Ram Al Jaffri Saad

Determinants of zakah (Islamic tax) compliance behavior

Purpose – The purpose of the paper was to examine factors influencing business zakah compliance behavior. Design/methodology/approach – The theory of reasoned action (TRA) was adopted to investigate whether attitude, subjective norm and intention were the determinants of zakah compliance behavior based on questionnaire survey of 227 active businessmen in one district in Malaysia. Findings – Results indicate intention to be a significant predictor for zakah compliance behavior. Intention is further found to be influenced by both attitude and subjective norm, and it mediates the relationship between both factors with business zakah compliance behavior. Practical implications – As attitude, subjective norm and intention are found to influence business zakah compliance behavior, zakah institutions should give serious attention on these factors to improve their zakah collection in the future. Originality/value – The study supports the argument that in a loosely regulated environment like zakah, the TRA can sti...

Moderating role of religiosity on Zakat compliance behavior in Nigeria

Purpose This paper examines the moderating effect of religiosity in the theory of reasoned action (TRA) on intention to comply with the Zakat on employment income (ZEI). Design/methodology/approach A survey of civil servants in Kano State, Nigeria was carried out and 474 valid observations were retrieved from the 700 distributed questionnaires. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to validate the instrument that measures the variables, examined the structural model and the predictive relevance of the study’s model. Findings The results revealed the suitability of both the TRA and the PLS-SEM in the study of ZEI behavioral intention in a developing country. All the hypothesized direct relationships were supported on the one hand. On the other hand, one of the two indirect relationships, subjective norm and behavioral intention moderated by religiosity was supported, but the other tests for moderating effects of religiosity on the relationship between attitude and behavioral intention was not. Practical implications Public and private Zakat institutions in Muslim majority societies in Nigeria and in other Muslim countries may use the findings to focus their attention on the formulation of policies based on the findings of the study to strengthen eligible Zakat payers’ intention to comply to further boost their Zakat collections. Originality/value This study extends the TRA in the context of ZEI by proposing religiosity as a moderator in the predictive capacity of TRA on ZEI. Moreover, the suitability for the use of PLS-SEM as a statistical tool in investigating the extended TRA with religiosity as a moderating variable as well as its implications for theory and practice were also discussed.

A comprehensive review on e-commerce research

Based on the review on the available literature sources, this paper comprehensively discusses the identified studies which have been done in the context of e-commerce adoption. Seventy-three (73) papers have been extracted from Elsevier’s Scopus database. Those papers were analyzed based on the distribution of publication, the scope demography, the research approach and research method and the adapted theory or conceptual framework. The result of the study found that publications in e-commerce research rose to peak year in 2015. Most of the e-commerce adoption studies were carried out in Southeast Asia (26%) and determining factors of e-commerce adoption was the most popular theme across region. Despite of its popularity, the findings were inconclusive in terms of specific determinants that significantly contributed towards e-commerce adoption. However, it is found that variables from the organizational context and external environment context significantly contributed towards e-commerce adoption. Most of the studies preferred quantitative approach (71.2%), especially in employing questionnaire methods. The result of the theory analysis reveals that the most frequently used conceptual framework was TOE framework, while many studies (24.7%) did not take into account of specific conceptual framework. Only a few researchers (11%) had used self-developed conceptual framework rather than existing framework. In term of scope, majority of the studies focused on the factors that encourage e-commerce adoption. Such limited scope of studies efforts could only provide a partial understanding of the diffusion process. Future research shall go further to investigate the post-adoption stages of e-commerce. The limitation of single database and keywords might fail to give more extensive retrieved number of articles in the study.Based on the review on the available literature sources, this paper comprehensively discusses the identified studies which have been done in the context of e-commerce adoption. Seventy-three (73) papers have been extracted from Elsevier’s Scopus database. Those papers were analyzed based on the distribution of publication, the scope demography, the research approach and research method and the adapted theory or conceptual framework. The result of the study found that publications in e-commerce research rose to peak year in 2015. Most of the e-commerce adoption studies were carried out in Southeast Asia (26%) and determining factors of e-commerce adoption was the most popular theme across region. Despite of its popularity, the findings were inconclusive in terms of specific determinants that significantly contributed towards e-commerce adoption. However, it is found that variables from the organizational context and external environment context significantly contributed towards e-commerce adoption. Most of...

Perceived service quality of zakat institution among Muslim businessmen in Malaysia

A mail survey was conducted to examine perceived service quality towards zakat institution among 227 Muslim businessmen in one of the states in Malaysia. The research data was analyzed using descriptive statistic. The findings indicated that the majority of respondents rated three aspects of the quality, namely, tangibles, reliability and courtesy as “Good”. Meanwhile, credibility, competence, responsiveness, access, understanding and communication were aspects that rated as “Bad”. Based on the findings, zakat institution needs to develop and implement appropriate strategies to improve its service quality in many aspects. The research implications and suggestions for future research were also discussed.A mail survey was conducted to examine perceived service quality towards zakat institution among 227 Muslim businessmen in one of the states in Malaysia. The research data was analyzed using descriptive statistic. The findings indicated that the majority of respondents rated three aspects of the quality, namely, tangibles, reliability and courtesy as “Good”. Meanwhile, credibility, competence, responsiveness, access, understanding and communication were aspects that rated as “Bad”. Based on the findings, zakat institution needs to develop and implement appropriate strategies to improve its service quality in many aspects. The research implications and suggestions for future research were also discussed.

The Relationship between Self-confidence, Self-remembrance and Sincerity among Staff towards Information Systems Outsourcing Success

The study examined the relationship between the humanistic elements of self-confidence, self remembrance and sincerity among staff towards the success of information systems (IS) outsourcing.A total of 500 questionnaires were distributed by mail to the manager of information systems outsourcing companies registered with Malaysias Multimedia Super Corridor and 168 were returned. The hypotheses of this study were analyzed using multiple regression methods.The findings show that the element of self confidence and sincerity of the staff have a positive and significant relationship towards the success of information systems outsourcing. The theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.