Hussain Gulzar Rammal

Islamic Mutual Funds’ Financial Performance and International Investment Style: Evidence from 20 Countries

We pursue the first large-scale investigation of a strongly growing mutual fund type: Islamic funds. Based on an unexplored, survivorship bias-adjusted data set, we analyse the financial performance and investment style of 265 Islamic equity funds from 20 countries. As Islamic funds often have diverse investment regions, we develop a (conditional) three-level Carhart model to simultaneously control for exposure to different national, regional and global equity markets and investment styles. Consistent with recent evidence for conventional funds, we find Islamic funds to display superior learning in more developed Islamic financial markets. While Islamic funds from these markets are competitive to international equity benchmarks, funds from especially Western nations with less Islamic assets tend to significantly underperform. Islamic funds’ investment style is somewhat tilted towards growth stocks. Funds from predominantly Muslim economies also show a clear small cap preference. These results are consistent over time and robust to time varying market exposures and capital market restrictions.

International Business Negotiations: The Case of Pakistan

This exploratory study focuses on identifying the key cultural and other contextual influences that affect the process and outcome of commercial negotiations between Pakistanis and Non‐Pakistanis. A survey of negotiators was conducted asking for information, based on their experience, about the business negotiation process involving Pakistanis and Non‐Pakistanis. Utilizing the studies of Hofstede, and Salacuse, the responses of Pakistani and Non‐Pakistani negotiators are analyzed and cultural traits displayed by Pakistani negotiators in international business negotiations are identified.

The grounding of the "flying bank"

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of effective, knowledgeable and accountable management and board structures in business organisations. Using the case of Swissair, the paper aims to demonstrate the importance of competent industry knowledgeable executive boards, with regard not only to company profits and sustainability but also to stability and socially responsible decision making.Design/methodology/approach – An explanatory and descriptive case study approach was undertaken utilising historical data and literature‐based information and research on Swissair. The analysis of the case is guided by the use of the Resource Dependence and Group Conformity theories.Findings – The findings suggest that the alliance and acquisition strategy pursued by Swissairs management and the lack of leadership and accountability by the CEO and Chairman of the board were the main contributing factors to the companys collapse.Practical implications – The implications include impacts on th...

Business strategy and performance in Indonesia’s service sector

Purpose The relationship between strategic choices and performance in service firms in emerging markets has remained largely under-researched. This study aims to address this issue by studying the performance of financial institutions in the context of Indonesia’s political, institutional and socio-cultural environment. Design/methodology/approach Using institutional theory, the authors analyzed data collected using surveys and interviews with senior managers in Indonesian financial institutions. Findings The authors find that the regulative and normative elements have forced organizations to incorporate the values set by the external institutional bodies. The organizations have undertaken structural isomorphism in response to culture-cognitive elements, and differentiate themselves by focusing on the provision of quality customer service and enhanced customer satisfaction. Originality/value The authors provide new insights by studying how the political and institutional environment and choice of strategy influences performance of the services sector in emerging economies.

Islamic Banking in Pakistan: A History of Emergent Accountability and Regulation

This study presents a history of the Islamic banking sector, its accountability and regulation in Pakistan, set in its contexts of the rise of Islamic banking internationally in a global finance marketplace alongside the localized Islamization of Pakistan’s economy. The historical analysis is informed by the Economic Theory of the State and the principles of Islamic theocracy, and examines the events leading to the establishment of the Islamic banking system in Pakistan, government accountability and regulatory strategies, and the market response. The findings reveal the complexity of attempts to reform Pakistan’s banking sector into a purely Islamic-based system and the contests between government, the central bank and religious authorities for the sector’s accountability, regulation and control. The re-emergence of a dual banking system and its accountability and regulation for both economic management and theocratic purposes illustrates the ongoing compromise and accommodation between national religious culture and a global financial environment.

Purchasing Power Parity and the Asian Financial Crisis

Purchasing power parity (PPP) literature is now vast with literally hundreds of papers offering tests for PPP across a large number of countries. However, despite all the elaborate techniques employed, very little explanation is given as to why PPP is so relevant in policy making. This article provides a basic understanding of PPP and shows why it is considered so important when making policy choices. The discussion also briefly examines how this relates to the Asian economies. Primarily, these economies have been subject to intense scrutiny following the 1997 crisis, particularly with regard to their choice of exchange rate regime and possible monetary unification. The findings of the paper suggests that the PPP has had mixed results in predicting current account difficulties and liquidity crises, such as that experienced in Asia. However, the paper also argues that it still can form an integral part of an ‘early warning system’ designed to foresee economic crisis within a country.

Career Capital Development of Self-Initiated Expatriates in China

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of SIEs’ career development through international assignment. In particular, the research focus is on career capital acquirement and development of SIEs through their international assignment in China. Methodology/approach We review studies on SIEs and comparative studies between SIEs and OEs. We apply the career capital theory to discuss SIEs’ career capital development in terms of knowing-how, knowing-why and knowing-whom through expatriation assignment in China. Findings This chapter focuses on SIEs’ career capital accumulation through international assignments in China, and we develop three propositions that will guide future studies: the knowing-whom career capital development of SIEs through expatriation is increased more in network quantity than network quality in China; the knowing-why career capital development of SIEs through expatriation is influenced by the age and career stage of SIEs; and the knowing-how career capital development of SIEs through expatriation — task-related skills and local engagement skills — is influenced by the SIE’s intercultural ability and organization support respectively. Practical implications In practice, a better understanding of SIEs’ career capital development in terms of knowing-how, knowing-why and knowing-whom help companies make the decision to select the relevant staffing pattern. This study also has practical implications in relation to the design and selection of the training, learning and development activities provided to the employees. Originality/value The chapter contributes to the expatriate management literature by focusing on SIEs’ career development through their international assignment in China. SIEs’ career development is related to their cross-cultural adjustment and has impacts on the completion and success of the expatriation assignment.

Global mobility of professionals and the transfer of tacit knowledge in multinational service firms

Purpose The use of expatriates to transfer individual and organizational know-how and knowledge is a practice widely used by multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, for service firms, the mobility of employees across national borders depends on the commitments made by countries under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). In particular, the Mode 4 form of supply under GATS can limit the ability of professionals to enter a particular country and can restrict the intra-organizational transfer of knowledge in multinational service firms. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how MNEs attempt to overcome these barriers and transfer knowledge through their global network. Design/methodology/approach Using Nonaka and Takeuchi’s SECI model of knowledge transfer, the authors study the intra-organizational knowledge transfer practices of an Indian multinational service firm. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 key informants involved with the organization. Findings The company uses global teams to transfer tacit knowledge and facilitates inpatriation through an internship program that helps the firm overcome nationality requirement that restricts the movement of their managers to other countries, which in turn limits their ability to transfer knowledge in the intra-organizational setting. The company uses the services of a not-for-profit youth organization that helps recruit interns for the program and also facilitates the relationship with the Indian Government, which provides support for this initiative by reducing barriers to entry for the interns. Originality/value This study takes the unique approach of studying barriers to movement of professionals and a firm’s strategic response. It identifies the pressures and barriers that companies face in the global economy and highlights the role of government agencies and other stakeholders in facilitating or restricting the transfer of knowledge within a firm’s international network. The paper articulates the implications for policy and practice, and a future research agenda.

Islamic Finance: An Entrepreneurial Management Perspective

Increasing attention has been placed on the Islamic finance sector because of its entrepreneurial approach to money management. The aim of this chapter is to focus on the entrepreneurial management approaches to Islamic finance by looking at the global money market. The innovative financial management practices used by Islamic businesses are discussed in terms of religious entrepreneurship. The findings suggest that Islamic finance is more entrepreneurial than other cultural forms of money exchange. Suggestions for future research are stated that integrate an Islamic management approach to finance based practices.