The Roles of Government in the Commercialization of Technology Based Firms

The Commercialization of Technology Based Firms (TBFs) have been acknowledged to play an increasingly significant role in economic development and has been regarded as an engine of growth that gingers rapid industrialization, generates revenue, wealth creation and employment generation. Many universities and other research institutes in Malaysia have established Technology Transfer Offices (TTO) to support the scientist in the bid to commercialize Research and Development (R and D) initiatives. This among others are the lessons learnt from the Bayh Dole Act which shows that increasing policy support from various government has motivated academic entrepreneurs to chun out spin off companies. The purpose of this research is to find out the roles of government in the commercialization of TBFs in Malaysia. In this research, 28 technology based firms and 19 venture capital firms were interviewed with the aid of a tape recorder and some through observation. Data was later transcribed and analyzed through content analysis, identified items coded and emerging themes sorted. Conclusions are drawn from the study findings and recommendations made

Nurturing Roles of Venture Capital Firms and the Sustenance of Technology Ventures

In Malaysia and other part of the world, Venture Capital (VC) was acknowledged as being among the most vital technology financing mechanisms assisting Research and Development (R n D) activities, from encouragement of rudimentary scientific research to technology development and commercialization. The purpose of this research is to find out how the Nurturing Roles of Venture Capital Firms (VCFs) in Malaysia help in the sustenance of Technology Based Firms (TBFs). This study adopts a qualitative method of data collection, where 47 participants such as Business Angels (BA), Government Venture Capital Firms (GVCF), Banks Venture Capital Firms (BVCF), Academic Technopreneurs (AT) and Conventional Technopreneurs (CT) are interviewed. Data was transcribed, analyzed and coded using the Miles and Huberman Model for qualitative data analysis. Findings from this study reported how the roles of VCFs enhance the business performance of TBFs

Malaysian Venture Capital Berhad (Mavcap): The Journey So Far (2001-2013)

In a knowledge-driven economy, economic growth is increasingly dependent upon technology entrepreneurship and growth of technology based firms (TBFs) whereby ability of these entrepreneurs to raise capital for commercial growth is a huge challenge that usually impedes development. However, the government of Malaysia has identified Venture Capital (VC) as being among the most vital technology financing mechanisms assisting research and development (R & D) activities, from encouragement of rudimentary scientific research to technology development and commercialization. The objective of this study is to review the activities of Malaysian Venture Capital Berhad (MAVCAP) from inception about 12 years ago and find out if the main purpose of establishing the organization has been achieved. The methodology adopted here is a single case study based on an in-depth review of empirical literature, newspapers, secondary data and document analysis of the activities of the case study organization. This study concludes that the main purpose of establishing the Malaysian Venture Capital Management Berhad has so far been achieved. Though there is room for improvement in certain areas which has already been identified by those in the helm of affairs

Venture Capital in Malaysia: A Case Study of Malaysian Venture Capital Berhad (MAVCAP)

The idea of the establishment of Malaysian Venture Capital Berhad (MAVCAP) was conceived when information and communications technology (ICT) were beginning to transform firms universally and it was obvious that the future lie in knowledge-driven economy. Particularly in the USA, such companies where being born on a daily basis with venture capital (VC) boosting their exponential development. In view of this, the Malaysian government dreamt to replicate some of the interesting successes in the domestic economy and pushed the progress of the country through to the next logical phase, one that is based on intellectual property (IP). Hence, they government identified Venture Capital as a veritable instrument essential to finance technology innovation by supporting research and development (R & D) activities in universities and other public research institutes. The objective of this study is to review the activities of MAVCAP from inception about twelve years ago and find out if the main purpose of establishing the organization has been achieved. The methodology adopted here is a single case study based on in-depth review of empirical literature, newspapers, secondary data, and document analysis about the activities of the case study organization. This study finds that up to date, MAVCAP has succeeded in collaboration with other active agents in the innovation ecosystems helped to build a thriving VC industry in Malaysia. MAVCAP has also contributed in no small measure in helping to groom pools of VC professionals among young Malaysian university graduate

The Effects of Shading Regimes on the Growth of Cocoa Seedlings(Theobroma cacao L.)

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of different shading regimes: 80, 55, 30 and a percent i.e. full sunlight on the growth of cocoa seedlings during the first five months in the nursery. It was observed that the shading regime for optimal dryweight accumulation was under 80 percent shade during the first three months gradually reducing to 55 percent shade from the fourth month onwards. This interaction between age and shading regime was brought about by changes in net assimilation rates in response to self shading as the plant aged and also to the effects of lead production in response to different light intensities. Totally unshaded condition was detrimental to plant growth. Shading practice has to take into account the balance between capacity for leaf production and optimal capacity for assimilation

University Incubators: A Gateway to an Entrepreneurial Society

The paper argues that universities would enhance their participation through an effective and well-integrated incubation system for the development of sustainable entrepreneurial society. This study reviews the shifting trend of universities in society from teaching to research and development, innovation, entrepreneurship, and recently to facilitate an entrepreneurial society by promoting entrepreneurial culture and institutional development. It is categorically accepted by researchers that the 21st century will rely on knowledge, innovation, entrepreneurship, and business incubators. However, universities are lacking to contribute with full strength in research commercialization, entrepreneurship and economic growth. In this study, the strengths and weaknesses of university incubators are highlighted to enhance their efficacy for a better economic output. University incubators provide a facilitative environment for revenue generation by ensuring a cloud with financial, legal and technical support for a win-win interaction between universities, business tycoons, government and community. The ideas of human capital, knowledge and, research and development have evolved the economies towards knowledge based economies by having creativity, innovation, knowledge transfer, information access and supportive infrastructure. In an entrepreneurial society, universities move one step ahead by structuring the mechanisms to facilitate entrepreneurial culture and, creating institutes and leaders. Finally, the study presents some future directions for university incubators with policy recommendations. Keywords: University incubator; Entrepreneurial society; Knowledge transfer; University industry linkages; Commercialization; Entrepreneurship; Spinoffs; Institutional Development

The effect of perceived barriers on social entrepreneurship intention in Malaysian universities:The moderating role of education

This paper attempts to identify barriers of social entrepreneurship intention by the moderating role of education amongst research universities in Malaysia. Entrepreneurship is regarded as the major factor for economic development while social entrepreneurship is considered as the alternative method of solving social problems. Entrepreneurship is not new for Malaysia as is evident from various policies and programs initiated by the government. However, social entrepreneurship is a relatively new phenomenon in Malaysian context that requires much attention. To promote entre-preneurship we need to know the barriers influencing on entrepreneurship to overcome the barriers and promote new policies and measures to create new ventures. The study used Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior as a framework to investigate the barriers of social entrepreneurship intention. Data was collected through questionnaire and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted by using AMOS 18. The multilevel sampling design was used with purposive sampling scheme in Malaysian research universities. The findings of this study show that overall students consider the lack of competency, lack of self-confidence and lack of resources were the barriers that affect social entrepreneurial intentions. Results also show that the social entrepreneurial education moderated the relationship between the perceived barriers and social entrepreneurial intentions of the students. This implies that teaching of social entrepreneurial can help to reduce perceived barriers. Also, the pre-sent study premises future directions that a cross country analysis between developing countries and between developed and developing countries can be done to figure out barriers of social entrepreneurship intention amongst students

A Conceptualised Approach towards Building a Growth Model for Venture Capitalists Financing of TBFs

The purpose of this study is to develop a conceptual framework towards building a model for venture capitalists to evaluate investments in technology based firms, considering them from their growth stage. Fast growth entrepreneurs need this model to determine the right investors to approach, since not all specialize in funding early stage high risk companies. Previous studies revealed that major problems TBF owners face is identifying financial institutions to approach for funding, and what criteria that financial institutions used to evaluate the technologies? And also, several capital are lying idle with retired and successful individuals who also encounter difficulty of identifying the right companies to fund, because they do not possess the requisite skills to evaluate businesses based on their proposals. Past research have failed to represent the growth stages of the TBFs in a model such as this, which makes it easier for interest parties to adopt when evaluating thousands of business proposals, though they all mentioned the various growth stages except the Death stage mentioned in this study. Literature review is from secondary sources such as journals, textbooks, e-journals, websites, newspaper articles, online materials, personal discussions with colleagues. The findings of this study are important because it contributes more insights to the academic research of financing technology based firms, and call for further research on presenting the growth stages using graphical approach. Furthermore, the result of this research will be useful to link theory to practice

Kesan ketamadunan Islam Andalusia dalam novel Melayu pilihan mutakhir

Perkembangan ketamadunan Islam menyerlah sejak berabad lamanya dan merangkumi pelbagai aspek kehidupan. Hal ini terungkap dalam sejarah dunia secara umumnya, selain menerusi sejarah Islam khususnya yang merakamkan hubungan ketamadunan Islam dengan pertumbuhan kehidupan manusia dan pembangunan masyarakat. Begitu juga halnya dengan perkembangan persuratan Melayu tanahair yang memperlihatkan kesan ketamadunan Islam dalam karya sastera yang menyaksikan kelahiran pengarang-pengarang baharu yang menggalurkan nilai ketamadunan Islam yang berlatarkan bumi Andalusia dalam karya masing-masing. Justeru, makalah ini merungkai tentang kesan ketamadunan Islam dalam dua novel Melayu pilihan mutakhir, iaitu novel Lentera Cinta Albaicin (Mazny M.R., Galeri Ilmu Sdn. Bhd, 2011) dan Nuansa Kota Merah (Khayrn Othman, Karangkraf, 2011) sebagai kajian. Kedua-duanya berlatarkan bumi Andalusia yang memperlihatkan ketamadunan Islam dikemukakan dalam novel terbabit. Pendekatan kajian adalah menggunakan kaedah analisis teks dan pendekatan tematik. Kajian ini akan memperlihatkan nilai ketamadunan daripada tiga sudut, iaitu agama, budaya dan sosial yang akhirnya menyerlahkan sejarah Islam. Berdasarkan kajian jelas menunjukkan bahawa ketamadunan Islam yang berlatarkan bumi Andalusia dimanfaatkan pengarang dalam berkarya sebagai perutusan yang bermanfaat untuk khalayak pembaca