No abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changes in Islamic financing literacy and draw a comparison between the intentions of Muslim and non-Muslim micro and small entrepreneurs after receiving counseling. It also observes the role of religion in the relationship between literacy and the intention to use Islamic financing. Design/methodology/approach The participants were of 60 owners of micro and small entrepreneurs who were made up of 30 Muslims and 30 non-Muslims. An Islamic financing counseling was conducted on 30 non-Muslims, and data were obtained relating to literacy and intention after the counseling. The data were analyzed using statistical descriptive, associative and comparative test. Findings There is a significant increase in literacy and intentions of non-Muslim entrepreneurs after receiving the counseling. It is also discovered that religious factor no longer influences literacy and intention of using Islamic financing after receiving the counseling. Research limitations/implications Counseling is an effective way to establish non-Muslims’ literacy and lead their intention toward the use of Islamic financing products. Practical implications There is a need to give proper knowledge about the importance of Islamic financing to non-Muslims by emphasizing the monetary values and benefits to diversify the market segment. Social implications The finding proves that Islam, in every aspect including the economy, is a blessing to the entire universe or as Muslim says, ‘rahmatan lil “alamin”. Originality/value Previous studies about Islamic financing have been mostly conducted by using survey among the Muslim population. Therefore, this study combines both survey and experiment by providing Islamic literacy counseling to non-Muslims.

Purpose This paper investigates how to design traditional ready-to-eat food packaging by manipulating its shape, font and slogan to promote consumer buying intention and willingness to pay (WTP). Design/methodology/approach Two package designs, interplaying the square shapes (vertical vs horizontal), font formality (formal vs less formal/casual) and slogans (ethno-positioning vs short and catchy), were created and tested in an online experiment with 483 participants. Findings The results revealed that the differed package designs elicited relatively equal levels of attractiveness to consumers and their buying intentions. However, the designs significantly differentiated consumers' WTP. The results further show the significant direct and indirect effects on WTP of packaging attractiveness when it is moderated by package designs and mediated by buying intention. However, the varied package designs did not have significant direct or indirect impacts on WTP when mediated by packaging attractiveness and buying intention. Practical implications The vertical square-shaped packaging, written in a less formal font and highlighting a short and catchy slogan, is more financially promising for marketers to get a better price for local food products perceived as hedonic and bought impulsively on casual occasions. Furthermore, besides prominent package design elements such as font, color, size, material and picture, packaging designers or marketing practitioners should consider other supporting factors, such as shelf efficiency. Originality/value This study complements existing studies of “cue utilization theory” and “packaging design theory” by demonstrating the importance of extrinsic packaging cues, such as shape, font style and slogan, in improving consumers' WTP for traditional food products. The study also fills some gaps in the literature by exploring the direct, mediating and moderating relationships between package design, packaging attractiveness, buying intention and WTP, especially in an emerging market such as Indonesia.

Higher education institutions (HEI)

Interest gaps exist between the university and the small firms when running a business assistance program, leading to the importance of practical guidance that could accommodate both partners’ interests. However, there is relatively little literature about how the university team should implement business assistance to a small partnering firm. Accordingly, this research used three stages and a mixed-method approach to solve the problem, involving qualitative and quantitative techniques and action research. This study introduced PROSEM, an acronym for problem rooting, solution treatment, and measurement, to guide university business assistance to small firms by adopting the design thinking paradigm. The results revealed a significant impact on the SME’s business performance. The PROSEM process further proved that a measurable and well-planned treatment based on the root causes could increase revenue and production volume and reduce the returned product rate. At the same time, this study enriches researchers’ knowledge and skills in developing the concept and guidelines of a systematic problem-solving method using unique, real cases in the small business community. As such, the PROSEM affirms that design thinking is an open and adjustable concept which can be embedded and modified in various problem-solving procedures.

No abstract

The aim of the research is to recognize the tourism industry in halal tourism concept, business process, and dilemma. Authors determine the strategies to resolve the dilemmas based on the situation of the tourism business operators. The study engaged with the situations of halal business operators. The data were collected through in-depth interview with four tourism operators in Indonesia who won the best halal category award by The World Halal Travel Award in Dubai. The results of this study found that all participants choose to be Muslim-friendly business instead of pure sharia business. This business process transformation helps to expand their market segment to Muslim tourists at tolerable cost. The existing dilemmas by tourism industry are no formal standard of halal criteria, high-cost business transactions, lack of sharia-competent human resources, and lack of tourism promotions. Niche market-based premium price could be a solution to compensate the additional high cost and potential lost that may occur in case of transforming conventional business into halal business platform.

<p><em>Conflicts of interest are the entry point for the abuse of power and corruption. The implementation of a manipulative ex-officio system that tends to perpetuate the oligarchy will cause a corrupt behavior in the governance of private higher education institutions. To date, studies on ex-officio related to higher education governance have never been discussed academically. The purpose of this study, thus, aims to criticize the application of ex-officio and its potential consequences in the supervision system at private higher education institutions. The study used a qualitative exploratory and the literature study was employed. The result reveals that the ex-officio is a legal model used in many higher education institutions. However, in its application it can lead to conflicts of interest and abuse of power which in turn has the potential of corrupt behavior university governance.</em></p>