مطالب

Technology innovation affects both the public and private non-financial sectors, the zakat institution (Islamic social finance) included. The institution uses an online system to communicate with zakat payers and zakat recipients to ensure its effectiveness in terms of collection and distribution. This research focuses on the adoption of a technique known as AD/AC and ZP/ZR, which is mainly utilized by partially and non-privatized State zakat institutions in Malaysia. To this end, three (3) techniques pertaining to appraising the performance of Malaysia’s Zakat institutions in managing Zakat funds were established. The analysis also includes the adverse impact of Covid-19 pandemic on the performance of zakat collection of the respective zakat institutions in Malaysia. In this relation, a quantitative approach was adopted using the primary and secondary data collected from JAWHAR and various states’ zakat institutions. By utilizing a technique of online data collection and applying the AD/AC as well as ZP/ZR methods, the performance of Malaysia’s zakat institutions is appraised. Furthermore, with the help two (2) ratios and eight (8) scenarios the performance of the innovative technique of AD/AC and ZP/ZR for zakat collection and disbursement, efficiency and sustainability of zakat institutions in Malaysia were evaluated. The results show that most zakat institutions, particularly those that deal with zakat payments, have begun to use the technique AD/AC and ZP/ZR within their organizations. The performance of zakat institutions in all states in terms of zakat distribution and disbursement do not have a consistent trend for the period 2016-2020. However, there is still a dearth of technology being used for zakat disbursements and fund reporting. From the observed data, with 2016 being the exception, for each remaining year, a state in Malaysia is ranked as the best technology performer or the most efficient. Selangor - fully privatized state (2017), Pulau Pinang - fully privatized state (2018), Federal Territory - partially privatized state (2019) and Negeri Sembilan-partially privatized state (2020) are the most efficient for the respective year. The sustainability of each zakat institution in Malaysia in the presence of Covid-19 pandemic was ascertained as well. Interestingly, contrary to the efficiency result, all non-privatized states (Kedah, Sabah and Kelantan) and one partially privatized state (Negeri Sembilan) were sustainable in coping with Covid-19 pandemic, while all fully privatized states (Selangor and Pulau Pinang) were not. Overall, it was conjectured that the technique AD/AC as well as ZP/ZR would help to improve the operations of zakat institutions to become more efficient and successful in distributing zakat fund to the poor. However, as zakat collecting and distribution involved millions of records, its management is still debatable by all parties.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have become a vital factor for national competitiveness and firms and companies, and the world is increasingly moving towards a knowledge-based economy. Innovation and technological changes are strongly influenced by the country/place where they occur. The main purpose of this study is to present the framework of SME innovation strategy with the approach of the fourth generation industry in Iran, which has been done using the GT method i.e a blend of qualitative and quantitative methods. The research population includes small and medium businesses and industrial townships in Tehran. The method of data collection in the qualitative part is the interview and in the quantitative part a questionnaire. The findings show that the innovation strategy framework in SME in the fourth industrial revolution is one of the causal factors with 5 components including small and medium businesses, organization maturity model, digitization, rules and regulations and innovation strategy. The results consist of 8 sub-components, which can be enumerated as market development, increasing exports, increasing productivity, creating added value, improving financial credits, training work managers, entrepreneurship and finally creating employment. The results show that the program factors have an effect on the facilitating factors; the causal factors on the innovation framework; the informational factors on the obstacles; supervisory and control factors on facilitating factors; barriers on the innovation framework; ; Financial resources have an effect on obstacles, consequences on innovation framework and structural factors on obstacles in small and medium enterprises. In our country, despite the fact that more than 59% of all production units are included in the EMS small and medium industries group,  these companies have not gained a significant share in the national gross product and creating added value and are suffering from severe shortages. While small and medium-sized companies can move away from the traditional focus on the product and take steps in the development of product innovation by using the fourth generation industry and new technology, creating a strategy and coming up with new products and services  will create more added value; The formulation of the strategy for any organization calls for an innovative point of view .