scholarly journals The business financial inclusion benefits from an Islamic point of view: a qualitative inquiry

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-100
Author(s):  
Umar Habibu Umar
Keyword(s):  
Practical Implication ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Financial Inclusion ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Implication ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Development Organizations ◽  
The Social

PurposeThis study explores the benefits of business financial inclusion from the Islamic perspective in Nigeria by selecting Kano state as a case study.Design/methodology/approachPrimary data were generated through semi-structured interviews with experts who comprised professional accountants/consultants and experienced traders. Thematic analysis was applied to examine the data collected. In addition, observations were made in some selected stores and shops to complement the interview results.FindingsThe study finds that the benefits of business financial inclusion include recordkeeping improvement, reduction of the risks of bad debts, reduction of the risks associated with cash, enhancing business zakāh for poverty alleviation, sales improvement and business growth, getting supports from government and other development organizations and the provision of employment opportunities.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is purely qualitative, and, as such, it has some limitations in terms of generalization.Practical implicationsThe practical implication of this study is that the use of electronic payment methods, especially point of sales, enhances the business financial inclusion, which consequently maximizes their wealth and contributes to the reduction of poverty to the barest minimum in the society.Social implicationsThe social implication of the findings is that businesses that are financially included are in a better position to discharge religious, philanthropic and other benevolent activities, such as zakāh, qard hasan, waqf and sadaqah, for the welfare of the ummah.Originality/valueThe study points out the benefits of financial inclusion not only to businesses but also to other members of the society at large.

scholarly journals A qualitative inquiry into cashwaqfmodel as a source of financing for micro enterprises

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohamed Asmy Bin Mohd Thas Thaker
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Enterprise Investment ◽  
Micro Enterprises

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the opinions and recommendations of various experts on the integrated cashwaqfmicro enterprise investment (ICWME-I) model, particularly in terms of its suitability, applicability and prospects in the market.Design/methodology/approachThe research involves primary data which are collected from semi-structured interviews conducted with experts from various backgrounds. Thematic analysis was used to examine the data.FindingsThe experts support the suitability of the ICWME-I model in providing financial services to micro enterprises. They highlight the importance of establishing, managing and operating ICWME-I model under the aegis of the State Islamic Religious Council in Malaysia or the corporate sector. They further emphasize that the characteristics of micro enterprises, the element of sustainable funding, the importance of proper management and administration, legal matters and public awareness are key factors that influence the sustainability of the ICWME-I model.Originality/valueThis paper adds to the literature onwaqfand micro enterprises especially from the Malaysian context. The paper validates the ICWME-I model in terms of its suitability, applicability and prospects in the market by interviewing experts from various backgrounds.

The e-government paradox in post-Soviet countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 600-615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Knox ◽  
Saltanat Janenova
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Technological Development ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Practical Implication ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the emergence of e-government in post-Soviet countries using Kazakhstan as a case study. Extant research on e-government in developing countries highlights significant benefits including improved public services, reduced corruption, and more open and inclusive government. The paper asserts the presence of an e-government paradox which limits its potential to improve public services. Design/methodology/approach Primary data were collected from a number of sources: 6 focus groups with central government agencies, local authorities and civil society organisations; 25 structured and semi-structured interviews; and participant observation. Findings The research finds evidence of an e-government paradox in five forms: an emphasis on technological development; transactional services are faster but have displaced attention from core public services; petty corruption has been reduced but grand corruption remains; isomorphic mimicry; and greater participation by citizens has been limited. Research limitations/implications The focus of the research is Kazakhstan. Applying the lessons learned to other post-Soviet countries has limitations given their different stages of development since independence. Practical implications The key practical implication of this research is that countries can become absorbed by e-government technology without questioning the fundamental business model which underpins how public services are delivered. Ultimately, this impacts on the social value of e-government. Originality/value While existing research has examined how e-government has been implemented in developing countries, this paper focusses on Kazakhstan as an authoritarian state with wider implications for post-Soviet countries.

Does social media promote knowledge exchange? A qualitative insight

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (3) ◽  
pp. 688-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kashif Imran ◽  
Syed Muhammad Javed Iqbal ◽  
Usman Aslam ◽  
Tehreem Fatima
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Media Applications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the benefits of social media to enhance knowledge exchange in the organizations. Moreover, the current qualitative inquiry elaborates the orientation of doctors about social media applications and knowledge exchange in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach The constructionism approach based on grounded theory followed by qualitative design is used to investigate the exposition with the help of 22 non-directive and semi-structured interviews from the doctors of Bahawal Victoria Hospital. The cases are selected by using convenience sampling and thematic analysis is done using NVivo-11 plus. Findings The results end up with four major themes. The social media applications, at the first door, extend communication and relationship among employees. Moreover, these applications are equally beneficial for acquiring existing and new knowledge. Additionally, social media applications advance knowledge exchange by promoting knowledge sharing and transfer. Research limitations/implications This study is equally beneficial for employees and management to promote knowledge exchange through social media applications. The effective and efficient use of social media applications helps organizations to boost knowledge strength among employees and can address various critical issues. Originality/value This is an attempt to sightsee the unattended dimension (i.e. knowledge exchange) in the context with social media. The social media applications are popular all over the world and pace of their usage is increasing day by day but their real contribution toward organizational well-being is still lacking in contemporary literature.

scholarly journals Telling Our Stories: Resilience during Resettlement for African Skilled Migrants in Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 3954
Author(s):  
Lillian Mwanri ◽  
Leticia Anderson ◽  
Kathomi Gatwiri
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Values ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
African Migrants ◽  
Cultural Expectations ◽  
The Social ◽  
Resilience Factors

Background: Emigration to Australia by people from Africa has grown steadily in the past two decades, with skilled migration an increasingly significant component of migration streams. Challenges to resettlement in Australia by African migrants have been identified, including difficulties securing employment, experiences of racism, discrimination and social isolation. These challenges can negatively impact resettlement outcomes, including health and wellbeing. There has been limited research that has examined protective and resilience factors that help highly skilled African migrants mitigate the aforementioned challenges in Australia. This paper discusses how individual and community resilience factors supported successful resettlement Africans in Australia. The paper is contextualised within a larger study which sought to investigate how belonging and identity inform Afrodiasporic experiences of Africans in Australia. Methods: A qualitative inquiry was conducted with twenty-seven (n = 27) skilled African migrants based in South Australia, using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Participants were not directly questioned about ‘resilience,’ but were encouraged to reflect critically on how they navigated the transition to living in Australia, and to identify factors that facilitated a successful resettlement. Results: The study findings revealed a mixture of settlement experiences for participants. Resettlement challenges were observed as barriers to fully meeting expectations of emigration. However, there were significant protective factors reported that supported resilience, including participants’ capacities for excellence and willingness to work hard; the social capital vested in community and family support networks; and African religious and cultural values and traditions. Many participants emphasised their pride in their contributions to Australian society as well as their desire to contribute to changing narratives of what it means to be African in Australia. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that despite challenges, skilled African migrants’ resilience, ambition and determination were significant enablers to a healthy resettlement in Australia, contributing effectively to social, economic and cultural expectations, and subsequently meeting most of their own migration intentions. These findings suggest that resilience factors identified in the study are key elements of integration.

scholarly journals The Social Patterns of Age Discrimination: An Analysis of the Macro-Perspective-Interpretations

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 327-327
Author(s):  
Stefan Hopf
Keyword(s):  
Age Discrimination ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Social Discourse ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Patterns ◽  
Equal Importance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Legal Frameworks ◽  
Implicit And Explicit ◽  
Interpretation Patterns

Abstract Modern societies can be regarded as service economies, consequently accessing services is an essential part of social and economic participation. Direct and indirect indiscrimination act as barriers to accessing and using services and one way to address these barriers is to implement anti-discrimination legislation and policy. From a sociological point of view, such policies and legal frameworks can be described as elements of the social discourse in these areas. These texts, along with their implicit and explicit interpretations of the problem, represent the official and legitimised stake of the socially available stock of knowledge of what constitutes age discrimination. Hence the shape and contribute to the general understanding of age discrimination. The study aims to investigate the interpretation patterns offered by the “supply” side, that is by those actors who in their work refer to but also (re-) shape and disseminate the problem interpretation contained in the official texts. To address this aim, focus groups with stakeholders and semi-structured interviews with legal and policy experts were conducted in Austria and Ireland. The findings highlight that experts and stakeholders’ definitions of age discrimination usually extend past legal and policy concepts. The expert and stakeholder approaches differ in their starting points for describing the problem, ranging from vulnerability considerations to human rights-based concepts and more structurally orientated needs-based criteria. Finally, the analysis also reveals a central distinguishing feature of age discrimination, namely the “de-temporalization” and “de-historicization” of the person, which is of equal importance as the de-individualization as a consequence of stereotyping

Is this mine? Psychological ownership and the social media follower

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline S.L. Tan
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Psychological Ownership ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Currency ◽  
Different Levels

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine psychological ownership (PO) experienced by followers of social media influencers toward both influencer and the product. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews that were conducted with 30 respondents and analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings The study demonstrated that the PO experienced by the follower changes under different conditions resulting from perceived value, social currency and follower activity. Social currency plays a vital role in determining the target of PO, often affecting the narrative by the follower. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first paper to examine the transference of PO between product and influencer as experienced by the follower. It provides an understanding on PO that is experienced in different levels of intensity and changes depending on the motive of the follower; hence, transference of PO occurs and it is not a static.

Framing the role of higher education in sustainable development: a case study analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanna Elmassah ◽  
Marwa Biltagy ◽  
Doaa Gamal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Study Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Analysis

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) should play a fundamental role in achieving the international 2030 sustainable development (SD) agenda. Quality education is the fourth of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and one of the targets related to this is to ensure that by 2030 all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote SD. Therefore, the SDGs provide a motive for HEIs to integrate SD concepts into their day-to-day practices. This study aims to introduce a framework for HEIs’ sustainable development assessment. Such a framework guides HEIs and educational leaders to support their countries’ commitments to achieving the SDGs. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the results of a case study analysis of the role and successful techniques of HEIs in achieving SD in three countries, namely, Germany, Japan and Egypt. Primary data was collected by semi-structured interviews with three Cairo University officials, while secondary data was collected by reviewing the universities' official websites, reports, publications and related papers. This study introduces a novel framework for HEIs' SD analysis and assessment, which guides HEIs and educational leaders to support SD to fulfill their countries' commitments to achieving the SDGs. This framework is based on the following five categories: strategic direction and institutional working practices, supporting students, supporting university staff competencies, supporting society's stakeholders and networking and sustainable campus. Consideration is given to the potential role of HEIs to support SD in each of these areas. Findings Cairo University could learn from the novel and pioneer practices of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and the University of Tokyo to fill in the gaps it has in different roles. It can also put more effort into adopting the suggested higher education programs of Egypt's Vision 2030. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited to a case analysis comparing three countries, Germany, Japan and Egypt. Second, this study has not considered school education, which is equally essential in countries' SD. Practical implications HEIs can use the framework and the findings in this paper to evaluate their current roles in supporting SD, identify the gaps and take actions accordingly to address their weaknesses. Originality/value The paper compares three universities, one in each of the case study countries. It draws conclusions that identify ways in which the paper's framework and findings can guide SD practice in HEIs internationally, especially those in the developing world.

Impact of accounting information system on corporate governance: evidence from Pakistani textile sector

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samza Fatima ◽  
Muhammad Ishtiaq ◽  
Adnan Javed
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Textile Industry ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Specific System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Information Systems ◽  
Textile Sector

Purpose Efficient corporate governance is always important to safeguard the interest of all the stakeholders in the business environment. Therefore, this study focuses on the investigation of the relationship between accounting information systems (AIS) and corporate governance in the textile sector of Pakistan. The textile sector is the backbone of the Pakistani economy and has an important contribution toward the gross domestic product and as well as exports of the country. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected from the finance managers with the sample size of 300 firms of All Pakistan textile mills association, self-delivery and collection method used. Both descriptive and inferential statistics used to analyze data through the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 23. Findings The findings of this study proved that AIS has a significant impact on corporate governance. It is important from the management point of view to record the daily transaction in a better way with the use of a specific system and every member uses the computerized system to accomplish their tasks in the organization. Originality/value The textile industry is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. The study conducted in this paper by primary data and drawing original contributions in the existing literature. Moreover, the findings of this study are going to have considerable theoretical and practical implications for the market.

How buyer roles and critical times affect buyer-supplier exchange episodes

IMP Journal ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 376-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
William James Newell
Keyword(s):  
Social Space ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Common Source ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Relationship Change ◽  
Research Stream ◽  
E Mail ◽  
Critical Times

Purpose The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to examine how buyer-supplier episodes are characterised by their dimensions of time and social space, and how these dimensions interact to impact the criticality of an episode; second, to explore how time and social space create patterns of episodes that lead to buyer-supplier relationship change and continuity; and third, to examine the social space by the different roles that the buyer assumes among their episodes, while focusing on the concept of critical time to denote the temporal context. Design/methodology/approach A case study of a small retailer and five suppliers is employed. The primary data are e-mail communications between the buying and selling firms, along with a two-week field study at the retailer’s location. A total of 2,000 e-mails are coded to yield 75 episodes for the analysis. Findings The criticality of episodes differs depending on the role that the buyer assumes, and whether the episode occurs within a critical time period. The social space affects the type of criticality, while critical times enhance an episode’s criticality. This study outlines five different patterns of episodes occurring within critical times and across social spaces that characterise each of the buyer-supplier relationships. Research limitations/implications This paper focuses on e-mail communication, with little data on interactions occurring outside of this medium. Originality/value To the researcher’s knowledge, this paper is the first to link specific patterns of episode characteristics to the concept of buyer roles. It also examines episodes using e-mail communication, which is not a common source within the IMP research stream.

Ownership-based asymmetries in training evaluation practices of call centres

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ali Asadullah ◽  
Jean Marie Peretti ◽  
Walid Derbel ◽  
Sarra Rajhi
Keyword(s):  
Firm Heterogeneity ◽  
Training Evaluation ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Call Centre ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Evaluation Practice ◽  
Evaluation Practices ◽  
Measuring Training

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying asymmetries in training evaluation practices of call centre (CC) firms based on their “in-house” and “subcontractor” ownership heterogeneity. Design/methodology/approach The data for this qualitative inquiry were collected from key informants of 13 different CCs in Pakistan through semi-structured interviews. Findings The findings revealed various asymmetries in training evaluation practices among in-house and subcontractor CCs based on five different dimensions of two renowned training evaluation frameworks. Practical implications Training evaluation professionals can benefit from training evaluation methods identified in this study for measuring training evaluation practice and advancing future research. Originality/value This study has theoretically contributed to the existing research on firm heterogeneity and human resource management by focussing on training evaluation practices in CCs.

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