Sustainability of Islamic Bank CSR Programs: Experience from the Emerging Market

This article discusses the sustainability of Islamic CSR programs by assessing the satisfaction and quality of life. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with the beneficiaries of the CSR programs through the platform established by the bank, Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad, which is known as the Sadaqa House. Three key informants or key informants had been selected who represented their institutions and received assistance from the CSR programs. The data interviews were analysed using the content analysis method. Findings showed that Sadaqa House is a platform that manages the CSR programs and has improved the quality of life and sustainability. This study is constrained by a small sample of key informants; however, the saturation of information or data is achieved as per the objectives of the study. Moreover, the selected key informants were relevant and appropriate for this study and could provide meaningful insights and achieve the purposes. This study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of CSR programs provided by financial institutions and the sustainability of such programs toward the beneficiaries. The study brings a perspective of the emerging market in the context of CSR. The experience of this bank can be used as a reference for best practices to be emulated by others.