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This study aims to analyze the level of Islamic finance awareness by Cameroonian small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs) on the one hand, and the effects of this awareness on the entrepreneurs’ decision to patronize (adopt) Islamic finance, on the other hand.

This study uses primary data collected from a cross-section of 1,358 SMEs in eight regions of Cameroon using self-administered structured questionnaires. The authors apply mean computation analyses and a binary logistic model to test the study hypotheses. The authors also check for endogeneity and carry out sensitivity analyses.

The results show that the level of Islamic finance awareness among Cameroonian SMEs can be regarded as average. Furthermore, after dividing the sample into two groups based on the religion of the entrepreneur, it is revealed that the awareness level among Muslim entrepreneurs is considered higher than that of the non-Muslims, with a below-average level of awareness, thereby underlying the place occupied by the Islamic religion as a driver of the decision to engage in the Islamic mode of finance. The application of the simple logistic model reveals that awareness enhances the adoption of Islamic finance by Cameroonian SMEs and that these effects are modulated by the Islamic religion and the educational level channels.

Policymakers and bank managers are encouraged to prioritize more consumer awareness programs as a means of promoting the adoption of Islamic finance by SMEs in Cameroon. Future research in this area should equally consider the supply-side aspects of Islamic finance such as bank managers whose perception and awareness are equally key toward ensuring a more holistic agenda for the promotion of Islamic finance services.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the awareness level of SMEs in the context of a non-Muslim-dominated sub-Saharan African country.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of Islamic finance products (murabaha, musharakah, mudarabah, salam, ijara, istisna and Qard Hassan) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Cameroon, a non-Islamic Sub-Saharan African country.

It used primary data collected from a cross-section of 1,358 SMEs in eight regions of Cameroon using self-administered structured questionnaires. To facilitate the analyses and interpretation, these products are grouped into four groups based on certain characteristics. A multivariate probit model is estimated to take into account the interaction between these different Islamic finance products.

This study revealed that the desire to comply with Sharia law, awareness, attitude and intention were critical determinants of the decision to adopt Islamic finance products by Cameroonian SMEs. The least influential factors were perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, enterprise characteristics (size, age and location) and socio-demographic characteristics of the entrepreneur (gender, age and marital status). The extension of the multivariate approach permitted us to compute for predicted probabilities which revealed that there exists a synergy effect between the different Islamic finance products. That is, Cameroonian SMEs combine different Islamic finance products at the same time based on their needs. This is especially the case between the partnership-based products (musharakah and mudarabah) and manufacture/rent products (istisna and ijara).

Policymakers are encouraged to develop stakeholder-oriented strategies to promote effective consumer education in Islamic finance products which will boost awareness. Also, Islamic finance institutions should endeavor to develop innovative financial products that are Sharia-compliant and economically beneficial to the individual and business needs of SMEs. Moreover, policymakers and management of Islamic finance institutions should ensure the putting in place of effective governance structures to guide Islamic finance operations. Finally, policymakers should endeavor to take into account the possible synergy between the different Islamic finance products in their quest to develop this activity.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyses the adoption of different Islamic finance products while taking into account the possible synergy that exists between these products.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of Islamic finance on women empowerment in Africa between the periods of 1975 and 2021.

This paper uses secondary data for 27 African countries obtained from the World Development Indicators, World Population Review and the Varieties of Democracy databases. Four dimensions of women empowerment, namely, economic, social, political and household, are considered while Islamic finance is proxied by a binary variable with 1 and 0 representing the presence and the absence of Islamic finance, respectively. The two-staged least square estimation technique is used to control for the problem of endogeneity.

This study revealed that Islamic finance positively affects women empowerment in Africa. Specifically, Islamic finance has positive and significant effects on women political empowerment, women economic empowerment and women social empowerment in Africa but nonsignificant effect on home empowerment. These effects are more pronounced in middle-income than in low-income countries and in countries with higher penetration rate of Islamic finance.

Policymakers should put in place the necessary mechanisms for the promotion of Islamic finance such as the enacting of laws that ensures the creation of full-fledged Islamic banks, encouraging research in Islamic finance and Islamic economics. These policies should equally be backed by the creation of some accompanying measures such as the abolition of social norms that limit women’s ability to take part in decision-making.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study involving an Africa continent-wide analysis of the effects of Islamic finance on women empowerment.

This paper aims to ascertain whether halal certification mark, halal brand quality and halal awareness influence Nigerian consumers when making buying decisions.

The researchers reflect on the newly collected data to shed light on the above issues from the perspective of Nigerian consumers. To this end, a questionnaire was developed and used to collect data from 282 respondents. The data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics.

This study found that halal certification mark and halal brand quality are the most influential factors that contributed to the consumers’ buying decisions in Nigeria.

Based on the findings of this study, the researchers have argued that more efforts are needed in the area of halal awareness in Nigeria. Similarly, the study argues that halal brand quality should always be held at the esteemed position. Based on the study’s findings, the authors have been able to fill the literature gap, particularly in the context of the Nigerian halal industry.

The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of credit constraints on agricultural labour productivity as well as the impact of credit constraints and agricultural labour productivity on rural households' consumption in Ghana.

This study uses the Ghana Living Standard Survey round six (GLSS 6) as the main source of data, which happens to be one of the most comprehensive household datasets in Ghana. Quantitative estimation techniques (namely: Endogenous Switching Regression and Two Stage Least Squares) are used to address possible endogeneity and selection into credit markets.

First, large households are prone to credit constraints while age (experience) and compliance with extension advice reduce credit constraints. Second, the determinants of agricultural labour productivity for both constrained and unconstrained households are age, sex, farm equipment, herbicide and farm size. Third, household size, education and livestock rearing influence agricultural labour productivity of constrained households. Fourth, credit constraints, irrespective of how they are measured, impede agricultural labour productivity while access to credit fosters labour productivity. Lastly, credit constraints robustly reduce consumption while agricultural labour productivity strongly enhances rural households' consumption.

The first contribution is that, unlike most previous studies, we do not focus on the widely used measure of productivity – output per unit land, but on agriculture labour productivity in particular. Secondly, unlike most previous studies which examine the effect of credit constraints either on productivity alone or consumption alone, our study examines the impact of credit constraints on both. Thirdly, unlike the existing literature which uses one or two measures of credit constraints, we use a wide range of measures of credit constraints – seven different measures of credit constraints. Lastly, our empirical strategy solves at least two critical econometric problems – sample selection bias and endogeneity.

The aim is to examine the long run and short run linear and non-linear impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows on poverty in Nigeria from 1980 to 2019.

The Augmented Dickey Fuller, Phillips Perron and Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin unit root tests and bounds test were used to tests the series stationarity and co-integration, respectively. Autoregressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) and non-linear and linear autoregressive Distributive Lag (NARDL) estimators are employed to examine the long run and short run impact of the coefficients of the variables and diagnostic check.

The study finds that the variables are integrated at a level I(0) and the first difference I(I) and co-integrated. The ARDL estimator indicates that FDI significantly reduces poverty in the long and short run. The findings under NARDL shows FDI positive shock and FDI negative shock reduces poverty substantially in the long-short run, respectively. The error correction term is negative and significant.

This study is limited to a single country (time series) and less informative compared with the panel data study with much informative and free from hetero-scedasticity. Future studies should consider panel data using a similar or dissimilar approach.

FDI inflows stimulate growth, thereby creating job openings, transfer of modern technology and reduce poverty and demonstrate that, if the finding integrated into policy actions, the government would attract FDI inflows for the real sector of the economy.

FDI inflows lead to environmental degradation if inferior technology is use in the host economy, especially the weak environmental regulations in Nigeria.

The authors find no study that applied both ARDL and NARDL estimator, selection of variables measurement and time frame for the study in the context of Nigeria.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-08-2020-0530.

This study aims to assess the extent of the impact of uncertainty factors on renovation project performance.

This study aims to adopt a quantitative approach, using structural equation modelling (SEM) to assess the extent of the impact of uncertainty variables on construction project performance based on data from 226 construction professionals sourced using a questionnaire.

The SEM result indicates four (4) principal uncertainty factors have a significant effect on renovation projects, while the remaining four (4) do not. Results of descriptive and inferential statistics showed that 25 out of 45 identified uncertainty factors have a critical impact on performance, thereby serving as the basis for exploratory factor analysis, which produced an eight-group factor solution.

The research is limited to specific locations, as uncertainty factors can be location-sensitive. Further research should be done to assess the Impact of these Uncertainty factors on a specific location and other project types.

The study aids practitioners in estimating project costs and durations by identifying uncertainty factors affecting renovation projects. It aids project managers in managing uncertainties to improve cost, quality and schedule and serves as a risk management tool for clients and project managers.

The study presents a path model that shows the impact of uncertainty factors on renovation project performance. The insights provided in this study are poised to assist project managers and other construction professionals in planning renovation projects more effectively and successfully.

Employee engagement has been identified as a prevalent issue affecting higher education institutions, particularly since the emergence of COVID-19. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors contributing to employee engagement in Islamic higher education institutions in the context of Malaysia.

A quantitative research design was used for this study, and a survey questionnaire was used to collect data from 340 staff members of Islamic higher education institutions in Malaysia. The proposed hypotheses underwent testing through the statistical technique of structural equation modelling, using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) and analysis of moment structures (AMOS).

The results indicate that training and development, trustworthiness, workplace spirituality, reward and recognition, management support and job autonomy significantly contribute to employee engagement in Islamic higher education institutions in Malaysia.

This study is limited to the staff of Islamic higher education institutions in Malaysia. A comparative cross-cultural research approach may be preferred for a more comprehensive understanding. Therefore, future researchers are encouraged to consider this limitation when investigating the factors contributing to employee engagement in Islamic higher education institutions, particularly to confirm the cogency of our findings.

The findings provide valuable insights into the workforce factors that play key roles in developing a highly engaged workforce in Islamic higher education institutions. This study contributes to the enrichment of the literature in this specific area of study.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of Islamic banks’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) using data collected from stakeholders in Malaysia. While Islamic scholars have developed the Islamic CSR from the Qur’anic verses, the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) and from the western ideologies, the focus of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the developed Islamic CSR practices.

Quantitative research design was adopted for this study. Exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and other analyses are performed on the data collected from 193 stakeholders in Malaysia.

Based on the data collected and analyzed, the results show that stakeholders view the Malaysian Islamic banks’ CSRs as effective.

This study investigates the effectiveness of Malaysian Islamic banks’ CSR based on the survey data collected. However, future studies could explore this in greater depth using mixed methods.

The research findings have great implications for researchers. Since this study is among the few research studies that investigate the effectiveness of Islamic CSR, the researchers have paved ways for further investigation in this area. In addition, the study encourages the Malaysian Islamic banks and other Islamic financial institutions to contribute more to the society.

The study examines the effectiveness of Islamic banks’ CSR and contributes to the growing discussions on the Islamic CSR. The study has opened up this area for further investigations by other researchers.

This study aims to qualitatively examine the implications of Maqasid al-Shari’ah (objectives of Islamic law) for sustainability practices among businesses. While there is a growing recognition of the importance of adopting an integrated approach to sustainability, several businesses remain focused on profit maximisation at the expense of environmental and social sustainability. As such, there is a need for more studies that emphasise sustainability practices, essentially to expose businesses to the best ways to meet the needs of today without negatively impacting future generations.

This research used a qualitative research design, and data were collected from Shari’ah scholars. To facilitate data collection, semi-structured interview questions were developed and used to conduct interviews with ten Shari’ah scholars in Malaysia. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interview data collected for this study.

The results demonstrate that there are ample justifications from a Shari’ah perspective for integrated sustainability practices. Additionally, the study reveals a need for increased awareness regarding the importance of businesses adopting a holistic approach to sustainability through the formulation and implementation of suitable sustainability strategies and ensuring compliance with social and environmental standards.

While this study has primarily adopted a qualitative method to address the implications of Maqasid al-Shari’ah for integrated sustainability practices among businesses, the authors acknowledge that this approach may not capture the full spectrum of quantitative data that could provide a broader statistical perspective on the issue. Hence, future research could incorporate quantitative methods to complement the findings of this study.

This research constitutes an innovative addition to the field of corporate sustainability practices. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no prior studies have extensively explored the intricate intersection of Maqasid al-Shari’ah and integrated corporate sustainability practices as this study has done.