Management

Founded in 1988 as the first private institution of higher education in the United Arab Emirates and the Gulf region, Ajman University (AU) is now being recognized as an emerging leader on the global academic map.

The 2020 QS World University Rankings lists AU in the top 800 universities globally and among the top 10 worldwide for international students and faculty! The &ldquo;Top 50 Under 50&rdquo; QS Rankings names AU as one of the top 150 young universities in the world. Even our distinct location in the Dubai/Sharjah/Ajman corridor is ranked by QS as the 61st best student destination on the planet. Recently, Ajman University earned Five QS Stars in three ratings categories -- Social Responsibility, Inclusiveness and Learning Environment. We also garnered Four QS Stars for both Teaching and Internationalization.

Ajman University

Finance

Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI) crosses the age of 40&nbsp;years, and sufficient empirical evidence exists to evaluate in light of the distinctive aspirations. This study fills the gap in the literature by evaluating the performance of IFSI in light of Islamic finance objectives—financial stability, equitable distribution of wealth and social responsibility; Shari’ah principles, and professional practices. Our investigation documents the achievements based on real accounting data from 23 countries, and the suitability of tools in practice to achieve the stated objectives by promotors of IFSI. Findings suggest that the objectives of IFSI have been achieved to an extent. However, visible contribution to the achievement of socio-economic justice is yet to emerge. Practical application of tools shows divergence (in spirit) from the original design, primarily to achieve integration and coherence with the prevailing conventional financial system. IFSI needs collaborative efforts to overcome the challenges at hand.

College of Business Administration

World University root node

Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility

Islamic financial services industry: Aspirations and achievements

28th Pacific Basin Finance, Economics, Accounting, and Management (PBFEAM) Conference. National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan

Financial Contagion: A New Test with Broad Economic Perspective. Co-authored with Li-Kai (Connie) Liao

This study documents the literary developments and classifies the literature in the area of Islamic Financial Services Industry (IFSI). Our findings are based on articles published in selected Islamic finance specialized journals for six years (2012-2017). Classification is based on multiple factors including subject/specialization areas, country of origin and publications, research methodology, and yearly progress in investigations. Findings suggest that the majority of publications are in the area of general Islamic finance and follow qualitative research methodology. Malaysia and Pakistan were found to be the most significant contributors to the literature. Although the results of empirical studies are mixed, however, the majority favor resilience of IFSI to the global financial crisis (GFC). The potential role of IFSI in poverty alleviation and corporate social responsibility (CSR) has also been highlighted. Demand for IFSI with quality services exists. The literature highlights the lack of Islamic financial literacy and skepticism about Shariah compliance in practice. Need for regulatory framework and application of Islamic accounting is documented. Future research needs to focus on an objective assessment of IFSI in the light of Islamic finance objectives. Also, further investigations are needed to highlight the social role of IFSI-with a focus on CSR, zakah, waqf and microfinance. Additionally, certain specialized areas including accounting, management, and corporate governance need more attention in future researches. © 2020.

Journal of King Abdulaziz University, Islamic Economics

Developments in Islamic finance literature: Evidence from specialized journals

The main objective of this study is to analyze the impact of EXPO 2020 0n the demand for electricity in Dubai. This is done by first, constructing and estimating a simple econometric model for electricity using data for the period from 2001 to 2018. The empirical results show that the demand for electricity is price- and income-inelastic, with price and income elasticities of 0.96 and 0.80, respectively. On the other hand, the demand for electricity with respect to the number of users is demand elastic, with elasticity of 1.03. All estimated variables were found statistically significant at the 5% level of significance. The paper concludes that electricity consumption in Dubai grew very rapidly in the past and farther continues growth in the coming years where total electricity demand is projected to increase to 44816 GWh in 2019 and 44696 GWh in 2020, the time of Expo 2020, before it slows down a bit to reach 40606 GWh in 2022. The findings of the research also conclude that the electricity intensity reflects a faster economic growth rate relative to electricity growth rate. These findings imply that important policy implications are required especially when preparing for EXPO 2020, which requires significant investments, in this sector, over the coming years. © 2019 by Advance Scientific Research.

Journal of Critical Reviews

The economic effect of Expo 2020 on the demand for electricity in Dubai economics, estimation, &amp; Forecast (2001 – 2022)

Purpose: Islamic capital markets, i.e. ICMs, featured as socially responsible investments, less levered and more reflective of the real sector, are a recent development in financial markets showing an impressive growth and offering the potential for portfolio diversification benefits. The purpose of this study is to understand the long-run integration of ICMs in the Asia/Pacific region. Design/methodology/approach: This sample includes ICMs of Asia/Pacific region (such as Pakistan, India, China, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia) for 280 weeks between 2011 and 2016. Selected indexes are FTSE Islamic except for Pakistan and Indonesia. Evidence was obtained through the application of correlation, unit root, Johansen cointegration and Granger causality tests. Findings: This study documents the results of the integration of ICMs based on developmental stage, geographic location, economic cooperation and shared religious beliefs/civilization. Partial support was observed for all hypotheses: integration of markets based on economic grouping, location, economic treaties and shared civilization. The Japanese market was the most integrated, while the Indian and Malaysian markets are the least. Evidence supports the shift of leadership role from advanced markets to emerging markets. Practical implications: Selected diversification opportunities are available for global Islamic as well as conventional investors. This study recommends closer cooperation among Muslim majority countries of the region, as well as the effective use of economic cooperation treaties for joint economic growth and prosperity. Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence on the integration of ICMs in an economically important region (Asia/Pacific) that is witnessing an increasing role in the global gross domestic product and international trade. © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research

Portfolio selection in Asia/Pacific region-Islamic markets

This research paper aims to examine the predictability of the Spanish Stock Market returns. Earlier studies suggest that stock market returns in developed countries can be predicted with a noise term but this study has specifically covered two time horizons; one pre-crisis period and the other one current crisis period to evaluate the stock market returns predictability. Since mean returns cannot prove all the time to be efficient predictor, variance of such returns do, hence various autoregressive models have been used to test the existence of persisting volatility in the Spanish Stock Market. The empirical results show that higher order of autoregressive models such as ARCH(5) and GARCH(2, 2) can be used to predict future risk in Spanish Stock Market both in pre-crisis and current crisis period. The paper also reveals that there is a positive correlation between Spanish Stock Market returns and the conditional standard deviations as produced by ARCH(5) and GARCH(2, 2), implying that the models have some success in predicting future risk on Spanish Stock Market. The predictability of stock market returns during crisis period is not found to be affected contrary though the degree of predictability may be. © 2021 by World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Handbook of Financial Econometrics, Mathematics, Statistics, and Machine Learning (In 4 Volumes)

Crisis impact on stock market predictability

Due to its prevalence and lasting implications, frontline employees’ (FLEs) experience of customer incivility has long occupied both managers and the human resources field as a whole. The current research employs the conservation of resources theory (COR) and justice theory to examine the influence of customer incivility on the customer problem-solving behaviour of FLEs via the mediation of employee burnout. Furthermore, it examines what alleviates the adverse influences of customer incivility by assessing the moderating roles of perceived supervisor justice and employee resilience. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), the research model is analysed based on a sample of 243 FLE-supervisor dyads in various hospitality organisations using a time-lagged research method, whereby supervisor-assessed FLEs’ customer problem-solving behaviours were also examined. The results demonstrate that customer incivility indirectly (via burnout) and directly has a negative influence on FLE willingness to engage in customer problem-solving behaviours. This influence is alleviated when a supervisor is perceived to be just and the employees are resilient. For managers, these research findings illustrate the significance of understanding what lessens the negative impact of customer incivility on the willingness to engage in customer problem-solving behaviours. © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor &amp; Francis Group.

Total Quality Management and Business Excellence

Customer incivility and customer problem-solving behaviour in frontline employees: testing a moderated mediation model

This study documents the impact of price variations in global markets, specifically oil, on stock returns at Pakistan stock exchange (PSX). We select three global markets (oil, gold and currency exchange) and two PSX indices (conventional and Islamic) for a period 2009-2020 to provide evidence. Monthly data for the selected time series is used for analysis. Analysis techniques include descriptive statistics, stationarity testing, Johansen cointegration, correlation and regression analysis. Findings suggest joint long-run co-movements of selected markets. Regression results indicate the significance of oil prices at 1% level, with positive signs, in the stock return generation process at PSX (for both indices conventional and Islamic). Other selected markets (gold and currency exchange) are although significant but at a higher degree, with negative signs. For the oil market, results confirm the demand-pull inflation hypothesis in Pakistani market. Results also confirm shifting to gold market by investors in the period of reductions in stock returns. Finally, depreciation of domestic currency discourages investors in buying stocks. We recommend investors to have an eye on oil, gold and currency markets while making investment decisions at PSX. We also recommend to policymakers to take timely actions for exchange rate stability, to avoid the outflow of capital. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only study documenting the influence of global markets on stock returns at PSX in recent years. © 2020, Econjournals. All rights reserved.

Fulltext

International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy

Relationship between oil and stock markets: Evidence from Pakistan stock exchange

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the role of the prevailing currency systems in achieving (or departing from) the socio-economic objectives of a progressive and just society; i.e. featuring stability and equitable distribution of wealth. Design/methodology/approach: After documenting historical developments in currency systems, the study reviews the Islamic perspective on the matter. Features of an ideal currency system are listed and then a critical evaluation of existing currency systems – fiat, banking and cryptocurrency – is undertaken. Findings: It is found that existing currency systems – fiat, banking and cryptocurrency – are not compatible with the socio-economic objectives of a forward-looking, progressive society, which upholds transparency and justice as its core values. The study documents that Sharīʿah norms have no preference or dislike for any of the existing currency systems. Any prudent currency system compatible with the objectives of the Islamic financial system (i.e. stability and equitable distribution of wealth) is acceptable. A single international reserve currency (with country-specific legal tendering) is subject to the risk of destabilisation across global markets. Practical implications: This paper recommends autonomy of central banking, the spending of seigniorage for the welfare of community members, development of asset-backed currencies (following ṣukūk structures), as well as multiple international reserve currencies and joining of hands by professionals and Sharīʿah scholars to design a currency system compatible with the Islamic financial system. This paper’s recommendation is against the adoption of cryptocurrency that lacks the backing of real assets. Originality/value: The study contributes to the literature by evaluating the compatibility of existing currency systems in the achievement of socio-economic objectives of a welfare state which seeks to uphold justice and equitable resource distribution as core values in the financial system. © 2020, Muhammad Hanif.