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This paper aims to explore the specific causes of failure among Malaysian female entrepreneurs who were provided with financial services by the microfinance institution: Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) to start up their own businesses.

This paper adopts a qualitative-based case study design approach, with data collected from a total of 18 female entrepreneurs who had failed to develop their businesses. In-depth personal interviews were conducted, coupled with personal observation via purposive cum snowball sampling.

Thematic analysis revealed a pattern-based outcome which discloses a variety of causes affecting the failure of Malaysian female entrepreneurship. These causes ranged from inter-related external factors which were perceived as beyond their control, such as personal life events, intensive competition and loan inflexibility to internal causes, which were related to lack of resources, poor financial management and personal dissatisfaction with their own business performance.

The findings of this study provide valuable information for Malaysian economic policymakers in how to practically address the objectives of the National Women's Policy (NPW) and improve the innovative quality of their products and services. A thorough understanding of the specific obstacles facing female entrepreneurs in Malaysia is essential if policymakers are to improve opportunity exploitation efficiency and assist in mitigating the external and internal causes of business failure among Malaysian females.

Studies in this field have demonstrated that most new “start-ups” fail within three years of their establishment. While determinist, emotive and voluntarist theories can often provide an adequate explanation for the causes of business failure, it is clear that no single factor is usually responsible. Rather, multiple interrelated factors are found to be at play. This study, therefore, provides an integrative model for causes of business failure among small-business female entrepreneurs. It also represents one of only a few such studies in the literature and, to the best of knowledge at the time of writing, is the first such study that used an integrative approach to explain the causes of business failure in the Malaysian context.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of knowledge and attitude on firms’ commitment to Halal standard practices in a developing nation’s food sector. Additionally, the moderating effect of gender on this association is explored.

The partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique is used to analyse the results of a self-administered questionnaire completed by 200 internal Halal executive officers of multinational corporations and small and medium enterprises in a developing nation’s food sector.

The empirical findings reflect the significant role of attitude in influencing firms’ commitment to Halal standard compliance in the food sector and thereby contribute towards improving organisational performance. In more detail, male respondents were more likely than female respondents to have a favourable attitude toward Halal standards in the food industry. Additionally, a positive attitude can influence how employees are judged on their adherence to Halal standard processes. This encouraging outcome is the result of joint efforts by all government agencies, statutory bodies and private organisations involved in Halal practices.

Halal food producers should engender greater commitment to Halal standard practices within the buyer–supplier relationship due to the crucial nature of Halal concerns in food production. They should place a premium on strategic planning to safeguard the integrity of Halal food for consumption.

This study considerably advances the existing body of knowledge by applying the consumer decision model to explain the relationships between knowledge, attitude and firms’ commitment to Halal standard practices in the food industry of a developing nation, with gender serving as a moderating variable. The empirical findings addressed the research gap by offering noteworthy insight into a subject that has received minimal attention in prior studies.