Attitude towards exporting and perceived domestic market environmental forces : Malaysian managers' perspective

Proses globalisasi dan kemunculan kawasan perdagangan bebas mendorong firma-firma MACPM untuk mengeksport. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk meninjau sikap pengurus terhadap eksport dan persepsi pengurus terhadap faktor-faktor persekitaran pasaran dalam negeri di kalangan pengurus-pengurus yang bekerja dengan firma-firma MACPM. Kajian ini juga bertujuan untuk menjelaskan sama ada perbezaan di antara sikap pengurus terhadap eksport dan persepsi pengurus terhadap faktor-faktor persekitaraan pasaran Jalan negeri adalah punca perbezaan profil demografi pengurus dan tempat kerja pengurus. Data dikumpul melalui soal selidik dari 135 firma yang merupakan ahli-ahli Persatuan Pembekal Proton dan Kelab Vendor Perodua. The process of globalization and the emergence of Regional Trade Agreements have crated the needs for MACPM firms to engage in exporting. This study attempts to explore the nature of managerial attitude towards exporting and managerial perception of the domestic market environmental forces among managers working in the MACPM tirms and to explain if the differences in managers' attitude towards exporting and managers' perception of the domestic market environmental forces could be attributed to the differences of managers' demographic profiles and their work settings among managers working in MACPM firms. The data were collected through the questionnaires from 135 firms. which are the members of Proton Vendors' Association and Perodua Vendors' Club

Thermal decomposition of N-(salicylidene)-L-leucine in static air atmosphere

The thermal degradation of N-(salicylidene)-L-leucine was studied under non-isothermal conditions in air atmosphere. For kinetic analysis, the TG/DTA/DTG data obtained at three different heating rates were processed by Friedman, Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa and Kissinger methods. The analysis indicates a complex reaction process which can be best described by the three dimensional (Ginstling-Brounshtein) model D4

Effectiveness of the transformation program to assist B40 Community in social economic development in Malaysia

This conceptual paper explores the effectiveness of the programs introduced by the government to the group of people who are classified under the category of bottom 40 (B40). This group has high poverty level which is caused by many factors such as low income job, unemployment, low education level, lack of skills and health factors. Therefore, one way to have a better livelihood is to increase their income level through offering work opportunities. Statistically there are 2.7 million Malaysian household categorised under (B40) with a average monthly household income of RM2,537. Though government has undertaken various initiatives to eradicate the poverty level and improve the quality of life for the B40 household, the total amount of poverty population is still large in number. Looking at this problem, this study analyzed the effectiveness of the programs provided and recommended factors that can further enhance the socio-economic state of B40 households in Malaysia

The Mediating Role of Halal Awareness in Purchase Intention for Cosmetic Products: An empirical study in Klang Valley

Halal Trade has received much attention recently due to the increased Muslim population around the world. The rise of Muslim population has given much insights to the marketers as they present another concern in term of their consumption pattern. The religious belief required the Muslim to consume only the halal product. Hence, halal awareness becomes a determining factor for comestic product purchase among the Muslims. Current research paper studies the consumer’s purchase intention through the mediating role of Halal awareness by adopting Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The results revealed there are signficant direct relationships between Attitude, Perceived Behavoiral Control (PCB) and Subjctive Norm towards Halal Awareness. Meanwhile, halal awareness is not mediating attitude-purchase intention relationship. The results explain that halal awareness influences the relationship between subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and purchase intention. This paper contributes by complementing existing research of the mediating role of halal awareness in TPB, particularly in cosmetic products.&nbsp

The influence of technology, organizational and environmental factors on cloud computing adoption by Malaysian IT small and medium enterprises

Introduction: Malaysia’s adoption rate of cloud computing (CC) remains low, despite the Government ’s initiatives to create a digital economy and accelerate technology adoption. In this context, this research investigated the adoption of CC by Malaysian IT-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. Based on the literature, the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework was considered appropriate for this study with the incorporation of the variables of the organizational context (OC), environmental context (EC), cloud computing risks (CCR) for the SMEs’ adoption of cloud computing (A). Methodology: A quantitative approach, with a web survey, was used to analyse the factors that influence the adoption of CC by SMEs.The targeted population comprised Malaysian IT-SMEs in the Klang Valley.300 questionnaires were di stributed, and the responserate was 57% translating to 170 usable and complete questionnaires. Partial Least Square – Structured Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data. Findings and discussion: The findings from the statistical analysis revealed that both the organizational and environmental contexts significantly influence the SMEs’ CC adoption.While there was a similar result for CC risks, it however indicated a negative influence towards CC adoption.Conclusion and recommendations: The research findings provide for a great erunderstanding of the important factors for the adoption of CC by the IT SMEs.The findings extend the body of knowledge, particul arly to SMEs owners and managers, on the factors that influence the adoption of CC technology and the recommendations offered can lead to increasing the adoption rate by Malaysian IT SMEs

A Study of the Employability of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Malaysia

The Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Act, 2008 of Malaysia was established to grant disable people the equitable right of access to employment just as a non-disabled person. Although most of the developed and developing countries have established their own comprehensive education blueprint to support the PWDs, their employability is still doubtful. Therefore, the PWDs are uncertain as to their future employment opportunities. As stated in Item 4.4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015 which identified the quality of education. Whereby 2030, there must be a substantial increase in the number of youths and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. Hence the purpose of this study is to explore the thoughts and opinions of employers, teachers, and parents of PWDs in order to gain a deeper understanding with regard to the employability of PWDs.  For that purpose, a qualitative study approach was systematically applied. The findings of the study showed a mixed opinion in regards to the employability of PWDs

Adoption of Retail Internet Banking: A Study of Demographic Factors

This study focuses on the adoption of retail internet banking among consumers in the Klang Valley, Malaysia and the impact of demographics factors on such adoption behavior. This study adopts a quantitative approach using surveys conducted at banks. The results indicate that while the hypotheses pertaining to gender, race, income, educational level and occupation were not supported but age is supported. Therefore, the current research indicates that the age of retail banking consumers affects the adoption of internet banking among Malaysian consumers. The result also suggests that consumers in the age group below 25 years old are the major contributor to the differences. Based on these findings, we conclude that younger consumers are more likely to adopt internet banking. Therefore, the result suggests implications for retail bankers in Malaysia to adopt appropriate strategies to encourage retail internet banking for other age categories of consumers in Klang Valley. By doing so, it enables the banks in Malaysia to save costs of maintaining physical distribution systems through providing bigger scale of Internet retail banking services

The role of corporate entrepreneurship in internationalization of Small and Medium Manufacturing Enterprises (SMEs)

Many researchers and practitioners from the industry would agree on the importance of corporate entrepreneurship as an effective means for rejuvenating companies and improving their financial performance. In the era of intense global competition, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) realize that a greater focus is required in entrepreneurial behaviors in identifying foreign market opportunities, seeking partnerships with foreign firms, and building organizational capabilities in order to enhance their competitive advantage. But, what do we really know about the role of corporate entrepreneurship on internationalization among the SMEs? Most of the studies focus on corporate entrepreneurship among established companies who have strengths in both resources and reputations in the market. Within this context, this article describes a study of corporate entrepreneurship and its role in SMEs internationalization. Data were collected from 300 internationalized SMEs in Malaysia, from manufacturing industry representing consumer and industrial products. Regression analysis was then used to analyze the data. The study also examines the impact of size as a moderating variable between corporate entrepreneurship and internationalization. The results suggest that corporate entrepreneurship has a positive impact on internationalization when size functions as moderating factor in relatively smaller firms. This effect on the internationalization, indicates that corporate entrepreneurship is particularly effective practice among SMEs when the companies are small. This study poses two implications for practicing managers and policy makers. First, the study encourages SMEs to nurture corporate entrepreneurship from the beginning or at inception as it pave path for firm internationalization. Second, the study suggests a need to use a long term horizon to judge entrepreneurial actions and its impacts on the firm internationalization

Effects of Financial Distress Condition on the Company Performance: A Malaysian Perspective

Abstract: This study was aim to assess the performance of Malaysian companies after suffering from a financial distress condition. Many companies post abnormal profits during their first few years, but the profits are not sustainable. So they face another restructuring petition or face winding up completely. To be able to show positive results after emergence, companies must improve their performance compared to previous financial results which led to downturn. The performance of companies emerging from a distress condition was assessed by the improvement of stock prices and other financial ratios that indicated the company is performing better compared to pre-bankruptcy period. This is a qualitative study where data collected from Bursa Saham Malaysia. The results show that company performance (ROE, EBIT/TA, EPS), successful company reorganisation, and management change affect stock prices positively. Whereas, the performance of second distress condition companies affect stock price performance negatively. JEL Classifications: G1; G11; M1; M1