Destination Image as A Healing Destination Among Medical Tourists: An Exploratory Case Study of Penang, Malaysia

Medical tourism has become adjectival tourism in both developed and developing nations. In recent years, it has gained impetus in Malaysia, which is an ideal hub for medical tourism in Asia due to various competitive factors. Although several key elements have contributed to the growth of medical tourism in the country, few studies have explored the role of destination image in the context of medical tourism. Therefore, this research aims to provide insight into the attributes of destination image in the context of medical tourism in Penang, Malaysia. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 patients randomly chosen at selected private hospitals in Penang, and the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council’s (MHTC) concierge and lounge at Penang International Airport. The findings revealed that the dominant attributes of the ldestination image perceived by medical tourists in Penang are: (a) Hospital Internal Amenities; (b) Influenced and Informed Decisions; and (c) Aesthetics. The paper further discusses Penang's apparent image as a healing destination among  medical  tourists  who  travel   to  Malaysia.   This  study  thus  carries implications for healthcare practitioners to enhance and position their healthcare services based on destination image as their source of competitive advantage.

Factors influencing clothing interest and purchase intention: a study of Generation Y consumers in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing clothing interest among Generation Y consumers in Malaysia. Brand image, word of mouth, self-concept, perceived quality, and need for uniqueness were hypothesized to be related with clothing interest, which in turn, was deemed to be related with purchase intention. The interaction effect of price consciousness on the relationship between clothing interest and purchase intention was also examined in this study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from a total of 300 respondents from Malaysia to test the hypothesized relationships. Results showed that need for uniqueness, self-concept, brand image, word of mouth, and perceived quality are significant predictors of clothing interest among the Generation Y consumers in Malaysia and price consciousness moderated the relationship between their clothing interests and purchase intention. The practical implications of the research findings were discussed

Unlocking the secrets of Miri country music festival in Malaysia: a moderated-mediation model examining the power of FOMO, flow and festival satisfaction in driving revisiting intentions

This study explores how the fear of missing out (FOMO) affects the flow experience, festival satisfaction, and revisitation intention of attendees at a country music festival. Based on the cognitive appraisal theory, the study surveyed 317 participants and found that several factors contribute to the flow experience, which in turn impacts festival satisfaction and revisitation intention. The results reveal that participants with higher FOMO levels have a higher intention to revisit, with festival satisfaction mediating the relationship. This research repositions FOMO as the fear of missing out on the same event that individuals are attending. By highlighting this alternative understanding, the study suggests that FOMO can be leveraged as a resource for event organizers, potentially providing opportunities for engagement and enhancing attendee experiences. The proposed conceptual model and the insights gained from this research offer valuable contributions to the field and provide a foundation for further investigation and theoretical development

Antecedents of organizational citizenship behavior and the mediating effect of organization commitment in the hotel industry

The rapid growth of the hotel industry in the current era of globalization requires hotel operators to acknowledge the importance of service provision and its management in order to compete effectively and to gain competitive advantage at the same time. Building a strong workforce is essential to realize this vision. Therefore, it is vital for the hotel operators to establish a good relationship between their management and the employees to achieve its goals and objectives. As such, this paper aims to examine the importance of emotional intelligence in shaping benevolent leaders and organizational commitment as the mediator of the relationship between benevolent leadership and organizational citizenship behavior. This study is one of the pioneer studies of benevolent leadership conducted in a multicultural context. Moreover, this study also highlighted the effectiveness of benevolent leadership in encouraging voluntary extrarole effort and improving the turnover issues in the hotel industry of Malaysia. The data was collected using multistage sampling from 300 hotel employees from fourand five-star hotels in Klang Valley of Malaysia. Both Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and AMOS (Analysis of Moment Structures) statistical software were used for the hypotheses testing. The results from the analysis showed that the emotional intelligence of supervisors is significantly related to benevolent leadership. Organizational commitment was found to have a mediation effect on the relationship between benevolent leadership and organizational citizenship behavior

Determinants of knowledge management systems success in the banking industry

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impact from technical and social aspects on knowledge management system (KMS) success. Moreover, this study also attempts to examine the interrelationships between KMS success and user satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was used to collect data from the commercial bank officers to test the proposed KMS success model. All the measurement scales adopted in this study were adopted from the existing literature. The data collected in this study were analysed using both SPSS and structural equation modelling approach via AMOS. Findings – The research results indicate that both technical (knowledge quality, system quality and service quality) and social factors (user trust and management support) play a significant and positive role in system user satisfaction. The results also show that user satisfaction have a direct influence on the success of KMS and vice versa. Originality/value – This study is one of the few studies on KMS which include both the technical and social perspectives in examining KMS success. This research study raises the importance of social factors, which have been earlier neglected by many studies on KMS success models. Moreover, the interrelationships relationship between KMS success and user satisfaction also been examined in this study

The role of cultural differences in customer retention: Evidence from the high-contact service industry

Current tourism landscape and dynamism of the business environment have increased market competitiveness in the high-contact service industry. Hotel operators must now pay greater heed to customer retention by exploring ways to improve customer engagement and experience. Toward this end, this study aimed to examine the interplays between relationship marketing, perceived service quality, corporate image, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty, as well as the moderating effect of cultural difference between Asian and Western tourists. Using a questionnaire, data were collected from 400 international tourists and analyzed with the structural equation modeling technique. While the direct relationships pertaining the variables of interest were found to be significant, Asian tourists appeared to hold stricter standards in employee–customer interactions and satisfaction-based loyalty than Western tourists. Discussion and implications are provided to promote the development of fruitful hotel–customer relationships in this industry with a heightened customer orientation

Building sustainable relationships: Service innovation at the pinnacle of touristic achievement

Asia Pacific is renowned as a travelling hot spot amongst both domestic and international tourists. With Malaysia as the focal point, and based on the foundation of Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR), this study aims to explore different routes undertaken by tourists towards both satisfaction and loyalty concerning the Malaysian tourism industry, following the impacts of service innovation and destination image. A self-administrated survey was conducted across 322 tourists. The significance of the hypothesized relationships was further tested by employing the AMOS’s structural modelling approach. Obtained results demonstrate that service innovation as a direct antecedent to destination loyalty, destination image and tourist satisfaction. Destination image also has a direct influence on destination loyalty. The mediating roles of destination image and tourist satisfaction between service innovation and destination loyalty were also established. The findings determined service delivery and innovation as more effective marketing tools to tourism practitioners for building brand reputation and tourists’ loyalty. Service innovation remains absolutely crucial in the competitive tourism marketplace to build and sustain tourist satisfaction and destination loyalty

I see, and i hunt the link between gastronomy online reviews, involvement and behavioural intention towards ethnic food

Purpose – Despite the growth of social networking websites as hybrid promotional tools, the empirical research that is currently available in explaining the consequences of gastronomy online reviews on ethnic food behavioural intention is limited. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a novel approach to explore Gen-Y tourists’ behavioural intention by proposing “involvement” as a mediator in improvising Wang et al.’s model. In other words, the more tourists enjoy reading gastronomy online reviews and gain benefits like inspiring taste desire, forming taste awareness and facilitating interpersonal interaction, the more they will become actively involved in searching gastronomy online reviews for ethnic food, subsequently manifesting in higher behavioural intention. Design/methodology/approach – To test the research model, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to Gen-Y tourists in Malaysia using the purposive sampling technique. Partial least squares–structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data collected from a sample of 748 responses. Findings – This study provides empirical findings based on the direct relationship between gastronomy online review dimensions and the behavioural intention towards ethnic food. In addition, the indirect influence of the constructs for behavioural intention through involvement and the moderating effect of variety seeking were found. Indeed, when involvement increases as a result of reading online reviews, behavioural intention is enhanced. In fact, if the individual is a variety seeker, the behavioural intention could likewise be enhanced. Practical implications – This paper provides suggestions and valuable insight for tourism authorities and ethnic food eateries in using gastronomy online reviews for promoting ethnic food and gastronomy tourism. For example, food eateries can motivate reviewers to include attractive and useful content by facilitating how the gastronomy reviewer retrieves information (e.g. ingredients, price, and food health value and food tradition) concerning the eatery. Additionally, rewards and incentives such as offering vouchers to reviewers in order to gain attractive and interesting reviews could be considered. Finally, the variety-seeking goal of tourists can be attained by relocating ethnic food restaurants or stalls at centralised or designated areas, where a variety of ethnic foods are conveniently accessible to tourists. Originality/value – This paper systematically discusses how gastronomy online reviews influence the behavioural intention of tourists to taste ethnic food in the context of Malaysia. The inclusion of the mediator (involvement) and moderator (variety seeking) added a significant increment to the total variance explained in behavioural intention

Compulsive buying of branded apparel, its antecedents, and the mediating role of brand attachment

Purpose: Compulsive buying continues to be a maladaptive behavior that draws the attention of both scholars and marketers. The present study aims to investigate the determinants of compulsive buying, which are conceptualized as impulsive and obsessive–compulsive buying, and the mediation effect of brand attachment. Design/methodology/approach: Using purposive sampling, a self-administered questionnaire was completed by 600 young consumers in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. Findings: The results show that materialism, utilitarian value, and brand attachment are positively related to impulsive buying, while materialism, hedonic value, and brand attachment have a positive effect on obsessive–compulsive buying. In addition, brand attachment is found to mediate the effect of materialism and utilitarian value on both compulsive buying. Research limitations/implications: The study provides new insights into brand management literature by examining the predictors of impulsive and obsessive–compulsive buying. Moreover, brand attachment is found to be a significant mechanism that induces negative buying behavior. However, due to the growth of online shopping, future research should consider different types of retailers to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter in the modern business landscape. Originality/value: Being one of the few studies to address both impulsive and obsessive–compulsive buying behaviors among consumers, this study highlights the essential role of brand attachment as a mediator in the contemporary setting. Moreover, the interrelationships between self-congruence, materialism, hedonic value, utilitarian value, brand attachment, and compulsive buying behavior are examined in a holistic manner

Gender differences in perceptions and attitudes toward online shopping: A study of Malaysian consumers

Despite the high potential of online shopping in Malaysian market, there is still a lack of understanding with regards to gender differences on online shopping behaviour. This research was conducted to determine the differences between male and female Internet users on their perceptions and attitudes toward online shopping. Data were collected from 500 respondents via social network website, Facebook. The results of the study revealed that men are more in favour of online shopping, have positive attitude towards web advertising, and perceive online shopping as more useful compared to women. On the other hand, women users perceive online shopping to be joyful than men. This research results have profound implications on online retailers and marketers