Aidy Ali, Wei Kuan Ng, Faiz Arifin, Kannan Rassiah, Faiz Othman, Shauqi Hazin and Megat Hamdan Megat Ahmad
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fracture properties of hybrid woven bamboo (WB)/woven e-glass (EG) fiber composites with various layer arrangements. This paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fracture properties of hybrid woven bamboo (WB)/woven e-glass (EG) fiber composites with various layer arrangements. This paper utilized a specific type of bamboo species named Gigantochloa Scortechinii (Buluh Semantan).
Design/methodology/approach
In these experiments, unsaturated polyester, woven EG and WB fibers were prepared through the hand lay-up technique. The composite bamboo strips were prepared in 1.5 mm thickness. The strips are woven to make a single layer. The layer was then laminated into several thicknesses. The specimens were then characterized using compact tension fracture tests.
Findings
The fracture toughness of 12–14 MPa was obtained. These findings suggest that this hybrid bamboo composite provides superior fracture strength that is equivalent with steel alloy and is extremely a good alternative for reinforcing fibers to combat fracture failures of materials and structures.
Originality/value
In this paper, experimental determination of newly developed composite made of WB and woven EG is presented.
Details
Keywords
Aidy Ali, Maryam Hosseini and Barkawi Sahari
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fatigue behavior of rubber using dumb‐bell test specimens under uniaxial loading.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the fatigue behavior of rubber using dumb‐bell test specimens under uniaxial loading.
Design/methodology/approach
The material used is a vulcanized natural rubber with a formulation typical for engine mounts and an international rubber hardness degree of 60. Fatigue tests are conducted under the displacement controlled condition with a sine waveform of 0.1 Hz and the load ratio of zero.
Findings
In modeling fatigue damage behavior, a continuum damage model is presented based on the function of the strain range under cyclic loading. The Ogden strain energy potential is used to define the constitutive relation of the natural rubber. A good agreement is obtained between fatigue experimental data and theoretical predictions.
Originality/value
Fatigue analysis and lifetime evaluation are very important in design to ensure the safety and reliability of rubber components. The design of rubber against fatigue failure is an important topic that must be considered for safety during operation.
Details
Keywords
Nusrat Jafrin, Masnun Mahi, Muhammad Mehedi Masud and Deboshree Ghosh
The study attempts to establish the relationship between demographic dividend and GDP growth rate by utilising panel data from 1990 to 2017 in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal…
Abstract
Purpose
The study attempts to establish the relationship between demographic dividend and GDP growth rate by utilising panel data from 1990 to 2017 in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Design/methodology/approach
This study employs the pooled OLS model, using data from the World Bank's database for the period 1990–2017 for five selected South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
Findings
The results reveal that demographic dividend affects economic growth in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, thereby supporting the demographic dividend hypothesis. For the country-specific analysis, it was also observed that demographic dividend impacts the economic growth of the five SAARC countries. In addition, growth of gross capital formation is highly significant for both aggregated and country-specific analyses. However, economic growth is unaffected by trade openness and unemployment rates. Moreover, the rate of labour force participation is negatively related to the GDP growth rate in the aggregated model.
Originality/value
This paper bestows insight into the fact that the impact of demographic dividend on the economic growth of the SAARC regions cannot be fully actualised if the workforce are underutilised. This region needs to adopt appropriate policies to strengthen the considerable benefits of demographic dividend on the economic growth.
Details
Keywords
Following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1992, Russia undertook major institutional and market‐oriented reforms to enhance the competitive advantage of domestic enterprises…
Abstract
Purpose
Following the demise of the Soviet Union in 1992, Russia undertook major institutional and market‐oriented reforms to enhance the competitive advantage of domestic enterprises. Although Russia has experienced rapid growth over the last two decades, the extent to which institutions in Russia impact on firm innovation and performance remains poorly understood due to a lack of research on the subject. This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the competitiveness of Russian firms by focussing specifically on the extent to which the state of the regulatory quality, rule of law, and corruption affect the innovation capacity and performance of firms in Russia.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses structural equation modelling and data from a large‐scale firm level survey (n=787) of firms in Russia undertaken by the World Bank in 2009. It investigates the direct and indirect perceptions of respondents of the effects the current institutional environment has on the innovation capacity and performance of their respective organisations.
Findings
The results show that regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption have strong direct and negative impacts on both the innovation capacity and performance of firms, and that innovation capacity strongly mediates the effects of institutions on firm performance. The results suggest that the current state of the regulatory quality, rule of law and corruption in Russia inhibit firm innovation and their resulting performance.
Research limitations/implications
The findings should be interpreted with caution to the extent that the study is limited to only three elements of the formal institutional environment and does not take into consideration the role of informal institutions. These two limitations present avenues for future research.
Originality/value
The study is one of the first to provide empirical evidence based on a large‐scale survey of the extent to which formal institutions inhibit innovation and firm performance in Russia, and provides valuable guidance to business policy‐makers in Russia on possible avenues for enhancing the overall competitiveness of Russian firms.
Details
Keywords
Islamic finance and Halal product sectors are thriving successfully. This chapter is a general review of the perception of Asian consumers on Islamic finance and Halal sectors in…
Abstract
Purpose
Islamic finance and Halal product sectors are thriving successfully. This chapter is a general review of the perception of Asian consumers on Islamic finance and Halal sectors in the global Halal economy.
Methodology/approach
The first section will briefly describe the Halal concept in both Islamic finance and Halal industries, and the growth of both sectors in Asian countries. The second part highlights the review of Asian consumers’ perception towards Islamic finance products and Halal products.
Findings
The review found that the consumers’ perception towards the Islamic finance products and Halal products is distinctive. This is due to the diversity of Asian countries in terms of geography, religion, culture, ethnic, school of thoughts (madzahib), income per capita and government’s involvement.
Originality/value
The third part of the chapter concentrates on planning towards Halal marketing, which involves the move and future challenges in different layers of industries to gear up and strengthen the Halal economy.
Details
Keywords
Banjo Roxas, Doren Chadee and Ronel Erwee
South Africa (SA) has undertaken significant institutional reforms since the change in its political regime in 1994. During the same period, SA has also experienced rapid economic…
Abstract
Purpose
South Africa (SA) has undertaken significant institutional reforms since the change in its political regime in 1994. During the same period, SA has also experienced rapid economic growth. Although it is widely accepted that institutional reform generally has positive impacts on firm competitiveness and economic growth, the extent to which institutional reforms in SA have been of benefit to businesses is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to focus specifically on the rule of law and assesses the extent to which the rule of law affects business performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses multinomial logistic regression techniques and data, from a large‐scale firm level survey (n=751) of SA businesses undertaken by the World Bank in 2007, to estimate the effects of various elements of the rule of law on firm performance.
Findings
Crime and theft were found to have the largest impact on business performance, followed by corruption and tax administration. Political instability and the effectiveness of the court system were not perceived to affect business performance significantly.
Research limitations/implications
Ongoing institutional reforms aimed at improving business performance and competitiveness in SA should pay particular attention to the design of effective policies to address crime, theft, corruption and tax administration issues faced by businesses.
Originality/value
The study is one of the first to provide empirical evidence based on a large‐scale survey of the extent to which crime and theft, corruption and tax effectiveness inhibit business growth in SA.
Details
Keywords
Nurudeen Abubakar Zauro, Ram Al Jaffri Saad, Aidi Ahmi and Mohd Yahya Mohd Hussin
This paper aims to discuss the role of Waqf as a means of enhancing financial inclusion and socio-economic justice in Nigeria.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to discuss the role of Waqf as a means of enhancing financial inclusion and socio-economic justice in Nigeria.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology in this paper is that the data were elicited from secondary sources such as the Al-Qur’an, Hadiths and other empirical studies in the existing literature. The Tawhidi epistemology (Islamic world view) also has been obtained to deliver better understanding on the findings.
Findings
The paper implores Islamic societies to take advantages of integrating Waqf to support the financing needs of disadvantaged members of the Muslims communities, especially the Muslims, dominated northern Nigeria with a high level of financial exclusion. The Waqf funds if integrated and institutionalized will support the region by making the fewer privilege members of that community-engaged thereby economically and enhancing the financial inclusion. This will also lead to economic growth and socio-economic development of Nigeria.
Practical implications
The paper concludes by suggesting the establishment of Waqf funds to supports the less privileged people through Islamic Microfinance as means of enhancing socio-economic justice in Nigeria’s Muslims’ communities, which is negatively affected by the high rate of financial exclusion and poverty. This paper also provides critical suggestions on the ways the integration of Waqf funds will contribute significantly towards assisting Nigeria in achieving its vision of reducing the financial exclusion rate and may foster inclusive growth and sustainable development.
Originality/value
This paper is a conceptual study and, therefore, limited to the content of the existing literature. Hence, the future researchers may replicate and test it empirically for a more scientific justification regarding the roles of Waqf towards enhancing financial inclusion in Nigeria.
Details
Keywords
Mohamad Amin Kaviani, Amir Karbassi Yazdi, Lanndon Ocampo and Simonov Kusi-Sarpong
The oil and gas industry is a crucial economic sector for both developed and developing economies. Delays in extraction and refining of these resources would adversely affect…
Abstract
Purpose
The oil and gas industry is a crucial economic sector for both developed and developing economies. Delays in extraction and refining of these resources would adversely affect industrial players, including that of the host countries. Supplier selection is one of the most important decisions taken by managers of this industry that affect their supply chain operations. However, determining suitable suppliers to work with has become a phenomenon faced by these managers and their organizations. Furthermore, identifying relevant, critical and important criteria needed to guide these managers and their organizations for supplier selection decisions has become even more complicated due to various criteria that need to be taken into consideration. With limited works in the current literature of supplier selection in the oil and gas industry having major methodological drawbacks, the purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated approach for supplier selection in the oil and gas industry.
Design/methodology/approach
To address this problem, this paper proposes a new uncertain decision framework. A grey-Delphi approach is first applied to aid in the evaluation and refinement of these various available criteria to obtain the most important and relevant criteria for the oil and gas industry. The grey systems theoretic concept is adopted to address the subjectivity and uncertainty in human judgments. The grey-Shannon entropy approach is used to determine the criteria weights, and finally, the grey-EDAS (evaluation based on distance from average solution) method is utilized for determining the ranking of the suppliers.
Findings
To exemplify the applicability and robustness of the proposed approach, this study uses the oil and gas industry of Iran as a case in point. From the literature review, 21 criteria were established and using the grey-Delphi approach, 16 were finally considered. The four top-ranked criteria, using grey-Shannon entropy, include warranty level and experience time, relationship closeness, supplier’s technical level and risks which are considered as the most critical and influential criteria for supplier evaluation in the Iranian oil and gas industry. The ranking of the suppliers is obtained, and the best and worst suppliers are also identified. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the results using the proposed methodology are robust.
Research limitations/implications
The proposed approach would assist supply chain practicing managers, including purchasing managers, procurement managers and supply chain managers in the oil and gas and other industries, to effectively select suitable suppliers for cooperation. It can also be used for other multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) applications. Future works on applying other MCDM methods and comparing them with the results of this study can be addressed. Finally, broader and more empirical works are required in the oil and gas industry.
Originality/value
This study is among the first few studies of supplier selection in the oil and gas industry from an emerging economy perspective and sets the stage for future research. The proposed integrated grey-based MCDM approach provides robust results in supplier evaluation and can be used for future domain applications.
Details
Keywords
Ali Mohamad Mouazen and Ana Beatriz Hernández-Lara
The negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic situation, especially in certain countries, have compelled organizations to shrink their hierarchies…
Abstract
Purpose
The negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the current economic situation, especially in certain countries, have compelled organizations to shrink their hierarchies, reduce working hours, freeze hiring, and rely on gig workers to perform tasks. While these circumstances may be seen as a threat, certain vulnerable labor groups, such as women, seized the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills and launch their own firms. Others addressed smart platforms to engage in gig economy activities. This research investigates the aspects that drive women to be entrepreneurs, exploring the relationships between the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the gig economy, and women's entrepreneurship in a developing country.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from 300 female entrepreneurs in Lebanon through questionnaires that measured the indicators and variables of the proposed model, which was tested applying partial least square.
Findings
The results show a positive influence of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and gig economy on women's entrepreneurship, stronger in the case of entrepreneurial ecosystem elements and almost similar for opportunity and necessity entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This research achieves empirical evidence on the relationship between the entrepreneurial ecosystem, the gig economy, and women's entrepreneurship in the case of a developing country. The originality of this paper lies in its empirical and gendered approach, considering together the effects of entrepreneurial ecosystem factors and gig economy practices on women's entrepreneurship, especially relevant in a regional context like Lebanon, where digital economy may constitute an opportunity for economically vulnerable groups.
Details
Keywords
Rizal Bahara, Muhammad Nur Aidi, Khaswar Syamsu, Euis Sunarti, Anuraga Jayanegara and Marco Tieman
This study aims to explore the country’s contribution to research on halal food small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) taken from the Scopus database for 10 years from 2013 to…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the country’s contribution to research on halal food small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) taken from the Scopus database for 10 years from 2013 to 2022 so that it can provide an overview of the effort that needs to be made by the government to improve research in this field.
Design/methodology/approach
The method used in this study was bibliometric analysis. The data comes from the Scopus database over the past 10 years (2013–2022). To create data visualization and network analysis using VOSviewer, Scimago Graphica, Bibliometrix and MS Excel.
Findings
Research on halal food SMEs has grown by almost 25%, with Malaysia leading with 447 publications. The UK is the leading country in publishing research articles with 44 journals. Malaysia has the most institutions (40 institutions for 25% globally). Malaysia has most research funding agencies (22 for 14% globally). Malaysia has the highest number of citations in halal food SMEs, with 3547 citations, followed by China and Indonesia. Malaysia has also the highest number of collaborating researchers and the most invitations. Future research focuses on sustainability, social issues, Internet of Things technologies, innovative technologies and strategies to increase productivity and competitiveness.
Originality/value
This research is a reference and overview of future research in halal food SMEs with the perspective of a country contribution angle. It provides input to the government on what needs to be done to develop research in the halal field in line with the goal of a country becoming the center of the global halal industry.