The Impact of Implementing ISO 26000 on Firms’ Performance: The Mediating Role of Corporate Governance

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the impact of implementing social responsibility ISO 26000 on firms’ performance in the telecommunication industry in Jordan through considering the mediating role of corporate governance.   Theoretical framework: Three telecommunication companies are licensed in Jordan: Zain, Orange and Umniah. Jordan telecommunication industry has witnessed big growth in the latest years (Obeidat, 2016.). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an essential factor that is expected to boost performance of Jordanian telecommunication companies (Al-ma’ani, et. al., 2019). They added that applying CSR will result in employee and customer satisfaction and increase the levels of loyalty of internal and external stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility has a highly positive effect contribution to the development of society and firm's achievement in terms of profit (Al-Kayed, 2014). This paper investigates social responsibility impact on firms' performance from the perspective of ISO 26000 seven core subjects that are organizational governance, human rights, labour practices, the environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues and community involvement and development.    Design, Methodology, Approach: A purposive sample of 350 senior employees from both organizations were given the questionnaire. There were 304 valid questionnaires for the actual analysis. Two statistical methods were employed to examine the data. The preliminary data were analysed using SPSS version 24, which also provided descriptive analysis of the sample's data collection, including means, standard deviations, and frequencies. Additionally, to evaluate whether the mediator variable is acting as a mediator or not, the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with AMOS 22 was used to analyse the hypothesis.   Findings: The study findings show that there is a statistically significant impact of the implementation of social responsibility ISO 26000 on firms’ performance in the Jordanian companies within the telecommunication industry. Furthermore, the study also found that corporate governance had a significant impact on firms’ performance, where the relationship is significant and positive, but it doesn’t have a mediating role between implementing social responsibility ISO 26000 and firms’ performance.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The theoretical implication is that this study is expected to be a reference for further researchers who study social responsibility especially for those who wish to conduct research in ISO 26000. For the practical implication, to achieve more validation of the study model and to achieve more generalized findings, further investigation needs to be conducted with the national perspective, developing the study model to consider other industries in Jordan.  In other words, more research could validate the same model by replicating it in a comparative study in different industries as an attempt to ascertain if the model could be more general in the different industries.   Originality: All organizations wanting to comprehend social responsibility from the perspective of ISO 26000 will find benefit in this article

Thai Canal and Malacca straits: Complementing or competing stratagem for trade development in South East Asia

About 94.8 per cent of Malaysian trade is depending on collective inter/intra-regional maritime networks. Straits of Malacca is an important strait and the only strait that connecting Indian Ocean and South China Sea which contributes to the nation’s economic growth significantly. This strait plays a key character to enable the trade connection between east and west of the globe. In average, about 63,000 different types of vessels passing through the strait per year and the number of the vessels keep accelerating every year. Conversely, the introduction of Thai Canal to detour the trade voyage between Indian Ocean to South China Sea is expecting to reduce about three to four days journey time between these two passages. Although the development of this canal is predicted to provide substantial benefits to shipping lines, the grey area or disadvantages change to implications of this canal need to be explored especially on Malaysian trade and infrastructure. Therefore, a qualitative approach has been employed to achieve the aim of this paper. Face-to-face interviews with experts from various agencies had been conducted to gather information on the impact of Thai Canal on Malaysian trade and infrastructure. The outcome of this paper indicates that the implication of Thai Canal reduces the productivity of Malaysian seaports, transformation of seaports in northern region as a major hub of the nation, enforcing equal regional development between west and east coast Malaysia and administering dramatic progress on multimodalism in each state. The outcome of this research is important as an input for the preparation of Malaysian seaport system due to any significant changes in the trade route. Although, the development of Thai Canal reduce the overdependence on Malacca Straits, the impact of this this new canal will affects the trade performance of this region. Hence, this paper is significant to understand the implications that might occur to this nation due to dynamism of maritime logistics

Applying and Promoting the Seaport Quality System (SQS) and Spatial Interaction Model (SIM) for the Sustainable Development of the Recreational Seaport Industry in Malaysia

The recreational seaport industry carries out many critical functions, including transport circulation, logistics, commercial, and spatial ones. They influence local economic growth and determine the quality of recreational seaport. However, the definition of recreational seaport quality has remained elusive among the community, at present. Hence, this chapter explores the current literature by using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) to derive at the definition of seaport quality based on three categories: seaport effectiveness, seaport reliability, and seaport governance, which will be main pillars for the development of marinas. This chapter proposes the Seaport Quality System (SQS) and Spatial Interaction Model (SIM) as a way to develop approaches and strategies that support sustainable planning and management of recreational seaports and marinas in countries with extensive coastlines. It is proposed that in order to offer sustainable and quality services, marinas must adopt the SQS model based on identifying and managing quality and risks. In addition, SIM can be utilised to improve the marinas operations by adopting key components in cruise activities, economic corridors and seaport regionalisation. The combination of both models are essential to enhance the growth momentum of marinas in this country

Innovation Framework Towards Sustainability Supply Chain Management

Abstract: Sustainability is hinged on innovation. The importance of sustainable innovation management in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) cannot be underestimated. Studies on SSCM have emphasised the need for sustainable innovation in achieving sustainability but none provides deep insights into sustainable innovation management in SSCM implementation in organisation. This lack of research depth stimulates this study to identify and investigate criteria for sustainable supply chain management innovation advancement. This paper proposes a sustainable innovation criteria framework in investigating sustainable supply chains in manufacturing companies. The results of the study will inform industrial managers, practitioners and decision-makers on which criteria to focus on during the implementation stage, to increase sustainability in manufacturing supply chains, and further advance corporate and supply chain sustainable development. The framework may also serve as a theoretical construct for a future empirical study on sustainable supply chain innovation in the manufacturing sector. This paper sets the stage for further research in sustainable innovation practices in the manufacturing sector and its supply chains. Keywords: Supply chain management, Sustainability, Innovation managemen

Undergraduates entrepreneurial intention: Holistic determinants matter

The role of entrepreneurship in job creation and unemployment reduction is well established by prior studies. Hence, one of the ways to address the unemployment issue among young graduates in Malaysia is to explore how entrepreneurial intention could be embraced into the broader context of the country's education system. Empirical research found that prior studies on entrepreneurship education in Malaysia tends to focus on reviewing educational policies, issue and challenges. The concept of the entrepreneurial intention determinants beyond entrepreneurial education remains ambiguous. Hence, this study advances the discussion in entrepreneurship education by reviewing determinants for entrepreneurial intention from holistic perspective by integrating Model of Personality Traits and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Five determinants for entrepreneurial intention are identified from literature review, which are entrepreneurship attitude, subjective norm, behavior control, entrepreneurship education and personality traits. The study is quantitative based, 360 questionnaires were distributed to the undergraduates from three faculties of a public university in Malaysia, with 199 responded. Data was analyzed via Pearson correlation and ANOVA analysis. Finding from the study suggested all the five entrepreneurial determinants are significantly correlated with entrepreneurial intention, and there is no significant difference on entrepreneurial intention based on faculty. However, one of the remarkable finding is Entrepreneurship Education is viewed as determinant with the lowest correlation coefficient with entrepreneurial intention. The implication of this finding is perhaps the content of entrepreneurial education shall emphasize on cultivating students’ entrepreneurial attitude, behavioral and personality rather than the theoretical part of entrepreneurial and entrepreneurship

Undergraduates entrepreneurial intention: Holistic determinants matter

The role of entrepreneurship in job creation and unemployment reduction is well established by prior studies. Hence, one of the ways to address the unemployment issue among young graduates in Malaysia is to explore how entrepreneurial intention could be embraced into the broader context of the country's education system. Empirical research found that prior studies on entrepreneurship education in Malaysia tends to focus on reviewing educational policies, issue and challenges. The concept of the entrepreneurial intention determinants beyond entrepreneurial education remains ambiguous. Hence, this study advances the discussion in entrepreneurship education by reviewing determinants for entrepreneurial intention from holistic perspective by integrating Model of Personality Traits and the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Five determinants for entrepreneurial intention are identified from literature review, which are entrepreneurship attitude, subjective norm, behavior control, entrepreneurship education and personality traits. The study is quantitative based, 360 questionnaires were distributed to the undergraduates from three faculties of a public university in Malaysia, with 199 responded. Data was analyzed via Pearson correlation and ANOVA analysis. Finding from the study suggested all the five entrepreneurial determinants are significantly correlated with entrepreneurial intention, and there is no significant difference on entrepreneurial intention based on faculty. However, one of the remarkable finding is Entrepreneurship Education is viewed as determinant with the lowest correlation coefficient with entrepreneurial intention. The implication of this finding is perhaps the content of entrepreneurial education shall emphasize on cultivating students’ entrepreneurial attitude, behavioral and personality rather than the theoretical part of entrepreneurial and entrepreneurship

Energy security in the Malaysia-Thailand joint development area

The Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area (MTJDA) Authority was legally formed in 1979 by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a 1990 Agreement on the Constitution and Other Matters of MTJDA between the Malaysian and Thai governments. The MOU’s main goal is to explore and exploit oil and gas resources in a contested maritime area. According to the agreement, the Joint Development Area (JDA) is located in the North Malay Basin, off the coast of Thailand. This was a bilateral agreement permitted by the UNCLOS. Since production began in 2005, the area has significantly aided Malaysia and Thailand’s economic and energy security. The goal of this research is to look into the issues and challenges in political and economic aspects that could affect the bilateral agreement once it expires in 2028. The perspectives of decision-makers, industry participants, and government officials were gathered through qualitative methods, which included secondary data and interviews. The results show that the Malaysia-Thailand Joint Development Area has been a close partnership for the past 40 years, and both countries should keep the agreement because the JDA is defined as joint efforts by Malaysia and Thailand to explore and exploit natural gas resources through enhanced bilateral diplomatic relations, as well as contribute to global economic growth. Under the current JDA, the emphasis is on strengthening bilateral diplomatic relations through cooperative cooperation. Because the current arrangements benefit both countries in terms of strengthening their partnership, Malaysia and Thailand should keep the agreement in place

The blueprint of Malaysian maritime industry policy

EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Digital tools and challenges in human resource development and its potential within the maritime sector through bibliometric analysis

ABSTRACTThe maritime industry, a cornerstone of global trade and commerce, is currently undergoing a significant transformation, primarily driven by technological advancements. Human resource development (HRD) in maritime industry has become a focal point, aimed at improving operational efficiency, safety, and competitiveness. This research paper conducts an in-depth examination of digital tools and its challenges in the context of maritime HRD through bibliometric analysis. The findings indicate the presence of a variety of digital technologies, such as e-learning platforms (ELP), learning management systems (LMS), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), gamification, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Nevertheless, the maritime sector may encounter a range of obstacles including issues related to security concerns, skill gaps, strategic planning, change management, budget constraints, and regulatory compliance. To effectively address these difficulties, it is essential to adopt a comprehensive strategy that includes many components such as cybersecurity measures, efforts for talent development, strategic alignment, change management techniques, budgetary restraint, and legal scrutiny. The findings of this study have significant consequences for the maritime sector, governments, and the academic community. It is recommended that maritime sector can use digitization as a fundamental component of their competitiveness and safety measures

The sustainability stimulus of Malaysian seaport cluster toward competitive vigilance: The Total Quality Management (TQM) approach

The quality management is primarily a commercial action, interaction between strategic business components and management practices and supported by seaport users in the seaport cluster. With the progressive approach, a conceptual of seaport quality can be installed into the seaport activities to stimulate the seaports to create and sustain competitive advantage by increasing their ability to respond tousers’ needs through the quality improvement of seaportservices as logistics platforms. The Total Quality Management (TQM) can be used to improve the responsiveness of seaport cluster products and services from upstream entities to downstream entities. The quality management focuses on: to satisfaction of customers; reduce cost; improve productivity; and, to optimize the seaport operations. This issue has become apparent within theseaport cluster, whilethe influence of quality oncustomer perceptions and consumption behavior has become a major factor affecting the end user choice ofseaports. Although that quality management provides approaches to achieve such objectives, a limited number of seaports have developed quality-orientedapproaches. This paper explores issues related tothetotal quality management within the seaport cluster, thispaper also reviewing on the current situation at Malaysianseaports that are currently using the ISO for improving the organizational performance.A conceptual of seaport quality will be introduced as a framework for excellence for the seaport cluster and may provide the best strategic approach for the seaports at present and in the future. This paper will provide practitioners and policy makers with an indication of the applicability of the quality culture in the seaport cluster