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This study aims to investigate the relationship between political instability and the performance of Islamic banks in emerging countries.

For a data sample of 93 Islamic banks in 20 emerging countries during the period from 2011 to 2016, the authors identify indicators that matter most for the activities of Islamic banks.

The study finds that a stable government and law and order are positively correlated with the health of Islamic financial institutions. On the other hand, corruption and military involvement in politics can create an unstable environment for businesses, leading to uncertainty and risk. The study also reveals that Islamic banks operating in regions or communities with lower risk of socio-economic conditions tend to exhibit higher levels of profitability.

Overall, the study provides valuable insights into the impact of political instability on Islamic banks in emerging countries.

The purpose of this study is to extract and characterize a novel natural dye from the leaves of Lannea coromandelica and the extraction with finding ways of dyeing cotton fabric using three mordants.

The colouring agents were extracted from the leaves of Lannea coromandelica using an aqueous extraction method. The extract was characterized using analysis methods of pH, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) and cyclic voltammetry measurement. The extract was applied to cotton fabric samples using a non-mordant and three mordants under the two mordanting methods. The dyeing performance of the extracted colouring agent was evaluated using colour fastness properties, colour strength (K/S) and colour space (CIE Lab).

The aqueous dye extract showed reddish-brown colour, and its pH was 5.94. The GC-MS analysis revealed that the dye extract from the leaves of Lannea coromandelica contained active chemical compounds. The UV-vis and FTIR analyses found that groups influenced the reddish-brown colour of the dye extraction. The cyclic voltammetry measurements discovered the electrochemical properties of the dye extraction. The mordanted fabric samples showed better colour fastness properties than the non-mordanted fabric sample. The K/S and CIE Lab results indicate that the cotton fabric samples dyed with mordants showed more significant dye affinities than non-mordanted fabric samples.

Researchers have never discovered that the Lannea coromandelica leaf extract is a natural dye for cotton fabric dyeing. The findings of this study showed that natural dyes extracted from Lannea coromandelica leaf could be an efficient colouring agent for use in cotton fabric.

The purpose of this study is to conduct a critical review of the operational and financial trends of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited. Furthermore, the study aims to determine whether loss-making utilities would benefit from adopting the strategic model employed by Haryana.

Time series data from 2005–2006 to 2022–2023 is analysed using various significant accounting ratios and operational and financial performance parameters to assess the annual performance over the period.

The substantial operational and financial performance results of UHBVNL and DHBVNL indicate that from 2017 to 2018 onwards, the power discoms started performing well and are in an improving stage. These results create a strong profile for the utilities, suggesting that their model could be a viable solution for other loss-making power distribution companies.

As a policy recommendation, rather than privatizing the discoms, authorities should study the strategic model of profit-making states like Haryana and implement it in other states without any political interference.

The relevant research questions addressed are: What best practices have Haryana power discoms adopted to enhance financial performance and minimize losses? What lessons can other loss-making state-owned power discoms learn from Haryana? Can Haryana power discoms be a benchmarking model for public and private discoms operating at a loss?

This study examines the impact of profitability, firm size and leverage on corporate tax avoidance in Bangladesh, an emerging South Asian economy.

A balanced panel data of 62 firms from Dhaka and Chittagong stock exchanges in Bangladesh from 2009 to 2020 were used to run the regression. This study employed the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) to examine the hypotheses.

The findings show that large firms positively impact corporate tax avoidance. Similarly, profitability and leverage are positively associated with tax avoidance, and the results are significant. Furthermore, the study conducts robustness tests that confirm the findings.

The use of cash effective tax rate (ETR) to investigate firms’ tax avoidance practices poses some limitations, and the results should be interpreted cautiously.

The current study may help policymakers better enhance tax collection from business firms. The findings could serve as a valuable input for effectively monitoring tax collection from large profit-earning firms.

To the authors' best knowledge, this is the first historical attempt in Bangladesh to use panel data to examine the relationship between the firm’s level characteristics and corporate tax avoidance. Panel data often provides greater flexibility with large data, simplifying calculation and statistical analysis.

This study aims to evaluate public perceptions of illegal drug availability in Bangladesh amid the ongoing war on drugs while comparing the efficacy of crackdowns with traditional law enforcement strategies.

Using a quantitative approach, the research analyzes data gathered from 400 participants, including law enforcement officials, students, politicians, community leaders and journalists.

The findings reveal that illegal drugs continue to be widely accessible in Bangladesh, with 50.15% of respondents acknowledging this despite the government's intensified efforts against drug dealers since 2015. Perceptions of availability are notably higher among those identifying as “other” (66.67%), younger individuals aged 18–28 (55.26%), participants with lower educational levels (76.67% for those with less than SSC education), unmarried respondents (58.86%) and students (60.55%). When assessing enforcement methods, a substantial majority (65.6%) prefer regular law enforcement over violent crackdowns. The survey indicates that all respondents identifying as “other,” along with 73.23% of females, 65.6% of males, 81.82% of participants aged 58–68 and individuals from Khulna (92.65%), Rangpur (96.92%) and Dhaka (51.43%), overwhelmingly favor regular law enforcement compared to crackdowns.

The study emphasizes the urgent need to address the shortcomings of violent anti-drug measures and advocates for a more holistic approach that considers the complex interplay of social, economic and health factors in combating drug abuse in Bangladesh.

This study offers a comprehensive analysis of the relationship between demographic factors and perceptions of drug availability and the effectiveness of violent crackdowns vs regular law enforcement, revealing new insights into this complex sociocultural issue.

This paper has a dual purpose. The first is to provide a thorough analysis of developments in international marketing in relation to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic; the second is to capitalize on these developments to set an agenda for future research in the field of international marketing.

This paper zooms in on and reviews the 18 papers published in International Marketing Review’s (IMR) Special Issue on “Covid 19: advancing international marketing theory and guiding practice” (2023, volume 40, issue 5). It also integrates recent research at the intersection of international marketing and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The paper highlights five areas that embody significant contemporaneous changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and affect international marketing practice. These include (1) shifts in consumer behavior, (2) digitalization and artificial intelligence, (3) disruptions in supply chains, (4) communication and corporate social responsibility (CSR), and (5) international dynamic marketing capabilities. In order to advance international marketing theory in relation to pandemics and other external crises, the paper establishes research directions for each of these areas.

The paper provides a novel and comprehensive categorization of fundamental shifts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and lays out a research roadmap to advance research in the field of International Marketing (IM). Important implications for practice are also discussed.

Stunting is a major multifactorial health problem in Indonesia that negatively impacts children. Among Southeast Asian countries, Indonesia had the highest prevalence of child stunting (0–59 months old). As Indonesia has also the largest population in Southeast Asia, it is crucial to assess measures to decrease the prevalence of stunting in the country. Therefore, this study aims to examine the prevalence and determinants of stunting among children 6–23 under two years old in Indonesia.

The study used a cross-sectional design using the national database. A total of 15,641 children aged 6–23 months were included in the study. A multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the association between the dependent and independent variables.

The prevalence of stunting was 18% (95% CI = 17.5%–18.7%). This study found that children aged 12–23 months were the dominant factor in stunting (OR = 2.12, 95% CI = 1.92–2.36). Factors associated with stunting include being male (OR = 1.37, 95% CI = 1.26–1.49), low birth weight (LBW) (OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.68–2.27), short birth length (SBL) (OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.64–2.01), history of infection (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.06–1.26) and lack of dietary diversity (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.04–1.00) consumption of empty calorie drinks (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = 1.01–1.24), unimproved sanitation (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.04–1.30), middle socioeconomic status (OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.16–1.55), low maternal education (OR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.08–2.10) and living in a rural area (OR = 1.15, 95% CI = 1.06–1.26).

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to analyze the prevalence and determinants of stunting among children under two years old in Indonesia using a national which represented a population of interest.

The Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry has been transformed by the increasing adoption of existing and emerging technologies of Industry 4.0, leading to the concept of Construction 4.0. However, the AEC industry is falling behind in comparison to other industries. The purpose of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive overview of digital transformation within the Construction 4.0 framework and explore the uses and challenges associated with adopting the most prominent digital technologies. This study is a literature-based exploration of published works to evaluate knowledge gaps and comprehend the Construction 4.0 concept in the context of the AEC industry. The results present a set of possible uses of 10 promising technologies in Construction 4.0 along with challenges that hinder its adoption. These are categorised as technical, legal, financial, organisational, industry and data security barriers. This research is limited to several promising technologies. Future studies should focus on rapidly developing technologies and finding better solutions for implementation. Besides increasing the awareness of practitioners, policymakers and clients towards Construction 4.0 technologies, it might assist them in making decisions on selecting and implementing key technologies. This chapter contributes to the literature by providing an updated and inclusive review that focuses on the uses and challenges of 10 trending technologies in the specific context of Construction 4.0. Therefore, the findings of this study provide a basis for different actors in the AEC industry to accelerate digital transformation and pave the way for future research.

Through the course of this chapter, a detailed examination of Bangladesh's informal manufacturing sector, focussing on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) devoted to implementing green and sustainable practices, has been explored. This chapter explores and delves deeper into major sectors, notably textiles and garments, to understand the reasons for their growth and their contribution to the development of the nation. This chapter aims to explore the MSMEs of Bangladesh's contribution to the growth of the nation and identify the bottlenecks hindering their development in detail. The informal sector, dominantly ruled by the textile and garments industry, is the main focus of this chapter, which focuses on the investigation of their growth factors. Afterwards, the chapter provides particular recommendations to encourage sustainability in the informal manufacturing sector, focussing on green and sustainable ways. Case studies from the textile and garment industries are provided as benchmarks, proving the importance of technology development and talent cultivation in confronting hindrances. The chapter calls for the design of broad macroeconomic policies intended to promote sustainable practices within the MSME sector of Bangladesh. It highlights the paramount importance of policies that promote greener working methods, especially in the textile and clothing sectors, in tune with Bangladesh's particular economic pathway. This chapter therefore acts as a critical reference to policymakers, researchers, and the private sector, drawing lessons from other jurisdictions as well as from international bodies on the capabilities of the textile and apparel sector of Bangladesh.

This study investigates the influence of intellectual capital on the financial performance of textile and garment companies in Indonesia. In this study, three proxied of value-added intellectual capital are used to represent intellectual capital: value-added human capital (VAHU), value-added structural capital, and value-added capital employed (VACA). The sample consists of 72 firm years of textile and garment companies publicly traded on the Indonesian Stock Exchange between 2016 and 2019 and was chosen using a purposive sampling method that fit the study’s requirements utilising panel data analysis. In this study, multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypothesis. According to the study, not all proxies of intellectual capital have an impact on a company’s financial performance. Return on assets (ROA) is influenced by VAHU, while asset turnover and ROA are only affected by VACA. Structural capital value-added has no impact on any financial performance measurements. In this analysis, physical capital was the most important element impacting financial performance. Since intellectual capital has a significant impact on financial success as measured by profitability ROA, it has a considerable relationship with ROA.