The life expectancy rate of individuals worldwide has risen, and Saudi Arabia is not excluded. Rising long-life expectancy may jeopardize employees’ pensions and reduce the chances of adequate earnings and a decent life after retirement. Moreover, the number of employees, who have paid into pension funds and are now retired, has increased, indicating that pension funds are expected to decrease. Apart from the above, the level of financial literacy in Saudi Arabia was substandard. Therefore, the ultimate objective of this research is to examine the measurable factors that could impact employees in their financial planning for retirement (FPR). These factors comprise the employee’s financial literacy (FL), financial risk tolerance (FRT), and cultural factors based on the CWO model. Moreover, this study aims to investigate the mediating roles of culture in their relationship with financial planning for retirement. Primary data was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic from mid-July 2020 until the end of January 2021 using a non-probability convenience sampling approach involving 525 participants. The Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique was used to analyze the data. To determine the type of study variables, either a formative or reflective model of Confirmatory Tetrad Analysis (CTA-PLS) was used. The results show the significant influence of basic FL, FRT, and culture on FPR. Moreover, it shows the critical role of culture among those with advanced FL and FRT. Previous studies have examined FL and FRT in FPR without considering the effect of culture as a mediator.

The objective of this study is to examine the role of financial self-efficacy (FSE), retirement goal clarity (RGC), and government policy (GP) on financial planning for the retirement (FPR) behavior of public university employees based on the CWO model for retirement. Also, to examine the moderating role of GP on the relationship between FSE, RGC, and FPR. Primary data was gathered during the COVID-19 pandemic from mid-July 2020 until the end of January 2021 using a non-probability convenience sampling approach involving 525 respondents. The data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique. The Confirmatory Tetrad Analysis method (CTA-PLS) is used to determine the formative/reflective type of study variables. The results directly show the significant impact of the FSE, RGC, and GP on FPR. Indirectly, for those with a clear retirement goal, the perceived GP moderates its relationship with FPR. Previous research has examined FSE and RGC in FPR without considering the effect of GP.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the awareness of non-Muslims coming from a non-Muslim-majority country regarding Islamic financial services, in particular, the takaful products. Design/methodology/approach: This paper uses structured questionnaires to acquire and understand South Korean citizens’ perceptions of Islamic financial services (primarily takaful) to reinforce the scant previous literature in this area of research. The questionnaires are developed and adapted based on a previous study by Htay and Salman (2013). The sample consisted of 121 Korean people who were living in Ampang, a popular suburb for South Koreans in Kuala Lumpur. Findings: The findings indicate that even South Korean citizens who have dwelled in Malaysia for a significant amount of time had little awareness of Islamic financial services. Upon personal explanation about the product, however, they showed a significant interest to get to know about takaful and a willingness to subscribe to it in the near future. Research limitations/implications: Respondents are limited to only South Koreans who are residing in Malaysia. Practical implications: Understanding the level of awareness about Islamic financial services among non-Muslims residing in Muslim-majority country. Social implications: There is ample scope to penetrate the non-Muslim market for Islamic financial products. Originality/value: There is a growing concern over the lack of research in the area of perceptions of Islamic financial services among non-Muslims from non-Muslim-majority countries. The lack of study in this area of research has often been overshadowed by research studies on perceptions of Islamic financial services among non-Muslim residents in Muslim-majority countries, which may have led to a dearth of proper strategies in the Islamic financial industry to penetrate non-Muslim-majority markets.

This study examines the impact of overall foreign institutional equity participation and its two types—foreign institutional pressure-resistant and pressure-sensitive—on firm sustainable investment efficiency for non-financial listed domestic firms of three emerging economies over the period of 2009–2018, using an unbalanced panel of 733 firms with 4468 firm-year observations. It also investigates the impact of varying levels of foreign equity participation on investment efficiency. We used the regression estimation technique with robust standard errors clustered at the firm level. We also used the second-stage instrumental variable (IV) method to control potential endogeneity. Empirical findings reveal that overall foreign institutional equity participation and foreign institutional pressure-resistant ownership have a positive and significant impact on corporate investment efficiency, whereas foreign institutional pressure-sensitive ownership has a positive but insignificant impact. When we divided the overall institutional foreign equity ownership and its two types into five levels, we found a positive and significant impact of overall foreign institutional ownership at all levels. The foreign institutional pressure-resistant ownership has a positive and significant impact on investment efficiency when it is greater than 10%. However, we found a weak relationship of foreign institutional pressure-sensitive equity ownership with investment efficiency at all varying levels of investments. These results are robust when we controlled for endogeneity. Our results have implications for policymakers, regulators, academicians, and potential foreign equity participants. These results can be generalized to those emerging economies that have the potentials for attracting foreign equity inflows.

This study develops a comprehensive, objective measure of Islamic financial literacy (IFL) that encompasses six core concepts: general concepts, numeracy and computational skills, Islamic financial concepts, savings and investments, borrowing and financing, and financial protection. Seven practitioners working in the Islamic banking and finance industry in Malaysia were chosen to validate the measure before pilot testing on a sample of 403 working-age adult respondents. The financial literacy scores are compared across samples of students, general working adults, and bankers and significant differences are identified in the scores for financial protection; only marginal differences exist for general concepts, knowledge of Islamic financial concepts, and overall IFL scores. Among students, there are significant associations between respondent’s IFL and variables such as ethnicity, programme of study, and year of study, while among bankers, education level is positively associated with IFL. For general working adults, however, the study finds an insignificant relationship between most of the independent variables (demographic characteristics) and IFL.