The effect of marketing strategies on firm performance: a study of furniture manufacturing SMEs in Johor Malaysia

Marketing strategies are critical to improve the performance of any small and medium-sized business in the world. The purpose of this study is to investigate the importance of marketing strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises in Johor, Malaysia, by focusing on the impact of different marketing strategies on firm performance. This thesis emphases on the views of managers and owners on marketing strategies and their impact on firm performance in furniture manufacturing SMEs. The researcher test a model that reflects the expected relationship between entrepreneurial, guerrilla, relationship, ambush, viral and niche marketing strategies and firm performance. Based on a review of pertinent literature, this thesis develops a model that reflects relationship between entrepreneurial, guerrilla, relationship, ambush, viral and niche marketing strategies and firm performance. Quantitative research approach using survey design was adopted. Data was collected using close-ended questionnaires systematically distributed to a sample of 250 potential managers and owners out of which 145 were received useful for the analysis. Both descriptive and inferential statistical tools such as factor analysis and Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) were used to analyse the data using SPSS 23 and SmartPLS 3 software. The study found that the effect of entrepreneurial marketing strategy on performance is not significant. As a result, the owner / manager of the furniture manufacturing SMEs using the guerrilla marketing strategy were found negative effect on the firm performance. Relationship marketing strategy is considered to be using this strategy, followed by niche marketing strategy is the most important determinant of marketing strategy. However, ambush marketing and viral marketing were found to have no significant impact on firm performance. This research contributes to the theoretical and practical knowledge systems by providing evidence of the relationship between niche marketing strategies and their impact on firm performance

The impact of entrepreneurial Orientation and firm performance: Mediating role of open innovation, Study of furniture manufacturing companies in Malaysia

Entrepreneurship and innovation are topics of great interest for the scientific community, firms and for all major governments worldwide. Malaysian furniture industry play an important role in economic development and income growth. However, increasing business competition has placed Malaysian furniture companies in a vulnerable position especially by cheap furniture producing countries like Vietnam and China. Undoubtedly, their success in responding to the challenges of their business environment depends, in great part, on their strategy for engaging in entrepreneurial behaviours and openness to innovation. The aim of the study was to empirically examine entrepreneurial orientation and open innovation dimensions that can be used by owner/managers/entrepreneurs whenever deciding whether or not to introduce innovation into the Malaysian manufacturing sector. The research used mixed-method research design in a QUAN-qual context to administer survey questionnaires and interviews of furniture manufacturer’s managers and owner’s in Johor state respectively. In the quantitative strand, a purposive sampling strategy was used to administer questionnaires to a total of 150 furniture firms’ owner/managers in Johor state. A total of 82 questionnaires were finally used in the analysis. The low response rate was due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however according to GPower sampling measures these response were adequate. Using a purposive case sampling strategy, a total of 5 furniture firm’s managers/owners were purposefully selected from three different locations in Johor Malaysia to participate in the interview. The quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling Software, SmartPLS 3.2.6. The qualitative data was coded, categorised and then later analysed through Thematic Network Analysis. The research findings strengthens understanding of the EO and IO concept and their relations to firm performance within a context to those reported in prior studies. The R-square value for firm performance reached 0.409, for inbound innovation 0.308, and for outbound innovation were 0.268, accordingly. Even then, the overall R-square value for firm performance is 0.409, implying that the study's independent variables can demonstrate 40.9 percent of the variance in firm performance. Independent entrepreneurial orientation constructs can describe 30.8 percent of inbound innovation variance and 26.8 percent of outbound innovation heterogeneity. The study’s empirical findings provide the basis for recommendations for furniture industry in enhancing their EO and IO for policy-makers to design entrepreneurship and innovation support programs and initiatives for the industry

The Effect of Marketing Strategies Construct on Firm Performance: Results from Pilot Survey

The difficulties that face small and medium organization in any field are severe nowadays. The importance of SMEs is vital. Different researchers have proposed different success factors for small and medium organization, like finance, skilled workforce, technology, innovation and most importantly marketing. Marketing is the spine of any organization, through marketing firms bring innovation, awareness of competitors, awareness of products, building relation with customers. A good marketing strategy increases the sale of product for sure. The small and medium organization face difficulties in doing marketing, because of limited finance, limited or unskilled staff, unawareness of marketing strategies, no or less use of media. This paper presents the pilot survey result for the study of effect of marketing strategies construct (entrepreneurial, guerrilla, relationship, ambush, viral and niche marketing), on firm performance. Descriptive statistics, normality, reliability and preliminary factor analysis (EFA) test were run, all the data were presented in tables below. The result shows that all the questionnaire were normally distributed, and the outcomes are all normal

Low Viral Load Does Not Exclude Significant Liver Damage in Patients with Chronic HBV Infection in Bangladesh

Background: In general, it is assumed that patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection with high viral load exhibit increased liver damages. Accordingly, the treatment guidelines emphasize on reducing viral load in chronic HBV carriers. The ethical and scientific basis of these observations was mainly accumulated from investigations from developed countries of the world. More than 80% chronic HBV carriers live in the developing nations of the world, but little is known about relationship between HBV viral load and extent of liver damages in these countries. In this study, we addressed this issue to provide insights about this. Methods: In this retrospective study we reviewed the records of 210 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients from our pool of 561 Bangladeshi CHB patients. All of these 210 patients had low HBV DNA (<105 copies/ml by PCR). Of them 16 were HBeAg +ve and rest 194 HBeAg -ve. They have also been tested for other serologic markers of HBV (i.e. HBsAg, anti-HBe), HCV (i.e. anti-HCV) and serum alaninetransaminase (ALT) level. All patients also underwent per-cutaneous liver biopsy. Results: 37.5% (6/16) HBeAg +ve patients with low HBV DNA had significant hepatic necro-inflammation (HAI-NI ≥7), whereas this figure was 31.44% (61/194) in case of HBeAg -ve patients. On the other hand significant hepatic fibrosis (HAI-F ≥3) was observed in 31.25% (5/16) and 14.4% (28/194) in HBeAg +ve and -ve patients respectively. Conclusion: This study shows that a correlation could not be established between viral load and liver damage in patients with CHB in Bangladesh. A significant percentage of patients with low HBV DNA may have marked hepatic necro-inflammation and fibrosis, more so in case of HBeAg +ve CHB. Further study may be needed to find out the influence of other factors on liver damages in CHB patients in developing nations like Bangladesh, where about 8 million chronic HBV carriers are living. Most of these patients have not been characterized and treatment modalities have not been defined for them. Our study may suggest the research direction for management of these cases. Key Words: Low HBV DNA; Chronic hepatitis B; Hepatic necro-inflammation; Hepatic fibrosis.DOI: 10.3329/bsmmuj.v1i1.3693 BSMMU J 2008; 1(1): 19-2

Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins Differences in Fingerprint Patterns of Swat District

Background: The identification of individual is important for both legal and humanitarian reasons. It is of great importance because every individual exists as an entity in a society and is dealt with as such by the legal system. The most commonly used method for identification is fingerprinting which relies on the uniqueness of ridges present on thumbs and fingers. These are unique in arrangements and remain constant throughout an individual’s life. Fingerprints of no two individuals are same even if they are twins. The power of discrimination of the basis of fingerprinting is about one in 64 billion. The study was designed to carry out analysis of fingerprints from mono and dizygotic twins and to differentiate them on the basis of fingerprinting.Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study carried out among 30 pairs of twins including 17 pair of monozygotic twins and 13 pair of dizygotic twins. After taking an informed expressed consent, the participants were asked to press their individual fingers on the stamp pad. They were asked to then put and roll the stamped finger onto an A4 size paper on which blocks for each finger were already made. Both left and right hands were fingerprinted and with the help of magnifying glass, different types were identified including Arches, Composite type, Loops and Whorls. SPSS software was used for data analysis.Results: There was 7.6% of Arch type, 6.1% of tented arches, 1.5% of plain arches, 62.32% of loops, 6.66% of double loop, and 3.83% of central pocket loop, 44.83% of ulnar loop, 7% of radial loop, 0.83% of accidental loop, 29.93% of whorls, 9% of plain whorl and 20.1% of central the pocket whorl.Conclusion: When the left and right thumbs are compared with each other using eight (8) points, there are matches on the first six (6) points, matching percentage for each of these pairs of fingers is 75%. But when the both fingers were rotated on 180° and compared, the matching percentage was 87.5%. These 8 points fingerprinting can be used to distinguish twins.Keywords: Fingerprint; Identification; Twin; Monozygotic; Dizygotic

Forensic DNA Phenotyping

The basis for DNA analysis used in forensic research is the concept that everyone, excluding monozygotic twins, shares a genetic makeup. By directly comparing the genetic profile of short tandem repeats obtained from biological samples of unknown origin to a reference sample profile, DNA collected from biological samples can individually identify this material. The requirement for a reference sample for comparison is one of the main drawbacks of this method. Studies looking at the connection between specific polymorphisms and specific phenotypic traits are multiplying, and the results are encouraging for forensic sciences. Externally visible characteristics (EVCs), such as skin color, eye color, hair color, height, facial features, and male baldness pattern, can be inferred from biological samples for forensic purposes. This technique is called “forensic DNA phenotyping” (FDP). Therefore, without the necessity for a reference sample for comparative analysis, FDP offers additional information about the subject to which a specific biological sample belongs. So that this new technology does not encourage segregation or ethnic persecution of certain population groups, several ethical and legal considerations need to be made. Despite this, using these techniques to guide investigations and identify both suspects and victims has helped in a number of actual incidents

General practitioner\u27s knowledge regarding the diagnosis and drug therapy for acute myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE: To assess the general practitioners (GP) knowledge regarding the diagnosis and initial drug therapy for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: A questionnaire-based survey was conducted in randomly selected GPs of Karachi. Doctors working in community as GPs who were registered medical practitioners having a Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery degree were included in the study. Doctors working at tertiary care facilities or having a post graduate degree or post graduate training in a specialty other than family medicine were excluded from the study. RESULTS: A total of 186 GPs participated in our study. GPs who studied research journals were 2.33 times more likely to investigate serum cardiac troponins levels for the diagnosis of AMI compared to those who did not study research journals (P = 0.02). Twenty six percent of the GPs said that they would refer a patient with suspected AMI without treatment, while 76% said that they would consider some treatment prior to referral. Fifty eight percent of the GPs identified ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) of \u3c 12 hours duration as an indication of thrombolysis while 28% identified posterior wall AMI as a thrombolytic indication. CONCLUSION: GPs, although adequately aware of the presenting features of AMI, were lacking in knowledge regarding the means for confirmation of diagnosis, initial drug therapy and were less likely to carry management steps in their practice

A novel gabapentin analogue assuages neuropathic pain response in chronic sciatic nerve constriction model in rats

Gabapentin (GBP) is an established drug that has been used in the management of symptoms of neuropathy but it is associated with unwanted side effects such as sedation and motor incoordination. The goal of the study was to find out a drug with greater efficacy and safety for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Our previously synthesized GABA analogue (Gabapentsal, GPS) was tested (25-100 mg/kg, i.p) in chronic constriction injury (CCI) induced nociceptive model of static allodynia, dynamic allodynia, thermal hyperalgesia, mechanical hyperalgesia and cold allodynia in rats (Sprague Dawley). Open field and rotarod tests were performed to assess the impact of GPS on the motor performance of the animals. GBP (100 mg/kg, i.p) was used as a standard for comparison. GPS dose dependently reduced static (P <0.001) and dynamic allodynia (P <0.001), thermal hyperalgesia (P <0.001), mechanical hyperalgesia (P < 0.001) and cold allodynia (P < 0.001). In comparison to GBP, GPS failed to alter any significantly the motor performance of rats in both the open field and rotarod assays. These results suggest that GPS is effective in alleviating nociception in CCI neuropathic pain model but free from the side effect of motor discoordination seen in the treatment with GBP. In conclusion, GPS may prove to be a prospectively more effective and safer option in the management of neuropathic syndromes

Abdominal cystic echinococcosis in Bangladesh: a hospital-based study

Introduction: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is reported from nearly all geographic areas of Bangladesh, but little information is available on its epidemiologic and clinical features. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical manifestations of hepatic and abdominal CE cases presenting to tertiary referral hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Methodology: A retrospective study was conducted via chart reviews of hepatic and abdominal CE patients under care at tertiary referral hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh, between 2002 and 2011. Age, sex, education level, occupation, urban versus rural residence, drinking water source, history of dog ownership, cyst type and location, and clinical manifestations were recorded for all patients. Results: Of the 130 patients enrolled, 92 (70.8%) were female and 38 (29.2%) were male. The majority of patients were from rural (76.2%) rather than urban (23.8%) areas. All cases were from the northern part of the country, with no cases reported from the south or southeast. Most patients were between 21 and 40 years of age. A total of 119 patients (91.5%) had cysts only in the liver, with the remaining 8.5% having cysts in both the liver and lungs or in the abdominal cavity. Seventy-six (58.5%) of the hepatic cysts were stage CE1, indicating recent infection. Conclusions: Active transmission of Echinococcus granulosus appears to be occurring in Bangladesh, as indicated by the high number of CE1 hepatic cysts seen at tertiary care hospitals. Community ultrasound screening studies are warranted to better define the distribution of cases and risk factors for parasite transmission