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This study aims to explore on how the Islamic social finance mechanism, specifically zakat, influences the corporate social responsibilities (CSRs) of Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad (BPMB) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A content analysis was used to examine the disclosure of BPMB for six years (2015–2020). This duration covers the period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The content analysis was then analysed manually and also by using NVivo.

It is apparent that BPMB not only actively engages in CSR activities, especially during difficult times like the COVID-19 pandemic, but also fulfils its religious commitments by making regular zakat payments. The finding also shows that BPMB concentrates more on CSR that covers all population, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This study provides implication to the body of knowledge by highlighting the connection between zakat and CSR and implication to the society and regulators on how zakat plays a role in CSR activities before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The novelty of the research and the original study on content analysis of zakat and CSR information in BPMB attest to the originality of this work.

This study aims to investigate the impact of political influence on the connection between internal governance mechanisms and the sustainability of social enterprises in Malaysia.

A total of 85 social companies from Malaysia were included in the survey. The hypotheses were examined using the bootstrapping approach and structural equation modeling using the partial least squares method.

The results of this study indicate that both internal governance structures and political influence significantly impacted the long-term sustainability of social enterprises. The study’s findings indicate that political influence substantially impacts how internal governance mechanisms affect the sustainability of social enterprises. Nevertheless, it is critical to acknowledge that the correlation between internal governance procedures and sustainability is deemed weak.

This study aims to address and strengthen the boundaries of social entrepreneurship literature by using the resource-based view (RBV) and the resource dependence theory (RDT) theories. RBV and RDT align with the theoretical concept of social entrepreneurship and demonstrate the interplay between agility and a taxonomy of elements that promote sustainability adoption.

This study investigates the correlation between political influence, internal governance mechanisms and sustainability to enhance comprehension of the dynamic corporate landscape. The objective is to ensure that the internal governance mechanism of social enterprises is in line with long-term sustainability objectives, even in the context of potential political changes.

This study offers valuable knowledge for policymakers aiming to enhance the governance and accountability of social enterprises. The success of such businesses hinges on their capacity to regulate both financial sustainability and their social objective proficiently. Social enterprises can achieve a mutually beneficial model by effectively balancing these two objectives, benefiting their business and the communities they intend to serve.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no previous research has been conducted to examine how political influence affects the relationship between internal governance mechanisms and the sustainability of social enterprises in Malaysia. The results of this study could enhance social enterprises’ ability to achieve long-term sustainability.

Food tourism and culinary experiences have attracted much interest as a specialist market within the more significant tourist business. Bangladesh, a South Asian nation renowned for its rich cultural legacy, various culinary traditions and lively street food culture, is an alluring destination for food tourism. Bengali, Mughlai, British and tribal cuisines have all left their mark on Bangladesh's gastronomic landscape. Shorshe Ilish, Biryani and other traditional Bengali meals highlight the flavours and cooking methods handed down through the years. This paper highlights the significance of food as a cultural expression and its role in tying people to their heritage. Travellers may partake in immersive experiences that offer insights into the nation's culinary traditions by participating in cooking lessons, food workshops, market exploration and food tours and participating in these activities. Culinary tourism can improve cross-cultural understanding and enjoyment by enhancing cultural interchange. Although food tourism in Bangladesh is becoming more popular, there are still prospects for growth and marketing. This paper emphasizes the importance of strategic planning, stakeholder engagement and marketing initiatives to promote Bangladesh as a culinary destination on a worldwide scale. Bangladesh can draw food lovers and tourists looking for distinctive culinary experiences by leveraging its gastronomic variety and rich culinary tradition. Overall, this paper highlights the value of food tourism in highlighting Bangladesh's culinary gems and its promise for long-term tourist growth. Visitors may go on a gastronomic journey celebrating Bangladesh's cultural identity by learning about regional tastes, traditional cooking methods and culinary tales.

This study assessed the role of political institutions in the relationship between economic institutions and public debt in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Based on data availability, the study was done for 40 Sub-Saharan African countries from 2010 to 2019 employing generalized method of moment.

The authors documented a negative and significant relationship between economic institutions and public debt as well as a negative and significant effect of political institutions on public debt in SSA. Also, the study recorded that political institutions play a negative and significant role in the economic institutions-public debt nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, a threshold of 3.691 is given when it comes to the role of political institutions in the association between government spending and public debt nexus in SSA.

The authors failed to take certain indicators of economic institutions, such as freedom to trade internationally, the size of government and legal system and property into consideration.

The authors suggest that democracy is necessary for boosting economic institutions-induced public debt reduction in SSA.

The novelty of this study is evident in two ways: first, the authors assessed the relationship between economic institutions and public debt in SSA using novel measures such as government integrity, tax burden and government spending from the Heritage Foundation instead of traditional institution measures from World Governance Indicators used by earlier studies. The authors further contribute to literature by being the first to consider the foundational role of political institutions in employing economic institutions to fight high public debt in SSA. Again, the authors included the threshold at which political institutions can cause economic institutions to have a desired impact on public debt in SSA.

Considering the panel data from 1984 to 2020, this study examines the impact of demographic structure (young age, working age and old age manpower) on financial development in 44 Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. Following the World Bank’s classification, the SSA region is sub-sampled into 21 low-income, 18 lower-middle-income and five upper-middle-income countries to separately study these groups, along with studying for the whole region in a panel.

Drawing from the literature, it incorporates economic growth, economic globalization and inflation as a set of control variables in the financial sector development function. This study employed PCSEs and FGLS regression methods along with applying the FMOLS test for results robustness.

The result of PCSEs and FGLS evidences an adverse impact of the young and old age population on financial development for the entire SSA region, low-income and lower- and middle-income countries, but the same is found to be positively related to financial development in the upper- and middle-income countries. We observed varying effects of economic growth, economic globalization and inflation for different groups within the SSA region.

From the policy perspective, it suggests that policymakers of the groups of low-income and lower-middle-income countries need to scrutinize the adverse effects of the young and old-age populations on financial sector development and should also be taken seriously in the formulation of their long-term financial development policies.

During the postpandemic era, owing to the widespread integration of technology, a greater abundance of information is circulating among young consumers compared to any previous period. Consequently, there exists a possibility that the disseminated information may not be accurate and ultimately prove to be fake. The purpose of this study is to conceptualize fake news, the definition and drivers of fake news from the perspective of young consumers in the postpandemic period.

A qualitative study was undertaken in the current study. A total of 30 interviews were conducted utilizing semistructured questionnaires. The interviews were audio recorded and subsequently transcribed. The data was analyzed using the Gioia methodology.

The study proposes a definition of fake news from the perspective of young consumers. Further, drawing on attribution theory, the three categories of reasons for sharing fake news were delineated: content related, source related and user related.

Drawing on the findings of the study, policymakers and other stakeholders working on the issues of fake news can acquaint themselves with the underlying reasons. Furthermore, they can devise policies to prevent the sharing of fake news.

It is important for practitioners and society to understand the reasons behind the sharing of fake news among young consumers to combat the spread.

The present study will contribute to the literature by understanding the perspective of young consumers who intentionally or unintentionally share fake news. Additionally, attribution theory is used in the context of fake news to understand the dissemination behavior.

This study aims to examine factors influencing potential customers’ intention to patronize Islamic banking products in Cameroon.

To achieve this, a structured questionnaire was used with 318 respondents, and 300 were usable for analysis with a respondent rate of 94%. The study used SEM-PLS to analyze the data.

The findings suggested that attitude, religious motivation, awareness, subjective norm and relative advantage significantly affect potential customers intention toward Islamic banking products, while perceived regulatory and perceived innovation are insignificant. Furthermore, attitude substantially mediates the relationship between religious motivation, awareness, subjective norm, relative advantage and perceived innovation.

However, this study focused on potential customers living in Muslim zones; future research should compare users and nonusers of Islamic banking products in both Muslim and non-Muslim zones to capture a big picture about customers’ perceptions of Islamic banking products in Cameroon.

The results of this study contribute to the literature by providing a new framework that combines the theories of planned behavior and diffusion of innovation theory and provides managerial implications at the level of Islamic finance operators. Meanwhile, this research offers some policy recommendations that can help boost the development of Islamic finance in Cameroon and promote financial inclusion.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research about potential customers’ intention to use Islamic banking products in Cameroon.

This study aims to examine socio-economic, religious and institutional factors influencing zakat payment intentions among Ethiopian Muslims. The findings highlight the critical role of zakat institutions, literacy and religiosity, contributing to the broader discourse on Islamic finance and its potential as a tool for poverty alleviation in under-researched contexts.

This study used a quantitative approach and utilised a partial least squares-structural equation modelling technique for data analysis. The research investigated Muzakki’s intention to pay zakat, focusing on the main variables of the theory of reasoned action (TRA), namely, attitude and subjective norm, while also incorporating zakat literacy, zakat institutions (Amil) and religiosity. A total of 394 structured questionnaires were distributed with a five-point Likert scale to capture respondents’ views and experiences regarding zakat payment, using both convenience and snowball non-probability sampling methods to select participants.

The findings indicate that zakat literacy, positive attitudes towards zakat, institutional support through well-established zakat institutions and high levels of religiosity significantly influence the intention of Ethiopian Muslims to fulfil their zakat obligations. These findings underscore the need for robust, centralised zakat institutions that prioritise transparent administration and effective collection mechanisms. Lessons from successful zakat models in other countries could inspire the development of similar systems tailored to Ethiopia’s sociocultural dynamics, directly supporting poverty alleviation and socio-economic development.

This study opens up several avenues for future research. Comparative studies could examine how successful zakat systems in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia have achieved their goals and identify lessons applicable to Ethiopia. In addition, longitudinal studies can track the long-term effects of enhanced zakat compliance on poverty alleviation and social welfare in Ethiopia. Exploring the integration of financial technologies such as blockchain into zakat administration represents another valuable research direction.

These findings underscore the Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Supreme Council (MEJLIS) need to establish robust, centralised zakat institutions that prioritise transparent administration and effective collection mechanisms. Such improvements in the zakat infrastructure could enhance muzakki compliance, directly supporting poverty alleviation and socio-economic development in Ethiopia.

This study provides unique insights into the factors shaping zakat payment intentions in Ethiopia, highlighting critical areas for improvement within the zakat collection and distribution framework. These findings provide a foundation for developing policies to foster a more effective zakat system that aligns with Ethiopia’s sociocultural dynamics.

The purpose of this study is to assess the social utility of the Islamic banking system, with a focus on the Tunisian market as a case example.

The authors study individuals’ potential demand for Islamic financial products in different Tunisian regions. To do that, the authors conducted a national survey based on the quota sampling method to select the number of interviewed by governorate and sex. The authors then obtained a sample that included 1,600 persons from different social categories with a minimum age of 18 years.

The survey results show that this potential demand is significant but Tunisian Islamic Banks should work more to enlarge their existing customer base. Indeed, they should consider the level of Islamic finance knowledge and the sociodemographic characteristics (such as governorate, level of education and annual income) to ensure social welfare. They should also supply Islamic microfinance products to ensure the inclusion of poorer agents. In addition, Islamic banks should provide competitive products and services at lower cost and higher quality that are compliant with the Sharia principles to encourage entrepreneurs or richer agents to invest in profitable and innovative projects, especially in economically disadvantaged regions. This would strengthen accountable decentralization and fight income inequality in Tunisia.

This work reflects the behavior and preferences of all Tunisians (adopters or non-adopters of IFPS) including the Tunisian inland areas inhabitants. To do this, we include the socio-demographic factors in our analysis.