The Importance Of Corporate Social Responsibility On Consumer Behaviour In Malaysia

Malaysian consumers should be more aware that, in pursuing their business objectives, corporations now bear more responsibility towards society and the environment. The awareness level has increased through better education and the increased influence of the media. Corporations also now believe that, to a certain extent, the degree of their involvement in corporate social responsibility (CSR) does have certain effect on consumers' buying behaviour. This paper aims to examine the influence of CSR on the buying behaviour of Malaysian consumers and whether they consider a corporation's CSR initiatives before making any purchase decisions of the products and services. The definition of CSR was adopted from Carroll's definition, which included economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibilities. A total of 220 structured questions were distributed, with 193 returned for analysis. The results showed significant positive relationships between all of the variables used in measuring CSR and consumers' buying behaviour. Malaysian consumers' priority, however, seemed to be different from Carroll's pyramid, where, although economic responsibility remained the utmost priority, philanthropy stood second, followed by ethical and legal responsibility

Bridging the Digital Divide through IT-enabled Service Innovations: A Service-Dominant Logic Perspective

The issue of digital divide has an enormous impact on the development of a country as it encompasses social, economic and political issues. The Malaysian government has initiated various digital strategies to bridge the digital divide among the citizens from different economic, social, and geographical background. However, existing literature has limited knowledge of digital divide in Malaysia. This research aims to investigate the level of digital divide in Malaysia, evaluate the impact the government’s digital initiatives have in bridging the digital divide, and examine the role of IT-enabled service innovations in helping to bridge the digital divide. Based on the underlying concepts of service-dominant logic, a theoretical framework will be developed to examine the role of IT-enabled service innovations in bridging the digital divide. Specifically, the tripartite framework of service innovation comprising the components of service ecosystem, service platform, and value co-creation will be discussed. This study will employ a two-stage research design. Firstly, a questionnaire survey will be used to collect the data on various levels of digital access from 1,400 users of 1Malaysia Internet Centres throughout the country. Secondly, this study will employ a case study design to examine the role of service innovations in bridging the digital divide among the citizens at two locations which had been affected by massive flood – Kemaman, Terengganu and Kota Belud, Sabah. Data from the archives and face-to-face semi-structured interviews of stakeholders, who are involved in developing and using the disaster management systems, will be analysed. The outcome of this research is expected to have important implications for theory by extending the body of knowledge on the role of service innovations in bridging the digital divide. The implication for practice is that it should offer ideas for improving national digital policies and strategies to bridge the digital divide in Malaysia

Exploring the actual implementation of e-wallet application in Malaysia

E-wallet, also referred to as digital wallet, is a software application designed to replace physical wallets, with the primary purpose of facilitating online transactions when users wish to make virtual payments. Nowadays, E-wallets are not limited to mobile applications, but they have also been extended to wearable devices, such as smartwatches, enabling users to make payments via their watches. This research study focuses on three main E-wallet service providers in Malaysia, namely TouchNGo E-wallet, Boost, and Grab pay, as they are the top three E-wallets in the country. The aim of this paper is to explore the real-world implementation of E-wallets among mobile phone users in Malaysia, employing the Technology Adoption Model as the theoretical framework. Six independent variables were identified to study the implementation of E-wallets, and a total of 500 respondents shared their opinions on retaining the usage of E-wallet in Malaysia. The data collected were analysed using SPSS for Pearson Correlation Analysis and Multiple Linear Regression. Out of the six variables, five independent variables were accepted, and one independent variable was rejected due to the greater significant level. The highest correlation coefficient falls under Business Resources with 0.704. The study delves into the implications and constraints, providing insights for the future advancement of E-wallets within the Malaysian context.