All Research

Noor Fzlinda Fabeil ·Journal of Economics and Business ·2019

This study explores the impact of entrepreneurship education in the university on student’s entrepreneurial behaviour, in terms of their entrepreneurial attitudes and start-up intention. The paper aims to investigate the perceived influence that various entrepreneurship education courses have had on third-year undergraduate students from business and non-business study programs in University Malaysia Sabah. The questionnaires were distributed via Google Forms, which gathers students’ perspectives on their entrepreneurial attitudes (achievement, innovation, personal control and self-esteem), and start-up intention. The results of chi-squared test revealed that innovation, personal control and self-esteem are the most influential impacts of entrepreneurship education among undergraduate students. In addition, the results of One-Way ANOVA showed significant differences among types of student's degree programs in terms of their achievement, innovation, external support and start-up intention. The study also provides qualitative insights from students' perspectives about the challenges that they think could hinder students to start a business. This study hopes to contribute to the university and other institutions of higher learning in Malaysia in preparing the appropriate entrepreneurial education approach for the students towards materialising the government agenda to become ‘Entrepreneurial Nation' by 2030.

Kerstin K. Zander · Supriya Mathewa ·Ecological Economics ·2019

Higher temperatures linked to climate change lead to people feeling increasingly heat stressed compromising their health and reducing economic activity. In this paper we assess the potential economic impact of heat stress on working people in urban Malaysia by analysing the loss in productivity that they associate with heat stress. We found that nearly every respondent (99%) from a sample of 514 drawn from an online survey sometimes feels heat stressed and also less productive as a result. The median number of days in a year on which people felt their productivity had been compromised because of heat stress was 29. On those days half of the respondents felt their work capacity had been at least halved. The estimated median annual loss from reduced productivity was 257 €, nearly 10% of respondents' median annual income. Respondents who work in mentally challenging jobs are more affected by heat than those in physically intense jobs. They also receive the highest incomes, so suffer the highest losses. Our research suggests that the real economic costs of heat has probably been under-estimated because most research has so far focused on people working in physically intense outdoor jobs or those performed in very hot environments.

Abdelkader O.El Alaoui · Hashim Bin Jusoh · Sheila Ainon Yussof · Mohamed Hisham Hanifa ·Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance ·2019

This paper, for the best of our knowledge, is the first attempt to assess the role of money in the Malaysian economy using wavelet techniques. To do so, a macroeconomic model-based policy rules has been formulated. In relation with the recurring financial crises, we analyse the relationship between the quantity of money, interest rate, inflation, exchange rate, index of industrial production and equity indices, in the case of Malaysia. In this analysis, UK economy aggregates are taken as benchmark. Therefore, the relationships between monetary policy variables and macroeconomic variables are evolving with time and have non-homogeneous trends across different time scales. Some strong correlations have been found in regard to Malaysian Monetary Policy using, major monetary aggregates; the quantity of Money, the interest rate and the exchange rate inducing some lead-lag interactions between those key variables. In addition, we analyse the effect of LIBOR on Malaysian interest rate (KLIBOR). We found that the KLIBOR is lagging behind the LIBOR in most of the time. In the end, some lessons will be drawn for the monetary policy in Malaysia, in terms of the high impact of the role of money and the expected implications regarding an effective Islamic monetary policy.

Haslina Halim · Hassan Abu Bakar · Bahtiar Mohamad ·International Journal of Supply Chain Management ·2019

The stress experienced by expatriates is usually caused by the inability to adjust to the host culture, which largely results from their lack of social skills needed in dealing with the new cultural environment. Thus, the main purpose of this study is to identify the predictors of cross-cultural adjustment among expatriates in Malaysia, by focusing on expatriates in hotel industry. The findings from the study could help clarify the overgeneralization made of data which are usually based on certain locations and groups of expatriates. Two hundred and three expatriates participated in the study. Personality, language ability, previous international experience, training, human resource support, social support, culture distance and family adjustment were analyzed using the multiple regression analysis to determine the predictors of adjustment. The data, which was drawn from a drop and collect method, selfadministered questionnaire, revealed that social support and family adjustment were the most influential predictors of hotel expatriate adjustment. The findings also suggest that overgeneralizations of findings across disciplines are rather inappropriate. Detail discussions on the methods, findings, limitations, and suggestions for future research are presented in the paper.

Abdul Ghafoor · Rozaimah Zainudin · Nurul Shahnaz Mahdzan ·Journal of Business Ethics ·2019

This study investigates the key factors that elicit financial reporting fraud among companies in Malaysia. Using enforcement action releases issued by the Security Commission of Malaysia (SC) and Bursa Malaysia, we identify a sample of 76 firms that had committed financial reporting fraud during the period of 1996–2016. We use the fraud triangle framework and the Malaysian International Standards on Auditing 240 to identify the factors. Since the simple probit model fails to address the identification problem (partial observability), we estimate our results using a bivariate probit model. The new model estimates the effects of pressure, opportunity, and rationalization on the probability of fraud likelihood by disentangling the detection probability of fraud. Among several proxies used for pressure, our results suggest that aggressive tax reporting and financial difficulties increase the likelihood of fraud commission. In regard to opportunity, we find that dedicated institutional investors, independence of the board, effective audit committee, and the presence of a female on the board provide active monitoring and oversight in reducing fraud occurrence. Results for rationalization suggest that prior violations and frequent changes of external auditors increase the chances of fraud occurrence. This research offers possible insights to auditors, managers, and regulators to prevent, detect, and react to fraud. Specifically, it highlights the specific factors that may exacerbate the fraudulent intentions of firms.

Kartini Muniandy · Suzari Abdul Rahim · Aidi Ahmi · Nor Aida Abdul Rahman ( Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT)) ·International Journal of Supply Chain Management ·2019

In recent years, the hospitality Industry has overcome numerous challenges to initiate green practices. Greater interest in customers green behaviours has led the hotel industry to practice more environmentally friendly activities. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors that influence customers in visiting green hotels in Malaysia. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) has been embedded to investigate the factors. Data was collected via questionnaires through online by invitation through email and offline from travellers in selected airports. IBM SPSS Statistics software was used to analyse the data. The results discovered that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and environmental concern significantly influence customers in visiting green hotels. Meanwhile, attitudes mediate subjective norms and perceived behavioural control and finally attitudes, and perceived behavioural control possess a positive relationship with the environmental concern of visitors in visiting green hotels. Findings from this research can help the Malaysian government and hoteliers to integrate the research framework in their current business model and imposed more effective strategies on a green environment in developing green hotels.

Asrul Akmal Shafie · Haarathi Chandriah · Yee Vern Yong · Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh ·Value in Health Regional Issues ·2019

Objective To describe the process and role of health technology assessment (HTA) in the context of drug policy in Malaysia. Methods We summarized the HTA process through review of documents and reports available in the public domain combined with the authors' experience. Results Health technology assessment plays an integral part in prioritizing treatment in public health facilities in Malaysia, particularly for the Ministry of Health Medicines Formulary (MOHMF). The MOHMF is the reference list of drugs allowed to be prescribed in the Ministry of Health (MOH) facilities. There are 2 organizations within the MOH that conduct HTA as their core activities, namely the Malaysian Health Technology Assessment Section and the Formulary Management Branch of Pharmacy Practice & Development Division. The assessment of pharmaceuticals for the purpose of listing medicines into the MOHMF is under the purview of the Formulary Management Branch. The evidence-based assessment focuses on safety, efficacy, effectiveness, and budget impact of the drug. Cost-effectiveness evidence is currently not mandatory but is of interest to the decision makers. The assessment outcomes are considered by the MOH Medicines List Review Panel for formulary decisions. Conclusions Health technology assessment has supported formulary decisions in MOH. Evidence generation needs to progress beyond efficacy or effectiveness, safety, and budget impact to incorporate cost-effectiveness. Nevertheless, there are challenges to be met to achieve this. The impact of the HTA process is currently unknown and is yet to be evaluated formally.

Nurlin Amirudin · Tae-Hyoung · Tommy Gim ·Resources, Conservation and Recycling ·2019

Food waste is a global issue that is currently gaining attention in light of food security problems and related environmental issues. Studies related to household food waste have looked at consumer behavior in attempting to explain household food waste behaviors. However, standing for material infrastructure, food accessibility has been suspected to indirectly impact household food waste behaviors. This study therefore looks at perceived food accessibility, measured in terms of perceived time and perceived effort, and its impact on household food waste. A conceptual model is formed through a review of the literature and data obtained from a survey conducted at two locations in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The collected data are then analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Three significant paths are found in the model connecting food waste with effort levels, environmental concern, and price importance.

Suhaiza Ismail · Zuhudha Rasheed ·Meditari Accountancy Research ·2019

Purpose This paper aims to identify the influence of personal factors on the ethical judgement of future accountants in Malaysia. In particular, there are two research objectives for this study: first, to investigate the influence of ethical ideology on the ethical judgement of accounting students and second, to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on ethical judgement. Design/methodology/approach The respondents of the study were final year undergraduate accounting students from three public universities in Malaysia. A survey questionnaire comprising instruments about ethical ideology, EI and ethical judgement was distributed. A total of 205 responses were received and were deemed as useable. To achieve the research objectives, multiple regression was performed. Findings The findings indicate that idealism and EI have a positive influence on the ethical judgement. In contrast, the study discovered that relativism influences ethical judgement negatively. Originality/value This study fills the research gap as research on personal factors on the ethical judgement of future accountants is very limited and scarce. It gives insights to the various parties concerning how to enhance ethical judgement among future accountants, which ultimately will improve the credibility of the accounting profession.

Zaimy Johanna Johan · Irwan Ibrahim · Norina Ahmad Jamil · Siti Masithah Mohd Tarli · Afizan Amer ·International Journal of Supply Chain Management ·2019

Nowadays, in daily operations have to alert about the lean production that would be effect of the whole of production management. Lean production is one of the main successful management in operations to keep maintain the organization reputation and its ready to compete the globally in manufacturing firm. The objective of lean production is to make the operation process become smoothly of processing items, reduced waste and successful in every target. However, many organizations fail to apply the lean concepts in their operations. Therefore, this study attempted to examine the relationship between lean production (LP) and three dimensions which are transportation, quality and communication. This study employed quantitative study using questionnaire. Data was collected from 45 employees that chosen by expertise in production and the data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS). This study hoped to make new understanding on the important to apply lean concept in production management.

Siew Imm Ng · Jo Ann Ho · Xin Jean Lim · Kee Lin Chong · Khairunnisak Latiff ·Young Consumers ·2019

Purpose In this digitalization age, smart technologies are on the cusp of changing all business sector including retailing. Today’s consumers desire to shop in a smart store where the physical products on display are connected to the internet world. This study aims to propose a model for investigating Generation Z (Gen-Z) consumers’ expectations towards the smart retail technology (SRT) in the Malaysian context through the application of the stimulus-organism-response framework. Design/methodology/approach By using a purposive sampling technique, a self-administered questionnaire was conducted. A total of 220 usable responses were collected from Gen-Z consumers who had experience in using SRT. The data were analysed using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings This study underscores the role of perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment and perceived value on Gen-Z consumers’ attitude and word-of-mouth (WOM). Expectations on usefulness, enjoyment and value provide some ideas on Gen-Z consumers’ value who put a high emphasis on functional value, fun value and value for money when adopting the SRT. On the other hand, the result also demonstrates the mediating role of consumers’ attitude in connecting perceived value and perceived enjoyment on WOM towards SRT. Practical implications The findings of this study provide beneficial insights for a retailer who desire to pursue a smart-related acquisition strategy. Retailers are recommended to embrace on the following three key features: innovative solution (high usefulness), reliable benefits (high perceived value) and fun experience (high enjoyment) to provide Gen-Z consumers with compelling experiences. Additionally, retailers are suggested to acknowledge the importance of managing consumers’ attitude in driving positive WOM evaluations. Originality/value This paper responds to Ting et al.’s (2018) call in uncovering values and lifestyles of generation in details. In Malaysia, retailers ought to incorporate of the high level of usefulness, value and enjoyment when designing their SRT to constitute the Gen-Z consumers’ expectations. Moreover, similar to Ting’s conclusion, this cohort members are very much into technologies and they tend to embrace SRT in their lifestyles.

Mohd Azwan Zainol · Zakaria Abas · Ahmad Shabudin Ariffin ·International Journal of Supply Chain Management ·2019

This paper conceptualizes the innovative supply chain integration and business performance of aquaculture contract farming setting in Malaysia. Based on the SCM philosophy, it highlights three related variables of supply chain integration, namely: external integration with suppliers, external integration with customers and supply chain risks, and technological innovation, and the relation amongst the variables in focus that could produce promising business performance. Hence, ability to conceptualize, observe and give due recognition to the possible relation amongst these variables in question by the prospective aquaculture contract farming participants that could bring about an insightful engagement for the betterment of the aquaculture business performance.

Kyunga Na · Young-Hee Kang ·Journal of Open Innovation: Technology Market and Complexity ·2019

This study aims to investigate the effects of product and process innovations on manufacturing firm performance in Southeast Asian emerging markets. To this end, using a cross-national sample of 2324 manufacturing firms from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES) dataset of 2015, we test the effects of product and process innovations on the sales growth of manufacturing firms in Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia. This study finds that product innovation is positively related to sales growth while new operating technologies are negatively associated with sales growth. For high-tech firms, product innovation is positively related to sales growth. The findings imply that in Southeast Asian emerging markets, governments and manufacturing firms can enhance performance by investing in product innovation.

Bakri Mat (Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)) · Ku Nurasyiqin Ku Amir (Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)) ·International Journal of Supply Chain Management ·2019

Food security is one of the non-traditional security components that forms the basic needs of a nation, households, and individuals. Any problem in food supply or disruption in any of the four key elements of food security will threaten security and well-being of the citizens. In Malaysia, although food availability is ensured through via local production and imports at national level, accessibility and utilization are not yet fulfilled as certain groups and households are still unable to access and utilise adequate food accordingly. Therefore, this research attempts to examine the socioeconomic factors that may contribute towards food insecurity among Malaysian households within communities in Malaysia-Thailand border using human security approach. This study is conducted using qualitative research method to collect and analyse both primary and secondary data. Primary data was obtained through official documents and an in-depth interview with key informants among Malaysian households of the communities near Malaysia-Thailand border, local leaders and academicians. Meanwhile, the secondary source of data was obtained from published materials and online documents such as books, journal articles and reports. The findings indicate that socioeconomic factors were pertinent in contributing towards food insecurity among the households in form of household income, insufficient assistance program, and high living costs. These factors form the main foundation in ensuring the sanctity and wellbeing of the households. In designing state policies, the socioeconomic issues should be prioritized as in ensuring human security of the vulnerable groups, specifically the B40 households. In addition, continuous effort in developing societal empowerment and resilience are vital to achieve citizen wellbeing.

Tauchid Komara Yuda ·Sociam Policy; South East Asia; Political economy;Islamic welfare regime ·2019

PurposeSallahuddin Hassan* School of Economics, Finance and Banking, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Malaysia. Using evidence from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Indonesia, the purpose of this paper is to explore how Islamic welfare regime notion evolves in a South East Asian (SEA) context. Design/methodology/approach To gain a broad frame of reference in discussing Islamic welfare regimes in SEA, this paper employs a combined political-economic and cultural approach to analyze how Islamic welfare ethics in Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Indonesia are developed. The specific criterion used to make a comparative analysis of these countries is an interconnection between four levels of Islamic welfare actors (state, market, community and household/relatives) in providing social welfare. Findings Malaysia and Indonesia have demonstrated the most balanced form of “Islamic welfare diamond” in the relationship between welfare actors, even as the state-centered welfare initiative continues to be expanded, while Brunei has taken a different route. A monarchical political system underpinned by high economic growth has enabled the state to play a major role in welfare distribution, rather than other welfare actors. For this reason, Malaysia and Indonesia are described as having an “Islamic inclusive welfare regime,” while Brunei is reported to have an “Islamic welfare state regime.” Originality/value For the purpose of theoretical advancements, there is no doubt that this paper has proposed an alternative framework to developing an understanding of how the Islamic ethical code is articulated in a wide range of welfare configurations within the “South East Asian context.”