Social enterprising observance among B40 urban women for socioeconomic sustainability

This article explores the enterprising capabilities of economically challenged women in the urban city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The study assumes that entrepreneurial awareness and entrepreneurial intention are good predictors of women who are socioeconomically sustainable. The study sample comprises the B40 women in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The B40 group refers to the "bottom 40 percent" members of the population, with a monthly household income of RM3,855 and below (USD9451 and below). A total of 404 B40 urban women are drawn from a clustered random sample of four so-called "poor" municipal residents in Kuala Lumpur. A questionnaire survey is used to study their levels of entrepreneurial awareness and intention, administered via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 22. The data are analysed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and Pearson Correlation. The findings indicate a significant relationship between their levels of entrepreneurial awareness and entrepreneurial intention with being socioeconomically sustainable. Four important indicators are deduced: 1) upholding economic justice for B40 urban women; 2) reducing urban poverty concentration among women; 3) innovating new working avenues for women homemakers in the informal work sector; and 4) enhancing moral responsibility towards sustaining the natural environment. Based on these empirical outcomes, the research also recommends a suitable approach to social entrepreneurship among women of different ethnic groups. Significantly, it will contribute to the pursuit of community development and national unity

The Involvement of B40 entrepreneurs in E-Commerce: experience from Malaysia

The focus of the study was: first; to identify the involvement of B40 entrepreneurs in e-commerce and, second; to analyse the factors influencing their involvement. This quantitative study involved 207 respondents chosen using the snowball sampling technique. All respondents were low-income government sector workers (B40) who were conducting business part-time to increase their income. Information was acquired via questionnaires which had been adapted according to the study’s suitability and adopted from several sources. The finding showed that the respondents were well-informed about the existence of e-commerce. A majority of them only utilised e-commerce for shopping purposes and not for selling purposes even though they had products to be marketed. As for the respondents who sold products online, the most critical factors influencing their involvement were the income increase, broadband facility and knowledge about e-commerce. Regarding the respondents who did not market their products online, the critical factors which influenced them were the satisfaction of doing business in a traditional way, online business safety and lack of knowledge in handling online business were critical factors which hindered their involvement in e-commerce. As such, the B40 entrepreneurs were encouraged to make use of e-commerce to expand the market. They should also attend related courses, become mentee for successful e-commerce mentors, and strive to expand their business network. The huge investment made by the government to provide broadband facility for the community members should be fully utilised especially by the B40 entrepreneurs in their effort to increase their income level

Understanding Instructional Needs of Entrepreneurs Learning Social Media Marketing

AbstractResearch has shown that early adoption of innovations often converges with the need for knowledge. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was understanding what types of instruction small business owners and their employees required to fill a gap in learning necessary skills to launch and maintain social media marketing campaigns. The conceptual framework was based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model, which originated from social cognitive theory, the technology acceptance model, diffusion of innovations theory, and other sentinel studies. Research questions explored the needs and experiences of entrepreneurs learning how to launch and maintain social media campaigns. Data were collected in open-ended interviews with 12 small business owners or their employees on a recorded phone line. Data analysis consisted of thematic analysis which showed instructional experiences and challenges small business owners and their employees had in learning social media marketing. Experiences they described helped define learner needs, whereas challenges aligned with strategies that could be transformed into instructional methodology. Education at a local level can impact citizens’ ability to overcome poverty by increasing income for struggling small businesses in Arkansas, which has implications for positive social change

The determinants of behavioural intention towards using mobile banking of Islamic banking institutions moderated by demographic variables

The purpose of this research is to examine the determinants of behavioural intention towards mobile banking adoption in Islamic banking institutions for Malaysian Muslim consumers. Malaysia is ranked first in the world in terms of Islamic banking assets based on the Global Islamic Economy Indicator Rank (2020). However, in comparison with Malaysian neighbours, mobile banking penetration rate is relatively low. In this case, to compete with the neighbouring countries, it is important for Malaysian Islamic banks to stay abreast with the latest technology. Besides the technology used in banking, factors such as customers’ attitudes, subjective norms and perceptions towards the latest technology are crucial. This is because no matter how advanced a technology is, it is deemed impractical if many people are not able and interested in using it. In this quantitative study, a modified version of the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour was used to explain the relationship between the determinants and customer behavioural intention to adopt mobile banking by examining the following constructs, namely attitude, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, lifestyle, Shariah compliance, personal innovativeness, subjective norm, media influence, internal influence, influence of religious scholars, perceived behavioural control, self-efficacy and facilitating condition. This study used an e-survey questionnaire distributed through social media platforms to collect data. The data was then analysed using structural equation modelling using SmartPLS. Based on the analysis of 479 samples, the results show that the tested independent variables are significant. Perceived behavioural control was found to be the most significant construct for behavioural intention, while lifestyle was found to be the most significant construct that affects attitude. On the other hand, innovativeness is the least significant predictor of attitude. Multi Group Analysis shows that demographic variables such as gender, income, age, region, and education level are significant moderators. The significance of Shariah-compliant aspect and the influence of religious scholars have demonstrated a strong and persistent religious (Islamic) application in the Malaysian banking system, hence questioning the theory of secularization. The high significance of perceived behavioural control is suggesting the top management in the industry to emphasize on user-friendliness of the mobile banking service