Islamic business scorecard and the screening of Islamic businesses in a cross‐country setting

Screening of shari'ah compliant firms is incomplete without the inclusion of ethical and social responsibilities. The existing “activity screen” does not directly capture the ethical and social footprints of firms. The purpose of this study is to create and test an Islamic business scorecard that combines activity, ethical, and social responsibilities that Islamic businesses must comply with. This new Islamic business scorecard replaces the existing activity screens and is added to the financial screens to create an integrated business screening mechanism to identify shari'ah compliant firms. This study utilizes data from a sample of 410 shari'ah compliant companies listed with stock exchanges in Malaysia, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Out of the five newly developed constructs of the Islamic business scorecard, the results indicate Islamic firms are less committed to social responsibilities and tend to push forward economic responsibilities that focus on profitability and growth. Of the three countries, this study reports Malaysian firms have the highest compliance scores, while Bangladesh displays characteristics of the “next‐big shari'ah destination”. Financial screens are more important than the Islamic business scorecard for firms in the construction, industrial, technology, and trading/services sectors. Because of its connection with the economic, ethical, and social dimensions, the scorecard helps to identify the true nature of shari'ah compliance as a useful decision tool for investors and policymakers.     

Promotion mix management: A consumer focused Islamic perspective†

Religion penetrates deep into our social and cultural life but its significance in developing marketing theories has rather been disregarded. Islam has well-established business, economic and social systems and its influences are interwoven with the daily life of Muslims. Therefore, it is vital for the companies to comprehend the impact that religion makes on Muslim societies before designing their marketing strategies. Off late, Islamic perspective has been well appreciated in the form of Islamic banking and finance, with many western financial institutions incorporating Islamic ideologies in their operations. This paper aims to extend the application of Islamic values in development of Marketing theories, specifically promotion mix management. This study argues that Islam offers a parallel paradigm of conducting business and proposes a distinctive set of principles that can conceptualize the marketing field in its own inherent manner.     

How Islamic banks deal with problem business situations: Islamic banking as a potential model for emerging markets

Models of emerging markets often ignore corporate crises and business failure and are based on research in western economic situations, assuming western institutional patterns and attitudes. This study is based on an empirical analysis of companies in the GCC region of companies within the Islamic Banking System. A “sharp‐bending” orientation model is used to review the role of banks and their methods of managing difficult client situations, triggering early problem‐recognition, and the sequence of recovery. As many emerging markets have large Moslem populations and as Islamic banking continues to be a vibrant growth sector, these findings have wider implications. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Islamic Ethics and the Implications for Business

As global business operations expand, managers need more knowledge of foreign cultures, in particular, information on the ethics of doing business across borders. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to share the Islamic perspective on business ethics, little known in the west, which may stimulate further thinking and debate on the relationships between ethics and business, and (2) to provide some knowledge of Islamic philosophy in order to help managers do business in Muslim cultures. The case of Egypt illustrates some divergence between Islamic philosophy and practice in economic life. The paper concludes with managerial implications and suggestions for further research.     

The Islamic Work Ethic and the Emergence of Turkish SME Owner-Managers

The aim of this study is to explore the influence of religious beliefs on the work-related attitudes of Turkish SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) owner-managers. In this research, the emergence of pious or devout business people is considered as a phenomenon, and special attention is paid to religious transformation and secularism in Turkey. Both concepts, religion and secularism, are considered within the Turkish context. For the research, in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 Turkish business people from religious and secular backgrounds, respectively. The study investigates the so-called “Islamic work ethic” values and Islamic business principles from a critical perspective and argues that they do not seem to be as significant factors as predicted in the emergence of pious or devout business people in Turkey.     

Patterns of social reporting from an Islamic framework and the moral legitimacy factors that influence them

The objective of this study is twofold: to examine the patterns that govern social reporting with reference to an Islamic framework and to identify the moral legitimacy factors that influence them. We select 146 publicly listed Sharia‐compliant companies and classify the disclosures in their annual reports according to an Islamic framework that categorises items as either Required, Expected or Desired to indicate the degree of importance each item carries from an Islamic perspective. Based on this framework, we then analyse moral legitimacy factors, specifically the type of Sharia screening body and the proportion of Muslims in the population, that may influence the prioritisation of the different categories of social reporting. We find that disclosures that fall into the Required category of our framework—especially those that relate to companies’ involvement in “haram” activities (activities not permissible in Islam)—are still few among the companies studied. Our research also reveals that both moral legitimacy factors under investigation influence the three categories of social reporting, although in different ways. This research contributes to the existing literature by empirically examining how organisations prioritise their disclosure of virtues and the moral legitimacy factors that influence that prioritisation.     

Internet Appreciation in Nigerian Business Organizations

ABSTRACT

Internet technology is one of the approaches used by business organizations to execute their business activities. The present research investigated the degree of Internet appreciation in Nigerian companies, factors influencing such appreciation, and the associated efficacy of Internet appreciation. It was found that e-mail was the most used aspect of the Internet system in Nigerian companies. Relatively, it was found that Nigerian business organizations used the Internet system mostly for business communication. The low level of Internet education proved to be the most influencing factor in Internet appreciation in Nigeria companies. These findings were discussed with respect to extant literature and pieces of empirical and anecdotal evidence. Management and policy recommendations were made and areas for future research suggested.     

Islam and socially responsible business conduct: an empirical study of Dutch entrepreneurs

This paper explores the relationship between the Islamic religion and the level of socially responsible business conduct (SRBC) of Islamic entrepreneurs. The authors find that the common ideas of SRBC correspond with the view of business in Islam, although there are also some notable differences. They also find that Muslim entrepreneurs attach a higher weight to specific elements of SRBC than do non-Muslims. However, they also find that Muslims are less involved with applying SRBC in practice than non-Muslim managers.     

Corporate Social Responsibility: Exploring Stakeholder Relationships and Programme Reporting across Leading FTSE Companies

Although it is now widely recognised by business leaders that their companies need to accept a broader responsibility than short-term profits, recent research suggests that as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social reporting become more widespread, there is little empirical evidence of the range of stakeholders addressed through their CSR programmes and how such programmes are reported. Through a CSR framework which was developed in an exploratory study, we explore the nature of stakeholder relationships reported across leading FTSE companies and the importance they attach to communicating both social and business outcomes. It is evident from the hypotheses tested that the bigger FTSE companies, particularly extraction companies and telecoms, are more adept at identifying and prioritising their stakeholders, and linking CSR programmes to business and social outcomes. However, we draw the general conclusion that building stronger stakeholder relationships through CSR programmes – other than with customers – is not currently a priority for most companies. We also conclude that a limited sophistication in managing multiple stakeholders may compromise the impact of CSR upon business and social results. Finally, the managerial implications and the contribution of our study are discussed before closing with an acknowledgement of the limitations of this work and suggestions for further research.     

Determinants of entry strategies of U.S. companies into Russia,the Czech Republic,Hungary, Poland,and Romania

Executive Summary This study advances and tests determinants of entry strategies of U.S. companies to Eastern Europe, as well as factors that determine the satisfaction of these companies with their economic performance in this area. Using survey data and a multivariable research design, the study adds new knowledge and supports previous findings. It reports that the entry mode of U.S. companies into these countries is determined by the following variables, ranked from most to least important: market potential, company activity, level of competition, and year of market entry. It also reports that the satis‐faction of U.S. companies doing business in these countries is decided by the following variables, ranked from most to least important: economic‐performance outlook, level of competition, number of competitors, market potential, year of entry, and business activity. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Balancing Ethical Responsibility among Multiple Organizational Stakeholders: The Islamic Perspective

In spite of a renewed interest in the relationship between spirituality and managerial thinking, the literature covering the link between Islam and management has been sparse – especially in the area of ethics. One potential reason may be the cultural diversity of nearly 1.3 billion Muslims globally. Yet, one common element binding Muslim individuals and countries is normative Islam. Using all four sources of this religion’s teachings, we outline the parameters of an Islamic model of normative business ethics. We explain how this ethics model seeks to balance the needs of multiple stakeholders, and discuss its enforcement mechanisms. This Islamic approach to business ethics is centered around criteria that are in common with stakeholder theory such as justice and balance, and includes unique additional criteria such as trust and benevolence.     

Domestic Distortions and the Early Emergence of the International Trade in Fire Insurance from the UK

In the second half of the nineteenth century, British fire insurance exports grew rapidly to more than half of the revenue accepted by British fire insurance companies. It has been suggested by some, including Michael Porter, that this expansion was based on a comparative advantage created in large part by a highly competitive domestic insurance market. Yet the existence of strong and sophisticated cartels in the British insurance market is well known. The paper argues that in fact the chief motive for the drive to develop business abroad came from the existence of the cartel, whose increasing power prompted the creation of a number of new well‐supported companies. The circumstances of the insurance business forced them to develop a large and diversified business and this required them to join the cartel. This membership deprived them of the price weapon to develop their business in the domestic market. They were thus forced to develop innovative strategies to grow. One of these was to deploy innovative marketing policies at home. The other was to expand abroad. By contrast, most of the older companies that had created the cartel developed foreign business later and on a far smaller scale.     

物业档案管理探索

物业档案管理在物业管理企业复杂的经济服务活动中具有十分重要的作用。但物业档案管理工作未能引起诸多物业管理企业经营者的足够重视。在分析物业管理企业档案管理工作不足的基础上,探索提高物业管理企业档案管理水平的途径和方法。     

Islamic takaful: Business models,Shariah concerns,and proposed solutions

Islamic insurance (takaful) is nearly as old as the Islamic banking system and dates back to 1979, when the concept was launched in Sudan and later in Saudi Arabia. Yet, unlike its banking counterpart, takaful has been covered less in the literature on Islamic finance, and its workings are not fully understood. Shariah scholars have raised a num‐ber of concerns about the Shariah permissibility of the business models employed in the industry. This article examines the basic principles of takaful and then analyzes the mechanics of the two models most commonly used in the industry— namely, the mudarabah system that was developed by the Malaysians and the wakala (agency) system that is now being used by most takaful operators and has achieved tremendous popularity and acceptance in recent years even in countries where the mudarabah model was earlier implemented. Shariah scholars have, however, expressed some misgivings about both approaches, but because of its wider acceptability among Shariah scholars in the case of the wakala approach, this is more urgent. With regards to the mudarabah model for risk management, there are major discrepancies that have been highlighted by Shariah scholars effec‐tively rendering it inappropriate to apply this for insurance contracts. For this reason, the article outlines a third model, a wakala with waqf fund, that seeks to remain within the wakala framework while incorpo‐rating modifications that may render it more acceptable from a Shariah perspective. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

来自离岸公司的风险及其防范

越来越多的离岸公司出现在我们的周围,并以“外商”的身份对我国进行投资和合作。面对这些“外商”,我们似曾相识,但实际上又不很了解。他有公司的一些特点,但又与我们通常所说的公司有着许多不同。因为这些不同,许多风险便隐藏其中。对东道国及与离岸公司合作的企业来说,认清这些风险,并做好相应的防范。有重要的意义。     

Stakeholder Engagement: Keeping Business Legitimate in Austria’s Natural Mineral Water Bottling Industry

Stakeholder maneuvers such as Internet media attacks or consumer boycotts can have devastating effects on companies. By contrary, vital relationships between companies and their stakeholders can be highly beneficial. A review of the existing stakeholder-management literature suggests to engage stakeholders in business activities in a positive manner. However, the types of successful engagement activities differ across industries. The purposes of this article are to develop an explanatory framework based on the literature findings, to introduce stakeholder-engagement literature to a segment of the water sourcing industry, and to unfold industry’s stakeholder-engagement measures. Based on a content analysis of 11 cases, we investigate if and how companies in the natural mineral water bottling industry in Austria inform, communicate, and therefore engage with stakeholders. It became evident that fewer than three of eleven companies published information on sustainability or corporate social responsibility reports, open house days, workshops, or international community activities. Most companies maintained a website for their bottled natural mineral water or communicated quality consciousness. We conclude that most companies in the Austrian mineral water industry could increase their stakeholder-engagement activities to positively respond to challenging business environments.     

Japanese Professional Business Services: A Proposed Analytical Typology

This paper explores certain characteristics of Japanese professional business services (PBS). The aim is to develop an analytical typology consisting of the three dimensions – organizational linkage, service market, and competitive situation – for analysing the obtained empirical data. This typology has been developed in order to increase the understanding of how Japanese companies operate within this sector and also to examine the reasons behind the fact that Japanese business services seem to be marginalized in an international context. This typology could serve as a theoretical frame for comparing Japanese companies with western companies in future research. This research is based on empirical material collected in Japan in the spring of 2001, covering research institutes, general trading houses and insurance companies. Using the constructed analytical typology, the findings reveal that strong organizational linkages have generated a business service market where diversification of service supply within companies is common. However, there are strong indications of a changing business environment with increased competition and further specialization among business service firms. Furthermore, the findings indicate that Japanese companies have difficulties competing with highly-specialized and reputable western business service firms.     

Systemic risk,Islamic banks,and the COVID-19 pandemic: An empirical investigation

While operating side-by-side with conventional banks, in a dual-banking system, the systemic risk profile of Islamic banks can be different due to their unique business model. The objective of this study is to understand the evolution of systemic risk in dual-banking systems and determine whether there are any differences in the systemic risk profiles of conventional and Islamic banks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also identifies the determinants of systemic importance (measured using spillover indices) of financial institutions. The sample includes ten countries where the Islamic banking sector is considered systemically important and covers the period from November 2015 to November 2020. The empirical results indicate a significant increase in systemic risk, in the sample countries, during the first half which is followed by a recovery in the second half of 2020. Comparative analysis shows that Islamic banks have similar systemic vulnerabilities to systematic and idiosyncratic factors during the exogenously induced real economic shock of the COVID-19. However, Islamic banks pose significantly less spillover to others relative to conventional banks while earning abnormal returns. The results are robust to the inclusion of macroeconomic factors and alternate estimation methodologies. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for the regulators of dual-banking systems.     

商业性小额贷款公司能惠及三农和微小客户吗?

利用42家小额贷款公司的调查数据,剖析小额贷款公司的业务活动特征和影响小额贷款公司贷款覆盖深度的因素。通过描述统计和计量模型分析,研究发现:小额贷款公司倾向于服务微小企业和农村大户,其贷款以短期、非信用贷款为主,利率水平较高;采用的信贷技术、营业费用率、所在地区经济发展水平和金融市场的竞争程度对小额贷款公司的贷款覆盖深度有显著影响,而资产规模和资产回报率对小额贷款公司的贷款覆盖深度影响不显著。