This study seeks to contribute to the development of knowledge about factors that influence accountability at subunit levels in the local government of Malaysia. Further, this study examines the possibility of significant contingency model paths relationships to provide insights about the ‘fits’ between sets of contingency, control systems and accountability outcomes variables in LAs in Malaysia. This study looks into the public sector control systems that allow managers to manage while holding them accountable for results. There are relatively few research studies that analyze the contingency approach to MCS design in public sector, particularly, the local government, and the mediating effect of levers of MCS on the relationship between the contextual variables and the rendering of the respective dimensions of accountability. The same can be observed about discussions on the relationship between psychological empowerment, task difficulty, situational constraint and levers of control and accountability. Based on the contingency theory modelling, this study proposes a framework that explicates the link between the relevant contextual variables; psychological empowerment, task difficulty, situational constraint, levers of MCS and the dimensions of accountability.This study was conducted on all three types of local authorities in Peninsula Malaysia, namely the city council, municipal council and district council. Primary data was collected through questionnaire survey on a sample of 665 head of departments and supervisory subordinates of local authorities departments comprising mainly those providing direct services to the public. The results of the tests on the hypotheses can be summarized as follows: Firstly, using cluster analysis, results identified three dimensions of accountability to exist in the Malaysian local authorities. Managerial/public, fiduciary and political accountability classify the disposition of Malaysian LA departmental managers’ discharge of accountability; Secondly, the path analysis results indicated that (1) psychological empowerment has significant direct effects on the respective dimensions of accountability; (2) task difficulty has significant inverse direct effect on the respective dimensions of accountability. On the contrary, there is no significant inverse direct relationships between situational constraint and accountability; (3) levers of MCS has significant direct influence on the respective dimensions of accountability; (4) the levers of MCS have full mediating function on the relationship between psychological empowerment and task difficulty and dimensions of accountability. In conclusion psychological empowerment and the extent of task difficulty faced by departmental heads and subordinates influence the rendering of respective types of accountability by those departments but not situational constraint. The four levers of control enhanced the multifarious types of accountability. Furthermore, the levers of MCS mediate the relationships between psychological empowerment and task difficulty and accountability of departmental managers in local authorities in Peninsula Malaysia. Finally, the study suggests directions for future research.

This study aims to address the issue of accountability in a waqf institution. Specifically, the focus of this study is to shed more light on how the Mutawalli (waqf trustee) perceives and discharges accountability in managing waqf. In so doing, an interpretive case study in one Indonesian waqf institution, that is, Dompet Dhuafa, is undertaken. The data were obtained through semi-structured interviews. Other sources of data collection techniques employed along with the interviews include observations and document reviews. Furthermore, this study uses the non-profit and non-governmental organisation’s accountability framework as the main conceptual lens. The framework consists of the mechanisms of accountability and holistic accountability. In addition to the accountability framework, the stakeholder salience theory is also used to understand how the Mutawalli shows accountability to multiple stakeholders. The findings of this study reveal that the Mutawalli’s understanding of accountability in waqf is influenced by its organisational values. It appears that the belief in dual accountability – to Allah and human beings – has strengthened the Mutawalli’s perception concerning the importance of accountability. Despite the fact that the Mutawalli realises the presence of asymmetries in stakeholder salience, the Mutawalli still manages to show accountability to all stakeholders. The Mutawalli believes that showing accountability to different groups of stakeholder requires different mechanisms of accountability. As such, this study concludes that the holistic accountability practised by Dompet Dhuafa is an integrative process. It not only encompasses fulfilling upward and downward accountabilities, but also involves the commitment to preserve its organisational values.

Globally, Public Private Partnerships (PPP) is a widely used mode of providing public infrastructure. This study seeks to understand the accountability practices and implications of the concession agreement (CA) on accounting and accountability in PPP arrangements. Using an interpretive approach, data were collected through 25 semi-structured interviews with participants from private sector providers, public sector clients (MOHE, IIUM and UiTM) and PPP monitoring agency (UKAS), and reviews of relevant documents. The concept of public accountability is used to conceptualise the relationships and collaboration among multiple experts as actants from the government and the private sector. The PPP performance relies on the contribution made by experts. This study also revealed that communication and adherence to the CA are critical for good collaboration. The findings show the ways in which accountability is being practised in PPP implementation as evidenced by the vital roles of experts, the collaboration of actants within the SPV and between the SPV and the public sector. Drawing on the ANT perspective, this study notes differences in accountability translation during the three phases of PPP projects. During the pre-construction stage, where various negotiation takes place, the translation process centres on the problematisation moment, although interessement, enrolment and mobilisation moments are also present. In the construction stage, when the facilities are constructed, the four translation moments involve greater emphasis on problematisation and interessement moments. In the final stage (maintenance period), which is the longest phase, the translation process focusses on the interessement and enrolment moments. This study also reveals that accountability practices are fostered by collaboration among experts, especially technical and financial experts, in ensuring the on-time completion of a PPP project. Contrary to the notion that a contract is always inadequate to manage PPP projects, this study reveals that the CA is the leading reference that shapes the execution of PPP projects. KPIs are vital components of the CA and align the interests of experts in the PPP project. In light of the above findings, this study contributes to the limited literature on the role of experts and CA on accountability in PPP. It illuminates the importance of collaborative arrangements in PPP that influence the ways in which accountability is discharged to the public.

Mounting awareness among various stakeholders of environmental management issues has motivated companies to place sustainability development on their business agenda. However, the unavailability of a system that can capture environmental concerns has hindered companies from identifying opportunities for improving their environmental performance. The role of accounting as a tool to address environmental problems therefore has become critical. The use of environmental accounting, particularly environmental management accounting (EMA), will allow management to identify ways for more efficient processes and better consumption of resources that may lead both to positive environmental and to economic performance. By utilising survey and semi-structured interviews to gain evidence from the practitioner’s view, this study contributes to outlining the extent of EMA diffusion among environmentally-sensitive industries in Malaysia, the motivation for the uptake of the practice, the effects of the adoption on firm performance and problems/challenges related to its adoption. Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) and Neo-Institutional Sociology (NIS) perspective provides a theoretical background for this empirical study. DOI Theory suggests that technical and organisational factors are relevant for EMA adoption, while NIS stresses the part that environmental or external factors play in such a phenomenon. The correlation test suggests that all technical, organisational and institutional contexts play significant roles in EMA diffusion. Specifically, the perceived relative advantage of EMA, community pressure, regulatory pressure, normative pressure, multi-nationality status, the existence of an internal champion and top management’s support are positively associated with the diffusion stage of EMA. Further logistic regressions tests were conducted to look at how EMA moved from one stage of diffusion to another within firms. While the existence of an internal champion caused firms to consider EMA, internal stakeholders’ pressure and top management’s support were found to be the factors that could move EMA from consideration stage to adoption stage. This paper traces the progress of EMA in Malaysia from as early as 1998. Even though the findings show that the pace of EMA diffusion is slow, the number of adopters is growing, thus implying the potential of EMA to be adopted in a wider context in future; forced selection may justify the faster pace of adoption. Problems related to lack of knowledge and inadequate expertise among accountants are found to be barriers for the practice to be widely diffused. This suggests that pressure for EMA adoption may stem from normative isomorphism. Furthermore, the case for introducing EMA is always put on cost-benefit ground, which accountants consider as difficult to be justified. As accountants place greater consideration on these impediments, interest in EMA wanes. This indicates the need for professional bodies and universities to integrate EMA into their coursework and training.

Financial crises have adversely affected the Indonesian economy from time to time. The banking sector is considered to be the most affected type of institution due to it being an important channel through which the financial intermediation process takes place. One of the main reasons for the financial crises becoming severe was that the banking sector built up excessive balance sheet leverage, which, in turn, happened to be linked to financial cycles. Fluctuations in the financial cycles gradually eroded the level and quality of the capital base and liquidity buffers. In Indonesia, Islamic bank is the dominant sector in the Islamic financial system. This asserts that Indonesia’s Islamic financial system is a bank-based economy. Thus, any financial stresses on the Islamic banking system will disturb the prospects of the economy and trigger a financial crisis. For this reason, the resilience of Islamic banking is important to ensure its ability to withstand shocks and increase its financial services. This research aimed to analyze the resilience of Islamic banking in Indonesia. More specifically, it had three objectives: measuring and determining the level of resilience of Islamic banking and its components; identifying the leading indicators that signal the emergence of external shocks with adverse implications for the resilience of Islamic banking; and analysing the link between macroeconomic indicators and the resilience of Islamic banking, in order to aid policy-making to strengthen the Islamic banking sector. This study focused on three things in order to achieve the above objectives. Firstly, the building of an Islamic banking resilience index (IBRI) which incorporates the components of resilience. Secondly, the construction of a macroeconomic vulnerability index (MVI) which serves as the signalling indicator. Thirdly, the development of a framework for the resilience of Islamic banking (FRIB) which analyses the linkage between macroeconomic indicators and the resilience of Islamic banking. The signal-extraction approach was used to determine the resilience of Islamic banking in Indonesia; this was achieved by using time-series data from 2010 until 2016 taken on a monthly basis. The findings showed that the level of resilience of Islamic banking in Indonesia has not emerged, which is reflected by its resilience components that tend to behave at levels of resilience that are no longer at their optimal level. In addition, the rate of inflation and the nominal exchange rate were confirmed as leading indicators that will signal the emergence of external shocks with adverse implications for the resilience of Islamic banking in Indonesia. Thus, improving the resilience of Islamic banking can be conducted by making a connection between the MVI’s tolerable limits of shocks and the IBRI’s optimal level of threshold. At the intersection level, the linkages between macroeconomic indicators and the resilience of Islamic banking can be analysed by using the thresholds of risk signalling that are shown in the FRIB. The study finally suggested that the resilience of Islamic banking requires a sustainable level of leverage, which is achieved by ensuring a more balanced asset-financing allocation, sources of funding composition, and costs over income proportion. In addition, the resilience requires a contractionary monetary policy in order to appreciate the Indonesian nominal exchange rate

Motivation plays a significant role in explaining consumer behaviour and consumer decision making. This study investigates consumer motivation in patronizing wasiyyah services in Malaysia. Wasiyyah has been regarded as one of the remedies for frozen asset problems in the country. However, despite its importance, the penetration rate of wasiyyah services in Malaysia remains low. Specifically, this study examines the relationship between the basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness, spirituality) as the antecedents of consumers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and the consequence of those motivations on satisfaction. The roles of the motivations as the mediators between basic psychological needs and satisfaction are also investigated. The research framework consists of 18 hypotheses that predict ten direct relationships and eight mediation effects. The model integrates the basic psychological needs theory (BPNT) and cognitive evaluation theory (CET) in which self-determination theory (SDT) is the over-arching theory integrating the two theories to explain the relationships. This study focuses on Malaysian Muslims consumers who have already patronized wasiyyah services. The data was collected using online survey and 182 valid data was involved in testing the research model. SPSS 25 and SmartPLS 3.0 were used for data analysis. The empirical results of this study reveal that autonomy, relatedness, and spirituality influence consumers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation significantly; while competence is only significant for intrinsic motivation. The findings also revealed that extrinsic motivation influences satisfaction significantly while intrinsic motivation does not. Thus, the indirect effects show that only extrinsic motivation mediates the relationships between autonomy, relatedness, spirituality, and satisfaction. The study results substantiate basic psychological needs influence on consumers’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in patronizing wasiyyah services in Malaysia. More importantly, the significant role of extrinsic motivation on satisfaction offers insights for industry players to strengthen and create sustainable marketing strategies to attract more Muslim consumers to patronize the wasiyyah service which may eventually help to overcome the frozen assets problems.

Waqf is a historical and charitable vehicle in Islam that has the potential to contribute toward the socio-economic development of a country. There has been a growing lack of trust in waqf institutions among donors from Muslim countries due to numerous problems such as misallocation of funds, the low level of information disclosure, weak governance mechanisms and the lack of accountability to stakeholders. Unlike Zakat, Waqf is a non-obligatory levy, which will be contributed by the donors based on the level of trust they have in the waqf institutions. Empirical investigation is undertaken in this study to establish elements that affect donor trust toward waqf institutions. This study is an attempt to develop and empirically test a model of the donors’ trust toward waqf institutions. The antecedents and outcome model of the donor`s trust is developed from the perspectives of Commitment-Trust, Islamic Accountability and Stewardship theory. The data for the study is gathered from 326 actual donors of publicly administered waqf institutions in Bangladesh using a self-administered questionnaire. The results from Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) provide validity of the developed model and statistical significance of seven hypotheses developed through critical review of literature. Board benevolence, board ability, board integrity, communication and accountability have a positive influence on the donors’ trust while board opportunism affects trust negatively. Trust also has a significant positive impact on the donors’ commitment toward waqf institutions. The survey results are compared and integrated with follow-up interviews with four waqf administrators in Bangladesh. The results of the study can guide the regulators in formulating policies that could increase the donors’ trust in waqf institutions and ensure a sustainable future of these religious, charitable organisations.

Ethics is important in any profession, including the accounting profession. Due to the accountability of the public sector, ethics of public sector auditors (PSAs) is paramount. Thus, this research firstly explores the level of ethical work climate (EWC) in the National Audit Department (NAD) in Malaysia. This is followed by an investigation on ethical culture as an antecedent of EWC. Furthermore, outcomes of EWC, specifically code commitment, organizational commitment, and work-related ethical behaviour, are determined. The data on all variables (i.e. EWC, ethical culture, code commitment, organizational commitment, work-related ethical behaviour) were collected using a questionnaire instrument based on a seven-point Likert scale. The questionnaires were distributed to the population of PSAs in all the NAD offices throughout the whole of Malaysia. The response rates were 66% and 78% for individual auditors and audit teams, respectively. A total of 61% and 70% of the questionnaires were useable for individuals and teams, respectively. Mean values, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regressions and Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) were the main statistical tests used in hypotheses testing. The findings revealed that EWC at the NAD is ethical. Next, the univariate regressions’ results indicated that ethical culture and its virtues are the antecedents of overall EWC and its components. However, based on the findings of multiple regressions, virtues of ethical culture: feasibility and transparency do not show significant influence on overall EWC and each of its components. Finally, findings from HLM provided evidence that overall EWC was significantly and positively associated with each of the outcomes: code commitment, organizational commitment, and work-related ethical behaviour. However, there were mixed results on the effect of individual components of EWC on each of the outcomes. The findings of this study, that the PSAs at the NAD are ethical, should be reassuring to the public and the government. Nevertheless, this study may also be useful to the NAD as the results reveal the components of EWC that could be further improved, as well as the virtues of ethical culture that could enhance EWC. Finally, this study highlights to the NAD, the component of EWC that should be promoted to consistently produce positive outcomes of code commitment, organizational commitment and work-related ethical behaviour of the PSAs.

The increasing competition and the homogeneous nature of banking products have forced banking institutions to create differentiation. One of the ways used by banks to distinguish themselves from competitors is by adopting an Islamic financial concept. However, despite the inclusion of Islamic values, customers are unable to differentiate the Islamic banking concept from its conventional counterparts, indicating a failure in projecting the intended image. In order to understand this, improvement of corporate brand image through attributes of the brand is suggested. As such, this study is conducted to identify the brand attributes influencing the corporate brand image of Islamic banking institution and its consequence. Three attributes were examined which are functional, emotional and spiritual brand attributes and one consequence was included which is loyalty. The research methodology involved several steps that started with scale development procedure through literature review and qualitative method. The scale was then validated using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. In the second stage, questionnaires were then distributed to Islamic bank customers who reside or work in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor. 503 questionnaires were analysed using partial least square-structural equation modelling. A 6-point Likert scale was used to measure the constructs. Findings of the study showed that only functional and emotional brand attributes have an impact on the overall corporate brand image and loyalty. Spiritual brand attribute on the other hand is not significant in influencing both image and loyalty. However, the study found that spiritual brand attribute is the antecedent of functional and emotional brand attribute, which is in line with the Tawhidic paradigm. In general, the study has contributed to the theory by extending the brand triangle framework with the inclusion of spiritual value. In addition, the study has also developed the measurement scale for the spiritual brand attribute. Managerially, the study provides insights on the strategy that could be adapted to position the corporate brand of Islamic bank in the customers’ minds.

This research sought to explore the antecedents of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) of selected organisations operating in Malaysia. This is in response to the paucity of research on CSI and the continuous focus on CSR despite the suggestion that CSR reporting can potentially be used to cover up CSI. This research examined four selected cases, two local and two foreign organisations operating in Malaysia to generate in-depth descriptions of CSR and CSI practices and explore the internal and external factors that drive the two. Data collection occurred over a period of one and a half year, including document reviews and ten interviews with CSR and non-CSR managers. Constructivist grounded theory analysis guided data analysis. The integrative framework generated from the cross-case analysis explores the contextual drivers of CSR and CSI. Findings lead to the conclusion that internally good governance is a precursor to CSR performance. In addition, CSR is viewed as a strategic tool that helps in promoting organisational CSR and prevents CSI. Particularly, the role of leadership is important for having direct as well as indirect impact in influencing behaviour across the organisation via ethical organisational culture. In the absence of control mechanisms, the role of leadership becomes important in promoting CSR and preventing CSI. Laws, regulations and environmental factors help in the prevention of CSI. However, weak regulatory framework and lack of enforcement in Malaysia provide an opportunity for CSI for both local and foreign organisations. As such, political factors play a critical role in pushing for CSR agenda, especially in the context of developing countries like Malaysia. Socio-cultural factors influence organisational ethical culture and individual values. The adoption and use of technology provide opportunities for CSR adoption and CSI prevention. Moreover, the market performance affects the availability of resources for CSR. In the phase of weak economic performance, the bargaining power of shareholders comes into play where the shareholder's interest takes precedence over that of the others. The data suggest that internal drivers may mediate the relationship between the external environment and organisational CSR and CSI. The study findings have implication for both theory and practice. First, it clarifies the distinction between CSR and CSI. Second, it provides a fresh perspective on the institutional theory by disentangling the external drivers of actual CSR and CSI activities. In particular, the study highlights the role of social media in consumer and civil society activism in preventing CSI. Third, from an internal perspective, the study contributes to normative perspective by elaborating on the role of millennial in driving CSR and preventing CSI. Finally, the study contributes to the growing CSR, CSI literature by inducting an integrative framework of the internal and external drivers of CSR and CSI. Overall, the study attempts to enrich theoretical conversation on the relationship between CSR and CSI.

The main objective of this thesis is to explain customer purchase intention towards Perak Gold Dinar (PGD) through cognitive customer behavioural lenses. The conceptual framework of the study represents an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with the inclusion of objective and subjective consumer product knowledge as exogenous variables. The study adopted a mixed method exploratory design – instrument development model. The findings from the initial qualitative enquiry were used to guide the development of the construct measuring customers’ PGD purchase-related beliefs. The measure of the objective product knowledge of the customers was also specifically developed for the purpose of this study. The measures of TPB constructs were adapted from among the existing reliable instruments in the literature. The population under study was identified as all the registered customers of one of the largest nation-wide distributors of Gold products in Malaysia. Therefore, the total list of the registered customers was taken as the sampling frame. The sample of 571 respondents was obtained on the basis of simple random sampling. A link to the online questionnaire form was distributed through email by the distributor’s company that agreed to facilitate the study. The full-fledged Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was adopted as the analytical procedure. The research found that the hypothesized structural model assessing the indirect explanatory strength of PGD purchase-related beliefs as well as objective and subjective product knowledge on customers` purchase intention towards PGD using attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control as mediators fits the data well. Even though the objective product knowledge did not exert a direct influence on PGD purchase intention it was found to be practically an important point of entry to tap into the formation of the purchase intention of the customers towards PGD. The unexpected negative suppression effect by the objective product knowledge revealed its indispensable role in the interplay of cognitive behavioural dynamics underlying the formation of the purchase intention towards the PGD.

The world metaphorically has turned flat for the onslaught of globalization. While it has blurred the geographical divides, it has as well, as its corollary, spawned fierce competition among the enterprises in the marketplace. The competitive trade atmosphere has furnished the contemporary business industry intensely over its rivals and its ability to cope with multiple challenges to be successful, especially in terms of financial means. Although the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are considered as the backbone of economic growth of a country, however SMEs in Malaysia are noted with dismay due to unexpected business failures. Despite the fact that many scholarly works have been conducted in Malaysia, nevertheless, the strong influence of the antecedents of financial practice such as Financial Knowledge (FK) and Financial Behaviour (FB) toward Financial Practice (FP) as well as Business Success (BS) are yet to be realized pertinently. For that reason, the current study emphasizes a variety of detailed theoretical perspectives as well as the empirical foundations for achieving the research objectives. In fact, these theoretical and empirical platforms make the research feasible in the areas of Financial Knowledge (FK), Financial Behaviour (FB), Financial Practice (FP) and Business Success (BS) of Malaysian SMEs. The research method of this study is ‘survey method’ and the unit of analysis is the individual respondent consisting business owners and managers from various SMEs in Selangor and the greater Kuala Lumpur region. Although a suitable sample of 63 business owners and managers of different SMEs were selected for the pilot study, later on, a sample of 302 data was considered as the final sample size for the current study. Since this is a quantitative research, so the primary empirical findings are reported using SPSS (Version 18.0), and then detailed out various investigations using AMOS (Version 16.0) software for executing the suitable Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analyses. Prior to conducting SEM, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) is performed to scrutinize the underlying dimensions of Financial Knowledge (FK), Financial Behaviour (FB), Financial Practice (FP) and Business Success (BS). Subsequently, the reliability analysis is checked via Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the four extracted factors for the purpose of ensuring the internal consistency. The results indicate that, although Financial Knowledge (FK) is positively related to the Financial Practice (FP) in Malaysian SMEs, but it is not directly related to the Business Success (BS). A similar phenomenon is observed in the Financial Behaviour (FB), which is positively related to the Financial Practice (FP) but not to the Business Success (BS) for the SMEs in Malaysia. Apart from these, the Financial Practice (FP) is found assertively allied to the Business Success (BS) while Financial Practice (FP) plays the mediating roles in the Financial Knowledge (FK) and Financial Behaviour (FB) toward Business Success (BS) in Malaysia. However, a reciprocal relationship is observed justifiably between Financial Knowledge (FK) and Financial Behaviour (FB). With these findings, the current study can fulfill the research objectives assembled in the initial chapter. Finally, this research will help to identify the requirements and solutions for finding out the policy to strengthen the enterprise and maximize the productivity and sustainable development.

Environmental issues, such as air and water pollution, resources scarcity, and global warming, are becoming major concern. These environmental problems have often been created by businesses and industries. This has led many countries to develop environmental regulations that aim to control organisations’ activities to improve environmental protection outcomes. Such concerns raise the need for organisations to display more effective environmental management conduct. Past studies have largely emphasised organisations’ environmental practices, but very limited studies have focused on managers’ behaviour in enhancing the effectiveness of their business environmental practices. The purpose of this research is to further understand the antecedents that influence managers’ pro-environmental intention. In addition, this study also hopes to provide a better understanding of the mediation effect of their intentions towards their pro-environmental behaviour. Therefore, Theory of Planned Behaviour was utilised to examine and determine which antecedents are the most influential for managers to be environmentally and financially responsible in preserving the environment. This study extends the TPB model by the inclusion of religiosity as a predictor to further explain managers’ intentions and behaviours. Questionnaires were sent to managers in environmentally sensitive companies listed on Bursa Malaysia. The data collected from a sample of 99 managers were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling. The results provide support that managers’ subjective norms and religiosity values were significant predictors of intention for managers to conduct organisations’ environmental practices. However, managers’ personal environmental attitudes and their belief about the importance of fulfilling organisations’ economic objectives were acknowledged as having low impact on their intention to perform pro-environmental practices. With regard to managers’ environmentally responsible behaviour, it is noted that significant improvement can be developed in building managers’ environmentally responsible behaviour by focusing on subjective norms requirements and managers’ religious values. This study, however, also provides evidence that though managers have high intention to preserve the environment, it is not enough for them to be financially responsible in exercising such actions. Post survey interviews were conducted to further assist in understanding the factors that might be feasible or useful for managers to protect the environment and explain the challenges encountered by them to be financially responsible. Theoretically, TPB provides some insights into the important attributes required by managers to be environmentally and financially responsible in preserving the environment. It addresses the recent call in the literature to research the antecedents that influence managers’ intention to execute organisations’ environmental practices that further lead them to perform pro-environmental behaviour. Hence understanding managers’ behaviour within their workplace could assist organisations in creating a motivated environment for managers to effectively perform their expected intentions and behaviour. There are several limitations of this study, such as the data only focused on environmentally sensitive industries and there are probably other important factors that have not been examined in this study that might influence managers’ behaviour.

Tourism is an important economic sector for most countries, and it is also one of the world?s fastest growing industries. The increasing importance of tourism in boosting national economies such as Malaysia has sparked considerable interest to better understand the entire tourism ecosystem for greater sustainability. This thesis comprises three essays on the tourism industry in Malaysia. The essays are empirical investigations on various perspectives of tourism system. The first essay explores the generating aspect of the tourism system to identify the macroeconomic demand factors and their relative importance. The second essay explores the tourism sector from the perspective of efficiency and productivity. The last essay examines the impact of homestay programme using a case study in Sepang, Selangor. Overall, the interconnection between the findings of the three essays suggests that various measures are pertinent to the theme of sustainable tourism ecosystem from the perspective of policy makers. Findings from first essay suggest that Malaysia has greater potential to attract tourist arrivals from the neighbouring countries as well as Muslim countries. Despite the great potentials that exist, the finding from the second essay suggests that there are variations in the level of efficiencies between states. These variations imply that resources are not being fully utilized or there are excessive of inputs that duplicate one another. Notwithstanding these issues, findings from last essay which is based on a case study suggests that better utilization of tourism resources could bring positive spillover effects to the surrounding communities.

The main objective of this study is to measure the impact of the Government Credit Guarantee scheme (Kredit Usaha Rakyat/KUR) on poverty reduction as characterized by the household welfare improvement. A total of 739 respondents were chosen based on a purposive random sampling method. This study employed a cross-sectional design to examine whether participation in KUR programs improves household welfare in the Central Java Province (two cities and five districts). To collect the data, this study developed two instruments- the first instrument was a questionnaire adapted from several previous studies and the second instrument was an in-depth interview to collect data related to the suggested solution. Accordingly, the logistic regression model is implemented to analyze the impact of the KUR program on household welfare improvement. This study provides the evidence of the impact of access to KUR on household welfare improvement. There are four dimensions to measure the welfare improving goals of a household, namely, (i) extreme poverty alleviation, (ii) housing improvement, (iii) children’s education and healthcare, and (iv) household information and communication technology (ICT). Access to KUR has a positive effect on all those three dependent variables of extreme poverty eradication, namely monthly income, monthly food expenditure, and monthly non-food expenditure. In housing improvement, access to KUR has a positive impact on four out of seven variables. These four variables include living space in square meter per adult, improvement on access to clean water and drinking water, better electricity, and improvement on facilities for bathing, washing and toilet. On the other hand, access to KUR has no significant effect on homeland status; roof, floor and wall; and waste water disposal system. In children’s education and healthcare, access to KUR has a positive impact on health care expenditure and medical treatment for children. In household information and communication technology (household ICT), access to KUR has a positive impact on the ownership of personal computer, ownership of cellular phone and improvement in internet access. Finally, this study provides several suggestions from experts for overcoming the challenges of the accessibility of MSMEs to KUR for welfare improvement. These suggestions include: 1) training and technical guidance for MSMEs; 2) assistance to MSMEs that have run a business; 3) empowerment of modern financial management and digital marketing. Bank officers need to conduct a field survey to find out what problems are experienced by prospective debtors. In addition, the government must also disseminate KUR programs regularly to the public.

This research aims to develop an innovation maturity model for government organisations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and seeks to explore the current challenges facing the UAE government in innovation. The UAE government currently does not have a unified way to measure innovation but rather the use of international excellence models and international standards which are more suited for the private sector. The research was conducted using a qualitative method, gathering data from different governmental sectors in the UAE, such as health, space, technology, education, water, energy, and transportation. The data sources of this research included semi-structured interviews, document reviews, and observations. The researcher interviewed 24 participants several times, analysed 43 public and private documents, and conducted 2 observations. The data that was transcribed and analysed thematically resulted in constructing a model called the “Government Innovation Capability Maturity Model” that has eight dimensions (Strategy, Leadership, Culture, Collaboration, KM, System, HR, and Finance), implemented in seven organisations and validated by four experts in government innovation through three rounds of the Delphi method. The analysed data also identified challenges in innovation for the UAE government in nine areas: strategy, HR, culture, collaboration, R&D, process, financing, marketing, and innovation concept. The research contributed to the theory by closing the gap of limited studies of UAE innovation, and practical contribution by designing an innovation maturity models for government organisations to use. COVID-19 and geographical constraints were some of the limitations of this research but were overcome by gathering the data through online methods such as Zoom© and Google Meet©. Finally, its recommended for future research to further analyse and empirically test the eight dimensions and their relations within the UAE and other countries in the region.

Agriculture is one of the most vulnerable sectors to be affected by the adverse effects of climate change. Among the countries that are affected, it was observed that Malaysia’s agricultural productivity has been on a decreasing trend. This is because parts of the country have come under the unscrupulous ravages of climate vulnerability and other natural disasters caused by climate change. Farmers are the most affected because not only are they less knowledgeable about the effects of climate change, they are also less capable of protecting themselves and this is due to the many constraints they face. In order to help farmers to be better at adapting to the vulnerability of climate change, it is important to analyse their understanding of the consequences of climate change, their selection of appropriate adaptation methods as well as their capacity to identify the barriers that could affect their adaptation behaviours. In line with this, this study aims to examine the perception of Malaysian farmers, their adaption capacity and their attitudes towards climate change. It also examines their views about the barriers affecting their adaptation behaviour. To achieve this aim, a questionnaire survey was conducted on a sample of 400 rice farmers from the Kedah region of Malaysia. Data was analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. The findings of this study show that 84% of the respondents had perceived a decrease in rainfall due to climate change while 75% had perceived an increase in temperature over the last 10 to 15 years as a result of climate change. It is also found that the farmers who participated in this study possess a moderate adaptive capacity to adapt to climate change and some of their common adaptation practices include improving their irrigation system, using organic fertilizers and changing their activities from farming to non-farming activities. The analysis also indicates that the farmers were facing several kinds of adaptation barriers such as high cost of input, unpredictable weather, lack of water resources, lack of timely weather information, lack of access to credit facilities and a few more constraints. Based on the statistics, the study also finds a significant positive relationship between the farmers’ perception of climate change and awareness (AWN) with their attitudes (ATT) towards their adaptation behaviour (ADB), a finding which is consistent with theoretical assumptions. Furthermore, the results also reveal that awareness and attitudes play a mediating role between perception and adaptation behaviour. It is hoped that the outcome of this study can be used by the relevant parties to help the public and private organisations to learn more about the farmers’ perceptions about climate change and the barriers they face in trying to adapt to the effects of climate change. Therefore, an appropriate policy framework needs to be developed so as to enable farmers to overcome their adaptation obstacles.

In determining the rate of return on stocks, many models have been introduced to obtain optimal returns and able to minimize risk. Equilibrium model such as the CAPM, APT and multifactor models have been used in calculating the level of risk and returns through portfolio formation. Since the development initiated by Markowitz who invented portfolio theory, the empirical results of many researchers have produced different points of view relating to stock return and risk relationship. This study aims to look at what factors can be used as a basis to determine returns and at the same time can minimize the risk. As in previous research studies using the CAPM, APT and multifactor models, this study focused on determining the combination of the most significant variables that determine portfolio stock returns in Indonesia. In addition to using the standard in obtaining beta estimates, this study also uses an estimate of volatility models. In obtaining the best model, the first variable that were selected passed through several test models of equilibrium, so that the best model only includes several valid variables. The research was divided into three different economic conditions; full period and two sub periods indicating financial crisis (1998`s) and the global crisis (2008`s). The results showed that the CAPM is not valid and that market capitalization variable more able to explain changes in the portfolio yield. The model of the APT shows that macroeconomic and market risk premium are significant in explaining changes in portfolio returns, except for the production index. Several fundamental factors of the multifactor models are also found to be significant variables including rating, and that liquidity factor is still an investment benchmark in Indonesia. It is proven that the volume and frequency of trades consistently significant in all test models. Apart from that, the variables showed significant ratings that investors in Indonesia are still passive, traditional and avoid risk. The simulation results of this study indicate that beta is estimated using a standard similar to that estimated using ARCH beta (volatility modeling), and that both methods showed the same conclusion. As such, it can be said to be consistent in terms of portfolio formation. Also, the magnitude and direction of the regression coefficients were tested using several models. In addition, when the establishment of a portfolio simulation was made, it was found that there is an effect of market capitalization. Small-cap portfolios have higher returns than large-cap, and Value at Risk (VaR) value is similar relatively between the two methods of portfolio formation.

Emerging markets are associated with developing economies and are structurally different from the developed markets. They offer higher expected returns as they are experiencing higher growth rates and potential for diversifying the risk in global portfolios as they are partially integrated with the developed markets. However, the structural differences coupled with partial integration limit the capability of the asset pricing models, originally designed for the developed markets, to capture risk and return dynamics of the assets in these markets and necessitate customization of the models to the local settings. Many asset pricing studies undertaken in this direction supplement the factors in developed market models with the factors that are unique to the emerging markets. However, the models have limited scope in explaining asset returns due to limited explanatory power of the factors included. This study proposes a multifactor asset pricing model with nine explanatory factors, which include returns on the local and global market portfolios, exchange rate, and returns on six mimicking portfolios that proxy for the common sources of risks associated with size, book to market value of equity, market liquidity, leverage, quality of earnings, and asset liquidity of firms. The last three factors in the model have not been tested in the emerging markets; among these, asset liquidity is introduced as an explanatory factor in asset pricing in this study. The model is tested in seven emerging markets, namely China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, and Brazil using ten-year monthly data on non-financial firms over period of January 2004 to December 2013. Generalized method of moments (GMM) is applied for data analysis and model testing. The findings of the study reveal that the local market portfolio is the most dominant factor in all the markets. It subsumes the effects of the global market portfolio and the exchange rate in most of the markets. In addition, consistent cross-country behaviour of size related factor is observed in explaining returns on small and medium portfolios, and of book to market value of equity related factor in explaining returns on high book to market value portfolios. Other factors in the model exhibit different behaviours in different markets indicating presence of idiosyncrasies in the common sources of risks that drive returns in these markets. The newly introduced asset liquidity factor has strong impact on stock returns in four markets: India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Africa. Furthermore, the new to emerging markets factors leverage and quality of earnings have noticeable influence on stock returns in two markets each; leverage in India and Malaysia, and quality of earnings in China and Brazil. The observed behaviour of the model in the markets studied mirrors the behaviour expected of asset pricing models in emerging markets, which are partially integrated with one another and are in different stages of economic lifecycle

The aim of this study is to investigate financial reporting quality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the impact of audit quality and internal governance mechanisms (board of director including Royal family members and audit committee) on financial reporting quality. The study also tests whether internal governance mechanisms moderate the association between audit quality and financial reporting quality. Financial reporting quality in this study is measured by faithful representation and financial reporting timeliness. Faithful representation and financial reporting timeliness were proxied by earnings management, specifically discretionary accruals (DA), and total report lag (TRL), respectively. Three theories were applied to explain the hypotheses in this study namely, agency theory, resources dependence theory and elitism theory. The sample of the study consists of listed companies on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) totalling 437 firm-years. This research’s study period was for eight years from 2011 to 2018, thus panel data were used in testing the hypotheses. Multivariate and hierarchical regressions were the main tests conducted to meet the research objectives of this study. The audit quality measures used in this study are audit size, audit fee, audit tenure and specialist auditor. The board of directors’ characteristics are royal family members on board, board size, frequency of board meetings, board meeting attendance, board independence and multiple directorships. Whereas audit committee’s characteristics are audit committee size, frequency of audit committee meetings, audit committee expertise and audit committee independence. Supporting elitism theory, the findings of the study showed that the existence of a Royal family member on the board of directors contributed towards deterring earnings management practices and expediting total report lag, hence enhancing financial reporting quality. In addition to royalty on board, audit committee expertise is found to be effective in hindering earnings management practices and shortening report lags. Moreover, board attendance and independence as well as audit committee size seem to promote timely financial reports. Then, in testing the moderating effect of board of directors and audit committee, generally, the findings showed that these internal governance mechanisms moderate the association between audit quality and financial reporting quality to a certain extent. The findings of this study could be of interest to investors and regulators as it reveals the financial reporting quality of listed companies in the UAE and the monitoring mechanisms, especially royalty on board, that are effective in augmenting the quality of financial reporting. This study should also be useful to future researchers as it has used and found support for elitism theory in accounting research. Furthermore, this study has extended the literature on corporate governance and financial reporting by testing the moderating effects of internal governance mechanisms on audit quality’s association with financial reporting quality, particularly in the context of the UAE.