E-commerce adoption issues in Malaysian SMES

E-commerce is said to convey undisputed benefits to companies everywhere, reshaping customer and supplier relationships, streamlining business processes and even restructuring whole industries. Managers are told that e-commerce will give a tremendous boost to their companies, that businesses not involved in e-commerce will be left behind in the global marketplace.Yet, e-commerce is not being adopted readily by SMEs. In fact, some studies claim that trading online by SMEs in some countries is stalling.Not many SMEs are keen to go online and only a few have websites.Drawing on existing research on ICT diffusion by SMEs, this paper explores e-commerce adoption by SMEs in Malaysia.It highlights preliminary findings from explorative telephone interviews with the SME managers.The main findings are that SMEs embrace e-commerce mainly because of pressure from customers.They also seek to improve company image, communications, information flow and contact with government.But many have no better reason for adopting e-commerce than that it is ‘nice to have’.Barriers to adoption include lack of technical knowledge and the failure rate of peers. Many think of e-commerce as ‘fancy stuff’, irrelevant to their sort of business.Implications are discussed

Towards a New Generation of Prostheses : From Research to Retail

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THE CONTRIBUTION OF UPPER LIMB JOINTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RACKET VELOCITY IN THE BADMINTON SMASH

The contributions of the upper limb joints in developing the racket-head velocity were calculated using the 3D video analysis technique. The performance of 13 male players in the single and double competitions during the Thomas/Uber Cup 2000 was recorded. The major contributor to the mean racket-head's linear velocity of 34.6 ms·1 at impact was the wrist (26.5 %). The statistical analysis carried out showed that the dynamics of wrist served to increase the speed of the racket at impact. However, the study showed no significant correlation between the racket speed at impact and the velocity· of the shuttlecock after impact. A relationship between racket speed and post-impact acceleration of shuttlecock did exist

Riding the waves of social commerce: an empirical study of Malaysian entrepreneurs

The emergence of social media has made it possible for a person with internet connection to communicate with thousands of other people. Because of the heavy usage of social media there is substantial interest in making this medium a commercial site, particularly among entrepreneurs who want to explore the potential of their businesses. Any entrepreneur can experience various benefits and effects from advertising their products and services on social media, including an increase in the number of fans and advertisement views and/or an increase in sales and return on investment as social media channel product and business information to targeted customers at a minimal cost. However, there are limited studies on social media, particularly how it affects business interaction, which formed the focus of this study. Face-to-face surveys were conducted involving 105 Malaysian entrepreneurs who had access to social media. The findings revealed that most entrepreneurs in this study believed that social commerce is the future way of doing their businesses. In fact, they believed that every entrepreneur needs to engage with social media as they would not only allow the entrepreneur to discuss his products and services with other people but also assist him to make vital and critical business decisions

Fostering Millennial Entrepreneurship Students – Issues and Challenges

Governments worldwide have increasingly recognized their interest in entrepreneurship and have introduced it to various settings, not only among the officials but also schools and Higher Education Institutions (HEI). Many incentives have been given to those who embark on entrepreneurship. The Malaysian government has made all colleges in Malaysia introduce entrepreneurships courses to make students aware of the importance of entrepreneurships. Thus, there are questions were raised on the effectiveness of the entrepreneurship programme in the university. Moreover, and the kinds of improvements that need to be embedded in these programmes. This study is among the first to explore this issue by gathering information from the students majoring in entrepreneurship and who are recently graduated. Both quantitative and qualitative methods have been adopted to get the details of the issues being studied. Thirty-three students were surveyed, and ten respondents were called for semi-structured interviews. Many students stated that they were not ready to become an entrepreneur entrepreneurs because they are were really not confidence confident in doing so, and some said they needed to work to get some money and experience first. Some stated that the programme should be improved by creating an entrepreneurship ecosystem among students and lecturers. This study contributes to entrepreneurship education literature by enhancing understanding of the needs of students during the entrepreneurial learning process. In practice, this study offers raze and valuable insights into how to design and implement designing and implementing an effective HEI entrepreneurship training programme. Keywords: entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education, effectiveness, higher learning institution, Malaysi

Entrepreneurs’ intention to invest in current business: an empirical study of Malaysian SME entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs’ intention to invest in their current businesses may play an important role in determining future sustainability, survival and growth of these businesses. Using a theoretical framework based on entrepreneurs’ goals attainment theory (EGAT), this study evaluated the relationship between entrepreneurs’ personal goal attainment and their intention to invest. The study employed a positivist methodological framework and gathered primary data from 285 Malaysian entrepreneurs through self-administered survey questionnaires. Regression analyses showed that entrepreneurs’ attainment of economic and intrinsic reward goals had significant positive relationships with their intention to invest. Desire for independence was considered as an important motivation for entrepreneurship. However, it was found that attainment of independence goals had no significant influence on entrepreneurs’ intention to invest. Further, it was also found that more educated entrepreneurs had stronger intention to invest in their current businesses

E-commerce adoption by Malaysian SMEs.

E-commerce adoption among SMEs has been much discussed in management information technology and technological innovation literature. However, most of these prior studies focused mainly on e-commerce awareness or factors that influence e-commerce adoption. This study, on the other hand, attempts to develop a holistic insight into e-commerce adoption by SMEs. It investigates why some SMEs adopt e-commerce readily, and others do not. In addition, this study investigates the appropriateness of government support for SMEs encouraging them to adopt e-commerce. There is very little research that assesses e-commerce adoption by SMEs, certainly none as extensive as this, and there is also very limited empirical investigation of government support for SMEs to adopt e-commerce. This study helps to fill this gap by exploring these issues relating to e-commerce and SMEs. The framework model proposed in this study was developed out of an integration of various perspectives using the technological innovation literature, specifically the DOl and TOE frameworks. This model considers internal factors (the demographic characteristics of managers and their organisations), external factors (particularly government support), and reasons for, benefits of, and inhibitors to e-commerce adoption. Data for this study were collected through a questionnaire survey of over three thousand SMEs in Malaysia and forty face-to- face semi-structured interviews with SME managers and government officials . ., Results show there is a low level of adoption of e-commerce by SME managers whether or not they received government e-commerce supports. E-commerce usage hardly extends beyond e-mail. Online buying and complex websites, such as websites with online ordering and online payment facility are not common. Websites are used to provide contact details and information about the firm and information about its goods and services only, without displaying prices. The SME and SME manager demographic characteristics show significant association with e-commerce adoption. Two important factors that facilitate e- commerce adoption emerge from these characteristics namely SME location and the manager's experience of living abroad. To encourage e-commerce adoption, SMEs in developing countries need not only to have appropriate technology infrastructure installed, but also to be in a location with good public transportation services and efficient delivery methods. SME managers also need experience of buying and selling on the Internet, which they might gain while living abroad. The interviews raise a number of questions about the effectiveness of government support programmes, and the ulterior motives of SMEs. The benefits of e-commerce are more often perceived than achieved. Interestingly, the reason that SMEs adopt e-commerce is to enhance company image, rather than its efficiency. From the research findings, a series of recommendations for e-commerce adoption among SMEs in Malaysia emerges, providing guidance for policymakers, practitioners, and academics. Many recommendations, such as the need to evaluate e-commerce initiatives, may perhaps be extended to government K'T policies in the developing world as a whole. The study exposes many gaps, often overlooked, between the rhetoric of e-commerce adoption and the reality. The model proposed in this study may be comprehensive for e-commerce adoption in firms. Future research can build on and extend the proposed integrated model by including other potential factors from different contexts. It will be helpful to explore other statistical analysis, either in the current model or in an enhanced one. The findings will help towards a better understanding for firms and government and suggest a quantitative basis for them to determine favourable policies and conditions for expanding their e-commerce. This study provides the impetus for future research on many issues

Social networks and entrepreneurships – does personal networks matters?

Institutional and social network are several major research traditions in the business and management areas. This paper examines the role of owner/managers’ social network on entrepreneurship initiatives and the underlying socio-cultural factors promoting or impeding SME development in Kazakhstan. A semi-structured interviews were carried-out with thirteen SME owners/managers in Almaty Kazakhstan. It is found that personal networks in general social networks have significant implications on a variety of entrepreneurial activities. SMEs still need to utilize their personal social networks to substitute for formal institutions. Normative institutional elements such as legal and moral are still major factors driving entrepreneurial activities but still lagging behind regulative and cognitive institutional transformation. Business ties and networking ability may mitigate the necessity for external financing. One of the major implication in this study is the need for SME owners/managers to build personal networks and to keep and maintain this network with their peers as well as the government not only for extra information but even for the sustainability of their business. To do this, SME owners/managers need to be regularly in contact with their peers and government officials, offering helps when needed, collaborate on projects, share their goals, get connected on social media and also joining networking events

Influence of gender and academic program on financial literacy among Malaysian university students

This study examines financial literacy among Malaysian university students. It is conducted among undergraduate students at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. It also examines the effect of gender and different academic program on FL level. Various test such as the Independence T-test, ANOVA and Tukey Honest Significant Difference HSD are employed on 300 samples of primary data collected using questionnaires distributed among students from selected faculties. The questionnaire contains questions among others on financial attitude, knowledge as well personal characteristics items. The results show that the level of FL among UKM students is moderate. From the Independent T-Test, the results show a significant difference in FL scores for males and females which suggest that males are more financially literate than females. From the ANOVA and Tukey HSD the study finds that there is a statistically significant different between type of majoring and FL level with business majoring students have higher level of FL when compared to non-business majoring. From the business majoring, Financial Services and Risk Management specialization has the highest FL level. It is therefore recommended that a comprehensive and aggressive program of financial education be carried out among young people in Malaysia especially to university students from all academic program