Understanding factors underlying actual consumption of organic food: The moderating effect of future orientation

The majority of past studies focused on investigating the motivational factors to purchase organic food as a proxy to foster organic food consumption. However, the preceding studies’ foci do not embrace the consumption itself where purchasing may come secondary to consumption decisions. Consumption reflects high involvement with the product; and the barriers and motivations are as real as the product itself, which makes it an ideal moment to examine the motivation. The research model was analyzed using the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling technique. Results show that product-specific attitude (PSA), willingness to pay (WTP) and perceived availability (PA) had a significant positive influence on individuals’ organic food consumption (OFC), while environmental attitude (EA) and subjective norms (SN) were not significantly related. The moderating role of future orientation (FO) between PSA, EA, WTP and OFC were examined and found to be significant except for EA. The result suggests that PSA and WTP are stronger and higher respectively when future orientation is high. The research provides a significant insight and better understanding of organic food actual consumption behavior and adds a new momentum to the growing literature. Discussions and implications of these findings are further discussed

Determinants of Organic Food Consumption in Narrowing the Green Gap

Understanding and recognizing environmentally friendly behaviour are vital in achieving the Sustainability Development Goals and driving the economy for countries and producers of environmentally-friendly goods. Nevertheless, various stakeholders have expressed concern about the existing green gap, which greatly hinders their marketing efforts. This situation persists as mainstream research investigates people’s purchasing intentions, under the notion that the intention to perform a specific behaviour would generally predict the actual behaviour. The key argument of this study is that examining the actual consumption behaviour of organic foods is the ideal approach towards investigating purchase intention drivers as a proxy for consumption. In response to the green gap, the theory of planned behaviour is expanded by including the dimension of temporal orientation, i.e., a future orientation that has an influential but unrecognised effect on many human behaviours. In contrast to the prevalent operationalization of attitude, the term is defined as a product-specific attitude which is markedly dissimilar to the environmental attitude in its orientations. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling technique was used to analyse the research model. The findings indicate that while product-specific attitudes and perceived availability positively affect organic food consumption, subjective norms do not. Additionally, the data implies that product specific attitudes are stronger when future orientation is high

Online student engagement in fundamentals of Entrepreneurial acculturation during Covid-19 Outbreak

The purpose of this study is to investigate student characteristic and the level of online student engagement in entrepreneurship course. The study received 467 valid survey questionnaires from undergraduate’s student that enrolled in entrepreneurship course. The respondent is student from science cluster background. The study uses a quantitative approach, and purposive sampling was used to choose the respondents. The online survey questionnaire was self-administered using online google form and the results are analyzed using SPSS version 24. The foundation underpinned theory for this study is self-determinant theory. The results show that emotional engagement score the highest mean compare to skill engagement and participation engagement. The aims are to explore the factors influencing the online student engagement such skills engagement, emotion engagement and engagement during Covid-19 pandemic period. During the outbreak has forced all universities to adopt e-learning. The online learning is a new trend that had been practice in education 4.0. However, student engagement remains as an issue in online learning because the setting in online learning is different from traditional classroom learning. In addition, online student engagement is still considered a relatively new concept and studies are scarcely available. The findings also indicated that student prefer to choose hybrid approach in the future. These studies are important because they aim to improve online student learning by enhancing students' overall satisfaction with the experience. Second, to design and develop an interactive course where students are actively participating and involved in their class. Third, by assessing online student engagement as a potential student pathway on academic progress based on skills engagement, emotional engagement, and participation engagement, this study adds to the body of knowledge in the existing literature. A conceptual framework between online student learning and student performance should be developed for future research

Utilising a real-time continuous glucose monitor as part of a low glycaemic index and load diet and determining its effect on improving dietary intake, body composition and metabolic parameters of overweight and obese young adults: A randomised controlled trial

A randomised controlled trial to measure the effects of integrating real-time continuous glucose monitor (rtCGM) into a low glycaemic index (GI) and glycaemic load (GL) dietary intervention on dietary intake, body composition and specific metabolic parameters was carried out. A total of 40 overweight young adults [(means ± SD) age: 26.4 ± 5.3 years, BMI: 29.4 ± 4.7 kg/m2] were randomised into an intervention and control groups for a period of eight weeks. Both groups received nutrition education on low GI and GL foods. The intervention group also received an rtCGM system to monitor their glucose levels 24 h a day. While controlling for physical activities and GI and GL nutrition knowledge, the results indicated that the rtCGM system further improved body weight, BMI, fat mass, fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol and LDL cholesterol in the intervention group (p < 0.05). This trial unveils the robustness of the rtCGM where non-diabetic overweight and obese young adults can benefit from this device and utilise it as a management tool for overweight and obesity and a primary prevention tool for type 2 diabetes, as it provides real-time and personalised information on physiological changes

Exploring determinants shaping recycling behavior using an extended theory of planned behavior model: An empirical study of households in Sabah, Malaysia

Household waste and the exploitation of the environment are among the alarming and unsustainable consumption patterns that are harmful to the ecosystem. Hence, this study aims to determine the factors influencing recycling behavior by extending the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to an analysis of how recycling practices are fostered among citizens and how sustainable development goals (SDG) are upheld. The extended TPB model includes moral norms, convenience, and the cost of recycling. A total of 170 responses were received via the purposive sampling technique. The research model was analyzed using the partial least square structural equation modeling technique (PLS-SEM). Results show that subjective norms, moral norms, convenience, and the cost to recycle positively influenced recycling behavior. Environmental awareness was found to heavily influence attitudes, but attitudes were not found to translate into behavior. This research provides significant insight and a better understanding of recycling behavior and adds new momentum to the growing literature. The implications of these findings are further discussed

Use of a Continuous Glucose Monitor to Determine the Glycaemic Index of Rice-Based Mixed Meals, Their Effect on a 24 h Glucose Profile and Its Influence on Overweight and Obese Young Adults’ Meal Preferences

Postprandial hyperglycaemia is associated with an increased risk of type-2 diabetes. This study aims to determine the glycaemic index (GI) of three varieties of rice-based mixed meals and their effects on glycaemic variability (GV), 24 h mean glucose levels and target ranges, and rice variety preferences among overweight and obese young adults using real-time continuous glucose monitoring (rtCGM). In a randomised controlled crossover design, 14 participants (22.8 ± 4.6 years, 32.9 ± 5.8 kg/m2) were randomly assigned to receive 3 rice-based mixed meals containing 50 g of available carbohydrates (white rice meal = WRM; brown rice meal = BRM; and parboiled basmati rice meal = PBRM) and 50 g of a glucose reference drink on alternate days. GI, GV, 24 h mean glucose levels and target ranges were measured. Rice variety preferences were compared with those of baseline data and determined at the end of the study period. Results: The analysis found that PBRM was low in GI (45.35 ± 2.06), BRM medium in GI (56.44 ± 2.34), and WRM high in GI (83.03 ± 2.19). PBRM had a significantly (p 0.05) lower GV compared to WRM. Prior to observing their postprandial glucose levels generated by rtCGM, the participants preferred WRM (64.3%) over other meals, whereas this preference changed significantly (p < 0.05) at the endpoint (PBRM, 71.4%). PBRM reduced 24 h glucose level and GV of overweight and obese young adults. The rtCGM is proven to be reliable in measuring GI, while providing robust continuous glycaemic information. This may serve as an educational tool that motivates eating behaviour changes among overweight and obese young adults

Challenges and Usage of Social Media Marketing by Homestay Entrepreneurs in Sabah: A Conceptual Framework

This conceptual paper explores the challenges faced by homestay entrepreneurs in Sabah, Malaysia, and their utilization of social media marketing as a strategy to overcome these challenges. The study focuses on the dynamic landscape of the homestay program in Sabah and its impact on entrepreneurial success. It also examines into the critical role of social media marketing in enhancing the visibility and profitability of homestay businesses. This study reveals a fluctuating income trend within the Sabah Homestay program. The challenges faced by homestay entrepreneurs are complex, encompassing issues like lack of marketing and promotion, lack of training, lack of commitment of the community, lack of funding, lack of tourist and withdraw from homestay program. The study focus on solving SDG goals 1, end poverty. This study employs a quantitative approach to investigate the relationship between the use of social media marketing and the success of homestay entrepreneurs in Sabah, Malaysia. It uses purposive sampling to select 391 participants from the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture's homestay directory in 2023. Data will be collected through a survey questionnaire based on previous research, utilizing a 5-point Likert scale. The theoretical framework for the study is based on the Resource-Based View (RBV) theory. The paper also emphasizes the importance of government support, educational institutions, and industry associations in providing training, financial assistance, and community involvement to bolster the homestay sector. Additionally, recommendations are made for enhancing English language proficiency among homestay entrepreneurs to effectively engage international tourists through social media. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the challenges and opportunities within the Sabah Homestay program, offering valuable insights for both scholars and practitioners. By addressing these challenges and harnessing the power of social media marketing, homestay entrepreneurs can contribute to the growth of the local economy while providing unique cultural experiences to tourists

Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Management: A Bibliometric Analysis

An organisation should be concerned with more than just profit; it should also be concerned with the social interests and welfare of the surrounding community. In order to ensure that the welfare of society is always safeguarded, the government places a greater emphasis on corporate social responsibility within the business sector. Good corporate social responsibility is only possible in conjunction with strategic management. This study investigated the consistency of previous researchers’ literature reviews on corporate social responsibility and strategic management. A total of 132 Scopus articles were selected for this study, and the article information was analysed utilising the systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis methods

The effect of business support from business incubator towards the performance of entrepreneurs in the early start-up companies in Malaysia with the moderating effect of risk-taking propensity

The purpose of this study is to examine how the business support offered by business incubators affects the performance of early start-up entrepreneurs Malaysia with risk-taking propensity as the moderating role. Respondents for this study are among graduated entrepreneurs from business incubators that are located at Sarawak, Sabah, Penang, Johor, Kuala Lumpur, and Selangor. The analysis for this study was done based on 100 questionnaires using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique using Partial Least Squares (PLS). The findings indicated that business support does have positive significant impact on entrepreneur’s performance in the early start-up companies. In contrast, risk-taking propensity as a moderating role does not have significant impact towards entrepreneur’s performance in the early start-up companies in Malaysia. The findings of this study may aid to the policymaker and government as a standard while business incubator is able to understand more about entrepreneurs within the business incubator. Furthermore, other scholars can benefit from this study to serve as a guideline for their future research in similar field of study