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Scaling up smart city infrastructure projects will require a large financial investment. Using public–private partnerships is one of the most effective ways to address budget constraints. Numerous factors have varying degrees of influence on the performance of Public private partnerships (PPP) projects; certain PPP factors are more crucial to the success of a smart city infrastructure project than others, and their influence can be greatly increased when they are fulfilled collectively. This study aims to find out what factors are unique to smart city PPP initiatives, as well as how these factors work together, so that successful smart city infrastructure PPP projects can be scaled up.

The methodology included three sequential stages: identifying the critical success factors (CSF) of PPP for smart cities based on an extensive literature review, collecting data from a sample of 90 PPP practitioners using a Likert scale questionnaire and estimating interrelationships among the CSF and their emergent clusters using structural equation modelling.

The best fit model developed in this study demonstrated the significance of each factor and their interrelationships within their categories in enhancing the performance of PPPs in smart city infrastructure projects. Five categories of critical success factors for PPPs in smart city infrastructure projects have been established: partnership and collaboration; financial sustainability; contractual duties and outsourcing; smart integration; and contract governance.

The proposed model represented the causal interrelationships among relevant critical success factors derived from literature, which may help in directing the organization’s attention and resources to more critical areas, leading to the effective fulfilment of the smart city infrastructure project’s objectives. In addition to the theoretical and methodological contributions, this study produced a usable and readily adaptable list and clusters of critical success factors for research in the area of the implementation of PPP in smart city infrastructure projects.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to identify PPP critical success factors and their themed clusters for smart city infrastructure projects.

The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the asymmetric effects of financial risk on Sukuk market development for a sample of Malaysian countries over the period of 2010–2021.

This study refers to the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) in determining the financial risk factors to be studied in addition to the Malaysia financial stress index (FSI) to capture changes in financial risk level. The authors use the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model to tackle the nonlinear relationships between identified financial risk variables and Sukuk market development.

The results suggest the existence of a long-run relationship between foreign debt service stability, international liquidity stability (ILS), exchange rate stability (ERS) and financial stress level with the Sukuk market development in Malaysia. Indeed, higher ILS and ERS will boost Sukuk market size, whereas higher foreign debt services and financial stress are negatively related to Sukuk market development. Findings also indicate that the long-run positive and negative impacts of identified financial risk components on Sukuk market development are statistically different. Taking into account the role of the Sukuk market in facilitating Malaysia’s economic growth, the country should aim to keep the foreign debt-to-GDP ratio at a sustainable level.

This study points to three possible directions for future research. The first is the differential impact of financial risk components on Sukuk issuance for different Sukuk structures. As more data becomes available in the future, this area could be further explored by conducting the above analysis for different combinations of Sukuk structures and currency denominations. In addition, future researchers could also consider exploring the variability of financial risk impacts through comparative studies of the leading Sukuk-issuing countries to account for differences in regulatory frameworks and supporting infrastructure.

This study provides valuable practical and policy implications for strengthening the growth of the Sukuk market. While benefiting from the diversification benefits of funding sources to finance private or government projects and developments, Malaysia should remain vigilant to global economic conditions, foreign exchange markets and financial stress levels, as all of these factors may significantly influence investor sentiment and the rate of return offered by Sukuk issuance.

The use of the NARDL approach, which investigates the long-run effects of financial risk factors on Sukuk market development in Malaysia, makes this study a valuable addition to the literature, as there has been little research into the asymmetric effects of those variables on Sukuk market development using samples from emerging Asian markets.

Reactive power in radial distribution networks (RDN) leads to detrimental effects like power factor degradation, voltage profile alterations and increased power losses, ultimately impacting network stability. This paper aims to present a novel two-phase optimization approach to address the challenging task of locating, sizing and determining the optimal number of capacitors in RDNs.

The first step of the proposed methodology is using a hybrid technique that combines the loss sensitivity factors (LSF) with voltage sensitivity factors (VSF) to identify network nodes requiring capacitor installation efficiently. The second step uses an external approximation technique to optimize the size and number of capacitors for each identified node, achieving significant power loss reductions.

The effectiveness of this new approach is evaluated on two RDNs: 33- and 69-bus. Simulations on these test systems demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, reducing total power loss by 34.7% in the first case and 35.3% in the second. The method’s robustness compared to other approaches further highlights its potential for practical implementation in RDNs, contributing to improved network stability and efficient power distribution.

This paper presents a novel, efficient and robust approach to determining the optimal number, location and size of an RDN capacitor. The problem is addressed through a new formulation with modified constraints. The method consists of two stages: initially, a hybrid LSF–VSF method identifies potential capacitor locations, followed by an external approximation-based mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) solver to optimize capacitor numbers and sizes. The proposed methodology is applied to the widely used 33-bus and 69-bus RDN test systems. Comparative analysis with existing methods highlights the proposed approach’s effectiveness. Key contributions of this study include the following: Proposes a new problem formulation with modified constraints. Proposes a novel two-stage framework for optimally locating and sizing capacitors in RDNs. Introduces a hybrid LSF–VSF algorithm to identify promising capacitor locations efficiently. Using an external approximation-based MINLP for optimal sizing. Demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach through rigorous testing on standard benchmark systems. Provides a comprehensive comparative analysis against state-of-the-art methods, highlighting the proposed approach’s superior performance.

This study objective is twofold. This study aims to present an institutional analysis of the implications of job localization programs in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Further, it highlights the impacts of these programs on the accounting profession.

This study is based primarily on the desktop research method, where data is collected from the review of previous studies, published data on Internet Websites and reports released by International organizations such as the United Nations. In addition, the study benefitted from conducting six interviews with government officials from GCC countries. Theoretically, this study draws upon insights from the institutional logics theory to discern higher-order institutions deriving job localization decisions in the GCC region.

This paper explained how job localization policies in the GCC region are informed by three central logics: economic, socio-political and professional. Despite contributing to achieving some socio-political goals for policymakers, these policies could have serious consequences for the practice of the professions and, hence, the local business environment. Besides, this paper highlighted the serious localization policies' impacts on the accounting profession, especially the quality of the workforce (accountants) and their job readiness.

This study highlights the various implications of job localization policies for locals, foreigners, public and private sector entities and governments. Besides, it has recommended some actions to mitigate the negative influences of such policies on the surrounding society.

This study contributes to the literature by following an interpretative approach in explaining the localization of the accounting profession from an institutional perspective by bringing new evidence from GCC emerging markets.

This study aims to investigate the behavior of the green biomass-derived copper (lignin/silica/fatty acids) complex, copper lignin/silica/fatty acids (Cu-LSF) complex, when incorporated into the nonpolar ethylene propylene diene (EPDFM) rubber matrix, focusing on its reinforcing and antioxidant effect on the resulting EPDM composites.

The structure of the prepared EPDM composites was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and the dispersion of the additive fillers and antioxidants in the EPDM matrix was investigated using scanning electron microscopy. Also, the rheometric characteristics, mechanical properties, swelling behavior and thermal gravimetric analysis of all the prepared EPDM composites were explored as well.

Results revealed that the Cu-LSF complex dispersed well in the nonpolar EPDM rubber matrix, in thepresence of coupling system, with enhanced Cu-LSF-rubber interactions and increased cross-linking density, which reflected on the improved rheological and mechanical properties of the resulting EPDM composites. From the various investigations performed in the current study, the authors can suggest 7–11 phr is the optimal effective concentration of Cu-LSF complex loading. Interestingly, EPDM composites containing Cu-LSF complex showed better antiaging performance, thermal stability and fluid resistance, when compared with those containing the commercial antioxidants (2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline and N-isopropyl-N’-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine). These findings are in good agreement with our previous study on polar nitrile butadiene rubber.

The current study suggests the green biomass-derived Cu-LSF complex to be a promising low-cost and environmentally safe alternative filler and antioxidant to the hazardous commercial ones.

This paper aims to investigate the perceptions of financial accountants and both internal and external auditors regarding the impact of corporate governance (CG) and information technology (IT) on the detection and prevention of fraud within organizations.

Primary data were collected from 250 financial accountants, internal auditors and external auditors through questionnaires. The non-probability snowball sampling technique was used for data collection, with the sample t-test, one-way ANOVA and paired sample t-test applied for analysis.

The results indicate that robust CG practices and IT techniques significantly aid in detecting and reducing fraudulent activities by minimizing opportunities, rationalizations, pressures and capabilities of potential employees to commit fraud. Internal controls also play a significant role in reducing instances of fraud. Notably, ethical officers and ethical training were not perceived as significantly effective in preventing and detecting fraud, leading to a perception that fraudulent practices are prevalent and increasing the risk of future fraudulent activities.

This study recommends the adoption of strong CG practices to identify potential fraud within an organization. Moreover, IT techniques should be tailored to specific needs for effective utilization. Furthermore, the government should increase awareness regarding data provision by departments, organizations and other related personnel. Future research could use secondary data from various regions to expand the literature in this field.

This research uniquely combines three significant factors: CG, IT and forensic accounting in fraud detection and prevention. It contributes to the enhancement of literature about fraud and its preventive and detective measures. The results of this study set the seed for future research, government policymaking and enhanced organizational practices.