East Asian SME Capacity Building, Competitiveness and Market Opportunities in a Global Economy

Over the past decade the economies of East Asia, and APEC more generally, have been opening up their markets and in the process have achieved significant gains in exports and economic growth. In conjunction with this increased economic integration there has been increased recognition by regional governments of the potential for a substantial increase in the participation by small businesses in the generation of regional income, employment, exports, investment and expanded economic growth. Advances in information and communications technology add credence to this potential. In addition, developing economies are especially seeing small businesses as potential instruments for the alleviation of poverty. This viewpoint has been given further stimulus since the financial and economic crisis of 1997-98, arising from which there has been a growing recognition of the need for the East Asian economies to engage in comprehensive restructuring of their corporate sectors, with the objective of achieving transparency, improving corporate governance and developing globally competitive enterprises. The small and medium enterprise (SME) sector can play a key role in the attainment of such objectives. This paper reviews the contribution of the SME sector to the growth and development of the regional (East Asian) economies, and their increasing importance in the attainment of a sustained recovery of the region in terms of economic growth, employment, trade and investment and the development of globally competitive economies. It also identifies: barriers to their development; key factors essential for their capacity building; strategies to enhance their competitiveness in the global marketplace; and key components relating to their export success.East Asia, small and medium-sized enterprises, competitiveness, export success

Linking consumer trust perception in constructing an e-commerce trust model

Trust issues is still considered as a main obstacle in the implementation of eCommerce Due to the increasing numbers of cyber crimes committed today, consumers are faced with doubt to engage in online shopping. As a safety precaution, consumers will take certain measures to protect their information by evaluating and assessing these websites trustworthiness before an actual purchase occurs. This paper describes a model that examines the elements related to online consumer behavior and to investigate this behavior towards building and increasing trust. The applicability of the model was tested in attempt to view consumers' acceptance towards the model and its component. The fmdings indicate the respondents are aware of the trust issue surrounding e-Commerce implementation as they accept and agreed with the model and its components

Modelling Online Shopping Behaviour Patterns among Higher Education Consumers: A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM-AMOS) Approach

Online shopping is a phenomenon that is growing rapidly all over the world. Since 2020, Malaysian consumers have shifted their preference towards online shopping to fulfill their daily needs compared to shopping in a traditional store. Due to this reason, it is vital to identify the characteristics that affect consumers' online shopping behavior between various online websites for business owners to improve their online marketplace. However, only a few studies on online shopping behavior patterns among consumers across different online shopping platforms have been conducted in Malaysia. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the factors influencing online shopping behavior patterns among Malaysian consumers. The factors involved were web characteristics, external stimulus, affection, and cognition. Data was collected using an online questionnaire, and a cross-sectional research design was used for this study. SPSS version 26.0 and AMOS version 21.0 were used to analyze the data gathered. A total of 371 students and staff were selected randomly from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) in Malaysia. The results show that the best online shopping platform in Malaysia that is preferred by respondents is Shopee. Only two constructs were statistically significant for online shopping behavior, web characteristics, and cognition. However, the direct effect of external stimulus and affection is not statistically significant. In conclusion, e-businesses should enhance the functionality, usability, and appearance of their websites. Effectively enhancing consumers' perceptions of online shopping could potentially have a positive influence on both their purchase intent and behavior

Malaysian Y Generation Consumer Research: Does Gender and Technology Literacy affirmative towards E-commerce activities?

The last two decades have experienced rapid expansion of information and communication technology. This wide application of internet stated its influence on attitude and adoption of internet among various generations. The generation Y which is “the millennial generationâ€, are the major one who has connected with the technology, especially with internet usage, and is widely in every aspect of life. They adopt technology application in shopping product and services, moving away from traditional purchasing behavior of consumer. Though various studies have come out in the area of generation Y and technology adoption, very less studies are observed connecting gender, and contextualizing the topic to the Malaysian context, considering the consumer internet usage attitude and e-commerce activities. Hence this particular study, then observed and analyzed generation Y attitude towards internet usage and e-commerce activities with its moderating effect of gender variation

The Value of Online Information Privacy: An Empirical Investigation

Concern over online information privacy is widespread and rising. However, prior research is silent about the value of information privacy in the presence of potential benefits from sharing personally identifiable information. We analyzed individuals' trade-offs between the benefits and costs of providing personal information to websites. We found that benefits - monetary reward and future convenience - significantly affect individuals' preferences over websites with differing privacy policies. We also quantified the value of website privacy protection. Among U.S. subjects, protection against errors, improper access, and secondary use of personal information is worth US$30.49 - 44.62. Finally, we identified three distinct segments of Internet consumers - privacy guardians, information sellers, and convenience seekers.Information privacy, conjoint analysis, cost-benefit tradeoff, privacy concern, monetary reward, time-saving service

The Value of Online Information Privacy: An Empirical Investigation

Concern over online information privacy is widespread and rising. However, prior research is silent about the value of information privacy in the presence of potential benefits from sharing personally identifiable information. Analyzing individuals' trade-offs between the benefits and costs of providing personal information to websites revealed that benefits, monetary reward and future convenience, significantly affect individuals' preferences over websites with differing privacy policies. Quantifying the value of website privacy protection revealed that among U.S. subjects, protection against errors, improper access, and secondary use of personal information is worth US $30.49 - 44.62. Finally, three distinct segments of Internet consumers were determined: privacy guardians, information sellers and convenience seekers.

Case Study : Acceptance and Adoption on E-Commerce Usage Among Micro Business Owner at Baazar Larut Malam Jalan Lee Sam in Seremban Negeri Sembilan

This study aims to determined the level of acceptance and adoption of e-commerce usage among micro business owner at baazar larut malam Jalan Lee Sam, Seremban Negeri Sembilan. Recent statistics show that total number of businesses employing web sites in Seremban is very small compared to others city in our beloved country Malaysia. Organizations are coming under increasing pressure to adopt electronic commerce as part of the need to be efficient and competitive and to play a greater role in driving the economy.With the new century,the continued prosperity of Malaysia can no longer be taken for granted.Qualitative research method,in the form of semi-structured interviews, was used to identify factors that are important and relevant to encourage willingness to adopt. Findings indicate that owner characteristics like lack of perceived benefits,lack of knowledge and skill,perceived lack of trust are significant inhibitors while environment characteristics like competitive pressure,government support and infrastructure are significant motivators of electronic commerce in Malaysia. The model forms a basis for further research as further quantitative study,in the form of survey, can be carried out to assess the model’s validity and provide further insights into the relationships among the factors

Neuromarketing: a review of research and implications for marketing

In this research, we reviewed existing studies which used neuromarketing techniques in various fields of research. The results revealed that most attempts in neuromarketing have been made for business research. This research provides important results on the use of neuromarketing techniques, their limitations and implications for marketing research. We hope that this research will provide useful information about the neuromarketing techniques, their applications and help the researchers in conducting the research on neuromarketing with insight into the state-of-the-art of development methods

An Empirical Investigation on the Acceptance and Adoption of E-Commerce Among Internet Users in Malaysia

This study examines the effect of three factors on the acceptance and adoption of electronic commerce among internet user in Malaysia. A review of the literature shows that owner characteristics such as lack of knowledge and perceived lack of trust are significant inhibitors while environment characteristics such as government support are significant motivators of electronic commerce in Malaysia. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 150 respondents of internet user in Kuala Lumpur. A total of 108 valid responses were obtained. Stratified random sampling was adopted over other techniques to enhance representativeness. Data analysis shows that significant relationship exists between each of the three variables and electronic commerce adoption among internet user in Kuala Lumpur. Security issues emerged as the most important factor influence the acceptance and adoption of e-commerce. This factor is followed by government support and knowledge in information technology