SKILL-ENHANCING PRACTICES, EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT, AND PERFORMANCE OF NIGERIA POLICE FORCE: A CROSS-SECTIONAL INVESTIGATION

Evidence has been registered in the literature that human resource management systems for enhancing employee’s skills have a significant influence on employee’s attitudinal and behavioural outcomes, and as well as organisational outcomes. This evidence needs to be justified in Police Institution in Nigeria where studies on HRM practices-performance relationship remain empirically unexamined. This study therefore investigated the mediating effect of organisational commitment on the relationship between skill-enhancing practices and performance of Police Force in Nigeria. Utilising cross-sectional survey data from 321 respondents, this study found that the composite construct of skill-enhancing practices had a significant effect on performance of police Force in Nigeria. This study employed ‘PROCESS macro’ to test the hypothesis of mediation effect and the findings revealed that employee commitment fully mediated the relationship between skill-enhancing practices and performance in the context of Police Force in Nigeria. The findings of this study contain some policy implications on how to enhance human capital in an institution of Criminal Justice System such as Nigeria Police Force. Article visualizations

Gender and the Performance of Informal Sector Enterprises

The objective of the study was to examine whether female and maleled informal businesses differ in terms of performance. Using a simple random sampling, 250 paper questionnaires were distributed by hand to small and micro enterprises, out of which 90 responses were gathered from owners and managers of informal enterprises. The Upper Echelon Theory (UET) serves as the main theory that underpins this study. Mann-Whitney test was employed to test the study's hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that there was a significantly equal relationship between gender and profit. Sales and gender performance however indicated a non-significant relationship. Female-led enterprises had a significantly higher employees' growth than male-led enterprises. Overall, female outperformed male in the informal sector based on employees' growth which is an indication of female's lenient, empathetic and good leadership style than male

Contextual factors and strategic consequences of cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) adoption in Malaysian manufacturing SMEs: a conceptual framework

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to holistically investigate the interrelationships between key contextual factors of cloud ERP adoption and the strategic consequences of such adoption. Design/Methodology/Approach: The key contextual factors whose influences are explored on cloud ERP adoption are Feature task-match, (FTM); Top Management Support on Change Management (TMSCM) and Government Financial Support (GFS) while the strategic consequences of cloud ERP adoption investigated are competitive advantage (CA) and organisational performance. A conceptual framework grounded in Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) model, Task technology-fit (TTF) model and Resource-Based View (RBV) theory is developed for empirical validation that will involve a projected sample of 382 respondents of SMEs in Malaysia using PLS-SEM as main statistical analysis tool. Practical Implications: Practically, this study will guide SMEs' managers on cloud ERP selection that fits their firms' tasks, how to effectively deal with resistance to change occasioned by technology adoption and how effective GFS has been influencing cloud ERP adoption. In addition, SMEs managers stand to gain insight into how cloud ERP adoption can simultaneously and/or indirectly lead to competitive advantage and organisational performance as strategic benefits. Originality/Value: Investigation of a new variant key contextual factors critical for successful cloud ERP adoption and their subsequent impact on CA and organisational performance simultaneously and indirectly

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

Antecedents of cloud enterprise resources planning implementation and their effects on business financial performance through competitive advantage

Cloud computing (CC) is recognised as a disruptive technology capable of providing competitive advantage and improved performance to firms. However, Malaysian SMEs are still slow in implementing CC despite numerous government supports. In addition, the impact of implementing CC on the performance of firms remains controversial. Therefore, this study aims to examine the relevance of government financial support (GFS) in conjunction with two chosen antecedents of cloud computing (CC) implementation in Malaysian manufacturing SMEs, namely feature-task match (FTM) and top management support on change management (TMSCM) which are supported by Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE), Task-technology Fit (TTF), Kotter’s change management theories. Further, the study also examined the financial performance effect of CC implementation of Malaysian manufacturing SMEs directly and indirectly through competitive advantage (CA) with the support from the strategic management Resource-based view (RBV). A set of Google Forms questionnaire related to the implementation of cloud computing (CC) were sent to the owners and top-level managers of manufacturing SMEs in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Johor through emails. A total of 204 responses were usable for analysis and hypothesis testing. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPPSS) version 25 and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) using SMARTPLS 3.3.2 were used to analyse the collected data. Findings show that feature-task match (FTM), top management support on change management (TMSCM) and government financial support (GFS) are valid predictors of cloud computing (CC) implementation. However, GFS only negatively moderates the relationship between TMSCM and CC implementation, while it does not moderate the FTM and CC implementation relationship. Additionally, GFS only impacts financial performance through the mediation of CC implementation. Finally, CC implementation significantly improves financial performance both directly and indirectly through competitive advantage (CA). This research makes contribution to the current body of literature by integrating several theoretical frameworks (such as TOE, TTF, Kotter’s change management model and RBV) to develop a comprehensive model for ii understanding relevant factors of CC implementation, feature-task match (FTM), top management support on change management (TMSCM) and government financial support (GFS) which were under-researched in the previous studies. Furthermore, this study empirically provides evidence that deepens insights into how environmental factor (GFS) of the TOE acts as a pull factor that dampens the positive influence of TMSCM on CC implementation. Finally, based on the RBV, this study extends prior understandings by showing the financial performance impact of CC implementation through CA. This study also discusses some implications for practitioners and policy makers to promote and sustain SMEs’ CC implementation

Cloud computing adoption in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs): A systematic literature review and directions for future research

This paper presents a systematic literature review of the current state of cloud computing adoption (CC) in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with the main objective of providing insights into data analysis techniques, CC services being investigated, and further assessing studies and their associated theories/frameworks, publication trends and outlets, geographical distribution and the most important adoption factors over 10 years (2011-2020). Six databases were consulted for a total of 76 articles. The findings indicate that Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and interpretative analysis were the most frequently used quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques. Generic CC services were investigated more than specific CC business applications. The number of publications has fluctuated over the last decade, and the vast majority did not incorporate any underlying theory. The Journal of Small Business and Enterprise Development and IEEE conferences proceedings were major publication outlets. Asia recorded the highest number of studies, whereas cost savings is the most important adoption factor. This study contributes to CC research by providing deeper insights into data analysis techniques used, CC services investigated, and other crucial research issues of CC adoption in SMEs to guide future research directions and SMEs' cloud computing implementation

The nexus between top management support on change management, cloud ERP implementation, and performance of SMEs

Top management support (TMS) is a critical success factor in cloud computing (CC) implementation and firm performance. However, extant empirical research on these relationships has obtained mixed findings due to earlier studies focusing on a one-dimensional TMS construct with diverse measurement items that muddle up different behaviours of top management. TMS is typically a multi-dimensional construct, such as TMS change management (TMSCM), TMS resource provision (TMSR), and TMS vision sharing (TMSV). The aim of this study is to examine a specific TMS dimension, TMSCM, on cloud ERP implementation and, further, to measure the effect of TMSCM on the financial performance of manufacturing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the mediating effect of cloud ERP implementation. The proposed research model was validated using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) with a sample of 204 Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. Results reveal that TMSCM significantly impacts cloud ERP implementation and financial performance. Moreover, cloud ERP implementation is a significant driver of financial performance, and it partially mediates the relationship between TMSCM and financial performance. Contributing to disentangling the mixed findings of TMS impact on cloud ERP implementation and firm performance, this study also generates insights for practitioners that they need to balance TMSCM and cloud ERP implementation to improve the financial performance of SMEs

Government financial support and financial performance of SMEs: a dual sequential mediator approach

Government financial support (GFS) is an important factor for firms in developing countries, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), to be competitive and perform better. Nonetheless, studies on the relationship between GFS and firm performance have yielded inconclusive results. Researchers' efforts to resolve the inconclusiveness led to an examination of competitive advantage (CA) as a simple mediator. This study contends that CA should not be the first mediator but rather a resource acquired with GFS, such as cloud ERP, which has CA-enabled qualities, as opposed to GFS, which lacks the ability to offer CA to firms. Hence, using 204 Malaysian manufacturing SMEs as a sample, this study investigates the dual sequential mediation of cloud ERP implementation (CERPI) and CA in the GFS-financial performance (FPER) relationship. PLS-SEM was employed as a data analysis method and for hypotheses assessment. Findings reveal that the GFS is not directly associated with FPER. However, GFS is positively related to CERPI, which subsequently enhances CA positively. CA is also positively associated with FPER, and CERPI and CA sequentially mediate the GFS and FPER relationship positively. This study makes a contribution to the literature by providing a more holistic understanding of the complex relationship between GFS and FPER. This study could assist SMEs and policymakers in gaining a better understanding of the process and requirements for realising valuable benefits from GFS

The mediating and moderating effects of top management support on the cloud ERP implementation–financial performance relationship

Cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) is one of the most sought-after information technology (IT) solutions for improving business performance due to its affordability, scalability, and pay-per-use subscription model. The impact of cloud ERP implementation on business performance, on the other hand, remains inconclusive. Additionally, an important factor that transverses all organizational processes, including IT implementation, is top management support (TMS). However, the TMS’s role in the latter stage (business value realization) of cloud ERP implementation is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating and moderating impacts of top management support (TMS) on the relationship between cloud ERP implementation and financial performance. A total of 204 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia were surveyed, and data analysis was conducted using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that TMS plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between cloud ERP implementation and financial performance and that this relationship is significantly stronger in SMEs with low TMS levels. As a result, it is concluded that top management should provide the required support following successful cloud ERP implementation in order to achieve positive financial results. However, such support must be adjusted in order to avoid the deterioration of the firm’s financial performance

The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Top Management Support on the Cloud ERP Implementation–Financial Performance Relationship

Cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) is one of the most sought-after information technology (IT) solutions for improving business performance due to its affordability, scalability, and pay-per-use subscription model. The impact of cloud ERP implementation on business performance, on the other hand, remains inconclusive. Additionally, an important factor that transverses all organizational processes, including IT implementation, is top management support (TMS). However, the TMS’s role in the latter stage (business value realization) of cloud ERP implementation is unclear. The purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating and moderating impacts of top management support (TMS) on the relationship between cloud ERP implementation and financial performance. A total of 204 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia were surveyed, and data analysis was conducted using partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that TMS plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between cloud ERP implementation and financial performance and that this relationship is significantly stronger in SMEs with low TMS levels. As a result, it is concluded that top management should provide the required support following successful cloud ERP implementation in order to achieve positive financial results. However, such support must be adjusted in order to avoid the deterioration of the firm’s financial performance