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The purpose of this study is to investigate the realtionship between the strategic maneuvers in working capital management (WCM) and the ensuing corporate performance, chiefly within the purview of companies aligned with Shariah-compliant financial practices during epochs of fiscal distress.

This study deploys a fixed effect regression model to dissect the WCM-performance nexus for Shariah and non-Shariah compliance firms in the UK. Here, the authors used FTSE 350 index data from 1990 till 2022. The authors used return on assets, return on equity and net profit margin as the dependent variables and they used working capital as the independent variable. Finally, a set of different control variables including, size, leverage, dividend and research and development. Furthermore, for robust purposes, the authors use the system generalized method of moments estimation.

The findings reveal a significant relationship between WCM and firm performance across different crisis periods. Effective WCM is associated with improved profitability and stability in firms. This study shows that firms with efficient WCM strategies were better positioned to navigate the financial turmoil of the GFC, the operational disruptions during COVID-19 and the economic impacts of the Russia–Ukraine conflict.

This research provides a significant perspective by spotlighting Sharia-compliant entities, thus charting new territory in the strategic finance discourse. In addition, the focus on Shariah-compliant firms introduces a novel perspective within the financial management domain, offering valuable insights for both academic researchers and financial practitioners.

This research designed, optimized and tested a context-specific scale to evaluate public sector employees' pension choices.

The authors developed the scale using a comprehensive process of interviews and focus groups with experts across academia and finance. The authors used the refined scale to collect data from 564 faculty members in public sector universities following a multistage systematic cluster sampling technique. The findings revealed diversity in choice across different socio-economic and demographic variables.

The results revealed that items related to the defined benefit pension system explain most of the data variance and are preferred widely. This is followed by a preference for monetizing pension benefits and a defined contribution system. These findings indicated the need for flexible pension plans.

Therefore, the progressive movement towards monetization and the shift from defined benefit to a defined contribution pension system due to economic pressures must be accurately calculated and introduced where it is suitable.

Although the theory of introducing a defined contribution pension system and monetization system is appealing, its practical implementation may not be encouraging for all employees.

Given the importance of both research and development (R&D) investments and dividend policy in the growth of firms, this paper examines the moderating effects of investor protection and other country-level governance mechanisms on the relationship between R&D investments and dividend payments in the firms from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS countries).

This empirical study uses a sample of 22,073 firm year observations from the BRICS countries over a period of 2008–2020 and employs both ordinary least squared (OLS) and system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation methods. The GMM estimation controls for unobservable heterogeneity and endogeneity and reduces estimation bias.

The findings indicate that although R&D intensity is negatively related with the cash dividend payments, with the interaction of investor protection and other country-level mechanisms the relationship between R&D intensity and dividend payments becomes positive. The results further show that investor protection has stronger impact on the relationship between R&D intensity and firm cash dividend payments than other selected country-level governance factors.

The research findings should encourage the policy makers in BRICS countries to strengthen investor protection and enhance quality of their institutions to make a right balance between retaining their growth potential and maintaining the value of the firms.

This is the first study to provide evidence of the moderating effects of investor protection and other country-level governance mechanisms on the relationship between R&D investments and dividend payments using the data from BRICS countries.

This paper aims to add to the existing body of literature on this subject by advocating how waqf-based entrepreneurship can be practiced in Malaysia.

The paper begins by presenting an overview of waqf and its role in entrepreneurship and proceeds by proposing a model of waqf-based entrepreneurship which is synthesized from various models existing in the Islamic world.

The paper concludes by recommending waqf-based entrepreneurship as an alternative socio-economic framework of society’s wellbeing.

The research is limited to the preliminary aspects of waqf entrepreneurship.

Waqf organization may be able to finance its own businesses through crowdfunding and other methods and also disburse waqf funds to small and large ventures.

The waqf system is a social tool that not only finances social development projects but also has social economic alternatives to assist poor and underprivileged groups in the society. This paper is toward such a socio-economic direction.

This paper might be considered the first attempt to detail the practical aspect of waqf entrepreneurship, in terms of enterprises to be financed, and how the funds to be accumulated.

Points out that the small and cottage industry (SCI) sector is often neglected despite its potential for contributing to economic development, especially in the third world; and reports an investigation of the use of the Bai‐Muajjal (BM) method of financing in the Bangladesh SCI sector. Explains the theoretical basis and methodology of the study, the possible sources of funds for SCI owners, the particular characteristics of Islamic banks and the fund investment methods they offer. Describes the BM lending activities of one such bank with 40 “grass root level” SCIs (poultry farming and handloom industry), which require borrowers to create groups, undergo monitoring and open savings accounts; and assesses their effects on SCI owners’ saving habits and the mobilization of savings towards productive ends. Identifies many social and economic advantages in the BM system and welcomes it as a way to channel savings productively and reduce poverty.