PurposeThe study aims to explore the case study method with the formation of questions, data collection procedures and analysis, followed by how and on which position the saturation is achieved in developing a centralized Shariah governance framework for Islamic banks in Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachUsing purposive and snowball sampling procedures, data have been collected from 17 respondents who are working in the central bank and Islamic banks of Bangladesh through face-to-face and semi-structured interviews.FindingsThe study claims that researchers can form the research questions by using “what” question mark in qualitative research. Besides, the qualitative research and case study could explore the answers of “what” questions along with the “why” and “how” more broadly, descriptively and extensively about a phenomenon. Similarly, saturation can be considered attaining the ultimate point of data collection by the researchers without adding anything in the databank. Overall, this study proposes three stages of saturation: First, information redundancy. Second, referring the respondents (already considered in the study) without knowing anything about the data collection and their responses. Third, through the NVivo open coding process due to the decrease of reference or quotes in a certain position or in the saturation position as a result of fewer outcomes or insufficient information. The saturation is thus achieved in the diversified positions, i.e. three respondents for regulatory, nine for Shariah scholars and officers and five for the experts concerning the responses and respondents.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has potential implications on the qualitative research method, including the case study, saturation process and points, NVivo analysis and qualitative questions formation.Originality/valueThis research defines a case study with the inclusion of “what” and illustrates the saturation process in diverse positions. The qualitative research questions can also be formed with “what” in addition “why” and “how”.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of board of directors (BODs) and management in the decision-making of Shariah supervisory board (SSB) and implementation of their decisions. Design/methodology/approach The paper implements qualitative case research to explore the influences of BODs and management in the context of Bangladesh. To accomplish the research objective, we collected data from the 17 respondents from the regulators, Shariah supervisory boards, Shariah department executives and Shariah experts from the central bank and Islamic banks of Bangladesh. Findings This study found that management of Islamic banks indirectly influences the practices and functions of SSB, their decision-making and other activities. However, from either ethical or moral ground, management cannot influence SSB; management does not have legitimate power to control over their activities. Sometimes the BODs and management use the SSB and Shariah executives as a showcase and rubber stamp to accomplish their goals and to maximize profit in either partially or fully. Management assumes that Shariah officers are accomplishing and minimizing their income and hindering business functions without any contributions. Research limitations/implications The study significantly contributed to the national and global regulatory bodies by providing suggestions that regulatory bodies should be more concerned with the independence of SSB and Shariah executive officers. Besides, the BODs and management should be careful in handling Shariah issues as they were committed to do Islamic banking as per Shariah law. The study has theoretical contributions regarding the stakeholder and legitimacy theories. Originality/value This is the first research which extends the literature of the Islamic banking and Shariah governance mechanisms in perspective of Bangladesh concerning the influence of BODs and management in the decision-making of SSB and implementation of their decisions.

Shariah Governance Framework (SGF) is a structural process by which Islamic banks monitor, control and conduct their activities. This study describes the overall scenery of SGF of Islamic banks in Bangladesh. The paper also reviews the current practices, problems, legal and regulatory issues by using a deductive procedure and provides some propositions for the enhancement of SGF. The main objective of this paper is to understand the SGF, its current practices, problems and challenges which will be helpful to develop a SGF for Islamic banks in future. The study reveals that the Shariah governance system in Bangladesh is mainly voluntary rather than regulatory and there is an absence of full-fledged SGF. It seems that the Board of Directors (BOD) uses the Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) in accomplishing their objectives and responsible for overall Shariah activities rather than the SSB. In order to improve the SGF, Bangladesh government should enact a law for the operations of Islamic banks. Besides, Bangladesh Bank (BB) should come out with a comprehensive Centralized SGF by outlining the roles, powers, and functions of all stakeholders to ensure the accountability of their works and improve the quality of the Shariah compliance. Moreover, the central bank can set up a Central Shariah Supervisory Board (CSSB) in its head office or can recognize existing Central Shariah Board for Islamic Banks of Bangladesh (CSBIB) along with power so that they can supervise and monitor overall activities of Islamic banks and solve the disputes among the stakeholders regarding the Shariah issues of Islamic banks. Contribution/ Originality:This study is unique regarding the Shariah governance of Islamic banks in Bangladesh. The study contributes in the existing literature by illustrating the whole picture of the Shariah governance so that the academicians, and regulators can get the overall picture as well as the regulatory authorities can take initiatives to mitigate the problems and development of Shariah governance.

Purpose The main aim of this research is to ascertain the expected duties and performed roles and functions of the Shariah supervisory boards (SSBs) of Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach A semistructured face-to-face interview was applied to accomplish the research objectives. In total, data was collected from 17 respondents with a combination of regulators, SSBs, Shariah department executives and experts from the central bank and Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Findings This study finds that the expectations of Islamic banks toward SSB members are to provide opinions on Shariah issues, guidelines and decisions regarding the modern banking, practices and delivering of fatwas on the contemporary issues offered by the management to fulfill the demand of the numerous stakeholders. In addition, they can develop Shariah governance (SG) policies and implement those guidelines, approve and develop new products, observe and monitor banking functions, identify problems and outline solutions as well as they should ensure Shariah principles and compliance. The SSBs members perform roles and functions in monitoring and reviewing overall banking activities and functions; reviewing products, services and contracts; preparing SG guidelines; ensuring Shariah principles and compliance; providing opinions on existing SG practices and finally, delivering Shariah resolutions on the overall functions. Research limitations/implications This study significantly contributed to the national regulatory bodies by providing suggestions that the existing SG system should be improved to enhance the overall monitoring of SSB and ensure more Shariah compliance in the overall operations of the Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Originality/value This is the first research to the best of authors’ knowledge that explores the expected duties and performed roles and functions of the Islamic banks concerning Bangladesh. This study also contributes to the agency, legitimacy and stakeholder theories by outlining the expected and performed roles of SSBs to the Islamic banks and stakeholders.

The research paper's fundamental objective is to examine the ethical legitimacy of the Islamic banks through the two crucial internal mechanisms of Shariah Governance (SG), that is, Shariah Supervisory Board (SSB) and Shariah officers. A semi‐structured questionnaire has been applied to collect data for attaining the research objectives. However, 17 respondents have been interviewed who have practical experiences concerning Islamic banks and SG. The study explores inappropriate SG practices, reporting, disclosure, and fatwas resolutions, which generate confusion among the customers and damage Islamic banks' institutional image. Islamic banks do not follow the proper SG guidelines and Shariah principles. These findings denote a negative legitimization of Islamic banks and SG practices. The study considerably contributes to the enhancements of the responsibilities of the national and global regulatory bodies by providing internal Shariah authorities authorization from their ethical perspective. This research has numerous unique practical implications for the Islamic banks and the central bank of Bangladesh, which will help them to apply Shariah principles, improve the SG practices, and enhance Shariah compliance quality. This research extends the literature concerning SG and the legitimacy, legitimacy theory, and institutional theory of the Islamic banks concerning Bangladesh. This is the first research that explores the ethical legitimacy of Islamic banks.

External Sharī‘ah Audit (ESA) is a control mechanism meant for formulating an objective view by an independent Sharī‘ah audit team about the obligation of Islamic banks' (IBs) management, personnel and other divisions towards Sharī‘ah compliance. This study principally aims to examine the relevancy of ESA and review committee in enhancing the level of Sharī‘ah compliance quality and accountability of IBs in Bangladesh. The study examines data from 17 respondents obtained via semi‐structured interviews and secondary sources in library. This study establishes that Sharī‘ah officers of IBs in Bangladesh are unable to perform audit functions properly which indicates the limitations of current Sharī‘ah audit functions. The study discovers the need for an independent ESA for proper auditing of IBs' operations in Bangladesh with a view to Sharī‘ah compliance. Thus, an ESA and review committee is imperative to enhance the quality of Sharī‘ah compliance and ensure accountability of all divisions within IBs. This audit is to be provided either by Bangladesh Bank (BB), the central bank of the country or a third party such as Islamic chartered accountants' firms or Sharī‘ah audit firms. The study would contribute to existing literature on the importance of ESA and its conditions in Bangladesh. The study also provides some instructions for global Islamic banking practice on the issues examined. The study contributes to agency, stakeholder and legitimacy theory via highlighting the inability of Sharī‘ah auditors to perform their function independently and efficiently.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has been causing knock-on effects worldwide. The supply and price of major commodity markets (oil, gas, platinum, gold, and silver) have been greatly impacted. Due to the ongoing conflict, financial markets across the world have experienced a strong dynamic regarding commodities prices. This effect can be considered the biggest change since the occurrence of the financial crisis in the year 2008, which explicitly influenced the oil and gold markets. This study attempts to investigate the impacts of the Russian invasion crisis on the dynamic connectedness among five commodities and the G7 and BRIC (leading stock) markets. We have applied the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) method, which reflects the way spillovers are shaped by various crises periods, and we found extreme connectedness among all commodities and markets (G7 and BRIC). The findings show that gold and silver (commodities) and the United States, Canada, China, and Brazil (stock markets) are the receivers from the rest of the commodities/market’s transmitters of shocks during this invasion crisis. This research has policy implications that could be beneficial to commodity and stock investors, and these implications could guide them to make many decisions about investment in such tumultuous situations. Policymakers, institutional investors, bankers, and international organizations are the possible beneficiaries of these policy decisions.

Purpose Prior studies on Islamic finance provide a limited linkage between organizational theory and the complex Shariah governance framework embraced by Islamic banks worldwide. This paper aims to show the relevance of the application of “institutional theory” in the Shariah governance framework of Islamic banks. Design/methodology/approach This study applied library research to investigate the application of institutional theory in the Shariah governance framework of Islamic banks. The authors also critically reviewed prior empirical and review papers for accomplishing the research objectives. Findings Based on the critical review, the authors found that institutional theory is the most influential in progressing Shariah governance as it contributes toward the organizational image, helps to achieve religious legitimacy, and inspires a more robust regulatory environment. In addition, a well-designed Shariah governance framework is driven by institutional theory and that could assist in providing guidelines, strategies and procedures for Islamic banks to better conduct; monitor and control their social, religious and accountability obligations. The authors also highlighted the societal, economic and legal environment of Islamic banks in relation to the propositions of institutional theory. They emphasize that a well-designed Shariah governance framework driven by institutional theory could assist in providing guidelines, strategies and procedures for Islamic banks to better conduct, monitor and control their social, religious and accountability obligations. Research limitations/implications This study highlights institutional theory to serve best the development of operational strategies and structures of Islamic banks including the roles, functions and powers of the various stakeholders including regulators and those involved in the Shariah governance process of Islamic banks. The authors recognize the institutional theory to perform a key role in enriching the structural framework of Islamic Financial Institutions. This study is heavily dependent on prior research rather than empirical investigations. The authors did not cover other Islamic finance areas (such as Islamic insurance, Islamic microfinance and Halal industries). Thus, future researchers can apply institutional theory in Shariah governance practices and implementations of setting up rules by the regulators and respective institutions. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that attempts to show the importance of the application of institutional theory in Shariah governance of Islamic Banks. Thus, this study, therefore, adding a novel dimension to the literature by arguing why institutional theory, is more pronounced (as compared to the other theoretical frameworks) in the formation and discharge of the roles, powers and functions by the different governance organs (such as regulators, the board of directors, management and Shariah supervisory board) operating in this unique corporate governance landscape.