The impact of managerial and firm characteristics on barriers in export businesses

The growth of export in many countries all over the world signifies it as the most important mode of internationalization. However, some exporters face difficulties in managing export due to the barriers they face. It is, therefore, important to identify the factors that might influence export barriers. The study attempts to identify the relationship between demographic factors and export barriers which has not been much researched. Demographic factors are represented by managerial or executives’ characteristics as well as firm characteristics. A cross-sectional survey was conducted where a total of one thousand and four hundred and thirty-nine questionnaires were sent to the exporters. The respondents include executives who were in charge of exporting. Two hundred and twelve responses were found to be usable which formed the basis for the analysis. The response rate was 14.9%. The export barriers include marketing barriers, financial barriers, government barriers, informational barriers, administrative barriers, production barriers, and external barriers. Correlation analysis was used to conduct the analysis and it is found that age of executives, age of firms, size of firms, and export experience of firms have a negative relationship with some of the export barriers. On the other hand, there was no relationship between the employee experience and export barriers. This finding contributes to the limited knowledge on the relationship between demographic characteristics with export barriers. Thus, it provides support for the resource-based view. From a practical perspective, it essential for business to accumulate knowledge, expertise and experience in order to reduce the export barriers

An analysis of competencies and moderating influence of demographic profiles - Evidence from exporting organizations

The increasing numbers of organizations involved in exporting intensifies the competition level. Therefore, to manage the competition effectively, organizations need the necessary competencies. The objective of the study is to determine the relationship between competencies and export performance. The competencies tested are in the area of personal traits, management, production and marketing. The results showed that except for personal traits, all the competencies have an influence on export performance. Demographic characteristics (key decision makers' demographics and organizational demographics) art, also tested to identify whether they have moderating effects on the relationship between competencies and export performance. These include key decision makers' demographics (age, education, overseas exposure and employment experience) and organizational demographics (age, size of organization and export experience). The result showed age and education (key decision maker's demographics) have an effect in the relationship between competencies and export performance. However, all the organizational demographics tested have a moderating effect

Motivational factors affecting entrepreneurial decision: A comparison between Malaysian women entrepreneurs and women non entrepreneurs

This paper examines the motivational factors that could possibly lead women to become entrepreneurs. A comparison of these motivational factors is clone between women entrepreneurs and women non-entrepreneurs. The study is based on 225 women entrepreneurs, engaging in the manufacturing, trading and services sectors in Small and Medium Industries in Malaysia. Non-entrepreneurs consist of women working in various administrative departments. Motivation factors are classified into economic core, work core, social core, individual and entrepreneurial core. Descriptive analysis revealed some very important motivation factors. A discussion on the demographical profile of women entrepreneurs is also provided

Bank sustainability disclosures: A case study of Maybank

In the past, corporate disclosures were mainly on the companies’ financial/economic performance (Deegan, 2009). However, today, an increasing number of companies are also disclosing on their environmental performance and social performance. Corporate sustainability disclosures, that is, disclosures on the economic performance, environmental performance and social performance of companies in their corporate reports enable report users to evaluate the sustainability performance of companies. Prior research studies on sustainability disclosures of companies in Malaysia have mainly examined environmental disclosures with extension to Islamic sustainability disclosures. This research study builds on extant literature by examining sustainability disclosures in the commercial banking sector, by using the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and Financial Services Sector Supplement. The sustainability report of Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) – the only bank that prepared the sustainability report according to GRI’s requirements – was examined. The results show that Maybank made a high level of sustainability disclosure. Besides, their GRI Content Index has several useful features: location of comments; whether an item of disclosure was fully, partially or not reported and the reason for the partial or non-disclosure. It is recommended that banks in Malaysia use a common sustainability reporting framework (such as the one developed by the GRI) so that their sustainability disclosures are consistent and comparable

To be or not to be: An investigation of accounting students’ career intentions

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to study accounting students’ intentions to pursue their careers as accountants and modelling this within the context of Malaysian accounting education. Design/methodology/approach–Data were gathered via a questionnaire survey involving undergraduate accounting students. Factor analysis, independent sample t-tests, and multiple regressions were employed. Findings–In total, four findings were derived from this study. First, within the undergraduate accounting programmes, non-commitment towards the accounting profession can still exist. Second, intrinsic interest is a significant predictor of career intentions. Third, the influence of anticipated conflict provides a new finding in relation to accounting students’ career intentions. The last finding is concerned with the influence of internship experience on students’ career intention

The effect of TQM intention to implement on work performance in Oman’s Ministry of Justice

This study illustrates the intention to implement total quality management (TQM) applications in Oman’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of TQM implementation on the MOJ’s work performance (WP). The study modified the TQM efficiency model by including new variables that had been ignored by previous studies. As a result, 320 questionnaires have been collected, and the study employed partial least squares for primary data analysis to test the research model

Role of Self-Efficacy and Collective Efficacy as Moderators of Occupational Stress Among Software Development Professionals

Emergence of new professions and novel approaches to work contribute to newer causes of occupational stress. The current study focuses on one such emergent group namely, the software development professionals. An attempt has been made to examine the role of self-efficacy, collective efficacy and perception of control in the study of occupational stress. The data was collected from 156 software development professionals in India. Variables such as self-efficacy, collective efficacy and perception of control using multiple moderated regression revealed that these variables moderate the negative consequences of stress with respect to work exhaustion, organizational commitment and intent to turnover but not with respect to job satisfaction. The results indicate that self-efficacy and collective efficacy have to be strengthened in order to mitigate the negative consequences of stress. The knowledge pertaining to causes of stress can empower individuals and organizations to plan effective stress management interventions

Sensitivity of socially responsible investment behaviour to gender

The literature on influence of gender on SRI behaviour has long been dominated by a direct path assessment, limited to individual investors, and occupied by developed financial and capital market findings. This study intends to move beyond these boundaries by examining the moderating effect of gender towards SRI behaviour among female and male fund managers in one of the emerging economics. It involved 229 institutional investors in Malaysia. A total of 1,145 questionnaires were distributed. Out of these, 308,representing a usable rate of 26.9%, were found fit for data analysis. Utilising multi-group analysis via AMOS, this study found evidence for the presence of moderating effect by gender factor in SRI behaviour. At intentional level, gender isa significant moderator in the relationship between attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural controlwith intention among female fund managers. Besides, gender is a significant moderator in the relationship between caring ethical climateand intention among male fund managers. At behavioural level, the results weredifferent, as gender factor is a significant moderator in the relationship between moral intensityand SRI behaviour among female fund managers, while it is also a significant moderator in the relationship between intention and SRI behaviour among male fund managers. The outcomes are expected to benefit multiple stakeholders who have interest in the progress of SRI as a tool to further enhance ESG well-being in our society. Nevertheless, the outcomes are limited with a few factors, and it is a hope that future studies shall address those limitations