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The purpose of this study is to examine the role of financial governance practices in influencing both financial management and Islamic work ethic practices to affect Islamic social enterprises (ISEs) accountability.

Questionnaires were administered to financial officers of 102 Malaysian ISEs. Data was analysed using Smart-PLS to examine the relationships between financial management, Islamic work ethic, financial governance and accountability.

Results of this study indicate direct relationship only exist between Islamic work ethic and accountability. The relationship between financial management and accountability are indirect through financial governance. Hence, the data proves that financial governance has a mediating role on both the relationships between financial management and Islamic work ethic with the accountability of the ISEs.

The study has highlighted the greater role of financial management, Islamic work ethic and financial governance practices over accountability to achieve public trust, especially for Malaysian ISEs.

ISEs need to have good financial governance practices besides financial management and Islamic work ethic practices to achieve good accountability.

The study contributes to the field of management and social accounting by providing empirical evidence on the ISEs practices specifically on financial management, Islamic work ethic, financial governance and accountability. This framework thus presents amongst the first attempts in studying accountability issues in ISEs.

This study aims to present an effort to construct a measurement instrument to capture Islamic accountability from “accountability for what” aspect. These measurement instruments are developed by considering both social and economic natures in Islamic organisations.

This study defined the concept of Islamic accountability from the perspective of “accountability for what”. It is decomposed into specific items that suit an Islamic social enterprise (ISE). Next, these items are operationalised into scale items and re-composed empirically through factor analysis on data obtained from ISE stakeholders in Malaysia.

This study successfully developed an Islamic accountability measurement instruments from the “accountability for what” perspective for ISE. A total of 25 items are recognised and validated under four accountability dimensions, namely, accountability for input, accountability for output, accountability for procedural and accountability for Islamic principles and values.

Not all measurement instruments are fit for every Islamic organisation type because of the different characteristics of Islamic organisations.

Developed items can be used as part of Islamic accountability index, especially by ISE and other similar organisations to measure their accountability practices. Besides, these developed items can also be adopted for reporting purposes. In the case of Malaysia, respective government agencies, such as the Companies Commission of Malaysia , the Registry of Society, the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development as well as the Malaysia Institute of Accountant, should have a look at the developed items to be considered into their respective guidelines or standards.

This study is believed to be a pioneering study in developing measurement instruments of Islamic accountability specific for ISE. It proposes measurement instruments of Islamic accountability that can be re-used for future research and is among the few studies of ISE.

This study aims to develop a comprehensive framework for Islamic social entrepreneurship (ISE) by synthesizing Islamic principles and social entrepreneurship concepts, bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Using a systematic literature review, this study focuses on scholarly works published from 1992 to 2023, uses thematic analysis and engages with subject experts to craft a framework for ISE.

The study identified 39 sub-dimensions grouped into 13 core dimensions. These findings highlight the multifaceted impact on ISE, emphasizing its commitment to ethical, socially responsible practices and achieving lasting social impact through collaborative, innovative approaches guided by Islamic principles.

Limitations include regional focus, lack of longitudinal data and absence of quantitative testing for the framework. Future research should expand scope, use quantitative analysis and explore gender dynamics, policy implications and standardized impact metrics to enhance the framework’s robustness.

The study’s comprehensive framework aids ISE practitioners in aligning their ventures with Islamic ethics and social impact. As interest in ISE grows, particularly in Muslim-majority contexts, this research facilitates the integration of Islamic values into social entrepreneurship, addressing pressing societal challenges.

This study contributes to the field of ISE by proposing a meticulously crafted framework that synthesizes Islamic principles and social entrepreneurship concepts. It stands out as a unique endeavor that bridges the gap between theory and practice in ISE, offering practical guidance while enriching the scholarly discourse on the subject.

This study aims to examine the role of financial management practices, which consist of financial disclosure, internal control, financial planning and budgeting and financial performance on Islamic social enterprises’ (ISEs) accountability.

Questionnaires were administered to financial officers of 102 Malaysian ISEs. Findings were analysed using Smart-PLS to examine the relationships between financial management practices and accountability.

Results of this study indicate a direct relationship exists between internal control and accountability. Relationships between other financial management practices and accountability are indirect through internal control. Hence, the data demonstrates that internal control has a mediating role on other financial management practices, which are financial disclosure and financial performance management with the accountability of ISEs.

This study has implicated the significant role of financial management practices in ISEs in the pursuance of their accountability especially internal control to achieve public trust.

Appropriate financial management practices, especially internal control, are essential for the ISEs to achieve good accountability.

This study contributes to the field of management and social accounting by providing empirical evidence on ISE practices specifically on financial management practices and accountability. This framework thus presents among the early attempts in studying accountability issues in ISEs.

Islamic banking was developed to serve two objectives: to replace interest-based loan system with profit and loss sharing investment modes and to promote equity in resource allocation. The first objective is called procedural whereas the second one is termed consequential. Scholars have been debating about the success of Islamic banking in achieving these objectives. This paper aims to develop an index for measuring the extent of convergence between theory and practice of Islamic banking.

For measuring the procedural and consequential convergence between objectives and practice of Islamic banking, the paper derives a set of indicators from the celebrated theory of Islamic banking and then develops the methodology of ranking all banks in terms of those indicators.

The paper provides ranking of Islamic banks in Pakistan in the light of this index. The results indicate that none of the Islamic banks in Pakistan has been doing good enough to achieve the convergence, instead they are moving in the opposite direction over time.

Using the methodology developed in this paper, universal ranking of Islamic banks may be issued every year.

Scholars have proposed some indices for measuring the performance of Islamic banking. There are two basic problems with these proposed measures: they do not directly compare the performance of Islamic banking against its stated objectives and they naively use an additive form of index without explaining the reason for this choice, i.e. as to what are the desirable characteristics which their preferred mathematical form of index serves. The index proposed in this paper attempts to overcome these shortcomings.

This study aims to examine capital and competency variables – human capital, social capital and personal entrepreneurial competencies – in relation to social innovation development and growth of social enterprises in a developing country with an emerging social enterprise sector: Thailand.

A hypothetical-deductive approach was adopted and a quantitative survey by questionnaire was applied to collect data from owners/top management of 103 social enterprises in Thailand. The data were used to test hypotheses and further analysed using partial least squares technique.

The results revealed that there were positive direct and indirect (mediating) relationships between human capital, social capital, personal entrepreneurial competencies and social innovation development and growth of Thai social enterprises. Skills and training were key determinants of human capital, whereas social interaction, trust, social identification and shared knowledge were key determinants of social capital which affected social innovation development. Goal orientation, information seeking, opportunity seeking, persuasion and self-confidence were key determinants of entrepreneurial competencies that also affected social innovation development. This study ultimately revealed the mediating effects of social innovation development on the relationships between capital and competency variables and the growth of social enterprises.

This study fills the research gap, from the theoretical perspective, by identifying capital and competency variables as well as their additional determinants that are divergent from previous literature, which can potentially influence the social innovation development of social enterprises, and where only limited research is evidenced. From an empirical perspective, this study attempts to investigate the associations between these variables and growth indicators in the context of social enterprises in a developing nation, where its sector is in its infancy. This study further helps to clarify the existence of the direct and indirect (mediating) effects of social innovation development in the context of the economic and social accomplishments of social enterprises.

This study aims to examine and compare the current waqf governance practices in waqf institutions in Malaysia.

This paper reviews professional documents and literature to propose a new and practical waqf governance measurement. Waqf governance measurements were used to examine and compare the current waqf governance practices among waqf institutions in Malaysia. The annual reports of all waqf institutions under the State Islamic Religious Councils (SIRCs) were analysed using content analysis on the current waqf governance practices using binomial logic.

Overall, the results indicate moderate waqf governance practices under three waqf governance categories, namely waqf governance policy, waqf governance board and waqf governance processes. This study also found a significant impact of corporatisation reformation of waqf institutions on waqf governance practices.

The findings indicate the need for all waqf institutions in Malaysia, especially for non-corporate waqf institutions, to enhance their waqf governance practices by disclosing all relevant information to the public. This is because the success of waqf fund management can be portrayed through the management’s transparency in waqf governance practices on how they deliver and use their resources to attain socio-economic objectives.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first studies that examined and evaluated the current waqf governance practices in several waqf institutions in Malaysia.

This study aims to investigate the dynamics of legitimacy and accountability relationships in an Indonesian boarding school. It examines how the key actors improve and use accountability mechanisms in the school and how these practices contribute to the organisation’s legitimacy.

This paper uses a qualitative case study approach in an Indonesian boarding school and draws on Black’s (2008) notion of legitimacy and accountability relationships. The qualitative data were collected through face-to-face interviews, observations and documentary analysis.

Accountability mechanisms at Pondok Pesantren Wali Songo (an Islamic boarding school) were developed to alter the habit of conducting organisational affairs based merely on trust between the organisation members without any particular accountability mechanism, a common practice in Indonesian boarding schools. The mechanisms were believed to improve the public trust and bring convenience to the management of the school on the legitimacy (halal) of their doings, which in turn maintain their legitimacy as a provider of Islamic education services.

This study highlights the importance of accountability mechanisms in faith-based institutions context to maintain their legitimacy. It provides evidence of the mutual nature of accountability and legitimacy, which is often seen as contrasting concepts by previous studies, by drawing on Black’s (2008) legitimacy and accountability relationships.

This study aims to portray the ethical disposition of Islamic financial institutions (IFIs) globally by investigating the ethical gap identified in the empirical literature to date.

Two methods of analysis used in this study are content analysis and ratio analysis. While the former was conducted to identify the main themes of empirical studies and to gauge the gap between theory and practice of ethical principles and business practice in the Islamic banking and financial industry, the latter quantified the intensity of the gap identified.

The findings indicate that global ethical practices were found to be above medial, and the South East Asian region stood out with a relatively better performance along with the subpar performance of the African region. Among the ethical parameters, the praxis of marketing ethics was found to be distinctly aligned with the principles, and the organizational ethical decision-making behaviour was held to be least harmonized with the norms.

The findings of this study help researchers and regulators to better understand the issues and provide practical solutions to address the shortfalls of ethics in Islamic finance in practice.

In spite of the vast literature, comprehension of the overarching ethical standing of IFIs is still equivocal. This study contributes to the growing literature of ethical and/or Islamic finance primarily in two ways. Firstly, it provides a comprehensive depiction of the ethical standings of the IFIs all around the globe, which can be treated as a guiding document for regulators and industry practitioners to better understand the issues and provide practical solutions to address the shortfalls of ethics in Islamic finance in practice. Secondly, it helps researchers identify research gaps and provides a systematic direction for future studies in the area of ethics in Islamic finance.

The purpose of this paper is to explain the structure of Islamic monetary transformation into 100 percent reserve requirement monetary system in terms of the foundational epistemology of the unity of divine knowledge (tawhid). This approach is a scholarly originality in the field of epistemological formalism concerning Islamic theory and perspectives in economic reasoning in comparative perspectives.

The role of micro-money pursuing projects and real economic exchange relations is shown to arise by a natural causality in the ethical social economy (SE). This results in a microeconomic perspective of the quantity theory of money with ethical and social implications. A comparative study of endogenous money in the quantity theory of money points out significant differences between the theory of endogenous money in Islam and mainstream methodologies. A formal model of micro-money and its organismic endogenous relationship with the real economy is formulated with the goal of realizing social well-being, economic stabilization, and sustainability of development regimes.

This is a conceptual paper, though with the potential for continued work in applying the theory of micro-money in the Islamic methodological perspective of unity of knowledge. This is an original contribution of this paper. Islamic economists have not been able to produce a rigorous theory of micro-money. They have also not been able to situate the study of Islamic economics with its specific contribution to the field of the nature of money in project-specific financing of Islamic projects by the money-finance-real economy inter-causal relations. Thus, the findings of this paper, though of the conceptual nature, open doors to a vast field of methodological development and its application to the problem of micro-money modeling. Such a conceptual finding arising from the methodological theory of unity of knowledge and applied to the topic of micro-money along with some examples of potentiality of these approaches constitutes a vastly original field of findings as contribution. Thereby, an analytical model is established in the Islamic social economy (ISE) perspective. The model is used to explain monetary transmission and functioning of monetary policy with instruments that avoid interest rate and comply with Islamic financing requirements. The resulting model of money, finance, and real economy (MFE) systemic interrelationship in reference to the epistemology of unity of knowledge leads into the construction of a 100 percent reserve requirement monetary system with the gold-backed micro-money as currency complementing real economic transactions.

The present paper is of a conceptual type based on the essential ontological and epistemological foundation of Islamic social and economic thought and bearing a deeply scientific implication. The conceptual part of this paper becomes a study in the foundations. The second part follows into the study of application in the real world of micro-money in terms of financing projects. Micro-money pursues projects in the Islamic economy due to its very nature of ethical and social choices. The paper shows that such a micro-money transmission is realized by the money-finance-real economy integrated model. Thereby, some real-world examples of such transformations are given. All these together substantiate the conceptual-analytical-empirical nature of the study conducted.

The development of the micro-money transmission system of generalized circular causation interrelations between MFE activities as a return to 100 percent reserve requirement monetary system with the gold standard is the profound theory that has been propounded. Its applied perspectives are implied through the MFE-model wherein micro-money pursues social projects. Furthermore, the possibility and practicality of such a conceptual model of micro-money and its transmission mechanism in the real economy are established by real-world examples of kinds of micro-money that are found to circulate or are recommended by some studies in the literature.

The conceptual part of the paper presents a model of generalized epistemological model of unity of knowledge characterizing the MFE circular causal interrelations as the organismic meaning of social ethics and evolutionary learning. The social implications are the epistemic foundations of the derived model in the midst of choices of life-fulfillment projects that micro-money finances and the economy sustain.

This is an original paper premised on the general and the specific Islamic epistemological criterion of unity of knowledge as a generalized system theory. It is now particularized to the case of money and real economy by using the Islamic perspective of creating conditions to regenerate resources continuously in SE with ethical implications. The paper is equally informative to all who like to understand the social and ethical nature of endogenous relations between money and the real economy as two great institutions of the national economy. These together bestow well-being to the society at large in the construction of SE. Specific attention in this regard is given to ISE.