Educational tourism in rural areas promotes local employment, economic development, and poverty alleviation. Given that there is a lack of research on emerging and developing nations, this study adopted the viewpoint of an emerging country and empirically demonstrates the relationships of consumer behavior with education tourism in rural areas. In particular, the study focused on push-pull motivation factors and loyalty. The mediating role of overall satisfaction on the relationship between push-pull motivation and loyalty was also investigated. The study extracted questions from a sample of 234 students in China and quantitatively analyzed the data using a structural equation model (SEM). The results show that pull motivation factors contribute directly to loyalty, and push motivation was the strongest construct influencing loyalty through overall satisfaction. The results show that in this field, managers need to pay more attention to push and pull motivation at different marketing stages.

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the reasons behind the low level ofSharia-related disclosures, particularlySharia-compliant companies, to gain an understanding on how these companies discloseSharia-related information in their annual reports, and how professional users of these reports search for such disclosures.Design/methodology/approach: The study is an exploratory research based on structured interviews with individuals involved in the preparation of annual reports ofSharia-compliant companies and professional users of annual reports.Findings: MostSharia-compliant companies and professional users interviewed agree that the most relevantSharia-related information is most commonly understood as the information found in the financial statement and its notes (accounting-related disclosures). Their responses indicate that there is a disjoint between the conventional disclosure practices on corporate social responsibility items and theSharia-related information.Research limitations/implications: The idea of full disclosure needs to be further understood from the perspectives ofSharia. This study provides insights into the types ofSharia-related information that are important for disclosure. Future research should focus on examining a larger number of companies and interviewing more professional users from different jurisdictions to generate more knowledge about the nature ofShariainformation and its disclosure.Practical implications: Users of theShariascreening methods, especially regulators, such as the Securities Commission Malaysia should encourage the disclosure of the required aspects ofShariain the annual reports ofSharia-compliant companies, as professional users are interested in this type of information.Originality/value: This study offers insights into the reasons behind lowShariadisclosures in annual reports ofSharia-compliant companies.

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the challenges of applying Shariah law in the equity market by engaging in narratives with Shariah screeners and advisors on how they conduct their screening responsibilities despite the low levels of Islamic-related disclosure made by companies in their annual reports. The Shariah screening processes in three countries with different Islamic equity markets – Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom – are examined. Design/methodology/approach: The authors interview 19 Shariah screeners and advisors in three different Islamic equity markets – Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Findings: Overall, the findings in this study show that despite the differences in the regulatory environment, companies still make Islamic-related disclosures on a voluntary basis. However, the lack of Islamic-related disclosures presents various challenges for Shariah screeners, particularly when identifying the operations that constitute the main activity of the company in screening for prohibited activities. Research limitations/implications: Shariah screeners can play an important role in increasing the level of understanding and perhaps increasing Islamic-related disclosures in annual reports by establishing a set of effective guidelines or practices for Shariah screeners to use when screening companies for their Shariah-compliant status. Originality/value: The paper identifies a gap in the Shariah screening literature and voluntary Islamic disclosures literature. By identifying this gap, the paper highlights the challenges Shariah screeners and advisors face because of the low level of Islamic-related disclosures.

Anna Che Azmi1, Ooi Kai Hong1, Norazlin Ab Aziz2, Suhaily Shahimi1 and Lee Wan Ling3 Author informationPDFCitations 1Department of Accounting, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA 2Department of Finance, Faculty of Business and Economics, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA 3Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, 50603