Abstract. Development of financial globalization in the form of stock market integration experiences a trend which is getting stronger. The analysis models in the field of finance and investments should be able to adjust to these developments. This adjustment includes the models used to detect the existence of herding behavior. All this time, the herding behavior model of individual stocks towards market consensus has been referring to CAPM theory. The basic assumption of CAPM is that financial assets at a domestic stock market are segmented from the financial assets' movement at the global market. Therefore, this paper aims to provide an alternative view in the form of an international herding model that should be applied in the context of an integrated stock market. The model was created with reference to the international CAPM. This paper combined ICAPM method and international CSAD model to identify herding for eight stock markets, the sample period being from January 2003 to December 2016. The result found that for segmented stock markets, represented by China Vol.10, No.4, 2017 48 and the Philippines, herding happened for both overall the sample period and the market crisis period. In addition, for the integrated stock markets, represented by Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the UK, herding behavior was only found during the market crisis period. Therefore, classification of market integrations should be considered in assessing the herding behaviour at stock markets.

This study is to investigate the relationship between financial characteristics and the cost of equity capital from sharia-based companies, which tend to be financially constrained. Using 276 observations, the results of this study indicate that financial constraints which are proxied by free cash flow have a role in influencing the cost of equity capital. This study also builds an indirect relationship of free cash flow and capital costs by proposing investment efficiency as a mediator variable. By using the causal step approach from Baron and Kenny, the test results show that investment efficiency mediates the effect of free cash flow on the cost of equity capital with an indirect effect that is stronger than the direct effect. This study also found evidence that leverage has no role in strengthening the effect of free cash flow on the cost of equity capital.