Evaluating e-business models for the UK and Malaysian companies.

Despite the benefits offered by e-business, there is a lack of indication that its functionality is being widely harnessed in practice. Research evidence suggests that the fear of lagging behind in adopting the technology (Internet) has rushed many firms to blindly engage in e-business initiatives without deriving much benefit. In addition, firms are facing technical, managerial, and cultural issues while adopting e-business strategies in business, which has resulted in failing to appreciate its potential benefits. In addition, most of the research on e-business depends heavily on qualitative methods such as case studies and anecdotes suggesting a weak connection between theory and measures. This thesis is inspired by the perceived lack of theory and empirical data to guide and characterise the internet-based initiatives and gauge the scale of their impact on firm performance. It seeks to better understand and utilise the factors that contribute to the success of e-business implementation. Building upon e-business literature, an E-Business Capability (EBC) framework is developed. A questionnaire is designed and data from 143 UK and 208 Malaysian firms is collected to empirically test the model using structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. More specifically, a set of twenty empirical models are tested to ascertain the validity and impact of e-business capability factors (EBC) on business performance. Results from the analyses have revealed that the proposed factors (business strategy, supply chain strategy and e-business adoption) embedded with "technological", "organisational" and "people" (TOP) dimensions, play a significant role in influencing e-business to be implemented successfully in multiple industry sectors. In addition, this study also seeks to add an international dimension to this debate by investigating the influence of EBC factors in the context of developed (UK) and developing (Malaysian) countries.The results of this study show that the proposed conceptual model is able to provide an efficient framework to assess the firm's readiness for Internet adoption in the hope of reaping the e-business benefits. This theoretical framework has included a number of e-business requirements that need to be taken into consideration within the firm. These specific indicators are able to measure the readiness of a firm for emerging e-business. In addition, these indicators also allow managers to identify which of the factors lack strategic implementation when considering e-business adoption. Therefore, managers are able to evaluate the readiness for current and future e-business development within their firms and how they must enhance "technology" "organisation" and "technology" dimensions within each of the EBC factors to improve e-business performance. This study is able to guide researchers in how an empirical study may be conducted based on the theoretical foundations in the e-business implementation domain. For practitioners, this study offers a useful framework to assess the "technological" conditions incorporated into each of the EBC factors to leverage e-business initiatives and pursue better e-business performance

Sustainable education: an assessment of carbon footprint at UCSI University and proposed green campus initiative framework / Keoy Kay Hooi and Padzil Hassan

As the interest of green business sustainability is generating a lot of interests in the higher education institution, this paper evaluates the implementation of Green Campus Initiative (GCI) at the Unwavering Commitment to Serve Intentionally (UCSI) University Malaysia by evaluating their carbon footprint emission. The carbon footprint calculation and proposed framework presented in this paper aims to encourage other higher Education Institutions in Malaysia to implement the GCI. In order to reduce the environmental impact at UCSI University, the measurement of the CO2 emission was a very important starting point. The paper starts with the literature review about the sustainability and implementation of GCI in other countries outside Malaysia to give an overview regarding the concept. The next section is the calculation of carbon footprint emission of UCSI University with the primary data collected from Logistics and Marketing Department during the year 2008. These primary data were processed with the formulas had been developed earlier and resulted the total carbon footprint produced by UCSI University in one year. Later on, the results of these calculations become the basic concept of developing the proposed framework to be used by higher education institution in Malaysia. Supported by the secondary data (i.e. literature review), a proposed framework of GCI implementation was developed to be tested and empirically validated in future studies. It is hope that result obtained from this paper will provide guidelines for policy maker and management of the universities to acknowledge the importance of GCI to create a sustainable and profitable business application

An Exploratory Study on Logistician Competency: The Case of Malaysian Logistics Firms

The study of logistician competency has received great attention from some literature in Europe and America. Although various findings of logistician competency have been reported, limited study has focused on reporting views from Malaysian logisticians. This paper provides a general understanding of the items that attribute to Malaysian logistician competency. Introduction to Malaysian logistician competency is provided in the first section followed by the literature review emphasizing the need of logisticians to acquire competency. T-test, ANOVA and exploratory factor analysis were employed to explore the similarities and differences between selected demographical factors and logistician competency. This paper concludes that items of competency for Malaysian logisticians are grouped under “management knowledge and skills” and “logistics-and-business knowledge and skills”. The findings are considered to have made a significant contributing to the literature, by using the Malaysian logisticians which enhances our understanding on the need to understand logistician competency for logistics curricula development and developing competent logistics workforce.Key words: Logistician competency; Management knowledge and skills; Logistics-and-business knowledge and skill

Vexing issues of knowledge sharing: The case study of the wiki initiative in a Malaysian public organization

While many organizations have benefited from the existence of Internet-based web applications such as wikis and blogs as tools for knowledge sharing , many others have failed. In the end, wikis and blogs are reduced to just as the facilities to provide one-way information about the organization. Gone is the exuberance when the wiki or blog was first launched.Failures of wikis in promoting knowledge sharing are mostly not because their poor design.Many fail because of poor understanding of the ecosystem within which effective wikis operate.To emphasize, this paper presents a case study of a wiki initiative mooted by a public organization to manage and share knowledge.Notwithstanding the many initiatives introduced to encourage active knowledge sharing participation, maintaining a sustainable knowledge sharing culture within the organization can be very complex.The case study provides useful examples of this and lessons that can be learnt.The findings suggest that that the variables surrounding the organization can be unique.It is necessary to endeavor and continuously learn to determine the critical success factors and the ecosystem before successful and sustainable wiki portals for knowledge sharing can effectively be promoted

Bullying, Eating Disorders and Coping Strategies among Adolescents in Malaysia

Understanding how bullying leads to eating disorders can help develop effective intervention strategies. This phenomenological study examines the relationship between bullying and coping strategies Malaysian adolescents diagnosed with eating disorders use. Using the snowball sampling technique, 12 Kuala Lumpur participants, six females and six males aged 10 to 19, responded to interview questions based on the literature reviews, theories, and a published questionnaire. By using thematic analysis, the researcher found out that all 12 participants with EDs were bullied about their weight or size. Most of the bullying and teasing were verbal or via online platforms. The findings suggest that bullying can be a significant cause of the development of eating disorders among adolescents in Malaysia. Proper coping strategies can be essential in overcoming the trauma of being bullied and treating eating disorders

Evaluating e-business models for the UK and Malaysian companies

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Evaluating the e-business capability model: empirical evidence from the UK technology-based companies

This study as a whole has investigated factors that have impacted on the adoption and use of e-business. As a result of recognising the gaps that exist in the current empirical studies, this study was able to identify relevant dimensions and group these into three broad categories consisting of 'technological', 'organisational' and 'people', embedded in three proposed E-Business Capability (EBC) factors (business strategy, supply chain strategy and e-business adoption). The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether any relationships exist among EBC factors and whether they impact on business performance. This is accomplished by developing a psychometrically sound EBC framework instrument that is designed specifically to investigate these issues. This study can, however, conclude that there are two promising implications for future research: they are, firstly, that the EBC model developed can be used as a solid foundation for further investigation. Moreover, equally importantly, the empirical method used can be strongly recommended for future investigation. Future research programmes can make use of both of these to further investigate developing/developed country context to produce empirically underpinned generalised models.e-business adoption, business performance, business strategy, supply chain management, SCM, UK, United Kingdom, electronic business, technology-based firms, e-business capability,

Evaluating the e-business capability model: empirical evidence from the UK technology-based companies

This study as a whole has investigated factors that have impacted on the adoption and use of e-business. As a result of recognising the gaps that exist in the current empirical studies, this study was able to identify relevant dimensions and group these into three broad categories consisting of 'technological', 'organisational' and 'people', embedded in three proposed E-Business Capability (EBC) factors (business strategy, supply chain strategy and e-business adoption). The main purpose of this study is to investigate whether any relationships exist among EBC factors and whether they impact on business performance. This is accomplished by developing a psychometrically sound EBC framework instrument that is designed specifically to investigate these issues. This study can, however, conclude that there are two promising implications for future research: they are, firstly, that the EBC model developed can be used as a solid foundation for further investigation. Moreover, equally importantly, the empirical method used can be strongly recommended for future investigation. Future research programmes can make use of both of these to further investigate developing/developed country context to produce empirically underpinned generalised models.e-business adoption; business performance; business strategy; supply chain management; SCM; UK; United Kingdom; electronic business; technology-based firms; e-business capability.