A Review of the Critical Gaps in the Food Security Literature: Addressing Key Issues for Sustainable Development

This review paper covers important gaps in the knowledge base on food security, which have an impact on world development and cause an estimated 820 million people to suffer from chronic hunger and malnutrition. Food waste, climate change, socioeconomic considerations, agricultural policy, access to wholesome foods, food sovereignty, and food security are some of the major topics covered in the literature. Because of this, ensuring food security is not a straightforward issue that can be resolved by changing a single variable; rather, it necessitates the combination of numerous multidisciplinary approaches. Therefore, the goal of this study is to pinpoint the major gaps in the literature, such as a lack of attention to the perspectives of marginalized groups and a lack of investigation into the connections between food security and other global issues. The article offers suggestions for future work, including how to prioritize understudied subjects, incorporate other points of view, and enhance data collection techniques. As a result, it can be a useful starting point for linguists who want to research related topics. This study offers new researchers and practitioners a place to start to learn more about the rapidly, growing field of sustainable food security. Future research can also address these gaps and enhance food security globally for a sustainable future. This will require the participation of new scholars, policymakers, and practitioners

Economic, social and environmental impact of sustainable manufacturing: a Conceptual Study

Sustainable manufacturing practices have rapidly evolved in the recent years. The efforts of manufacturing industries to achieve sustainable production have lead to the concern for economic, environment, and social impact in Malaysia. However, there is limited research conducted to uncover the specific sustainable manufacturing practices and impact among machining industry in Malaysia. Therefore, this paper intends to investigate the impact of sustainable manufacturing practices in the Malaysian machining industry. Based on a rigorous review of literature, this paper proposes a theoretical model to test the drivers affecting sustainable manufacturing practices and its impact on economic, environment and social well being. It also provides theoretical and practical implications into management perspectives and the impact of sustainable manufacturing practice towards triple bottom line in Malaysia

Customer relationship management (CRM): The impact on SMEs performance

The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategy has become very popular among organizations and companies; hence it’s very common in large companies implement CRM to compete and promote their businesses. However, CRM strategies are not very common in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). SMEs have to implement customer relationship into their business operations in order to strategies on establishing high performance and high value-added with strong technical, innovative capability and competitive advantage over rivals. CRM strategies have the potential to help improve the business value and competitive capabilities of SMEs, yet have received mixed performance reviews in the extant literature. Therefore, this research presents a conceptual model on the antecedents of achieving successful implementations of CRM strategies by Malaysian SMEs. The model incorporate CRM strategies construct; key customer focus, knowledge management, relationship marketing and technological CRM resources, and investigated the impact of CRM strategies on these constructs and relationship performance. In addition the firm’s market orientation has considered as critical antecedent to the practices of CRM. The model then enables several empirically testable propositions that are relevant to develop a survey instrument for this study

Are we Resilient Enough? A Post-Pandemic Case Study Approach Among Leaders of SMEs in Malaysia

Purpose: The present study has adopted a case study approach to gain insight into the phenomenon of persistent success in business organisations from the perspective of leaders who have achieved it and proposes a new model of resilient leadership.   Design/Methodology/Approach:  Three case studies were conducted, providing an in-depth analysis of the factors contributing to SME owners’ leadership orientation across diverse industries. The data analysis was conducted using a two-stage approach. First, by using thematic analysis, eight themes were identified. Second, expert reviews were consulted to obtain feedback on these eight themes, and subsequent modifications were made.   Findings:  The importance of leadership effectiveness extends beyond the operational functioning of a business, encompassing the crucial task of maintaining employee morale amidst grievances and volatile economic and social conditions. These leaders promptly demonstrated responsiveness and adaptability to the prevailing economic situation. A model of resilient leadership has been proposed, comprising six dimensions that include adaptability, emotional intelligence, vision, spiritual intelligence, a growth mindset, and an internal ecosystem.   Research implication:  The novelty of this newly proposed leadership model primarily lies in its application within the Malaysian context, as many of the previous leadership theories have been developed in a western context, and some of the elements might not be relevant to an eastern culture.   Practical implication: The newly proposed model could be embedded into the entreperenerial development in Malaysia and also be extended to other neighbouring countries that share similar cultures.   Originality/Value: Research on leadership is vast, with the majority of it conducted quantitatively. Thus, conducting a leadership study through qualitative analysis poses different insights and implications than the existing literature

Parasocial relationship influence on the upcycled fashion purchase intention among igeneration in Malaysia post-Covid-19: an empirical study

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted the pursuit of sustainable development in various ways. Current consumer trends suggest an increased awareness of sustainable consumption or fashion consumption. Past studies have focused more on general concepts of sustainable fashion consumption (SFC), including environmental, ethical, second-hand, and recycling while neglecting upcycling fashion. Therefore, the study investigated the Malaysian iGeneration purchase intention of upcycled fashion products postCOVID-19. The study extended the moderating role of parasocial relationship based on the Theory Planned Behaviour (TPB). A quantitative online survey was conducted among 230 respondents from IGeneration between 10 to 25 years old in Malaysia. The hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The study outcomes exhibited empirical support for the proposed research model. Two out of six hypothesized relationships were accepted. Specifically, subjective norm was positively linked to the purchase intention of upcycled fashion products. Meanwhile, parasocial relationship moderated subjective norm and purchase intention. The study provided insights into the application of TPB-based framework and enhanced knowledge of fashion industry players, educators and communities

Talent Management in Managerial Succession Planning: A Qualitative Study

Investment in Human Resources is managed through a strategy for preparing sustainable future leaders. Talent management with the right processes of identification, recruitment and selection, development, and retention will put the right people in the right place. This study aims to determine the implementation of talent management in managerial succession planning at Soerojo Hospital. This study is qualitative research with a single case design using an in-depth interview and was conducted in October-November 2022. Informants were recruited using a purposive sampling technique, consisting of 1 key informant, 1 main informant, and 1 additional informant. The results revealed that talent management in managerial succession planning had not been fully implemented, as indicated by the subjectivity of the leaders in identifying talents, recruitment carried out after there was a vacancy, no talent pool at the selection stage, inadequate curriculum-based talent development and suboptimal talent retention because there is no guideline for implementing talent management. Therefore, Soerojo Hospital needs to establish regulations, compile curriculum and talent development methods, and create a harmonious work atmosphere for the sustainability of the organization

Influence of Individual Entrepreneurial Orientation on the Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia

This study examined the influence of three elements of individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO), namely innovativeness, risk-taking, and proactiveness on the performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). It is worth noting that SMEs have experienced low productivity, low profit, and low performance during the COVID-19 pandemic era. Although several studies have shown that entrepreneurial orientation (EO) is a key factor of company performance, few have focused on IEO. This study employed a quantitative research design because all variables were measurable. It used a questionnaire to survey 384 SMEs in the service sector and employed structural equation modeling (SEM) in data analysis. The findings suggested that SMEs' performance was influenced by risk-taking and proactiveness. This could be related to the fact that SMEs have a less formal structure, allowing owner-managers to take risks and make quick decisions. Furthermore, high performance was ensured by being very sensitive to market trends and changes in the business environment. Innovativeness was not a significant factor in influencing the performance of SMEs. Perhaps it was rather difficult for SME owner-managers to be innovative due to the lack of various resources. This study successfully re-confirmed the effect of IEO on business performance and highlighted the importance of risk-taking and proactiveness in improving the performance of SMEs