Usha Rajagopalan

Dr. Usha Rajagopalan

PRINCE SULTAN UNIVERSITY RIYADH

Research Focus & Metrics

Academic Career Length

6Years (2021-Present)

(Calculated once Scilit publication data is synced: current year − year of first publication + 1)

Representative Publications

View All Publications
14 November 2023 in Heliyon
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
SSSheela Sundarasen
Sheela Sundarasen
URUsha Rajagopalan
Usha Rajagopalan
MKMalathi Kanapathy
Malathi Kanapathy
KKKamilah Kamaludin
Kamilah Kamaludin
This study undertakes a bibliometric and content analysis on women's financial literacy. The purpose of a bibliometric research on financial literacy and women is to carefully evaluate and quantify the body of literature on this subject. It attempts to identify trends, research gaps, significant authors, and essential ideas, offering a thorough overview that might direct future research and policy activities to increase women's financial literacy and well-being. The data extraction commenced in January 2023 with a thorough criteria search for articles, which includes inclusion and exclusion criteria using Web of Science Core database, resulting in 312 articles, published between 1998 and 2022. Biblioshiny application as well as the VOSviewer software for network visualization of keywords and bibliographic coupling is used. Based on the outcomes of the scientific bibliographic coupling, dominant themes were identified – “Global Financial Literacy: Addressing Disparities and Enhancing Education”, “Addressing gender gap in financial inclusion and personal finance behaviour”, “Empowerment through Financial Literacy: Overcoming the Manacles of Domestic Violence” and “Women's retirement planning and preparedness”. Future research in this area could examine global gender differences in financial literacy, implement targeted financial education interventions, incorporate financial literacy and economic empowerment into domestic violence policies, investigate factors influencing women's retirement planning, and advance gender equality and financial well-being globally. The outcome from the future research is anticipated to assist regulatory bodies, government agencies and non-profit organization in enhancing existing regulations (specifically for women) and provide the platform for a sustainable wealth management and well-being program for women.

28 October 2024 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SSSheela Sundarasen
Sheela Sundarasen
URUsha Rajagopalan
Usha Rajagopalan
Ahnaf Ali AlsmadyAhnaf Ali Alsmady
Ahnaf Ali Alsmady
This study conducts a comprehensive meta-synthesis of review-based research on environmental accounting, spanning from 1995 to 2024. Environmental accounting, also known as green accounting, has evolved as a critical tool for integrating sustainability into corporate financial practices. Using bibliometric methods via Bibliometrix R-package (Biblioshiny—Version 4.2.0) and VOSviewer (Version 1.6.20), the research mainly examines scholarly discussion in review-based studies and identifies dominant themes. The main clusters identified are (1) environmental audits and management, (2) green accounting, financial reporting and sustainable development, (3) CSR, stakeholder engagement, and accountability, and (4) environmental accounting and protection. On the descriptive end, publication trends, prominent authors, articles, and sources are identified. The findings highlight a significant increase in review-based studies since 2022, coinciding with the growing global awareness and importance of sustainability. This study contributes to the field by consolidating fragmented research on environmental accounting, offering a framework for future academic exploration. Practically, it informs policymakers and business leaders on the importance of unified reporting standards across regions; integrating environmental considerations into financial decision-making; promoting transparency, accountability, and sustainability accounting; and disclosure across industries and regions.

22 May 2025 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SSSheela Sundarasen
Sheela Sundarasen
URUsha Rajagopalan
Usha Rajagopalan
BZBeata Zyznarska-Dworczak
Beata Zyznarska-Dworczak
This study reviews and synthesizes the scholarly work on sustainability reporting as a governance tool in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework. Bibliometrix R-package (Biblioshiny) and VosViewer are utilized to examine the descriptive and thematic outcomes using 148 articles from the Web of Science database. In contrast to previous bibliometric reviews, this study not only maps the broader landscape of the literature but also provides an in-depth exploration of three emerging thematic areas, offering a more nuanced understanding of the evolving discourse on corporate sustainability. Network visualization of keywords unveils three core themes within this research domain: Theme 1: sustainability reporting as a governance mechanism; Theme 2: the intersection of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and corporate sustainability; and Theme 3: the performance-accountability paradox in sustainability disclosure, which facilitated the identification of potential future research directions. The research outcome could contribute to institutional policies on sustainability reporting, highlighting (1) the importance of corporate governance in guiding businesses on policies and practices in sustainability reporting and mobilizing collective efforts among stakeholders on sustainability reporting, and (2) the awareness of using it as a platform to enhance the implementation of SDGs. This study underscores sustainability reporting as a disclosure mechanism and a pivotal governance tool for guiding institutional alignment with the SDGs.

6 December 2024 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SSSheela Sundarasen
Sheela Sundarasen
URUsha Rajagopalan
Usha Rajagopalan
IIIzani Ibrahim
Izani Ibrahim
This study discusses financial sustainability in retirement via a comprehensive bibliometric and content analysis on financial literacy and retirement preparedness for 1970–October 2024. Data for this study are extracted from the Scopus database. In line with the PRISMA guideline, the inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, and the final corpus of articles used in the analysis is 518 articles. These articles are analyzed using the bibliometric methods: Bibliometrix R-package (Biblioshiny) version 4.0 and VOSviewer 1.6.20. The descriptive analysis identified the publication trends, prominent authors, articles, sources, country collaboration, and quadrant analysis. Based on the bibliographic coupling, the following themes were identified: (1) financial literacy and retirement planning, (2) behavioral finance and psychological determinants of retirement planning and preparedness, (3) financial risk, decision making, and retirement preparedness, and (4) gender, socioeconomic factors, and financial literacy disparities. This study has consolidated and enriched the understanding of how financial literacy, education, psychology and behaviors, and financial risk play a pivotal and central role in shaping long-term financial sustainability, as well as retirement planning and preparedness. From a practical perspective, an all-inclusive understanding of the above is essential for guiding regulators and policymakers in designing policies, targeted interventions, and programs that empower individuals towards retirement preparedness, considering regional, socioeconomic, and gender-related factors.

31 May 2023 in Migration Letters
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
LSL. Samarasekara
L. Samarasekara
KTK. Tanaraj
K. Tanaraj
KRK. Rajespari
K. Rajespari
SSSheela Sundarasen
Sheela Sundarasen
URUsha Rajagopalan
Usha Rajagopalan
The FinTech services acceptance rates in Malaysia is not growing in parallel with the FinTech growth rate due to a lack of trust in the availability of the FinTech services. Thus, this research intends to investigate the key determinants in the adoption of FinTech services among Malaysians and the mediating role of trust in the said adoption. This study used the quantitative method, whereby a total of 171 respondents took part in the online survey, via social media channels. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to analyze the collected data. The findings of the study conjecture that the adoption of FinTech services is influenced by perceived usefulness, ease of usage and user innovativeness. Furthermore, the findings noted that perceived risks do not influence FinTech adoption services. The main contribution of the study is the fact that trust fully mediates the impact of perceived risk towards FinTech adoption. The findings of this research can be used as a guideline by regulatory bodies and financial institutions to gradually transform, alleviate or completely migrate from conventional services into FinTech.

2 June 2021 in Sustainability
Verified
Journal Article
Open access
PDF file
SSSheela Sundarasen
Sheela Sundarasen
KKKamilah Kamaludin
Kamilah Kamaludin
IIIzani Ibrahim
Izani Ibrahim
URUsha Rajagopalan
Usha Rajagopalan
NDNevi Danila
Nevi Danila
This study explores the effects of interactions among key stakeholders, i.e., auditors, underwriters, and firm owners on IPOs’ first-day returns in selected OECD nations. It also examines the alteration effects of legal origin (Common law and Civil law) on the relationship between the interacted key stakeholders and IPOs’ first-day returns. A total of four thousand one hundred and sixty-four IPOs from twenty-eight OECD nations are included in this study. Since it is cross-sectional data, a two-stage least square regression is applied. The empirical outcomes indicate that, in general, the interacted reputable underwriters and auditors have a positive impact on IPOs’ first-day return. The relationship is modified between common law and civil law nations, whereby in civil law nations, no significance is demonstrated except for the interaction between the reputable auditors and underwriters. In the common law nation, interactions between reputable auditors and ownership retention have an impact on IPOs’ first-day return. The research findings provide outlooks into an IPO framework for issuers, investors, and regulators. Issuers may want to weigh carefully the costs and benefits of hiring credible auditors and underwriters when going public as they act as signaling agents. As for the investors, they should take into consideration the involvement of reputable underwriters and auditors and the degree to which the IPO firms retain ownership, as the interactive effects give clear signals on firm valuation and IPOs’ first-day returns. Regulators may find the findings informative concerning the creation of a more organized regulatory and financial system that could lead to a deeper and more open financial market.