Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the reasons behind low penetration of Islamic banking in Pakistan. Specifically, the study investigates the differentiation of Islamic banks (IBs) from conventional banks, the role of religion in choosing Islamic banking and the perception of IBs amongst the consumers. Design/methodology/approach The study uses a mixed-method approach, qualitative research along with a survey of users of conventional and Islamic banking. Factor analysis identified underlying dimensions and cluster analysis ascertained the differences between users and non-users of Islamic banking. Inferential statistics were used to test purported hypotheses. Findings The study finds that the users and non-users both perceive that Islamic banking is not completely interest-free. Furthermore, consumers presume that IBs are more of eyewash and are not truly practicing Islamic banking. Moreover, religion is not a major factor that attracts new users but there are also other important factors in marketing Islamic banking, such as service quality, convenience, branch network, etc. Originality/value This is one of the sparse studies in the field of Islamic banking consumer behaviour, which uses focus groups of users and non-users, and in-depth interviews of experts, to identify the issues and factors considered relevant and important by the users rather than relying only on literature review. Furthermore, it also provides a profile of users versus non-users of Islamic banking which is very useful for segmentation and targeting of customers.

Many critical decisions about an employee’s innovative performance are significantly based on the training results, as they are accountable for a variety of behavioral-related consequences. Training is among the most important human resource management strategies. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between employees’ perceptions of training and their innovative behavior in the Malaysian SME sector, as well as the mediating effect of affective and calculative commitment on this relationship. Structured questionnaires were used to collect the data. A total of 635 employees from 200 SMEs were selected through a stratified random sampling method, and structural equation modeling was applied to test the relationship. The findings of the study supported the hypothesized relationships, as training in Malaysia significantly engaged SME employees in innovative behavior. Furthermore, the study discovered that affective and calculative commitment have partial mediating effects on the association between training and innovative behavior. In the context of the SME sector, theoretical and managerial implications have been addressed. The originality of the study is that it examines the relationship between employees’ perceptions of training and their innovative behavior in SMEs. The relationship was measured using a multidimensional approach in the study. The research also adds to the body of knowledge by identifying the mediating effect of affective and calculative commitment.

Purpose Islam plays a powerful symbolic and cultural role in the constitution of consumer preferences, especially in Muslim countries. To quantitatively study this role in the consumption patterns of Muslim consumers we need a suitable scale for religiosity. However, the existing scales of religiosity have been developed primarily for Christian/Jewish respondents and cannot provide valid results for Muslim consumers. This study aims to address these challenges by re-conceptualizing the religiosity construct for Muslims and conducting an exploratory study to generate an initial scale. Design/methodology/approach This paper initialized the scale development exercise with a systematic review of the existing Islamic literature to ensure that we use Islamic categories to build the scale. Once the authors had a large pool of items, they consulted experts on Shariah (Islamic law) to evaluate these items for clarity, face and content validity. Next, they conducted five focus groups to (a) determine if they had covered the full terrain of Muslim religiosity; (b) identify if the items correspond with the actual experiences of the target respondents; and (c) ensure linguistic compatibility. This was followed by administering an exploratory survey designed to test psychometric properties of the new scale and to analyze the underlying dimensionality of the inventory of items. Findings To extract a manageable number of latent dimensions in the survey data, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) procedure was conducted. This resulted in the extraction of five different factors which were named as Mu’amalat_societal ethics, Roshan Khayali (enlightened moderation), Ibadaat (prayers), Mu’amalat_societal laws, Azeemat (a state exhibiting scrupulous faithfulness) and Mu’amalat_business dealings. There is a divide between Ibadaat (individual and collective worship) and Muamlaat (social relations) that emerged in the data from the cluster analysis procedure. Originality/value Religion can be an important part of decision-making of a typical consumer. This paper proposes a new scale for Muslims to tap into their religiosity, as existing scales are not embedded in the Islamic literature. This study also distinguishes Muslim religiosity from its Western counterpart and thus helps in clarifying the Muslim religiosity construct.

This study aims to examine the direct and indirect links between behavioral biases and investor’s investment decisions via the mediating role of risk perception through structural equation modeling. The study is conducted among individual investors who are engaged in investment for several years in Pakistan Stock Exchange. Purposive sampling technique was used for data collection and the sample size was consisted of 450 questionnaires. The findings contribute that risk perception mediates between blue-chip stocks and investment decisions. Furthermore, risk perception does not play the mediating role between herding bias, disposition effect, and investment decisions. However, the disposition effect has a strong direct relationship with risk perception. The study is beneficial to individual investors who can make investment decisions by self-estimation rather than to follow the others’ opinion. The proper training and education to the investors is also an appropriate path to overcome these biases. Risk is the major factor that discourages investment decisions but blue-chip stocks are a major risk eliminating factor while building investment decisions. Most of the prior studies focused on behavioral biases and investment decisions of individual investors but this study contributed to the mediating effect of risk perception. Human capital, anomalies, computer literacy, and artificial technology could also be used as a mediator and moderator for future orientation.