Antecedents of service outcome among Malaysian private medical clinics

In health care services, achieving high performance is of utmost importance as it relates to human life. The main purpose of this research is to extend and consolidate knowledge about the outcome of customer’s experience of consuming the attributes of services and the impact on business performance. Previous researchers investigated the health care services from social medical services perspective, in hospital and inpatient setting. Outpatient and private medical clinic setting was not the focus. Furthermore the researchers measured the performance of the services isolatedly and did not relate them to the business outcomes. Therefore this research aims to measure the service outcome from services marketing perspective, at the private medical clinic setting. This research fills the empirical gap through the measuring process of the service attributes of the private medical clinic by the customers. Private medical clinic is a business entity that provides services to customers who are the patients in an open market. Competition is part of the game and satisfying customers is an important agenda. The importance of this research relates to the nature of the private medical clinic itself that is a profit making entity, which reputation and customer loyalty are among the important measures. The whole framework was develop based on the marketing theory and marketing mix model that specifically tailored to services business. The conceptual framework was adapted into the private health care business. The service attributes were constrained to the extended Ps of the marketing mix strategies for services business, i.e. the physical evidence of the clinic (consultation and treatment) and people (physician). Patient satisfaction and enablement were treated as the outcome measures that mediate the relationship and the impact was measured on two performance traits that are relevant to the nature of the case, that are patient loyalty and patient appraisal on reputation. Two moderation variables: the categorical factor; patient category and the psychometric factor; patient health consciousness were tested on their effect towards the relationship. In the data collection process, questionnaire was used as the instrument. Data were collected at the private medical clinics on patients who went through the consultation before they consumed the medicine. 500 questionnaires were distributed, 358 were collected, and 201 were treated as completed questionnaire. The data were analyzed on the measurement model and the structural model namely the confirmatory factor analysis, composite reliability and discriminant reliability. Hypotheses bootstrapping test was done using SmartPLS 2. The key finding shows that doctor professionalism is the most critical factor that contributes to the performance. In addition satisfaction partially mediates the relationship but does not enablement. All paths tested were significant except enablement to performance, but health consciousness and patient category show insignificant effect on the relationship. Theoretically, this research proven that the extended ‘P’ that is People in services marketing is significant and the importance is obvious. In practical perspective, this research contributes to the development of ‘people’ and ‘product’ strategy in the marketing mix model in professional service business. It is recommended that in professional service business, the element of ‘People’ and ‘Product’ to be integrated since the ‘product’ in professional services business is reliant to the knowledge, skills and ability of the ‘people’ who deliver the service. Therefore all aspects of ‘product’ including brand, packaging and guarantee are to be developed in ‘people’ element itself

Acceptance of Islamic finance products: a study on muslim consumers attitude in a non Muslim country

In accordance with the teachings of Islam which prohibit the utilisation of Riba (interest), this has led to the development of a banking approach which are based on the laws of shariah. Although these methods are not totally new or revolutionary as it has been written and practiced during the renaissance of the Islamic civilisation, it has yet to establish itself and tested in the modern world as compared to the conventional banking. Many Muslims worldwide still engage in non-interest-free in financing their purchases especially those who are staying in non-muslim countries. There are many reasons why Muslims still engage in non-interest-free products. one of the reasons is the availibility of Muslim financial product or non-interest bearing financial instruments offers by the banks. it is quite difficulut to find such instruments as most of them are not easy to get. To some extent, there are only a few financial instituitions that offer such products products among Muslims outside the Islamic world and will explain whether there is demand for such product from Muslims staying in non Muslim countries. The study reveals that Muslims living in non Muslim countries are very much willing to change their practices from the conventional system into the new system – the Islamic financial system

Development of the research instrument for evaluating the desire to live in an industrial city

This study aims to develop a valid instrument to measure the two mediating variables namely place brand image and engagement with the place in the relationship between place brand benefits and employees’ desire to stay in Bintulu, a newly established industrial city in the east part of Malaysia. To fulfil the objective, this study assesses the validity and reliability of instruments before carrying out the primary data collection. This instrument has been devised based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model and takes the form of a questionnaire for employed individuals who were born outside of Bintulu. The development of the valid instrument in this study involves four stages of validity test: panel experts examine the content validity; targeted respondents determine the face validity; exploratory factor analysis assesses the construct validity; and internal consistency measures the instrument’s reliability. This study successfully gathered thirty-five usable questionnaires from working adults in Bintulu. The finding of this preliminary study demonstrates that the instrument is valid and reliable. All thirty-seven original items are thus retained. Performing step-by-step validity checks is essential in designing an instrument to assure its reliability. Using validated questionnaires in future studies can provide reliable empirical results, making them a practical solution

The impact of market knowledge acquisition on product innovation performance in small and medium scale enterprises

This paper aimed to determine the relative impact of market knowledge acquisition (knowledge gained from customers, and competitors') acts on product innovation performance in smaller firms. Based on data collected through a convenience sampling technique, survey questions of 462 SME operators, and a review of user-generated content, this study provides a look into the market knowledge of Ghanaian manufacturing micro, small, and medium scale enterprises in the eastern sector. The traditional double-step model was used to evaluate the measurement model and then estimate the structural model using SPSS and Smart PLS (Partial Least Square). The outcome of the study revealed two [2] out of the four [4] hypotheses supported; the findings showed that market knowledge acquisition which comprised customers' and competitors' knowledge remains critical drivers of product innovation performance. Meanwhile, the study revealed firm absorptive capacity does not moderate market knowledge acquisition and product innovation performance

Total Quality Management Implementation in Higher Education; Concerns and Challenges Faced by the Faculty

ABSTRACT It has now be a major concern among the Public Universities in Malaysia to implement Total Quality Management (TQM) to ensure quality of higher education. TQM initiatives include the implementation of ISO 9001:2000, Total Quality Organization and Total Quality Education Models, and more recently the Quality Assurance (QA) exercise. The QA consists of nine criteria and standards, which was imposed by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia to inculcate the quality culture in Malaysia's public universities. In the Faculty of Management and Human Resource Development UTM, effort has been made to utilize the criteria and standard of the QA as a mean to achieve total quality in managing its Marketing Program. This paper presents the concerns and challenges the faculty lives through in implementing the QA system onto the Marketing Program. The most significant concerns are: To Run the Program Effectively -Execution of the QA and ISO 9001:2000 QMS; Difficulties to measure a complex range of performance indicators -Program specification, Process performance, Process outputs, Service Standard and Quality of Graduates; The misfit of the focus between the University's concerns and the focus of QA; The trade off between creativity and rigidity in teaching and students' assessment; Cohesive teamwork and synergy amongst academic staff of different panels (specialization) and different faculties with the program specification; The intricacy between external decisions on students enrolment and resources capability of the Faculty; Limited involvement of SH; and Resources, Human resource development and Research. This paper presented the obstacles and offering recommendations to improve the QA implementation for the public universities in Malaysia

The linkage between knowledge acquisition, learning flexibility, and product innovation in small and medium enterprises

Knowledge acquisition has been a significant point for research and business practice. Noting that knowledge acquisition (KA) has been identified as an important practice for intellectual development and innovation, this study seeks to establish the relationship between KA through Industry Knowledge and knowledge from prior experience on product innovation (PI). This study, therefore, gives a hypothetical structure to examining knowledge acquisition and product innovation of small and medium scale enterprises; according to the framework, knowledge acquisition interacts with product innovation in the context of a knowledge-based economy. Using Survey data was collected from 500 manufacturing SMEs in the Eastern region of Ghana, the result showed that both knowledge acquisition (Prior Experience and Industry Knowledge) were found to have a statistically significant effect on SMEs' product innovation. The results also revealed that Learning Flexibility partially mediates the relationship between Prior Experience and SME product innovation

Goal-setting Theory (Gst) and Gamification Relationship in Increasing Mobile Fitness Apps Engagement: A Conceptual Discussion

Purpose- The main purpose of this paper is to propose a research model conceptual through the extension study of goal-setting theory (GST) and gamification on mobile fitness app user engagement among Malaysian millennial group. This paper is discussed the justification of goal-setting theory (GST) and gamification in supporting engagement relationships. Methodology- This paper proposed a quantitative method in determine the relationship between independent and dependent variables of engagement behavior. It also used a cross-sectional design because the data will be collected in a short period of time. Findings- The finding of this paper is expected to support the justification of goal-setting theory (GST) and gamification in explaining the user engagement relationship. It also enriches the knowledge of goal-setting theory (GST) and gamification in body of literature. Practical Implication- A further studies should be given to the goal-setting theory (GST) and gamification in order to enhance the user engagement on mobile fitness app especially for Malaysian Millennial Group. Social Implication- By studying goal-setting theory (GST) and gamification in mobile fitness app engagement context, it will promote a healthy and fitness lifestyle among Malaysian millennial group that also can contribute to healthy lifestyles practice in social community

Critical success factors in personal selling of computer based products

Commercialization of new high-tech products is often the costliest stage of the entire product development process. Yet even when the process is well managed, the risk of failure remains high. New high- tech products usually have just one shot at the market. Get it wrong and the consequences are invariably fatal. And though the launch strategy is critical, this stage is largely neglected in the business press and academic literature on high-tech marketing, innovation and new product development. Furthermore, marketing of high technology products and innovations are never to be the same as marketing of the traditional products and services. Marketers have to deal with customers’ fear, uncertainty, and doubt about how to use and attain the full benefits of using the product. Therefore it needs a different marketing consideration, which is able to deal with uncertainty, fear and doubt. One of the promotional methods that seem able to accommodate these needs is personal selling

Local Residents Becoming Local Tourists: Value Co-Creation in Chinese Wetland Parks during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite their ecological value, wetland parks can be expensive to preserve and maintain, so local governments endeavor to design financially sustainable models by exploiting the ecotourism value of wetland parks. This trend has been facilitated by telecommunication technologies that enable value co-creation. Unlike previous studies that primarily assume tourists to be outsiders far from home, this study addresses a unique situation: travel restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic generated a unique ecotourism market for local residents. This study responds to the above issue by examining the factors responsible for local tourists’ value co-creation intention. Specifically, we drew on the theory of planned behavior to develop an extended model to address the research objective. The hypothesized model was empirically tested using an online survey of 386 local tourists who traveled to a wetland park in the Liangping district of Chongqing, China. Our results suggest that social norms, destination awareness, experience expectations, and facilitating conditions could affect local tourists’ attitudes, which further influences local customers’ value co-creation intention. Moreover, social norms, destination awareness, and experience expectations could affect local tourists’ perceived value of a wetland park, thus further influencing local customers’ value co-creation intention. In doing so, we made interesting insights and implications for ecotourism at a local level. Drawing on our survey in a specific wetland park, we highlight how local tourists’ attitude and perceived value positively affect their value co-creation intention and identify one more possible source of destination awareness: friends’ sharing of destination information and experience through social media. Practically, we suggest local tourism to offset the maintenance costs of wetland parks during the COVID-19 pandemic. That requires leveraging social norms and understanding residents’ expectations, in addition to improving infrastructure

A development of satisfaction-loyalty and reputation relationship model using performance measurement approach of the Private Medical Clinics' services: a literature review

In health care services, achieving high performance is at utmost importance as it relates to human life. In lieu to this, performance of the health care practices has to be measured. Measuring the performance of a health care practice has existed since 250 years ago. Until now, it is still significant; however the names and faces of the measures have changed. In Malaysia, the private medical clinics operate on profit bases, therefore it is important for the providers to monitor patients' satisfactions, loyalty and foremost is to establish image as the reputable service providers. On this ground, this paper aims to construct a conceptual framework that describes the relationship between service attributes that contribute patients' satisfaction, loyalty and their judgment on reputation. The relationship is mediate by a mediator (patients' health consciousness) and moderate by patients' category, i.e. type of payment. The subject of this paper focuses on the Private Medical Clinics that provide primary care services to the outpatients in eight districts of Johor State. The selection of the private medical clinics will use quota sampling from each district. The potential respondents are among the outpatients who visited the clinic to get primary care services from the resident physician. They have to answer a set a questionnaire and the data will be analyzed using SPSS and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) - Smart- PLS. The expected finding from this paper is there are positive significant relationship between both, the independent and dependent variables, and the relationships are significantly mediated by the mediator, and moderated by type of the payment category