Uncovering the Muslim leisure tourists’ motivation to travel domestically – do gender and generation matters?

Purpose – Current study is an attempt to understand what motivates local Muslim Leisure Tourists to travel domestically. This study further investigates the impacts of gender differences and generation gaps towards the local Muslim Leisure Tourists’ tour motivation and the respective determinants. Design/Methodology/Approach – Muslim Leisure Tourists who have been on the domestic leisure tours were approached to participate in the self-administered survey. Upon processing the data, 371 sets of responses were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. Findings – Four motivational factors, i.e. bond of Silaturrahim, knowledge widening, relaxation, and Islamic facilities had significant influence on the local Muslim Leisure Tourists’ intention to travel. Multi-group Analysis (MGA) highlighted a homogeneous nature of local Muslim Leisure Tourists whose tour motivation was deemed to be identical despite gender differences and the generation gaps. Originality of the research – In line with the study’s key finding, i.e. homogeneity nature of local Muslim Leisure Tourists, “one for all strategy” is deemed appropriate instead of gender and generational specific marketing strategy

An empirical investigation on EDI determinants and outcomes in Malaysian industry

Government involvement is the main cause for the EDI acceptance in Southeast Asian countries (United Nation of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific - UNESCAP, 1996). This is significantly different from the EDI developments in the western countries in which private sector involvement in EDI is substantial (UNESCAP, 1996). As an initial step to spur EDI implementation in private sector, the Malaysian Government has imposed all companies that engage in international trade to implement EDI by doing electronic customs declarations through CIS (Customs Information System) DagangNet. For this, the Government also spent over RM 300 million to fully implement EDI nationwide (Star, 2003 December 3). Nevertheless, such implementation is not successful and it has been claimed that “EDI is not yet fully implemented even though it had been initiated since late 1990s, besides electronic data is also still not recognized for legal customs declaration purposes even if it was meant for paperless and electronic customs declarations” (Star, 2003 December 3). To date, there are dual customs declarations, both electronic and manual, in practices where the sole typical electronic transaction is registration of the customs form (Jimmy, 2005; Star, 2005 July 11). This is in contrast with electronic customs declarations by other countries such as Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore where there is a full electronic declaration including electronic payment for declarations charges (Jimmy, 2005; Star, 2005 July 11; Chau, 2001)

IMPACT OF INDIAN MUSLIM RESTAURANTS’ HYGIENIC ATMOSPHERE ON DINERS’ SATISFACTION: EXTENDING THE EXPECTATION DISCONFIRMATION THEORY

Foodborne illness, as reported in the news, is a persistent public health problem in Malaysia. Reports have suggested that workers in Indian Muslim food eateries in the country were observed to be unhygienic during meal preparation – raising concerns on the consequence of such exposure to diners’ overall health and well-being. Therefore, this study hopes to emphasize the determinants of diners’ satisfaction towards Indian Muslim restaurants based on their experience and expectation. The Expectation Disconfirmation Theory primarily employed in this study with an interest in developing a good understanding of issues concerning hygienic foodservices. This study also helps to highlight the priority restaurant operators should put on both food and dining satisfaction. Food marketers who are interested in customer happiness and hygiene compliance at work should benefit from this body of knowledge on diners’ satisfaction based on experience and expectation with restaurant atmospherics. JEL Classification: L83, I31

Industry 4.0: Lesson from multinational companies to manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia

The manufacturing industry has to withstand an increasing global competition on product quality and production costs.Established manufacturing companies have recognized that customers are not willing to pay large price premiums for incremental quality improvements.As a consequence, many manufacturing companies adjust their production focusing on customized products and fast time to market.In order to cope with this challenge, industrial value creation must be geared towards sustainability. Currently, the industrial value creation in the early industrialized countries is shaped by the development towards the fourth stage of industrialization, the so-called Industry 4.0. This development provides immense opportunities for the realization of sustainable manufacturing. The aim of this study is to investigate the recent development and practice of Industry 4.0 in MNCs and provide empirical information on the potentials of implementing Industry 4.0 in SMEs. The present research will be conducted in twofold via sequential exploratory mixed method approach. The first (qualitative) phase will be examining MNCs in Malaysia who have successfully implemented the Industry 4.0. Upon understanding their experiences in implementing Industry 4.0, a research instrument will be developed which will be utilized in the second (quantitative) phase of the study. SME manufacturers will be investigated on their awareness and adoption issues pertaining to the Industry 4.0. The findings of this study expected to provide new directions and new practical insights in Industry 4.0 revolution practices in manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. Policy makers will be facilitated in appropriately outlining the measures to plan, schedule and implement (1) drivers for the next horizon of operational effectiveness, (2) adapt new business models to capture shifting value pools, and (3) build the foundation for digital transformation

The impact of purchasing and Early Supplier Involvement (ESI) in a manufacturing firm

Globalization has caused increasing competitive pressures to manufacturers worldwide such as rapid technological development, increasing level of end-product complexity, shorter product life cycle and lead time, clock speed competition, and increased outsourcing. Thus, early supplier involvement (ESI) in new product development is becoming vital to manufacturing industry in developing competitive advantage, ever since manufacturing sector is the forerunner of the economic growth in Malaysia. This paper examines ESI in four building blocks of design, procurement,supplier, and manufacturing requirements, through the use of in-depth case study on a German based company. The objectives of the research are to study the supplier involvement in the mutual inclusive building blocks of ESI conceptual framework, to identify the factors that lead companies to implement ESI, and to analyze the impacts of ESI implementation. In addition, barriers to the effective ESI implementation includes suppliers are not allowed to involve in the process of the production at the final stage,and suppliers being not cooperative and slow in delivery. The critical factors that attract ESI implementation are to create strategic partnership with robust supply base, in which to produce best qualities with continuous cost cutting improvements, more dependent on suppliers to meet increasing competition and close collaboration between buying firm and suppliers. The findings revealed that the company is less actively in practicing ESI, in approaching suppliers and sharing information on design manufacturability and cost improvement, as it gives great impact on purchasing decision to accommodate effective and efficient supply on parts and components. The case study highlights the early supplier involvement during new product development, which is served as a valuable benchmark and guidelines for practitioners

How does the Ambience of Cafe Affect the Revisit Intention Among its Patrons? A S on the Cafes in Ipoh, Perak

Food service industry is growing rapidly as a result of the changing consumer lifestyle. The food service industry is highly competitive due to the increasing number of new entrants offering inventive food products and services. In order to be outstanding in such competitive industry, retailers nowadays opt to emphasize on their store environment. Past studies discovered that store environment stimulates emotions that significantly boost customer revisit intention. As a result, retailers attempt to differentiate their store by combining various environmental stimuli to create an attractive ambience that will in turn draw in the customers. Hence, this study attempts to investigate the impact of various café ambience factors on the patrons’ revisit intention. The patrons of cafes in Ipoh, Perak were selected using purposive sampling technique to be the respondents of this study. 250 questionnaires were collected and Partial Least Square technique was used to analyse the data collected. Findings show that all the five factors of café ambience namely lighting, music, decoration, cleanliness and layouts were significantly influencing the patrons’ revisit intention. Of these five factors, lighting was most influential while music was the least influential in affecting the patrons’ revisit intention. Accordingly, this study lists several recommendations for practitioners and academics with regards to the store environment and its impact on the repurchase intention

How does the Ambience of Cafe Affect the Revisit Intention Among its Patrons? A S on the Cafes in Ipoh, Perak

Food service industry is growing rapidly as a result of the changing consumer lifestyle. The food service industry is highly competitive due to the increasing number of new entrants offering inventive food products and services. In order to be outstanding in such competitive industry, retailers nowadays opt to emphasize on their store environment. Past studies discovered that store environment stimulates emotions that significantly boost customer revisit intention. As a result, retailers attempt to differentiate their store by combining various environmental stimuli to create an attractive ambience that will in turn draw in the customers. Hence, this study attempts to investigate the impact of various café ambience factors on the patrons’ revisit intention. The patrons of cafes in Ipoh, Perak were selected using purposive sampling technique to be the respondents of this study. 250 questionnaires were collected and Partial Least Square technique was used to analyse the data collected. Findings show that all the five factors of café ambience namely lighting, music, decoration, cleanliness and layouts were significantly influencing the patrons’ revisit intention. Of these five factors, lighting was most influential while music was the least influential in affecting the patrons’ revisit intention. Accordingly, this study lists several recommendations for practitioners and academics with regards to the store environment and its impact on the repurchase intention

Perceived service quality and student satisfaction in higher learning institutions in Tanzania

Abstract Despite policy efforts to promote higher learning in Tanzania, reports show persistent student dissatisfaction, revealing the extant inadequate quality measurement models. The study examined the fundamental elements causing dissatisfaction using an extended SERVQUAL model with additional variables, perceived transparency mediated by trust. Researchers collected quantitative data from 398 third-year higher learning students. The structural equations modelling result shows that reliability, perceived transparency, and trust in an institution significantly predict satisfaction. Further, trust partially mediates the influence of perceived transparency on student satisfaction. Evidence from this study suggests that education policy geared to promote the expertise of service providers and punctuality of service offering, transparency in service offering, and social responsibility of service provision is adequate for student satisfaction. Future research can look into a cross-level of economic development, groups of students—analysis of satisfaction determinants, and test the transparency—trust-based SERVIQUAL Model in quality struggling sectors in Tanzania and other developing countries. Also, studies can test how satisfaction mediates the effect of quality on academic performance

Customer relationship management implimentation : case studies on real estate practitioners

But CRM is not just software or automation of business processes. Get senior management to embrace the idea of CRM first. They need to champion the adoption of it if the organisation is to engage in the cultural shift necessary for successful implementation and reap the rewards