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This study aims to examine the relationship between economic growth and different indicators of air and water pollution in Malaysia. Air pollution indicators were assessed on a number of measures: carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide (SO), nitrogen dioxide, ozone and particulate matter (PM) while water pollution indicators were evaluating on a number of measures: biochemical oxygen demand, cadmium and arsenic. The income level per capita gross domestic product per capita were measured from the year 1996 to 2006 quarterly. Being different from the study by Hung and Shaw (2004) and Shen (2006), this study estimates population density as an endogenous variable. It formulates a fourequation simultaneous model for empirical research. Testes for exogeneity with the Hausman test and estimates the simultaneity model using the two‐stages least squares method. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is supported in the cases of SO and PM, and there are several differences found between single polynomial equation estimators commonly used in EKC literatures and simultaneous equation estimators.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the factors determining the productivity development in the Asia Pacific countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand.

The extensive growth theory that is expressed as the decomposition of the contribution of changes in employment, physical capital, foreign direct investment (FDI), human capital (HC), telecommunications investment and total factor productivity (TFP) growth on the selected Asia-Pacific countries’ output growth is used in this study. In this respect, an annual time series data over the period 1970-2012 for the aforementioned variables are employed.

The study found that the FDI spillover effects through the TFP are considered as productivity-driven economic growth in which the FDI spillover effects have significant effect on the productivity growth of the majority of these countries. It should be noted that most of these countries showed technological progress through the FDI spillover effects that is translated into a form of technology transfer and HC skills development.

This study empirically compared the FDI spillover effects on sustainable productivity growth of the most growing countries in the Asia Pacific region by using modified extensive growth theory that closed the gaps in the past studies and addressed the issues of technology transfer, HC development and sustainable productivity growth brought by the technical progress in these countries through the FDI spillover effects on productivity growth.

Hotel industry is witnessing a radical change as a result of technology interaction such as artificial intelligence (AI) in service tasks. As a result of this transformation, the pattern of service delivery based on human interaction has been changed to digital interaction. This brought opportunities to the hotels industry and consolidate its competitive advantage. However, the understanding gap still existed in both practical implementation and literature, especially in developing countries. Therefore, this paper aims to explore how hotels use AI to carry out services tasks.

The authors adopted the qualitative research method through Semi interviews. The sample was purposively selected from five 5-star hotels in the UAE, meanwhile, the managers were the targeted respondents.

Through content analysis, the authors find that the UAE hotels use AI in managing trip planning, reception service and room services. The authors also find that there are four key drivers that improve the performance of AI, which include AI infrastructure flexibility, strategic alignment, management and skills. Finally, the authors found four indicators of the impact of AI on hotels, which are quality, cost and market share and customers satisfaction.

This study is one of few studies that explored the use of AI in the hotels industry and discussed how AI influence several aspects of hotels performance and helped them to attain their competitive advantage. This study is also one of few studies and the first study in UAE to explore the key drivers of AI performance in UAE hotels.

This study aims to explain the integration of innovation and climate with the economic growth Green Productivity (GP) concept. This is drawn from the integration of two important developmental strategies: productivity improvement and environmental protection. Productivity provides the framework for continuous improvement, while environmental protection provides the foundation for sustainable development. Therefore, GP is a strategy for enhancing productivity and environmental performance for overall socio-economic development.

Three variations of frameworks and econometric model were developed to measure green total factor productivity, green labour productivity and green capital productivity, and their contributions to green productivity and sustainable development; these were based on extensive and intensive growth theories.

The sustainability of higher economic growth will likely continue to be productivity driven. This will be through the enhancement of total factor productivity (TFP) as technological progress in nations that combined the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic development, environmental protection and social sustainable development via human capital development). Such an enhancement needs to emphasise the quality of the workforce, demand intensity, economic restructuring, capital structure, technical progress and environmental standards. It should be recalled that green productivity through green TFP demonstrates the sustainable development concept of progressing technologically. It will ensure the rights of the future, as well as current, generations for them to enjoy a better life.

The study fills the gaps in growth theories by developing three variations of frameworks and econometric models, and internalising pollutants emissions as private and unpriced inputs in the three models. Further, the green capital productivity model is the sole contributing model developed in this research; it has not been thought about in any previous studies. This study highlighted the green productivity that is ignored by the studies that have been awarded the Nobel Prize in economic sciences in 2018.

The purpose of this paper is to explain bio-economy dimensions as a new stream of knowledge-based economy that exists in the new era of the information and communications technology.

Bio-economy refers to the production of a wide range of goods and services from plant, animal and forest-based material. It is more than just grain-based bio-fuels or bio-diesel as extensively highlighted in Latin America. It is related to biotechnology and other bio-activities based on knowledge generated from the bio-activities and extension of the knowledge-based economy.

The main concern of developing bio-economy is the environmental damage caused through the undesirable output produced by the bio-economy activities. Bio-economy is centred on research and development (R&D) collaborations across different sectors, including the public and private sectors, in order to breakthrough new products through invention and innovation.

For bio-economy to be realised and put into practice, it should have a well-developed regulatory framework as a platform in order to run and work smoothly.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of microfinance programs sponsored by Sudanese microfinance institutions (SMFIs) on monetary poverty reduction in Sudan where poverty is widely spread.

The study adopted the control group approach, where income and expenditure are taken as welfare indicators. The updated World Bank’s international poverty line of 1.90 per person per day was adopted to separate the poor from non-poor. The data were collected by the means of a questionnaire distributed to a random sample of beneficiaries in the institution under study. The study adapted the Foster, Greer and Thorbecke (FGT) model to evaluate the role of microfinance programs in poverty reduction. Furthermore, to gain more insight into the impact of the program, a preliminary analysis was conducted using the independent-samples t-test to examine the difference in the welfare indicators for the sample of the control group and treatment group as well as that of the small loan group and micro-loan group.

The findings show that the microfinance program provided by SMFIs has reduced the monetary poverty among the participants. The results also reveal that beneficiaries who had received a larger volume of loan were noted lesser poverty than those who had received very small loan size. Moreover, the results demonstrate that poverty indices based on expenditure as a welfare indicator are far lower than those based on income for both groups.

This study contributes to the available literature by filling the gaps through including income and expenditure as monetary variables, which included separately in previous studies adopted the FGT model in the area of microfinance, in addition to exploring the role of loan size in the effect of microfinance on poverty reduction.

This study illustrates the intention to implement total quality management (TQM) applications in Oman’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of TQM implementation on the MOJ’s work performance (WP).

The study modified the TQM efficiency model by including new variables that had been ignored by previous studies. As a result, 320 questionnaires have been collected, and the study employed partial least squares for primary data analysis to test the research model.

Customer focused performance is an important factor that has a direct relationship with WP. However, the findings guide the explanation that there are other factors of TQM that have a direct effect on WP, and this research is directed at future research to select more profound factors of TQM.

The main limitations of this study is that the analysis of the main study was based on the intention to implement TQM to replace the current management system’s practice at Oman’s MOJ.

This study is considered to be one of the significant studies related to the effect of testing intention to implement TQM on WP of Oman’s MOJ.

This study aims to examine Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) Adoption of electronic government procurement (EGP) in the post-introduction phase as the portal was introduced in the early year 2000.

This study integrated electronic public services into two acceptance theories (the technology acceptance model [TAM] and unified theory of acceptance and use of technology [UTAUT] framework) and having a direct measurement of the criterion. Both TAM and UTAUT models measure the behaviour intention to use and indirectly measure the criterion of actual usage along with behavioural intention. Besides, this study conducted a systematic sampling survey in SMEs located in Klang Valley (the business hub in Malaysia).

The results confirm that effort expectancy, performance expectancy and social influences had a direct effect on the adoption of EGP in the private sector. Rather than the original UTAUT setup, the behavioural intention would influence user behaviour.

The implications and policy recommendations of these findings will be used by both SMEs and the government to improve the EGP delivery.

The gap with this study is at the time the Malaysian Government introduced e-procurement. The SMEs were quite new and had limited knowledge in the e-procurement during the introduction phase. Both SMEs and the government will use the implications and policy recommendations of these findings to improve the EGP delivery in the current post introduction phase.

This study measures the impact of ICT on Malaysia’s aggregate output in the period 1965‐2005. It closes a gap in existing literature by using the 3SLS technique on a country specific study. Telecommunication penetration rate is used as a proxy for ICT and analysed in both macro‐economic and micro‐economic perspectives. The findings of this study suggest that there is a causal relation between ICT and aggregate output in Malaysia and that the MSC and the privatisation policy of the telecommunication sector, are found to be indifferent to achieving expected economic growth in Malaysia.

This paper aims to examine the determinant factors that influence the adoption of mobile banking by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Palestine. The aim of this paper has supported with the objectives to identify the role of mobile banking practices in enhancing sustainable growth and development of Palestine SMEs; determining the factors that influencing the SMEs as a service and products providers’ intention to adopt mobile banking and proposing a conceptual model for adoption mobile banking development by SMEs sectors in Palestine

Hypotheses were developed guided by the technology organisation-environment (TOE) model. The primary data was collected from 408 SMEs in Palestine using questionnaires and 8 interviews.

The empirical results are based on partial least squares analysis and statistical package for the social sciences. The findings presented in this paper reveal that SMEs factors, enabling environment and business model are the main determinant factors affecting the intention to adopt mobile banking by the SMEs sector in Palestine.

The main contribution of this study is the concise identification of the obstacles and facilitators to SMEs’ mobile banking, especially in developing countries. A suggestion for further study was made. The findings could be useful to policymakers, government institutions and agencies especially in Palestine and other development partners in designing and directing their policy intervention.

This study contributes significantly to the theoretical understanding of mobile banking through the development of a mobile banking framework for the SMEs’ sector in Palestine. A major contribution of this study is to the existing knowledge and literature in mobile banking by developing a TOE framework for providers (supply-side) factors in general and in particular in Palestine to fill the gaps in past studies.