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This study undertakes a comparative analysis of the regulatory framework for sharia-compliant financial technology (fintech) in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations. The purpose of this study is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of this regulatory framework as well as enhance opportunities and best practices. This study also investigates the potential impact of Islamic fintech on financial inclusion in the GCC nations.

This study uses a qualitative research methodology, including semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in the Islamic fintech industry, such as entrepreneurs, investors, regulators and policymakers. This study recruited interview participants from the Islamic fintech industry in GCC countries, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.

This study’s main finding is that Islamic fintech has the potential to promote financial inclusion in GCC countries. According to this study’s findings, Islamic fintech provides a more ethical and accessible alternative to traditional banking services, particularly for individuals and businesses that are underserved or excluded from mainstream financial services.

This study has practical implications for policymakers and regulators in GCC countries, providing valuable insights for promoting the growth and development of the Islamic fintech industry while ensuring that the regulatory framework is conducive to its growth. This study contributes to the broader literature on regulatory frameworks for fintech by highlighting the need for regulatory frameworks to adapt to technological advances in the rapidly evolving fintech field.

This study derives originality and value from a comparative analysis of the regulatory framework for Islamic fintech in GCC nations and its prospective impact on financial inclusion.

The primary aim of this study is to explore challenges and prospects of Islamic banking system in non-Muslim states to foster regulatory frameworks of the system.

Content analysis as an integral part of qualitative research was used. Secondary data through the exploration of cursory literature was taken into consideration.

The findings identified three prime challenges, namely, regulatory, operational and institutional, which are impeding the smooth activities and performances of Islamic banks in using innovative Islamic products and services that can favourably compete with products and services of conventional banking system in non-Muslim states. In addition, strengthening the adoption and performance of Islamic banking in non-Muslim states can efficiently and effectively address the identified and multifarious regulatory, operational and institutional challenges to achieve financial inclusion and overall economic growth.

Challenges encountered and prodigies or potentials of operating Islamic banking system by most of non-Muslim countries remains a pivotal aspect that needs research attention in the recent.

Nonetheless, the limitation of this study is that the study relies on the use of secondary data. However, it has provided a substantial direction for future studies in empirically exploring the variables of this study.

Indeed, 19th century was a remarkable turning point in the development and expansion of Islamic banking system in the Muslim world. Many predominant Muslim countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, among others have been efficiently and effectively operating Islamic banking system within the framework of Islamic legal provisions. Many non-Muslim countries such as Australia, the UK, USA, etc., have also adopted Islamic banking system.

It is noted that policy directions of the study among others should address the regulatory frameworks that is Shari’ah-compliant in the operation of Islamic banking system in non-Muslim states. It is therefore suggested that the policymakers, Islamic financial experts and regulators should use the innovation that could bring competitiveness into the operation of Islamic banking system in non-Muslim states.

Globally, the governance has shifted from positivist to the regulatory-centric approach, necessitating accurate contouring of regulatory governance framework. The study proposes a novel approach to unravel the regulatory governance framework in the context of the Indian electronics industry – extendable to other sectors in India and other emerging economies.

The research objective has been operationalized through document analysis and thematic analysis of semi-structured interview transcripts in three steps: (1) arrive at parameters of the regulatory governance framework, (2) identify instruments against each parameter and (3) characterize parameters in terms of dominant instruments and their underlying modalities. The authors have adopted a set of 6 Cs modalities (control, communications, competition, consensus, code and collaboration) and regulatory space theory to analyze existing modalities mix in the dominant instruments.

In summary, the study has (1) identified eight macro and twenty micro regulatory governance parameters, (2) mapped regulatory governance parameters with instruments and institutions (3) revealed the top two dominant modalities for each regulatory governance parameter.

The existing modality characteristics of regulatory governance parameters can be used by manufacturers, investors and other stakeholders to make a realistic assessment of regulatory governance and reduce regulatory risk and regulatory burden.

The multidimensional use of parameters, instruments and modalities broadens the understanding of the existing regulatory governance framework and may assist the regulators in optimizing it to meet market requirements.

The purpose of this paper is to present a cross-country qualitative comparative analysis of telecom regulatory frameworks of five countries with that of India. Adopting an institutionalist approach, this paper contributes to understanding of how institutional frameworks in these five countries are structured as compared to that in India so as to ensure division of the authority and scope of the regulator vis-a-vis that of the ministry, and the bureaucracy; financial autonomy of the regulator; redressal of grievances of individual consumers; and modification in the framework to cater to convergence of telecom and broadcasting.

The study is based on literature review of research papers, secondary research and documents published by the regulators of the five countries. The research methodology used is qualitative comparative analysis case-based research of five countries. The variables for comparison have been sourced from the World Bank Handbook for Evaluating Infrastructure Regulatory System. The researcher has adopted qualitative research method to bring forth the similarity, as well as the diversity in the regulatory setup of the five countries in comparison with India.

Analysis reveals that there is an absence of clear role definition for policy formulating body, the DoT and the regulatory body, the TRAI. The involvement of a number of bodies leads to duplication of regulatory functions in the TRAI, DoT and the Telecom Commission. Secondly, with respect to standards, compliance and spectrum management, the TEC and WPC function as divisions of DoT; however, the TRAI is entrusted with ensuring interoperability among service providers as well as spectrum management. This leads to duplication of regulatory functions and absence of a single authority. Lastly, funding of the TRAI is done through the departmental allocation given to DoT alone with no additional funds coming in the form of regulatory fees. This is seen to be specific to TRAI as other sector regulators in India have been empowered to collect fees from industry participants. The Indian framework shows two commonalities in comparison with the five countries; firstly, India has adopted self-regulation through the setting up of the Telco-consumer group-led consumer redressal process. The second similarity being convergence of the regulatory functions performed by the TRAI for the telecom as well as the information and broadcasting ministries, although the two ministries continue to function independently.

The paper furthers the understanding of the good practices in the design of telecom regulatory framework. It brings out the similarity and diversity in these frameworks. And, most importantly, it highlights limitations that the Indian telecom regulatory framework has in areas of role definition for the regulator, its autonomy and regulation of telecom-media convergence.

The regulatory framework may be construed as the existence of supporting infrastructure that assists in control, direction/implementation of a proposed course of law, rule or action. The regulatory order is now more formalized, expert-driven, transparent, independent and pervasive across countries and sectors. As a result, regulatory reforms enable markets to function efficiently by providing a supportive environment for increased investment, private sector growth and market-led economic growth. This study aims to review previous literature for understanding the impact of sectoral regulatory framework on sectoral performance.

This paper has adopted a systematic literature review to understand dynamics between the sectoral regulatory framework and sectoral performance. While seven multidisciplinary databases were used to identify 51 research articles, the bibliometric research profiling was executed to broaden academic research.

The results are organized into three broad categories: research context, research area and research methods. The identified articles exhibited association with 12 distinct sectors/industries, with maximum articles belonging to telecom, energy and finance industries. The study has focused on evolution of regulatory studies, impact of regulatory framework on sectoral performance and commonality in regulatory studies. Among the 15 distinct research contexts identified in this systematic literature review (SLR), the highest mapping was registered (from 23 articles) by the research context “impact of regulatory framework on the sector–institutions, infrastructure and performance indicators.”

Public administration researchers are increasingly using mixed methods research approaches to add diverse and novel perspectives on wicked problems. The qualitative approach (grounded theory, action research, phenomenology and participant observations) is appropriate for understanding the native viewpoints of regulatory practitioners and reducing the gap between rigor and relevance.

The study addresses lack of systematic review of articles covering the impact of regulatory framework on sectoral performance encompassing all sectors by, inter alia, collating important bibliometric profiles of the identified articles.

With the increasing use of small unmanned aircrafts (SUAs), many countries have enacted laws and regulations to ensure the safe use of SUAs. However, there is a lack of industry-specific regulations accounting for the unique features of construction-related SUA operations. Operating SUAs in the construction industry is attributed to specific risks and challenges, which should be regulated to maximize the utility of SUAs in construction. This study, therefore, aims to develop a multi-dimensional regulatory framework for using SUAs in the construction industry.

A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to compare seven selected national/regional SUA regulations to identify the applicability of implementing the existing regulations in construction. The interview surveys were then conducted to diagnose the challenges of construction-related SUA operations and gather interviewees' suggestions on the regulatory framework for SUA uses in construction.

The research found that some challenges of construction-related SUAs operations were not addressed in the current regulations. These challenges included the complex and time-consuming SUA operation permit, lack of regulation for special SUA operations in construction, insufficient regulatory compliance monitoring and a lack of construction-related remote pilots' training. A regulatory framework was then developed based on the findings of comparative analysis and interview surveys.

This study mainly compared seven representative countries/regions' regulations, leading to a small sample size. Further research should be carried out to study the SUA regulations in other places, such as South Africa, South America or Middle East countries. Besides, this study's respondents to the interviews were primarily concentrated in Hong Kong, which may cause the interview results to differ from the construction industry in other countries/regions. A large-scale interview survey should be conducted in other places in the future to validate the current findings.

The proposed regulatory framework provides a reference for the policy-makers to formulate appropriate industry-specific SUA regulations and improve the applicability of SUA regulations in the construction industry. It sheds light upon the future of SUA regulations and the development of regulatory practice in this area.

This study is the first to propose a multi-dimensional regulatory framework for operating SUAs in construction by comprehensive policy comparisons and interviews. The regulatory framework offers a fresh insight into the unexplored research area and points out the direction for subsequent studies on SUA regulations in the construction industry.

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the gradual evolution of the supervisory policy adopted by the Basel Committee for the regulatory treatment of asset securitisation. The pathology of the new “securitisation framework” is carefully highlighted to facilitate a general understanding of what constitutes the current state of computing adequate capital requirements for securitised credit exposures. Although a simplified sensitivity analysis of the varying levels of capital charges depending on the security design of asset securitisation transactions is incorporated, the author does not engage in a profound analysis of the benefits and drawbacks implicated in the new securitisation framework.

Institutional theorists treat law and regulations as external factors that is part of the organization’s environment. While institutional theory has been criticized for its inability to recognize the role of agents and to theorize agency, the growing literature on institutional work and institutional entrepreneurship, partially informed by and co-produced with practice theory, advances a more dynamic view of processes of institutionalization. In order to cope with legal and regulatory frameworks, constituting the legal environment of the organization, there are evidence of organizational responses in the form of bargaining, political negotiations, and decoupling of organizational units and processes. The purpose of this paper is to report how legal and regulatory frameworks both shape clinical practices while at the same time they are also informed by the activities and interests of professional communities and commercial clinics.

This paper reports an empirical study of the Swedish-assisted conception industry and is based on a case study methodology including the use of interviews and formal documents and reports issues by governmental agencies.

The empirical material demonstrates how scientists in reproductive medicine and clinicians regard the legal and regulatory framework as what ensures and reinforces the quality of the therapies. At the same time, they actively engage to modify the legal and regulatory framework in the case when they believe it would benefit the patients. The data reported presents one successful case of how PGD/PGS can be used to develop the efficacy of the therapy, and one unsuccessful case of regulatory change in the case of patient interest groups advocating a legalization of commercial gestational surrogacy. In the former case, scientific know-how and medicinal benefits served to “push” the new clinical practice, while in the latter case, the “demand-pull” of patient interest groups fails to get recognition in regulatory and policy-making quarters.

The study contributes to the literature on agency in institutional theory (e.g. the emerging literature on institutional work) by emphasizing how legal and regulatory frameworks are in a constant process of being modified and negotiated in the face of novel technoscientific practices and social demands. More specifically, this process include many scientific, technological, economic, political and social relations and resources, making the legal environment of organizations what is the outcome from joint negotiations and agreements across organizational and professional boundaries.

The purpose of this paper is to advance a conceptual analytical framework to help explain employment regulation as a dynamic process shaped by institutions and actors. The paper builds on and advances regulatory space theory.

The paper analyses the literature on regulatory theory and engages with its theoretical development.

The paper advances the case for a broader and more inclusive regulatory approach to better capture the complex reality of employment regulation. Further, the paper engages in debates about the complexity of employment regulation by adopting a multi-level perspective.

The research proposes an analytical framework and invites future empirical investigation.

The paper contends that existing literature affords too much attention to a (false) regulation vs deregulation dichotomy, with insufficient analysis of other “spaces” in which labour policy and regulation are formed and re-formed. In particular, the proposed framework analyses four different regulatory dimensions, combining the legal aspects of regulation with self-regulatory dimensions of employment regulation.

This study aims to define the role of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and its Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs) that combat money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) by measuring how well some Arab countries have complied with FATF’s “Forty Recommendations” with respect to the regulatory framework.

This study combines the comparative analysis methodology with a descriptive analytical approach to compare three member countries of the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF). It uses secondary data sources, namely, theoretical literature on the subject and FATF reports on mutual evaluation reports (MERs).

This study examined the variations in compliance with FATF standards among three member countries of MENAFATF: Bahrain, Morocco and Jordan. While Bahrain has almost completely fulfilled these standards, Morocco and Jordan have only partially fulfilled them. These variations in compliance are mainly attributed to the uneven level of readiness in the countries’ commitment to the legislative and regulatory requirements before the process of mutual evaluation.

Researchers can find several studies on the role of FATF and FSRBs in combating ML and TF. However, no studies have focussed on the application levels of FATF standards, which are relevant to the regulatory frameworks of member countries. This study makes a unique and vital contribution, as it demonstrates the effectiveness of applying the FATF standards.