A Study Of Entrepreneurs' Characteristics, Management Skills, Marketing Strategies And Business Performance Among Multimedia Related Small Businesses

The aim of this study was to examine the co-relationship between entrepreneurs' characteristics, management skills, marketing strategies and business performance of multimedia related small businesses in Melaka, Malaysia. Based on previous empirical findings and theoretical literature, a new research framework was established to illustrate the proposed correlation between variables, and hypotheses were developed to test the proposed correlation. One hundred and thirty companies were selected to test the proposed correlation. One hundred and thirty companies were selected from the list of companies furnished by the Department of Business Registration. These companies have less than 75 employees with yearly turnover not exceeding 10 million Ringgit Malaysia. Data were obtained by self-administrated questionnaire from owners/managers of the companies. Response rate was 76.92% ( 100 out of 130 ). SPSS programme and Microsoft Excel were used to perform correlation test and t-test, respectively. There were few major findings in the study. Firstly, this study found that marketing strategies were important for entrepreneurs of multimedia business for their net profits (average monthly net profit before tax ) rather than to generate sales ( average monthly turnover ). Ten marketing strategies were significantly correlated to profit versus only two marketing strategies showed significant correlation with sales. This implies that entrepreneurs who aim to improve their profit should emphasise on market niche, product differentiation, service differentiation, advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, pricing, market penetration, market development and product development strategies. As to improve sales, only product differentiation and personal selling were perceived as helpful in this study context. Secondly, this study found that management skills were crucial for sales ( average monthly turnover ) than profit (average monthly net profit before tax). Eight management skills ( organising, leading, motivating, purchasing, training, communication, decision making and time management) that indicated significant correlation with profit. It was an interesting finding that management skills pertaining to people management were crucial for sales whereas management skills with relate to entrepreneuurs' self-competency and cost management were critical to profit. This implied that entrepreneurs should improve their organising, leading, motivating, training and communication skills if they wish to achieve higher sales. Whereas, to increase profit, entrepreneurs should enhance planning, risk management, decision-making and time management skills. Thirdly, for motivation to start up factors, it was found that "want to be own boss" as a pull factor and push factors like "frustration" and "no career advancement in previous job" were significantly correlated to net profit. Fourthly, personal traits were found not important when compared to marketing strategies and management skills. Only 5 out of 18 traits were correlated to net profit and they were ambitious, honesty, reliability, willingness to sacrifice and enthusiasm. Lastly, demographic factors like employment history and business experience were found to be least important to business performance among all other factors. Apart from these findings, "stiff competition" was the most cited issue encountered by entrepreneurs. Other common issues faced were customer service, people management and marketing of products/services. RS

Exploring environmental sustainability practices in MSMEs: Insights from Malaysia

The purpose of this research is to assess the current implementation level of environmental sustainability practices, including green human resource management and green knowledge sharing among Malaysian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The practices investigated are also supported by ways of determining how MSMEs are motivated to implement them and what constraints inhibit such practices. This is a descriptive study, and the MSME (organization) is the unit of analysis, and the owner or manager is the target of the respondent. A total of 300 questionnaires were disseminated to Malaysian MSMEs by using convenient sampling, and the response rate was 48.7%. Overall, the findings reflect the moderate sustainability implementation level of MSMEs. This demonstrates a positive and proactive stance towards environmental sustainability among MSMEs. However, cost reduction and efficiency were reported as the most significant motivators, while lack of support and information from the government as well as social influence were reported as the main constraints. This study provides meaningful insights on pro-environmental practices, green knowledge sharing, and green HRM in improving sustainability practices in MSMEs. MSMEs that voluntarily see sustainability challenges as business opportunities might be ahead of regulations and could draw benefits from this position. The findings also help MSMEs frame their green activities to drive their business capability of creating and retaining greater value in their core business competencies and competitiveness

Knowledge sharing of academic staff: A comparison between private and public universities in Malaysia

Purpose – The aim of this study is to build upon Jain et al.'s (2007) work by investigating the knowledge-sharing barriers and strategies of academic staff in public and private universities in Malaysia which have received relatively little research attention to date. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 502 questionnaires was collected on both public and private universities in Malaysia. Data were analysed using SPSS. Findings – The overall findings show that private universities are more effective and are more willing to share knowledge. Linking knowledge sharing with non-monetary rewards and fair performance appraisals are strongly recommended in private universities, while monetary rewards, recognitions, publication of knowledge on websites and newsletters and the use of appropriate technology tools and systems are strongly recommended in public universities

Inter-organizational knowledge transfer needs among small and medium enterprises

The purpose of this paper is to build upon Chen et al.'s work by investigating inter-organizational knowledge transfer needs and practices among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) which have received relatively little research attention to date. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire survey was conducted on SMEs which have been accorded the Multimedia Super Corridor Malaysia status. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Findings – In total, nine important areas have been the focus of this study, i.e. the importance of external knowledge; the extent to which external knowledge is more important than internal knowledge to organizational success; areas in which insufficient knowledge contributes to costly errors or mistakes in the SMEs; SMEs' involvement in knowledge transfer activities; number of social networks involved; SMEs' perceptions about networks; use of tools and technologies to transfer inter-organizational knowledge; constraints of inter-organizational knowledge transfer; and SMEs' effectiveness in leveraging knowledge. The data collected from 70 owners/managers of SMEs suggest that to some extent external knowledge is believed to be an important need by the enterprises

Executive coaching effectiveness: towards sustainable business excellence

In order to bridge the gap and provide organisations with practical assistance in dealing with the effectiveness of executive coaching for sustainable business excellence, the main purpose of this paper is to explore the complexity of executive coaching by proposing a comprehensive executive coaching framework that examines the important constructs and the entire impact of executive coaching effectiveness in Malaysia. Based on the extensive review of the current literature, coach-centric constructs, coachee characteristics, quality relationship and organisational support with coaching effectiveness are investigated through 320 questionnaires. The objective-driven model, which focuses on the extent to which coaching objectives have been met, was used to measure the effectiveness of executive coaching. The main results of the structural equation modelling analysis demonstrate that organisational support, coachee characteristics and quality relationship significantly influence coaching effectiveness. These findings provide a basis for the advancement of the executive coaching and human resource management (HRM) research literature. The practical implication of this study could be useful for HRM managers, who want to enhance leadership capabilities through executive coaching engagement that support their organisational performance. This Malaysian study will build upon the existing knowledge by investigating the factors contributing to executive coaching effectiveness from the coachee’s viewpoint

The KM processes in Malaysian SMEs: an empirical validation

This research attempts to investigate the degree of implementation of knowledge management (KM) processes in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The literature suggested that there are three general KM processes: construction, embodiment, and deployment. The processes are examined in detail which included the contributions of the KM process to enterprise performance. The data collected from 70 owners/managers of SMEs indicate that all the three processes are moderately implemented. However, the SMEs view KM processes as somewhat important in contributing towards better enterprise performance. The findings can be used as a guideline for SMEs to undergo a self-check and to help them rethink and reposition themselves in light of the findings. It helps SMEs to frame their KM activities to enable the creation, communication, and application of knowledge, which should allow them to drive the capability of creating and retaining a greater value onto their core business competencies. Knowledge Management Research & Practice (2011) 9, 185-196. doi:10.1057/kmrp.2011.