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Purpose: As businesses keep investing substantial resources in developing business analytics (BA) capabilities, it is unclear how the performance improvement transpires as BA affects performance in many different ways. This paper aims to analyze how BA capabilities affect firms' agility through resources like information quality and innovative capacity considering industry dynamism and the resulting impact on firm performance. Design/methodology/approach: This paper tested the research hypothesis using primary data collected from 192 companies operating in Bangladesh. The data were analyzed using partial least squares-based structural equation modeling. Findings: The results indicate that BA capabilities improve business resources like information quality and innovative capacity, which, in turn, significantly impact a firm's agility. This paper also found out that industry dynamism moderates the firms' agility and, ultimately, firms' performance. Practical implications: The contribution of this work provides insight regarding the role of business analytics capabilities in increasing organizational agility and performance under the moderating effects of industry dynamism. Originality/value: The present research is to the best of the authors' knowledge among the first studies considering a firm's agility to explore the impact of BA on a firm's performance in a dynamic environment. While previous researchers discussed resources like information quality and innovative capability, current research theoretically argues that these items are a leveraging point in a BA context to increase firm agility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper analyzes and compares segments disclosure practices of listed companies of Pakistan and Bangladesh under International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 8 with companies from India under Accounting Standard 17 over three-year period from 2013 to 2015. Furthermore, the purpose of this paper was to investigate that how the selection of chief operating decision-maker (CODM) by management, industry type, governance and firm characteristics affects segments disclosure practices in South East Asia. Finally, how the relationship among segment disclosure, firm characteristics and corporate governance is moderated through the big 4 audit firm. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve these objectives, data were collected from annual reports of the top 100 companies of each country and selected based on market capitalization for three years period 2013–2015. Findings: Results state that majority of companies in South East Asia are using business class for defining operating/primary segments. Regarding reporting of operating/primary segments and geographic/secondary segments along with geographic fineness score, Indian companies are continuously on the lower side as compared to companies from Pakistan and Bangladesh. Furthermore, it was found that industry type and selection of CODM have a highly significant effect on segments disclosure practices. Finally, results of regression analysis found that the application of IFRS 8 in Pakistan and Bangladesh has a significant positive effect on disclosure of operating/primary as well as geographic/secondary segments as compared to India. Further, the role of corporate governance mechanism in influencing segments disclosure was found as least in South East Asia. Further appointment of big 4 audit firm as external auditor has only significant positive effect on disclosure of segments items. Finally, based on additional analysis, it was found that big 4 auditor moderates the relationship only in the case of reporting of operating/primary segments. Research limitations/implications: Based on these results, the performance of Indian companies regarding disclosure of operating/primary segments, geographic/secondary segments along geographic fineness score is quite low despite the fastest growing economy in the world. This raises concerns about the quality of segment reporting in India, the world's fastest expanding economy. Originality/value: These results imply that there is a need of an effective role by the external auditor to improve the quality of segment reporting in developing countries, which is principle based. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The shipbreaking sector in Bangladesh has spurred extensive academic and policy debates on relations between shipbreaking industries, environmental degradation and the health security of their workers. As shipbreaking is an economically significant industry in Bangladesh, it needs to implement both domestic and global mechanisms for environmental conservation and the protection of the labourers' health from environmental risks. The purpose of this paper is to primarily explore the environmental and health security issues in shipbreaking activities in Bangladesh. It also identifies the challenges in implementing the rules and regulations for protecting the health of the workers at shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh and preserving the marine environment. Design/methodology/approach: This is a qualitative paper based on secondary materials, including journal articles, books and national and international reports. It critically reviews the existing literature, rules, regulations and policing on shipbreaking with a particular focus on the environment and health security of the workers. Findings: This paper finds that the implementation of the rules and regulations in shipbreaking in Bangladesh is complicated because of weak implementation mechanisms, political and economic interests of the yard owners, lack of coordination among different agencies, lack of adequate training and awareness among the workers and workers' poor economic condition, which contribute to the degradation of marine and local environments and trigger health hazards among the workers. Therefore, degrading the environment and undermining occupational health and safety regulations have become regular; thus, accidental death and injury to the workers are common in this sector. Originality/value: This paper is an important study on the issues of workers' health and safety and environmental hazards in the shipyard. It reports how the health security of the workers in shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh is vulnerable, and environmental rules are challenged. Finally, this paper frames some policy implications to safeguard the workers' health rights and the marine environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In recent years, Islamic banking (IB) has received a lot of scholarly interest, as seen by the substantial increase in publications on the subject worldwide. The increasing rate of publications on IB indicates that this subject has attracted a substantial amount of scholarly attention. It has also been a prioritized topic for many banking and financial scholars in Bangladesh. This paper aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis to assess the research on IB in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach: The method used in this study is a bibliometric analysis of the sample literature collected in January 2022 from the SCOPUS database. The sample size of the study is 120 articles published between 1999 and 2021 which meet the specific selection criteria. To analyze the data, software such as Rstudio (Rshiny), Microsoft Excel and VOSviewer have been used. The analyses were performed in three broad categories: overall performance indicators, citation analysis and cross-dimensional keyword analysis, followed by a brief content analysis that identifies research streams. Findings: This paper shows a notable increase in the number of publications between 2012 and 2021 with Alam M.K. being the highest contributor to this momentum publishing 12 articles. The findings also highlight the most contributing countries, organizations, publications, articles, sources and subjects. Out of 120 articles, this study has identified 14 research streams that have already been investigated by previous authors. The research streams include the growth of IB in Bangladesh; corporate social responsibility; Islamic human resource management; comparative study; customer satisfaction; development issues; efficiency of Islamic banks; green banking; Islami Bank Bangladesh Limited; IB industry; Islamic finance; Islamic microfinance; Shariah governance; and theoretical aspects of IB in Bangladesh. This study further identified future research agenda with specific research questions. Research limitations/implications: This research is limited to journal articles published in English in Scopus-indexed publications. Further research could include various databases, such as the Web of Science, and increase studied units. While this study focused only on bibliometric analysis and research streams, future studies may center on the systematic review of articles published on specific topics. Originality/value: Although IB is a rising sector in the financial system of Bangladesh, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first bibliometric analysis of IB in Bangladesh. The 14 research streams identified in this study also uniquely provide 10 future research agendas with 39 specific research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: As Covid-19 became a pandemic, numerous people were forced to stay at home, leading to increased intimate partner violence (IPV) in many countries, particularly in developing and least-developed ones. This paper aims to highlight the IPV based on 15 different cases formed from the practical evidence of five developing countries. Design/methodology/approach: The authors interviewed 15 women from five countries who were the victims of IPV during the early periods of Covid-19 outbreak. Due to geographical remoteness, the authors conducted informal telephone interviews to collect the participants' personal experiences. The conversations were recorded with participants' permission; afterwards, the authors summarized participants' experiences into 15 different cases without revealing their original identities (instead, disguised names were used). Findings: It was revealed that the women were the primary victims of such violence, particularly from their intimate partners (husbands). In most cases, such IPV, as reported by the interviewees, originated or increased after the pandemic when they were forced to stay at home, losing their partners' jobs or income sources. Originality/value: The authors summarized the causes of IPV and put forward a few action recommendations based on the interviewees' practical experience and existing literature. This paper will open a new window for research investigations on IPV during emergencies such as Covid-19 outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Corporate corruption reporting (CCR) is an emerging issue of the corporation for measuring transparency, integrity and accountability to the stakeholders and society. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of CCR and financial management responsibility regarding the issue of corruption control. Design/methodology/approach: To explore the influences of corruption disclosure, this study considers the keywords-based content analysis of the listed financial firms of the Dhaka Stock Exchange in Bangladesh for 2012–2016. The research considers stakeholders and theoretical legitimacy lens for discussing corporate corruption disclosure. This study identified 143 self-driven keywords by classifying, analyzing and selecting the appropriate large set of keywords from the prior literature. This study examines 247 firm-year observations of all financial firms in Bangladesh using secondary data sources. Findings: The results of the hierarchical regression analysis report that financial firms following Sharia principles have a negative and significant association with CCR, while Big4 has a positive and significant influence. Moreover, the interaction effect of Big4 on the relationship between Sharia principles and CCR is negative and insignificant. The findings reported that Islamic financial firms disclose less corruption information than conventional financial firms in Bangladesh. Practical implications: This study findings are expected to significantly impact corporate management and policymakers of developing and highly corrupted economies to enhance corporate accountability, transparency and reputation. The regulatory body can consider the findings to promulgate anti-corruption reporting rules and regulations. Originality/value: The authors believe the theoretical lens used to support the method and findings of this paper are unique and novel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate why multi-tier apparel suppliers integrate social sustainability practices into their supply chains and what barriers these suppliers encounter while embedding social sustainability practices. Design/methodology/approach: This study employs a qualitative research design, drawing on data from semi-structured interviews with 46 owners and managers from 33 multi-tier apparel suppliers in Bangladesh, an important outsourcing hub for the global apparel industry. To corroborate research findings, the views of owners and managers were triangulated by further interviewing 11 key representatives of institutional actors such as third-party auditors, a donor agency, industry associations, regulatory agencies and a non-governmental organisation (NGO). Findings: The authors' findings suggest a range of divergent institutional drivers and barriers – coercive, mimetic and normative – that determine the implementation of multi-tier suppliers' social sustainability practices. The key reported drivers were buyers' requirements, external stakeholders' expectations, top management commitment and competition. Conversely, cost and resource concerns and gaps in the regulatory framework were identified as key social sustainability implementation barriers. In particular, owners and managers of second-tier and third-tier supplier firms experienced more internal barriers such as cost and resource concerns than external barriers such as gaps in values, learning and commitment (i.e. compromise for mutual benefit and non-disclosure of non-compliance) that impeded effective social sustainability implementation. Research limitations/implications: Social sustainability in supply chain management has received significant attention from academics, business practitioners, governments, NGOs and supranational organisations. However, limited attention has been paid to investigating the drivers and barriers for social sustainability implementation from a developing country's multi-tier supplier perspective. The authors' research has addressed this knowledge gap. Practical implications: The evidence from the authors' study provides robust support for key assumptions of institutional theory and has useful implications for both managers and policy-makers. Originality/value: The authors' study contributes to the embryonic research stream of socially sustainable multi-tier supply chain management by connecting it to the application of institutional theory in a challenging institutional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Grounded in the transformational leadership theory, conservation of resource theory and job demands-resources model, this paper aims to examine the effect of transformational leadership on psychological empowerment and employee engagement of faculty members in Bangladesh and Thailand. This study also integrates Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory to justify whether transformational leadership could affect psychological empowerment of faculty members in these two countries differently. Design/methodology/approach: Survey data were collected from a total of 457 faculty members from two universities in Bangladesh (n = 243) and two universities in Thailand (n = 241). This study used partial least squares structural equation modeling for analyzing the proposed model. Findings: The evidence shows that faculty members who worked for department heads and who exhibited transformational leadership demonstrated high level of psychological empowerment and employee engagement. Psychological empowerment also mediates the effect of transformational leadership on employee engagement. Moreover, the degree to which transformational leadership positively affects psychological empowerment is stronger for faculty members in a higher power distance culture (Thailand) than for those faculty members in a lower power distance culture (Bangladesh). Practical implications: Because human capital plays a crucial role in determining the potential of universities to achieve superior performance, universities should provide leadership training to help department heads understand the key elements of transformational leadership and apply them in their management practices to promote empowerment and engagement of their faculty members. Originality/value: The finding provides new evidence that broadens the knowledge from existing research about the cross-cultural effectiveness of transformational leadership, which has not been explored in the area of psychological empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Presenteeism refers to attending work while ill and not being able to work to full capacity. Applying the social cognitive theory (SCT), this paper examines the relationships among presenteeism, job satisfaction (JS), and employee turnover intentions (ETIs), and the mediational influence of JS on the relationship between presenteeism and ETIs. Design/methodology/approach: A web-based survey, including a pilot test, was administered to collect data targeting a sample of 200 full-time Bangladeshi employees. With a two-step method of the structural equation modelling technique, this paper examines four hypotheses among the variables of presenteeism, JS and ETIs. Findings: Significant negative relationships were identified between presenteeism and JS, as well as between JS and ETIs. Further investigations showed a significant positive relationship between presenteeism and ETIs. Notably, presenteeism on ETIs was found to be fully mediated by JS. Practical implications: The study results suggest that presenteeism can be detrimental to both JS and ETIs among Bangladeshi employees; however, a reduction in rates of presenteeism can be achieved if employees' JS is valued and increased. Both the theoretical and managerial implications, including future research opportunities, are discussed. Originality/value: Following the SCT, this paper extends the knowledge of presenteeism in a non-Western context. It is also a first reported empirical study among Bangladeshi employees demonstrating the influence of presenteeism and its detrimental effects on employees' motivational behaviour. This study makes a unique contribution to the presenteeism literature by examining JS and ETIs from the perspective of SCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to propose an Islamic model of human behavioral analysis that can explain the determinants such as Islamic moral values, internal factors (e.g. self-efficacy or reasons for and against), external factors (e.g. perceived social support or others from external sources) and empathy (EMP) (humane attitude) to predict niyyah (worshipful intention) toward actual behavior (a'mal) in question. Design/methodology/approach: With this end in mind, this research uses the theory of Islamic entrepreneurship and behavioral reasoning theory as their theoretical foundations. To validate the model, the study uses empirical data on investors' intention toward sukuk (Islamic bonds or Shari'ah-compliant bonds) purchase in the context of Bangladesh, where very recently the sukuk were introduced by the Central Bank. Findings: Findings of the study indicate that Islamic values and internal factors have the highest effects on external factors and EMP, respectively. Internal factors and Islamic values have moderate and almost similar impacts on EMP. Besides, external factors and EMP have somewhat equally moderate effects on niyyah. Islamic moral values and internal factors have the least influence on internal factors and niyyah, respectively. The external factor is also found to be insignificant to influence EMP. The findings also indicate that EMP, internal control factors and external control factors have mediating effects on niyyah toward sukuk purchase. Research limitations/implications: These results imply that the present research model successfully predicts and explains the determinants of Islamic worshipful intention toward the actual purchase of sukuk. Practical implications: Sukuk has been an important Islamic financial instrument that has been growing much rapidly in recent times. So, this paper will help to comprehend that pattern empirically. Social implications: Islamic finance has emerged as a dominant financial tool nowadays. This paper contributes to advance that initiative one step further in terms of social and economic development. Originality/value: This is a conceptual paper written in the area of Islamic Finance. This model has been validated by collating primary data collected from the selected respondents residing in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to propose and examine a research model where work engagement mediates the impacts of high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) on bank employees' turnover intentions. Specifically, the paper assesses: (a) the effects of empowerment, information sharing, rewards and training on work engagement and turnover intention, (b) work engagement as a mediator of the effects of these HIWPs on turnover intention (c) and functional competence as a moderator of the effects of these HIWPs on work engagement. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was employed to gather data from 343 employees working in commercial banks in Bangladesh. The authors applied partial least squares structural equation modeling to assess the aforesaid linkages. Findings: Empowerment and information sharing increase bank employees' work engagement, while training and rewards reduce their proclivity to leave. Work engagement partly mediates the relationships of empowerment and information sharing to turnover intention. Functional competence moderates the relationship between three HIWPs (empowerment, information sharing and rewards) on work engagement. Originality/value: The paper examines the association between HIWPs and turnover intention, which has been subjected to little empirical inquiry among bank employees during a crisis (e.g. Covid-19 pandemic). The paper provides new insights into the underlying mechanism linking HIWPs and turnover intention and highlights the moderating effect of functional competence. Additionally, the study offers new knowledge on the impact of the pandemic on bank employees' HIWPs. Finally, this paper used data gathered from bank employees in Bangladesh, which is an underrepresented Asian country in the extant service research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Second-order system-dynamics engineering (SOSDE) involves constructing and running enterprise manufacturing simulation models with new proposals for operational processes, byproducts, supply chain and/or downstream marketing designs. This paper aims to describe sustainability the principal lessons from enacting SOSDE research for achieving goals in large manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach: This study is a case research commentary in the agricultural industry that contributes abductively derives six principal lessons from SOSDE research on introducing sustainability-focused manufacturing and product innovations. Operational processes in large-scale poultry processing plants in an emerging market represent the specific industry and firm domain of this case study. Alternative SOSDE simulation models of decisions, materials flow and outcomes with versus without operational innovations were constructed following one-to-one interviews with experienced farm managers and entrepreneurs. Findings: The principles demonstrate how large farms in a developing nation (i.e. Bangladesh) go about adopting radically innovative manufacturing, supply chain and marketing operations to improve traditional operations. This study confirms and expands on the general observation that SOSDE can help achieve sustainability and environmental, social and governance goals, contribute new value outcomes by converting unused production wastes into valuable byproducts and introduce design efficiencies in production, supply chain and marketing processes. SOSDE complements, while being a revolutionary departure from, "six sigma management programs" that focus on achieving exceptional and near mistake-free manufacturing operations. Both represent distinct philosophies and sets of actions that sometimes can conflict with one another. Embracing both successfully in the same enterprise is a goal that may appear unreachable, seemingly impossible to achieve and yet represents a manufacturing/marketing epitome that is observable in exceptional enterprises. Research limitations/implications: This paper may generate controversy as well as advance interest in applying SOSDE in introductions of improved manufacturing, supply chain and marketing operations aiming to accomplish radical improvements in sustainability goals. Practical implications: This commentary describes how using SOSDE and running alternative production simulations with versus without including superior, radically new, process innovations enable the firm to find and eliminate glitches in system changes and reduce the fear associating with breakdowns and financial losses due to inadequate knowledge of operating new industrial procedures and outcomes. Social implications: Introductions of superior radically new innovations in industrial manufacturing and marketing via SOSDE frequently include manufacturing firms embracing new environment sustainability objectives and additional marketable byproducts from the firm's main productions lines. This commentary offers details on how this process is enacted in poultry manufacturing in an economically emerging nation. Originality/value: Running simulations in SOSDE research offers a low-cost, fast and in-depth method to test "what-if" impacts of enhanced and radical innovations into product/service manufacturing operations – benefits supporting the recommendation to apply systems dynamics in business and industrial marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Bangladesh is applauded for its achievement in various health and social outcomes though criticized for its failure in properly dealing with governance issues. The purpose of this paper is intends to see how the health outcomes (in case of life expectancy, under-five mortality and adolescent fertility) are impacted by health expenditure (both public and private), per capita income in presence of overall governance and female education. This paper assumes that rapid progress in female education reflects the Bangladeshis' social responsiveness to change. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses autoregressive distributed lag technique to estimate the models with data ranges from 1990 to 2016 under two different scenarios. Findings: This study has found that all the explanatory variables exert significant impact on health outcomes. Furthermore, public health expenditure is augmented with a composite governance issue, and this enhances robustness as well as statistical significance of the models. These suggest that the governance issues play a very crucial role to achieve the expected health outcomes. Female secondary enrolment ratio appears with improved coefficients in terms of sign and magnitude for all the health indicators. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing literature showing econometric evidence that highlights the importance of governance and female education in improving health outcomes of Bangladesh apart from health expenditure and per capita gross domestic product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Money laundering (ML) is a major criminal offence stemming from unethical practices by personnel on the ground at Chattogram Port, an important import and export facility in Bangladesh. Because money can be more easily laundered through imports, it is necessary to investigate the dubious process in this sector. This study aims to identify the items most regularly used for easy ML and the factors contributing to their vulnerability. Design/methodology/approach: This research uses a qualitative approach and analyses information from primary sources. Data is obtained from customs officials, port authority personnel, importers and customs brokers through semi-structured questionnaires. Although there are many techniques for ML, this study only found three most overwhelming: under-invoicing, over-invoicing and misdeclaration. A few case studies have been used based on newspaper reports and the internet to triangulate the qualitative data. Findings: Four import items – food products, garments, capital machinery and chemicals – have a higher risk of ML. This study also revealed that money launderers prefer under-invoicing food and garment items. Misdeclaration is more commonly associated with capital machinery and chemical items. Over-invoicing, on the other hand, is only prevalent in government purchases. The port authorities need to pay particular attention to these issues. Research limitations/implications: As ML is an ongoing activity that changes over time, the findings of this research are circumscribed by the data collected at a single point in time. Additionally, this research did not consider alternative laundering methods. Practical implications: The research results can provide a basis for creating effective anti-money laundering (AML) strategies to assist with sustainable economic growth. Social implications: Developing effective AML measures can help combat corruption and establish good governance in the country and support human well-being. Originality/value: This paper presents original research findings based on technical analysis. The Chattogram Port Authority and the National Board of Revenue have accepted and used the main findings in a collaborative action plan to tackle ML. The Bangladesh Bank, the country's central bank, has also incorporated the necessary guidelines and regulations into the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate Bangladesh's e-commerce regulations in light of the growing criticism that they are insufficient to curb predicate crimes like fraud and money laundering in the online marketplace. Design/methodology/approach: This study used the exploratory design to examine the latest ministerial directives and laws governing e-commerce in Bangladesh to determine why they cannot prevent fraudulent activities in this promising sector and identify potential solutions. Findings: Bangladesh's regulatory responses to e-commerce fraud prevention and detection are reactive and inadequate. Regulators are unwilling and unable to enforce available legal provisions for various reasons, including a lack of knowledge and coordination among the agencies. Research limitations/implications: This paper focuses solely on the legal and regulatory framework in place to combat e-commerce fraud. Other critical issues, such as consumer rights, privacy and data protection in e-commerce, are not addressed. Practical implications: The findings of this study will assist policymakers in revising current regulatory approaches to e-commerce to protect this sector from criminal abuse. Originality/value: This study looked into the possibility of using a proactive risk-based approach in the e-commerce sector, similar to what the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit does in the financial sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the role of responsible leadership in faculty readiness for online crisis teaching (FROCT) in higher education institutions (HEIs). Additionally, the paper investigates the mediating effect of teaching satisfaction on the relationship between responsible leadership and FROCT. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was conducted to collect responses from 437 faculty members from Bangladeshi HEIs. A partial least square structural equation model was employed to examine the research hypotheses. Findings: Responsible leadership has no direct relationship with FROCT; however, responsible leadership increases teaching satisfaction. Teaching satisfaction acts as a significant mediator between responsible leadership and FROCT. A symbiotic relationship between responsible leadership and teaching satisfaction is essential for improving FROCT. The findings of this study, in general, emphasise the importance of teaching satisfaction in facilitating the implementation of the responsible leadership model in HEIs. Originality/value: Despite numerous studies on faculty online teaching, extant literature lacks empirical evidence on the relationship between responsible leadership, teaching satisfaction, and FROCT in HEI settings. This study provides evidence for implementing the responsible leadership model in developing countries' HEIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the information quality of e-government websites by university-education citizens of Bangladesh. It also investigated citizens' demographic and Internet related variables associated with perceived information quality ratings and the validity of the underlying factor structure of information quality dimensions. Design/methodology/approach: An online survey was conducted to assess information quality of e-government websites among a sample of university-educated citizens in Bangladesh. Descriptive statistics were obtained to examine respondents' ratings on information quality of these websites on a five-point Likert scale. A multiple linear regression model was applied to determine the effect of demographic and Internet use variables associated with information quality ratings on e-government websites. Finally, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed to determine the underlying factor structure of information quality dimensions. Findings: The findings revealed that the ratings on most information quality items were close to 4.00 on a five-point scale, indicating a generally high information quality of Bangladesh e-government websites. Out of 20 information quality dimensions, value-added and authority were the two top-rated information quality dimensions while security, completeness, reliability, advertisement, relevance and ease of use were the least rated dimensions. The results of multiple regression suggested that gender, age and the device used for accessing the Internet were significantly associated with information quality of e-government websites. The CFA results indicated that information quality dimensions corroborate the factor structure of information quality dimensions used in earlier studies, although the model fit statistics were not fully validated. Research limitations/implications: The focus of this study was confined to university-educated citizens in Bangladesh. Therefore, the results of this study may not be generalized to other demographic groups in Bangladesh or elsewhere. Practical implications: This paper can provide guidelines for developing high-quality, informative and citizen-centric e-government websites and suggest ways on how these websites can be evaluated for information quality. Originality/value: This study is the first to examine the information quality of e-government websites from the citizens' perspective in Bangladesh. The findings of this paper can assist responsible government agencies in making the websites more informative and useful for a diverse group of users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Open government data (OGD) is a comparatively new field in e-government and the factors influencing its continuance use by citizens have not been extensively explored. A better understanding of these factors can help the government to articulate strategies and policies that can advance the acceptance and use of OGD technologies. Thus, this paper aims to empirically determine the predictors influencing the continuance usage intention of OGD technologies. Design/methodology/approach: Following an empirical investigation among 370 respondents in Bangladesh, a developing country, the paper applied path analysis using the structural equation modeling approach. The unified theory of acceptance and use of the technology model is integrated with the information system continuance model to investigate the continuance usage intention of OGD technologies. Findings: The outcomes of this study reveal that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions (FC) directly affect users' satisfaction (SAT). In addition, SAT and FC were found statistically significant toward continuance usage intention of OGD technologies. Practical implications: The findings of this study suggest policymaker and OGD providers to formulate or modify their strategies to retain the existing OGD users and stimulate persistence usage. Social implications: Facilitating long-term use by citizens would increase their engagement and they might derive value from the OGD platforms. Concurrently, the government's objective of ensuring increased future use of OGD technologies would be better realized. Originality/value: The novelty of this study lies in the fact that it addresses a previously overlooked area of open data research, namely, the acceptance and use of open data technologies and ways to stimulate it. This study has contributed to the existing but limited literature on continuance usage intention of OGD technologies in the context of a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Voice role identification and the psychosocial voice barriers represented by implicit voice theories (IVTs) affect lean team members' prosocial voice behavior and thereby lean team performance. This paper investigates how role definition and IVTs influence individual lean team-members' prosocial voice behavior during lean implementation. Design/methodology/approach: This research was conducted in four case readymade garment (RMG) factories in Bangladesh following a mixed-method research approach dominated by a qualitative research methodology. Under the mixed-method design, this research followed multiple research strategies, including intervention-based action research and case studies. Findings: The findings suggest that voice role perception affects the voice behavior of the individual lean team members. The findings also demonstrate that voice role definition significantly influences individually held implicit voice beliefs in lean teams. Research limitations/implications: This research was conducted in four sewing lines in four RMG factories in Bangladesh. There is a need for a cross-sector and cross-country large-scale study that follows the quantitative research methods in different contexts. Practical implications: This research contributes to the operations management literature, especially in lean manufacturing, by presenting the difficulties of mobilizing employee voice in lean problem-solving teams. This work provides new knowledge to managers to address challenges and opportunities to ensure decent work and to improve productivity. Originality/value: This research raises a key issue of employee voice and its influence on lean performance which addresses two critical areas of employee voice behavior in lean teams: team-members' voice role perception and implicit voice beliefs that influence their voice behavior in the workplace, thereby influencing team performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the perspectives of auditors, regulators and financial report preparers on the effects of key audit matters (KAMs) reporting on audit effort, fees, quality and report transparency. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders (13 Audit Partners, 5 Chief Financial Officers and 3 regulators) and thematically analysed the interviews. They use the frame of "Paradox of Transparency" to explain the findings. Findings: Auditors perceive that the overall quality control of their audits has improved both in the planning and execution stages, and such improvement can mostly be attributed to the coercive pressures from professional bodies and regulators. Nevertheless, audit fee remains unchanged. Auditors disclose industry generic items and descriptions of KAMs, sometimes masking the real problem areas of the clients. Even after improving the performative audit quality, transparency of audit reporting has not improved. Issues that warrant going concern qualifications or audit report modifications are now reported as KAMs. Hence, KAMs reporting might make the audit report less transparent. Practical implications: Localised audit environments and institutions affect the transparency of KAMs reporting. Without attention to corporate governance and auditors' independence issues, paradoxically, performative improvement in audit quality (due to the KAMs reporting requirement) does not enhance the transparency of audit reports. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to provide field-level evidence in Bangladesh and other developing countries about the perceptions of auditors, financial report preparers and regulators on the effects of KAMs reporting on audit efforts, fees, quality and report transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of Islamic banks (IBs) and macroeconomic variables on economic growth in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Bahrain and Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach: Based on these criteria, 672 observations from 24 IBs in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Bahrain and Bangladesh were chosen for further investigation. Time series analysis is a well-known method for determining if model variables are stationary and how long-term relationships function through cointegration analysis. This study uses impulse response function (IRF) and variance decomposition (VD) methodologies to demonstrate how each macroeconomic variable shock influences the short-term dynamic path of all system variables. Findings: Islamic banking promotes economic growth, especially in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Bahrain and Bangladesh. The findings of the Islamic banking VDC test have a direct and long-term effect on economic growth. Research limitations/implications: The literature on this topic can be improved in a number of ways, including by adopting a more robust method to analyze over a longer time frame. By researching specific financing in various areas of the economy, one can gain a deeper understanding of Islamic financing. This will enable the identification of sectors that contribute to economic expansion. Future research should examine combining nations with pure Islam and dual-banking systems to acquire sufficient data. Practical implications: This paper has practice and research implications. It recommends adopting the nation's successful experiment with the Islamic banking system as a model for attaining economic growth through Islamic financing. To replicate this successful experiment, government-based decision-makers and monetary policy experts must collaborate to make Islamic money flows simple and rapid through financial channels that enhance economic growth. Originality/value: The study of the contribution of Islamic banking to economic growth in developing nations, particularly those with the highest total assets (TAs) and total deposits (TDs) in the world, remains of modest value. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to empirically assess the impact of IBs in developing nations, particularly those with the highest TAs and TDs in the world, on economic growth as measured by gross domestic product (GDP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the relationship between bankers' perspectives and their pro-green banking behaviors (i.e. intentions). Specifically, how do bankers' perspectives on environmental concerns, environmental normative structure and green technology affect their intentions toward G-banking activities? Design/methodology/approach: A theoretical framework of the theory of bounded rational planned behavior (TBRPB) as its foundation was established. Using measurement scales to measure different aspects of environmental concern, environmental normative structure, green technology, attitudes, perceived behavioral control and subjective norms, a survey instrument was developed to examine the various associations implied by the model of TBRPB. Data were collected from the bankers of selected commercial banks in Bangladesh following the random sampling procedure. The data were analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modeling technique. Findings: Findings indicate that all of the predictors appear to be robust in predicting the G-banking intention of the sampled bankers in Bangladesh. The results also show that attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control have significant mediating effects toward bankers' bounded rational G-banking intention. Research limitations/implications: There are a few limitations in the study. First, the study considers environmental concerns as an antecedent of the attitude of bankers toward G-banking activities. Future studies can explore other variables related to environmental problems to study G-banking adoption and practices. Second, this study only considers the private conventional bankers as respondents to the survey to assess G-baking intention. In the future, other types of bankers, such as Islamic bankers and public banks' bankers could be included in the survey to explore G-banking practices. Finally, this research has been done in a developing country-context. Practical implications: In this study, environmental concerns of bankers appeared to be highly significant predictors to influence their attitudes toward bounded rational G-banking intention. Similarly, the social normative structure also appears to be a robust antecedent of subjective norms to influence bounded rational G-banking intention of respondent bankers. Finally, green technology or bakers' personal and skill-related ability to control bounded rational G-banking intention also appeared to be a strongly significant predictor of green banking activities. All this evidence implies that respondent bankers in the sample responded positively to provide their positive intention toward G-banking activities based on their environmental concern. Social implications: Important social implication of the current study is G-banking practices can help reduce carbon emissions and other pollutants which would enrich overall environmental sustainability and ecological conditions. Originality/value: Few studies are directed on G-banking perspective in Bangladesh. This research is one of the empirical studies which will certainly add values for the clients, institutions and policymakers in banking paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Zakat, one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, holds the potential to significantly contribute to fiscal consolidation, particularly in developing nations. However, the national-level potential of Zakat often remains unexplored. This study aims to explore the potential of national-level Zakat and the opportunity to integrate it into the fiscal framework. Design/methodology/approach: This study estimates Zakat's potential on national financial and economic components. The components include bank deposits, shares and securities, pensions (provident fund), industrial production and trade services, mining resources, Ushr on agro-crops and forestry, Ushr on livestock, Ushr on fishery, gross domestic product (GDP), national budget and national revenue. The study gathers data, ranging from FY2000 to FY2018, on national economic sectors from reliable secondary sources. The net value (NV) of each indicator is calculated as NV = TV − LA, where NV is the wage-adjusted net value after deducting the living adjustment (LA) value from the sectoral total. The proposed LA value, approximately 20%, is suggested to be deducted from the total sectoral value of each sector (excluding specific industries with preadjusted wages), equating to the Nisab value. Findings: It is estimated that the aggregate potential of Zakat in Bangladesh was US$9,749m in FY2018, compared to US$809m in FY2000, revealing the value is 3.77% of GDP and 21% of the national fiscal budget. In FY2018, the service sector was the largest contributor (30%), followed by bank deposits (23%). Pension funds made minimal contributions, whereas shares and bonds, as well as the manufacturing sector, each made a 10% contribution to the estimated Zakat potential. Zakat on agriculture output accounted for 15% of the total. The aggregate potential Zakat in FY2018 was 12% higher than that in FY2000. Originality/value: The paper highlights a novel contribution through its nuanced analysis of sector-specific Zakat on macrolevel data and its implications within the fiscal framework. The results suggest that Zakat has substantial potential to impact fiscal dynamics, providing valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders to recognize the national-level Zakat for development plans such as the five-year plan. The study suggests piloting a central and independent national body to study the feasibility of national-level Zakat collection and its utilization in the fiscal budget. It will help the government reduce the burden of external debt and deficit budget and, instead, will promote revenue collection in collaboration with the National Board of Revenue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper examines the link between the failure of public accountability and stakeholder disengagement brought about by a New Public Management (NPM) style "smart solution" introduced to reduce public urination in Dhaka city. It shows how New Public Governance (NPG), Islamic and dialogic approaches can improve decision-making and solutions. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the concepts of public accountability, NPM, NPG and dialogic accountability, this study highlights how narrow conceptions of accountability and poor stakeholder engagement impacted the effectiveness of the "smart solution" based on data collected through observation and unstructured in-depth interviews. Findings: Evidence suggests that narrow conceptions of accountability driven by monologic NPM perspectives led to poor stakeholder engagement, which impacted the effectiveness of the "smart solution". The solution that consists of changing anti-urination signage from Bengali to Arabic script has not solved Dhaka's public urination problem. In many instances, the solution has disenchanted certain stakeholders who view it as an offence against Islam and a confusing de-privileging of the Bengali language which has significant national and cultural value in Bangladesh. Originality/value: The findings of the study contribute to policymaking discussions on how to effectively engage with stakeholders and extend the literature on accountability within the context of conflicting public versus private demands related to a public nuisance. The study outlines important issues related to stakeholder engagement and introduces a framework that conceptualises how to increase the effectiveness of public policy decisions using NPG, Islamic and dialogic accountability approaches, especially on matters that require significant public/external stakeholder support. It also provides a conceptual integration of these various approaches, including nuanced insights into accountability challenges within "non-Western" contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The pandemic situation has increased the domestic violence rate against women and children significantly around the world. However, it is difficult to measure the accurate rate of increased domestic violence because of restrictions and limited mobility in accessing help and reporting. This paper aims to highlight the current situation of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and domestic violence in Bangladesh. It also states the challenges of the unprecedented situation and how to encounter increasing domestic violence cases. Design/methodology/approach: This paper is a viewpoint of the COVID-19 pandemic and domestic violence situation in Bangladesh. Accordingly, this paper includes a comprehensive literature review that summarises related articles and newspapers on domestic violence. Findings: Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to COVID-19 because of its most dense population. Currently, the COVID-19 virus is spreading rapidly in all parts of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing domestic violence for women and girls. Because of the lockdown, financial stress and livelihood scarcity, domestic violence rates show an increasing tendency that should not be overlooked to ensure the safety and security of women and girls in Bangladesh. Originality/value: This paper delivers information about the current situation of COVID-19 in Bangladesh and the challenges of domestic violence that have risen. This paper will be helpful to policymakers, government and non-government officials for developing effective social safety net interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Multi-directional efficiency analysis (MEA) is an alternative methodology to data envelopment analysis (DEA) that investigates the improvement potentials in each input and output dimension and identifies a benchmark proportional to these potential improvements. This results in a more nuanced picture of the sources of the inefficiency providing opportunities for additional conclusions about which variables the inefficiency is mainly located on. MEA provides insights into not only the level of the inefficiency but also the patterns within the inefficiency, i.e. its sources and location. This paper applies this methodology to Bangladeshi banks to understand the differences in the inefficiency patterns between different subgroups. Design/methodology/approach: This paper analyses the difference in the pattern of inefficiency between the older family-dominated banks and the newer non-family-owned banks in Bangladesh using the recently developed MEAs technology, which enables analysis of patterns within inefficiencies rather than only levels of (in)efficiency. The empirical results show that whilst there are few significant differences in the levels of variable-specific efficiency scores between the two subgroups, there are clearer differences on the inefficiency contributions from particular outputs in most of the study period and also on most variables in the time window of 2007–2009. This finding provides clues to differences in business models and management practice between the two types of banks in Bangladesh. Findings: The empirical results show that whilst there are few significant differences in the levels of variable-specific efficiency scores between the two subgroups (older family-dominated banks and the newer non-family-owned banks), there are clearer differences on the inefficiency contributions from particular outputs in most of the study period and also on most variables in the time window of 2007–2009, during the Global Financial Crisis (GFCs). This finding provides clues to differences in business models and management practice between the two types of banks in Bangladesh. Practical implications: DEA is a conventional tool for benchmarking in management science. However, conventional benchmarking exercises based on DEA do not reveal significant differences in the sources of inefficiency that show differences in business models. While DEA remains the most utilized technique in the efficiency literature, we think that a more flexible and deeper analysis requires something like MEA. Originality/value: The contribution is twofold. First, examination of performances of family-owned firms is a well-established but analysis of performances of family-dominated banks is relative scarce. Secondly, isolating the sources of inefficiency which differs between types of banks even if there is no difference in inefficiency levels is absolutely new for a complete data set of conventional banks in Bangladesh. It turns out that there are few (significant) differences between the groups in terms of the inefficiency levels, whereas clear patterns emerge in terms of differences in inefficiency contributions between family-dominated and non-family-owned banks, during the Global Financial Crisis [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the empirical determinants of exchange-rate volatility (ERV) in selected Asian economies, namely, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Specifically, it examines how the volatility of foreign reserves, government spending, industrial production, gold prices and terms of trade affect monthly ERV during the examined period. Design/methodology/approach: The authors carry out the empirical analysis by using monthly data for the period January 1997–March 2019. First, the volatility of the underlying variables is measured based on the conditional variances obtained by estimating the univariate (generalized) autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity [(G)ARCH] model for each variable during the study period. Next, the autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH)-Lagrange multiplier test is applied to ensure that there are no remaining ARCH effects in the residuals. Finally, the multivariate autoregressive-moving average-GARCH (1, 1) models are estimated to examine whether and how the volatility of the underlying variables affects ERV. Findings: The results reveal that the current period volatility of exchange rates is significantly affected by ERV in the previous period in all selected countries. The results also indicate that the volatilities of the underlying macroeconomic variables are quite differently related to ERV in examined Asian countries. Foreign-reserve volatility (VFXRES) has negative and significant impacts on ERV in Bangladesh, China and Malaysia. Government-spending volatility is negatively related to ERV in India, whereas it is positively related to ERV in all other examined countries. The results also suggest that although terms-of-trade volatility reduces ERV in both Bangladesh and Pakistan, it amplifies ERV in the remaining examined countries. However, gold-price volatility (VGOLDP) significantly, positively contributes to ERV in Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia. On the contrary, the higher volatility in industrial production (VIPI) results in lower ERV in Indonesia and Pakistan, whereas it increases ERV in China, India and Malaysia. Practical implications: The findings have several important policy implications. First, the findings suggest that both Bangladesh and Malaysia should keep an adequate level of foreign reserves to stabilize their foreign exchange rates. Second, as government-spending volatility has a vital role in determining ERV, it is necessary to bring sustainability and continuity in government expenditures. Bangladesh and Pakistan can stabilize their foreign exchange rates by making exports more competitive, viable and accessible. Originality/value: This paper significantly contributes to the existing literature by exploring how the behavior of unexpected variations in the factors determining exchange rates affects ERV in selected Asia countries. Most of the published studies have examined the determinants of exchange rates by considering the macroeconomic variables at their levels. Departing from the existing studies, this paper significantly relates the volatility (second moment) of exchange rate determinants to the behavior of ERV. Further, this paper provides firsthand empirical evidence on this issue for the selected Asian economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on library and information services (LIS) and how library professionals overcome the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic in the current reality. Design/methodology/approach: This study used quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on Bangladesh's LIS professionals. A structured online questionnaire was designed for the purpose of a quantitative survey. The respondents of this study were LIS professionals in all categories of libraries (e.g. academic libraries, public libraries, special libraries and national library) in Bangladesh. A total of 106 responses from LIS professionals in Bangladesh were received. This study analyzed qualitative data using Braun and Clark's technique for thematic coding. Researchers interviewed librarians in two phases (during the COVID-19 pandemic and after COVID-19) about how libraries cope up with the COVID crisis. The descriptive findings were examined using diverse descriptive statistics (i.e. frequency numbers and percentages), and for examining the significant differences among demographics' information regarding challenges faced by LIS professionals, Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests were conducted. The qualitative responses were carefully analyzed for familiarizing, coding and theme generation. Findings: The result showed that most LIS professionals (i.e. 46.2% and 43.4%) had faced difficulties in accessing e-resources from home and had failed to maintain balance between work and personal life and to offer remote library services. The LIS professionals mostly used Facebook Messenger and Zoom to communicate with their colleagues and users. Furthermore, many LIS professionals (50.0%) secured their health and safety, adopted hygienic procedures at their workstations and provided virtual reference services. The qualitative findings show that though some libraries have faced challenges in providing online sources and services due to the absence of authority interest, budget scarcity and inadequate information and communication technology infrastructure, some libraries took the initiative to establish library institutional repository and make it available for users from home. Research limitations/implications: The present study only concentrated on the staff and their actions during and after the pandemic, which was mentioned as a limitation. It would be more effective if the study also considered the user's viewpoint. The researchers hope that this study will help LIS professionals to support and provide digital and innovative service initiatives in their organization. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first of its kind study in Bangladesh where the staff of all types of libraries expressed their views on the problems they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and the steps they took recently to overcome them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the psychometric validity of the LibQUAL+® instrument in a developing country context in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a paper-version of the original LibQUAL 22 core-items to survey library users' perceptions of minimum, desired and perceived levels of service quality of university libraries in Bangladesh. The survey accumulated a total of 544 valid responses over a period of two weeks. The means and standard deviations for each service item were computed for the three service levels. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the original three-factorial structure and to assess the psychometric validity of the LibQUAL instrument. A one-factor CFA and separate CFAs by gender and user group on perceived services were conducted to determine the original three-factor structure of LibQUAL scale. Exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) were also performed on the perceived scores to examine the potential factor structure of the scale. The descriptive statistics including EFAs and the CFA models were performed through IBM® SPSS® Statistics and IBM® SPSS® Amos, respectively. Findings: The findings of this paper showed that all perceived services fell below the minimum scores. The confirmatory factor analyses found poor model fits for the original three-factor solution of the LibQUAL scale. The EFA results also showed no factorial structure similar to the original LibQUAL dimensions. The findings exhibited a low psychometric quality of LibQUAL in academic library settings in Bangladesh. Originality/value: This study is the first of its kind to empirically examine the psychometric validity of the LibQUAL scale in a developing country perspective in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of Qard-al-Hasan (QH) or interest-free loan in reducing multidimensional poverty through examining Fael Khair Waqf (FKW) program as a case. Design/methodology/approach: A Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) approach has been used in this study, which was conducted over 1,600 households including 1,200 program households in 40 villages and 400 control households in 20 villages of 8 districts in the south-western region of Bangladesh. Findings: It is found that 38.5% of sample population was multidimensional poor with deprivation of above the cutoff score. However, FKW participants were relatively less multidimensional poor. It was 35.3%. Hence, it is argued that the FKW is an effective program in terms of poverty reduction as it has contributed to higher economic outcomes for their participating households. The econometric result also suggests that the likelihood of the participants of FKW to be MPI poor is around 1.5 times lower than the nonparticipants, and the result is significant at 1% level. This indicates that program has a positive impact in reducing multidimensional poverty. Practical implications: The analysis in this paper would fill the literature gap by investigating the link between application of QH and poverty alleviation. It will also guide academicians, researchers and decision-makers to design evidence-based policy to alleviate poverty. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, there has been no empirical work in Bangladesh on the effectiveness of QH in poverty reduction considering an MPI approach. Hence, this study is a unique contribution to the literature of Islamic social finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on the exploration of women farmers' information literacy (IL) in the context of rural Bangladesh within the context of an ICT-based women empowerment project. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses thematic analysis of qualitative data collected during a culturally sensitive workshop on IL with a group of project participants. Findings: The findings showed that women understood their information needs and where to find information, which indicates that participants had some basic IL skills. However, the online environment presented challenges for them to evaluate the quality of the information and its relevance to their daily activities. The cultural complexity of IL was observed with the rural women's information practices affected by family patterns, community and religion, amongst other social factors. Collective practices are made highly evident by the women's natural tendency to share phones and information and by the way information is maintained. While the collective practices are very useful in utilising information for daily needs, the downside is that women are potentially vulnerable to threats in an online environment when sharing confidential information. Originality/value: This article shows that in the context of rural Bangladesh, women farmers' information-seeking behaviour and practices of sharing and creating information are influenced by sociocultural characteristics. It describes how the women's situational context of collectivity and power relations influence their ways of handling information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the individual bounded rationality of the rural poor toward participation in borrowing from rural development scheme (RDS). Specifically, how do respondents' demographic variables such as gender, age, education, income and religion affect their attitude, subjective norms (SNs) and perceived behavioral control (PBC) to influence bounded rationality toward actual participation in borrowing the Islamic funds from RDS? Design/methodology/approach: To answer these questions, the theory of bounded rational planned behavior as its basis was established. Data (n = 375) were collected from rural women clients of RDS based on snow-balling sampling technique. Data were analyzed following the procedure of structural equation modeling. Findings: The results indicate that all the demographic variables except education influence attitudes, SNs and PBC in turn influence the individual respondents' bounded rational intention toward participation in RDS. Research limitations/implications: The sample was not randomly drawn to represent a population to which findings could be generalized. Instead, it was a snow-balling sample, and as such, the ability to generalize the findings very far beyond the sample is limited. Practical implications: This paper implies that respondents' socioeconomic characteristics are important to consider changing individual subjective rationality of human being toward performing actual behavior. Social implications: Social implications refer that rural women in Bangladesh are positively and subjectively motivated toward bounded rational intention and participation in RDS. Originality/value: This research is based on the primary data collected from the participants in an Islamic microfinance institute called RDS. This paper draws on several insights about the participation behavior of the rural poor in Bangladesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the East West University Library's (EWUL's) response to COVID-19 situation through their transformation to digital services. The paper tries to explain how these digital library services support the user community of East West University (EWU) in online teaching and access to information resources. Design/methodology/approach: This paper describes the EWUL's several digital services that are used to meet the needs of its user community during the COVID-19 pandemic. The reflective practice approach has been undertaken for this study on the basis of the authors' personal experiences working at an academic library. The authors used the reflective practice approach to assess the library's practice during crisis situation, make the use of technological interventions in service providing and also to re-innovate the digital services for future. Findings: During the pandemic, the library shifted all the possible physical or on-site services to digital services, i.e. online resource facilities and remote access to these, federated searching, Web online public access catalog, engaging users through social media, specialized knowledge space, online document delivery, article on request, information literacy training, virtual reference service, etc. The user engagement in all these services is also notable. Research limitations/implications: The nature of this study is limited to the COVID-19 pandemic and within a particular geographic location. Practical implications: This paper has implications and possible applications for other university libraries in developing countries, which intends to transform their services into digital for ensuring better service quality for their respective user community. Originality/value: This paper makes a valuable contribution to the literature on how a private university library of a developing country is responding to pandemics such as COVID-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize the human rights dimensions of COVID-19 responses in Bangladesh through a viewpoint methodology in four critical areas: freedom of opinion and expression; access to information; protection of health-care workers; and marginalized populations' access to health care. However, these responses remain non-aligned with the international human rights law obligations of Bangladesh, which undermines the human rights and dignity of its population. Based on the responses shaping and aggravating the situation, this paper concludes with some recommendations, which can be helpful for Bangladesh for better human rights responses in these areas, should a parallel situation emerge in the future. Design/methodology/approach: This paper scrutinizes the human rights dimensions of COVID-19 responses in Bangladesh through a viewpoint methodology. Findings: The responses of Bangladesh remain non-aligned with international human rights law obligations of Bangladesh, which undermines the human rights and dignity of its population. Originality/value: This paper concludes with some recommendations, which can be helpful for Bangladesh for better human rights responses in these areas, should a parallel situation emerge in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to examine how high involvement HRM (HIHRM), technology adaptation and innovativeness influence employees to respond to technology innovation performance – that is, radical innovation performance and incremental innovation performance – in distinct ways. Design/methodology/approach: The purposive judgmental sample technique is used to assess the perceptions of 545 IT employees in Bangladesh's ready-made garment (RMG) industry. The partial least square-structural equation modeling (SEM-PLS) method is applied to analyze and interpret the data. Findings: Findings of the analysis show that HIHRM, technology adaptation and innovativeness influence employees to exhibit technology innovation performance. Furthermore, both technology adaptation and innovativeness show the significant mediating effects between HIHRM and technology innovation performance. Practical implications: First, this study's findings contribute to HIHRM and technology innovation performance within the context of the resource-based theory. Second, the RMG organizations would acknowledge the role of HIHRM on employee technology adaptability and innovation capability in this regard. A future study might point to the models' ability to create the best work environments, which can help organizations to boost employee productivity through adaptation and innovation. Originality/value: The study would offer a distinctive perspective on higher-order HIHRM and how they affect IT employees in RMG organizations in Bangladesh that could be approached in other labor-intensive and developing nations. This study also expands the research on technology adaptation and innovativeness by exploring the mediating roles between HIHRM and employee technology innovation performance in the organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Digital humanities (DH) is a scholarly lens through which computing methods and technological tools are used for the research of humanistic disciplines. The purpose of this study is to identify the current practicing situation of DH in the university libraries of Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach: Survey methods were used for gathering data using a well-structured questionnaire. The websites of different universities national and international organizations, and DH-related websites from different corners of the globe were also used for the gathering of data and information. Findings: The findings revealed that there are some hindrances to practicing DH, such as lack of IT skills, funds and problems with intellectual property rights act practicing and provided some suitable suggestions for the advancement of DH in the university libraries of Bangladesh. Originality/value: The outcome of this paper might be a valuable reference tool for researchers and professionals of the DH discipline. The insights and views of the respondents regarding computational tools and technologies obtained from this study are original and unique in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Globally, a myriad of floating workers is in grave jeopardy due to the ceasing of employment opportunities that resulted from the mobility restriction during the Covid-19. Despite the global concern, developing countries have been suffering disproportionately due to the dominance of informal workers in their labour market, posing the necessity to campaign for the immediate protection of this vulnerable population. This paper analyses various dimensions of the vulnerability of urban floating workers in the context of Covid-19 in Bangladesh. In reference to International Labour Organization's (ILO) "Decent Work" concept, this paper endeavours to examine floating workers' vulnerability using the insider-outsider framework in context to Covid-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, data were collected before the pandemic to assess the vulnerability of the informal floating workers. Later, we extended the study to the second phase during the Covid-19 pandemic to understand how pandemic affects the lives and livelihood of floating workers. In phase one, data were collected from a sample of 342 floating workers and analysed based on job security, wages, working environment, psychological wellbeing and education to understand the vulnerability of floating workers. In phase two, 20 in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted, followed by thematic analysis to explore how the pandemic affects the existing vulnerability of floating workers. Findings: Various social protection schemes were analysed to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing the vulnerability of floating workers facing socio-economic crises. The study has found that the pandemic has multiplied the existing vulnerability of the floating workers on many fronts that include job losses, food crisis, shelter insecurity, education, social, physical and mental wellbeing. In response to the pandemic, the Government stimulus packages and Non-government Covid-19 initiatives lack the appropriate system, magnitude, and focus on protecting the floating workers in Bangladesh. Practical implications: This paper outlines various short-term interventions and long-term policy prescriptions to safeguard floating workers' lives and livelihood from the ongoing Corona pandemic and unforeseen uncertainties. Originality/value: This paper is the first of its kind that aims at understanding the vulnerability of this significant workforce in Bangladesh, taking the whole picture of Government and Non-government initiatives during Covid-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to critically explore the factors influencing the regulation of gambling and cryptocurrencies as part of anti-money laundering (AML) initiatives in Bangladesh. As a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on money laundering, Bangladesh must adopt a risk-based approach to regulate these entities. Design/methodology/approach: This study applied an exploratory design and investigated the real nature of the challenge Bangladesh facing in adopting a risk-based approach to regulate gambling and cryptocurrencies. Findings: This study demonstrates that current regulatory responses towards gambling and cryptocurrencies in Bangladesh are largely influenced by passive wait-and-see policy instead of a proactive risk-based approach, a measure mandated by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It demonstrates that these financial entities, which are poorly regulated because of their unclear legal status in Bangladesh and the regulator's apparent lack of understanding of the type of threats they pose, may facilitate money laundering. Effective risk-based regulation is required to control potential risks. Research limitations/implications: This paper focuses on two specific areas –gambling and cryptocurrencies – which are linked to two specific FATF Recommendations: designated non-financial businesses and professions (DNFBPs) and new technologies. Further research is required to investigate the concern from the perspective of other entities. Practical implications: The results of this study will help inform policymakers about ways in which current regulatory approaches may need to be modified to better combat money laundering and financing of terrorism. Originality/value: According to the authors' knowledge, this is the first study aiming to explore challenges Bangladesh confronts in implementing a risk-based approach for DNFBPs and new technologies. Therefore, it provides important insights into the dilemma regulators facing in implementing global AML standards within their traditional legislative and regulatory framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Fresh out of the two-century-old British legacy, Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan from 1947 to 1971, was searching for a post-colonial architectural style. Colonial architecture in the region in general often imposed imported European elements, ignoring the preceding legacies of the Sultanate and the Mughals. The critical challenge was to find a balance between the prevailing high modernism in architecture and the local vernacular and climatic forces. The Pakistani government invited international architects to fill the gap left by a non-existent local architectural industry. Unfortunately, their work has rarely been properly analyzed. With selected case studies, this paper analyzes their work in an attempt to explore their contribution to creating a national architectural identity. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a case study approach with selected architectural projects from the period. It uses research tools such as systematic analysis of drawings, volumes and photographs and archival research. Findings: The international architects took inspiration from the strong vernacular and climatic forces of the region. The resultant expressions of the two-decade-long search in their combined body of work are some of the finest examples of vernacular and climate-responsive architecture in the region. They transcended the regular international style and became context-specific and unique. The quest for East Pakistan's post-colonial architectural identity was partially met by the newly found identity through vernacular and climate-responsive adaptation in architecture. Originality/value: This study explores how a unified vernacular and climate-responsive adaptations potentially shaped the post-colonial architectural identity of the region. No prior study exists on this issue for the time period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Based on the social exchange theory, the paper aims to explore the effects of work–life support (WLS) practices on subjective well-being through work engagement and job satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: Data of 332 bank employees were collected in three waves and analyzed using AMOS and PROCESS macro. Findings: The study revealed that WLS practices influenced employees' subjective well-being both directly and indirectly. The study's results further supported the serial mediation of the indirect effect through work engagement and job satisfaction. Practical implications: Organizational WLS practices are supposed to play an effective role in helping employees increase subjective well-being. Organizations should attach importance to implementing WLS practices to ensure that employees are engaged and satisfied. Furthermore, organizations should undertake and communicate favorable WLS practices to stimulate employees' work and non-work well-being. Originality/value: The study is the first that examines the impact of WLS practices on employees' subjective well-being. Furthermore, the study offers novel insights regarding the dual mediation effect of work engagement and job satisfaction in the relationship between WLS practices and subjective well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to shed new light on the way the cross-sector collaboration (CSC) process can foster gender-focused sustainability initiatives to improve female workers' conditions in developing countries. The study does so by introducing and examining the influence of nonprofit boundary work during the CSC process. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is based on thirty-four interviews and qualitative fieldwork. It draws on a case analysis of a regional CSC between multiple organizations operating locally in the apparel industry of Bangladesh, a developing country. Findings: Scaffolding work in the CSC formation stage – performed by development agency implementers who construe boundaries – and sensitization work in the CSC implementation stage – performed by a non-governmental organization (NGO) implementers who blur and expand boundaries – emerge as two conceptual categories of nonprofit boundary work. This allows NGO implementers to identify and enable the agency of sustainability envoys or socially privileged individuals who capitalize on their social credentials to support female workers in the factory and in the community. Originality/value: The study offers novel insights into the CSC process. It contributes to the CSC literature and the literature on boundary work, with a focus on gender-focused sustainability initiatives for female workers in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the earnings management practices of the listed manufacturing firms in Bangladesh and assess the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on such earnings management behavior. Design/methodology/approach: The study applies the real earnings management (REM) model developed by Dechow et al. (1998) and implemented by Roychowdhury (2006) and modified Jones model (1991) for the proxy of accrual-based earnings management (AEM). It uses a pooled ordinary least square regression model corrected with robust standard errors for empirical analysis. Findings: The study finds that firms with small positive earnings per share are engaged in AEM to avoid losses. Also, firm managers craft discretionary expenses to manage real earnings. For governance factors, the institutional shareholders tend to play a significant role in limiting both REM and AEM embedded in generally accepted accounting principles or International Financial Reporting Standards. Also, factors such as foreign ownership and board size significantly restrict REM, whereas director ownership encourages the same. The paper does not reveal any significant monitoring role for other governance factors in curbing either REM or AEM practices by Bangladeshi firms. Research limitations/implications: The paper studies the monitoring role of governance mechanisms on listed manufacturing firms' earnings management. A study of separating the listed firms into family and non-family ones could be interesting for future research. Practical implications: The paper unveils earning management techniques used by firms in Bangladesh and provides critical policy implications to the corporate governance mechanisms that effectively limit earnings management practice. Social implications: The social significance is to aware constituents of financial reporting about the earnings management behavior by firms in emerging economies. Originality/value: The study adds to evidence that the manufacturing firms in Bangladesh adopt both REM and AEM techniques to avoid losses. Simultaneously, the paper highlights some critical governance factors that can restrict misleading earnings management behavior by firms in an emerging economy to assist in policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to assess the probable impact of COVID-19 on the Islamic banking system in Bangladesh. More specifically, it attempts to test the hypothesis that Islamic banks are exposed to increased risk because of their role as a provider of "merchant capital" including financing for trade, commerce and working capital, which are believed to be severely disrupted by the COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws upon the Marxian tradition on the identification of the circuit of "merchant capital" separated from the circuit of "interest-bearing capital." Moreover, the research adopts the balance sheet approach to trace the sectoral distribution of investment as well as sources of income of Islamic banks. Findings: The research supports the hypothesis that the investment pattern of Islamic banks is skewed toward the trade and merchant's financing. More than two-third of Islamic banks' investment, and income thereof, is concentrated on working capital and trade finance. As these sectors are largely vulnerable to the economic shock resulting from COVID-19, Islamic banks in Bangladesh are likely to be affected through this channel. Research limitations/implications: The research focuses only on Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Further study can assess the impact of COVID-19 on conventional and Islamic banks in other countries to find similarities and differences with the findings of the current research. Practical implications: The finding of this research will be useful for bank managers, policymakers and users of financial services. In particular, this study provides important information useful for regulators in devising appropriate policies which aim to mitigate the adverse impact of COVID-19. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that attempts to examine the impact of COVID-19 on Islamic banking system in Bangladesh, a country where Islamic banks occupy one-third of the total banking system's assets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Drawing on the combined theoretical perspectives offered by the sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) practices view and the resource-based view (RBV), this study aims to examine whether pursuit of environmental, social and economic sustainability measures of SSCM practices drive competitive advantage (CA) among fashion-apparel manufacturing organizations in an emerging economy. Furthermore, the study investigates whether the above relationships are mediated by productivity. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a theoretically supported conceptual framework, a set of hypotheses are tested by applying partial least squares structural equation modeling on a sample of 345 export-oriented fashion-apparel manufacturing companies in Bangladesh. SmartPLS (v.3.2) is applied to analyze the path model through bootstrapping procedure. Findings: The findings suggest that the direct relationship between social sustainability dimension of SSCM practices along and CA is positive and significant. While the direct relationships between environmental sustainability and CA, and economic sustainability and CA, were found to be non-significant. However, when productivity was applied as a mediator, all the paths were significant. Research limitations/implications: The study contributes to the strategic management literature by presenting a combined theoretical perspective proposing the idea that sustainable supply chain practices can influence both productivity and CA, where productivity is a pertinent mediator. Practical implications: The study presents evidence for ready-made garments manufacturers in emerging economies on how compliance with environmental, social and economic sustainability measures in the supply chain of apparel manufacturers leads to gains in CA for the firms. Additionally, the study shows that such measures must also have a net positive impact on productivity to be able to influence CA significantly. Originality/value: This paper appears to be among the first study that presents a framework based on a combined view of SSCM practices and RBV to empirically investigate the role of productivity as a mediator in the relationships between the sustainability dimensions of SSCM practices and CA in apparel manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A nationwide common malpractice in Zakat distribution has been prevailing in Bangladesh for the past few decades. The paper is a groundbreaking effort to investigate the perceptions of the Zakat payers about the common malpractices and to highlight whether any change in the conventional distribution of Zakat has occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study also aims to extract the common perception of the Zakat payers regarding the validity of the changed practices during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts the qualitative research approach allowing an in-depth interview technique based on an unstructured questionnaire schedule to obtain information from the Zakat payers, complemented by the key informant interview with the Islamic Scholars. The study obtained data from Zakat payers administering a purposive sampling technique based on two specified criteria. After coding the information on three main themes, content analysis is used to examine the results. Findings: The results reveal that although the Zakat payers dislike the common practices because of some antithetical issues, they still practice the same customs. Moreover, they apportion most of the value of Zakat in purchasing low-quality festive-motive clothes for the recipients. They are ignorant about Islamic law and the validity of such practices. According to scholars, these activities are not a pure system of Zakat provision and unable to alleviate poverty. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, this practice shifted heavily to buying food items for the poor due to the financial hurdles they confronted during the pandemic. Although no solid argument is deduced from the participants about the exactitude of such distributional change, scholars regard the transformation as beneficial to the afflicted and the impoverished who have been hit by the pandemic, as well as not conflicting with the Zakat legislation. Practical implications: The study is a novel contribution to addressing the malpractice in Zakat distribution through receiving practical information from the Zakat payers, which will help produce more in-depth research in Islamic finance. Furthermore, this research will help the government and people raise awareness about the authentic practices of Zakat distribution according to the codes of Shari'ah. Originality/value: This study is a pioneering investigation since a scarcity of scholarly works attempted to identify the impact of Covid-19 on the practice of Zakat distribution and the associated perception regarding its Islamic jurisprudence. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the investigation of common malpractices of Zakat is still unearthed by no former rigorous studies in the context of Bangladesh. The present study bridges this gap and paves a pragmatic research dimension in the Islamic finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Cybersecurity disclosure (CSD) provides users with valuable information and significant insights about a firm's susceptibility to cyber risk and its management. It is argued that the board of directors, with its oversight role, should be vigilant in managing cyber risk and disclosures. This study aims to measure the extent of CSD of the banking companies and examines the association between the characteristics of board composition (i.e. board size, board independence and gender diversity) and CSD. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted automated content analysis to find out the extent of CSD in the listed commercial banks of an emerging country, Bangladesh, where CSD is voluntary. Further, multiple linear regression is applied to determine the relationship between board composition and CSD. Findings: The findings reveal an increasing trend of CSD over the sample period (2014–2020). The study confirms a significant positive relationship between board independence and CSD. The study also demonstrates that the higher presence of female directors on the board is associated with higher CSD. However, no consistently significant relationship is found between board size and CSD. Research limitations: The study is based on listed banking companies only. Hence, the results can not be generalised to companies in other sectors. Also, it is important to acknowledge that we focused on the quantity (not the quality) of CSD contained in annual reports. Practical implications: The study provides an overall understanding of current trends of CSD in the Banking sector of a developing country. Regulators may use our findings to understand the current level of CSD and assess the need for issuing guidance in this regard. The association between board composition and CSD has implications both for banks when selecting board members and policymakers when establishing requirements concerning board composition under corporate governance guidelines. Originality/value: This is one of the very few studies in the context of an emerging economy where CSD is voluntary. The paper contributes to a narrow stream of research investigating CSD and its association with board composition. Notably, it contributes to understanding how board composition is associated with CSD in the banking industry, which is highly exposed to cyber risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: While corporate social responsibility (CSR) research and practice has expanded and evolved rapidly in recent years, little is known about how MNC subsidiaries develop their CSR strategies and how they reconcile global and local demands and pressures from both institutions and stakeholders. The paper aims to understand how institutions and stakeholder pressures interact at both national and international levels and how these interactions shape MNC subsidiaries' CSR in Bangladesh. Design/methodology/approach: Multiple case studies were used to investigate the CSR practices of 10 MNC subsidiaries operating in Bangladesh. To collect data, twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted. For supplementing primary data, secondary data from annual reports and websites were collected. Findings: The article demonstrates that the practice of CSR in Bangladesh is a result of pressures exerted by parent companies, international institutions and international stakeholders. The article reveals how lack of pressure from local stakeholders and institutions enables subsidiaries to gain traction and use their agency to apply globalised CSR conceptualisations not necessarily applicable to the localised context. Originality/value: The study has synthesised existing approaches to develop a multilevel framework for understanding how the intricate interactions between institutions and stakeholders from different levels (i.e. national and international levels) determine the trajectory of CSR adopted by subsidiaries in developing countries. This interaction undoubtedly plays a key role in determining the types of CSR strategy being enacted, the potential agency of different actors to shape change and the extent to which such pressures are likely to lead to CSR strategies that actually reflect and respond to the needs of local stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Despite considerable research and constant pressure from global media, exploitation has been a persistent problem in the Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) supply chain. Yet, the root causes of how and why exploitation still persists remain unexplored. This paper explores the reasons underlying the existence of exploitation in the RMG supply chain of Bangladesh using the theoretical lens of responsible capitalism. Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on 98 interviews conducted at multiple levels of the RMG supply chain ecosystem, site visits, observation and archives, the authors unpack the underlying reasons for the existence of exploitation in Bangladeshi RMG supply chain. Findings: Using the theoretical lens of responsible capitalism, the findings suggest the existence of exploitation as a multifaceted yet nuanced phenomenon that is a result of complex power dynamics, interdependency and interconnectedness of players at multiple levels of the supply chain. The authors extend responsible capitalism theory by adding local context as a key determinant for the RMG supply chain to be responsive, effective and sustainable. The authors further argue the need for a new business model in global supply chain that calls for a fundamental shift of businesses towards responsible capitalism via transformative actions at multiple levels for balancing power in relationships, generate profit with ethical integrity and take responsibility of the consequences of their actions. Research limitations/implications: The authors use a contextualized case study of the RMG supply chain in Bangladesh using a critical realist approach. Although the use of contextualized case study has enabled better understanding of causal relationships between management practices and exploitation in the local context of Bangladesh, a quantitative approach to establish causality between different factors could be the focus of future research. The findings are specific to the context of Bangladeshi RMG supply chain and may have limited generalizability in other contexts. Further studies may build upon the findings to explore exploitation in RMG supply chain of other sectors and countries in the region and compare the findings to develop comprehensive understanding about the root causes of exploitation. Practical implications: The findings call for a fundamental shift of business towards responsible capitalism via transformative actions of multiple players across different levels of the supply chains with managerial implications. Originality/value: By drawing on empirical research, the authors provide a holistic perspective of responsible capitalism that is influenced by interactions and interconnectedness of players in multiple levels of the supply chain. The authors expand the responsible capitalism theory by adding local context as a key determinant that need to be considered for supply chains to be responsive, effective and sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Money laundering (ML) has become a global threat in recent years, impacting both developed and poor countries. Developing an efficient anti-money laundering (AML) regime is a difficult and time-consuming process owing to the ever-changing spectrum of methods used, weaknesses in control mechanisms, intricacies of laws and regulations, organizational malfunction and goal displacement. In Bangladesh, surge of illegal money, rising money heists and egregious capital outflows have posed a governance problem. The purpose of this study is to investigate the dimensions of ML and examine the structure and performance of the AML regime. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a qualitative method, based on a thorough review of the conceptual and empirical literature on ML, content analysis of a range of publications, a scan of newspaper articles and digital resources and responses/comments of current and retired government employees in Bangladesh. The evaluation is informed by the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force and supported by the mutual evaluation reports of the AGroup on Money Laundering. Findings: Bangladesh, like most of South Asia, is highly vulnerable to ML and is hard-pressed to fully comply with global standards for control. Weak institutions, bureaucratic pathology, lack of transparency and accountability, high levels of corruption, an ambiguous regulatory environment, unregulated financial operations, a disordered banking sector, conflicting interests, criminal exploitation, poor oversight and reporting, flawed risk assessment and weak government performance have affected the performance of the AML system. Originality/value: This paper looks at the problem of ML from a holistic perspective covering different dimensions such as black money whitening, illegal funds movements, informal money transfer systems, use of offshore refuge for hiding money and so on and the state's responses to the syndrome. The evaluation will be of particular relevance to policymakers, anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, the financial intelligence operators and public prosecutors dealing with criminal justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]