (local university academics and practitioner experts in start-up businesses) to ensure the reliability and the validity of the instrument. Malaysia’s active start-up businesses that were listed and registered with the Malaysian Global Innovation and Creativity Center make up the study’s population (MaGIC). A total of 200 replies will be the sample size of this investigation. This study’s research unit is the company, which is made up of all recently founded businesses in Malaysia. To reiterate the sample, the study will focus start-up companies that (1) registered under MAGIC, (2) the start-up must be an active start-up business (3) with a maximum of 80 workers (4) that have been in operation for 1 to 9 years. Simple random sampling procedures will be used to pick the survey’s participants, who are the owners of new firms in Malaysia. Each person in the population has an equal chance of getting selected for the sample when using simple random approaches [24]. To discover the integration between the relationships, this data will be subjected to partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) analysis.
4 Discussion The expected findings for this study will show that the financial challenges, human resource management challenges and marketing challenges positively affect the business performance of start-ups after Covid-19. The anticipated research findings will help define critical initiatives that must be made to alleviate concerns that current start-ups face. The outcomes can also be utilized to establish the critical measures that must be taken in order to succeed in the changing firm performance environment. Action plans will be identified here that will help start-ups from diverse industries and areas boost their prospects of survival and growth in the future. Future study can also look at the precise effects of social media, data analytics, digital technologies, and virtual interactions to assist start-ups flourish after Covid-19.
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5 Contribution of the Study The contributions of this study will transcend beyond academic objectives and are useful for practitioners. However, it does contain several flaws that might be addressed in future research. This study will demonstrate the feasibility of conducting comparable research in other regions, particularly in other significant entrepreneurial hubs, and we anticipate that the findings will be consistent with those presented in this study. There haven’t been many research done on how pandemics like Covid-19 affect start-ups or how they may get beyond specific challenges in the post-Covid-19 period. In order to make it simpler and more effective for start-ups to do business in the post-Covid-19 environment, the research will intend to give startups with the essential tools across key areas to better address the changing business performance. This fits well with the ambition and natural adaptability of start-ups. Future research is needed to assess the impact on start-ups in specific industries or locations and determine relative relevance that may benefit from this conceptual framework.
References 1. Yue XG, Shao XF, Li RYM, Crabbe LMJC, Mi S, Hu J, Baker S, Liang G (2020) Risk management analysis for Novel Coronavirus in Wuhan, China. J Risk Financ Manag 13(2):1–6 2. OECD, https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/view/?ref=132_132859-igoa9ao1mc&title=Start-ups-inthe-time-of-COVID-19-Facing-the-challenges-seizing-the-opportunities, last accessed 2022/7/ 21 3. The Star, https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2020/12/09/govt-assistanceworth-rm24bil-benefits-over-14-million-small-businesses, last accessed 2022/7/21 4. Kee DMH, Yusoff YM, Khin S (2019) The role of support on start-up success: a PLS-SEM approach. Asian Acad Manag J 24:43–59 5. The Star, https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2020/04/06/magic-an-estimated-40-oflocal-tech-start-ups-will-not-survive-if-the-covid-19-crisis-continues-after-may, last accessed 2022/7/21 6. Salamzadeh A, Kirby DA (2017) New venture creation: How start-ups grow? AD-Minister 30: 9–29 7. Salamzadeh A, Dana LP (2020) The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic: challenges among Iranian start-ups. J Small Bus Entrep 33(5):489–512 8. Eggers F (2020) Masters of disasters? Challenges and opportunities for SMEs in times of crisis. J Bus Res 116:199–208 9. Brown R, Rocha A (2020) Entrepreneurial uncertainty during the Covid-19 crisis: mapping the temporal dynamics of entrepreneurial finance. J Bus Ventur Insights 14:1–10 10. Brown R, Rocha A, Cowling M (2020) Financing entrepreneurship in times of crisis: exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the market for entrepreneurial finance in the United Kingdom. Int Small Bus J 38(5):380–390 11. Vargo J, Seville E (2011) Crisis strategic planning for SMEs: finding the silver lining. Int J Prod Res 49(18):5619–5635 12. Wan WP, Yiu DW (2009) From crisis to opportunity: environmental jolt, corporate acquisitions, and firm performance. Strateg Manag J 30(7):791–801
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13. Osiyevskyy O, Dewald J (2018) The pressure cooker: when crisis stimulates explorative business model change intentions. Long Range Plan 51(4):540–560 14. Herbane B (2010) Small business research: time for a crisis-based view. Int Small Bus J 28(1): 43–64 15. Miller K, McAdam M, Spieth P, Brady M (2020) Business models big and small: review of conceptualisations and constructs and future directions for SME business model research. J Bus Res 131:619–626 16. Thorgren S, Williams TA (2020) Staying alive during an unfolding crisis: how SMEs ward off impending disaster. J Bus Ventur Insights 14:1–11 17. Zahra SA (2021) International entrepreneurship in the post Covid world. J World Bus 56(1): 101–143 18. Giones F, Brem A, Pollack JM (2020) Revising entrepreneurial action in response to exogenous shocks: considering the COVID-19 pandemic. J Bus Ventur Insights 14:1–7 19. Morgan T, Anokhin S, Ofstein L (2020) SME response to major exogenous shocks: the bright and dark sides of business model pivoting. Int Small Bus J 38(5):369–379 20. Achim MV, Safta IL, Văidean VL, Mureșan GM, Borlea NS (2021) The impact of covid-19 on financial management: evidence from Romania. Econ Res-Ekonomska Istraživanja May 2021: 1–27 21. Manzoor F, Wei L, Bányai T, Nurunnabi M, Subhan QA (2019) An examination of sustainable HRM practices on job performance: an application of training as a moderator. Sustainability 11(8):1–19 22. Soto-Acosta P (2020) COVID-19 pandemic: shifting digital transformation to a high-speed gear. Inf Syst Manag 37(4):260–266 23. Syaifullah J, Syaifudin M, Sukendar MU, Junaedi J (2021) Social media marketing and business performance of msmes during the covid-19 pandemic. J Asian Financ Econ Bus 8(2):0523–0531 24. Adam S, Fuzi NM, Ramdan MR, Mat Isa R, Ismail AFMF, Hashim MY, Ramlee SIF (2022) Entrepreneurial orientation and organizational performance of online business in Malaysia: The mediating role of the knowledge management process. Sustainability 14(9):50–81
Coping Behaviour Among High School Students Towards Social Media Anxiety: Experiences from Cluster and Non-cluster Schools in Malaysia Yukthamarani Permarupan, Syed Ali Fazal, Roselina Ahmad Saufi, Nur Fadiah Mohd Zawawi, Abdullah Al Mamun, Ali Saleh Alshebami, and Abdullah Hamoud Ali Seraj
Abstract Social media that has allowed people to share and access information instantly could be both a blessing and a curse depending on use. Addiction to social media has been found to cause harmful effects such as anxiety, especially among teenagers due to social media-related problems such as cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and exposure to explicit content. This study aimed to identify the coping behaviour among high school students towards social media anxiety. A quantitative research method with convenience sampling was used to obtain the outcomes for this study through questionnaires distributed to 395 respondents from five high schools around Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. The data collected from this sample was analysed using SPSS version 24, which included descriptive analysis, reliability analysis, Pearson’s correlation analysis and regression analysis. The findings showed that the majority of the students from the cluster schools agreed that social media anxiety had affected their coping behaviour. Meanwhile, students from non-cluster schools described that their coping behaviour was not affected by social media anxiety. Based on these findings, several suggestions have been recommended for students, parents and schools to ensure intensive involvement in activities that can alleviate students from social media anxiety.
Y. Permarupan · R. A. Saufi · N. F. M. Zawawi Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia S. A. Fazal (✉) · A. Al Mamun UKM-Graduate School of Business, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] A. S. Alshebami Applied College in Abqaiq, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia A. H. A. Seraj College of Business Administration, King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_4
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1 Introduction Our current modern lifestyle has allowed every individual the ease of accessibility to information with just a click on the button of any electronic gadget. In recent years, social media has progressed extensively at an alarming rate, which sees large numbers of consumers around the globe logging onto the platforms daily. The exceptionally high intensity of social media has undoubtedly affected every person in either a positive or negative manner. Internet World Stats 2017 has revealed that around 78.8% of Internet users in Malaysia, especially children, have been experiencing extreme social media addiction, which could contribute to anxiety disorder problems. Anxiety is referred to as excessive worries of a person about a variety of circumstances that one experiences in daily life and having a lack of power over such stresses. The issue of anxiety has been highlighted in a study by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) entitled ‘Internet addiction in Malaysia at epidemic proportions’, which reveals that 89% of the respondents have addiction to the internet addiction, and 60% of these numbers have suffered from anxiety problems. Unfortunately, anxiety is just the tip of the iceberg as addiction to social media has been found to cause severe problems for teenagers, who represent young economic producers of the future [1]. This age group of individuals, who must be willing to innovate, develop high self-confidence and tolerate risk [2] are ironically at a higher risk of exposure to inappropriate content, fraud, cyberbullying and other virtual crimes, which contribute to the rise of social problems in Malaysia. The leading local newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, has once exposed the case of underage children having an intimate relationship due to being influenced by pornographic videos on mobile phones, in the article ‘Masalah Sosial Membimbangkan’ [3]. In another report, MyMetro has reported that 80% of the children and adolescents in the country are exposed to pornographic material through the article, ‘Statistik Mengejutkan’ [4]. Undeniably, porn addiction, especially among children and adolescents, can lead to serious mental health problems. Moreover, social media has also been found to cause depression. Previous studies have stated that people who are influenced by the Internet-based lifestyle will generally be engaged with narcissism, envy, loneliness and depression. In a press release on May 15, 2019, Mstar reported that a Sarawakian teenager had committed suicide after receiving 69% votes in favour of suicide from her Instagram followers after the victim made a poll on if she should survive or die. Another statement by Dato’ Dr. Abdul Aziz Abdullah, the founder of Yayasan Kesihatan Mental (MHF) Malaysia released through a programme segment, ‘Masalah Mental Kalangan Remaja Membimbangkan’ on the national media, Astro Awani described that 27% of Malaysians aged 16 and above suffer from mental illness. These discussions further yield the prevalence of mental health problems among individuals of this school-going age group. Based on the above, the objective of this study was to identify the coping behaviour among high school students towards social media anxiety. Our objective
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is to identify the factors that affect coping behaviour among high school students in Kota Bharu. There are three objectives in this study. Firstly, this study intends to inquire the association between cyberbullying and coping behaviour among high school students in Kota Bharu. The second objective is to confirm the linkage between sexual solicitations and coping behaviour among high school students in Kota Bharu. The third objective is to determine the relationship between exposure to explicit content and coping behaviour among high school students in Kota Bharu. The hypotheses in this study are divided into the cluster and the non-cluster high schools, which provide additional information for both types of schools. Cluster schools are academically well-performing schools and are placed under a specific ‘cluster of excellence’ including sports, sciences, languages, music as well as information and communication technology, based on selected niche areas [5, 6]. In contrast, non-cluster schools are public schools with regular academic performance and are not identified by any niches. In the following sections, the literature review, research methodology, results, and findings as well as discussion and conclusion of this study are described.
2 Literature Review 2.1
Subsection Coping Behaviour
Literature highlighted that ‘coping is measured by a procedure, whereby an individual tried to limit the negative emotions that were developed from negative events’. Nonetheless, the meaning of coping had been extensively explored over the years, with most researchers asserted that the act of coping could be divided into the following groups: emotion-focused behaviours and problem focused [7, 8]. Hence, coping can further be translated into behavioural and psychological responses that increased or reduced the outcomes of stressors [9]. Coping behaviour can be reflected by the behavioural struggle experienced and denoted within the cognitive capacity of individuals, which would be imperative in managing situations, conflicts and internal stressors. By evaluating responses to a form of stress, the means of identifying helpful coping strategies can be determined, with practical coping techniques being frequently associated with extended resilient outcomes. In an earlier study, Compas et al. [10] had explored the respective coping responses utilised to minimise the influence of stressors, which were the following: (1) the primary control engagement, such as efforts to exchange response or situation via problem-solving and emotional regulation; (2) the secondary control engagement, such as trying to adapt by regulating focus and cognition, distracting and positive thinking; and (3) the disengagement coping measures, such as withdrawing. Both secondary and primary control engagements had been associated with reduced adverse effects following stressful experiences. Moreover, adolescents who demonstrated the capacity to beat misfortune healthily showed versatile practices, such as
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the utilisation of individual organisation and self-guideline, comical inclination and positive thinking [11].
2.2
Cyberbullying
Analysis from past studies had found that most cyberbullying incidents happened at a young age when most victims were still in school. Nonetheless, the literature on cyberbullying had revealed different outcomes within the knowledge of this study. The highest frequency of cyberbullying happened between grades 8 and 9 (14–15 years old). Research found no critical contrasts between the periods of menaces and unfortunate casualties, with only a slight pattern observed. The study had, therefore, indicated that most of the cyberbullies had long stretches of auxiliary training, while most people who exploited the digital convenience were at a scholarly stage (12–14 years of age). Another study found that the highest recurrence of cyberbullies was found among 13- to 15-year-old individuals. On the other hand, extreme types of cyberbullying (more than once per week) had been increasingly standard in early pre-adulthood. Meanwhile, the study also showed that individuals involved in incidental or restricted demonstrations of cyberbullying (not precisely once every week) had been progressively visiting youth centres. In an ongoing meta-investigation, it was found that males remain to be highly involved in cyberbullying compared to females, particularly in recurrence at the early years of teenagerhood (roughly at 11 years of age). Additionally, the study also revealed that while younger females were bound to cyberbully peers more than males, cyberbullying remained prevalent to pre-adulthood or college-going years among males. However, there was a significant difference in the social contrasts of cyberbullying within Malaysia. Adult females (17–30 years old) were found to have outnumbered males as cyberbullies. Females were also found to have digitally exploited people within the virtual facilitates in the study. Therefore, this study can be hypothesised that: Hypothesis 1: Cyberbullying had a significant positive relationship with the coping behaviour on social media anxiety among students from cluster schools. Hypothesis 2: Cyberbullying had a significant positive relationship with coping behaviour on social media anxiety among students from non-cluster schools.
2.3
Sexual Solicitation
The Internet had essentially adjusted the lifestyle of society and extensively affected numerous daily activities personally and professionally. Decisions, plans and regulations through the Internet required not only ethical but also technical practices, including understanding the responsibility of an individual in adhering to the digital
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conduct. The impact of online hate and provocation towards defenseless target had been coined in the existing studies as negative implications, such as deleterious, injurious deterioration of well-being, mistrust and violence. The most significant danger to children and young adults of being exposed to online materials was sexual maltreatment, with cyberbullying and introduction to illegal substances as other dominant issues that must be acknowledged. Multiple studies had shown that individuals could be cyber stalked and abused on the Internet, with similar effects on the mental health of people who were stalked in the real world. In fact, age and sex were the critical parameters in identifying the degree of online exploitation. Hence, this study hypothesised that: Hypothesis 3: Sexual solicitation had a significant positive relationship with the coping behaviour on social media anxiety among students from cluster schools. Hypothesis 4: Sexual solicitation had a significant positive relationship with the coping behaviour on social media anxiety among students from non-cluster schools.
2.4
Exposure to Explicit Content
Young people had been exploring social media for various purposes, with a growing body of studies suggested that most of them had solicited sexually explicit materials. This explicit attitude of purposefully searching through negative online contents may lead to addiction to erotic contents such as pornography. An explicit attitude can be overly expressive and deliberate on evaluations, while an implicit attitude can be automatically activated expressions and having gut-level evaluations. Hence, the exposure in terms of pornographic content online could be intentional through actively searching on the Internet or unintentional, which was caused by pop-ups or advertisements. Around 42% of young onliners aged 10 to 17 were exposed to online pornography, whereby 34% of those exposed, reported that they were searching for the content intentionally while 66% reported unwanted exposure. Content exposure can be captured from a functioning viewpoint, which was based on the extent of information that the clients can or cannot share on their records and those of others or from an inactive perspective of actions that clients chose to do or not to do when exploring online. Thus, this study hypothesised that: Hypothesis 5: Exposure to explicit content had a significant positive relationship with the coping behaviour on social media anxiety among students from cluster schools. Hypothesis 6: Exposure to explicit content had a significant positive relationship with coping behaviour on social media anxiety among students from non-cluster schools.
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3 Research Methodology The objective of the study was to identify the impact of cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and exposure to explicit content towards the coping behaviour among teenagers in Malaysia while using social media influence as an intermediary. A quantitative method was employed to obtain the outcomes from the sample selected from the population. Structured questionnaires were employed to collect all the required data. Since the validity and reliability of the instrument was prevalent in quantitative research, both the psychological variable and concepts associated with this study were measured. Validity was referred to the extent of an indicator measuring the item that claimed to measure by content and face validity. The purpose of content and face validity was to ensure the suitability of the questionnaire for the respondents and to identify any error found for clarity and understandability. Primary data can be referred to as the initial information obtained with the variables of interest that were specific for this study (Sekaran & Bougie, 2013). This study had used a questionnaire that was distributed to the targeted secondary schools. All interviews were done in the presence of at least one parent of participating students, who gave informed consent for the data collection. The questionnaire consisted of five sections. The first section intended to acquire background information of the respondents, and the second section contained questions about the independent variables, which were divided into subsections of cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and exposure to explicit content. The last section was on the dependent variable, coping behaviour. Thus, all initial information collected from the questionnaire had been completed by the respondents. Non-probability-based convenience sampling method was applied in this study. Four types of data analysis were used in this study, which included frequency analysis, descriptive analysis, reliability analysis and Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis. The data obtained were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24.
4 Results 4.1
Profile of the Respondents
The sample for this study consisted of high school students from Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia. A total of 395 questionnaires were distributed during the data collection process. From the total of 395 respondents, 228 students were from the cluster schools, while 167 students were from non-cluster schools. Majority of the respondents were from the cluster schools at 57.7% compared to those from the non-cluster schools at only 42.3%. There were more male (n = 231) than female respondents (n = 164). The respondents consisted of four ethnic groups, which were Malay, Chinese, Indian and others. Most of our respondents were Malay,
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contributing to about 95.2% (376 respondents) of the total respondents. The Chinese, Indian and other ethnic groups only comprised of 2.3% (9 respondents), 2% (8 respondents) and 0.5% (2 respondents) of the total respondents, respectively.
4.2
Reliability Analysis
Table 1 showed the value for Cronbach’s alpha coefficient value of dependent and independent variables of the reliability coefficient in this study. Coping behaviour, which was the dependent variable in this study, was at 0.859, which indicated good association and that reliability of the variables was accepted. The Cronbach’s alpha for the independent variable of cyberbullying was at 0.745, while sexual solicitation had a value of 0.773, and the result for exposure to explicit content was at 0.740. These results showed an acceptable association for all three independent variables. Each of the independent variables had four items within the questionnaire developed for this study. All the questions adopted from past studies in the questionnaire had used the five-point Likert scale.
4.3
Correlation Analysis
A Pearson correlation matrix indicated the strength, direction and significance of the bivariate relationships across all variables that were measured at an interval or ratio level [12]. The evaluation would clarify the extent of the relationships that existed between the independent and dependent variables. In this study, the correlation was analysed to examine the strength of the relationships between cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and exposure to explicit content with the coping behaviour towards social media anxiety. Theoretically, the Pearson correlation coefficient, r, could range between -1.0 and +1.0. If the value of r was within the range of 0.1 to 0.29, the correlation was assumed to be small. A relationship had an average strength at the value of r = 0.3 to 0.49 while r = 0.5 to 1.0 suggested that the relationship of both examined variables was strong (Cohen, 1988). On the other hand, a significance of p = 0.05 was accepted as the conventional level in social science researches, which indicated that there was a true or significant correlation between the two variables at 95 times out of 100. Moreover, there was only a 5% chance that the relationship Table 1 Reliability analysis Variable Coping Behavior Cyber Bullying Sexual Solicitation Explicit Content Exposure
Coefficient Alpha 0.859 0.745 0.773 0.740
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Table 2 Correlation analysis for cluster schools Pearson correlation, r Sig., p (1-tailed) N
Cyberbullying 0.330 0.001 228
Sexual solicitation 0.312 0.001 228
Explicit content exposure 0.281 0.001 228
Table 3 Correlation analysis for non-cluster schools Pearson correlation, r Sig., p (1-tailed) N
Cyberbullying 0.250 0.001 167
Sexual solicitation 0.042 0.296 167
Explicit content exposure 0.008 0.458 167
did not genuinely exist. In this study, the correlation analysis was divided into cluster and non-cluster schools. Tables 2 and 3 showed the results for cluster schools and non-cluster schools, respectively. From Table 2, the relationships of cyberbullying and coping behaviour obtained r = 0.419, while the correlation between sexual solicitation and coping behaviour was r = 0.312 and exposure to explicit content with coping behaviour resulted to r = 0.281. All of the three relationships were significant at p = 0.001, whereby the statistical significance was at the traditional level of p < 0.05. These findings indicated that there was only a 1% chance that these relationships did not genuinely exist. Therefore, the results showed that the cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and exposure to explicit content had a significant small correlation with the coping behaviour towards social media anxiety among students from the cluster schools. Table 3 presented the results for non-cluster schools, which were observed to be slightly different from cluster schools. Of the three independent variables investigated in this study, only cyberbullying had a significant small correlation with the coping behaviour, with r = 0.250 and p = 0.001 for non-cluster schools. The relationship between sexual solicitation and coping behaviour obtained was r = 0.042 and p = 0.296. As the p-value was higher than 0.05, this relationship was not significant, whereby merely 30% of the relationship did not exist. Furthermore, the relationship between exposure to explicit content and coping behaviour was also not significant, based on the result of r = 0.008 and p = 0.458. The p-value indicated that almost 50% of the relationship did not exist.
5 Discussion and Implications Findings from this study show that cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and exposure to explicit content have significant positive relationships with the coping behaviour towards social media anxiety in cluster schools. In contrast, only cyberbullying has a significant positive relationship with coping behaviour. This finding is in line with
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majority of existing literature. Sexual solicitation and exposure to explicit content do not have significant relationships with coping behaviour towards social media anxiety among students in non-cluster schools. Therefore, hypotheses 1, 2, 3 and 5 are supported. Meanwhile, hypotheses 4 and 6 are not supported by the study. The difference in the results in this study could be due to the different living standards of students from the cluster and the non-cluster high schools. Cluster schools are usually occupied by students whose family background are of a higher standard and economically more stable. The parents could afford to provide the best education for the children, which can be indicated with the excellent academic performance among these students to be accepted into cluster schools. Moreover, economically stable livelihood could also result in unlimited access to the Internet and social media. These students would also have less parental control as their parents are busy with work commitments. Hence, these students are primarily exposed to cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and explicit content on social media. Nonetheless, most of the students from non-cluster schools may be from an economically stable and less stable family. For those who are from the less income family, there may be limited provision to purchase internet access, which results in less exposure to harmful websites online that can contain sexual solicitation and explicit content. Moreover, as the parents might not be as busy as those from the financially stable family, these parents may have more time to monitor their children. Based on the findings, the respondents agreed that cyberbullying, such as threatening, body shaming or spreading rumours could influence the mental health of high school students and lead to the early stages of depression. Sexual solicitation such as sexting, offering sexual needs and sexual harassment can either positively or negatively influence the coping behaviour of high school students. Sexual solicitation usually can cause harm to children and teenagers, especially when exposed through online sexual abuse, which could lead to adverse social lifestyles among teenagers. These teenage students could be engaged in promiscuity or baby dumping due to unwanted teenage pregnancy. Therefore, findings from this study can be deduced to highlight mental health issues among high school students, specifically on social media towards anxiety problems. This study suggests that high school students can still cope with social media anxiety between the age of 13 and 17. Based on the findings, a majority of the respondents acknowledge that they have not been involved in cyberbullying incidents every week. Some of the respondents assert that they can control themselves from being involved in cyberbullying, with most of them indicating that they can ‘try to fix the problem’ or ‘change filter or privacy setting’. These results suggested that students can cope with social media anxiety. This study has also provided more knowledge and awareness to parents on the actions that they can take to prevent high school students from having social media anxiety issues. Based on the findings, most of the students had indicated that they would cooperate with their parents to solve social media anxiety problems. Hence, parents can educate their children on possible reactions when faced with harmful content from the Internet. By providing guidance and direction to the children, parents can contribute to developing good coping behaviour in terms of knowledge
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and awareness, which can reduce social media anxiety among these students. Besides, parents can monitor their children and get to know their peers to be able to guide and teach them on preventive measures from being a victim of sexual solicitation. This study has also provided in-depth insights on the issues faced by high school students in this current day and age. School and teachers can educate students on ways to cope with social media anxiety. This study recommends that high school students should be more involved in school activities to prevent themselves from being addicted to social media, which could potentially lead to social media anxiety. Besides, the students can also cooperate with their parents to supervise school activities, which can develop more coping techniques. Schools can play a part by creating awareness through campaigns and programmes, whereby students can be educated on the issues in social media and the precautionary steps that can be taken to prevent themselves from developing social media anxiety. As most students can cope with the cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and explicit content exposure, there should be numerous school activities that can promote trusts between these students with the adults in schools to share problems and issues faced.
6 Conclusion In conclusion, social media anxiety has a significant relationship with the coping behaviour of high school students. Respondents from high schools around Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia, believe that cyberbullying, sexual solicitation and explicit content exposure influence the coping behaviour among high school students. Moreover, male students outnumber female counterparts in terms of coping behaviour as male students remain more exposed to social media anxiety.
References 1. Alshebami AS, Seraj AHA (2022) Exploring the influence of potential entrepreneurs’ personality traits on small venture creation: the case of Saudi Arabia. Front Psychol 13 2. Alshebami AS, Al Marri SH (2022) The impact of financial literacy on entrepreneurial intention: the mediating role of saving behavior. Front Psychol 13 3. Hameed NMS (2019, 22 July 2019) MasalahSosialMembimbangkan. Utusan Malaysia 4. Shahimi IMA (2017, 23 August 2017) Statistik Mengejutkan. MyMetro 5. Malaklolunthu S, Shamsudin F (2011) Challenges in school-based management: Case of a ‘cluster school’ in Malaysia. Procedia Soc Behav Sci 15:1488–1492 6. Ministry of Education (2006) The Malaysian cluster school concept. Putrajaya: Author 7. Djebarni R (1996) The impact of stress in site management effectiveness. Constr Manag Econ 14(4):281–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/014461996373368 8. Haynes NS, Love PED (2004) Psychological adjustment and coping among construction project managers. Constr Manag Econ 22:129–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/ 0144619042000201330
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9. Davey M, Eaker DG, Walters LH (2003) Resilience processes in adolescents: personality profiles, self-worth, and coping. J Adol Res 18(4):347–362 10. Compas BE, Connor-Smith J, Saltzman H, Thomsen AH, Wadsworth ME (2001) Coping with stress during childhood and adolescence: problems, progress, and potential in theory and research. Psychol Bull 127:87e127 11. Easterbrooks MA, Ginsburg K, Lerner RM (2013) Resilience among military youth. Future Child 23:99e120 12. Sekaran U, Bougie R (2010) Research methods for business: a skill building approach. Wiley, Great Britain
The Effect of Social Entrepreneurship Orientation Towards Sustainability Performance in Indonesia Noor Raihani Binti Zainol and Reni Mutiarani Saraswati
Abstract To date, there have been limited discussions and constructs on the effect of the entrepreneurial orientation of social entrepreneurs on sustainability performance in emerging countries. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the social entrepreneurship orientations of proactiveness, risk taking, innovativeness, and socialness in relation to sustainability performance. The study was conducted with 171 Indonesian social entrepreneurs in selected urban cities to test the validity and reliability of social entrepreneurship orientation that incorporated social resources and capabilities as well as sustainability performance. The data was examined using the partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method. The convergent validity was assessed using factor loading and average variance extracted (AVE), while reliability criteria were assessed using composite reliability (CR) and Cronbach’s alpha. The Fornell-Larcker criterion and heterotraitmonotrait criterion (HTMT) were performed to establish the discriminant validity of the instruments. The findings of the PLS-SEM evaluation of validity and reliability suggested that the scales employed in this research are statistically valid and reliable. This study contributes to our knowledge and understanding of the relationship between social entrepreneurship orientation and sustainability performance. In addition, the study makes a significant contribution to the literature on policy formulation.
N. R. B. Zainol Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia R. M. Saraswati (✉) Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia Institut Bio Scientia Internasional Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_5
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1 Introduction 1.1
The Important Role of Social Entrepreneurship Orientation
For the past decades, scholars have defined social entrepreneurship orientation (SEO) objectives and determined the variables that would further stimulate the objective. It is suggested that social entrepreneurs should adopt an entrepreneurial orientation in order to accomplish their social goal more successfully [1, 2]. SEO has an important role in developing behavior characteristics that aim to solve societal problems and creating social impact [3, 4]. Despite the fact that SEO has been the subject of discussion by many scholars, there is a limited amount of academic interest in both theory and practice of SEO [5], and there is no unified scale assessing SEO in the existing literature [6]. A substantial theoretical foundation and the absence of a profit-driven motivation are two further issues that have been raised in relation to this study [7]. Research in quantitative data analysis based on a robust conceptual framework pertaining to SEO is also lacking [1]. In addition, there is a lack of studies that provide contributions with validity and reliability on the effect of SEO on sustainability performance in emerging countries [8–10]. Guided by the theory and concept of the social entrepreneurship orientation and sustainability performance, this study provides an attempt to address the research gap and offers discussion to investigate the relationship between capabilities, resources, social entrepreneurship orientation, and sustainability performance with the focus on the Indonesian who embarks social venture.
2 Literature Review and Hypothesis Development 2.1
The Role of Social Resource-Based View (SRBV)
Lack of resources and competencies may jeopardize the organization’s social goals and effectiveness. Therefore, social entrepreneurs must be able to manage these resources and capabilities in order to be competitive in the market [11, 12]. The study is known as social resource-based review (SRBV). In addition, SRBV is able to assess the effect of social entrepreneurship (SE) on sustainability performance. Such framework must be capable of accommodating SE as a new sort of environment with unique behavioral traits [13]. This is due to the fact that social entrepreneurs exhibit a blend of socially motivated and entrepreneurial-action characteristics, the view considered as the strategic objectives of social entrepreneurship orientation [4]. SRBV is regarded as one of the existing frameworks that can accommodate these unique SE objectives. SRBV aims to explain and identify valuable resources and
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capabilities that encourage social entrepreneurship behavior and orientation as well as to develop strategies for social entrepreneurs to create a favorable environment for sustainable performance [11]. Three types of competitive resources are investigated in this study to include physical, experiential, and social financial resources, while capabilities include variables such as social entrepreneurial, management competencies, informational capabilities, and innovativeness. Finally, the output of the study, or sustainability performance, includes variables such as social value and economic and environmental performance.
2.2
Hypothesis Development
Physical resources. Literature highlights the importance of physical resources to the enhancement of organization’s capabilities to compete in the market [14, 15]. Most literature indicates physical resources to include plant, raw materials, labor equipment, machinery, and financial assets [12, 14, 16], while other added with more specific resources such as geographic locations and information technology [15]. This study proposes the following hypothesis: H1A: Physical resources have a significant effect on sustainability performance. H1B: SEO mediates the relationship between physical resources and sustainability performance. Experiential resources. Literature suggests that experiential or experience are indicated as an important resources to increase performance [16]. A study of entrepreneurs in the emerging economies found that individuals with previous work experiences in an organization possess skills and knowledge which lead them to start their own business [17]. It has been shown that previous work experience led to the entrepreneurs’ confidence and self-efficacy to engage in entrepreneurship. This study proposes the following hypothesis: H2A: Experiential resources have a significant effect on sustainability performance. H2B: SEO mediates the relationship between experiential resources and sustainability performance. Social financial resources. Like other type of entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs should be able to obtain financial resources to be competitive in the market [12]. Without access to financial resources, an organization’s opportunity of success may be lower, and its risks of business failure may be higher [18]. Given the relevance, governments throughout the world have developed policies that facilitate entrepreneurs’ access to finance, thus encouraging their growth [19]. This study proposes the following hypothesis: H3A: Social financial resources have a significant effect on sustainability performance.
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H3B: SEO mediates the relationship between social financial resources and sustainability performance. Social entrepreneurial capabilities. Social entrepreneurial capabilities are one of the significant factors of the SRBV. It is defined as an informal factor that governs the behavior associated with values, norms, and culture that stimulates desired behavior [16]. Researchers suggest that an appropriate social environment encourages entrepreneurial activity [20] and in turn can lead to an increase in job creation and economic growth ([21]. This study proposes the following hypothesis: H4A: Social entrepreneurial capabilities have a significant effect on sustainability performance. H4B: SEO mediates the relationship between social entrepreneurial capabilities and sustainability performance. Informational capabilities. Many studies have defined informational capabilities (ICs) as individuals’ abilities and competencies to manage and use information recourses for decision-making related. The role of ICs in relation to information can also be related to the ability of individuals to search, cultivate, and identify information based on their social, cultural, and economic perspectives [22, 23]. It is also related to the organization ability to share experiences and exchange information between stakeholders [24]. Furthermore, it can involve the capacity to capture important market information or the know-what [25], identify prospect customers, develop contacts in the markets or social network, and monitor competitive products in the markets [16]. ICs are significant to the entrepreneurs to make business decisions and considered as one of the crucial factors that impact SEO and the entrepreneur’s ability to achieve sustainability performance. This study proposes the following hypothesis: H5A: Informational capabilities have a significant effect on sustainability performance. H5B: SEO mediates the relationship between informational capabilities and sustainability performance. Management capabilities. RBV theory stressed that competitive advantage can be attained through the ability of organizations to acquire and manage resources and capabilities [11]. Management capabilities refer to the ability to develop, organize, and coordinate management systems [25]. It includes the strategies aimed to achieve sustainable development practice [26] and sustainable performance [27]. Through strategic management practices, social entrepreneurs can enhance their ability in coordinating and managing capabilities to achieve social missions [11]. This study proposes the following hypothesis: H6A: Management capabilities have a significant effect on sustainability performance. H6B: SEO mediates the relationship between management capabilities and sustainability performance.
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Innovativeness. Innovativeness refers to the ability and capacity to innovate [28]. Innovation can stimulate economic growth through entrepreneurship; it makes production processes more competitive which lead to the opportunity to access new markets [29, 30]. It allows entrepreneurs to seize the market by offering better products than the competitors, offering various product lines, and expanding the scope of activities [31]. It has the ability to address social problems through social innovation [12]. Additionally, it can empower minority groups and made basic needs more accessible [32]. Hence, innovativeness is considered as one of the important determinants to business performance [31]. This study proposes the following hypothesis: H7A: Innovativeness has a significant effect on sustainability performance. H7B: SEO mediates the relationship between innovativeness and sustainability performance. Social entrepreneurship orientation. SEO measurement scales have been constructed in several ways. Some researchers developed the scales based on the three primary dimensions of EO (innovativeness, risk taking, and proactiveness) with the additional dimension of social mission or socialness [6]. Others suggest the importance of developing a strategic orientation that links SEO with sustainability performance as in economic, environmental, and social performance [10]. This study proposes the following hypothesis: H8: SEO has a significant effect on sustainability performance.
3 Methodology 3.1
Data Modelling
The data used for the study was computed using structural equation modeling (SEM) of the partial least squares (PLS). PLS-SEM is used to estimate the predicted associations [33] and has been known as one of the most prevalent SEM analytic approaches employed in research in recent years [34]. PLS-SEM has the benefit of being able to provide estimation on significantly more complicated models with a smaller sample size [35, 36]. PLS path modeling is a good fit for this research since it focuses on predicting causal relationship between variables rather than performing theoretical tests. PLS-SEM does not need an assumption of an ordinary distributional form [37]. Additionally, in the PLS-SEM, both measurement and structural modeling can be accomplished concurrently. The measurement model is very effective in dealing with several dependent and independent variables at the same time [37], whereas the structural model depicts the connections between latent variables [38].
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Data Collection
This study utilized primary data. The data collections were conducted through field research to target respondents. All target respondents were associated with an entrepreneur who has a social passion and interest. Data was collected from 171 respondents residing in selected urban cities in Indonesia. This includes Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi.
3.3
Measurement
Variable score determination in this study is measured by using the Likert scale analysis that is known as the most frequently used psychometric tools in social sciences research [39]. Likert scales allow for both relative and absolute assessments to be made on various attitude measurements [40]. Using Likert-type scales, a questionnaire was designed to analyze SRBV, SEO, and sustainability performance indicators. The instruments gathered from various sources associated with this study were modified and translated into Indonesian and then combined into a single scale. The question statements used five points of the Likert scale: (1) strongly disagree; (2) disagree; (3) neither agree nor disagree; (4) agree; (5) strongly agree, reflecting entrepreneurs’ attitudes toward SEO and sustainability performance. Figure 1 shows the model of constructs. Based on the literature on the SEM application recommendation, the research model should comprise all the constructs and confirm the measurement theory [41]. In this regard, various tests carried out in this study were based on measurement
Fig. 1 The theoretical frameworks of the study
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theory. First, the convergent validity is analyzed using the factor loading criteria and was performed using the average variance extracted (AVE). Second, the assessment of reliability test was determined through Cronbach’s alpha and composite reliability (CR) test. Third, Fornell-Larcker criterion and heterotrait-monotrait criteria (HTMT) were used to determine the discriminant validity of the instruments.
4 Result and Discussion 4.1
Construct Convergent Validity and Reliability
In this study, the factor loading was computed, and several items that did not meet the threshold requirement of factor loading above 0.6 were deleted [42]. It demonstrates that a good and consistent factor loading may improve the reliability and validity of the constructs represented in the model. Internal consistency reliability, such as Cronbach’s alpha, is often the first criteria to be assessed. Cronbach’s alpha offers a reliability estimation based on the intercorrelations between the measured indicators and is generally set at 0.6 to 0.7 as an acceptance lower limit [36, 42]. The results of the assessment of Cronbach’s alpha in this study are valid since they are above the accepted limit 0.7. Another reliability assessment that is preferable and used in this study is composite reliability. The composite reliability evaluates the items or indicators according to their loadings. Assessment results between 0.70 and 0.95 are deemed to be at a satisfactory level, whereas values greater than 0.95 are regarded as unrealistic since they imply that all indicators describe the same phenomena and are thus unlikely to be accurate measurements [36, 42]. All constructs presented in this study have an adequate value of between 0.834 and 0.903, and thus, the composite reliability is reliable. The next step of the assessment is to evaluate the convergent validity using AVE. AVE refers to the mean value of the extracted variance of the construct items, and it has a minimum threshold value of 0.5 [36]. In this study, all the constructs have high levels of AVE where AVE is above 0.5 and are considered as valid. Table 1 shows the results of reliability and validity.
4.2
Construct Discriminant Validity
In Fornell-Larcker criteria assessment, the correlations between the latent variables and the square roots of the AVE values are compared, and the square root of AVE must be greater than all constructs’ correlation value [36]. Based on this assumption, the results of the Fornell-Larcker assessment in this study are valid. Table 2 shows the Fornell-Larcker assessment.
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Table 1 Reliability test result Construct Experiential resources (X2) Informational capability (X5) Innovativeness (X7) Management capability (X6) Physical resources (X1) Social entrepreneurial capability (X4) SEO (Y) Social financial resources (X3) Sustainability performance (Z)
Cronbach’s alpha (α > 0.7) 0.753
Composite reliability (> 0.7) 0.855
Average variance extracted (> 0.5) 0.665
0.819
0.881
0.651
0.728 0.731
0.845 0.848
0.646 0.650
0738 0.765
0.851 0.849
0.655 0.586
0.765 0.800
0.850 0.909
0.587 0.833
0.856
0.893
0.583
Table 2 Fornell-Larcker criterion analysis (X2) (X5) (X7) (X6) (X1) (X4) (Y) (X3) (Z)
X2 0.815 0.605 0.572 0.582 0.540 0.605 0.529 0.473 0.689
X5
X7
X6
X1
X4
Y
X3
Z
0.807 0.474 0.540 0.457 0.592 0.617 0.383 0.662
0.804 0.526 0.550 0.469 0.544 0.434 0.585
0.806 0.338 0.545 0.590 0.449 0.594
0.809 0.454 0.478 0.363 0.566
0.765 0.650 0.645 0.711
0.766 0.639 0.761
0.913 0.606
0.763
The next evaluation to be completed was the HTMT analysis. An agreement on the HTMT’s precise cutoff point remains debatable. Kline [43] propose 0.85 as the cutoff, Henseler et al. [44] recommend 0.9, while Roemer et al. [45] suggest HTMT of 0.9 or higher. In this regard, the decision of the threshold level should be based on the researcher’s consideration in evaluating discriminant validity and the researcher’s confidence in the constructs’ unique nature [45]. In this study, the highest result of HTMT was 0.938, which is acceptable given the uniqueness of each construct. The results are shown in Table 3. Based on the result in Table 4, R2 value for social entrepreneurship orientation is 0.632, which means that the mediation effect of SEO is 6.32%, while the effect of the independent variables toward sustainability performance is 7.40%.
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Table 3 Heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) criterion (X5) (X7) (X6) (X1) (X4) (Y) (X3) (Z)
X2 0.748 0.762 0.786 0.714 0.778 0.672 0.601 0.828
X5
X7
X6
X1
Y
X4
X3
0.604 0.699 0.585 0.734 0.777 0.473 0.792
0.721 0.745 0.614 0.713 0.562 0.732
0.444 0.718 0.787 0.584 0.747
0.585 0.633 0.462 0.706
0.845 0.822 0.866
0.815 0.938
0.724
Table 4 R-square results
R-square 0.632 0.740
SEO (Y) Sustainability performance (Z) Table 5 The hypothesis testing Hypothesis H1A H1B H2A H2B H3A H3B H4A H4B H5A H5B H6A H6B H7A H7B H8
4.3
Relationship of the variables (X1) → (Z) (X1) → (Y) → (Z) (X2) → (Z) (X2) → (Y) → (Z) (X3) → (Z) (X3) → (Y) → (Z) (X4) → (Z) (X4) → (Y) → (Z) (X5) → (Z) (X5) → (Y) → (Z) (X6) → (Z) (X6) → (Y) → (Z) (X7) → (Z) (X7) → (Y) → (Z) (Y) → (Z)
T statistics 1.408 1.407 2.753 1.295 1.136 4.079 2.307 1.650 1.435 3.454 0.455 2.848 0.807 1.578 4.283
P values 0.160 0.160 0.006 0.196 0.257 0.000 0.021 0.100 0.152 0.001 0.649 0.005 0.420 0.115 0.000
Results Rejected Rejected Accepted Rejected Rejected Accepted Accepted Rejected Rejected Accepted Rejected Accepted Rejected Rejected Accepted
Total effects No mediation No mediation Full mediation No mediation Full mediation Full mediation No mediation Direct effect
Bootstrapping
The bootstrapping method is used to validate the multivariate model aimed at determining the distribution of the HTMT statistic [36, 42]. In this study, bootstrapping evaluation includes analyzing probabilities and t-statistics using PLS-SEM. For an alpha of 5%, the acceptable criteria are when p-value is less than 0.05 for probabilities and T-table is greater than 1.96. Thus, if t-statistics are greater than t-tables, the hypothesis is accepted. Table 5 shows the results of direct
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effects between SEO and sustainability performance as well as the mediate effect of SEO on SRBV and sustainability performance.
5 Conclusion This study aimed to investigate the effect of SEO on sustainability performance and to investigate the mediate effect of SEO on SRBV and sustainability performance. The PLS-SEM was used to examine the construct reliability and validity of the measurement model for hypothesis testing. The findings revealed that the convergence is valid. Composite reliability (CR) and Cronbach’s alpha, which were used to assess reliability, were also valid. The assessment of discriminant validity using Fornell-Larcker and HTMT were valid. The results of the study with the use of PLS-SEM methodology in this investigation is statistically valid and reliable. The findings revealed that both SEO and SRBV has a positive effect on sustainability performance. SRBV, in particular, has a positive effect on sustainability performance due to the social entrepreneurs’ abilities in managing the experiential resources and social entrepreneurial. The findings also revealed that SEO mediates the relationship between SRBV (social financial resources, informational capabilities, management capabilities) and sustainability performance. This means that social entrepreneurs in Indonesia relied on particular resources and capabilities to scale their social impact and generate revenue. Furthermore, it shows that the effect of SEO and the applicability of the SRBV to social entrepreneurs in Indonesia is favorable in the sense that it promotes growth and sustainability of the organization.
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Corporate Governance Practices Affecting Performance: A Case Study of Malaysian Elderly Care Centres NGOs N. Fadzlyn, Filzah Md. Isa, and Shafi Mohamad
Abstract It is alleged that nongovernmental organisation (NGOs) are undergoing a crisis of confidence as they have become more secretive in their actions, thus making it increasingly difficult for their stakeholders to hold them accountable. Therefore, effective corporate governance is essential for NGOs as it relates to public affairs and managing shared resources. One of the most effective strategies for improving NGO performance is effective corporate governance. This study has investigated the corporate governance practices that influence the performance of NGOs, mainly in the Malaysian elderly care sector. The qualitative research approach and semistructured interview technique have been adopted, and this study covered ten elderly care centres run by NGOs in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, Malaysia. This study found that the implementation and promotion of corporate governance in Malaysian NGOs, particularly in the elderly care centres, is still lacking, primarily the transparency of financial reporting. These deficiencies have been recognised as major obstacles that the NGOs must overcome to establish effective corporate governance in this study. The study may provide useful information to policymakers, enabling them to formulate strategies to strengthen their regulatory framework so that it is more in line with the systems of other NGOs from other countries. In the same vein, this study recommended that the board of NGOs adopt corporate governance best practices to improve performance, accountability, transparency and protect the interest of stakeholders.
1 Introduction The study on NGOs, particularly elderly care centres, appears to be under researched in many prior studies. Previous studies on NGOs were mostly focused on voluntary non-profit organisations that engaged in activities ranging from cultural events to
N. Fadzlyn (✉) · F. M. Isa · S. Mohamad Taylor’s University, Selangor, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_6
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health, environment, education, law and human rights, as well as focusing on reviewing various social or political issues through different long-term or shortterm approaches [1]. In today’s increasingly competitive environment, NGOs must be governed in a manner consistent with for-profit organisations to ensure the survival of organisations [2]. Similar to for-profit organisations, donors and other funders have greater confidence in influential NGOs as these organisations are presumed to be fully transparent and accountable, which are the fundamental characteristics of sound corporate governance and accountability [3, 4]. It was reported that many NGOs have shown misconduct and violated the donors’ trust. The following are the headlines in the media: NGO under probe over alleged misuse of government allocations [5]; NGOs are great at demanding transparency. They’re not so hot at providing it [6]; Donors freeze funding to NGOs over corruption [7]. These reports have given the impression that NGOs are characterised by poor governance and less accountability than other organisational types. Thus, public concerns were raised regarding the role of NGOs in achieving their social purpose, given that most of the funding for NGOs comes from public donations. Therefore, the present study will practically explore the corporate governance practice (if any) in the elderly care centre and how it influences performance. Theoretically, this present study will try to fill the gap in the literature due to the fact that exploratory studies on the role played by corporate governance mechanisms in the running of elderly care centres by Malaysian NGOs, which contribute to their enhanced performance, are still lacking in the literature. Numerous organisational factors have been found to influence the performance of NGOs, and one of these factors is corporate governance [8]. Corporate governance in NGOs has been perceived as a practical resource management strategy because it is transparent, accountable and clear to people’s needs [9]. Thus, corporate governance has become a subject of increasing concern in organisational theory and management research due to its significant influence on organisational performance [2]. The views of effective corporate governance practices have become progressively significant not only for public organisations but also for the NGO sector [10]. Nonetheless, the aspect of corporate governance effectiveness is critical in examining the issues of NGOs’ leakages, corruption, misuse of power, transparency and accountability, which will be the objectives of this present study. The organisation of this paper includes literature review, methodology, findings and discussion and conclusion.
2 Literature Review 2.1
Development of NGOs’ Governance in Malaysia
Corporate governance is defined by [11] as ‘the system by which organisations are managed and controlled’. In Malaysia, corporate governance is not a new subject. However, the growth of corporate governance in Malaysia has a more significant
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effect on the corporate level and the public sector rather than on the domain of civil society, such as NGOs [12]. According to [12], participation of Malaysian NGOs in corporate governance work appeared to be unregulated. No manual or code highlights the importance of NGOs in practising governance practises that only apply to public organisations and financial institutions [7, 13]. The Registrar of Societies (ROS), part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, is the primary government agency in charge of supervising and controlling NGO activities in Malaysia [14]. Nonetheless, compared to the regulatory requirements in developed countries, the requirements established for Malaysian NGOs registered under ROS are considered to be the bare minimum. There is currently no financial reporting and governance framework in Malaysia, nor are there specific accounting standards for NGO reporting [13, 14]. An effective governing body that assesses the accuracy of the information provided by NGOs, mainly financial information, is still lacking [15]. Since many gaps and errors might go unchecked by the governing bodies and their stakeholders, this could threaten the NGO sector [2]. Thus, NGOs in Malaysia need to adopt a better strategy to curtail or eliminate unethical behaviour that can result in fraud and poor management. Perhaps Malaysia can adapt the financial reporting and governance systems created in other countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Singapore, to suit the special needs of the nation [10]. Therefore, NGOs in Malaysia must maintain the same integrity level in their financial reporting as other NGOs around the world to assist donors in making wise decisions. This is because investors in the corporate world require open and reliable financial disclosure to make wise investment decisions. Corporate governance has become an issue in NGOs due to donors’ increasing importance on accountability and transparency [1]. Transparency is a pressing concern for NGOs due to the need to keep their funding arrangements private [2]. Transparency and accountability are listed in order of importance in this present study. [26] agreed that despite the NGOs’ board’s voluntary existence, they are publicly accountable bodies that are responsible to their stakeholders for the efficient management of public funds, donations and resources entrusted to them and their employees. As no profit measure assures NGO performance, the personal assessment of the organisation’s health by board members is much more critical in NGOs than in for-profit organisations [2]. Members of boards must spend significant time learning what is going on in the organisation to have sound corporate governance for such assessments, and they must have sufficient expertise to understand the significance of what they learn [9]. It was, therefore, essential to decide whether NGOs were properly handled in Malaysia and whether they had the resources required to work effectively. Given the significant role of NGOs in development, there is a need to research the governance of NGOs to improve their effectiveness. Hence, this study explores whether corporate governance principles, primarily in the context of accountability and transparency, have been implemented in the governance of Malaysian NGOs.
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Corporate Governance and Performance
Performance is often considered to come from the dual goals of non-profits: target achievement and sustainability, while accountability and transparency are significantly related [16]. NGOs are not profit oriented and therefore emphasise meeting social needs; hence, their performance indicators are commonly non-financial [4]. Zulkefli and Quddus [12] pointed out a significant positive association with organisational performance in mission statements. In most cases, donors and other stakeholders focus mainly on the performance of the mission, and the organisation is assumed to be fully transparent in communicating its plans or projects [8]. Thus, it can create trust among those players. For that reason, NGOs can make any effort worthwhile to develop even higher levels of faith in the organisation [12]. Hence, to retain a better role in the competitive environment, it could be said that consistency in performance is a goal for which every organisation aims.
3 Methodology Qualitative research is best for exploring new hypothesis [17]. This study is an exploratory study that includes utilisation of a qualitative approach of gathering data. The self-administered and open-ended questionnaire used in this study was developed by [3]. As the present study is exploratory in nature, the explanatory research design is best suited to answering its objectives. The research included ten (10) registered elderly care centres of NGOs to collect information. This number of samples is suggested by [18] who recommends that 5–25 respondents would be enough for phenomenological study. The purposive sampling technique was used to identify ten (10) participants from the selected elderly care centres or until the findings reached a saturation point. Hence, the owner, director and manager of elderly care centres run by NGOs were interviewed as they encompassed the full range of characteristics and perspectives that the researcher needed as per requirements of the present study. The interview questions were specifically designed to answer the research questions and objectives pertaining to corporate governance and sustainability of NGOs, as highlighted in the literature review. The researcher adopted a thematic analysis, as proposed by [9]. The employment of thematic analysis in this study was conducted based on six phases of thematic analysis: (1) data familiarisation; (2) initial code generations; (3) theme searching; (4) theme reviewing; (5) defining and naming themes; and (6) producing the report. According to [19], thematic analysis is a good approach to research where the researcher attempts to identify people’s views, opinions, knowledge, experiences or values from a set of qualitative data, i.e. interview transcripts or survey responses.
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4 Findings and Discussion 4.1
Demographic Data
In this study, ten (10) respondents were interviewed from ten (10) different Malaysian elderly care centres of NGOs using a structured questionnaire matrix. Table 1 displays an information profile of the respondents. The gender of the respondents included both males and females. The findings revealed that seven out of ten (10) respondents were males, and three were females. Respondents were also required to specify their highest level of education. Six respondents who participated in this study had attained bachelor’s degrees, and four of them were diploma holders. Thus, this implies that the majority of the respondents in the elderly care centres of NGOs were well educated and capable of appropriately articulating the topics under this study. On top of that, as seen in the table below, four respondents were NGO owners, four were working as managers, and two were executive directors. Regarding the research objective and research question, ten (10) owners/directors/managers of elderly care centres were interviewed using the corporate governance principles. Table 2 displays the interview questions. Table 3 highlights the demographics parts, which includes the year of establishment of elderly care centres of Malaysian NGOs, centres’ main source of monthly income, type of staff employment and current no. of elderly in the centre. The establishment year of the NGO implies that four of them (C05, C08, C09 & C010) have been in operation for more than 9 years, whereas one NGO (C04) has been in operation for 3–5 years, and three of them (C02, C06 & C07) have been operated from 7–9 years. Eight NGOs (C01, C02, C03, C04, C05, C07, C08 & C10) receive their main sources of monthly income from public donation. Nine of them receive from charity (C01, C02, C03, C04, C05, C06, C07, C09 & C10), while three NGOs (C03, C06 & C08) reported resident fees, and some of them (C01, C02, C03 & C04, C08) are self-funded. Majority of the NGOs have permanent staff (C02, C03, C05, Table 1 Information profile of the respondents No. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Name code R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10
Organisation code C01 C02 C03 C04 C05 C06 C07 C08 C09 C10
Note R: Stands for name of respondent C: Stands for name of organisation
Position Owner Owner Owner Manager Owner Manager Manager Manager Executive director Executive director
Education level Diploma Bachelor Bachelor Diploma Bachelor MPhil Bachelor Bachelor MPhil MPhil
Gender Female Male Male Female Male Male Female Female Male Male
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Table 2 Interviews questions To explore the corporate governance adoption in elderly care centres of NGOs Type of respondent Interview question Owners/directors/ Principles managers How compliant is your organisation with submission of financial reports to ROS? Who is responsible to manage/control the financial matters in the centre? Do you prepare and maintain the organisation’s financial reports which are accessible for the public? Do you share with the stakeholders the structure, composition, role and function of the Board? Do you disclose to your donors or trustees as to where the money goes? (i.e. disclose information that clarify the use of financial resources received from public, i.e. donations, grant etc.) Do you share with the community and donors on-going issues and new developments of the centre? (If yes, provide details where can they access information) Do you regularly update members and stakeholders regarding the organisation’s development plans/activities/programmes?
N 10
C06, C07, C08, C09 & C10), three NGOs (C01, C05 & C06) have contractual staff, while four of them (C02, C04, C07 & C09) hire voluntary staff. The results demonstrate the majority of the NGOs (C02, C04, C05, C07, C08, C09 & C10) have male and female elderly residents, while three NGOs (C01, C03 & C06) have only female residents (Table 4).
5 Discussion Pertaining to the accountability of NGOs, the findings indicate that NGOs comply with the submission of financial reports to ROS, conduct general meetings every year and furnish minutes of meetings to ROS. The previous year’s audited financial statements and a balance sheet showing NGOs’ finances must be presented to ROS. The respondents noted that NGOs must provide all the governing documents, meeting minutes, general meeting register, membership register receipt books and bank account books to ROS. It was shown that they must adhere to the requirements stated in Societies Act 1966 to continue operating and receiving a government grant. The current findings substantiate the previous research as NGOs which rely on government funding were more subject to accountability standards [7, 12]. Meanwhile, regarding the transparency of NGOs, findings showed that they agreed to disclose all information regarding their organisations, primarily non-financial information, to the public. Our findings showed that they share ongoing issues and new developments with the community and regular updates regarding the NGOs’ development plans/programmes/activities. These findings were consistent with past
Variable Year of establishment
Centre’s main source of monthly income
Type of staff employment
Current no. of elderly in the centre
No. 1.
2.
3.
5.
Table 3 Demographic characteristics 3–5 years 6–8 years 9–onwards Public donation Charity Resident fees Self-funded Permanent Contract Voluntary Male Female
C01 – – – / / – / – / – – /
C02 – / – / / – / / – / / /
C03 – – – / / / / / – – – /
C04 / – – / / – / – – / 13 4
C05 – – / / / – – / / – / /
C06 – / – – / / – / / – – /
C07 – / – / / – – / – / / /
C08 – – / / – / / / – – / –
C09 – – / – / – – / – / / /
C010 – – / / / – – / – – 50 20
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RO- To explore the current corporate governance adoption in the elderly care centres of Malaysian NGOs Principles Accountability Transparency Provides Shares information on-going Complies on the use of with Furnish Maintains Finance is issues and new Nondisclosure financial submission minutes financial Conduct handled resources developments of financial of financial of reports AGM by received to with reporting to reports to meetings accessible every qualified donors public ROS to ROS for public year accountant community √ √ √ √ × √ × × √ √ √ × √ √ √ × √ √ √ √ × × √ × √ √ √ × √ √ √ √ √ √ √ × √ √ √ × √ √ √ × √ √ √ √ √ √ √ × √ √ √ √ √ √ √ × √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ × √ √ √ × √ √ √ √ Regular updates regarding development plans/ programs/ activities √ √ × √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Structure, composition role and function of the Board is shared with stakeholders × √ × √ × √ × √ √ √
Ten respondents quoted = Complies with submission of financial reports to ROS, conduct AGM every year, furnish minutes of meetings to ROS, shares on-going issues and new developments Nine respondents quoted = Non-disclosure of financial reporting to public, regular updates regarding development plans/programs/activities Eight respondents quoted = Finance is handled by qualified accountant Six respondents quoted = Provides information on the use of financial resources received from donors, structure, composition, role and function One respondent quoted = Maintains financial reports accessible for the public Most quoted themes in corporate governance practices = Complies with submission of financial reports to ROS, conduct AGM every year, furnish minutes of meetings to ROS, shares on-going issues and new developments, non-disclosure of financial reporting to public, regular updates regarding development plans/ programs/activities
Subthemes R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10
Main themes
Table 4 Findings and themes generated from corporate governance adoption: Principles
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literature [12, 13]. This study found that most NGOs are reluctant to release their financial reports due to confidential information. They claimed that all NGOs registered under ROS are not compelled to make available information to the public. Literature shows that many NGOs’ annual reports do not meet stakeholders’ information needs and demands because only minimal important information is disclosed [2, 10]. The overall discussion revealed that NGOs’ partially corporate governance framework is ineffective in Malaysian elderly care centres. The present study discovered that while NGOs adopt corporate governance in their organisations, it is still below average. Accountability and transparency in financial reporting have been identified as major concerns. Apparently, according to the present study’s findings, the practices of corporate governance in Malaysian NGOs reflect a minimal regulatory requirement setting. This moderate level of corporate governance compliance is insignificant compared to Japan, Singapore and Australia. They even have a governance code and have made their financial disclosure mandatory [15, 20]. By contrast, the present study’s findings, on the other hand, revealed that Malaysian NGOs registered under ROS were not obliged to produce comprehensive financial reporting, indicating that regulatory requirements were less stringent. It can be drawn that the information reported by NGOs can be inadequate or misleading for effective monitoring and regulating of NGOs. Research done by [7, 10] found that this is due to a lack of recommended best practices for accountability being promoted by regulatory bodies, which reduces the board’s motivation to improve the transparency level of NGOs. As a result of the above discussions, we may conclude that Malaysian NGOs have not been totally transparent, which might tarnish their reputation while potentially resulting in malpractices. Therefore, the implementation and promotion of corporate governance in Malaysian NGOs, particularly in the elderly care centres, is still lacking; the board suffers from a lack of governance knowledge, a lack of monitoring systems, insufficient enforcement and a lack of transparency and disclosure to the public, primarily on the audited financial statements.
5.1
Recommendation for Future Research
It is recommended that future research may be carried out to different contexts by including different sizes of NGOs in the study to enhance the power of generalizability and robustness of the results in different settings within the Malaysian context. This would help to guarantee that the findings apply to a broader range of settings. This would also raise understanding of how to manage various NGOs in terms of nature and size, as well as the function of corporate governance in influencing the performance or sustainability of the organisations. A comparison study comparing two separate groups of NGOs registered under ROS and NGOs registered under CCM may be considered for future research. This comparison would show how the regulatory requirement is carried out in compliance with two main regulatory authorities. Secondly, because NGOs’ governance is often more complex than that of corporate organisations, future research should investigate the
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prospect of supplementing the qualitative data collection approach with the quantitative data collection technique. This will allow for a more in-depth comprehension of the role that corporate governance and communication play in NGOs. This will be a beneficial adjunct to qualitative research, which may generate deeper insights and understanding of how NGOs are being investigated. In this regard, future research might further expand this current study by using a ‘mixed-method’ to compensate for the limitations that would be caused by adopting only one approach.
6 Conclusion The present study aimed to explore corporate governance practices in the performance of Malaysian elderly care centres of NGOs. This area has received a significant amount of attention in the past. However, there has not been much research done on the effects of corporate governance practices, particularly with regard to the elderly care centres run by Malaysian NGOs. According to the findings of this study, despite the fact that the vast majority of NGOs have implemented corporate governance mechanisms, some still trail behind. In contrast to the corporate sector, NGOs in Malaysia do not currently have benchmarks or precise governance standards to follow, making applying the best governance practices challenging. This study offers evidence that it is relevant to incorporate corporate governance principles for the performance of elderly care centres run by Malaysian NGOs. These practices are intended to improve the quality of care provided to elderly patients. As NGOs are not-for-profit institutions and are reliant on funds and resources from outside sources, it is of the utmost importance that NGOs portray themselves as being trustworthy institutions, and the Board of Directors needs to be aware that it is their responsibility to act only in the best interests of the organisations for which they are responsible. This indicates that NGOs must provide information and be accountable to their beneficiaries, members and funders in order to gain the support of their members and donors. The disclosure of information pertaining to finances in the financial statements is especially essential since it has the ability to influence a potential donor’s decision on whether or not to offer financial support to the organisation.
References 1. Free Malaysia Today (2019) https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/08/21/ ngo-under-probe-over-alleged-misuse-of-govt-allocations-to-help-indian-students/ 2. Hassouna D, Ouda H, Hussainey K (2017) Transparency and disclosure as a corporate governance mechanism and corporate performance: Egypt’s case. Corp Ownersh Control 14(4): 182–195 3. Braun V, Clarke V (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol 3(2): 77–101
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Saving Behaviour Among the University Students in Malaysia Uma Thevi Munikrishnan, Nor Aziyatul Izni, Aeshah Mohd Ali, Nur Ilyana Ismarau Tajuddin, Nur Faradilla Haron, and Nor Asiah Mahmood
Abstract Financial literacy is an important factor for university students in making judgment on their financial management, as their expenditure constitute a significant contribution to the overall consumer expenditure in Malaysia. Despite that, the saving behaviour of university students had never been stable, exacerbated by the lack of sufficient financial knowledge. This paper investigates the importance of financial literacy among university students and the crucial determinants of their saving behaviour. A total of 384 responses were collected from various states in Malaysia. The normality test, reliability test, Pearson correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis had been utilized. The result shows the significant relationship between independent variables of financial literacy, subjective norm, perceivedbehavioural control and self-control towards mediating variable of saving intention and saving intention towards saving behaviour, except financial attitudes towards saving intention. The finding shows that financial literacy, financial attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and saving intention had positive
U. T. Munikrishnan Department of Management Studies, Faculty of Business and Management, UCSI University, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia N. A. Izni (✉) Centre of Foundation Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Cawangan Selangor, Kampus Dengkil, Dengkil, Selangor, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] A. M. Ali Department of Marketing, Faculty of Business and Management, UCSI University, Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia N. I. I. Tajuddin Pusat Tahmidi, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia N. F. Haron Academy of Contemporary Islamic Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia N. A. Mahmood College of Business Administration, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_7
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correlation with saving behaviour, while self-control showed negative correlation with saving behaviour.
1 Introduction Malaysia is listed as one of the developing countries, and it also has one of the region’s lowest level of financial knowledge [1]. The existence of universities, however, has positively contributed towards a faster economic growth [2]. The expenditure of university students is a major component of the overall consumer expenditure in Malaysia. University students’ saving behaviour has never been constant, affected by their level of financial knowledge. Most of the students have the ability to manage their finances independently but yet are on the brink of a financial crisis due to their lack of general knowledge to allocate and manage their money appropriately [3]. To earn an entry-level salary, fresh graduates must bear considerable debt such as National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) borrowing to fund their education. Hence, students must have sufficient financial knowledge so that they can properly contribute their income to pay for expenses and PTPTN loan after they have graduated. Nevertheless, most of the students will accumulate debt through student loans and credit cards to satisfy their desire to consume. They are somewhat ignorant to the fact that their current debt will have a negative impact on their future credit. Students face difficulties to achieve their financial goals as there are no consistent money management practices. Nevertheless, students can improve their financial literacy through social media such as attending programs that can encourage and improve financial knowledge of young people. Moreover, Malaysian Financial Planning Council (MFPC) is an independent institution that promote national development and strengthen the financial management profession. MFPC has been organizing virtual financial knowledge programs which is ‘My Money and Me’ program to help young people gain basic knowledge about financial management. The saving behaviour is different between each generation, and it has never been stable because saving and spending attitudes are not the same in different generations. University students are classified as Generation Y, aged between 19 to 32 [4]. The aim and implication of saving for all people are also different. It does not only depend on income but also on the needs of consumer products [5]. In addition, the spending habits among young people can totally influence their saving behaviour, because when people spend more, it can be reflected in their saving being relatively lower. Saving behaviour relates to a person’s spending behaviour. If people have low knowledge of saving and bad saving behaviour, it will lead to many financial problems, such as bankruptcy. People who have positive saving behaviour tend to have lesser financial problems. Malaysian students are known to have a low level of financial literacy while having plenty to spend and tend to be compulsive buyers [6]. This issue should be addressed because decisions on finances made in early adulthood will have an impact on a person’s entire life [7]. Therefore,
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this study is focused to determine the impact of financial literacy as well as the relationship between financial literacy, financial attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, self-control and intention to save towards saving behaviour. Financial literacy has an important role in a persons’ financial decision which includes spending behaviour [8].
2 Literature Review The literature review incorporates how financial literacy affects university students’ saving behaviour in Malaysia. People perform multiple behaviours as they do it intentionally [9]. Those intentions can be determined by three important factors which are attitude towards intention, subject norm about behaviour and perceived behavioural control [10]. Social attitudes and personal characteristics attempt to predict and describe human behaviour that have played an important role. In Malaysia, saving behaviour are affected by financial literacy, family and peer influence and financial attitude [9, 11]. The study showed that the most important factor influencing saving behaviour of young adults is both peer and parental influence [11]. However, a study by Jae Min Lee (2015) which included the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) argued that financial attitude does not directly affect the relationship between financial literacy and saving behaviour [5]. Nevertheless, the study by Madhzan and Tabiane (2013) showed that the factors influencing individual savings are financial literacy, saving regularity, demographic factor, number of children, income, working experience and risk tolerance. Overall, this study also suggests that people with high financial literacy were more likely to save money than those with low financial literacy [12]. Umi Widyasuti (2016) found that the impact of financial literacy will affect attitudes towards saving, saving intention and saving behaviour. The results show that those variables significantly influence saving behaviour while attitude and subjective norm significantly influences saving intentions. Overall, financial literacy can also influence saving behaviour [13]. In fact, according to Rai, Dua and Yadaw (2019), financial attitude and financial behaviour are strongly associated with financial literacy [14]. The study by Sabri and MacDonald (2010) pointed out that childhood consumer experience, financial socialization and financial literacy influences saving behaviour and financial problems. Their study found that Malaysian students having prior childhood consumer experience had relatively high saving behaviour and financial problems. The result for financial literacy had significantly influenced saving behaviour and financial problems [6]. Financial literacy is important at several levels for university students. According to Murugiah, 2016, financial literacy is defined as an ability to know, understand and possess the knowledge to analyse personal finance. Financial literacy is a basic skill and essential commodity in daily life and a basic raw material that cannot be shared for development and even for survival in an economic environment [15]. The basic skill of financial literacy means knowing how money works, how to allocate income and expenditures, where and when to spend
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those income, efficiently managing financial risks and the most important thing is how to prevent financial distress applied by financial literacy [15]. According to Pankow (2003), financial attitude refers to a state of mind, opinion and judgment of a person about finances. In other words, it is personal propensity on financial matters which includes the ability to preserve a savings account that matters and plan forward. In this study, the result shows that financial attitude of university students is related to their perception towards money [16]. In fact, Kaur and Singh (2022) acknowledged that the role of psychological disposition plays in the formation of financial attitude [17]. The usage of money, savings and spending behaviour could be determined by financial attitude. In recent years, a few studies had examined people’s attitude or beliefs towards money. This is because researchers and managers had a rising awareness of how financial attitudes is important in understanding debt, savings and also consumption behaviour [18, 19]. Essentially, a good saving behaviour of students depends on whether or not they apply a positive financial attitude [20]. Moreover, social norm could be a positive effect on saving intention among university students. According to Jamak et al. (2016), subjective norms came from the environment such as friends and family which can greatly influence someone’s attitude [9]. If the social values allows an individual to do specific behaviour and the individual gains positive impact from it, then they will likely follow that social value [21]. This is applicable to savings behaviour of university students. Students need to be aware of the importance of setting aside their income for future needs which will lead to students setting aside some of their income for savings. When this awareness is reinforced with benefits that students get by saving their money, it will lead to a character building in the form of saving habits [22]. University students who have learnt the importance of savings through subjective norms of early parental socialization and parental direct teaching will more likely have a higher intention to save and a positive saving behaviour. A similar study by Umi Widyastuti (2016) showed that subjective norm has significantly influenced saving intention and attitudes towards saving [13]. Perceived behavioural control is similarly an important variable that affects individual behavioural intention. It refers to the perceived individual’s intention to perform the behaviour [23]. The perceived behavioural control is used to clarify selfcontrol, and the simplicity of saving would be perceived by students with a higher level of self-control because they have the ability to control their desires, have selfdiscipline and resist gratification [9]. This statement is consistent with Gao et al. (2017) wherein people who have a greater level of control over themselves may have a stronger energy saving intention. Individuals are said to be in self-control when they consciously monitor their actions and prevent the execution of automatic action [24]. According to Gelderen et al. (2015), there is a positively moderate relationship between self-control with intention and action [25] that has resisted the rise of fear, suspicion and disgust associated with action. In a nutshell, when a person has a high degree of self-control, the intention to save is more likely to be improved and practiced.
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3 Methodology This section focuses on how the financial literacy of Malaysian university students affect their saving behaviour and collects relevant information and data. The research model for this study was tested empirically using data collected from online survey. Figure 1 shows the hypothesized and the tested association. The respondents comprise of university students studying in private and public universities in Malaysia. Since the research was carried out during the Malaysian movement control order (MCO) period, google docs were used to collect responses through various online social media platform. Non-probability sampling was employed for this study due to the large target population. A total of 400 responses were received, in which 384 responses were valid for data analysis. The processed data was analysed using SPSS.
Fig. 1 Framework of factors influencing saving behaviour of university students in Malaysia
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The following are items adopted from different studies: financial literacy [13, 26], financial attitude [27], subjective norms [13], perceived behavioural control [28], self-control [13], intention to save [13] and saving behaviour [13]. The survey consists of four sections. Section A is comprised of demographic variables. Section B comprises five items (i.e. financial literacy, financial attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and self-control) used to measure the respondent’s saving intention. Section C comprises questions related to saving intention to measure whether respondent’s intention to save influences their actual saving behaviour. Lastly, Section D measures the respondent’s actual saving behaviour. The data was tested for validity and reliability to avoid error which might invalidate the results and conclusion. Normality test was used to determine if the data set is normally distributed. Pearson’s coefficient of correlation test was carried out to determine the existing relation and to measure the strength of interrelation between the two variables. Finally, the relationship between the variables stated in Fig. 1 is determined by calculating the coefficient of their multiple determination and regression equation. Essentially, multiple regression analysis gives the understanding of the existence of relationship between independent and dependent variable, the skewness of the relationship, the strength of the relationship and proper explanation of the relationship.
4 Results and Discussions 4.1
Demographic Analysis
In total, 242 females and 142 male respondents had participated in the survey. Most of the respondents who had participated in this survey were aged between 22 to 25 years, which are 212 out of 384 respondents. About 97.7% of the respondents are single, while 2.3% are married. About 82% of the respondents are students pursuing bachelor’s degree. The data indicated that 65.9% of the respondents are full-time students, while 34.1% seem to work in part-time jobs while being a student. Their monthly income ranged from RM500 to RM1,000.
4.2
Descriptive Analysis
Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics of the variables used in this study. The study found that the subjective norm, financial literacy, financial attitude, perceived behavioural control, saving intention and actual saving behaviour among the university students in Malaysia scored a high mean value. This indicates Malaysian students’ awareness of the importance of saving. However, self-control scored the
Saving Behaviour Among the University Students in Malaysia Table 1 Descriptive statistics
Variable Financial literacy Financial attitude Subjective norm Perceived behavioural control Self-control Saving intention Saving behaviour
73 N 384 384 384 384 384 384 384
Mean 18.4714 16.6589 23.4792 16.6224 9.1562 20.8750 19.0286
SD 3.0461 2.6758 3.3232 2.5117 3.5241 2.7621 3.4568
Table 2 Normality test for independent variables, moderating variable and dependent variables Skewness Variables Independent variables
Mediating variable Dependent variable
Financial literacy Financial attitude Subjective norm Perceived behavioural control Self-control Saving intention Saving behaviour
Kurtosis
Statistic -0.086 -0.003 -0.017 0.431
Standard error 0.125 0.125 0.125 0.125
Statistic -0.218 0.743 -0.455 0.332
Standard error 0.248 0.248 0.248 0.248
1.304 -0.388
0.125 0.125
1.718 -0.352
0.248 0.248
-0.695
0.125
0.434
0.248
lowest mean value (9.15). This shows the lack of ability to exercise willpower among the Malaysian students to control their desire to purchase.
4.3
Normality Test
The normality test is used to see whether the data obtained is normal. The findings from skewness and kurtosis test shows financial literacy, financial attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control are between -1 and 1 which confirm these data are normally distributed (see Table 2). However, self-control shows a skewness value of 1.304 and kurtosis value of 1.718, which exceeds the value of normal distribution. From the skewness value and kurtosis of mediating variables is -0.388 and -0.352 in the range between -1 and 1, it is considered normally distributed. The skewness and kurtosis value of the dependent variable (saving behaviour) indicates a normal distribution.
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Reliability Test
Cronbach’s alpha is an indicator used to test the existing reliability or consistency of a set of scales or test items. Table 3 shows the reliability test for all independent variables in this study. From the Table 3 below, the Cronbach’s alpha value of financial literacy, subjective norm, self-control, saving intention and saving behaviour are above 0.7 which indicate a very good reliability and consistency. Then, financial attitude and perceived behavioural control variables are poor reliability as the value of Cronbach’s alpha are less than 0.6.
4.5
Pearson Correlation Analysis
Pearson correlation analysis is applied in this study to test the relationship between the independent variables which are financial literacy, financial attitude, subjective norm and self-control towards saving intention (mediating variable) and between the saving behaviour variables (dependent variable) and saving intention (mediating variable). Based on Table 4, there is a positive interaction between financial literacy and saving intention with the value of correlation coefficient of 0.556 which falls under moderate positive correlation category. This moderate positive correlation indicates that changes in financial literacy level of student will moderately have an effect towards their intention to make a saving. There is also positive interactions between financial attitude and intention to save as the value of correlation is 0.146. However, this correlation coefficient is considered under negligible correlation as the value falls under 0.00 to 0.30 category indicating only slight correlation for the two variables. In other words, financial attitude of student will slightly or have no effect at all towards their intention to save. Besides that, there is also a positive interaction between subjective norm and saving intention with correlation coefficient of 0.547. This correlation coefficient falls under moderate positive correlation category indicating that changes in subjective norm will have moderate effect towards intention to save. Another positive interaction is present between perceived behavioural control and intention to save with correlation coefficient of 0.493 Table 3 Reliability test for all variables Independent variable Financial literacy Financial attitude Subjective norm Perceived behavioural control Self-control Saving intention Saving behaviour
Cronbach’s alpha 0.875 0.577 0.856 0.373 0.851 0.854 0.857
N of items 5 5 6 5 5 5 5
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Table 4 Test of Pearson correlation between independent variables and mediating variable Financial literacy
Financial attitude
Subjective norm
Perceived behavioural control
Self-control
Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N
Saving intention 0.556** 0.000 384 0.146** 0.004 384 0.547** 0.000 384 0.493** 0.000 384 -0.409** 0.000 384
Note**: Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed) Table 5 Test of Pearson correlation between mediating variable and dependent variable Total saving intention
Pearson correlation Sig. (2-tailed) N
Total saving behaviour 0.667** 0.000 384
Note**: Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
which falls under moderate positive correlation category. This indicates that perceived behavioural control has positive moderate impact towards saving intention of student. Therefore, the easier the student’s perceived saving behaviour, it will only moderately increase their saving intention. On the other hand, there is negative relationship between self-control and saving intention with correlation coefficient of -0.409 indicating inverse relationship of the two variables. This correlation coefficient falls under low negative correlation as the value of the correlation coefficient falls under -0.30 and - 0.50 category which indicates that changes in self-control level of student will inversely affect their intention to save lesser. In other words, as students have lower self-control, it will lowly result in increase of their intention to save. Lastly, there is positive interactions between intention to save and saving behaviour with correlation coefficient of 0.667 (see Table 5). This correlation coefficient falls under moderate positive correlation category indicating that changes in saving intention of student will have moderate effect towards saving behaviour of that student. Based on Table 6, the significance value financial literacy is 0.000 ( p < 0.05) indicating that the effect of the variable is significant. The variable has positive coefficient which means as the level of financial literacy of student increases so does
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Table 6 Coefficients of independent variable and mediating variable
Model (Constant) Financial literacy Financial attitude Subjective norm Perceived behavioural control Self-control a
Unstandardized coefficienta Std. B Error 9.064 1.022 0.206 0.043 0.029 0.041 0.204 0.037 0.283 0.047 -0.216
0.031
Standardized coefficients Beta
t
0.227 0.028 0.245 0.258
8.868 4.763 0.716 5.532 6.013
Sig, 0.000 0.000 0.474 0.000 0.000
-0.275
-7.036
0.000
Mediating variable: Total saving intention
Table 7 Coefficients of mediating variable and dependent variable Model (Constant) Saving intention a
Unstandardized coefficienta B Std. error 1.594 1.004 0.835 0.048
Standardized coefficients Beta
t
0.667
1.588 17.513
Sig, 0.113 0.000
Mediating variable: Total saving behaviour
their intention to save. The same goes for financial attitude with sig value of 0.474 which means the variable is not significant. Its coefficient, however, is positive indicating that as students have more positive attitude towards their finances, they will intend to save more. Subjective norms also have sig value of 0.000 which indicates that it is significant. Its coefficient is positive which indicates that the more the students believe their important person will support their action to save it will increase their intention for saving. Self-control also shows sig level of 0.000 which indicates significance. However, their coefficient is lower negative which indicates inverse relationship between the two variables. Table 7 shows the significance level of saving intention itself which is 0.000 which also shows significance of the variable, and it has a positive coefficient. In other words, as saving intention of a student increases, the more likely the student will make a saving as well.
5 Conclusion The findings of this study confirms that factors such as financial literacy, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and self-control are significant and determining factors towards saving intention which will affect saving behaviour of university students. Due to this, financial education should be focused on strengthening these factors to better the performance of saving behaviour of the nation. Financial literacy
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has the highest correlation towards saving intention which affects saving behaviour of university students. Hence, in order to increase the performance of saving behaviour of university students, the government should provide financial education or training programme for all university students which highlights important financial information on financial literacy. In improving the performance of saving behaviour of university students, it is expected that they will operate better financial management in the workplace; therefore, the government can tackle big issues such as bankruptcy. The results of this study also give implication for business people to pay attention to good saving behaviour of their employer or employees. It can be implemented by appointing financial advisors or directors with high intention to save and positive saving behaviour. Positive saving behaviour of the business people can insulate companies from unexpected emergencies which can help them wade through unexpected situations, hence limiting the chances of companies spiralling towards insolvencies and eventual winding up. There are several limitations to the study; the saving behaviour among the university students may be influenced by factors such as parent socialization, peer influence, family budget, parents experience, family educational and students’ financial attitudes and openness to their parents’ financial situation. Hence, future research should incorporate these factors to generate the saving behaviour among the Malaysian university students. Furthermore, the quantitative data for this study was collected from self-selected respondent from universities in Malaysia, which certainly cannot represent the behaviour of Malaysian youth. Therefore, future study on financial literacy on saving behaviour should include youths from all walks of life regardless of attending university or not. This study also adopted a self-report method, which may have affected the reliability of the study due to falsification or exaggeration of one’s personality. Future research should employ a longitudinal research design to fully identify students’ behaviour to save. Furthermore, this study adopted a linear additive model with specific variables, there is a likelihood that using a non-linear model could give a different result from the current study. For future study, researchers could include more complex variables, i.e. parent socialization, peer influence, family budget, parents’ experience, family educational and students’ financial attitudes, and include a larger sample size.
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5. Lee JM, Hanna SD (2015) Savings goals and saving behavior from a perspective of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. J Financ Couns Plan 26(2):129–147 6. Sabri MF, MacDonald M (2010) Saving behavior and financial problems among college students: the role of financial literacy in Malaysia. Cross-Cult Commun 6(3):103–110 7. Ismail S, Khairuddin NS, Alias NE, Koe WL, Othman R (2018) An empirical analysis of saving behavior among Malaysian employees. Int J Acad Res Bus Soc Sci 8(10):1070–1080 8. Lusardi A, Michaud PC, Mitchell OS (2020) Assessing the impact of financial education programs: a quantitative model. Econ Educ Rev 78:101899 9. Jamal AAA, Ramlan WK, Mohidin R, Osman Z (2016) Determinants of savings behavior among university students in Sabah, Malaysia. Int J Acc Financ Bus 1(1):24–37 10. Ajzen I (2020) The theory of planned behavior: frequently asked questions. Hum Behav Emerg Technol 2(4):314–342 11. Azlan A, Jamal A, Kamal W, Mohdrahimie R, Roslemohidin AK, Osman Z (2015) The effects of social influence and financial literacy on savings behavior: a study on students of higher learning institutions in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. Int J Bus Soc Sci 6:110–119 12. Mahdzan NS, Tabiani S (2013) The impact of financial literacy on individual saving: an exploratory study in the Malaysian context. Transform Bus Econ 12:41–55 13. Widyastuti U, Suhud U, Sumiati A (2016) The impact of financial literacy on student teachers’ saving intention and saving behaviour. Mediterr J Soc Sci 7(6):41–48 14. Rai K, Dua S, Yadav M (2019) Association of financial attitude, financial behaviour and financial knowledge towards financial literacy: a structural equation modelling approach. FIIB Bus Rev 8(1):51–60 15. Widyastuti U, Suhud U, Sumiati A (2016) The level of understanding and strategies to enhance financial literacy among Malaysian. Int J Econ Financ Issues 6(S3):130–139 16. Pankow D (2003) Financial values, attitudes, and goals”, Int J Econ Financ Iss, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota 17. Kaur G, Singh M (2022) Pathways to individual financial well-being: Conceptual framework and future research agenda. FIIB Agenda Rev 18. Hayhoe CR, Cho SH, Devaney SA, Worthy SL, Kim J, Gorham E (2012) How do distrust and anxiety affect saving behavior? Fam Consum Sci Res J 41(1):69–85 19. Lim VKG, Teo TSH, Loo GL (2003) Sex, financial hardship, and locus of control: an empirical study of attitudes towards money among Singaporean Chinese. Personal Individ Differ 34(3): 411–429 20. Lim VKG, Teo TSH, Loo GL (2018) The influence of financial attitude, financial socialization, and financial experience to financial management behavior with financial literacy as the mediation variable, KnE Social Sciences, International Conference on Economics, Business and Economic Education 811–832 21. Fiksenbaum L, Marjanovic Z, Greenglass E (2017) Financial threat and individuals’ willingness to change financial behavior. Rev Behav Financ 9(2):128–147 22. Sabri MF, Juen TT (2014) The influence of financial literacy, saving behaviour, and financial management on retirement confidence among women working in the Malaysian public sector. Asian Soc Sci 10(14):40–51 23. Gao L, Wang S, Li J, Li H (2017) Application of the extended theory of planned behavior to understand individual’s energy saving behavior in workplaces. Resour Conserv Recycl 127: 107–113 24. Fujita K, Trope Y, Liberman N, Levin-Sagi M (2006) Construal levels and self-control. J Pers Soc Psychol 90(3):351–367 25. Gelderen MV, Kautonen T, Fink M (2015) From entrepreneurial intentions to actions: selfcontrol and action-related doubt, fear, and aversion. J Bus Ventur 30(5):655–673 26. Ariffin MR, Sulong Z, Abdullah A (2017) Students’ perception towards financial literacy and saving behavior. World Appl Sci J 35(10):2194–2201 27. Edwards RE, Allen MW, Hayhoe CR (2007) Financial attitudes and family communication about students’ finances: the role of sex differences. Commun Rep 20(2):90–100
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Corporate Ethics and Financial Reporting Quality: A Thematic Analysis from Accountants’ Perspectives Nur Athirah Mohd Aluwi , Noorul Azwin Md Nasir , Hafiza Aishah Hashim , Mohd Zulkifli Muhammad , Noorshella Che Nawi , and Mohd Nor Hakimin Yusoff
Abstract A growing number of incidents concerning ethical misbehavior in business have recently attracted substantial attention in Malaysia. Despite the country’s declaration of a strong corporate governance policy, bolstered by the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG), unethical behaviors and a lack of integrity within corporations remain a concern. The problem’s pervasiveness has threatened the quality of Malaysian firms’ financial reporting. This research collects accountants’ viewpoints on the present implementation of corporate ethical practices among corporate governance practitioners, as well as the effect of corporate ethics commitment on financial reporting quality in Malaysian public listed companies. The data was gathered through semi-structured in-depth interviews with four (4) senior professional accountants from Malaysian publicly listed companies. Thematic analysis of the study identifies four themes: “corporate ethical values,” “corporate ethics commitment attributes,” “financial reporting quality features,” and “best practice of corporate governance.” The findings can be used to improve Malaysian public listed firms’ ethical corporate behavior and financial reporting quality.
N. A. M. Aluwi (✉) · N. A. M. Nasir · M. Z. Muhammad · M. N. H. Yusoff Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] H. A. Hashim Faculty of Business Economics and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia N. C. Nawi Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, University Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_8
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1 Introduction For industry players, financial reports are important decision-making tools. These reports provide accurate and timely information about a company’s financial condition. Furthermore, high-quality financial reports can help users of financial analysis and feasibility reports make good decisions [1]. However, firms’ misrepresentation of their true economic condition reduces the quality of financial reporting. Over the last two decades, the failure of several organizations and an increase in the number of prominent scandals have raised concerns about unethical behavior within firms. These have put the effectiveness of corporate governance procedures into question [2]. Recently, the Malaysia corporate sector has been stunned by Serba Dinamik’s case, where its top management charges of submitting a false statement to Bursa Malaysia last year. Despite Malaysia’s declaration of a strong corporate governance policy, which has been reinforced by the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG), unethical behaviors, and a lack of integrity remain serious concerns in Malaysian firms. The problem’s pervasiveness has compromised the quality and reliability of Malaysian firms’ financial reporting, raising the bar for professional ethics in the financial reporting profession. This is due to the firm’s performance being heavily reliant on corporate financial reporting. Internal and external stakeholder groups that use financial statements include executives, investors, security analysts, suppliers, and lending institutions [3]. According to Herath and Albarqi [4], the need for a clear and comprehensive definition of financial reporting quality has increased gradually. High-quality financial reporting is crucial for influencing users’ investment decisions and improving market efficiency. The higher the quality of financial reporting, the greater the benefits to investors and financial report readers. Furthermore, financial reporting quality includes nonfinancial information that is useful for decisionmaking as well as financial information. The main objective of this paper is to gather accountants’ perspectives on the current implementation of corporate ethical business practices among corporate governance practitioners, as well as the impact of corporate ethics commitment on financial reporting quality in Malaysian publicly listed companies. The remaining sections begin with a literature review, which includes corporate governance practices and the present setting of financial reporting quality in Malaysia, as well as theoretical considerations on the subject. The methodology section later highlights the approach used in gathering the information included in this paper. Further, the discussion section emphasized the data analysis procedure used to arrive at the result and discussion. Finally, the conclusion summarizes the importance of the paper and potential ways for corporate governance practitioners to improve corporate ethics commitment.
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2 Literature Review Early Malaysian studies on financial reporting quality focused on corporate governance, specifically the role of the board of directors and audit committee in influencing corporate reporting. However, as a result of numerous corporate scandals involving financial data manipulation, regulators began to emphasize the importance of corporations having high-quality financial data. This is consistent with findings by Nasir et al. [5], where corporate ethical commitments could minimize the risk of financial statement fraud while indirectly improving financial reporting quality. According to Arvind Babu and Rentala [6], the three pillars of corporate governance are transparency, accountability, and security. They are critical in steering the company in the right direction with all of its internal and external stakeholders, including the company board, shareholders, and employees. In addition, Abed et al. [7] concluded that an ethical environment and ethical management influence the quality of financial reporting. Firms with a proven track record provide high-quality financial reports. In professional body codes of ethics, fundamental features are independence, integrity, objectivity, competence, and judgement [8]. The authors also concluded that achieving an objective, reliable, and transparent financial report requires a high ethical standard. Enofe et al. [9] in their research stated that ethics has a positive and significant relation with financial reporting honesty, but not with financial report faithfulness. Several recent studies have examined the connection between financial reporting quality and accounting ethics. For example, based on Karasioğlu et al. [3], accounting ethics has a significant impact on financial report quality and decision-making in Kabul-based logistic firms. Other than that, Edi and Enzelin [10] also investigated the impact of accounting ethics on the quality of financial report of Nigerian firms. The authors concluded that accounting ethics had a favorable and significant effect on the relevance and faithful depiction of financial information, respectively. Shahroor and Ismail [11] also highlighted that firmer measures on corporate governance practitioners able to minimize earning management activities that may reduce financial reporting quality. This study was based on accounting theory. Hendriksen (1985), a pioneer in accounting theory, defined accounting theory as “logical reasoning in the form of a set of broad principles that provide a general frame of reference for evaluating accounting practices and driving the development of new practices and processes.” As highlighted by Mabil [2], accounting theory has grown over time as a result of observation, review, scrutiny, and scanning, as well as explanations of daily accounting procedures, and it can assist accountant professionals in resolving realworld practice issues that may emerge in their vocation. Accounting knowledge, for example, as well as the accountant’s honesty and independence all have an impact on the quality of financial accounting reports.
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3 Research Method Based on the accountant’s perspective, this study used a qualitative approach to gather in-depth knowledge and understanding of the corporate ethical commitment toward financial reporting quality in Malaysian public companies. In this study, purposeful sampling was used since it entails finding and selecting individuals or groups of individuals who are proficient and aware about specific subjects [12]. As a result, four senior professional accountants were chosen as research participants in order to achieve the research purpose. Professional accountants were the best fit to this study because they are the practitioners of accounting standards and preparers of financial reports. Primary data was used to carry out this study, and it was obtained through in-depth interviews with the participants. According to Showkat and Parveen [13], in-depth interviews are conducted to elicit themes for further investigation and descriptive analysis. This is because, when compared to other types of data collection methods, this method provides much more precise information. A set of interview protocols were developed based on content analysis of 20 companies’ annual reports and have been reviewed and validated by three academic experts in corporate governance and financial reporting studies. Changes and improvements have been made in response to comments from academic experts. This attempt is being made to obtain the best interview protocol for the interview. Four (4) semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed using thematic analysis in ATLAS.ti.
4 Data Analysis Procedure In this study, the researchers analyzed data from participants’ interview transcripts. The research analysis began with quotations and document classification. Coding is effective for synthesizing the meaning or core information given in a group of related quotations. Open coding was the first step of coding, and it was used to identify and categorize ideas by thoroughly reviewing the data [14]. The researchers then create code groups to compare data based on any criterion of interest. Code groups, according to Soratto et al. [15], are incredibly useful in data retrieval and analysis. Their primary function is to act as filters, which also help to form the coding frame. Throughout this phase, researchers developed codes related to corporate ethics and financial reporting quality. During this process, codes that are similar or connected to one another were merged. Following that, selective coding was used to examine the data and codes for themes, topics, and relationships. This process is necessary for producing network diagrams, which are a high-quality visual representation of data in which concepts are represented [16]. Researchers were able to identify themes, patterns, and relationships in the data by generating a network diagram.
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Based on Soratto et al. [15], once themes and relationships have been identified, the researchers can proceed with thematic content analysis. Content analysis is commonly employed in qualitative research, and numerous approaches, including thematic or categorical analysis, can be applied. Thematic analysis was used in this study to highlight the research objectives, which were to collect accountants’ perspectives on the current implementation of corporate ethical practices among corporate governance practitioners, as well as the effect of corporate ethics commitment on financial reporting quality in Malaysian listed companies.
5 Result and Discussion To create a theme, all codes were analyzed to see whether they could be combined to form a theme. Four themes were identified, with a total of 20 sub-themes. The four main themes were “corporate ethical values,” “corporate ethics commitment attributes,” “financial reporting quality features,” and “best practice of corporate governance.” (Fig. 1)
5.1
Corporate Ethical Values
The participants described certain corporate ethical values that must be applied in a company to maintain financial reporting quality. They were all in agreement that integrity had a significant impact on reporting quality. This is because people with integrity avoid any form of ethical misbehavior in the workplace, whether it is by management or employees. This is in line with Rashid et al. [17] who mentioned in their paper that the most important factors of dealing with financial reporting are responsibility and integrity (Fig. 2). Furthermore, some participants claimed that persons with integrity will put their personal interests aside while carrying out their duties. Personal agendas can lead to ethical lapses and, in the worst-case scenario, organizational corruption. There have been various instances of unethical activity around the world, including financial reporting manipulation, such as the Enron and Parmalat scandals.
Fig. 1 Network diagram of CEC to enhance FRQ in ATLAS.ti
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Fig. 2 Hyperlink diagram of integrity in ATLAS.ti
People know that they have to be ethical, they have to be complied with the rules and regulation. But when it comes to greed, people may abuse their power, do corruption. They think for their personal interest. That is why integrity is very important because when personal interest come into picture, people would do so many things—Participant D
Professional accountants are expected to present a true and accurate image of an entity’s performance, even when competing interests affect his own interests as financial statement preparers [18]. Some participants mentioned that honesty and integrity are interrelated. Both values are critical for all employees to embrace. Based on Participant B, his organization adopted HIP values (honesty, integrity, and passion), where all the staffs are required to comply. As stated by Edi and Enzelin [10], the attitude of integrity promotes an accountant’s honesty practice; therefore, accountants tend to make true and true financial reports. However, As and Ga [18] discovered that the integrity criterion had no substantial impact on the quality of financial reports due to the avoidance of real or apparent conflicts of interest. As stated by the respondents, corporate ethical values also included accountants adhering to accounting ethics. Accountants, as experts responsible for the compilation of financial reports, must follow ethical accounting standard guidelines provided by the Institute of Chartered Accountants, according to Abed et al. [19]. As and Ga [18] also mentioned in their article, accounting ethics is necessary for accountants to provide high-quality, error-free financial reports by ensuring actions that promote ethical standards compliance. According to Edi and Enzelin [10], a deep understanding of accounting ethics can help an individual improve work performance and establish positive behaviors.
Corporate Ethics and Financial Reporting Quality: A Thematic Analysis. . .
5.2
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Corporate Ethical Commitment Attributes
The researchers were interested in accountants’ thoughts on firms’ efforts to increase their corporate ethical commitment. According to the majority of participants, corporations are becoming more aware of the importance of high corporate ethical commitment, as urged by regulators. Efforts such as ethics education, training, and workshops are in place to improve employees’ corporate ethics. According to Zainul Abidin and Hashim [20], ethics training is essential for businesses to instill excellent behavior in their staff while dealing with stakeholders. Continuous training can effectively develop an ethical society. Karasioğlu et al. [3] also believed that professional organizations should develop training sessions and programs that encourage its members to be truthful in the performance of their professional duties. . . . management guidance on groupwide internal accounting policy and practices, also important things need to be look up. Such as necessary training, skill group, promote internal sharing of best practices through community of practices, internal attestations through financial reporting control framework—Participant A
5.3
Financial Reporting Quality Features
According to the accountants, there are numerous approaches to improve the quality of financial reports. As required by Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRSs), the company should generate financial reports that are timely, comparable, verifiable, and understandable (Fig. 3). This is supported by Golochalova and Tsurcanu [21] who stated that comparability and timeliness of financial reports provide an opportunity to develop rational approach for measuring the quality of financial statements. Furthermore, Bandara [22] concluded in his thesis that the fundamentals of qualitative characteristics of
Fig. 3 Hyperlink diagram of financial reporting quality features in ATLAS.ti
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financial reporting quality are relevance and faithful representation, while enhancing it includes understandability, comparability, verifiability, and timeliness. Participants also emphasized the significance of engaging an independent external auditor to improve the quality of financial reports. This is consistent with Alzeban [23], in which external auditor quality has huge impacts on financial reporting quality. As mentioned by Joseph et al. [24], Malaysian corporations are still cautious to reveal information about their ethical procedures and make few voluntary disclosures. According to the interviews, firms have begun to provide voluntary disclosure in order to improve the quality of their financial reporting and attract possible investors. This is similar with Md Zaini et al. [25], which the purpose of voluntary disclosure is to give relevant stakeholders with information about corporate operations that are not reflected in financial statements.
5.4
Best Practice of Corporate Governance
In Malaysia, the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) serves as a guideline for Malaysian public listed companies to conduct ethically. As cited from Zainul Abidin and Hashim [20], MCCG provides set of standards for companies to commit to better transparency and ethical business practices. The findings of the interviews also emphasize the importance of a corporation adhering to MCCG principles, such as the code of corporate governance and the most recent issue, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) (Fig. 4). If your question is either can ethics being integrated with good quality of financial reporting, the straight answer is Yes. That is why the ESG also highlight the ethical element— Participant D
In their study of the relationship between financial reporting quality and ESG performance, Şeker and Şengür [1] discovered that firms’ ESG performance enhance financial reporting quality. During the interview, some participants mentioned how important it is for an organization to have a whistleblower policy. It is critical to have an independent and anonymous communication channel where stakeholders can express their concerns
Fig. 4 Hyperlink diagram of best practice of corporate governance in ATLAS.ti
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without fear of repercussions. In their study, Hashim et al. [26] developed an Ethical Commitment Index (ECI) that includes whistleblowing policies. According to them, the ECI was expanded to suit the Malaysian corporate environment based on previous literature and MCCG recommendations.
6 Conclusion This article analyzes professional accountants’ viewpoints on corporate ethics commitment in enhancing financial reporting accuracy. It is critical to seek the advice of accountants because they are responsible for producing high-quality financial reports. Based on the interviews, it is possible to conclude that corporate ethics commitment has a considerable impact on financial reporting quality. This is confirmed by Nasir et al. [5] in their previous study that high corporate ethics commitment leads to high financial reporting quality. There were four themes that can be highlighted from the study, “corporate ethical values,” “corporate ethics commitment attributes,” “financial reporting quality features,” and “best practice of corporate governance.” The study’s findings have a high potential for policy contributions and the discovery of corporate ethics practices within corporations themselves. Firms can improve firm performance by identifying absences and/or applicable corporate ethical principles. The results may also be referred to by the policymaker as guidance for developing some indexes as guidance for firms’ corporate ethical conduct. Since this study included in-depth interviews with professional accountants, the primary data’s flaw may occur. The accountant may provide biased opinions in order to improve the accountant’s reputation. Future research could include more than one group of samples to confirm the findings and reduce this limitation. Furthermore, future studies should always refer to the regulators’ updated guidelines and recommendations to help with the creation of adequate and thorough interview protocols. Acknowledgments The research is supported by the Malaysian Ministry of Education’s Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) (FRGS/1/2020/SS01/UMK/02/7). The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Ministry and Research Management and Innovation Centre, University Malaysia Kelantan, for the support and assistance.
References 1. Şeker Y, Şengür E (2021) The impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance on financial reporting quality: international evidence. Ekonomika 100:190–212. https://doi.org/10.15388/Ekon.2021.100.2.9 2. Mabil A (2019) Investigating effects of accounting ethics on quality of financial reporting of an organization: case of selected commercial banks in South Sudan. Mediterr J Soc Sci 10:177– 191. https://doi.org/10.2478/mjss-2019-0016
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3. Karasioğlu F, Humta H, Gokturk I (2022) Investigation of accounting ethics effects on financial report quality & decision making: evidence from kabul-based logistic corporations. 2021–2383. https://doi.org/10.5281/ZENODO.4698983 4. Herath S, Albarqi N (2017) Financial reporting quality: a literature review. J Bus Manag Commer 2:1–14 5. Nasir A, Hashim H, Nawi NC, Yusoff M, Aluwi N (2021) Enhancing Financial reporting quality through corporate ethics commitment. GATR Acc Financ Rev 6:84–94. https://doi.org/ 10.35609/afr.2021.6.2(2) 6. Arvind Babu MC, Rentala S (2018) Role of leadership and corporate governance: the case of tata group and infosys. FIIB Bus Rev 7(4):252–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 2319714518813589 7. Abed I, Hussin N, Haddad H, Alramahi N, Ali MA (2022a) The moderating effects of corporate social responsibility on the relationship between creative accounting determinants and financial reporting quality. Sustainability 14:1195. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031195 8. Osunwole OO, Adeyemi OA, Dunsin AT (2020) The influence of accounting ethics on quality of financial reports among accounting practitioners in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria 9. Enofe AO, Edemenya CC, Osunbor EO (2015) The effect of accounting ethics on the quality of financial reports of Nigeria Firms. Res J Financ Acc 6:123–130 10. Edi E, Enzelin I (2022) Analyzing the effect of accounting ethics toward the quality of financial report. J Acc Financ Audit Stud (JAFAS) 11. Shahroor HG, Ismail AI (2022) Corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management activities: evidence from the UAE Banking Sector. FIIB Bus Rev 0(0), 23197145221099099. https://doi.org/10.1177/23197145221099099 12. Etikan I (2016) Comparison of convenience sampling and purposive sampling. Am J Theor Appl Stat 5:1. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajtas.20160501.11 13. Showkat N, Parveen H (2017) In-depth interview 14. Adeniyi D, Losch B, Adelle C (2021) Investigating the South African food insecurity paradox: a systematic review of food system governance in South Africa 15. Soratto J, Pires de Pires D, Friese S (2020) Thematic content analysis using ATLAS.ti software: potentialities for researchs in health. Rev Bras Enferm 73. https://doi.org/10.1590/0034-71672019-0250 16. Lewis J (2016) Using ATLAS.ti to facilitate data analysis for a systematic review of leadership competencies in the completion of a doctoral dissertation. SSRN Electron J https://doi.org/10. 2139/ssrn.2850726 17. Rashid N, Asfthanorhan A, Johari R, Hamid N, Yazid A, Salleh F et al (2018) Ethics and financial reporting assurance. Int J Acad Res Bus Soc Sci 8. https://doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/ v8-i11/5176 18. As T, Ga A (2019) The effect of standards of ethical conduction for management accountants on financial reporting quality. J Intern Bank Commer 24:1–20 19. Abed I, Hussin N, Haddad H, Alramahi N, Ali MA (2022b) The moderating impact of the audit committee on creative accounting determination and financial reporting quality in Iraqi Commercial Banks. Risks 10:77. https://doi.org/10.3390/risks1004007 20. Zainul Abidin A, Hashim H (2020) Commitment towards ethics: a sustainable corporate agenda by non-financial companies in Malaysia. J Sustain Sci Manag 15:164–182. https://doi.org/10. 46754/jssm.2020.10.014 21. Golochalova I, Tsurcanu V (2020) Measurement of financial statements information in the context of harmonization of the accounting systems. J Funct Anal 8:48 22. Bandara S (2021) Measuring financial reporting quality: an approach based on qualitative characteristics
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Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on SME Digitalization in Taiping, Perak Thushnitha A/. P. Damodaram , Md Zaki Muhamad Hasan , Rooshihan Merican Abdul Rahim Merican , Abdullah Muhamed Yusoff , Muhaammad Naqib Mat Yunoh , Abdul Aziz Mat Hassan , Norfazlirda Hairani , and Mohd Afifie Mohd Alwi
Abstract Digitalization refers to using digital technologies such as information, computer, communications, and connectivity technologies to drive the organization. Digitalization is seen as complex, expensive, and pointless. But digitalization does not fundamentally cruel costly gear and adds up to robotization. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the relationship between the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on SMEs’ digitalization that may help SMEs effectively respond to public crises that involve three independent variables (customer behavior, government regulation, cost reach, and resources) with SME digitalization. Stratified sampling is used in data collection through questionnaires made using Google Forms and distributed through social media platforms such as Whatsapp and Facebook Pages. A total of 386 respondents were involved in this study which consists of SME business owners in Taiping, Perak. Reliability tests, normality tests, Spearman correlation analyses, and descriptive analyses were performed using SPSS version 25. The results of this study found that there is a weak and negligible relationship between independent variables and dependent variables.
1 Introduction The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) is undoubtedly influencing the worldwide economy and the environment. The COVID-19 outbreak brought the main loss to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially in developing countries.
T. A. P. Damodaram · M. Z. M. Hasan (✉) · R. M. A. R. Merican · M. N. M. Yunoh · A. A. M. Hassan · N. Hairani · M. A. M. Alwi Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kelantan, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] A. M. Yusoff Faculty of Hospitality, Tourism and Wellness, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kelantan, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_9
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This COVID-19 has created a huge impact on SMEs and also on their digitalization platforms to overcome the crisis. Hence, there is a need to investigate the digitalization channels among SME companies. This will help SMEs to stabilize and recover from the financial and economic crisis. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, consumers have shifted to online stores to purchase products and services from SME business owners. The pandemic has significantly accelerated the adoption of SME digitalization worldwide. The pandemic has quickened the move toward a more advanced world and activated changes in online shopping practices that are likely to have enduring impacts. Research expressed that 73% of Malaysians said that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more optimistic about online shopping through digitalization stages. As a result of the changes in buyer conduct towards online shopping, SME companies should keep side by side with those changes. Modifications to these states of mind depend on the environment they go through. In previous study, high innovation costs are another primary effect that restrains the selection and utilization of IT. The need for the back is one of the two real deterrents for organizations to embrace IT. Previous study showed moderate innovation by the SME proprietors. Potluri and Vajjhala dissected the openings and challenges confronted in receiving and utilizing Web 3.0 innovation in creating nations. The outcome shows that money-related limitations of SMEs amid the pandemic have altogether influenced the selection of digitalization stages among SME companies. Therefore, this study focuses on the relationship between the three independent variables (customer behavior, government regulation, cost reach, and resources) and SME business owners. SME business owners will answer questions based on how customer behavior, government regulation, and cost reach and resources influence them in doing online shopping.
2 Literature Review 2.1
SME Digitalization
Digitalization is defined as the process “in which many domains of social life [including businesses] are restructured around digital communication and media infrastructures”. Digital tools bring many significant benefits for firms. Digitalization reduces transaction costs by providing better and quicker access to information and communication between staff, suppliers, and networks. It can help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) integrate into global markets, through reductions in costs associated with transport and border operations, and it significantly enhances the scope to trade services. It facilitates access to resources, including finance (e.g., peer-to-peer lending), training, and recruitment channels, including government services, which are increasingly being made available online. It also supports innovation and greater access to innovation. A previous study by Hamburg states that digitalization is the biggest challenge as it is the first step for many small and
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medium firms. Once an initial transition is made to digital technologies, there are strong complementarities in technologies that can drive further adoption.
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Customer Behavior
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the consumers have shifted to the online store to purchase products and services from SME business owners. The pandemic has significantly accelerated the adoption of SME digitalization worldwide. The pandemic has quickened the move toward more advanced world and activated changes in online shopping practices that are likely to have enduring impacts. Research expressed that 73% of Malaysians said that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more positive around online shopping through digitalization stages. As a result of the changes in buyer conduct toward online shopping, SME companies should keep side by side of those changes. Changes to these states of mind depend on the environment they go through. By utilizing the electronic communication, it will enhancing the services provided to the customer.
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Government Regulation
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the enforcement of the movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia resulted in an unprecedented slump in economic activity. Government involves SMEs in discussions about programs and incentives. Many SMEs are likely unaware of government digitalization plans and incentives. As previously stated, 60% of SMEs citing money as a barrier to digitalization were ignorant of their financing possibilities. More engagement activities, such as direct contact to individual SMEs to inform them about skills-based training programs, might assist boost SME digitalization rates. New government regulations had brought new norms to practice among SME business owners. So, government regulation might be a part of SME digitalization transformation.
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Cost Reach and Resources
The basic effect that restrains the selection and utilization of IT is high innovation costs. Need of back is one of the two fundamental deterrents for organizations to embrace IT. High cost of the innovation significantly affect the SME proprietors. Potluri and Vajjhala dissected the openings and challenges confronted in receiving and utilizing Web 3.0 innovation in creating nations. The outcome shows that money-related limitations of SMEs amid pandemic has altogether influence selection of digitalization stages among SME companies. Resources have been very limited in
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terms of digitalization breakthrough because SMEs are not ready with the pandemic situation that has been the biggest challenge for them.
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Conceptual Framework
Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of this study. It consists of customer behavior, government regulation, cost reach and resources, and SME digitalization.
3 Results 3.1
Spearman Correlation Analysis
The strength between the dependent and independent variables was measured through Spearman correlation analysis. Table 1 below shows the strength of the relationship. The result of the significant value, ρ, for this analysis is 0.577 wherein p-value is higher than 0.05 that resulted as nonsignificant, and this indicates strong evidence for the null hypothesis. The correlation coefficient for cost reach and resources and SME digitalization platform is 0.028, and this indicates a very weak strength of correlation between cost reach and resources and SME digitalization. It shows a weak relationship between the two variables. It can be clearly said that cost reach and resources does not affect the SME digitalization.
Customer behaviour SME digitalization
Government regulation
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Fig. 1 Conceptual framework on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on SME digitalization in Taiping, Perak Table 1 Results of Spearman correlation analysis Variables Customer behavior Government regulation Cost reach and resources
Acceptance of QR Code 0.105 0.036 0.028
**Correlation is significant at the level 0.01 level (two-tailed)
Supported or rejected Supported Rejected Rejected
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Recommendation and Conclusion
For the future research, researcher can increase the number of sample size of the study in order to get even higher degree of accuracy and lower margin of error. The sample size that this study currently used has a 0.05 margin of error with 95% of data confidence. The sample size needs to be wisely chosen because the sampling affected the usefulness of the data. Future studies could be based on a larger sample and over a longer period of time in order to get more respondents who are used to perform microtransaction spending once or more in their life. In addition, future research can also focus on a few data collection methods, for example, using the various assessment devices; for example, next to using the survey, the analyst can make a central gathering and top-to-bottom meetings as well as use the open-finished poll. The researchers can discover more information from the direct interview and open-ended questionnaire that affect the perception of the consumer on online food delivery apps, as well as simply relying on one methodology. By using the various estimation strategies, the result can be more grounded than using the one methodology. When it comes to recommendation regarding the variables, in future research, researcher can choose any other independent variables that has a strong relationship between dependent variable which is SME digitalization. For the future research, it is recommended to focus on the main factor contribute to the SME digitalization. Future researcher also can figure out the relationship between new other independent variable such as knowledge of retailer with this dependent variable which is SME digitalization that will contribute better understanding in this topic. In this study, three (3) hypotheses were developed to test the relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variable. Researchers have used stratified sampling technique in the collection of respondent’s data because it is appropriate for samples that are widely dispersed geographically and would otherwise be difficult to sample properly. The minimum sample for this study is 384 people. However, the researcher has managed to obtain a few more responses from the respondents in total of 386. Descriptive analysis, reliability tests, test of normality, and Spearman correlation analysis were executed using IBM SPSS 25 software. The results of the Spearman correlation analysis have shown that there is a weak relationship between the variables (customer behavior, government regulation, cost reach and resources) to the dependent variables (SME digitalization). This study becomes beneficial in all three recipients which are SME business owners, customers, and researcher because of the new understanding and new knowledge it provides to them either directly or indirectly. Acknowledgments This research is from Thushnitha’s final year project. The rest of the team contributed in term of structuring of the paper.
Information Technology Utilization and Acceptance Framework for Private Clinic in Malaysia: CLIMS (Clinical Information Management System) Fahad Shah Bukhari, Juliana Jaafar, and Shahrinaz Ismail
Abstract This research focuses on developing a conceptual framework based on the IT acceptance and utilization level in private clinics in Malaysia. To understand the utilization and acceptance level, a chain of private clinic called U.n.i Klinik was selected to carry out the research. The study investigates current issues, challenges and the situation of IT systems by understanding the business process and observing the current system of the private clinic. Qualitative method interview and system observation was conducted to find out the current situation in the clinic. The interview questions were designed referring to popular models, i.e. TAM2, HOT-FIT and Delone and Mclean model. One of the U.n.i Kliniks in Kuala Lumpur was selected for interview, and the results show that variables, i.e. CLIMS functions, Utilization factors and Maturity factors, have positive impact on the system benefit and variables such as utilization factors consisting of TAM2 and quality attributes having the most impact on system benefit, followed by CMS functions and variables of maturity factors.
1 Introduction Information technology (IT) has been known to be utilized and implemented in many industries to improve business processes and increase efficiency. In healthcare, different requirements require careful planning of IT implementation. Most of the private clinics in Malaysia have a computer with basic facilities such as internet access [1]. The clinical management systems (CMS) are massively increasing as part F. S. Bukhari (✉) · J. Jaafar Malaysian Institute of Information Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] S. Ismail School of Computing and Informatics, Albukhary International University, Alor Setar, Kedah, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_10
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of supporting the clinics, which includes improving the business process at strategic, operating and tactical levels. CMS is an effective and efficient software solution approach for clinic doctors and staff to support the patient care and facilitate clinical decision-making in clinics [1]. This paper focuses on investigating the current situation of IT utilization and acceptance in private clinic in Malaysia. The focus has been narrowed down to private clinics chain called U.n.i Klinik, operated by private doctors and sponsored by MARA. Understanding the clinics’ business process, issues and challenges would help develop a framework that would benefit the healthcare stakeholders and private clinic owners in Malaysia. There is currently a dearth of research on IT systems in private clinics in Malaysia, and numerous studies indicate that doctors are not currently satisfied with CMS.
2 Literature Review Recent research in Malaysia indicates that the majority of private clinic doctors are dissatisfied with the present CMS due to its limited capabilities [2]. The importance of adoption of CMS at clinics have increased in recent years, there is a need to understand more factors about the importance of CMS implementation in clinics. Most doctors in Malaysia have already installed basic facilities such as computer, but still most of the clinics have limited utilization and that is why many private clinics are still using computers for personal usage such as accessing emails or surfing the internet especially in solo-owner private clinics. CMS reduces the paperwork for doctors and the staff, which eventually will save costs and cut the need of paper storage. CMS improves safety of clinics in many ways; for example, the confidential information is well organized. Most private clinics are owned solely by doctors, and most of them are low investors in the technology and they have not benefited from IT due to cost and capital constraints. Recent research in Malaysia indicates that the majority of private clinic doctors are dissatisfied with the present CMS due to its limited capabilities [3]. Doctors in private clinics do not have sufficient knowledge on IT, and this is becoming one of the major barriers for clinics and also doctors as they are reluctant to implement any sort of new system which can be because of their lack of time, especially private clinic doctors. It is essential to understand the present state of IT in clinics [4].
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Review of Information Technology Frameworks Acceptance in Hospitals
TAM2 for Framework Implementation in Hospital TAM2 is applied when understanding users’ perception towards technology acceptance [5]. It focuses on perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU) and social norm influencing the acceptance of IT systems. Figure 1 shows the TAM2
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Voluntariness
Subjective Norm Image Job Relevance Output Quality
Perceived Usefulness Perceived Ease of Use
Intention to Use
Usage Behavior
Technology Acceptance Model
Result Demonstrability
Fig. 1 TAM2 model with extended variables [6]
variables, i.e. social influence processes (subjective norm, voluntariness and image) and the cognitive instrumental processes (job relevance, output quality, result demonstrability) are included in the TAM2. Research by [7] shows implementation of the health information system (HIS) in a hospital using TAM2. The results show that TAM2 variables such as job relevance, output quality, result demonstrability and PEOU were major predictors of intention to use, and no significant relationship between social influence processes (subjective norm, voluntariness and image) and the user’s behavioural intention to use the system was found. The variables of TAM2 have positive effect on the utilization and acceptance level in IT systems in hospitals, and variables such as PU, PEOU, job relevancy and behaviour of intention from TAM2 were also supported in the hypothesis [7]. Study also found that human behaviour and human factors can lead to the failure of system if the system is not consistent with the proper functionalities. User’s behaviour factor can play a crucial role for the success of the system as it provides useful information for HIS in understanding the utilization and acceptance level [7].
HOT-FIT Framework for Evaluating HIS in Hospital Human, organization and technology-FIT (HOT-FIT) model was developed by [8]. HOT-FIT framework is a combination of ISSM (Delone and McLean IS Success Model). HOT-FIT model suggests that a combination of human, technology and organization can have an impact on the net benefit of the system. Under technology, the HOT-FIT model has three important variables: system quality, information quality and service quality, and these can influence human and organization factors. Human factors consist of variables, i.e. system use and user satisfaction; meanwhile organization consists of structure and environment factors. All these variables will have positive or negative influence on net benefits of a system [9]. HOT-FIT framework was used to evaluate the HIS in hospital. The research proved that organization aspect had a positive effect on the net benefits. Information quality
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Fit
HUMAN TECHNOLOGY System Quality
Influene
System Use
User Satisfaction Net Benefits
Information Quality
ORGANIZATION Service Quality
Structure
Environment
Fig. 2 The HOT-FIT evaluation framework [10]
and service quality under technology had positive effect on user satisfaction [9] (Fig. 2). These two factors in an organization, which are structure and environment, had positive and have significant effect on one another. The technology dimensions had less effect on structure in an organization aspect. Results of the research shows that effect of human and organization variables play an essential role in evaluating the HIS [9].
3 Research Methodology The qualitative research method interviewing and observation will be approached in this research, and that will include understanding the business process of the clinic. The focus of this research will be on gaining insights and familiarity of the clinic’s CMS with open-ended questions with doctor. Thematic analysis and NVivo software will be used for data analysis. Thematic analysis is one of the most popular ways to interpretate interviews. It provides a systematic way to analyse data, and that allows researcher to form themes in the data [11]. The interview requires such analysis where themes could be created from interview data, and using thematic analysis will have a better opportunity to understand the current issues in a better way.
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Interview Setting and Procedure
Interview with the doctor will provide rich data and details about the system, and that will help to develop the conceptual framework. The questions will be guided by the TAM2 HOT-FIT model and system observation and business process of the clinic. All questions are open-ended and can be addressed in extensive sentences. The interview was conducted with the doctor at U.n.i Klinik Jalan Traders Square, Kuala Lumpur, on 22/02/2020. The method of interview is face to face with audio recording, and it was transcribed into a text format. Interview duration should last between 2 pm to 3 pm. The dominant themes should include utilization, acceptance factors, issues and challenges of the CMS.
3.2
System Observation and Business Process of U.N.I Klinik
The observation of CMS was held few weeks before the interview so the questions can be prepared for the interview. System observation was conducted for 1 hour due to insufficient time as the doctor was busy with patients and the staff was using the CMS. During the system observation, it was important to understand the business process and day-to-day operations of the clinic as it will help to determine the essential components of the CMS.
4 Qualitative Data Analysis and Results 4.1
System Observation and the Business Process of U.N.I Klinik
The CMS software was developed using PHP programming language with HTML, CSS, and SQL for database. The doctor has chosen the basic feature system such as limited storage of data, basic electronic medical record (EMR) and basic drug and inventory record check as with extra features such as unlimited cloud storage, accessing system from anywhere, and free vendor support 24/7. Below are some of the main issues of CMS that were observed: • The user interface is very basic with white background colour, and its quite old fashioned more like windows XP interface. • The CMS takes approximately 90 seconds to open some of the features like patient registration records, updating payment records or the inventory. • System does not support key features like appointment booking online, ordering medicines through the system or appointment reminder to the patients.
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• Storage is limited and adding more storage means paying extra to the vendor and ready-made system provided by vendor; few of the features in it were not in use. • Limited functionality and features for the basic system, and for extra features you need to pay more. The system had no integrated payment method for patients; the doctor has set up other payment methods using QR code, debit/credit card or cash, and admin would type in manually the invoice into the CMS. • CMS has been purchased in 2019 but overall is slow, even though specifications of the computer system are good. Three computer systems were located at the patient registration desk, the drug inventory and in the doctor’s consultation room, and CMS is accessible through the internet browser. The business process of U.n.i Klinik uses the basic components of CMS, i.e. patent registration and appointment. As patients walk into the clinic, they handover their identity card to the admin, and they key in patients’ information in the CMS to check if they have their existing information in the system; if the record of the patient exists, they fetch the data from the record, and if it does not, admin creates a new record using patient registration function in the CMS and then gives them the appointment number. Once the appointment is created in the system, the patient waits depending on other appointments. Once the consultation is completed, the patient walks out of the room and waits for the staff to call on the patient for medicines, and meanwhile, the staff gets the medicines check from the CMS to update pharmacy records in the CMS. The payment is paid by cash or with credit card. Following results contain three major themes that were identifed during the interview.
4.2
Interview Results
Throughout the interview, open-ended questions were asked from the doctor regarding the current system that is being used in the clinic using TAM2 variables, i.e. PU, PEOU, BI and JB for utilization and acceptance of CMS. Current CMS has some flaws which were mentioned by the doctor as well as observed by the researcher during system observation. Some of the concerns were raised by the doctor such as poor user interface, the system being slow sometimes, deleting some of the features that are not being used. The results from the interview session are listed in Table 1 in form of themes. During the interview, three major themes were identified: the first theme was CMS functions with 29.02%, which include patient registration/EMR, accounts, drug and inventory and patient appointment, which are daily-used CMS functions. The second theme was identified as maturity factors with 30.35% coverage referring from the HOT-FIT model when the doctor was talking about the importance of organization. Maturity factors is the IT acceptance of the organization, i.e. the clinic staff and the technology acceptance of clinic staff. Adding organization factors and culture is important as it shows the acceptance of CMS among the staff. The third theme that emerged from the interview is the utilization factors with
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Table 1 Interview results of themes and codes Codes and themes Important CLMS functions Appointment feature for patients Drug and inventory Employee records Patient record Payroll Important utilization factors Job relevancy Utilization of CMS functions Perceived ease of use Issues with UI Font size issues Issues with background colour Poor user interface design Perceived usefulness Issues with UX Quality attributes Functionality Suitability Usability Maturity factors that affect CMS Individual factors impact Negative impact on behaviour Positive impact on behaviour Organization process Functions that are used on daily basis Functions that enhance performance Organizational culture Lack of IT initiative among doctor Organizational factors Importance of fully utilized CMS Lack of IT support from vendors One system for all U.n.i. Kliniks
Total coverage 29.02% 5.15% 8.82% 3.65% 4.78% 6.64% 34.56% 9.94% 9.94% 8.60% 8.60% 1.33% 2.32% 1.98% 6.19% 6.19% 11.04% 3.68% 2.15% 5.21% 30.35% 6.17% 2.43% 6.17% 12.41% 6.32% 6.10% 5.56% 5.56% 7.93% 3.50% 1.19% 3.32%
Number of times mentioned 14 2 3 2 3 3 23 3 3 10 10 2 2 2 5 5 4 2 1 1 13 4 1 3 2 1 1 2 2 4 2 1 1
34.56% coverage. Under utilization factors, the doctor mentioned issues with user interface (UI), i.e. poor UI design and poor background colour and issues with font size and removing unnecessary features. All these themes will have impact on system benefit.
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The CLIMS Conceptual Framework for U.N.I Klinik
CLIMS function in the conceptual framework represents the important functions that were mentioned by the doctor, and these are the functions which are used for day-today operations. These functions will have impact on maturity factors and utilization factors that affects system benefit, with utilization factor as the highest, followed by maturity factors and CLIMS functions (Fig. 3).
Proposed Hypothesis CLIMS functions, utilization factors and maturity factors will have positive impact on system benefit (Table 2). Patient records: One of the most significant functions of the CMS is the patient record, also known as EMR (electronic medical records), in which patients’ personal information including name, address, medical history and previous visit records are recorded and mentioned by the doctor during the interview. Drug and inventory: Currently in the U.n.i Klinik, the drug and inventory function is only used for checking medicines. Perhaps the drug and inventory function can be upgraded so that doctors can order drugs through and check the stock availability and shipment instead of doing it on call, as a doctor said during the interview that there is no feature for ordering medicines through CMS.
Fig. 3 CLIMS conceptual framework for U.n.i Klinik Table 2 shows the proposed hypothesis
H1 H2 H3 H4
CLIMS functions positively affects maturity factors CLIMS functions positively effects utilization factors Maturity factors positively effects system benefit Utilization factors positively effects system benefit
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Employee records: Employee records are also important which contains all personnel information, including personal information, i.e. name, address, education. As mentioned by the doctor during the interview, it is crucial for any organization to maintain accurate employee records. Payroll and accounts: The role of payroll or accounting comprises information on all clinic accounts, such as billing information receipts for patients and account details of personnel, total sales of medicines or the clinic’s daily income. Patient appointment and scheduling: The final component is patient appointment and scheduling; however, the majority of current CMS used in private clinics lack this function [12]. Enhancing this function would benefit patients in scheduling appointments online at any convenient time. All these CLIMS functional components are crucial for assessing the benefits of CMS in private clinics. Maturity factors (HOT-FIT model): Maturity factors are an integral part of the CLIMS conceptual framework, as it highlights the significance of an organization when developing a framework. The importance of organization was also confirmed by the doctor during the interview regarding the acceptance of CMS. The maturity factors are referred from the HOT-FIT model, and it includes the importance of people and process in an organization [9]. Individual factors: Individual factors are putting effort on learning technology, and that plays a significant role; most doctors have average or below average knowledge of IT systems [3], which makes it harder for them to understand. Including this variable would increase the efficiency and the overall IT acceptance level in clinics. Organization factors: Organizational factors are having capability to ensure clinic staff are ready to use the systems which are important for the doctors, and choosing the right CMS for clinic would positively affect the organization factors. Organization process: Organization process refers to the process that U.n.i Klinik follows in terms of technology; the average number of staff working in a private clinic is around four to six, and it is important to follow a process of understanding the technology to make the business process efficient. Organization culture: Organization culture refers to the culture in the clinic such as adequate to adapt and learn new technology. Doctors or clinic staff lack knowledge in technology, and adding this variable to the conceptual framework will help determine the acceptance of technology. Utilization factors: CLIMS utilization factors refer to the degree of utilization in a clinic. Variables such as TAM2 and ISO 9126 quality attributes play an important role in developing the framework. TAM2: TAM2 is one of the most important component of utilization factors in the CLIMS conceptual framework and consists of variables, i.e. PU, PEOU, JB and BI. Questions from TAM2 were used throughout the interview to help identify the problems, such as poor user interface (UI) and poor user experience (UX), with the current CMS. Perceived usefulness (PU): PU is the degree to which a person believes that using a system would enhance performance [13]. It’s important to include PU in the
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conceptual framework as it determines the important functionalities that would enhance the system and utilization. Perceived ease of use (PEOU): PEOU is defined as the one’s perception which believes the technology is easy to use and understand [5]. When users believe the technology is easy to understand, the utilization of technology will be improved. As mentioned by the doctor in the interview, the CMS was difficult to use because of the complexity of user interface and some of the features. PEOU is an important aspect to evaluate the benefit of the system when developing the conceptual framework. Job relevancy (JB): Job relevancy is an individual’s perception regarding the degree to which target system is applicable to the individual’s job [5]. JB variable in CLIMS conceptual framework is important as it helps to relate all functions in the CMS that are relevant to their day-to-day job at the clinic. JB is based on the system ability to support an individual’s job function that is to support business process at the clinic, i.e. only doctors have access to finances and payroll, while clinic staff must have access to patient registration. Behaviour of intention (BI): Behaviour of intention refers to the user’s behaviour while using the CMS. The three variables in TAM2, i.e. PU, PEOU and JB, influence the users’ intention to use the technology [5]. During the interview, the doctor mentioned changes in behaviour either negative or positive. Quality Attributes (ISO 9126): Quality attributes play a significant role in developing any framework. Utilization factors, i.e. usability, functionality and suitability, are referred from IS0 9126 McCall’s quality model. These three variables assist in determining the usability of the CMS which refers to the operability. Functionality of the CMS refers to functionality compliance, and suitability refers to functions which are suitable for CMS users [14]. Usability: Usability includes characteristics, i.e. understandability, learnability, operability and attractiveness of the system. These sub-characteristics refer to the system’s usability, the user interface’s clarity and the user’s ability to learn the system quickly [14]. Adding usability variable to the CLIMS conceptual framework improves understanding of the function’s usability as described by the doctor. Functionality: Functionality refers to the capability of the CMS to provide functions which meets the needs of the users [14]. The doctor highlighted during the interview the important components of CMS, i.e. registration of patients, scheduling appointments, accounts, drug and inventory and employee records. Adding functionality to the CLIMS conceptual framework would help in identifying the functions that are crucial to the framework’s development. Suitability: Suitability refers to the capability of CMS to have suitable set of functions [12]. The doctor was asked regarding the suitable essential functions of CMS which are used for day-to-day operations. Adding suitability to the CLIMS conceptual framework would help in identifying the suitable functions that would help to utilize the CMS. System benefit: All variables discussed earlier of CLIMS conceptual framework will have direct impact on the system benefit as these components are based on the interview, system observation and literature review. After observing the current issues of CMS during system observation and the interview with the doctor, the
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CLIMS conceptual framework was developed. Components of framework, i.e. CLIMS functions influence, maturity factors and utilization factor, influence system benefit.
4.4
Discussion on CLIMS Conceptual Framework
The conceptual framework has been designed in accordance with clinic requirements. The framework includes variables like CLIMS functions, maturity factors and utilization factors that have a beneficial impact on system benefit. The relationship between three aspects such as technology (CLIMS functions), organization (maturity factors) and human (utilization factors) are discussed, and these components have significant impact on the system benefit. CLIMS functions positively affects maturity factor consisting of people and process and utilization factors consisting of TAM2 and quality attributes. Utilization factors (34.56%) have the most impact on the system benefit, followed by maturity factors (30.35%) and CLIMS functions (29.02%). Further study can be undertaken to assess the strength of the relationship between the conceptual framework’s variables.
5 Conclusion and Future Research The interview results and the conceptual framework proves that CLIMS functions have positively affected maturity factors and utilization factors, and maturity factors and utilization factors positively affect the system benefit. All three variables CMS functions, maturity factors and utilization factors play an important role to have a better understanding of the conceptual framework. In the future research, the conceptual framework variables can be tested further. The framework can be tested for validity and reliability with further interviews, and survey can be conducted among all the other U.n.i Kliniks across Malaysia. Further research can determine the level of utilization and acceptance among other clinics. The lack of IT acceptance contributed to the technology literacy and skills using computers by clinic staff and the complexity of CMS as mentioned by the doctor in the interview. This clearly indicates that the technology has room for improvements. Other factors i.e., are culture and process which lead to underutilization of IT systems; culture and process are reported to be the barriers to the wider use of healthcare systems. This study is limited to a single clinic; in the future, it may be possible to conduct further interviews at other U.n.i Kliniks or other private clinics in Malaysia, where there are approximately 5000 private clinics. Acknowledgement This research was supported by the Unikl Excellent Research Grant Scheme (UERGS) provided by Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UNIKL).
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References 1. Ibrahim R, Auliaputra B, Yusoff RCM, Maarop N, Zainuddin NMM, Bahari R (2016) Measuring the success of healthcare information system in Malaysia: a case study. IOSR J Bus Manag 18(4):100–106. https://doi.org/10.9790/487X-180402100106 2. GOH CH (2019) Filling the healthcare gap 3. Sarlan AB, Ahmad RB, Wan Ahmad WFB, Dominic PDD (2011) Information technology in SMEs private healthcare. 2011 Natl. Postgrad. Conf. - Energy Sustain. Explor. Innov. Minds, NPC 2011, pp. 1–6, https://doi.org/10.1109/NatPC.2011.6136292 4. Ramli AS et al (2019) The primary health care performance initiative (PHCPI): issues and challenges for Malaysia as a trailblazer country. J Clin Heal Sci 4(1):4. https://doi.org/10.24191/ jchs.v4i1.7278 5. Lai P (2017) The literature review of technology adoption models and theories for the novelty technology. J Inf Syst Technol Manag 14(1):21–38. https://doi.org/10.4301/ s1807-17752017000100002 6. Venkatesh V, Davis FD (2000) A theoretical extension of the technology acceptance model: four longitudinal field studies. Manag Sci 46(2):186–204 7. Nadri H (2018) Factors affecting acceptance of hospital information systems based on extended technology acceptance model: a case study in three paraclinical departments. Appl Clin Inform 9(2):238–247 8. Yusof MM, Paul RJ, Stergioulas LK (2006) Towards a framework for health information systems. Proc Annu Hawaii Int Conf Syst Sci 5(C):1–10. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS. 2006.491 9. Erlirianto LM, Holil A, Ali N, Herdiyanti A (2015) The implementation of the human, organization, and technology – fit (HOT – fit) framework to evaluate the electronic medical record (EMR) system in a hospital. Procedia - Procedia Comput Sci 72:580–587. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.procs.2015.12.166 10. Yusof MM, Kuljis J, Papazafeiropoulou A, Stergioulas LK (2008) An evaluation framework for Health Information Systems: human, organization and technology-fit factors (HOT-fit). Int J Med Inform 77(6):386–398. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2007.08.011 11. Rosala M (2019) How to analyze qualitative data from UX research: thematic analysis. https:// www.nngroup.com/articles/thematic-analysis/. Accessed 4 Apr 2021 12. Teah H, Pee LG, Kankanhalli A (2006) Development and application of a general knowledge management maturity model 13. Davis FD (1989, March) Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and user acceptance of information technology. MIS Q 13(3):319–340. https://doi.org/10.2307/249008 14. Padayachee I (2010, January) ISO 9126 external systems quality characteristics, sub- characteristics and domain specific criteria for evaluating e-Learning systems
Comprehensive Supervision Platform (CSP) on Padlet as Open Educational Resources Initiative: Our Experience Norizan Mohamad, Hasiah Mohamed Omar, Norulhidayah Isa, and Mohd Talmizie Amron
Abstract Completing a final year project (FYP) in computing discipline is often regarded as a challenging task for all the parties involved, i.e., the undergraduate students, supervisors, examiners, and lecturers. Lack of a comprehensive guideline in project supervision that provides the benchmarking best practices in executing FYP process contributes to the challenges. Often, this results into disagreements due to inconsistency in approaches and discrepancy in assessments among evaluators. Therefore, a comprehensive guideline should be made available to all parties that should cover related activities from determining the project’s topic and scope and report writing up to the project evaluation, supported by the relevant examples to meet the project requirements. This article discusses our attempt to promote open educational resources (OERs) using Padlet tool. Comprehensive Supervision Platform (CSP) was built upon the aim to share the best practices as a comprehensive guideline to all parties involved in FYP supervision. We participated in the recent 2022 International Virtual e-Content Development Competition where the assessment of CSP was done by a panel of jury through a virtual session, based on multicriteria format. CSP was awarded with Silver award recognition under Educator’s category. We believe that the award represents itself the significant contribution of CSP as open resources within the academic community and demonstrates that the use of educational technology helps to disseminate educational resources, most importantly accessible to all.
N. Mohamad (✉) · H. M. Omar · N. Isa · M. T. Amron Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_11
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1 Introduction Final year project (FYP) is an integral component of undergraduate education in almost all computing programs. It serves as a prerequisite for the partial completion of an accredited university program and a tool for evaluating students’ broad conceptual understanding, critical thinking, problem-solving, and transferrable skills [1]. Its significance has been emphasized by major professional bodies in the computing field particularly the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and IEEE Computer Society; these two international bodies have been actively involved in developing new curriculum guidelines for undergraduate degree programs that foster integration of computing with other disciplines [2]. In most computing programs, students are required to undertake an individual project under the guidance of a supervisor during their studies. Therefore, the FYP should be in line with the interests of both student and the supervisor as this has huge influence on the learner’s motivation level and their involvement with the project, which will be reflected in the overall learning environment [3]. Despite the fact that FYP is well-known globally, how the FYP is implemented varies from one institution to another, and is mostly influenced by the educational structure of the institution [2]. In our program structure in the Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), FYPs are designed to be taken by students within the span of two final semesters. In their first semester, students are required to complete the project proposal, and in later semester, a complete final report and demonstration of a prototype must be submitted. The management of FYP typically involves four stakeholders, i.e., (1) the student, (2) the supervisor who supervises the student’s work, (3) the examiner who assesses student’s report and presentation, and (4) the lecturer who guides the overall execution of the content requirements for the FYP subject in class. Subsequently, the FYP is structured around two deliverables, i.e., project’s prototype and a complete report. Evaluation criteria are assigned for each task required toward achieving the milestones. The evaluation criteria for each task are specified in a rubric and are usually made known to the students and supervisors. In general, to achieve satisfactory marks, students must show that they have (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
Achieved all the objectives as set in their proposed work. Cited information from relevant sources. Discussed the relevant theories in the context of work being undertaken. Explained in detail the implemented task in the methodology section. Written the report and successfully presented the project.
To complete an FYP, students often need to integrate their previous knowledge acquired in the previous years of study, their communication skills, and current information gained work in progress in the FYP. Students who undertake topics that are technically challenging, show initiative and independence, and produce a compelling thesis deserve excellent marks [4]. Consequently, given the importance of the FYP in undergraduate computer education, continuous academic research and
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discussion on the techniques and procedures related to topics such as task assignment, supervision, and assessment are required [2]. From our observations, delivering undergraduate projects is challenging since most students are clueless on how to proceed with the related activities in their project. This may be due to the absence of a comprehensive documentation and requirements detailing the course of actions the students must perform which are not explicitly defined. Therefore, establishing a common consensus for references is thus one way to close the gaps. These references should contain learning strategies and the best practices that will benefit not only the evaluators but also the students. It is common for faculty to share best practices and effective teaching strategies with their colleagues [5]. Students should know the scope and extent of the project content they should deliver, and the evaluators, i.e., supervisors and examiners, should know how to judge students’ work accordingly. These kinds of information which contain all types of educational materials made available for educators and students to use and share are known as open educational resources (OERs) [6]. The term open educational resources (OERs) as mentioned in UNESCO’s Recommendation on OER [7] refers to “learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others.” In higher educational setting, OERs are not fully exploited and OERs’ adoption by faculty members is still low [8]. Exceptionally, committed to the ongoing OER agenda, the Universiti Teknologi MARA through its Advanced Learning Division, Institute of Continuing Education and Professional Studies (ICEPS), has initiated the e-Content Development Competition (e-Condev) since 2017 [9]. E-Condev started out as an internal event and has now gone international, attracting participants from other countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines, to name a few. Despite the evolution, the aim of e-Condev remains the same, to provide educators a venue to share their top e-learning strategies and to share best practices with other educators. Considering all the advancements, open educational resources (OERs) emerged as a key element in open education practices in higher education [10]. In alignment with the effort, we have created Comprehensive Supervision Platform (CSP) on Padlet that focuses on sharing the best practices in undergraduate final year project.
2 Related Works The use of educational technology tools that enable the sharing of educational resources is increasingly becoming a norm in e-learning, which benefits both students and teachers [11]. One such tool is Padlet (https://padlet.com/) that allows users to communicate, collaborate, and share resources for future accessibility. Padlet has been successfully used in teaching and learning subjects such as English [12, 13], Statistics [14], and Entrepreneurship [15] and in distance learning programs [16]. Findings from [12] showed that all students perceived positively the use of
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Padlet as a learning English writing tool where students enjoyed the learning process. In [14], two different groups of students participated in an introductory course in statistics for economic experts. The students participated in activities and presented their experiences and evaluations under the supervision of the teachers. The results showed that Padlet is an effective complement that enables collaborative mediation and online support in a statistics course. With regard to completing final year projects, many studies reported that students always find academic writing as frustrating and extremely difficult [17]. They struggle to complete several activities related to academic writing such as producing reports, identifying the proper resources, reading the literature, and writing project proposals [2]. This is particularly true for those majoring in science and engineering since they tend to place a greater emphasis on technical proficiency than writing skills [18]. It gets even more challenging for students who learn English as a second language (ESL) [17] as they perceive themselves as lacking the language proficiency required at the academic level [19]. Even at the earliest stage, most students faced difficulty in deciding on and understanding the topic for research and finding references [20]. As reported in [21], a total of 215 Vietnamese students who have graduated took part in the study, and the findings revealed that students have difficulty concerning research method, the time allocation for the project, supervisor problem, and their lack of motivation to complete the research. The difficulties they face usually lead to procrastination and late or incomplete submissions [22]. Inadequate instructional platform to support learning process throughout the year is a contributing factor to this issue [3]. To counter this, using e-learning platform such as Padlet would be very beneficial since it provides subject resources and work as communication media [23]. It could aid the students which allow them to search for the appropriate learning resources at any time and any place and use the information accordingly in their work to complete their projects. To help students successfully complete a research-based project, Nguyen [21] recommended that learning materials related to research methods be made available and accessible to the students.
3 Evaluation of CSP We participated in the 2022 International e-Content Development Competition (e-Condev2022) under OER Competition track, the Educators category (https:// econdev2022.uitm.edu.my/oer/). Other tracks are Mooc Competition and MicroCredential Competition. The judging schedule was set on August 22 to 24, 2022, from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm. OER Competition track pooled 75 participations from various disciplines, and the submitted OERs may include course materials such as notes or slide presentations, modules, textbooks, pictures, videos, software, games, etc. Participants were asked to submit an active or open OER through the registration system and demonstrate their OER during the online judging session.
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Table 1 The judging criteria of OER (Source: [9]) Criteria 1. Creator Knowledge 2. Creator Authenticity 3. Creator Bias 4. Obvious Bias
5. Organization Affiliation 6. Organization Quality Control 7. Quality Control Issues 8. Organization Reputation 9. Peer Reviewed 10. Materials (s) Currency 11. Platform Currency 12. Content Reviews 13. Content Relevancy 14. Quality of Information 15. Meet Target Audience 16. Licensing Status 17. Accessibility (Human) 18. Accessibility (Computer) 19. Remix or Edit
Description Who is the creator and what kind of expertise and experience do they have? Are you reasonably certain that it is the work of the person claiming to be the author? (not plagiarism or forgery) What is the intended purpose? (think educate/inform, sell something, entertain, change minds/behavior, propaganda/hate speech) Are there obvious signs of bias or agenda? (logical fallacies, weasel words, loaded language, inappropriate appeals to emotion, addressing only one side of an issue, conflicts of interest, etc.) What is the “hosting” organization and what kind of reputation do they have? Does the “hosting” organization conduct any sort of quality control? If so, what kind and how rigorous? Are there obvious signs of poor quality control? (misspellings, broken images, poor formatting, terrible design, etc.) What is the “hosting” organization’s reputation for bias and agenda? Has it been through peer review? (others are post-prints that have been through peer review) How recent or up-to-date is its content? (and how important is that to you?) How recent or up-to-date is its format or platform? (you don’t want it too old or too new, or else some people won’t be able to use it) Are there ratings, reviews, or comments? If so, what can you learn from them? Does the resource address your topic from the appropriate discipline or other perspective? How would you rate the quality of the information? (factual correctness, methodology, logic, etc.) Is the target audience appropriate for your use? (think age group, educational level) What is its copyright and licensing status and how does that impact what you can do with it? Is it accessible to people with disabilities? (closed captions or transcripts for the deaf, compatible with screen readers and text-to-speech for the sight-impaired) Is it accessible to people using older computers and slow internet connections? If you want to remix it, is the source file available and in a format that you can edit?
The judging criteria in e-Condev were based on the aspects as shown in Table 1. A total of 19 criteria served as the basis upon which evaluative judgments on CSP were made. For each of the criteria, we drafted the following proofs of compliance which were then orally presented to the juries during the judging session.
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Creator Knowledge. Four Computer Science lecturers teamed up to produce CSP, and all of them have at least 4 years of experience in managing FYPs. Creator Authenticity. We claimed that CSP was created genuinely by us, not plagiarism or forgery. Links to other works are provided for external sources with proper citing. Creator Bias. CSP is intended for sharing of educational resources related to FYP. Obvious Bias. All resources are for educational purposes. Organization Affiliation. The hosting organization is Padlet, a Web 2.0 tool which is popularly used in teaching and learning domain. Padlet is widely used among teachers in schools as well as in higher institutions. Organization Quality Control. Padlet allows privacy setting in four modes, i.e., public, private, secret, and password protected. Users can be set for options whether read only, write only, or edit. This is just one of the education specific features that show the organization built this with the needs of teachers and students in mind. Quality Control Issues. The design and layout can be chosen from a variation of wallpapers in stream, freeform, or grid format. The template is well structured; thus, the quality control is of high standard. Organization Reputation. Padlet has the reputation as an extremely easy-to-use tool that allows online collaboration by sharing of digital resources. Its use as a pedagogical tool has been studied in various academic journals and conferences. Peer Reviewed. CSP has gone through several peer evaluations; all evaluators were those who have experience in handling FYPs. Materials Currency. Content is constantly updated on latest FYP requirements from the faculty, and the dissemination of the updated content on Padlet is almost immediate. Platform Currency. Currently, Padlet ranks within the top 150 sites on the Internet worldwide and sees over 3.25 million estimated daily visitors on its sites. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Padlet saw an increase in users, following a rise in remote learning worldwide leading the platform to adopt stronger content moderation practices.1 Content Reviews. Since the resources are open to the public, users may view and leave a comment or suggestion. Relevant comments or suggestions will be considered for enhancement in content delivery. Content Relevancy. CSP focuses on supervision in computing project; therefore, all related areas within this context will be considered. Quality of Information. References to reliable sources such as in reputable journal papers or reports are considered in ensuring the correctness of content. Meet Target Audience. Padlet is greatly used as a classroom tool, and it is highly suitable for use at university level. All the stakeholders in FYP, i.e., students, lecturer, supervisor, and examiner, will benefit from CSP.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Padlet#
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Fig. 1 CSP’s content in column-based view
Licensing Status. CSP is licensed via Creative Commons to facilitate ethical content sharing under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0). It means the resources can be freely shared as long as users credit the creator; however, the resources cannot be modified or used for commercial purposes. Accessibility (Human). CSP on Padlet supports screen reader, and Padlet is working on making the web content more accessible for people with disabilities and more user-friendly for everyone. Accessibility (Computer). Users with slow Internet connection have the option of downloading the content in pdf format. Remix or Edit. The content on Padlet can be remixed or edited using the feature remake option.
4 Result and Discussion The creation of CSP on Padlet was successfully completed following the design of virtual walls bearing certain topics of the required content or activity into columnbased format. Important topics are tuned to engage with the users. Each post may contain images, text, article, and media links that might be useful for sharing the materials. Information is shared in an organized form [5], and students can use it as a reference for a lesson topic or access it as a class document hub. The content interface of CSP is shown in Fig. 1. Padlet enables compilation of learning resources for educational purposes that can easily be shared with academic members and students in real time. All learning materials are made visible to the students including in-progress works from other students. One such benefit of sharing students’ work is that it encourages collaboration and inquiry, thus promoting a stronger community of learners through
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Fig. 2 Sharing of experience from peers
student-directed projects [24]. Figure 2 shows the provision of experience sharing by peers. As for the FYP process, in order to reduce confusion around FYP implementation, we examined the best practices in executing FYP process and provided the necessary benchmarking as shown in Fig. 3. This should include all related activities from choosing the project’s topic up to the project evaluation, supported by the relevant report templates, evaluation rubrics, and staff and student guidelines [2]. Through the implementation of CSP on Padlet, we have illustrated the benefits of using an educational tool to enhance teaching and learning in final year project. Padlet enables students to learn, create, and exchange new ideas which improves their ability to understand and comprehend the learning content [16]. The use of the technology and the accompanying activities must be meaningful for the students since utilization is the key factor in determining how students participate in the learning process [25]. The utilization of the acquired information and step-by-step work with resources help students to navigate the information flow and understand how to complete the activity at hand [26]. In the OER Competition Educators category, we have won the Silver award for the submission of OER titled “Comprehensive Supervision Platform.” We reflect that the award illustrates the substantial impact that CSP has made as open resources within the academic community and that the use of educational technology aids in the dissemination of educational materials—most crucially, making them available to everyone.
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Fig. 3 Best practices and guidelines to assist in academic writing
5 Conclusion This paper has highlighted the implementation of Comprehensive Supervision Platform (CSP) using Padlet as a tool that promotes Open Educational Resources. CSP was then brought into the 2022 International Virtual e-Content Development Competition and won Silver award recognition. To us, the recognition represents CSP’s crucial work as open resources for the academic community and shows how technology can be used to provide educational materials that are, most importantly, available to everyone. This CSP is extremely helpful for students who are beginning to write their report writing process. In addition, it can be used to support students’ learning process to compliment the lectures during class and serves as a venue for sharing best practices among instructors. This effort is in line with the Government’s aspiration—as set in Malaysia Higher Education Blueprint (2015–2025) for Higher Education [27]—to place an emphasis on results rather than inputs and to actively pursue technologies and innovations that address students’ needs and enable individualized learning experience. Sharing our experiences in managing the FYP will not only help us make the module more engaging and informative for our students but will also serve as guidelines toward
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proper supervision. Additionally, a standard guideline will assist in consolidating metrics leading to a fair evaluation for all students. Future works will involve generation of more learning resources related to FYP supervision’s best practices on CSP. Acknowledgments The registration fee is funded by Pembiayaan Yuran Prosiding Berindeks (PYPB), Tabung Dana Kecemerlangan Pendidikan (DKP), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Malaysia.
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Qarḍ al-Ḥasan for SME Financing Using Non-permissible Earnings: Islamic FinTech Solutions for Yemeni IFIs Abdellah Ali Ahmed AL-Melahi and Auwal Adam Sa’ad
Abstract Non-permissible earning is an income that comes undesirably from the profits acquired as a result of the Islamic financial institutions dealing with conventional or central banks or a non-acceptable Islamic banking product by the Shari’ah committee of Islamic financial institutions. This study aims to review and discuss automating the non-permissible earnings of Islamic banks in Yemen, which is proposed to be utilized for SME financing needs. The study initiated a model on how Islamic banks can channel these unused sources of income to support SMEs in Yemen. The proposed initiative suggests the use of FinTech mechanism by using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to automate the financing activities. The model used for this initiative is the Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing. The study follows a series of approaches to achieve its objectives. A descriptive approach was used to study subject matter. The study uses the comparative analytical approach to analyze and compare the annual financial reports issued by the largest Islamic banks in Yemen. The study finds the Islamic banks possessed a very good opportunity to financing SMEs by channeling the non-permissible earnings through a specific Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform. The study concludes with a number of recommendations including the creation of a platform that will serve as a special fund generator specifically for SME financing depending on the non-permissible earnings of the Islamic banks. The study also proposes the use of artificial intelligence technology to help in executing the financing model. The study has also recommended a special supervisory policy and regulations that would guide and support the proposed model, which is named Qard al-Hasan financing via FinTech (QAFF).
A. A. A. AL-Melahi (✉) IIUM Institute of Islamic Banking and Finance, International Islamic University Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia A. A. Sa’ad IIBF, IIUM University, Selangor, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_12
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1 Introduction The global Islamic banking and finance industry is developing rapidly, the recent innovation in technology has also got some portion in the Islamic banking industry, and a very huge financial technology (FinTech) innovations appeared in the world by trying to align the use of the Internet, data science analysis, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and many other technologies with financial services. There are many Islamic FinTech companies providing FinTech related services focusing on Islamic finance portfolios. The study aims to contribute to finding alternative sources of funds to finance SMEs using Islamic FinTech solutions for the Islamic banks in Yemen; these banks are the Tadhamon Bank, Saba Islamic Bank, and Shamil Bank of Yemen and Bahrain (SBYB). The main reason for selecting these banks was because they are the biggest players in the Islamic banking business in Yemen.
1.1
Literature Review
Studies on Islamic FinTech and non-permissible earnings of Islamic banks are still very limited; this part highlights some works of literature that come across the topics of discussion in this study.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Islamic Banking and Finance Artificial intelligence is defined as a technological model capable of replicating human thinking and intelligent machines or systems that can perform complex tasks that usually require intelligence [1]. Examination of the client and suggesting the suitable conditions of financing to safeguard financial stability and socioeconomic mobility can be used by AI. FinTech is providing alternative solutions to the financial services; normally being easy to use, useful, low cost, innovative, and client friendly are determinants for Islamic FinTech acceptance [2]. Among the applications of artificial intelligence is lending decision-making, where applications such as user devices, robots, and servers of financial institutions can analyze the large data and track progress to achieving a designated financial service [1]. Artificial intelligence technologies can also be used to address issues related to Islamic banking advisory services, by automating Shari’ah rulings and standards using robo-advisors technology [3].
Qard al-Hasan Definition [4] defined Qarḍ al-Ḥasan as “a transfer of ownership of a fungible asset from a lender to a borrower in exchange for a payment of the original amount payable in the future.”
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Qarḍ al-Ḥasan Financing through FinTech A study by [5] suggested that the use of Islamic FinTech and its mechanisms realizes good practices using the Islamic Qarḍ al-Ḥasan mode of financing. As it is found, using financial technology can be appropriate for the application of Qarḍ al-Ḥasan and attract various Islamic banking and finance players into the SME financing projects [6]. recommended that Blending Zakat and Qarḍ al-Ḥasan for countering the adverse impact of COVID-19 on SMEs can demonstrate to be a springboard in this direction by an artificial intelligence and natural language processing based on Islamic FinTech model [7].
The Non-permissible Earnings in Islamic Banking and Finance Non-permissible earnings in the charitable fund of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) and Shariah-compliant companies are a result of their transactions with conventional banks which involve riba; it also includes payments received from their customers as a result of late payments of their due installments or profits of some operations that the bank’s Shari’ah board decided to avoid and to spare their profits for charity [8].
Using the Non-permissible Earnings in Islamic Banking and Finance According to the International Islamic Fiqh Academy resolution no. 13 (1/3) [9], “the Bank must spend that interest in ways that realize the public benefit, like training, research, providing means of relief, providing financial and technical assistance to member countries and to academic institutions, schools, and foundations, and on anything related to spreading Islamic knowledge” [10, 11]. Similarly, [12] illustrates that “any interest and other non-permissible Earnings should be channeled to charity and general public utilities. It is not permissible for the bank to use these amounts, directly or indirectly, for its own benefit. Examples of charitable channels include, among others, training people other than the staff of the bank, funding research, providing relief and support equipment’s, financial and technical assistance to Islamic scientific or Islamic countries, academic Institutions, schools, anything to do with spreading Islamic knowledge, and similar channels. The charity fund must go to these channels in accordance with the resolutions of the Shari’ah Supervisory Board of the bank.” Moreover, [9] considered how the Islamic financial institutions intend to dispose of such revenues, assets, or liabilities as mandatory conduct standard of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Therefore, Islamic banks can pay the refundable non-permissible earnings to the Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform to facilitate SME financing initiative.
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2 The Non-permissible Earnings in Yemeni Islamic Financial Institutions 2.1
An Overview of Islamic Banks in Yemen
Islamic banks have witnessed a great expansion in Yemen. Islamic banks have started in Yemen since the introduction of the Islamic Banking Law No. 21 for the year 1996 as amended by Law No. 16 for the year 2009 [13]. The Tadhamon Bank (TB) was established in 1996 according to Ministerial Resolution No. 169 and provides all its services in accordance with the provisions of Shari’ah law. The bank owns 137 branches and offices spread throughout the Republic of Yemen. The bank manages assets of 2.006 billion US dollars, its capital is 80 million US dollars, and more than 700 employees work in it. The bank owns six companies and owns in them from 95 to 100% with the nature of its various activities including financial and real estate services [14]. Saba Islamic Bank (SIB), a Yemeni closed joint-stock company, was established in accordance with the 1996 ministerial Resolution and received its license from the Central Bank of Yemen on April 2nd, 1997, under permit number 311. With a broad ownership structure consisting of over 6400 shareholders. Major shareholders include the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) and Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), as well as local investors. SIB’s headquarters are located in Sana’a, and it maintains a network of branches throughout Yemen [15]. The Shamil Bank of Yemen and Bahrain (SBYB) was established as a Yemeni shareholding company on February 17, 2002, and the bank owns ten branches throughout the Republic of Yemen, and the bank undertakes financing, investment, and banking services in accordance with Shari’ah law. The bank owns a 100% Yemeni company for manufacturing red bricks [16].
2.2
The Proposed Technology
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a mimicry of human intelligence that helps build smarter machines capable of doing human work smartly. AI works just like a human brain; it can think and make a decision with more accuracy rate, but all these depend on the data fed to the machine. The banking industry is utilizing AI in a very advanced way that saves money and time. The banks use algorithms to generate accurate results, which in turn help in enhancing customer service and generate better sales performance to deliver profits. AI includes machine learning and profound learning, which helps to reduce errors caused by emotional and psychological factors. These tasks are considered one of the most important tasks provided by AI. A few studies highlighted the areas where machine intelligence is being launched in the banks and applications of AI in some commercial banks. There is advancement in traditional banking, and gradually FinTech companies and banks are
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Table 1 Non-permissible earnings in Islamic banks (YER) from 2010 to 2019 [16, 18–22] Years Total Percentage
TB (YER) 40,208,000 32%
SIB (YER) 68,630,146 55%
SBYB (YER) 16,126,000 13%
Total (YER) 124,964,146 100%
adopting innovative technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cloud computing, but banks are still yet to reach the stage of AI revolution; human touch is still important. The banking sector is discovering how AI can be incorporated, improving the working of banks and improving customer service experiences [17]. AI technologies can automate the non-permissible earning funds of Islamic banks and initiate a processing mechanism in which the fund will reach the designated SMEs faster and more accurately. AI is very effective in finding patterns in real time. It uses additional behavioral indicators to spot suspicious activity and offer suggestions for risk mitigation.
2.3
Non-permissible Earnings in Yemeni Islamic Financial Institutions
The Islamic banks in Yemen have features of transparency of the non-permissible earnings data in their reports. The authors make clear tables and figures to illustrate the non-permissible earnings in Islamic banks in Yemen. The following are brief explanations prepared by the researchers according to figures extracted from the bank’s annual reports from 2010 to 2019. This study analyzes the yearly reports of a vast three Islamic banks studied each year separately and comes with a summary as follows (Table 1): The total amount of the non-permissible earnings in all three Islamic banks.
124,964,146
68,630,146 40,208,000 16,126,000
TB (YER)
SIB (YER)
SBYB (YER)
Total (YER)
The percentage of the non-permissible earnings for each bank to all banks.
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13% 32%
TB (YER) SIB (YER)
55%
SBYB (YER)
The table and charts show the non-permissible earnings in three Islamic banks in Yemen which are SIB, TB, and SBYB. It is clear from the table and charts that SIB already had the highest amount of non-permissible earning which is around 68 million YER within 10 years from 2010 to 2019, as well as a high percentage which is 55%. On the other hand, SBYB had the lowest amount of non-permissible earning which is about 16 million YER for the tenth year too with a percentage of 13%. The TB had a medium amount of the non-permissible earnings source which is 40 million YER in the same years and 32%. It can be seen from the table and graphs that the total amount of non-permissible earnings in these three Islamic banks has reached around 125 million.
3 Conclusion, Findings, and Recommendations 3.1
Conclusion
The study tries to review and discuss automating the non-permissible earning in Islamic banks in Yemen and how non-permissible earning funds will be used for SME financing model using artificial intelligence (AI) technology based on Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing model. The study has created a model as one of the important findings, coupled with recommendations as follows: QAFF Model The model is called QAFF which means Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing via FinTech (QAFF). It will be processed via three main components: 1. The non-permissible earning of Islamic banks. 2. Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing platform via FinTech. 3. SMEs. The model order indicates input, process, and output sources as follows: 1. Islamic banks channel the non-permissible earnings to Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform based on a fund (nonrefundable).
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2. Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform receives the nonrefundable of the non-permissible earnings from the Islamic banks and should follow few steps using AI technology: (A). Set conditions for obtaining Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing such as the following: • • • •
Financing amount and the guarantee. Duration of business activity. Place of business activity. Collecting information about the customer by the central bank system and the visits. • Analyzing the data like earnings, income, and capital.
(B). Monitor the financing after it is granted and if it is used for the same purpose. (C). Receive repayment of Qard al-Hassan and channel it to other SMEs. 3. The clients “SMEs” apply for Qarḍ al-Ḥasan. 4. Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform receives the applications and then begins sorting the requests that meet the conditions. 5. The clients of SMEs who met the conditions would sign a Qard al-Hasan contract with Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform to establish or rebrand its Shari’ah compliant business in a specific date and suitable location. 6. Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform pays the amount on a cash or commodity basis on the phases of the project. 7. Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform tracks progress achievement. 8. The clients refund the specified amount to the Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform on a designated time duration. 9. The liquidity can be used for the operational cost of Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform. Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing via FinTech (QAFF) model.
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Model Evaluation From the literature, it can be seen that non-permissible earning of Islamic banks is suitable to be used through the new model QAFF; the model is also suitable and applicable for SME financing using AI technology by utilizing Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing method. By looking at the total amount of the non-permissible earnings for 10 years, it can generate around 125 million YER. With this amount, the platform would be able to finance around 250 SMEs considering the average financing of 500,000 YER per SMEs. The Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform may cover its operational cost of Qarḍ al-Ḥasan from within the amounts generated from the banks; it is estimated that the operational cost is around 10,000 YER per SME, which totals five million. Moreover, the Islamic banks and government may also contribute to the operational cost of the Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform.
3.2
Findings
Most important results of the study reached the following: 1. The highest amount of the non-permissible earning comes from SIB which is around 68 million YER as well as a high percentage which is 55%. 2. A medium amount of the non-permissible earnings source comes from TB which is 40 million YER and 32%. 3. The lowest amount of the non-permissible earning comes from SBYB which is about 16 million YER with a percentage of 13%. 4. The total amount of the non-permissible earnings in these three Islamic banks has reached around 125 million. 5. Islamic banks in Yemen have the capacity to support QAFF model as it appears in the annual financial reports. 6. The non-permissible earnings can be utilized through Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing model after the establishment of Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform. 7. The QAFF model can be applicable for SME financing using AI technology. 8. The platform would be able to finance around 250 SMEs considering the average financing of 500,000 YER per SMEs.
3.3
Recommendations
1. The authors recommend that the Islamic banks in Yemen should offer their non-permissible earnings for SME financing via Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing platform. 2. The study recommends the use of supervisory bodies of the Islamic banks to be part of the legislations that help to channel the non-permissible earnings to QAFF model and establish the Qarḍ al-Ḥasan financing platform.
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3. The Qarḍ al-Ḥasan platform can search for other sources such as Waqf, Zakat, and crowdfunding to enhance SME financing in the state of Yemen.
References 1. Qanduoz AA (2019) Financial techniques and their applications in the Islamic financial industry. https://www.amf.org.ae/sites/default/files/research_and_publications/%5Bvocab% 5D/%5Bterm%5D/%5Blanguage%5D/ﺍﻝﺕﻕﻥﻱﺍﺕ ﺍﻝﻡﺍﻝﻱﺓ ﻭﺕﻁﺏﻱﻕﺍﺕﻩﺍ ﻑﻱ ﺍﻝﺹﻥﺍﻉﺓ ﺍﻝﻡﺍﻝﻱﺓ ﺍﻝﺍﺱﻝﺍﻡﻱﺓ.pdf. Last Accessed 21 Dec 2020 2. Shaikh IM, Qureshi MA, Noordin K, Shaikh JM, Khan A, Shahbaz MS (2020) Acceptance of Islamic financial technology (FinTech) banking services by Malaysian users: an extension of technology acceptance model. Foresight 22(3):367–383. https://doi.org/10.1108/FS-122019-0105 3. Sa’ad AA, Alhabshi SM, Noor ABM, Hassan R (2020) Robo-advisory for Islamic financial institutions: Shari’ah and regulatory issues. European Journal of Islamic Finance, 1–9. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.13135/2421-2172/3992 4. ISRA (2016) Islamic financial system principles & operations. In: Muhammed M, Ahmed MU (eds) International Shari’ah research academy for Islamic finance (ISRA), 2nd edn. Cagamas, National Mortgage Coporation of Malaysia, Malaysia 5. Sa’ad AA, Pitchay ABA (2019) Financing SMEs through the Islamic Qarḍ al-Ḥasan: a proposal of Islamic FinTech interest- free lending for government initiatives. In: Impact of financial technology (FinTech) on Islamic finance and financial stability. Business Science Reference, Hershey, PA. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-0039-2.ch004 6. Syed MH, Khan S, Rabbani MR, Thalassinos YE (2020) An-artificial-intelligence-and-NLPbased-Islamic-FinTech-model-combining-zakat-and-QardhAlHasan-for-countering-theadverse-impact-of-COVID-19-on-SMEs-and-individuals. Int J Econ Bus Adm VIII(2): 351–364 7. Shaikh SA (2020) Using Fintech in scaling up Islamic microfinance. J Islam Account Bus Res. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIABR-10-2019-0198 8. Fidad A The benefit from the set-aside earnings. Al-Baraka Symposium Forty on Islamic Economics. https://albaraka.org/symposiums/. Last Accessed 21 Nov 2020 9. AAOIFI (2015) Accounting auditing and governance standards. Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions, Bahrain, Almanamah 10. International Islamic Fiqh Academy. Resolution No: 13 (1/3)[1], Concerning the Islamic Development Bank’s inquiries. https://www.iifa-aifi.org/en/7672.html. Last Accessed 21 Nov 2020 11. ISRA. Fatwa and translation unit. https://ifikr.isra.my/fatwa/final_level2/SOC03/4815. Last Accessed 21 Nov 2020 12. AAOIFI (2017) Sharīʿah Standards. In The Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) 13. Central Bank of Yemen, Islamic Banks law. http://centralbank.gov.ye/ar/CBY.aspx?keyid= 77&pid=74&lang=2&cattype=1. Last Accessed 21 Nov 2020 14. Tadhamon Bank. About Tadhamon Bank. https://www.tadhamonbank.com/en/about/1. Last Accessed 21 Dec 2020 15. Saba Islamic Bank. About Saba Islamic Bank. http://sababank.net/content.php?id=109. Last Accessed 21 Dec 2020 16. Shamil Bank of Yemen & Bahrain. Financial report 2019. http://www.sbyb.net/uploads/ Reports pdf/FS English Shamil Bank Yamen and Bahrain 2019.pdf. Last Accessed Dec 21 2020
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Toward Faith-Based Financing for Poverty Alleviation: The Influence of Religiosity on Entrepreneurship Reazul Islam, Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Muhammad Khalilur Rahman, Noor Raihani Zainol, and Mohd Salahudin Shamsudin
Abstract This paper presents the findings of an empirical study that measured the mediating impacts of religiosity and the moderating impacts of microfinance experience on the relationship of Mudarabah, Musharakah, and Musharakah Mutanaqisah (MM & M) Shariah rules and Shariah business knowledge with entrepreneurship to comprehend whether these trust-based equity products could be offered to underprivileged Muslims. A survey instrumenting structured questionnaire was carried out on 400 female members of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) in the Selangor district. Collected data from underprivileged Muslim microentrepreneurs were statistically analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. Findings showed that religiosity has a full mediating impact on the relationship between Shariah rules and entrepreneurship and a partial mediating impact on the relationship between Shariah business knowledge and entrepreneurship. That implies religious microentrepreneurs apply Islamic business principles in business activities and gain higher benefits. Further, the results of moderation of microfinance experience suggest that clients with different lengths of experience will yield similar entrepreneurial outputs. Based on the findings, it could be assumed that offering trust-based micro-equity financial products to underprivileged Muslim women entrepreneurs would be sheerly viable. The outcomes of
R. Islam (✉) School of Business and Social Sciences (SBSS), Albukhary International University (AIU), Alor Setar, Malaysia, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Kedah Darul Aman Department of Doctoral Studies, Narxoz University, Almaty, Kazakhstan M. R. Islam Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh M. K. Rahman · N. R. Zainol Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan (UMK), Kelantan, Malaysia M. S. Shamsudin Entrepreneurship Programme, School of Business Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), Kedah Darul Aman, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_13
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this study will help microfinance institutions introduce new financial products for poverty alleviation while enriching their product portfolio. It may open new opportunities for further research as well.
1 Introduction The central tenet of the Islamic financial system is profit and loss sharing financing (PLS). Since it relies on trust and mutual partnership, this approach is barely practiced in the Islamic finance and banking industry. It is almost absent in the microfinance sector. The looming argument is whether underprivileged Muslims are trustworthy and eligible for Islamic equity financing products, namely, Mudarabah, Musharakah, and Musharakah Mutanaqisah (MM & M), that deal with the profit and loss sharing (PLS) approach without seeking any tangible collaterals [1, 2]. Because of the possible credit risk that may occur due to adverse borrower selection, moral hazards, information asymmetry, and agency problems, financial institutions are reluctant to offer MM & M [3, 4]. However, many empirical studies suggest that religiosity significantly influences Muslims’ entrepreneurial behaviors. Islam offers Muslims complete and comprehensive guidelines to lead a harmonious life on Earth and hereafter [5]. Besides, pietism promotes good morals [6]; hence, religiosity influences Muslims to maintain Islamic ethical norms and values [6– 9]. Adherence and intricacy to religiosity encourage Muslims to abide by Shariah rules [7]. Islamic business principles guide Muslim to conduct fair financial transactions [8–10]. Besides, religiosity emphasizes honesty, truthfulness, compassion, empathy, and a sense of social responsibility, which positively impact entrepreneurial exercises [11] while reducing potential business risks [12] and volatility of investment [7]. Adherent Muslim entrepreneurs pay greater attention to commitment and fair transactions and emphasize fair business dealings, fearing Allah and seeking His bounties and blessings. On the other hand, nonpracticing Muslim entrepreneurs seemingly have more independent thoughts and actions toward worldly accomplishments, making them less inclined toward divine incentives. Furthermore, they are more likely to be interested in worldly pleasures and sensual gratification, which pursue them to be more profit centered [13, 14]. Hence, religiosity can be considered an essential determinant of trustworthiness and entrepreneurial conduct. Therefore, if offered to religious Muslims, critical risk factors in Mudarabah and Musharakah financing can be minimized. Based on the above discussion, three objectives are set hereunder.
1.1
Objectives
1. To examine the mediating impact of religiosity between Shariah rules and entrepreneurship.
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2. To examine the mediating impact of religiosity between Shariah business knowledge and entrepreneurship. 3. To examine the moderating impact of microfinance experience on the relationship between Shariah rules, Shariah business knowledge, and entrepreneurship.
2 Literature Review A Mudarabah partnership occurs on a fiduciary relationship between rab-al-mal and mudarib. Economically underprivileged clients who lack start-up capital but possess entrepreneurial qualities and good morals are eligible for this scheme [15]. In this regard, the Islamic finance institution acts as rab-al-mal by providing financial capital to skillful entrepreneurs, and, on the other side, the recipients manage Shariah-compliant businesses. At the end of the business cycle, both parties mutually share a predefined profit percentage. However, if the business yields a loss, the financing institution solely bears it while the client’s loss is confined to her contributed time and efforts [16]. Along the way, rab-al-mal can neither interfere in business management nor take legal action against mudarib unless she exhibits any misconduct [17]. Reluctant or immoral clients may take advantage of these lenient rules. On the other hand, in a Musharakah-based business agreement, all parties contribute to the capital and participate in business management. However, if mutually agreed upon, the business can solely be driven by one party. Similarly, the profit is distributed on an agreed ratio, though the loss is shared according to the proportion of the invested capital by each party [18]. Nevertheless, capital participation and profit share must be mutually agreed upon before the venture starts. Any of such funds, either Mudarabah or Musharakah, must be utilized for commercial purposes with no speculation [17] or in haram businesses (forbidden by the Islamic jurisprudence), such as gambling, prostituting, selling alcohol, raising pork, etc. [19]. However, to grasp a higher profit, acquisitive or iniquitous clients may hide business-related information concealing the real payoff. Similarly, they may create agency problems doing overconsumption, underreporting profit, and shirking risks [20]. Besides, the demanded capital might be incompatible with the real needs of the venture [21, 22]. Due to their imperfect and asymmetric information, ex ante and ex post hazards might appear too. Further, there are possibilities of adverse borrower selection, moral hazard, and the exposition of the discretionary power of clients in PLS financing [20]. As a result, the investment will get less than the expected profit, or it may even encounter unexpected loss [23]. To avoid such hazards, religiosity, Shariah knowledge, and exerting Shariah rules would be effective ways. In this regard, the following sections delineate the existing literature on the influences of religiosity, Shariah rules, and Shariah knowledge on entrepreneurship.
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Shariah Rules and Entrepreneurship
Clients must possess entrepreneurial qualities to access Mudarabah and Musharakah financial schemes [24]. Hence, entrepreneurship and the Shariah rules of MM & M are intertwined. In that light, many empirical studies suggest that Shariah-based financing positively impacts entrepreneurship [25, 26].
2.2
Religiosity
Religions offer guidelines for humans to lead a harmonious social life and maintain a relationship with the Creator and His creations. Faith motivates entrepreneurial exercises with ethical behavior while suggesting being hopeful, courageous, and patient [27, 28]. Muslims abide by Shariah laws, and that influences their day-to-day lives [6, 7]. Shariah rules and religiosity are interrelated. Specific Shariah principles guide all religious practices. Nonetheless, Shariah principles offer comprehensive guides to financial transactions and help decrease idiosyncratic risks in investment [7–10]. Besides, it extends a unique set of codes of behavioral conduct for the fairness of entrepreneurial exercise. Therefore, adherent Muslims keep their commitment and are more inclined to risk-taking while seeking less worldly pleasure and sensual gratification [14]. Thus, religious Muslims are seemingly more reliable in business dealings and financial transactions [12]. Based on the above discussion, a hypothesis can be drawn: Hypothesis 1 (H1): Religiosity has a significant mediating impact on the relationship between Shariah rules and entrepreneurship.
2.3
Shariah Business Knowledge
As mentioned earlier, Muslims’ religiosity and their day-to-day life are entirely guided by Shariah principles. Shariah also provides direction to entrepreneurial dealings, including financial transactions and management. The knowledge of financial instruments positively influences their willingness to borrow from financing institutes [12]. Similarly, the knowledge of financial product utilization encourages entrepreneurial practices. Hence, MM & M financing is more suitable for those with a better understanding of these products. Nevertheless, adherent religious Muslims are more prone to comply with Shariah principles. Therefore, another hypothesis can be drawn as below: Hypothesis 2 (H2): Religiosity has a significant mediating impact on the relationship between Shariah business knowledge and entrepreneurship.
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Microfinance Experience
Besides, education significantly impacts borrowers’ performance with microfinance schemes [29]. In the same vein, a business experience which is parallel to microfinance involvement works as a catalyst for entrepreneurial quality. Individuals with business experience are more reliable in business dealing as well as in making partnerships with them. Assumingly, the higher the level of microfinance experience, the better the entrepreneurs’ performance will be. Therefore, a hypothesis can be formulated as below: Hypothesis 3 (H3): Microfinance experience has a moderating impact on the relationship between Shariah rules, Shariah business knowledge, and entrepreneurship.
3 Methodology This study adopted the quantitative method by employing the survey to achieve high external validity and generalizability [30]. The survey was conducted in the Selangor district, Malaysia. All Muslim female respondents were members of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), a Grameen Bank-type microfinance institution in Malaysia. A selfgenerated structured questionnaire was administered following the disproportionate stratified convenient sampling technique. The questionnaire had five sections: (1) information about the respondents’ demography, (2) measuring Shariah rules, (3) religiosity, (4) Shariah business knowledge, and (5) measuring the level of entrepreneurship. A seven-point scale, ranging from 1 to 7 (strongly disagree = 1, disagree = 2, tend to disagree = 3, neutral = 4, tend to agree = 5, agree = 6, strongly agree = 7) was used to quantify the data. The questionnaire was translated from English to Bahasa Melayu to make it comprehensible to respondents. The questionnaire was reconstructed and revised after conducting a pilot test on 50 respondents in the Gombak branch of AIM. The outcomes of the pilot test contributed to instrumental clarity, proper diction, and validity of the underlying factors [31]. For data collection, the three regional branches of AIM in Gombak, Selayang, and Cheras were surveyed. A total of 400 survey questionnaires were retrieved from an equal number of respondents. Upon careful inspection, 352 questionnaires were primarily selected. Nonetheless, based on a thorough screening process, another 22 questionnaires were rejected due to lacking consistency, validity, and reliability. In the end, 330 questionnaires were accepted for the final statistical analysis. In terms of sample size, it fulfilled 100% of the requirements as prescribed by David A. Kenny [32]. Descriptive as well as inferential statistical techniques were adopted to analyze the data. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was followed by the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. A software package branded as SPSS ® AMOS [21] was employed to perform the statistical analyses.
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3.1
Research Design: Conceptual Framework
A conceptual model was drawn (Fig. 1) comprising entrepreneurship (E) as a dependent variable (DV), Shariah rules and Shariah business knowledge (K) of MM & M financing as independent variables (IV), religiosity (R) as a mediating variable, and microfinance experience (MExp) as a moderating variable. The variables, Age and Education, were controlled.
4 Findings The following sections elaborate on the findings of descriptive and inferential statistics. It starts with demographic information, followed by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). It justifies the hypothesis by employing bootstrapping and multigroup moderation.
4.1
Respondents’ Demography
Among 330 respondents, 19.1% (n = 63) were of young age; 72.1% (n = 238) were of middle age; and the rest 8.8% (n = 29) were senior citizens. Most of the respondents were married (79.3%, n = 270); only 3.9% (n = 13) were single (never married), 7.3% (n = 24) widowed, 6.1% divorced, and 0.9% (n = 3) separated. Most of them were actively involved in business activities (66.9%, n = 221), though the other 15.8% were homemakers but passively involved in business
Shariah Rules (SR) Independent Variable
Religiosity (R) Mediator
Shariah Business Knowledge (K) Independent Variable
Education and Age Control Variables Microfinance Experience (MExp) Moderator
Fig. 1 Conceptual framework
Entrepreneurship (E) Dependent Variable
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activities with their husbands. Alongside the business activities, about 7.3% of respondents were earning salary by doing formal jobs such as cashier, nurse, manager, clerk, school bus driver, cook, baker, shop assistant, supervisor, sales assistant, admin assistant, and sideline assistant, and 10% were engaged with various types of informal income-generating activities such as tailor, home agent, wedding planner, retailing dealer, promoter, SPA therapist, designer, craftsmanship, contract driver, etc. Almost all of them had formal education. About, 69.4% (n = 229) of them had SPM1 certificate, 8.2% (n = 27) STPM2, 7% (n = 23) bachelor’s degrees, and 1.5% (n = 5) postgraduate degrees, and the remaining 10% (n = 32) respondents had obtained Form Three3 and diploma courses. Only two respondents reportedly never went to school, six had informal learning, and the other six barely finished elementary education.
4.2
Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA)
The outcomes of exploratory factor analysis (EFA) suggest that the Kaiser-MeyerOlkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy is at a significant level with a value of 0.915, and 52.54% variance is explained. According to the “pattern matrix” table, all items (observed variables) are highly loaded under the assigned factors (latent variables). Individual items achieve >0.6 loadings. Besides, the values of Cronbach’s alpha (α) for religiosity (R) 0.954, knowledge (K) 0.928, Shariah rules (SR) 0.931, and entrepreneurship (E) 0.954 are highly significant. That implies all factors are reliable and observed variables are consistent with the latent variables [33].
4.3
Hybrid Model
According to the model fit indices, the hybrid model below (Fig. 2) shows that CMIN/DF:3.410 is significant as p = 0.000, which indicates that the null hypothesis, data don’t fit the model, is accepted. In addition, RMR:0.139 is higher than the recommended value (0.05–0.08), while the values of GFI:0.599 and AGFI:0.568 are lower than the recommended cutoffs (for GFI >0.95 and AGFI >0.90). RMSEA is 0.086 and PCLOSE is 0.00. 1. SPM: Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. 2. STPM: Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia. 3. Form 1 to Form 3 are known as Lower Secondary (Menengah Rendah). Overall, this model is considered an unfitted to the data. Therefore, a composite model is created hereunder.
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Fig. 2 Hybrid model. **R Religiosity, SR Shariah rules, K knowledge, and E entrepreneurship
4.4
Composite Model
According to the model fit indices, the composite model below (Fig. 3) generated CMIN/DF:1.770, which is not significant as p = 0.101. That implies the null
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Fig. 3 Composite model Table 1 Bootstrapping Hypotheses Shariah rules Knowledge
Total effects BC p 0.210 0.008 0.338 0.001
Direct effects BC P 0.062 0.291 0.233 0.000
Indirect effects BC P 0.148 0.001 0.104 0.001
Results FM PM
hypothesis, “data do not fit the model,” is rejected; and contrarily, the alternative hypothesis, “data fit the model,” is accepted [32]. Though RMR:0.166 is higher than the recommended value (0.05), GFI:0.989 and AGFI:0.963 are within the ranges of the recommended values (for GFI is >0.95 and AGFI >0.90). Besides, CFI:0.980, which is very significant. RMSEA is 0.048, PCLOSE 0.459. Therefore, this composite model is acceptable; hence, its outcomes can be accepted. Nonetheless, a bootstrapping approach was adopted to justify the hypotheses while ensuring the robustness of the findings.
4.5
Bootstrapping and Hypothesis Justification
According to the outcomes of bootstrapping approach, as Table 1 demonstrates hereunder, religiosity (R) has a full mediating impact on the relationship between Shariah rules and entrepreneurship (E) (Indirect effect BC = 0.148, p = 0.001, and the total effect is significant at BC 0.210, p = 008. The direct effect, BC = 0.062 is not significant as p = 0.291). Therefore, alternative hypothesis 1, (H1): “Religiosity has a significant mediating impact on the relationship between Shariah rules and entrepreneurship,” is justified and accepted. That implies, in the presence of the mediating variable, religiosity (R), the independent variable, Shariah rules (SR), does not have a significant impact. Therefore, clients’ adherent religiosity can significantly enhance their entrepreneurial performance without the imposition of the Shariah ruling. Nevertheless, religiosity partially mediates the relationship between knowledge (K) and entrepreneurship (E) (indirect effect: BC = 0.104 is significant as p = 0.001, while the direct effect
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is significant at BC = 0.233, p = 0.000, and the total effect BC = 0.338 at p = 0.001). Therefore, the alternative hypothesis 2, (H2): “Religiosity has a significant mediating impact on the relationship between Shariah business knowledge and entrepreneurship,” is partially justified and accepted. That implies, like Shariah business knowledge (SR), religiosity (R) is also a significant contributor to entrepreneurship (E). From this finding, it can be assumed that microfinance institutions should emphasize their clients’ Shariah-based business knowledge while inspiring them to adhere to religiosity rather than imposing Shariah rules.
4.6
Moderating Effects
This study examined the moderating effects of respondents’ microfinance experience. This parameter was categorized into two groups, high and low (Table 3). The findings of multigroup moderation (Table 2) suggest that there is no significant moderating effect on the level of microfinance experience in this model. This effect indicates that the alternative hypothesis 3, (H3): “Microfinance experience has a moderating impact on the relationship between Shariah rules, Shariah business knowledge, and entrepreneurship,” is rejected. Therefore, it can be concluded the variation in the levels of microfinance experience will not yield significant differences in the outcomes of MM & M-based business financing since this parameter does not have a significant moderating impact on the relationship of Shariah rules and Shariah business knowledge with entrepreneurship. This finding suggests microfinance institutions can offer MM & M instruments to clients with any amount of experience in dealing with microfinance.
Table 2 Multigroup moderation
Religiosity < ---- Shariah rules Religiosity < ---- Knowledge Entrepreneurship < ---- Knowledge Entrepreneurship < ---- Shariah rules Entrepreneurship < ---- Religiosity
Microfinance Experience (MExp) Low High Estimate P Estimate 0.115 0.140 0.362 0.149 0.012 0.128 0.203 0.000 0.156 -0.008 0.917 0.116 0.716 0.000 0.512
P 0.000 0.002 0.000 0.066 0.000
Z-score 2.61*** -0.287 -0.651 1.287 -0.803*
Notes: ***p-value 0.79. The measurement was designed by Burger et al. and translated into Arabic. Seven questions measure Mojamala. Six questions measure Hamola. Seven questions measure Somah.
3.3
Reliability Assessment
Cronbach’s alpha (α) is the considerable assumed reliability standard [43]. Based on Nunnally [44], for an EFA, a meaningful coefficient alpha (α = 0.70) displays heightened question homogeneity (or covariance) and points that the reevaluation of the domain has been picked adequately [45]. The Wasta measurement has a preliminary appropriate level of reliability for three factors, including Hamola, Mojamala, and Somah (Table 3). Therefore, the researchers proceeded with Somah, Hamola, and Mojamala as the three Wasta dimensions for additional model fit-test examinations.
3.4
Content Validity
The authors assumed a method utilized by MacKenzie et al. [46]. The authors delivered five inexperienced employees with a two-column table; the first one has construct meanings while the second contains the related queries. The inexperienced employees were then requested to fit definitions in the first table with queries in Table 2. In addition, the authors added an “unclassified” column for questions that did not correspond to the explanation in Table 1. With this approach, more than 79% of the inexperienced employees correctly corresponded to questions. This method does not pledge content validity, but it provides verification of scope adequateness [47]. Table 3 Scale reliability using reliability tests in SPSS 26 Dimension Mojamala Somah Hamola
Cronbach’s alpha 0.731 0.816 0.722
Number of items/questions 5 (Q14, Q17, Q18, Q18, Q19, Q20) 5 (Q1, Q2, Q4, Q6, Q9) 4 (Q8, Q13, Q15, Q16)
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Construct Validity
The researchers utilized AMOS and Gaskin Excel sheets to investigate the measurement reliability and construct validity. Construct validity comprises convergent validity, construct validity, discriminant validity, and content validity. Cronbach’s alpha reliability (α > 0.70). Content validity nourishes powerful proof of construct validity [47].
3.6
The Model Analysis
Chi-square (X2) is deemed sufficient if its value exceeds values of the degree of freedom three times [48]. Nonetheless, a smaller X2 enhances the model fit. In addition, an acceptable model fit has closer values for X2 value the degrees of freedom [49]. A nonsignificant chi-square is preferred in the model fit. Researchers and investigators can utilize many goodness-of-fit indices (GOI) to estimate CFA results [46]. These GOI measure the variance and covariance responsible for a model fit, in addition to the CFI, which maintains the sample size outcomes. Some scholars suggest the Tucker-Lewis, normalized fit, and adjusted goodness-of-fit indices [50] for the model fit (MF). A model is fit if it meets the following requirements [51]: (1) NFI is >0.90; (2) GFI is >0.90; (3) CFI is >0.93; and (4) RMSEA is 0.90. Bagozzi et al. [52] advise employing RMSEA; a value less than 0.05 is believed fine. To sum up, indices to be documented for the MF are guided by the guidance of Kline [53] and Boomsma’s [54] recommendations. Kline [53] suggests that researchers report the X2, p-value, CFI, degrees of freedom, RMSEA, R-square, and one simony fit indexes. In addition to the abovementioned indices, Boomsma [54] urges that researchers document each equation’s squared multiple correlations for their sensitivity to model misspecification, sample size, and parameter assessments. These tolerated indices (Table 4) are the most insensitive indices to parameter estimates, model misspecification, and sample size. Table 4 The values of the model fit indices and acceptable thresholds The fit model index NFI PNFI RMSEA CFI P-value Df Chi-square GFI Probability level
Index values 0.944 0.404 0.054 0.986 0.232 9 11.674 0.969 0.233
Adequate threshold of indices Value>0.95 Within range [41] Value0.95 Not sig. Value>0.95 Value>0.95 [43] No concerns
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Results and Analysis
The statistical chi-square for the analysis model was not significant (χ2 = 11.674, df = 9, p = 0.232). The CFI was 0.986, NFI was 0.944, RMR was 0.043, GFI was 0.969, and RMSEA was 0.052. These indices together proposed a good model fit [55]. Based on Mathwick and Rigdon [40], the individual question loadings were powerful at p < 0.001, and the standardized regression weights for all questions ranged from 0.624 to 0.846, indicating heightened convergent validity (Table 5).
4 Conclusions 4.1
Theoretical and Practical Implications
The study results affirm the three Wasta components (Mojamala, Hamola, and Somah). In addition, the writers uncover that Wasta scale is valid and reliable. The conclusions contribute to the literature by confirming the reliability and validity of the Wasta scale. The results also indicate that the Wasta scale is across the MENA, which raises the scale’s generalizability. Likewise, validating the newly developed Wasta scale is critical for the conceptualization of Wasta that helps investigators empirically estimate Wasta and examine the relationship between Wasta and favoritism, as well as Wasta and corruption. For practitioners, conceptualizing Wasta could aid foreign investors to manage, thrive, and succeed without infringing their principles of ethics and industry laws in western countries. Moreover, a sound, reliable, and valid Wasta scale would enable foreign companies doing business in the MENA to be aware of the unseen hand of Wasta, bear proactive steps, and bypass bribery threats. Further, understanding Wasta via a valid Wasta scale would facilitate multinational corporations to prioritize designing training programs that enlighten international assignees on the significance of cultural norms and values and how national culture links to business in the MENA.
4.2
Future Research
Future studies should examine more respondents in other collectivistic communities in Asia, Africa, and South and Latin America to comprehend whether cultural Table 5 The reliability and validity values using Gaskin Excel sheet test Dimension Somah Mojamala Hamola
Cr 0.753 0.767 0.902
AVE 0.505 0.523 0.730
MSV 0.372 0.372 0.214
ASV 0.293 0.283 0.204
Somah 0.711 0.610 0.463
Mojamala
Hamola
0.723 0.440
0.854
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variations and political strategies impact Wasta. Similarly, education appears to influence Wasta since those who are highly literate are inclined to be more Wasta resistant than less knowledgeable people. Therefore, the future investigation should control for personal factors such as education and age.
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How Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Influenced University Students’ Performance Negatively through Mental Health and Well-being Problems: The Case of Saudi Students Yousif Abdelrahim and Aliah Zafer
Abstract This research study examines the influence of the Covid-19 quarantine on students’ academic performance—the Grade Average Point (GPA)—among university students in Saudi Arabia while having online classes and exams during 2020, 2021, and 2022 school years. The authors got their primary data from 30 undergraduate university students (17 males and 13 females) who willingly responded to oneon-one and face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The authors used the grounded theory analysis approach and thematic analysis to analyze the data. The study results show that lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has caused and increased levels of students’ stress, anxiety, frustration, boredom, anger, and well-being issues among university students, which, in turn, have negatively influenced students’ academic performance. The results also show several other factors that have contributed to the student’s declining academic performance including lack of academic help, absence of socialization, scarcity of physical activities, and worries about getting an admirable job. In addition, this study develops a conceptual framework for the relationship between COVID-19, levels of students’ stress, anxiety, frustration, boredom, anger, and well-being of university students’ academic performance. The newly developed model illustrates how researchers can anticipate academic dwindling performance, specifically their GPAs during the pandemic. Researchers can use this study benchmark for further qualitative and quantitative research studies. Moreover, the study outcomes could be used as approaches for policymakers, university administrators, and faculty members when considering exams, homework, and assignments. Finally, the study results could help administrators consider other non-temporary and cosmetic solutions such as a pass/fail option to keep the students’ GPA not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences.
Y. Abdelrahim (✉) · A. Zafer Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_15
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1 Introduction Academic performance is of utmost importance to university and college students, all as their families because. Nowadays, in this very competitive world, it is difficult for new graduates to find a respected future job or get accepted in postgraduate studies in accredited and reputable universities. Therefore, academic performance for achieving high grades is the norm worldwide. For example, high grades increasingly overwhelm the Bangladeshi culture of high achievement and graduating with an honorary degree to acquire a job in a preferred organization [1]. In addition to the academic and social pressure on students caused by these many expectations and goal achievement, the COVID-19 pandemic, which created uncertainty for many students worldwide, has added worry, anxiety, stress, and other mental and situational issues to students and brought in existence a pass/fail option as a way to keep their GPA not affected by their weak academic performance. Researchers have done several studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students’ university levels of stress, depression, and anxiety through online classes. For instance, distance learning, which has been globally implemented at colleges and universities as an alternative to on-campus conventional education, has induced anxiety, depression, and stress among college and university students from benign to moderate to intense [2]. A recently disseminated study by AlAteeq et al. [3] on female university students in Saudi Arabia’s stress levels during the COVID-19 quarantine has uncovered a significant and positive correlation between the high stress levels and female students in online classrooms. According to a contemporary study conducted by Islam et al. [4], university students have suffered from mild and intense anxiety and stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Other researchers also confirmed that the COVID-19 outbreak has brought about mental health problems such as anxiety, stress, and depression [5]. Furthermore, negative emotions including helplessness, shame, boredom, anger, and anxiety negatively related to academic achievement [6]. These prior studies in the literature either relate the COVID-19 pandemic to anxiety, depression, stress, and anxiety or related stress, depression, and anxiety to academic performance. Nevertheless, previous studies have not recognized the COVID-19 pandemic as an external factor that influences academic performance and how impact happens via anxiety, boredom, lack of academic support, lack of socialization, anger, lack of physical activities, and frustration. Also, previous analyses have not developed a framework for investigators to help them understand how the COVID-19 pandemic relates to college and university students’ declining academic performance. This study endeavors to fill the abovementioned gap in the literature. Besides, the authors develop a theoretical framework that illustrates the relationship between COVID-19, anxiety, boredom, lack of academic support, lack of socialization, anger, lack of physical activities, and frustration and academic performance. Focusing on the COVID-19 pandemic as anxiety, stress, anger, boredom, frustration, and ill-being stimulator, the authors of this study address the following three questions: First, has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced university students’
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academic performance? Second, why have many university students’ academic performance declined during the COVID-19 lockdown? Third, what are the other factors that contributed to university students’ declining academic performance during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown? These research study findings might help college and university administrators, deans, chairs, and instructors to understand why students’ academic performance is on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic and why offering students pass/fail option is not the best solution to help students fix their GPAs or keep their GPAs at the same level. The study results could also help faculty members to extend their help to students to reduce students’ mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, university faculty members could help keep students away from mental health problems and declining academic performance. Instructors should consider the number of exams, assignments, and group projects that learners are required to complete throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, universities and colleges should think of academic performance as well as students’ wellbeing and mental health as a priority. Academically, these research findings could help researchers to understand that COVID-19 impacts on university students are above anxiety, depression, and stress. In that capacity, the COVID-19 pandemic impacts not only students’ levels of stress and anxiety but also students’ academic performance. Ultimately, the newly developed framework will open a door for more quantitative and robust studies.
2 Literature Review and Proposition Development 2.1
COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has generated mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, and stress [5]. COVID-19-related feelings of worry about several issues such as social isolation, social distancing, quarantine, and economic fallout might also create psychological mediators, nervousness, frustration, annoyance, loneliness, fear, worry, anger, guilt sadness, and helplessness [7]. These COVID-19 problems are the systematic characteristics of numerous individuals mourning from common mental health issues throughout a crisis and possibly after the crisis [8].
Grade Point Average (GPA) At colleges and universities, students’ grade point average (GPA) is a number that indicates how well or how high a student scored in his or her courses on average. In other words, GPA is the measure used by schools to summarize students’ academic achievement at the end of each semester, as well as the overall academic year(s). After the publication of final grades in each semester, a GPA scale usually ranges between 1.0 and 4.0.
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Stress and Anxiety
Brooks and Schweitzer [9] define anxiety as a “state of suffering and physiological sense of extremely alert or excitement in reaction to triggers, such as the potential for undesirable outcomes and unknown situations.” In that capacity, anxiety is acknowledged to include fear, stress, and nervousness, which are considered aversive and unwelcome emotion [10]. Stress is very much the body’s response to any alien emotional or bodily feeling that needs an adjustment or response from the human body. Stress possibly comes from any opinion or circumstance that drives a person to feel frustrated, nervous, angry, or nervous. Stress is a body response to unknown and challenging stimulants that demand considerable determination and effort. In other words, stressful responses, which are needed for such conditions, threaten to exceed a single individual [11]. Researchers have recognized that the prematurely depressive episodes normally develop to advance in acute sad life episodes [12]. Similarly, stressful life episodes usually come ahead of anxiety conditions [13]. The COVID19 lockdown situation students have lived and are still living in since 2020 is generally a stressful situation, as confirmed by AlAteeq et al. [3] in a study conducted on Saudi university female students.
COVID-19, Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Well-being, and Academic Performance The academic lives of students seem to be full of stress because of many internal and external expectations [14]. For instance, in India, the stress caused by the expectations of parents is the reason behind student suicide committed every 1 hour, as reported by the National Crime Records Bureau [15]. Rajendran and Kaliappan (1991) have pointed out five different academic stress sources including inappropriate study facilities, fear of failure, relationships with teachers, personal inadequacy, and issues related to teacher communications. Distance learning, which has been executed worldwide by colleges and universities as an option for on-campus education, has generated anxiety, stress, worry, anger, and depression among university students from benign to mild to extreme [2]. A recently published analysis by AlAteeq et al. [3] on college students’ stress levels in Saudi Arabia throughout the COVID-19 quarantine has uncovered a significant and positive correlation between female students in virtual classrooms and the high level of stress. In addition, a current study conducted by Islam et al. [4] revealed that university students in Bangladesh have suffered from mild and extreme anxiety and stress due to COVID-19 quarantine. In addition to impairing well-being and overall health, anxiety and depression symptoms could further adversely impact academic achievement among university students [16]. Furthermore, Frojd and Collaborators (2008) found that severity of depression is associated with academic performance and concentration difficulties. Moreover, a study done by Shi et al. [17] found a strong and positive relationship between student academic frustration and their academic
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performance among 450 students in China. Additionally, negative emotions including helplessness, shame, boredom, anger, and anxiety negatively related to academic achievement [6]. Besides, Banerjee [18] claims that lack of well-being (i.e., lack of physical activities and lack of academic support) is negatively related to academic achievement and good performance. Finally, studies have shown that socialization is a critical part of young adults in their everyday life [19] and socialization; therefore, students place a lot of importance on socialization [20]. Social scientists believe that socialization helps individuals to achieve and meet their goals [21]. Therefore, the authors conclude that anxiety, stress, depression, and other mental and external factors (i.e., lack of socialization, lack of academic support, lack of physical activities, academic boredom, anger, and frustration) caused by COVID-19 lockdown are more likely to be a contributing factor in students’ GPA deterioration. Hence, the authors argue that the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to students’ GPA deterioration and posits proposition 1 (P1), proposition 2 (P2), proposition 3 (P3), proposition 4 (P4), proposition 5 (P5), proposition 6 (P6), and proposition 7 (7): P1: COVID-19 pandemic causes stress, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the university and college students’ academic performance. P2: COVID-19 pandemic causes anxiety among university and college students, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the students’ academic performance. P3: COVID-19 pandemic causes anger among university and college students, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the students’ academic performance. P4: COVID-19 pandemic causes depression among university and college students, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the students’ academic performance. P5: COVID-19 pandemic causes ill-being among university and college students, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the students’ academic performance. P6: COVID-19 pandemic causes boredom, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the university and college students’ academic performance. P7: COVID-19 pandemic causes helplessness, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the university and college students’ academic performance. P8: COVID-19 pandemic causes a lack of academic support, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the university and college students’ academic performance. P9: COVID-19 pandemic causes a lack of physical activities, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the university and college students’ academic performance. P10: COVID-19 pandemic causes a lack of socialization, which, in turn, adversely contributes to the university and college students’ academic performance.
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3 Methodology 3.1
The Study Sample and Method of Data Collection
The authors collected this study’s qualitative data using a non-probability homogeneous convenience sample approach by requesting 30 junior and senior undergraduate volunteer students (13 females and 17 males) in the classroom and the library including female and male classes at Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, Saudi Arabia. According to Jager et al. [22], a researcher can obtain clearer generalizability using a homogeneous convenience sample concerning a conventional convenience sample. The authors conducted face-to-face semi-structured interviews. During these interviews, students were asked questions to identify and invite other students for the interview. The authors have explained the reason behind the interviews, the data confidentiality, and their right to drop from the interview. The authors assured the interviewees that their identification numbers (IDs) and names would not be identifiable in any succeeding report. Data collected were kept confidential without identification by IDs or names. In addition, the researchers have assured the interviewees that the collected data will be destroyed once the study results are reached. The age of the participated students ranges from 18 to 26 years old. The interviewers spent between 15 and 20 minutes on each face-to-face interview. Creswell [23] recommends that a grounded theory and phenomenological study include a sample size ranging from 5 to 25 interviews.
3.2
Data Analysis
The authors used the grounded theory to analyze the data collected. The data analysis comprises four steps. The first step in the data analysis began directly after the first one-on-one interview to absorb the content and make sense of it. The content analysis helped the researchers to comprehend what students are stating about online classes, COVID-19, GPA, stress, well-being, and worry. Similarly, the content analysis helped explain what students have said about their own lives throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Right after the first five interviews, the authors read the interview notes and transcripts four times to enlighten themselves with the interview transcript information. The authors highlighted some repeated keywords by the interviewees along with the information they got from open-ended inquiries. The authors also concentrated on how the first interviewee student was attempting to inform them about instructors who show carelessness about the hard time students go through throughout the COVID-19 pandemic by giving them the exact number of midterm exams, group projects, and homework assignments. The first interviewed student said worry and stress three times. The first interviewee caught the authors’ alert on how students could see their GPAs endangered the authors resumed reading and comprehending the interview transcripts one by one to be more aware of the
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Table 1 Data from the semi-structured interviews (N = 25) Interview themes Theme 1: COVID-19 Theme 2: Stress Subtheme 1: Unfocused Subtheme 2: Headaches Subtheme 3: Loss of appetite Subtheme 4: Exhaustion Theme 3: Anxiety Subtheme 1: Loneliness Subtheme 2: Loss of concentration Subtheme 3: Trouble sleeping Subtheme 4: Nervousness Subtheme 5: Worry Theme 4: GPA Theme 5: Ill-being Subtheme 1: Lack of academic support Subtheme 2: Lack of socialization Subtheme 3: Lack of physical activities Theme 6: Academic pressure
The theme repeated times by interviewees 46 34 15 9 5 12
Number of interviewees mentioned the theme 25 23 14 7 5 10
27 34 22 7 18 43
18 19 8 6 14 24
52 23 18 16 16
24 22 17 15 14
26
24
study data. Every time the authors read additional interview transcripts, they underlined the keywords repeated by the interviewees. In the second step, the authors conducted the discourse analysis to comprehend how students express their opinions about things in the interview; what type of phrases and terms students used to tell their stories; and what type of language they used to express their thoughts and opinions about COVID-19, mental health issues, and GPAs. Usually, in qualitative data analysis, researchers analyze what the interviewees say and what they have not said for several various grounds, including safety, culture, laws, religion, policies, personal interest, etc. In the third step of the data examination, the authors conducted a thematic analysis for coding and identifying the key topic theme and the subthemes. To achieve the coding, the authors had to read again all the 25 interview scripts 4 times. They also underlined all the keywords repeated by the interviewees to deduce the study themes, codes, and subthemes. The authors endeavored to count the words repeated by the interviewees in Table 1 to make sense of what the interviewees were focusing on throughout the interview. Furthermore, the authors asked some interviewees more questions founded on their reactions and answers to the questions they asked before. Finally, the authors stopped interviewing additional
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students when the interviewee students started to repeat the answers, which means there is no necessity for more repetition (i.e., the experimenter has reached a saturation state) (Table 1). In the last step, the authors outlined a proposed theoretical framework for the association between the COVID-19, mental health issues, and academic performance based on the connections between the themes and the subthemes of the analyzed data. Mental Health Issues Anxiety Boredom With Academic Activities Frustration + Covid -19
Anger Stress
_
Academic Performance {GPA}
Ill-Being {Lack of academic support} {Lack of physical activities} {Lack of socialization}
The Theoretical Framework between Mental Health Issues, and Academic Performance.
4 Findings Several respondents uncovered that their lives have altered drastically during the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of handling fear of being unhealthy or one of their household members. Considerable students likewise felt worried, anxious, nervous, isolated, alone, sad, unfocused, and angry. In addition, during the COVID-19 lockdown, students felt uncertain about their future, had trouble sleeping, were bored, had a headache, and had no appetite to eat. These are anxiety and stress feelings [24] respondents have experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic that mirror the research conclusions of Kecojevic et al. [2]; AlAteeq et al. [3]; and Aylie et al. [5]. One student expressed her frustration and anger saying: It is dull to sit home all day long just watching reading books, watching TV, and messaging friends. I guess everyone is isolated, feeling lonely with no friends, and feeling anxious about being infected. Nowadays, I cannot sleep like before the Covid-19 pandemic. I feel worried, and frequently I wake up at midnight. I just cannot rest thinking about my
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assignments and my health. I asked two of my friends, who told me that they face the same issues. Therefore, I am stressed out thinking about my GPA, I cannot study like before, and I still have to do many exams and homework assignments. Many of my friends are worried about their GPAs because they cannot study well while they are stressed out. Many times, we have no options to keep our GPAs not affected by choosing the pass/fail option. Keeping our GPAs high is critical to get a decent job and graduate with honor.
The pressure on college and university students caused by mental health issues of the COVID-19 quarantine, which developed uncertainty for numerous people worldwide, has also caused students’ academic performance to deteriorate. The declining students’ performance has forced some university administrators to offer their students a pass/fail option as a means to help students keep their GPAs at a certain level without compromising academic integrity. Few students said that they simply were stressed out by the COVID-19 doubtful time and worried about their GPAs deteriorating or their diplomas showing pass/fail. These responses give support to the findings of Abdelrahim [25] who claims that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused stress and anxiety for college and university students. In addition, the results align with the findings of Bernal-Morales et al. [16] and Frojd and Collaborators (2008) who concluded that the harshness of depression is linked to academic performance. The following statement is what one of the students has said to the interviewer: When I feel worried or stressed out about something important to me, I just can't study and do my homework assignments. I know that not studying is wrong, but it is not in my hand. I sometimes even cheat on an online test if the test is challenging because I feel anxious about my GPA and my future. Nowadays, it is tough to get a suitable job with an inferior GPA. Also, Dr. do not forget that some professors are even giving us too assignments regardless of this challenging time.
5 Discussion Several interviewed students uncovered that their personal lives have changed drastically during the COVID-19 lockdown. The students felt worried about being sick themselves or one of their family members being infected by the virus. In addition, the students felt isolated, unfocused, angry, sad, nervous, alone, bored, and uncertain about their school and job future, had trouble sleeping, had headaches, and had no appetite to eat. All the abovementioned issues are stress and anxiety feelings [24]. These anxiety and stress feelings encountered by university students during the COVID-19 pandemic mirror the research conclusions of AlAteeq et al. [3]; Aylie et al. [5]; Kecojevic et al. [2]. Therefore, there is no suspicion that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused university students to stress, and accordingly, anxiety and other mental issues. May students said that they were simply worried about their GPAs because they could not study well and keep up with many assignments and exams in a stressful situation. They were stressed out by the Covid-19 pandemic, academic pressure, and concerned about their GPAs deteriorating. These concerns about students’ academic
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performance are consistent with the findings of several researchers. For example, Frojd and Collaborators (2008) claimed that found severity of depression is associated with academic performance and concentration difficulties. In addition, Shi, Zhang, Wang, Yue, Wang did a study, & Qian [17] claimed a strong and positive relationship between student academic frustration and their academic performance among 450 students in China. Furthermore, negative emotions including helplessness, shame, boredom, anger, and anxiety negatively related to academic achievement ([6]. Besides, Banerjee, [18] claims that lack of well-being (i.e., lack of physical activities and lack of academic support) is negatively related to academic achievement and good performance. Finally, studies have shown that socialization is a critical part of young adults in their everyday life [19] and socialization, therefore, students place a lot of importance on socialization [20]. Social scientists believe that socialization helps individuals to achieve and meet their goals [21].
6 Conclusions The Covid-19 pandemic has changed considerable university students’ lives. A lot of students felt sad, nervous, isolated, unfocused, worried about being ill themselves or anyone of their family members, bored, unsure about their destiny, had a headache, angry, had trouble sleeping, and had no appetite to eat. These are all stress symptoms [24]. These anxiety and stress feelings encountered by university students during Covid-19 quarantine mirror the study findings of AlAteeq et al. [3]; Aylie et al. [5]; and Kecojevic et al. [2]. Therefore, there is no distrust that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused university students to stress and, consequently, anxiety. These research study’s conclusions could assist college administrators and instructors comprehend why the students’ GPAs throughout the COVID-19 pandemic are lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic to the point that many universities offered students the pass/fail option in an attempt to fix the problem. Many instructors are still reluctant to reduce the number of assignments, quizzes, and exams. The results could also assist faculty members to rethink their assessment methods to mitigate students’ stress and anxiety throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty members hold multiple options to evaluate students’ academic performance without sacrificing their mental health and GPAs throughout the COVID-19 academic year. Faculty members could and should lower the number of assignments, midterm exams, and homework throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to help ease anxiety and stress among college and university students.
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7 Research Limitations The authors completed this study through a semi-structured interview sample at one university in Saudi Arabia. The authors could not get hold of university students from additional universities in the area due to the COVID-19 pandemic and further restrictions in some universities. University students from different colleges and universities might have provided this examination with a richer viewpoint of different students. Face-to-face structured interviews might not be the best approach to collecting rich data since some students are very shy to express their honest opinions. Perhaps, culture or the fear for their safety and of other consequences could be a barrier. The most advantage of the face-to-face interviewees was that the researcher was the students; body language and facial expressions allowed the authors to understand what has not been said directly. Researchers should conduct this study at universities in different cultures [26, 27].
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China’s Economic Development and Response to COVID-19 Han Yue, Nur Haiza Nordin
, and Nur Naddia Nordin
Abstract While the coronavirus outbreak has been relatively stable in China, the proportion of infections in other countries has risen rapidly internationally, at a time when the pandemic has had a huge economic impact on global value chains and even caused tourism disruption. In the process of fighting the epidemic, China was the first to adopt strict and effective personnel control measures to prevent its large-scale spread, but even so, the impact of the epidemic will continue while the output will be sharply reduced. How China’s economy can adapt to local conditions to achieve the transformation of a resilient economic system under different circumstances will be a process of sudden convergence and conflict between theory and reality.
1 Introduction Financial stability is significant to a country as it measures the capabilities of the country in dealing with the crisis. The confirmed case of COVID-19 since the end of 2019 has gradually indicated a tragedy to the global economy. The year 2020 has a significant meaning to the world, especially for the citizens in the United States. On May 24, 2020, The New York Times reported the death toll in the United States caused by coronavirus infection has risen to 100,000 [1]. This could be known as grief to the United States as well as to everyone in the world. Other than the healthcare system, the terrified impact was also revealed in global economics, which has shown the unemployment rate in the respective country. Globalization connects people all over the world in both good and bad ways. People may learn cultural differences by travelling and overseas studying, and businessmen could have borderless business as well as leverage the international business entry strategies to benefit from the absolute advantage in other countries. Nevertheless, high infection rate due to the close contact between people resulted in the respective
H. Yue · N. H. Nordin (✉) · N. N. Nordin Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_16
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country’s leader to restrict people at home and prohibited them from gathering for any purpose. Eventually, the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in a halt in global activities. With the development of China, its GDP grew from 1.211 trillion in 2000 to 14.34 trillion in 2019 [2]. In addition to the massive network of factories in China, it becomes the world’s largest exporter, responsible for one-third of world manufacturing, and it successfully overtook Japan, Germany, and the United States to become the world’s largest exporter since 2004 [3]. Therefore, the interconnected relationship resulted in changes in the global economy if there is an issue in China’s economy. Then, China declared to lock down its provinces, restricted citizen movement within the countries, and led a halt of factory activities, and it caused a massive disruption of the global supply chain. The halt of business activities had eventually led to the negative impact to the global economy. Declination in the transaction of balance of payment will definitely influence the financial system. Without a healthy cash flow in a country, financial stability will be a worrying point for the country. Using macroeconomic variables as example, real exchange rate, real interest rate as well as the inflation rate are playing a crucial role in determining the financial status. According to Yang and Zeng [4], the phrase real exchange rate refers to the two countries’ respective national price level, in which the equivalent nominal exchange rate is used as an auxiliary to alter the unit of account, allowing two price levels to be established in a single currency. Meanwhile, real interest rate which is an interest rate that has been calibrated for either observed or predicted inflation is the perceived cost of consuming now rather than later [5]. Inflation rate is a term that is used to explain an increase in average prices in the economy. Through this, it can be seen that real exchange rate, real interest rate and inflation rate had a close connections with the financial status for a country. The increasing or decreasing that happens to these rates will also lead to positive or negative impacts to financial status of a country. The impacts of the pandemic would be more to negative impacts, which will lead to unstable financial system for the country. Higher unemployment rate indicates the human capital has not been utilized, and the gross domestic product could not be maximized to generate income for the country through business transactions. In fact [6], a higher inflation rate or lower positive balance of payment will decrease the development of the economy for the country. Instead of holding savings in the bank, nations with greater purchasing power suggest that the nations are willing to buy the goods [7]. As the income level is sufficient to cover the expenditures, this will certainly demonstrate positive debt servicing capabilities for the country. Since the amount of income is adequate to cover the expenses, this would definitely demonstrate the country’s optimistic debt servicing capabilities. In 2020, China’s economic growth continued to show a downward trend under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with GDP growth reaching a new low, and other changes, such as the international economic situation and geopolitical risks [8], became the main factors affecting China’s economy. The natural trend of China’s economy in 2022 will continue the contraction of supply and demand, and there are some important risks in China’s economic development in the future. China’s
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demand recovered with the end of the epidemic, but the epidemic greatly impacted the global total product demand, and the weak external demand pressure continued to exist. The recovery of import and export will still be restricted and affected by the epidemic abroad. This study will focus on analyzing the economic development under the epidemic situation and take countermeasures to promote the resumption of work and production in different industries. While the coronavirus outbreak has been relatively stable in China [9], the proportion of infections in other countries has risen rapidly internationally, at a time when the pandemic has had a huge economic impact on global value chains and even tourism disruption. In the process of fighting the epidemic, China was the first to adopt strict and effective personnel control measures to prevent the large-scale spread of the epidemic, but even so, the impact of the epidemic will continue while the output will be sharply reduced. Although in year 2022, the Chinese economy will usher in a wave of rebound, but the outbreak of the normalized background that China’s economy will also face risks and challenges outside of China, such as political risk, exchange rate fluctuations, unilateral, isolationism, etc., and China’s real estate prices and the international financial crisis conduction such as risk points, also become the potential factors that affect economic development.
2 China’s Economic Situation in the Context of COVID-19 2.1
The Supply Level
In production perspective, although the outbreak during China’s industrial added value in the first fall after rise trend, implement the process from negative to positive, but from the perspective of the operation of the three departments [10] leading manufacturing can along with the advancement of return to work and production and restoration plays an important role in the overall industrial development phase, the service recovery speed is relatively slow, Producers’ expectations can also be improved. It is important to note that China’s financial sector [11], real estate industry, and information transmission industry have all experienced economic growth in 2021 that is higher than that of 2019. This indicates that China has played a significant role in China’s macroeconomic policy, has improved supply and demand relations, and that manufacturing will recover more quickly than other industries. The adjustment of industrial structure also increases the added value of products in some high-tech industries and traditional manufacturing industries, which play a more obvious role in driving the economy.
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The Demand Level
From the perspective of the overall consumption form, in 2020, the total retail sales of social consumer goods in China decreased significantly year-on-year, showing a continuous trend of narrowing. This suggests that the pandemic has had a devastating impact on China’s economy, with consumption growing off a cliff in the early stages of the pandemic. However, after 2021, although there were still sporadic cases of epidemic in the whole country, the epidemic was effectively controlled [12], so the consumer demand gradually recovered and the consumption growth rate began to tend to a relatively normal level. Especially with the stimulus of certain national policies and promotional policies, the automobile consumer industry and some other industries began to step into the right track. From the perspective of investment analysis, investment in early 2020 at the start of the epidemic, also show the cliffs drop problem, later with the improvement of the national epidemic control and the recovery of investment growth, the overall investment structure was optimized, the first industry investment growth rose sharply, toughness, high and new technology industry has a high branch development features outstanding toughness economic theory. Certain high-frequency data will stand out. In terms of import and export, driven by the growth of the import of bulk agricultural products and the unexpected growth of foreign investment, the export volume of some of China’s foreign trading partners has always maintained a growing trend. For example, ASEAN was China’s main trade object during the pandemic.
2.3
The Price Level
The impact of the pandemic led to a sharp rise in CPI in early 2020, typified by a sharp rise in pork prices. Then in 2021, after pig production gradually returned to normal, the supply increased significantly, and pork prices began to fall simultaneously, and CPI also fell. After that, the overall economic and employment situation is stable.
2.4
Financial Level
From the financial level, in 2020, China’s more relaxed monetary policy, especially the supply of monetary base, speeds up obviously; social financing scale amount is significantly higher than in 2019; this shows that the financial institutions increase the credit support to the real economy [13]; some firm can work on my own needs to complete medium- and long-term loans and keep the enterprise management activity
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and management effectiveness. After the COVID-19 outbreak was controlled in 2021, the scale of social financing increased and credit expanded.
3 The Main Influencing Factors and Trends of China’s Economic Development After the Epidemic 3.1
Main Influencing Factors
At the end of 2021, the world economic situation is still in a complex and severe situation [14], and various derivative risks have begun to emerge under the impact of the epidemic. Different types of international economic factors will have corresponding impacts on China’s economy, among which the most typical content is the international epidemic control factors [15]. Many countries in the world have obvious defects in epidemic control, which fully shows that China’s export and foreign trade will be affected to different degrees, and many other countries except China will difficulty in recovering to the level of economic growth before the epidemic. China’s foreign trade may be in 2022 or even a longer period of time. Slowing demand in the global economy suggests there is scope and potential for the yuan to rise. In addition, geopolitical risks will still become a major factor affecting economic development in 2022. In particular, after some unexpected situations occurred in China-India relations and China-Vietnam relations in 2020, the situation in the Middle East also changed again. The instability of the international situation will expand trade barriers and pose new challenges to China’s outbound investment. This could lead to property losses for some Chinese investments abroad. In another example, from the perspective of China-US relations [16], there are still many uncertain risk conditions in the implementation of China-US trade and trade negotiations due to stars and geopolitical factors. Such differences will affect China’s economic trend in 2021 and beyond. On the premise that the RMB exchange rate is likely to rise, the substantial appreciation of RMB will inevitably affect the stability of the financial market, which tests China’s risk management ability and prevention and control ability of the financial economy. In general, the dependence of China’s economy on foreign trade is still at a high level, and China needs to continuously improve its trade discourse power in the existing global trading system.
3.2
Trend of Economic Development
In 2021, China’s total retail sales increased year-on-year, and the retail sales of consumer goods increased significantly. The reason is that residents have correctly recognized the possible adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, so they will
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have early consumption behavior. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has also adversely affected social employment, and the real income of residents is actually decreasing year-on-year. Although Internet finance has a good space for development, the marginal effect of the growth of online consumption on the total retail sales of social consumer goods has been compressed.
3.3
International Economic Situation
From the perspective of import and export, China’s import and export growth in 2021 is in a gradual upward trend and will continue to increase in 2022 and even the subsequent stages. The global economic recovery is slow, and the impact of COVID19 on the economy is obvious. However, China has taken very effective measures to cope with the epidemic, and the real economy has significantly improved. Of course, due to the repeated COVID-19 outbreaks, although the risk of a large-scale outbreak is on the downward trend, the negative impact on the economy cannot be ignored. The global economy is still in the process of a slow recovery, and China’s aggregate supply growth will be restrained, considering the adverse disruption caused by some small outbreaks.
3.4
China’s Economic Risk Points
Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, fiscal policies have been focused on the tasks of six guarantees and six stabilizations to improve economic response measures and level [1], so as to hedge the downward pressure on the economy. However, it should be noted that the exchange rate risk and currency crisis risk still exist. The reason for the appreciation of the RMB is that China’s economy recovered the fastest against the backdrop of the global pandemic. However, with the improvement of the international epidemic control level in the future, China’s exchange rate appreciation trend may not be sustainable for a long time, and the overall international economic environment is still in an unfriendly state, which indicates that the RMB may depreciate at a certain point in the future. Therefore, exchange rate fluctuations will directly affect the business activities of import and export enterprises and even bring risks at different levels to the macroeconomy.
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4 Economic Development Policies in the Context of the Pandemic 4.1
Overall Economic Objectives
Since 2021, China’s economy and the global economy have been in a state of slow recovery, and the popularization of COVID-19 vaccine in 2021 has made China’s economic situation to be normal. The society has focused on the steady and reasonable operation of employment and people’s livelihood and controlled the strength and pace of macro adjustment. It is suggested that in the following period of time, we will not set a clear target for economic growth but ensure social harmony and stability under the premise of safeguarding the current economic situation and strive to achieve the same level as in previous years. China’s current macro-control system should accurately assess the market dynamics from the perspectives of demand and supply. On the one hand, it should restore the market regulation function to eliminate market failures, and on the other hand, it should play its due value from the perspectives of demand and supply management. Facing the double contraction of supply and demand, China should adopt expansionary demand management policy and expansionary fiscal policy and intensify efforts in infrastructure construction and foreign trade, so as to promote market reform and open wider to the outside world.
4.2
China’s Economic Measures
From the perspective of China’s economic measures, relevant enterprises should be encouraged to reduce production and operation costs and financing costs. In addition, government departments can take capital and policy preferences to some enterprises seriously affected by the epidemic and provide low-interest loans and interest-free loans to some enterprises to increase support. In terms of market environment management, we will promote deregulation and service reform to create a business environment and ensure the stability and consistency of various policies with the help of market orientation. What should be noted here is that the massive popularization of COVID-19 vaccine will provide critical support for the safety of people in society and create a more stable and orderly public health environment. China has been leading the world in the fight against COVID-19 and economic recovery in 2021, but there are still serious challenges to control the epidemic in the future. Small outbreaks occurred in many parts of China in 2021, suggesting that the impact of COVID-19 on society will continue.
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5 Conclusion In terms of market environment management and supply and demand management, China has a more complete regulatory system than foreign countries, which has enabled China to actively respond to the COVID-19 pandemic without deviating from the original economic track. The Chinese government should adopt targeted fiscal policy and monetary policy support to accelerate the growth rate of China’s economy, fully tap the internal growth momentum, and build it into a key carrier of stable economic operation. In addition, after entering the New Year, how to achieve the Chinese economy to adapt to local conditions to complete the transformation of the resilient economic system under different circumstances will be a process of convergence and conflict between theory and reality.
References 1. Moreau J (2020) Variety. Retrieved from New York Times Front Page Honors Coronavirus Victims as U.S. Death Toll Nears 100. https://variety.com/2020/biz/news/new-york-timescoronavirus-cover-death-toll-100k-1234615168/ 2. The World Bank (n.d.) Retrieved from GDP - China: https://data.worldbank.org/country/china? view=chart 3. Zaman G, Oehler-Sincai LM (2019) Computation of China’s export performance. Rom J Econ Forecast 22:170–189 4. Yang BZ, Zeng T (2014) A note on the real currency exchange rate: definitions and implications. J Int Bus Econ 2(4):45–55 5. Eichengreen B (2007) The real exchange rate and economic growth. Soc Econ Stud 56(4):7–20 6. Li Y, Hou S, Zhang Y, Liu J, Cao C (2021) The effect of travel restrictions of Wuhan city against the covid-19: a modified seir model analysis. Disaster Med Public Health Prep 16:1–29 7. Tan J, Lo K, Qiu F, Zhang X, Zhao H (2020) Regional economic resilience of resource-based cities and influential factors during economic crises in China. Growth Chang 51:362 8. Nicola M, Alsafi Z, Sohrabi C et al (2020) The socio-economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19): a review. Int J Surg 78:185–193 9. Mamedyarov Z (2021) The impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the global economy and innovative development. 10. Hu X, Li L, Dong K (2022) What matters for regional economic resilience amid covid-19? Evidence from cities in Northeast China. Cities (London, England) 120:103440 11. Joshi H (2022) Do precautionary corporate cash holdings help during the economic shocks? Evidence from the Covid-19 pandemic. FIIB Bus Rev. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 23197145221110286 12. Zhou C, Xie W, Wu J (2017) Review and prospect of regional planning practices and theories in China since the reform and opening up. Areal Res Dev
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13. Martin R, Sunley P (2020) Regional economic resilience: evolution and evaluation. In: Bristow G, Healy A (eds) Handbook on regional economic resilience. Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenham 14. Sunley P, Martin R (2015) On the notion of regional economic resilience: conceptualization and explanation. J Econ Geogr 15:1 15. Rao PHN, Vihari NS, Jabeen SS (2021) Reimagining the fashion retail industry through the implications of COVID-19 in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. FIIB Bus Rev 10(4):327–338 16. Li L, Zhang P, Tan J, Guan H (2019) A regional economic resilience approach to the economic revitalization process in Liaoning old industrial base, China. Sci Geogr Sin
From the Perspective of Sustainable Development Concept: Research on Enterprise Environmental Accounting Information Disclosure Mechanism and Influencing Factors Xia Fang, Noorshella Che Nawi, and Siti Afiqah Zainuddin
Abstract Exporting Chinese companies have issues of low added quality and great energy usage, which limit their potential. The sustainable growth of exports is being supported by a variety of environmental management approaches. Companies’ growth in the latest days has been influenced significantly by environmental information disclosure (EID). When it comes to EID, this research is based on financial information from Chinese firms. For this investigation, certain hypotheses are developed, and also variables are measured. Furthermore, the correlation and multicollinearity test and Bartlett’s test are employed to perform the statistical analysis. Finally, the performance of this research is examined and compared with certain existing research. Exporters are more likely to make decisions based on environmental information if it is made available. EID has a negative influence on exports, while development, funding, and subsidies have a positive impact on trade. These research findings are depicted in the graphical formation by employing the Origin tool.
X. Fang (✉) Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia N. C. Nawi Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, University Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia S. A. Zainuddin Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, University Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia Department Accounting, Economics and Finance, School of Business Administration, European University Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_17
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1 Introduction A green credit policy and corporate environmental information disclosure (CEID) are both environmental and economic strategies for enforcing business environmental standards. Studies in the past have focused mostly on the function of green credit in reducing emissions. Environmental protection agencies and financial institutions collaborated on these policies to improve credit management and assist in the preservation of the environment [1, 2]. Figure 1 depicts the disclosure of EMA and EFA through CER.
2 Literature Review Wang et al. [3] used functional data analysis (FDA) to investigate the association between EID and company performance. This research studied the dynamic impact and structural break of EID on the financial performance of 75 Chinese listed enterprises in pollution-intensive sectors. Xu and Cailing [4] examined the link between the coal industry’s financial success and environmental information disclosure. An environmental information disclosure system is not only enriched but also helps heavy pollution enterprises make decisions based on financial performance. Further, it gives government agencies an empirical foundation on which to build a perfect and consistent environmental information disclosure system. According to Li et al. [5], when it comes to protecting the environment, environmental information
Fig. 1 Disclosure of EMA and EFA through CER
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disclosure (EID) is a new instrument. The geographical-temporal development features and affecting variables of EID in China were examined using a dynamic spatial panel model and the Pollution Information Disclosure Index (PITI) for 120 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019. Agyemang et al. [6] looked at how board features affect how listed Chinese mining firms disclose environmental accounting information. Using the data, researchers may address a vacuum in knowledge on environmental disclosure-related circular economy efforts in underdeveloped countries as supported by a parallel study about circular economy. Culture can also influence environmental information disclosure. Companies operating in countries with individualist, masculine, and indulgent cultures are less likely to disclose environmental information. Cultures with a long-term orientation also discourage the reporting of environmental information, while uncertainty avoidance contexts tend to promote more environmental reporting [7]. Lastly, Hong Tao Chen et al. [8] found that governmental financial competition in tropical and subtropical regions regulates the quality of EID of listed companies in their jurisdictions through indirect effects on enterprises with different ownership and profitability.
3 Problem Statement To evaluate nonmarketed goods and services, they calculate the marketable worth of comparable things. Depreciation is a component of the national accounting system that takes physical assets like infrastructure into account.
4 Proposed Methodology For this study, several hypotheses have been formulated and several variables have been measured. Statisticians use Bartlett'’s test as well as tests for correlation and multicollinearity. For the last step in the evaluation, the results of this study are compared to previous studies.
4.1
Dataset
A total of 69 firms were included in the analysis, after excluding those with inadequate financial information and those listed on the ST and ST exchanges. Statistical analysis software SPSS.16 is used in empirical research to acquire useful data.
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Hypotheses Development
Environmental accounting information will be aggressively disclosed by listed firms to build a positive corporate image and attract more collaboration and investment. Hypothesis 1 Companies that disclose more environmental accounting information tend to be more profitable. Hypothesis 2 Firms with a positive attitude, a strong sense of social responsibility, and a positive public image may be eligible for government environmental subsidies and other policy benefits. Hypothesis 3 It has been shown that the more environmental accounting information a company discloses, the better its potential to grow.
4.3
Measurement of Variables
(i) Definition of dependent variables: After taking into account several variables, such as a company’s profitability, debt load, and rate of expansion, financial performance may be used to assess its overall health and prospects. (ii) Definition of independent variables: In China, there is presently no compulsion for the disclosure of environmental information. (iii) Definition of control variables: Numerous variables, including variances in the size and governance structure of different businesses, were taken into account. Table 1 indicates the measurement of variables.
4.4
Statistical Analysis
Certain hypotheses are formulated, and variables are measured as part of this inquiry. The statistical analysis also makes use of the correlation and multicollinearity tests, as well as Bartlett’s test. (i) Correlation and Multicollinearity Test Because correlation is so strong, it is possible for the model to be incorrectly fit and the findings to be misinterpreted.
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Table 1 Measurement of variables Variable types Dependent variables
Independent variables Control variables
Variables The net asset return The ratio of an asset to liabilities Operating revenue growth rate Index of environmental accounting disclosures Enterprise-scale
Code Y1 Y2 Y3
Tradeable share count
CS
To a greater or lesser extent
INDR
Definition of variables Average net assets divided by profit Liabilities divided by the company’s total assets Operating profit for the entire semester lower commercial income from the prior period Quality of disclosures/total disclosure item scores Whole asset value as measured by its natural logarithm Entire capital stock divided by the number of non-tradable shares The ratio of independent directors to the total number of board members
EDI SIZE
(ii) Bartlett’s Test For the homogeneity of variance, Bartlett’s test relies on (d – 1) degrees of freedom, where d is the number of independent variables. If d populations have equal variances, Bartlett’s test is employed. Null hypothesis testing is our goal: L0 : σ 21 = σ 22 = . . . = σ 2d
ð1Þ
In favor of the option that the variances of at least two populations are not equal, Bartlett’s test follows a simple protocol, as shown below ( j = l. . . .,d). The test statistic has the following indicators: d
ðV - DÞ ln S=
ðvx - 1Þb2x V -D
x=1
1 þ 3ðd 1- 1Þ
-
d x = 1 ð vx
d 1 x = 1 vx - 1
-
- 1Þ ln b2x
1 V -D
ð2Þ
where V is equal to the total number of samples. It has (d - 1) degrees of freedom and is asymptotically distributed as two distributions.
5 Result Evaluation Finally, the research’s performance is evaluated and compared to other studies. If environmental data is accessible, exporters are more likely to use it.
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Results for Collinear and Multicollinearity Test (CMCT)
Table 2 indicates the test results for CMCT.
5.2
Results for Bartlett’s Test
Table 3 indicates the test results for Bartlett’s test.
5.3
Accuracy
Accuracy and precision are both required for the best grade measurement. A collection of measurements need not be exact to be precise. A set of measurements may be grouped by value. Table 2 Test results for CMCT Items Y1 Y2 Y3 Environmental accounting disclosure score “EDI” “CS” “SIZE” “INDR” Number of effective cases (listed)
N 69 69 69 68 68 69 68 69 69
Minimum value 0.275 26.218 -9.729 1.001
Maximum value 25.266 75.61 75.61 16.001
Mean value 8.55 52.957 23.107 10.802
SD 5.663 13.415 21.336 3.681
0.06 0.086 22.923 0.232
0.942 1.002 27.1 0.501
0.637 0.825 24.311 0.349
0.217 0.258 1.124 1.124
Table 3 Test results for Bartlett’s test Items Y1 Y2 Y3 Environmental accounting disclosure score EDI CS SIZE INDR Number of effective cases (listed)
N 69 69 69 68 68 68 69 68 68
“Minimum value” 0.274 26.22 -9.73 1.003
“Maximum value” 25.27 75.62 75.63 16.003
“Mean value” 8.56 52.96 23.108 10.805
SD 5.664 13.416 21.337 3.682
0.07 0.088 22.924 0.233
0.943 1.003 27.4 0.504
0.64 0.826 24.315 0.345
0.218 0.259 1.126 1.127
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Fig. 2 Accuracy of proposed and existing methods
Accuracy = TP þ TN TP þ TN þ FP þ FN
ð3Þ
The accuracy of the proposed and current approaches is shown in Fig. 2.
5.4
Specificity
A test may be rigged to only provide a positive result if it is the one in which it is the most confident. An illustration of the sensitivity of suggested and current approaches is shown in Fig. 3.
6 Discussion ANOVA is based on significant assumptions about the data. As a result, it is less helpful than the t-test, which is more beneficial in most circumstances. The postANOVA t-test requires further testing [9]. Chi-Square test (existing) a reduced sample size means that the chi-square test will provide incorrect conclusions. Limitations include the need for a large number of categories in the independent
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Fig. 3 Sensitivity of proposed and existing methods
or dependent variables, difficulties in interpretation, and a propensity for the Cramer’s V to generate low correlation measurements even for highly significant findings [10]. Fisher exact test (existing) difficulty is exacerbated by the fact that it is often utilized when sample sizes are tiny, which means that the findings based on small samples cannot be trusted no matter what the statistical test’s outcome [11]. Student’s t-test (existing) ordinal variables, such as parasite scores, typically cannot even resemble a normal distribution, with the additional drawback that the arithmetic mean offers an inadequate measure of location, and the t-test is commonly misused for such ordinal variables [12]. The correlation and multicollinearity tests, as well as Bartlett’s test, are also used in the statistical analysis, and better results will be obtained.
7 Conclusion Listed firms’ financial performance is examined regarding their disclosure of environmental information. Disclosure of environmental accounting information is positively correlated with the profitability of China’s publicly traded enterprises, according to this study. Because of their high levels of pollution, the government has mandated that certain companies make their environmental accounting information public. In addition to exhibiting their responsible business practices and getting federal subsidies and advantageous taxes for environmental conservation, firms that
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openly report high-quality environmental accounting information also profit from less financing costs. The amounts of environmental accounting disclosure and borrowing have no connection at all. When debt is large enough, it may act as a financial leverage without influencing the performance of environmental accounting information disclosure. The levels of environmental accounting information disclosure and technical capabilities have a good relationship. A successful company reputation and higher market share are both assisted by firms’ increased engagement in the disclosure of environmental information and the rising public knowledge of concern for the environment.
References 1. Wang F, Yang S, Reisner A, Liu N (2019) Does the green credit policy work in China? The correlation between green credit and corporate environmental information disclosure quality. Sustainability 11(3):733 2. Mody RN, Bhoosreddy AR (1995) Multiple odontogenickeratocyst: a case report. Ann Dent 54(1–2):41–43 3. Wang D, Li X, Tian S, He L, Xu Y, Wang X (2021) Quantifying the dynamics between environmental information disclosure and firms’ financial performance using functional data analysis. Sustain Prod Consum 28:192–205 4. Xu C (2021) Study of environmental accounting information disclosure and financial performance of heavy pollution enterprises—based on empirical evidence of coal enterprises. In: 6th International Conference on Economics, Management, Law and Education (EMLE 2020), Atlantis Press, pp 533–540 5. Li Y, Zhang X, Yao T, Sake A, Liu X, Peng N (2021) The developing trends and driving factors of environmental information disclosure in China. J Environ Manag 288:112386 6. Agyemang AO, Yusheng K, Ayamba EC, Twum AK, Chengpeng Z, Shaibu A (2020) Impact of board characteristics on environmental disclosures for listed mining companies in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27(17):21188–21201 7. Pucheta-Martínez MC, Gallego-Álvarez I (2019) Corporate environmental disclosure practices in different national contexts: the influence of cultural dimensions. Organ Environ 33(4): 597–623 8. Chen HT, Han W, An ML (2019) Regional fiscal competition and corporate environmental information disclosure: provincial-level evidence from China. Trop Conser Sci 12: 194008291983991 9. Yang LH, Liang XT (2017) Study on the influencing factors of environmental accounting information disclosure. In: International Conference on Economics, Management Engineering and Marketing (EMEM 2017), pp 134–141 10. Susanto A, Meiryani M (2019) The impact of environmental accounting information system alignment on firm performance and environmental performance: a case of small and medium enterprises s of Indonesia. Int J Energy Econ Policy 9(2):229 11. Horvat T, Mojzer J (2019) Influence of company size on accounting information for decisionmaking of management. Naše gospodarstvo/Our Economy 65(2):11–20 12. Ofoegbu GN, Megbuluba A (2016) Corporate environmental accounting information disclosure in the Nigeria manufacturing firms. Int J Manag Sci Bus Res 5(12):13
Is Your Organization’s Operational Risk Management Practice Up to Snuff? A Multiple-Case Study on Businesses in Kelantan, Malaysia Farahwahida Mohd Abu Bakar , Siti Afiqah Zainuddin , Borhan Abdullah , Noorshella Che Nawi , Noorul Azwin Md Nasir Tahirah Abdullah , Mohd Rushdan Yasoa’ , Nur Izzati Mohamad Anuar , Liyana Ahmad Afip , and Siti Zamanira Mat Zaib
,
Abstract Many businesses, particularly Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), are effectively controlling their enterprises from different threats and dangers because of today’s operational risk management strategies. Despite having used an operational risk management system for a long time, some firms continue to fail to control their operational risk. Where is the blunder? The primary goal of this research is to find out how MSMEs implement operational risk management systems. A qualitative research strategy was used. In Malaysia, four case studies on MSMEs have been done. A thematic analysis is used to analyze data gathered
F. Mohd Abu Bakar (✉) Malaysian Institute of Information Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Malaysia e-mail: [email protected] S. A. Zainuddin Malaysian Institute of Information Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Department Accounting, Economics and Finance, School of Business Administration, European University, Cyprus B. Abdullah Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Sabah, Malaysia N. C. Nawi Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, University Malaysia Kelantan, Kota Bharu, Malaysia N. A. M. Nasir · T. Abdullah · M. R. Yasoa’ · N. I. M. Anuar · S. Z. M. Zaib Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, UMK, Kelantan, Malaysia L. A. Afip Faculty of Language Studies and Human Development, UMK, Kelantan, Malaysia © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 N. Mansour, L. M. Bujosa Vadell (eds.), Finance, Accounting and Law in the Digital Age, Contributions to Management Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27296-7_18
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through a series of unstructured interviews with the case firms’ management, owner, and operational worker. According to the findings, majority of MSMEs do not have an operational risk management system that is led by a proper framework. To detect and address risks in most cases, organizations rely only on accounting systems and human controls by the owner and employees. This study made a significant contribution by introducing an appropriate framework to MSMEs that can be used as a reference for their existing operational risk management practice.
1 Introduction In this current business environment, businesses are required to compete in a global digital, volatile, and dynamic market [1]. As more markets have opened up for products, this has created the potential to increase sales and profits [2–8]. Digitalization opens more opportunities for business; in this regard, people are trained to be familiar with digital technology, especially in relation to its application in managing the financial aspect of the business [9]. Students and curriculum at school are prepared to adapt the shift toward more digitalize practice (see [10–14]), this is to prepare future generation and young entrepreneurs get better understanding on modern business landscape and to help them see anything that can potentially become opportunity and challenges to their modern business. Despite these advantages and prospects, businesses confront stiff competition in terms of quality, pricing, timely market entry, risk, and uncertainty. As a result, firms must enhance their adaptability, quality standards, innovative capacity, and attitude to risk and uncertainty management [15, 16]. Businesses will need a well-managed operational strategy, including an operational risk management system, experienced and trained staff, dependable machines, efficient processes, good relationships with suppliers and customers, a supply of high-quality materials and services, and other valueadding processes throughout the operations system to achieve this [17]. This is rarely done, and many organizations, particularly MSMEs, confront a variety of business risks in their day-to-day operations that threaten to diminish productivity, raise expenses and liabilities, and lower profitability [18, 19]. When firms find themselves in a situation where unforeseen events disturb normal operations, resulting in financial loss and reputational damage, this poses a risk [20]. As mentioned earlier, operational risk can be anything that could potentially harm the business. For instance, customer, supplier, and employee are the biggest source of risks to the business operation. Potentially, that is the reason in managing operational risks; there’s much research that gave attention to this aspect (see [21–23]). Business owner is not the only entity responsible in facing decision-making process [10, 11] and in protecting business from potential risks [24]. Shareholders, partners, investors, and capital lenders expect businesses to identify and reduce potential disruption risks, and they are also included as among the entities that can highlight the potential risks to the business [25]. To cope with this, risk assessment is an essential tool for all business [26, 27]. Despite the fact that risk assessment tools
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such as risk scorecards are available on the market [28], findings show that MSMEs do not formally assess and manage their risks, instead opting for a reactive approach that includes risk avoidance and risk transfer tactics [29]. Moreover, such available risk assessment tools are general for all businesses and not specific to the MSMEs nature.
2 Problem Statement, Research Objectives, Questions Many studies related to risk management practices were conducted. However, many of these studies look on how risk management practices in big size businesses. It is well understood that risk management system is a must and is affordable to be implemented, and the process can be done effectively by well-trained risk management officers. It is full of positive reasons why risk management is effectively practiced in big-size business. Unfortunately, the reason for risk management practice is different for MSMEs. MSMEs do not have the same reason as those big-size business due its size and capacities. Although the issue is obvious, there is lack of study exploring this further. To close the gap, this study aims to reveal risk management practice by MSMEs and to explore the reason for its effectiveness. Four interviews conducted with MSME business owners through a case study approach. There is one primary research question that need to be answered: How MSMEs practice risk management in their business operations?
3 Literature Review SME Corporation of Malaysia is a government-related agency responsible for governing MSMEs in Malaysia. As of 2018, MSMEs represented 98.5% of the country’s total registered firms, while the service sector represented 62.4% of the country’s total number of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Micro-, small-, and medium-sized companies (MSMEs) generated 38.3% of the nation’s gross domestic product as of December 2018 [30]. In Malaysia, Selangor (19.8%) and Kuala Lumpur (14.7%) have the highest concentration of MSMEs, followed by Johor (10.8%) [31]. Multiple essential sectors in Malaysia have been included and grown by MSMEs. MSMEs are divided into two categories: manufacturing and services, and other industries. There are context-specific Malaysian businesses incorporating MSMEs in both sectors, including retail, plantation, agricultural, and aquaculture. In Malaysia, MSMEs can be separated into manufacturing, service, and other sectors. Microcompanies are classed as MSMEs if they have less than RM300,000 in annual sales or less than five employees. Alternately, a small manufacturing firm is described as a business with five to seventy-five employees and yearly revenues between RM300,000 and RM15 million. A small business in the services and other industries employs between 5 and 30 employees and generates between RM300,000 and RM3 million annually. A medium-sized manufacturing company has between
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Fig. 1 ISO ERM framework
75 and 200 employees and between RM15 million and RM50 million in sales. For services and other sectors, a medium enterprise is defined as a business with a RM3 million to RM20 million annual sales volume and 30 to 75 people [32, 33]. These are how MSMEs were categorized. These MSMEs are given a few examples of operational risk management guideline that are available in the market to be used as guideline in implementing risk management. The two prominent guideline or framework are published by The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) that can be purchase for $119 $169 and the other one from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) that can be purchase for CHF 58 as depicted in both Figs. 1 and 2 below. The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) was founded in the middle of the 1980s to originally fund research into the reasons of dishonest financial
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Fig. 2 COSO ERM framework
reporting. Its current mission is to provide thought leadership through the development of comprehensive frameworks and guidance on enterprise risk management, internal control, and fraud deterrence in order to improve organizational performance and governance and reduce the incidence of fraud in organizations. Although COSO’s guidance is voluntary, it has proven significant since it provides frameworks for evaluating and improving risk management and internal control systems. Corporate scandals, which arose in organizations with inadequate risk management and internal control and attempts to regulate corporate behavior as a result of these scandals, have created an environment in which guidance on best practices in risk management and internal control has been especially welcome. As a result, the COSO framework for risk management serves as the primary guideline for data collection and analysis of this study. The COSO ERM framework is depicted in Fig. 3 as a three-dimensional cube with the following components: (a) four vertical columns representing risk
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Fig. 3 COSO Three-dimensional cube. Source: accaglobal.com
management goals and (b) eight horizontal rows representing risk components. Several vertical columns define the organizational hierarchy of the company, from parent to subsidiary. The goals of risk management in COSO’s ERM are to assure the implementation of specified plans, the efficacy and efficiency of operations, the accuracy of financial reports, and compliance with all applicable processes and regulations. To achieve this objective, COSO’s ERM defines eight risk management components that are executed at each level of a business. Enterprise risk management (ERM) model developed by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations for the Control of Organizational Risk (COSO) has become a widely used framework for organizations. The framework has been developed as a model that may be applied in a variety of global situations, despite criticism. COSO’s recommendations showed the ERM model as a cube. COSO intended for the cube to highlight the connections between the objectives depicted on the top and the eight components depicted on the front, which indicate what is required to accomplish the objectives. The third dimension reflects the organization’s units, which demonstrates the model’s capacity to focus on both portions and the total of the organization.
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4 Research Methodology 4.1
Research Context
This research is a component of a bigger effort to analyze how ORM technology is being deployed in Malaysian MSMEs and how it is assisting in enhancing their performance. Micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises in Malaysia confront a number of risks and uncertainties (e.g., due to COVID-19 pandemic outbreak and government lockdown and movement control order policy). However, due to its modest size, it is easier to manage than bigger firms. One of the strategies that can be used to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of a business is realizing its capacity and capability in managing operational costs, which are associated with its ability to manage operational risk in reducing transactional costs. Due to the fact that risk management is both an industrial and political concern, the Malaysian government has made it a top priority and is undertaking large-scale programs to encourage risk management knowledge, training, and implementation among Malaysian firms. Beginning with a series of debates in the House of Representatives and the House of Parliament on risk management issues, state and government-affiliated corporations are now promoting systematic risk management programs, a standardized framework, and best practices to aid in the development, implementation, and evolution of the discipline in organizations. Micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises, together with other economic entities that contribute to the national revenue, have complimented the national agenda that encourages sustainability and competitiveness, including the adoption of risk management. Risk management plans at many ministries, agencies, and organizations, such as the Ministry of Education (MOE), Ministry of Health (MOH), Employee Providence Fund (EPF), and Bursa Malaysia, are additional crucial Malaysian implementation steps for the risk management approach. Specifically, the plan has established a long-term strategic roadmap for the development of risk management technology to meet the risk and uncertainty issues of Malaysian commercial organizations. On the one hand, these regulations contributed to an increase in foreign direct investment into the Malaysian business sector, an increase in entrepreneurial activity, particularly among MSMEs, and a heightened understanding of the significance of qualified and certified risk management professionals. On the other hand, focused on the operational arena, MSMEs continue to struggle to effectively and sustainably leverage the opportunities afforded by such technologies. This paper investigates the phenomenon of Malaysian MSMEs implementing a risk-based operational strategy.
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Research Design
MSMEs have been chosen as the unit of analysis in this study, i.e., companies in various industries that are mostly made up of MSMEs. This enabled an integrated view of the operational risk management implementation process that included the perspectives of multiple players and their various perceptions along the axes of analysis. The research design was a multiple-case study to investigate the operational and managerial issues faced by businesses on the road to sustainability. Indeed, a multiple-case study enables for cross-case comparison to identify emerging patterns of connections among components and analyze a contextual phenomenon such as the challenges faced and strategies followed by organizations on the implementation path. The research further discussed to improve the case research’s reliability and validity. A group of MSMEs from various industries in Malaysia were identified with the goal of investigating the perspectives of multiple actors. The search began with a sample of businesses that had participated in a previous survey and was narrowed down to those that fulfilled the criteria for MSMEs. The final sample of four organizations proved to be sufficiently diverse in terms of business, as measured by the number of employees, sales turnover, type of organization and sector, and risk management practice. In the selection process, both the organizations’ approach to adopting ORM technology, i.e., how they are really “practicing ORM,” and their level of implementation were considered. We distinguished the approach into the following: • Strategy: The company has a good ORM system in place, with a defined goal of improving business operations and performance, regular top-level support, training initiatives, and a common risk management culture. • Goals and KPIs: The organization devised or established defined business objectives and KPIs (e.g., for a single or a few functions or departments or for launching a number of risk management initiatives to support present operations).
5 Analysis, Results, and Discussion Table 1 presents an overview of the selected case study company (soon named as case company, CC) in terms of industry, size (number of workers), sales revenue, primary business, implementation/adoption strategy, risk management technology, and level of ORM implementation. The last column of Table 1 lists the ORM technologies utilized by case businesses, those provided by service providers (or those on which they offer consultancy), and those researched by case companies (or the ones on which they offer support for their adoption).
Industry Food and beverage
Service maintenance
Interior/wood Design
Apparel
ID CC1
CC2
CC3
CC4
6
17
15
Size (no. of employees) 4
Table 1 Overview of the case studies Main business Catering and food delivery Vehicle repair and retail
Interior design and woodcraft Fashion and apparel
Sales turnover