Deni Pandu Nugraha

Gold is a rare commodity. Trade must happen according to rules of equality and delivery. But many Islamic banks accept gold as deposits and use it for liquidity. Research on Sharia compliance in this regard is mainly at the product level. This paper explores the question of how compliance is shaped at the level of institutions. It uses qualitative comparison of fatwa, regulatory, and central bank documents pertaining to gold in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Turkey, then analyzes them using three approaches: fiqh, institutional, and functional. Three configurations are identified: precautionary-hybrid (Indonesia), integrated-statist (Malaysia), and market-oriented mobilization (Turkey). The paper explores ribā rules, constructive possession, and shared ownership as creations of institutions, and proposes a bullion governance typology. Based on available evidence, how Sharia authority is constituted and how closely it is integrated with supervisory authority is more important for expanding bullion banking than doctrinal stringency; only Turkey relates gold to monetary policy. For Indonesia, the verification of custody and the development of electronic ownership records are worth exploring.

With an emphasis on the moderating effect of digitalization, this study links the relationship between corporate valuation in Southeast Asia and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) frameworks. Although the importance of ESG practices for long-term wealth creation and organizational sustainability is becoming more widely acknowledged, little scholarly attention has been dedicated to how digitalization affects the relationship between ESG and firm value in emerging markets. The influence of social engagement, environmental accountability, and governance quality on firm value metrics such as asset returns, equity return, and Tobin’s Q are assessed by utilizing a longitudinal dataset comprising 132 publicly traded companies from six Southeast Asian nations from 2017 to 2023. Panel Estimated Generalized Least Squares (EGLS) is employed to mitigate heteroskedasticity and cross-sectional dependence. The results show that digitalization has a moderating effect and that social and governance aspects greatly increase firm value. Digitalization specifically increases the influence between governance and asset returns and between social elements and Tobin’s Q, while decreasing the influence between social factors and asset returns, and between governance and Tobin’s Q. Furthermore, another finding shows that digitalization decreases the influence of social factors on return on equity. These findings point out how necessary it is to strategically incorporate technological development into ESG projects in order to optimize sustainable value creation.

Research aims: This study aims to examine how strategic management implementation and decision-making styles contribute to employee satisfaction, with a specific focus on Islamic cooperatives. The study also explores the mediating role of organizational performance in this relationship.Design/Methodology/Approach: The research employs a quantitative approach using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4. Data were collected through questionnaires distributed to 124 employees of Islamic cooperatives, with 95 valid responses analyzed.Research Findings: The results indicate that strategic management does not directly affect employee satisfaction but exerts a significant indirect influence through organizational performance. Furthermore, among the various decision-making styles analyzed, only the dependent style showed a significant indirect effect on employee satisfaction through organizational performance.Theoretical Contribution/Originality: Grounded in dynamic capabilities theory, the study contributes to the literature by highlighting how strategic agility and inclusive decision-making, when aligned with Islamic values, enhance organizational outcomes and employee well-being. Moreover, the study introduces an integrated model linking strategic execution, decision behavior, and performance within the context of Islamic cooperatives.Practitioners/Policy Implications: The findings underline the importance for Islamic cooperative leaders to align strategic management practices with maqasid sharia principles and to adopt consultative decision styles that foster organizational trust, agility, and employee satisfaction.Research Limitations/Implications: The study is limited to a specific organizational context (Islamic cooperatives) and a relatively small sample size, which may affect generalizability. Future research could explore different cooperative models or apply a longitudinal approach.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between returns and risk of Islamic stock under stable economic conditions, crises, and pandemics within the scope of Indonesian and Asian Islamic capital markets. How do economic conditions affect the risks and returns of investors in the Indonesian and Asian Islamic capital markets? Verification of the veracity of the Islamic capital market serves as a more resilient option for alternative investments. This study uses Granger causality to determine exogenous and endogenous variables when building the model. The model that is formed is then analyzed using regression with dummy variables of stable economic conditions, crises, and pandemics. The first research findings on differences in crisis, stable and pandemic times in the Asian stock market show that there is no significant difference in effect between stable times and during a crisis, but there are differences in the effect during stable and pandemic times. The second research finding states that the return on Asian market Shariah stocks has no influence on increasing or reducing the value of risk or value at risk. The third finding explains that Islamic stocks in Indonesia have a greater risk value during pandemics and crises than in stable times, but the effect of pandemic and crisis conditions is not as great as Islamic stocks in Asia as a whole. In order to stabilize markets and reduce risks, regulatory bodies and governments frequently employ a variety of actions during times of crisis. When applied to trading volume, risk, and return patterns, these findings can help determine the appropriate policy.

This study seeks to investigate the potential effects of the recent pandemic (COVID-19) on capital structure dynamics. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a fascinating topic for this study because of its distinct economic characteristics. The analysis draws upon a cross-country dataset covering 208 non-financial listed firms across five GCC countries, with data spanning the years 2010 to 2022. Capital structure is a dependent variable and is measured by total debt to equity, equity multiplier, and short-term debt ratios, while the COVID-19 pandemic, firm size growth, return on assets, tangibility, and growth were applied as independent variables. Using the generalized least squares (GLS) method, findings demonstrated that COVID-19 has a significant and positive influence on debt-to-equity and equity multiplier ratios but a negative one on short-term debt ratio. Thus, non-financial firms increased their debt financing and transferred debt from short-term to long-term funding. In addition, firm-specific factors, such as firm size, tangibility, and macroeconomic factors, such as GDP growth, positively and significantly impact capital financing. Conversely, profitability has a negative relationship with financial leverage. There is a lack of empirical research on how COVID-19 affects the financial structure of non-financial listed companies in GCC nations. Consequently, by filling the previously specified gaps, this study provides proof to support the idea of using debt financing to raise capital for economic recovery. GCC policymakers need to give priority to ensuring that firms have convenient access to inexpensive finance in light of the financial consequences caused by COVID-19. This will guarantee that companies have the resources necessary to bounce back and support economic growth.

Research Originality: This research paper enriches existing literature on drivers of fintech adoption, including the impact of perceived trust, individual innovativeness, savings habits, and government support on Indonesian users' post-COVID-19 pandemic fintech adoption intentions.Research Objectives: This study examines the impact of post-covid changes in people's behaviour, savings habits and accelerated financial literacy on strengthening Technology Adoption Model (TAM) among Indonesian fintech users. Research Methods: The researchers surveyed 536 people living in Indonesia. The data was analysed using structural equation modelling with moderator variables. Empirical Results: It found that ease of use, usefulness, trust and personal innovativeness are key drivers of adoption intentions. The research also found that savings habits significantly increase the influence of government support on fintech adoption. Implications: This research has two important implications. First, digital finance companies should further improve fintech app service quality and security. Second, the government should also encourage the expansion of a fintech-based startup ecosystem by providing regulatory support to accelerate the progress of Indonesia's digital finance industry.JEL Classification: M21, G23, O36How to Cite:Nugraha, D. P., Setiawan, B., Emilda, E., Masyhuri, M., Quynh, M. N., Nathan, R. J., Fekete-Farkas, M., & Hagen, I. (2024). Role of Financial Literacy and Saving Habits on Fintech Adoption post Covid-19. Etikonomi, 23(1), 63 – 80. https://doi.org/10.15408/etk.v23i1.37856.

Since it first appeared, agency theory has argued that debt can decrease agency issues between agent and principal and enhance the value of firms. This paper explores the moderating effect of agency cost on the association between capital structure and firm performance. A panel econometric method, namely a fixed-effect regression model, was used to evaluate the above description. This investigation uses secondary data collected from published annual reports of manufacturing firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) during 2011–2019. Empirical results show that capital structure is negatively related to firm performance. Agency cost also has a negative impact on corporate performance; however, in the case of ROA and EPS, the relationship is positive. Interestingly, the findings illustrate that increasing the level of debt can reduce agency costs and enhance firm performance. Moreover, robust correlations are revealing that agency cost significantly affects the relationship between capital structure and corporate performance. These findings provide proof to support the assumptions of agency theory, which explains the association between capital structure and performance of firms. This study provides new perspectives on the relationship between capital structure and firm performance by using data from listed manufacturing firms in Iran; hence, these new insights from a developing market improve the understanding of capital structure in Asian and Middle Eastern markets.

Purpose - Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has harmed the Efficiency Islamic banking industry. This study examines the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on 33 Islamic stock-traded banks in Asia.Method - This study includes public financial statements and stock prices of Islamic banks in Asia. This study compares peer-to-peer of how the Covid-19 pandemic affect 33 Islamic financial institutions in 2019 and 2020. A dummy-covid separated pre-pandemic and post-pandemic periods and bank efficiency was a dependent variable. Least-squares panel data regression, fixed-effects, and random-effects models determine model parameters.Result - This panel regression analysis shows that Islamic banking's usefulness changed after the Covid-19 pandemic. Islamic financial institutions performed better than usual during the pandemic. The analysis results show this clearly.Implication - Islamic banking appears relatively unaffected by the current economic downturn. The Islamic banking sector, which differs from its conventional counterpart in that it is based on the principle of profit sharing, will fare better during economic contractions, according to these findings.Originality - This is the first study to use a cross-country sample of Islamic banks in Asia to analyze the efficiency of Islamic banking during COVID-19.

Access to financial services is pivotal in improving welfare, reducing poverty, and accelerating financial inclusion in the emerging nation. This study analyzes the factors that drive consumer adoption of fintech by extending the TAM model with financial literacy and government support, as well as gender as moderating variable. Data was collected from 397 respondents in Indonesia and analyzed using SmartPLS 3.0. The result shows that perceived usefulness, ease of use, financial literacy, and government support significantly affect the adoption of fintech. The moderation analysis reveals that men perceive usefulness as more important for fintech adoption and ease of use for women.

The rapid evolution of technology and a large number of smartphone users are transforming the way the masses access financial services. Fintech companies consistently innovate in developing customized products and services for users and SMEs to increase financial access and inclusiveness to achieve the Indonesian national financial inclusion target of 90 percent by 2024. Access to digital financial products via Fintech contributes to greater financial inclusion for SMEs, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted economic activities. Using an extended TAM model, this study explores the driving factors of Fintech adoption for Indonesian SMEs during the COVID-19 outbreak. Data analysis of 415 respondents was conducted utilizing Smart-PLS 3.0 software. The findings confirm perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, government support, trust, and user innovativeness to have a direct positive effect on the intention of SMEs to adopt Fintech. The result also reveals that financial literacy indirectly correlates with Fintech adoption mediated by user innovativeness. This indicates that Fintech could contribute to bridging financial inclusion where SMEs with lower financial literacy can utilize financial products and services via Fintech. This is a positive contribution of Fintech for SMEs in developing economies. The present study suggests that policymakers could foster the expansion of Fintech business infrastructure to improve access to SME financial services.