As a Muslim-majority country, Malaysia has a responsibility to fulfil the needs of Muslim citizens to practise their religion. Therefore, the Malaysian halal certification system needs to be viable, i.e., self-sufficient within its environment. The extant literature has explained the elements of viable systems but placed less emphasis on how systems develop into viability. This study aims to bridge this gap by using the Viable System Model to diagnose the globally recognised Malaysian halal certification system as the system-in-focus. This qualitative study gathered data mainly from interviews with 20 executives from relevant institutions with direct involvement in the system’s implementation. The findings of the study provide insights into the development milestones of a system with elements of viability. Among others, this development was found to happen in stages that are marked by crises and corresponding actions by the respective authorities. Suggestions for the system’s viability are provided.

Literature on service management and marketing suggests that service co-creation, or the process of active involvement between providers and consumers of a service, contributes to an enhanced service experience and offers competitive advantage to organizations. Such ideal conditions, however, are not often present in certain situations, particularly due to information asymmetry issues prevalent in many types of services, given the knowledge-intensive nature of these interactions. This problem is exacerbated in less-developed economic systems and among less savvy consumers. This article extends the discussion of service co-creation by proposing integration of the al-bay’ (business exchange) principles based on the Islamic concept of transactions. This conceptual article is designed as a theory synthesis paper developed by synthesizing the main principles of al-bay’ and the service co-creation. Observing the fundamentals of al-bay’ overcomes information asymmetry related issues in service dealings, ensures that justice is achieved and fosters trust-based relationships among contracting parties. This conceptual article extends the discussion of service co-creation that typically highlights the provider-customer interaction. The integrated framework serves as a normative model that could guide service providers and businesses to go beyond generating positive participant experiences by protecting the stakeholders in their particular environments.

Muslim-minority countries have emerged among the largest exporters of halal products for the Muslim market and received significant numbers of inbound Muslim travellers. The global nature of the halal industry value chain calls for a thorough understanding about halal, particularly in the context of Muslim-minority countries. To gain this understanding, a systematic literature review was conducted to explore the themes of halal research in Muslim-minority countries. A total of 22 empirical research articles were analysed based on a review protocol adapted from ROSES. The articles were sourced from the Scopus and Web of Science, with Google Scholar as a supplementary database. The study generated five main themes that synthesise the scholarly knowledge about halal in the context of Muslim-minority countries at the consumer, organization, and institution levels of analysis. The findings illustrate the lack of understanding about halal among the industry players and consumers, as well as the lack of central governance and policymaking within the halal industry in Muslim-minority countries. Based on the findings, the study provides future direction for research and practice

Majpadu Bricks Sdn. Bhd. was a Malaysian company incorporated in 1996. Majpadu’s business was in manufacturing and supplying compressed clay bricks, known as dry pressed earth brick (DPEB), a type of bricks manufactured using high-density compression technology. Unlike other bricks that were widely available in the market (also known as ordinary baked bricks), Majpadu’s bricks were not ‘fired’ in kilns; as such, DPEB was claimed to be more eco-friendly, cooler in temperature and yet very durable. Majpadu’s expertise was within the engineering process as well as the technical knowledge of DPEB. Apart from its main business, it also offered consultancy services to the industry. Over the years, Majpadu saw the company face several internal and external circumstances that affected its bottom line. By early 2017, the situation had become more serious, forcing Mr Zaki Hayat, the Managing Director of Majpadu, to implement a strategy to tackle the problems faced by the company.

Para sarjana dalam bidang ekonomi dan pengurusan telah sekian lama mengiktiraf kepentingan inovasi terhadap pembangunan organisasi dan peningkatan kekayaan dalam masyarakat. Namun, kajian mereka banyak tertumpu kepada aspek hasil inovasi dalam bentuk produk atau perkhidmatan, manakala perbincangan tentang strategi berasaskan inovasi yang didukung sepenuhnya oleh sesebuah organisasi kurang diberi perhatian. Walhal, pendukungan ini penting kerana organisasi yang berhasrat untuk mencapai tahap prestasi yang tinggi perlu melalui proses penerapan nilai berinovasi dalam keseluruhan proses dan aktiviti organisasi. Jurang pengetahuan ini perlu diatasi lebih-lebih lagi dalam konteks negara membangun seperti Malaysia yang berhasrat untuk mencapai status negara maju yang seimbang dalam aspek pembangunan ekonomi dan sosial. Justeru, kajian kes kualitatif ini dijalankan bagi memahami konsep strategi berasaskan inovasi serta pelaksanaannya dalam organisasi Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) yang menerapkan pelan strategi berasaskan inovasi yang dinamakan ‘Kerangka Transformasi Strategik MARA 2011-2020’. Pelaksanaan strategi ini menjadi asas bagi MARA sebagai sebuah organisasi sosial untuk meneruskan misi utamanya untuk menerajui bidang keusahawanan dan pendidikan masyarakat Bumiputera di Malaysia hingga ke peringkat antarabangsa. Kajian ini menjana suatu kerangka pelaksanaan baharu bagi strategi berasaskan inovasi untuk organisasi, yang bukan sahaja memperkayakan ilmu bidang pengurusan tentang pelaksanaan inovasi sebagai suatu strategi organisasi yang mampan dan cemerlang, malah boleh menjadi asas pemikiran kepada amalan dalam mentransformasi organisasi serta masyarakat untuk kesejahteraan bersama.