PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the difference (or lack of difference) in the efficiency level of Islamic and conventional banking in Malaysia. Are the Islamic banks performing as good as the conventional banks, even though they are constrained by Islamic tenets?Design/methodology/approachData envelopment analysis is used to measure the efficiency levels of banks in both sectors.FindingsIt is found that there is no significant difference in the level of efficiency between Islamic banks and conventional banks.Research limitations/implicationsThe period of study is only three years, with only two banks which have been operating for more than three years, while the other Islamic banks in this study are just beginning their operation in Islamic banking. The inclusion of foreign banks operating in Malaysia in this analysis might distort the findings, as foreign banks have different capital structures and objectives compared to local ones.Practical implicationsThe paper shows that even though Islamic banks are limited by Islamic tenets in their operations, they are able to maintain a performance that is equivalent to the conventional banks.Originality/valueThe paper makes comparisons of the efficiency levels between two different banking systems.

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Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) today are facing a competitive business environment, in a complex and rapidly changing environment. For that technology is seen as a mediator capable of transforming SMEs to greater heights in an amid and vigorous pace of a borderless world. The agenda of SMEs to generate national income as well as to create more employment opportunities has made the government much focused in providing improvements in business opportunities to SMEs to boost the country's economic growth. To ensure that the SME owners sustain their business, they should be able to adapt the use of the internet as a key component in designing new business model values, customer experiences and internal capabilities that support the key operations. However, there are still some SME owners who do not leverage on the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in their business operations. This study interviewed eight SME owners who operated their businesses in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to identify a list of most important business training courses needed for SMEs in Malaysia. The data was analyzed using Thematic Analysis method and it was found that there are five main components of courses in SMEs, namely, Business Management, Sales and Marketing, Accounting and Finance, ICT and Technology, and Production and Operations. As a result of this Thematic Analysis study, researchers have developed a smart entrepreneurship training framework related to the five components and produced a system called, the Malaysian SMEs Psychometric Test or U-PPM which has been reviewed and endorsed by the respective panels of experts. This proposed framework is important for SME owners and management and also the government and stakeholders, when making the correct decisions in selecting business training courses as well as to increase ICT and digital technologies usage in providing a positive impact to all SMEs in Malaysia.

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