Hasan A. Abbas, Kamel Rouibah and Nabeel Al-Qirim
This study aims to explore the antecedent factors that directly and indirectly influence electronic word of mouth (eWoM) for social commerce (s-commerce) in two developing…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the antecedent factors that directly and indirectly influence electronic word of mouth (eWoM) for social commerce (s-commerce) in two developing countries (e.g. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates [UAE]) by extending social cognitive theory.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a previous robust model (Rouibah et al., 2021) as theoretical background to investigate and compares the antecedents (trust in Instagram, perceived risks) on eWoM for s-commerce through the mediation of three mediators (perceived enjoyment, perceived value and customer satisfaction) among two Arab countries. Data was collected from Kuwait (n = 1,132) and the UAE (n = 190). Different statistical analyses and structured equation modeling-based analysis of moment structure are used to test the robustness of the research model.
Findings
This study found customer satisfaction to be most important factor that mediates the effect independent factors on eWoM for s-commerce in both countries. Surprisingly, perceived enjoyment has no effect, and trust in Instagram and perceived risks are the most important factors that are considered imperative for customer satisfaction and positive feedback.
Research limitations/implications
One limitation of this study is that the author does not focus on the difference between the effects of textual and graphical information on customers’ decisions and trust in buying merchandise. Another limitation is that this study focuses on Kuwait and the UAE. Other Gulf Cooperation Council countries are also growing exponentially, and mobile and internet penetration rates are booming; they could be a trigger for more studies on whether differences occur among all of them.
Practical implications
The first implication is that it is the first in its field to extend the effects of eWoM. To the best of the author’s knowledge, compared to the online research this study is unique because the authors examine six factors for eWoM in s-commerce using the Instagram platform as opposed to other platforms.
Social implications
The third implication of this study is that the previous ones have applied eWoM to different subjects of e-commerce such as tourism and marketing but have concentrated less on s-commerce, where in-depth research is needed much more to explore factors and theories that explain human behavior.
Originality/value
Furthermore, most of these studies have focused on the intention to use (Dincer and Dincer, 2023; X. Hu, Chen, Davison, and Liu, 2022; Zhou et al., 2023). However, the attention in this research is on the actual use.
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This paper examines the effect of personality disorders, namely loneliness and shyness, on the family business successors' attitude towards social networking services (SNS).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the effect of personality disorders, namely loneliness and shyness, on the family business successors' attitude towards social networking services (SNS).
Design/methodology/approach
In this study the personality disorder and attitude towards using WhatsApp are analysed in a sample of 511 family business successors, aged 18 and up to more than 50 years. Participants completed questionnaires designed for the purposes of the study specifically using for loneliness factor the UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell et al., 1978) and for shyness the Sociability Scale (Cheek and Buss, 1981). We use two statistical methods: the first statistical technique is an exploratory factor analysis to show that shyness can be measured down into two dimensions (1) lack of confidence and (2) hesitancy, while loneliness also can be measured into the two dimensions: (1) amiability and (2) abandonment. The second statistical method uses structural equation modelling (SEM) to fit the data to the proposed model.
Findings
The results indicate that neither a lack of confidence nor amiability has a significant effect on the attitude towards instant messaging, while hesitancy and abandonment both have significant effects on attitude. Moreover, abandonment has a stronger effect on attitude than hesitancy.
Research limitations/implications
In this study were not included other related social disorders that other scholars normally study in such projects. For example, narcissism, addiction and socially anxious are very important and have results that conflict with ours.
Originality/value
The causal relations between the two independent factors of shyness and loneliness and the dependent factor of attitude towards using an Internet and SNS in family businesses from the Arab world have not yet been clearly and fully explored. This study aims to fill this gap through studying the impact of personality disorder (loneliness and shyness) on attitude to use SNS by the successors of family businesses.
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Manal Etemadi, Kioomars Ashtarian, Nader Ganji, Hannaneh Mohammadi Kangarani and Hasan Abolghasem Gorji
Reducing health inequalities between the poor and the rich is one of the challenges that the Iranian healthcare sector is facing. One of the goals of the Iranian Government in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Reducing health inequalities between the poor and the rich is one of the challenges that the Iranian healthcare sector is facing. One of the goals of the Iranian Government in the Healthcare Sector Evolution Plan (HSEP) is claimed to be creating an opportunity for the poor to use inexpensive services. The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the status of the poor in the HSEP. Based on this evaluation, the authors will provide policy recommendations to improve the benefits of the HSEP for the poor people.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a qualitative study conducted in 2017. The research sample includes policymakers, experts and scholars at the macro-level of the Iranian healthcare system who were well-aware of the financial support for the poor. Overall, 35 semi-structured interviews were carried out. Data were analyzed based on the thematic analysis method.
Findings
The effects of the HSEP on the poor were studied in terms of their positive outcomes and challenges. Despite the achievements of the HSEP for all people, the most important challenge was the lack of targeted state subsidies for the poor. These subsidies should have included free insurance coverage, reducing inpatient payment and allocation of a separate budget for the poor.
Originality/value
Adopting some policies to target public health subsidies toward the poor such as free insurance specific for the poor (based on means testing), as well as user fee exemption and waivers could improve access to health services for them in Iran. In addition, separate funding for such policies, strengthening health prevention and health care services for marginalized populations, and improving their health literacy could help ensure the poor’s benefiting more from the health care services.
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Pakistan had never been a place of serious and nuanced debate and contestation of politics of postcolonial critique, that is, the continuity of economic, political, and cultural…
Abstract
Pakistan had never been a place of serious and nuanced debate and contestation of politics of postcolonial critique, that is, the continuity of economic, political, and cultural dependency of newly independent countries (NICs) on ex-colonizers as pointed out by neocolonialism, dependency theory, and postcolonial theory, respectively. Instead, Pakistan is presented by extant liberal academic literature as a “failed nation” and a state dominated by the military and plagued by religious extremism. As opposed to this, through the literary and activists writings of Aziz-ul-Haq, this chapter will try to illustrate how cultural contestation of the nation-building project postindependence from British rule was a lot more complex and interesting in Pakistan. This was so because the nation-building project of Pakistan was, on the one hand, an amalgamation of Indo-Persian, Arab, Indian, and Western colonial and civilizational influences and, on the other hand, entailed suppression of resilient local and national cultures of its constituent nationalities developed over centuries. This was later expressed in ethno-nationalist politics. However, when it came to the politics of the marginalized in the late 1960s, there were important political, theoretical, and literary insights which caused a change in the direction of political practice in Pakistan, which paralleled the politics expressed by writers like Fanon and early Subaltern Studies influenced by the Naxal Movement in India. The contestation and confusion arising from this dialectic also entered Pakistan's literary and cultural sphere. This chapter not only tries to give a different postcolonial critique of the failure of nation-building project in Pakistan but, though at a preliminary level, is an attempt to separate the original postcolonial theory in its radical tradition from contemporary postmodern/poststructuralist postcolonial theory marked with pessimism and resignation.
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This study aims to investigate the practice of bay’ ‘inah contract in personal and home financing products by some Islamic Finance Institutions (IFIs) and examine the differences…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the practice of bay’ ‘inah contract in personal and home financing products by some Islamic Finance Institutions (IFIs) and examine the differences in the selection of contracts in banking products amongst IFIs mainly involving personal financing. The study will also propose a solution to the problem of differences and simultaneously standardise personal financing contracts in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology of this study is qualitative, in which the data are collected through library research and field studies. The library research is done by examining books of usul al-fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence), mura’aht al-khilaf, maqasid shariah (objectives of Islamic law) articles, statutes and related circulars, while field studies are conducted in an unstructured interview method with some members of Shariah Advisory Council (SAC) and academicians from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), IFIs and public university.
Findings
The findings show that there is a difference in views amongst SAC members in IFIs on bay’ ‘inah contract that effects the differences in the execution of such contract in banking applications. The study found that the bay’ ‘inah contract was non Shariah (Islamic law) compliant based on Shariah’s arguments and the opinion of the majority of past and present Islamic scholars. The study found that the BNM’s SAC did not allow the bay’ ‘inah contract to be practiced in personal and home financing products. Hence, this study proposes standardisation steps based on differences in the problems studied. The study also suggested that the SAC of BNM make improvements and updates on its solution regarding the bay’ ‘inah contract so that it is not misunderstood especially amongst IFIs.
Research limitations/implications
The study is only looking at one case study, which is the bay’ ‘inah contract practiced by the IFIs in Malaysia.
Practical implications
This study proposes the standardisation of personal financing products practiced by the IFIs. The results of this study can reduce Sharīʿah non-compliance products in the market. The results of this study have gained a deep understanding of the solution of bay’ ‘inah contract made by the SAC of BNM. The findings also reduce the conflict between Shariah scholars locally and internationally and can restore the image of Islamic banking in Malaysia from engaging with controversy products or contracts.
Social implications
The confidence of the public in Islamic banking is increasing as there is no contractual engagement with serious controversial issues and contracts similar to the concept of riba and hilah (trick) that is prohibited by Islamic law in IFIs.
Originality/value
This study analyses the differences of fatwa (a ruling on the point of Islamic law) about bay’ ‘inah contract decided by some SACs of IFI based on the discipline of usul al-fiqh. The study found that the bay’ ‘inah contract is not allowed by Islamic law. The study has proposed the standardisation of the fatwa differences based on the concept of mura’aht al-khilaf and the concept of standardisation in Islamic finance and to standardise personal financing products amongst IFIs in Malaysia.
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The concept of Takaful has a long history. It is linked with the era of Prophet Muhammad 1,400 years ago. The globalization and development of socio-economic systems have made…
Abstract
Purpose
The concept of Takaful has a long history. It is linked with the era of Prophet Muhammad 1,400 years ago. The globalization and development of socio-economic systems have made business activities more complex in response to emerging human needs and requirements. Similarly, Takaful insurance has fully commercialized and become an important indicator of the international financial market. The purpose of this study is to understand the Takaful mechanism and progression of its procedures to date since its inception.
Design/methodology/approach
This study seeks to examine the origin, evolution and historical developments of Takaful mechanism, operations, models and governing framework with extant literature review from previous studies and current practices.
Findings
The modern Takaful insurance first began in Sudan back in 1979. The Takaful operations must abide by the Sharia laws and work under the supervision of the Sharia Supervisory Board. Since its evolution, Sharia scholars have introduced various Takaful models that are going to be explained in this study. Moreover, several Islamic organizations, including the “Islamic Financial Services Board” and the “Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions,” have provided guidelines and supervision to develop and strengthen the Takaful industry further. The study acknowledges Takaful as a growing insurance industry with huge potential and promising future in both Pakistan and the international market.
Practical implications
During the analysis, various deficiencies and loopholes were identified, which are responsible for the unmatched growth of conventional insurance. They can be eliminated with the joint efforts of industrial players, Sharia scholars and Takaful insurance companies. Hence, Islamic scholars and academic researchers are encouraged to develop and modify the current practices of Takaful mechanism according to current market demands and consumer approach. The research efforts will help Takaful operators to develop more innovative Takaful products adhering Sharia compliance. Consequently, it will help to access more consumer market and further enhances the Takaful growth.
Originality/value
This study is an effort to provide a basic understanding of the mechanism of Takaful models. The study helps to comprehend how Takaful models have evolved and been modified over the course of time. Moreover, it provides a base for further development and improvement in current practices of Takaful models, which will result in increased progress for the Takaful industry.
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Hasan Abbas and Abdulla Al‐Hayan
Electronic signature is one of the most important subjects nowadays. Hence, scholars and researchers give the Unicetral and the European electonic signature laws a great…
Abstract
Electronic signature is one of the most important subjects nowadays. Hence, scholars and researchers give the Unicetral and the European electonic signature laws a great consideration. For this reason, specialists and legal practitioners examine these laws and do comparative studies with their local regulations. The current study follows the same methodology and focuses on the Kuwaiti Ministry of Commerce and Manufacturing proposal through a critical review analyzing its legal points.
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Laura Aibolovna Kuanova, Rimma Sagiyeva and Nasim Shah Shirazi
This paper aims to study the main trends of scientific research in Islamic finance’s social aspects to clarify place, role and functions, especially in the context of increasing…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to study the main trends of scientific research in Islamic finance’s social aspects to clarify place, role and functions, especially in the context of increasing social problems. To achieve this goal, this paper focuses on the social component of Islamic finance, analyzes publications on social Islamic finance in the Web of Science database, covering the period from 1979 to 2020, specify the geographical localization of research networks, determines the most cited authors and their scientific position.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors have applied several literature review techniques, a bibliometric citation and co-citation analysis, a co-authorship analysis and a review of the most cited papers. The analyzes’ results allow us to offer five future questions in Islamic social finance, zakat and waqf, which have not been investigated before and could influence Islamic social finance and Islamic finance research.
Findings
The authors also derive and summarize five leading future research questions.
Research limitations/implications
This is a limitation of using only the Web of Science Core Collection database as the premier resource and the most trusted citation index for the world’s scientific and scholarly research. Further study might expand the types of analyzed units, include more keywords and include other databases, such as Scopus.
Originality/value
This paper can be considered as an inspirational one to future researchers and policymakers in Islamic social finance.
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Rui Lin, Qiguan Wang, Xin Yang and Jianwen Huo
In complex environments, a spherical robot has great application value. When the pendulum spherical robot is stopped or disturbed, there will be a periodic oscillation. This…
Abstract
Purpose
In complex environments, a spherical robot has great application value. When the pendulum spherical robot is stopped or disturbed, there will be a periodic oscillation. This situation will seriously affect the stability of the spherical robot. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a control method based on backstepping and disturbance observers for oscillation suppression.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyzes the mechanism of oscillation. The oscillation model of the spherical robot is constructed and the relationship between the oscillation and the internal structure of the sphere is analyzed. Based on the oscillation model, the authors design the oscillation suppression control of the spherical robot using the backstepping method. At the same time, a disturbance observer is added to suppress the disturbance.
Findings
It is found that the control system based on backstepping and disturbance observer is simple and efficient for nonlinear models. Compared with the PID controller commonly used in engineering, this control method has a better control effect.
Practical implications
The proposed method can provide a reliable and effective stability scheme for spherical robots. The problem of instability in real motion is solved.
Originality/value
In this paper, the oscillation model of a spherical robot is innovatively constructed. Second, a new backstepping control method combined with a disturbance observer for the spherical robot is proposed to suppress the oscillation.