Due to the emergence of innovative technologies, various professional fields are transforming their traditional business practices. Specifically, the financial and legal markets are experiencing this digital transformation as professionals and researchers are finding ways to improve efficiency, personalization, and security in these economic sectors. Significant research is needed to keep pace with the continuous advancements that are taking place in finance. Fostering Innovation and Competitiveness with FinTech, RegTech, and SupTech provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of technologically innovative mechanisms and applications within the financial, economic, and legal markets. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as crowdfunding platforms, crypto-assets, and blockchain technology, this book is ideally designed for researchers, economists, practitioners, policymakers, analysts, managers, executives, educators, and students seeking current research on the strategic role of technology in the future development of financial and economic activity.

Utilizing a skill and ability-based competency approach can be used to develop both individuals and organizations. Whether the skills are developed through on-the-job training or trained through educational programs, to be proficient is to gain mastery in the defined area. These standards of proficiency separate the talented from those that have talent and utilize this talent. Competency-models, systematic integration, and application of competency-models are a focus in today’s work environment to remain competitive and to attract quality talent. Therefore, focusing on the identification of management skillsets and the alignment of competency-models with organizational goals to achieve integration through the use of a system are essential to move from good to great management. Integration and Application of Business Graduate and Business Leader Competency-Models is a pivotal reference source that examines how educational competency-based programs and industry needs are being met, along with how best to meet and achieve desired strategic organizational outcomes through integration. By highlighting the organizational need for recruitment, development, and success through scalable approaches at all organizational levels, this book is ideally designed for business graduates, organizational leaders, managers, students, academicians, and researchers in the fields of leadership, social science, organizational development, and business management.

This book provides a systematic overview of the current trends in research relating to the use of artificial intelligence in Islamic financial institutions (IFIs), across all organization of Islamic cooperation (OIC) countries. Artificial Intelligence and Islamic Finance discusses current and potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) for risk management in Islamic finance. It covers various techniques of risk management, encompassing asset and liability management risk, credit, market, operational, liquidity risk, as well as regulatory and Shariah risk compliance within the financial industry. The authors highlight AI’s ability to combat financial crime such as monitoring trader recklessness, anti-fraud and anti-money laundering, and assert that the capacity of machine learning (ML) to examine large amounts of data allows for greater granular and profound analyses across a variety of Islamic financial products and services. The book concludes with practical limitations around data management policies, transparency, and lack of necessary skill sets within financial institutions. By adopting new methodological approaches steeped in an Islamic economic framework (e.g., analysing FinTech in the context of Shariah principles and Islamic values), it devises practical solutions and generates insightful knowledge, helping readers to understand and explore the role of technological enablers in the Islamic finance industry, such as RegTech and artificial intelligence, in providing better and Shariah-compliant services to customers through digital platforms. The book will attract a wide readership spanning Shariah scholars, academicians, and researchers as well as Islamic financial practitioners and policy makers.

Digital financial services are starting to become increasingly popular with consumers, thereby fostering a favorable climate for digital entrepreneurship: mobile payment, Blockchain, etc. Research trying to understand and explain this phenomenon focuses on FinTech. Some scholars regard “FinTech” as financial innovations that upset the market while others view them as startups, based on financial innovations, that have changed the ecosystem. There are many open-ended questions about FinTech’s business models, how it relates to blockchain, and whether this is a collaborative relationship between traditional financial players or a competitive relationship. Noting the lack of research work on these themes, this book attempts to shed light on this area to bridge the gap between the discourse of practitioners and the literature. Influence of FinTech on Management Transformation is an innovative reference book that defines FinTech and its ecosystem as well as concepts in relation to management transformations caused by FinTech and shares new theoretical and empirical frameworks, useful experiences, and best practices to deal with new technological changes. The chapters are divided into three interrelated sections: “Insights From the Blockchain Technology”; “Managerial and Cultural Transformations in the Era of FinTech”; and “Empirical Experiences and Applications.” This book is a valuable reference tool for financial planners/advisors, managers, accountants, financial analysts, compliance experts, practitioners, researchers, academicians, and students interested in the influence of FinTech on management transformation.

Following the success of the first edition that brought attention to the digital revolution in Islamic financial services, comes this revised and updated second edition of Blockchain, Fintech and Islamic Finance. The authors reiterate the potential of digital disruption to shrink the role and relevance of today’s banks, while simultaneously creating better, faster, cheaper services that will be an essential part of everyday life. Digital transformation will also offer the ability to create new ways to better comply to Islamic values in order to rebuild trust and confidence in the current financial system. In this new edition, they explore current concepts of decentralized finance (DeFi), distributed intelligence, stablecoins, and the integration of AI, blockchain, data analytics and IoT devices for a holistic solution to ensure technology adoption in a prudent and sustainable manner. The book discusses crucial innovation, structural and institutional developments for financial technologies including two fast-growing trends that merge and complement each other: tokenization, where all illiquid assets in the world, from private equity to real estate and luxury goods, become liquid and can be traded more efficiently, and second, the rise of a new tokenized economy where inevitably new rules and ways to enforce them will develop to fully unleash their capabilities. These complementary and oft-correlated trends will complete the decentralization of finance and will influence the way future financial services will be implemented. This book provides insights into the shift in processes, as well as the challenges that need to be overcome for practical applications for AI and blockchain and how to approach such innovations. It also covers new technological risks that are the consequence of utilizing frontier technologies such as AI, blockchain and IoT. Industry leaders, Islamic finance professionals, along with students and academics in the fields of Islamic finance and economics will benefit immensely from this book.

Islamic microfinance is one of the most important sectors of Islamic social finance, which plays a very important role in curbing poverty and improving the standard of living, per capita income, employment level as well as achieving Maqasid al-Shariah, profitability and sustainability. This role of Islamic microfinance has become more crucial in the pandemic period. It has been clearly witnessed in developing countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, how Islamic microfinance institutions helped deprived and affected communities during the pandemic. Another important development during the pandemic was the introduction of blended models of Islamic microfinance such as waqf-based Islamic microfinance, a zakat-based model and the combination of Islamic commercial and social finance. Islamic microfinance institutions also aim to harness the power of digitalization and fintech, but they need to consider the necessary success factors to realize and gain the real benefits of technology. There are some major challenges related to regulations, management issues, lack of skilled human resources, a wide digital divide and low level of financial literacy in developing countries. These challenges need to be addressed to ensure stability, steady growth and sustainability in the sector. This book is a compendium on Islamic microfinance, including case studies from seven jurisdictions and prospects for the sector. The book will be a major contribution to the literature of Islamic economics and finance and a guide of equal importance for students, academics, institutions, regulators, fintechs, policy makers and the general public.

There is no doubt that the proliferation of entrepreneurial activity is a current trend. Start-ups enable an effective transformation of knowledge, generating high added value to society. The objective of this book is to address the financing of the entrepreneurial process as a necessary element to articulate a solid business fabric, based on taking advantage of new opportunities. The book is structured in two parts. The first part takes as a reference the lack of financing in the entrepreneurship process and analyses different sources of financing available to entrepreneurs depending on the phase in which the project is located. The second part of the book analyses innovation and its links to the financing of start-ups, addressing the impact of emerging technologies and fintech services and the support of artificial intelligence. Finally, the book concludes with an examination of decentralized finance (DeFi), as an idea that is changing the financial world, giving rise to new financial paradigms.