The Political Risks Of Regional Integration: The Case Of Asean

Penyelidikan ini bermula dengan fahaman bahawa persekitaran perniagaan antarabangsa kini bercirikan keterbukaan ekonomi nasional dan peningkatan interaksi di antara sistem ekonomi dan sosio-politik yang pelbagai. Bagi kebanyakan negara membangun usahasama sebegini telah diterjemahkan kepada peningkatan usaha penyatuan wilayah yang melibatkan kerjasama pelbagai negara dalam kawasan geografi yang sama. Di Asia Tenggara, kerajaan bagi negara-negara di wilayah ini telah menubuhkan Pertubuhan Negara-negara Asia Tenggara (ASEAN) demi meningkatkan kerjasama ekonomi, sosial dan keselamatan bagi menggalakkan perpaduan dan keamanan di antara mereka. Walaupun banyak kajian telah dijalankan untuk membuktikan manfaat integrasi serantau, namun kurang penekanan telah diberikan bagi mengkaji kesannya ke atas keadaan risiko politik negara-negara terbabit. Maka disertasi ini telah mengambil pendekatan kualitatif untuk menganalisa perubahan yang berlaku ke atas faktor-faktor risiko politik di rantau ini yang disebabkan oleh integrasi ASEAN. This research began with the understanding that today’s international business environment is characterized by the growing openness of national economies and increased interaction among diverse economic and socio-political systems. For most countries this has translated into greater regional integration initiatives that involved the cooperation of diverse countries within a geographical proximity. In Southeast Asia, the governments of the ten countries that make up the region established the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to push for greater economic, social, and security cooperation aimed at promoting peace and regional solidarity. Although much study has been done to prove the economic benefits of regional integration, lesser emphasis has been given on studying its effects on political risk conditions among them. Hence, this dissertation took a qualitative approach to analyze the changes that ASEAN integration has had on the factors of political risks that exist in the region

“Stepping out of the ordinary”: exploring cross-cultural challenges of expatriates in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

In the study of expatriation and expatriate adaptation, there are limited studies that focus on issues faced by expatriates working in foreign countries with very distinct cultures. This study aims to explore this idea through the experiences of western expatriates working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Two research questions were posed to examine the cross-cultural issues and challenges faced by expatriates in the KSA, as well as the role of cross-cultural training in expatriate adjustment. The study was guided by an interpretivism paradigm through a qualitative method by using a semi-structured in-depth interview approach. Interviews were conducted among 12 expatriates from the USA and UK who are currently working in KSA. A coding technique and theoretical thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the data. The results of this study highlighted three key themes that had a considerable influence on expatriates’ adjustment, in particular: culture shock, lack of pre-departure training and the demand for an extensive cross-cultural training. It is acknowledged that the existence of sub-cultures within the KSA would expose the respondents to varying cultural values within the community. Thus, future studies within a similar context should consider the influence of intra-cultural variations. The findings of the study emphasized on the importance understanding the cultural gap between home and host country and the individual cultural awareness of the expatriate. It calls attention to the need for a tailored and extensive pre-departure, cross-cultural training and a collaborative effort between employees’ and managers to improve expatriates’ motivation and retention

A study on the factors influencing the turnover of knowledge employees in state-owned enterprises: taking CZ company as a case

Under the background of knowledge economy, the competition among enterprises is gradually condensed into that for human resources. However, the turnover rate of employee in stated-owned enterprises is actually getting higher and higher, particularly, the knowledge staff. CZ Company is chosen as a case to examine the factors influencing knowledge employee turnover in stated-owned enterprises. After data analysis, it is found that promotional opportunity, job stress, distributive justice, autonomy have a significant positive impact on employee turnover. Some suggestions are proposed to decrease the employee turnover in stated-owned enterprises in this paper

The driving force of self-initiated expatriation: A case of teachers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

In the study of expatriation, there has been less emphasis on the study of self-initiated expatriation as compared to organizational expatriation. Since people in the academia profession are amongst the most mobile and have greater opportunity to choose their employment destination, this paper explores the motivations and experiences of a group of British and American self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) that chose to work in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Guided by a case study approach, purposive sampling was used to gather information from the participants through semi-structured, exploratory questions in order to understand SIEs decisions to expatriate to the Kingdom. Findings suggest that financial rewards and personal beliefs played significant roles in the participating SIEs decisions to expatriate to the Kingdom. Particularly, this location provides them with job opportunities that offer attractive monetary rewards which fulfills their financial needs, as well as avenues to enrich their personal needs. This study focused on SIEs in a specific location, prior to the outbreak of the global pandemic. The appeal of self-initiated expatriation in the postpandemic era should be explored further. Data regarding the motivations and experiences of SIEs is beneficial for organizations’ managing talent on an international scale because many organizations rely on SIEs as a source of labor. Understanding what motivates individuals to choose expatriation can assist organizations in formulating strategic human resource management decisions. This study focused on the driving factors of academic SIEs in choosing a specific location and found that their decision to expatriate to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was based on the distinctive value of the location itself

The management of the lecturers' evaluation system in the colleges and universities in China: periods, changes, opportunities and challenges

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 70 years ago, the Lecturers’ Evaluation System in universities in China has undergone different periods of development, including initial formation, stagnation, recovery and adjustment, standardization and construction, development and deepening, and reform of classified evaluation. Each period presents different characteristics, and there are a series of changes in the subjects, methods, standards and application of evaluation results. Colleges and universities (mainly public institutions) have actively adapted and carried out a series of changes. Colleges and university lecturers should take the opportunities and challenges brought by the reform of Lecturers’ Evaluation System, positively change their roles as educators, researchers, social service providers and cultural disseminators; actively adjust their behaviours, actively assume the organizational citizenship behaviour; improve their academic titles, and promote the level of teaching and research. From the practice and experience of the Lecturers’ Evaluation System in 40 universities piloted by the Ministry of Education, the reform of the faculty members’ evaluation system has played a positive role in guiding, demonstrating and accumulating valuable experience in promoting colleges and universities in China

Halal Certification among SMEs in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah

Halal is an important concept that enables and simplifies consuming process of food and beverage products especially for Muslim consumers. The study believes that the development of Halal is a communally obligatory (fardhu kifayah) for that SMEs and a personally obligatory (fardhu ain) for the Muslim consumer. The Government of Malaysia has already recognized the importance of SMEs, implemented various policies; action plans, and also introduced Halal related programs to assist the SMEs. The objectives of the study are to identify the awareness and perception towards Halal certification among SMEs in Sabah. 42 SMEs were participated in the study; the results indicated that they are aware of the role of Halal certification, and how Halal will make them competitive in the market. Majority of them are keen to become Halal certified company however the SMEs responded that to be Halal certified company the process is expensive and complicated. This paper is hoped to contribute to better understanding of current situation of how Halal certification can help SMEs to grow their businesses. Further study on this matter is suggested in order to gain more accurate, interesting and detailed information on the issue

An Investigation on Triple Helix Model and National Innovation Systems: The Case of Malaysia

The Triple Helix (TH) model (University-Industry-Government relationship) enables numerous nations to enhance and accelerate their development forms. Ventures and universities are customary wellsprings of information. In most creating nations like Malaysia, which is experiencing significant change towards innovation-based economies, the Triple Helix model coupled with the National Innovation System can speed up this progress. This paper investigates the application of the Triple Helix (TH) model inside the National Innovation System in Malaysia. It looks at the degree or level of cooperation amongst organizations and universities in advancing economic development. This research applies mix method in which an integrative investigation of the literature, secondary information and a survey of six Malaysian public universities. The outcomes demonstrate that, the application of Triple Helix model in Malaysian public universities is acceptable. The National University of Malaysia (UKM) performed poorly while University Putra Malaysia (UPM) appears better than others. The outcomes show the need of taking care of distinguished issues in parallel with the execution of the open development idea to extend University-Industry-Government collaboration

Smartphone dependency and its impact on purchase behaviour

People nowadays seem to become dependent towards smartphone due to its convenience, great camera features, easy applications’ installations, and more importantly, it can do most of the computer functions on the go. Significantly, smartphone usage in Malaysia is growing enormously and has become a significant and lucrative industry. This study aims to understand the antecedents and the outcome of the smartphone dependency among smartphone consumers. Two theories - the theory of uses and gratification and the media dependency theory were used as the theoretical basis for this study, in order to determine the motivations to use a smartphone and to define dependency and its outcome. The antecedent variables were convenience, social need and social influence; and all of these dimensions are conceptualized as one-dimensional. The outcome of dependency on smartphones was expected to be the purchase behavior. Data analyses were based on 226 valid questionnaires that were collected among smartphone users. The result from the Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Partial Least Square (PLS) shows that only social needs and social influence significantly influenced the smartphone dependency among consumers, therefore indicating that these two factors are important to influence dependency on the smartphone. In addition, the analysis also verifies that the purchase behavior is the outcome of the dependency on the smartphone. Based on these results, marketers could focus on creating dependency among consumers on smartphone usage based on the consumers’ social need, which eventually will promote future purchase behavior in the long run. More importantly, understanding social influences as antecedents

Conceptual Framework on Market Orientation and Performance of SMEs: Alliances as Mediating

Firm capabilities become important to SMEs' performance in expanding to foreign markets. Many countries focus on helping these SMEs because of the rapid internalization of competitors. This paper aims to propose a conceptual framework by identifying the determining factor that affects the international performance of Malaysian SMEs. Two capabilities that have determined the international performance of SMEs are market orientation and alliances. This framework was developed based on an extensive literature review. According to the proposed framework, alliances mediate the relationship between market orientation and international performance. Few studies have attempted to investigate the market orientation on international performance with mediating effect of alliances on international performance, especially in developing countries. This paper suggests that future researchers need to pay extra attention to the international performance of SMEs in emerging markets, including Malaysia

An Empirical Investigation of Factors Affecting Entrepreneurial Capability (EC) Environment in ASEAN-5 Economies

The entrepreneurial capability (EC) environment of a given local or regional system refers to a set of social and economic factors that exert influence on entrepreneurial processes occurring within said system. To this end, the goal of the currently presented work is to determine and empirically validate the said EC factors in relation to the entrepreneurial environments of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)-5, namely Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, both at the regional and national levels. For this purpose, the presented research adapted the entrepreneurial perceived capabilities framework to first investigate the key determinants of EC that affect key entrepreneurial processes, such as the seeking of new opportunities and the decision to venture into new commercial opportunities, within the context of ASEAN-5 economies. Next, the identified variables were empirically tested via an examination of their coefficients in relation to their impact on entrepreneurial perceived capabilities. Succinctly, the current work applied recent consistent estimation of panel bootstrap random-effects model to determine time variant changes with respect to the studied variables in the panel sample. The data used in the current work was obtained from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) and World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) databases for the years 2010–2016. The results of the current work suggest that factors such as beliefs regarding entrepreneurship as a good career choice (EnGC) and perceived opportunities (PO) yield significant positive impact on the efficiency of EC in ASEAN-5, and can be nurtured to further improve EC environments both at the regional and national levels. Conversely, the fear of failure (FefRa) variable was shown to exert considerable negative impact on the efficiency of ASEAN-5 EC environments. Variables such as intellectual property rights (IPR), university education (UE), and knowledge transfer rate (KT) were also shown to have a positive impact on both national and regional ASEAN-5 EC environments. The current work thus makes a valuable contribution to the associated literature by presenting a robust empirical analysis of EC factors of ASEAN-5 economies, the results of which can be used to inform policies aimed at strengthening the EC settings of ASEAN-5 with respect to their pursuit of an innovation-driven region