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Research confirms that leaders continue to struggle in earning followers’ trust, commitment, and organizational citizenship. The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of the relationship between leader and followers as a covenant and to identify five roles of the leader that are necessary to be effective in creating the required relationship with followers to earn their trust in an increasingly competitive and complex market.

The approach of this paper is to present a summary of the nature of psychological contracts and to identify seven testable propositions about covenantal leadership and its ability to build trust and honor duties implied in psychological contracts of employees.

The authors explain how the five roles of the covenantal leader increase trust and examine each of these roles in identifying the importance of covenantal leadership in serving the modern leader.

This research reaffirms the importance of leaders understanding the often unarticulated perceptions of their employees in imposing moral duties and obligations on leaders and organizations.

The practical value of this paper lies in its insights about the importance of leaders understanding and honoring implied as well as stated duties, and in recognizing employee perceptions about their needs and the often unaddressed obligations of leaders and organizations.

The underlying assumptions of this paper are that leaders who seek to create greater commitment and higher performance can do so by seeking out, understanding, and honoring the implicit and explicit assumptions and expectations of their employees.

Covenantal leadership is a relatively new leadership model introduced by Moses Pava (2003) and the five roles of covenantal leadership have rarely been addressed as a leadership perspective in the scholarly and practitioner literature.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the importance of virtuous leadership and identify six characteristics that are necessary for the modern leader to be effective in an increasingly challenging and competitive world market.

Theory development.

The authors suggest that virtuous leaders possess an uncommon level of commitment to those employees whom they serve, to their customers, to their shareholders, and to society at large, the authors extend the concept of the moral continuum and identify the importance of a virtuous perspective in honoring the obligation to optimize wealth creation and enriching outcomes and relationships, and the authors suggest ten propositions about virtuous leadership that may be empirically tested by both scholars and practitioners who are interested in studying and/or applying virtuous leadership to improve relationships and build organizations.

Original article.

The current study examines the relationship between financial literacy and small and the performance of medium enterprises (SMEs), focusing on the moderating role of financial access.

The population of this study consists of present SMEs in Kuwait, from whom a sample of 155 businesses was chosen. This study adopted a cross-sectional time frame and analyzed the collected data using partial least square structural equation modeling, and Smart-pls 4 software was applied for calculation.

This research reveals that financial literacy significantly influences SME performance, consistent with previous studies, showing that higher financial literacy promotes entrepreneurs' financial management capabilities and enhances business outcomes. Also, the study supports that financial access significantly moderates this relationship, pointing out that adequate access to financial services boosts the benefits of financial literacy.

Major implications of this study compromise the urgent need for customized financial literacy programs and policies promoting financial thoroughness, particularly in enhancing economies. The study recognizes limitations such as its cross-sectional design, small sample size and reliance on self-reported measures, suggesting further research use longitudinal approaches, a larger sample and objective measures.

The authors’ recommendations contain comprehensive financial literacy training, development of targeted financial education initiatives, promotion of sound financial management practices and policies to enhance financial access and inclusion, all aimed at boosting SME performance and contributing to economic growth.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is Kuwait’s first of its sort. Thus, the research is even more critical in Kuwait, where social and corporate values differ significantly. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between financial literacy and the performance of Kuwait’s SMEs moderated by financial access.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the Sharīʿah Basis of AAOIFI’s Sharīʿah Standard No. (60) – “Waqf” and gain an insight into the Islamic jurisprudential schools of thought depended on while drafting/issuing the standard.

This research uses a qualitative methodology and AAOIFI’s Sharīʿah Standard No. (60) – “Waqf” as a case study. This is referred to as a single/holistic case study design.

The findings of this study reveal that while AAOIFI’s Sharīʿah Standard No. (60) – “Waqf” did depend on the Maliki school of fiqh, it certainly referenced other jurisprudential schools of thought, such as Ḥanafī and Shāfiʿī schools of law. This raised a question of legal pluralism and how contemporary Sharīʿah jurisconsults are able to select rulings within particular Islamic jurisprudential schools to fit current needs and for the overall betterment of society.

This research does not delve into the technical aspects of AAOIFI’s waqf standard (furūʿ al-fiqh), but rather, is limited to understanding the basis of rulings therein and the jurisprudential schools of thought heavily depended on.

Given that the (revised) AAOIFI waqf standard is relatively new, limited studies have been conducted particularly focusing on the basis of Sharīʿah rulings therein. This research contributes to knowledge by providing one of the starting points to deliberate on this matter.

Phishing attacks have evolved in recent years due to high-tech-enabled economic growth worldwide. The rise in all types of fraud loss in 2019 has been attributed to the increase in deception scams and impersonation, as well as to sophisticated online attacks such as phishing. The global impact of phishing attacks will continue to intensify, and thus, a more efficient phishing detection method is required to protect online user activities. To address this need, this study focussed on the design and development of a deep learning-based phishing detection solution that leveraged the universal resource locator and website content such as images, text and frames.

Deep learning techniques are efficient for natural language and image classification. In this study, the convolutional neural network (CNN) and the long short-term memory (LSTM) algorithm were used to build a hybrid classification model named the intelligent phishing detection system (IPDS). To build the proposed model, the CNN and LSTM classifier were trained by using 1m universal resource locators and over 10,000 images. Then, the sensitivity of the proposed model was determined by considering various factors such as the type of feature, number of misclassifications and split issues.

An extensive experimental analysis was conducted to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of the IPDS in detecting phishing web pages and phishing attacks when applied to large data sets. The results showed that the model achieved an accuracy rate of 93.28% and an average detection time of 25 s.

The hybrid approach using deep learning algorithm of both the CNN and LSTM methods was used in this research work. On the one hand, the combination of both CNN and LSTM was used to resolve the problem of a large data set and higher classifier prediction performance. Hence, combining the two methods leads to a better result with less training time for LSTM and CNN architecture, while using the image, frame and text features as a hybrid for our model detection. The hybrid features and IPDS classifier for phishing detection were the novelty of this study to the best of the authors' knowledge.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the main determinants of dependency on food aid programmes. Food aid may take the form of a loan, a sale below market price or a current transfer. Food aid programmes across the globe are generally designed to provide short‐term assistance to countries. However, many countries have developed a dependence on food aid assistance.

The paper estimates cross‐sectional regressions using a database containing 116 developing countries over the period 1970‐2003. Bayesian averaging of classical estimates is employed to identify the robust determinants of dependency.

The study finds that the top two determinants of food aid dependence (both cereals and non‐cereals) were food production and the frequency of droughts affecting the country. Food inflation, population density, crop yields, the amount of arable land per capita, the rule of law and the number of armed conflicts were also robustly related to aid dependence.

These findings suggest that international donors should focus primarily on offsetting the substitution effect of aid on local production as well as implement systems to partially offset the negative effects of droughts, if they are to break the cycle of dependence on food aid.

Previous studies have investigated the effects of a large number of other variables. The findings from these papers were somewhat conflicting due to differences in model specification. To identify the variables that have a robust relationship with food aid dependence, whatever the model specification, the Bayesian averaging of classical estimates approach proposed by Sala‐i‐Martin et al. is employed.

This study aims to give a glimpse of the existing blockchain applications across industries and add to a complete knowledge of the blockchain’s properties.

Systematic literature review is used as the research strategy for this investigation and other aspects of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses framework have been incorporated to create a scholarly publications evaluation of the blockchain-based application in the financial arena and its future. The research looks at 86 studies published between 2018 and 2022.

There has been a steady but noticeable increase in the study of blockchain’s potential in many application domains over the past few of years. This rising tendency illustrates the newness and potential of blockchain technology, as well as the increasing attention from academics. According to the findings, blockchain is an appropriate solution for processing transactions using cryptocurrencies; nevertheless, it still has significant technical issues and limits that require to be exploring and solving before it can be considered a viable option. It is therefore, necessary to have a high level of reliability for payments and confidentiality, in addition to maintaining the anonymity of nodes, to stop assaults and efforts to disrupt transactions in the blockchain.

This study has several important theoretical and practical implications. First, it adds to the body of knowledge on blockchain and Fintech, focusing on the transaction side. While much blockchain research has focused on how the technology may affect strategic choices, this study has shed light on its potential from the perspective of financial reporting. Second, by highlighting the importance of the demand for the prompt identification of losses, this work adds to the body of knowledge on the factors that influence transaction frauds involving paper money. Additionally, by establishing the link between transparency and virtual transactions, the author backs up the asymmetric responses of investors to different investment possibilities. It looks at the evolution of financial technology (Fintech) and shows how it can be used to take the advantage of unique opportunities.

The study is different and novel from the previously published literature on this topic mainly because of its comprehensiveness, as it revolves around all industrial and commercial areas. The three main lines of research have been outlined, namely, classifying the many blockchain-based innovations that will alter the financial landscape in many industries; identifying whether these industries are a good fit for blockchain’s wealth creation potential; and directing researchers by outlining prospective study pathways.

An extant literature review of hospitality manpower performance reveals the scarcity of green skills among young graduates of hospitality management in the Asian context. Studies signal the discrepancy between knowledge imbibed and skills acquired. The current study is a call to action to identify the barriers to green training at the academic level.

The paper is based on a qualitative investigation by senior academics from Asian countries. Thematic analysis is the primary method deployed.

Four major themes emerged from the analytical exercise. They include lack of resources, policies and regulations, an overburdened curriculum and awareness. Interestingly, the themes are in tandem with the Tourism Education Futures Institute (TEFI) value framework for nurturing sustainability practices in the hospitality industry through systematic programming of hotel management education.

In order to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2030 (Goal 4) of ensuring lifelong strategic education to foster sustainability, the green skill–knowledge gap must be bridged at the academic level. The current paper sheds light on how the synergy between industry and academia can address this knowledge–skill gap and develop sustainable capacities in the long run.

This study used a qualitative dataset, and the findings contribute to the sustainability literature. Further studies can be undertaken using big data in varied settings.

Despite the increasing demand for renewable energy (RE) as a low-carbon energy source, the transition to RE is very slow in many regions, including Oman, the case country for this study. It is critical to offer strategic insights to energy supply chain participants towards the sustainable transition to renewable energy (STRE). The purpose of this study is to identify viable RE sources in Oman as a case study of a GCC member country, develop a comprehensive framework of STRE, and suggest future research opportunities.

The paper addressed this problem through a country/regional study of Oman by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) of RE-related peer-reviewed publications spanning over 21 years from January 2000 to February 2021. The qualifying articles are evaluated using template analysis qualitatively to identify viable renewable energy sources, build a holistic framework of STRE and recommend future research opportunities.

Findings confirm the potential of solar, wind, biomass and geothermal energies driven by environmental, economic and social sustainability concerns. However, results suggest that to fast-track the STRE, more emphasis should be accorded to solar and wind energies owing to the geographical composition of Oman. Findings reveal that policies and regulations, advanced and cost-effective technologies, subsidy regimes, grid connectivity and capacity, storage capacity and land availability influence the STRE. Gaps in the literature are identified from the results to clarify and suggest future research opportunities.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that conducted an SLR that was evaluated using the template analysis technique to build a novel and updated framework that facilitates a crystalline understanding of STRE to guide policymakers and professionals in strategic decision-making.