Issue #2 (Volume 22 2025)

Economic policy uncertainty has a profound impact on firms’ investment decisions, mainly in terms of increased risk and uncertainty for firms when planning future investments. This study aims to explore the impact of corporate economic policy uncertainty on corporate investment, as well as how corporate social responsibility disclosure moderates the relationship between economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and corporate investment. The analysis uses a sample of Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2022, including 33,791 observations. The study uses ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with clustered standard errors. The basic and robust regression empirical results show that economic policy uncertainty has a negative impact on corporate investment. However, corporate social responsibility plays an important moderating role between them. The two-stage least squares method (2SLS) is used to solve the endogeneity problem of reverse causation. The heterogeneity results show that economic policy uncertainty significantly dampens business investment, while corporate social responsibility (CSR) is effective in mitigating this negative effect, especially among non-state-owned and low-cash-flow firms, where this moderating effect is more pronounced. The study concludes that as corporate social responsibility disclosure enhances information transparency and investor confidence, companies should prioritize CSR programs that ultimately help companies remain competitive and attractive to investors in volatile markets. Meanwhile, this also highlights the strategic importance of CSR in mitigating external risks, such as those presented through volatile economic policies.

Financial well-being refers to how individuals perceive their financial security and ability to meet short-term and long-term financial goals. It involves feeling financially stable, having control over one’s finances, being satisfied with one’s financial situation, and handling unexpected events without excessive stress. This study examines the impact of financial literacy, financial behavior, financial stress, and religiosity on financial well-being, with gender as a moderating factor. A quantitative research approach was used, with the participants in this study consisting of permanent lecturers at a prestigious private university in North Sumatra, Indonesia, who are male with more than 1 (one) year of service. Due to the lack of available data regarding the exact number of faculty members, the sample size was calculated using Lemeshow’s formula, which is appropriate for use when the population is unknown. This resulted in a sample size of 385 permanent lecturers. The sampling method was accidental, and the data were analyzed using the SEM-PLS approach with SmartPLS software. The results show that religiosity, financial behavior, and financial literacy positively and statistically significantly affect financial well-being (p < 0.05). In contrast, financial stress, though negative, does not have a significant impact (p > 0.05). Additionally, gender does not moderate the relationship between religiosity, financial behavior, and financial stress on financial well-being (p > 0.05), but gender moderates the effect of financial literacy on financial well-being (p < 0.05).

Acknowledgment
They financed this study under the Fundamental Research - Regular (PF-R) area. Thank you, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia 2024. This is also possible thanks to the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) and the Faculty of Economics and Business Leadership at Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara.

Cryptocurrencies have attracted significant attention due to their high risk, extreme volatility, regulatory controversies, and scandals. Investors and policymakers are drawn to them for their potential to enhance diversification and deliver high returns. This study examines the impact of incorporating cryptocurrencies into investment portfolios, focusing on their ability to improve risk-adjusted returns and diversification. A rolling asset allocation strategy employing the maximum Sharpe Ratio within a Markowitz framework was applied to weekly data from 2018 to April 2024. The analysis compares two unconstrained portfolios and two constrained portfolios, which impose a concentration limit on cryptocurrency investments. Results reveal that in 70% of the rolling periods examined, portfolios with cryptocurrency allocations outperformed non-cryptocurrency portfolios in terms of Sharpe Ratios. However, the heightened volatility of cryptocurrencies significantly increased portfolio risk, with annualized weekly standard deviations ranging from 18% to 25%, compared to 12% to 15% for portfolios without cryptocurrency exposure. These findings illustrate the dual nature of cryptocurrencies: they can act as both a source of instability and an opportunity for diversification. The study underscores the necessity of a cautious and strategic approach to incorporating cryptocurrencies into investment plans, given their inherent risks and unpredictable behavior.

The utilization of business intelligence has become increasingly crucial for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to remain competitive amid rapid advancements in information technology and heightened business uncertainty. This study analyzes the influence of business intelligence on the financial performance of SMEs, focusing on the mediating role of financial ambidexterity. Additionally, it examines how financial access, financial availability, and financial information quality enable effective business intelligence adoption. Data were collected from a survey of 233 SME managers in Central Java, Indonesia, conducted between December 2023 and February 2024. Smart PLS 3 was used to analyze the data and test the proposed hypotheses. The findings revealed that business intelligence significantly affects financial performance (β = 0.655, p = 0.044). Furthermore, the indirect effect analysis confirmed that financial ambidexterity plays a crucial role in mediating the relationship between business intelligence and financial performance (β = 0.531, p = 0.018). Additionally, the results confirmed that financial resources positively influence business intelligence implementation, with financial availability (β = 0.243, p = 0.000), financial information quality (β = 0.335, p = 0.016), and financial access (β = 0.768, p = 0.025) all showing significant effects. This study highlights the critical role of business intelligence and financial ambidexterity in enhancing financial performance and underscores the importance of financial resources for successful business intelligence implementation in SMEs.

This paper investigates the determinants of working capital management in the Indian hotel sector, focusing on factors influencing financial efficiency and sustainability. Using a dynamic panel model, the study analyzes data from 67 publicly listed Indian hotels over ten years from 2013 to 2022. The data were obtained from the Refinitiv database, the World Bank, and the Sustainable Development Index. The system generalized method of moments estimator was applied to ensure the robustness of results. The study results indicate that firm-specific factors, including return on assets, leverage, asset tangibility, and board structure, significantly impact working capital needs. Additionally, macroeconomic elements such as GDP play a crucial role in shaping working capital management. A notable positive relationship was identified between return on assets and working capital requirements. Conversely, leverage exhibited a strong negative association with working capital needs. These results emphasize the importance of both internal financial characteristics and broader economic conditions in effective working capital management. The study highlights the importance of integrating governance and economic conditions into working capital management strategies.

Sharia financial literacy pertains to individuals’ capacity to manage their finances, partake in Sharia-compliant agreements, and make investments based on Islamic tenets for long-term prosperity. This study explores the relationship between Sharia financial literacy, financial stress, financial behavior, and financial well-being among Islamic university students in Medan, Indonesia. Three hundred seventy-eight (378) students from various regions of Medan, Indonesia, were used as the research sample. The questionnaires were disseminated using social media chat functions or messaging applications (e.g., WhatsApp, Telegram) in which the Google Forms link is shared. The Likert scale measures indicators in responses to statements and questions. The analysis was conducted using SEM with PLS 3.0 software. The findings show a significant positive effect of Islamic financial literacy on financial behavior and well-being (p < 0.05). However, financial stress does not significantly impact financial behavior and financial well-being (p > 0.05). In addition, financial behavior positively affects financial well-being among university students (p < 0.05). This study also demonstrates that Islamic financial literacy indirectly improves financial well-being through its influence on financial behavior (p < 0.05). However, financial stress does not indirectly affect financial well-being through financial behavior (p > 0.05).

Acknowledgment
This research was funded in 2024 by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia under the Basic Research – Regular (PF-R) category. Thanks also go out to the different tiers of administration at Universitas Muhammadiyah Sumatera Utara, such as the administration of the School of Economics and Business and the staff at the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM).