Keywords
financial performance
Sharia audit
Sharia compliance trap
transparency
How to Cite
Abstract
The phenomenon motivating this article is the expansion of formal Sharia-compliance and governance structures while governance-performance evidence remains inconsistent across studies and jurisdictions. The article explains the Sharia compliance trap, a condition in which formal conformity is not yet converted into substantive practice and organizational value. Using a structured integrative literature review, 39 substantive peer-reviewed sources were analyzed; 27 were published in 2021-2026, while older studies were retained when foundational to form-substance and governance arguments. The synthesis used concept coding, relationship mapping, and contradiction mapping. The evidence indicates that formal compliance does not generate a uniform performance premium; transparency operates mainly through conditional and indirect visibility, accountability, and trust pathways; accountability links information to responsibility and corrective action; and Sharia audit functions as anti-decoupling assurance. The article's novelty is a substantive compliance transmission framework grounded primarily in institutional theory, supported by stakeholder, accountability, assurance, and maqasid perspectives. Sharia compliance should therefore be evaluated by its capacity to change processes and outcomes rather than by checklist completion alone.
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