Making a Difference to the Environment: Understanding Undergraduates Environmental Behaviour

Understanding undergraduates’ environmental behaviour is important as they will be the leaders of the country in the near future. They play an important role in protecting and conserving the environment. This paper investigates the undergraduates’ behaviours towards the environment after completing the Environment Economics course. Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) together with some other factors such as academic performance, government regulations and perceived importance of nature are employed. Multiple regression analysis shows undergraduates’ behaviours is positively affected by attitude and perceived importance of nature, and negatively influenced by government regulations. Although academic performance is very important to provide an understanding of basic principles of environmental sustainability, it however does not significantly influence their environmental behaviour. The finding hopes to assist the policy makers to plan future strategies so that the undergraduates behaviours can make a difference to nature and the environment

Predicting Intention to Continue Using E-Tourism Technologies amidst Covid-19 Endemic: A PLS-SEM Approach

After almost two years of stalling, the tourism sector is now thriving as we move into the Covid-19 endemic phase, making travel safer. Therefore, continuous use of personalized immersive technology that can deliver timely information and shield users from the outbreak is essential. This study looks at how travellers intend to continue using e-tourism technologies which include augmented reality, social media, smartphone apps, smart technologies, websites and reservation systems. Purposive sampling was used to select 200 respondents who were above 18 years old to participate in a survey that was based on the Expectation-Confirmation Model. The acquired data was then examined using PLS SEM for hypothesis testing. The results showed that satisfaction with e-tourism technologies was the most significant predictor of motivation to keep using such technologies. Further discussion includes contributions to the field of knowledge as well as for players, developers and service providers in the tourism sector

Tourists Perceptions of Kota Bharu Islamic City

The aim of this paper is to determine tourists' pereptions on spiritual experience, brand image, cultural attributes and service quality they experienced in Kota Bharu, the capital and administration centre of Kelantan, Malaysia. Kota Bharu was declared an Islamic City in 2005. It has many mosques, various museums, unique architectural old building and palaces. As the number of tourist arrivals to Kelantan is encouraging and contributing to the state income, it is important too examine what these tourists perceive during their stays in Kota Bharu Islamic City. Variance Based Structural Equation Modelling technique of Partial Least Square (PLS) was employed. The findings show that all the variables are significantly influencing tourists' pereption except for service qualiity. In other words, tourists perception of Kota Bharu are positively related to spirituality, brand destination and cultural attributes. Tourists perceptions play a crucial role as this will affect the future tourists arrivals in the stte. Thus, the findings of the study will be useful in helping policy planners to ounderstand how tourists perceived Kota Bharu and design policies too increase tourism receipts and to perserve tourism attributes

The influence of familiarity and customer involvement on customer service experience in Malaysian public higher education industry / Mazlina Mamat, Cheam Chai Li and Nik Nor Hasimah Nik Ismail

In this ever changing business environment, organizations need to create unique offerings to their customers. Creating superior customer experiences seems to be one of the central objectives in today's service environments. Firms around the globe have embraced the concept of customer experience management, with many incorporating the idea into their mission statements. A recent IBM report identifies customer service experience as a key factor for companies to use in building loyalty to brands, channels and services (Badgett, Boyce, and Kleinberger, 2007). Similarly, it has been argued that the success of Starbucks is based on creating a distinctive customer experience for their customers (Michelli, 2007). When organizations incorporating the concept of customer service experience their strategies, they need to focus on their internal sources such employees, the people who bring the organization alive and who are responsible for the output. Without the employees the organizations would be just a structure made of steel, iron, and glass. Employees are the most important asset the company has. Employee satisfaction levels can affect the quality of service, and therefore are believed to be related to customer satisfaction issue in the service industry, where front line employees have constant interaction with customers and can affect the overall company's profitability and success

Factors Influencing Changes in Consumer Behavior amidst Post COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had an immediate and significant impact on consumer behavior, radically changing attitudes and behaviors, as reflected in sales figures. While some researchers believed the pandemic would lead to lasting changes, others expected a return to pre-pandemic behavioral patterns. Despite this ambiguity, there has been little research on the factors influencing consumer behavior, especially about the demand for everyday goods. This study, rooted in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and the protection motivation theory (PMT), investigated the determinants of consumer behavior in the purchase of daily necessities following the COVID-19 outbreak. In light of the possibility that the pandemic could have caused a new pattern of consumer behavior during the endemic phase, a convenience sampling of 1438 respondents was conducted. Using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the present study found that choice, information, and perceived economic stability (PES) positively affected consumer behavior, while COVID-19 and risk had negative effects. Interestingly, stress had no impact on consumer behavior. These findings provide valuable insights for companies desiring to understand and anticipate customer behavior during and beyond the pandemic. The present study not only identifies the factors influencing consumer behavior but also enables salespeople to develop strategies to proactively address changes in consumer behaviors

Economic growth, tourism and selected macroeconomic variables: A triangular causal relationship in Malaysia

Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world, which makes it a potential strategic factor for economic growth. This adds to the strong interest in the role of tourism in Malaysia’s economic growth as it is the second-largest contributor to foreign exchange earnings after manufacturing.In addition, empirical results associated with Granger causality among economic growth, tourism and exports within the neoclassical framework are inconsistent.The objectives of this study, thus, are to determine: the long-run relationship; the long-run and short-run Granger causality; and the long-run triangular Granger causality between economic growth and tourism receipts corresponding to selected macroeconomic variables such as government tourism expenditure, physical capital, education, health and exports as control variables.The long-run Granger causality in vector error correction model (VECM) shows economic growth, tourism receipts and health complement each other (bidirectional causality), while unidirectional causalities are found between government tourism expenditure, physical capital, education and exports to economic growth. In addition, enhancing physical capital, education, health, exports and government tourism expenditure precede tourism receipts; all these in turn indirectly lead to economic growth, thus witnessing triangular relationships among them

The Causal Relationship of Tourism and The Selected Macroeconomic Variables With Economic Growth

The world is making tourism its cash cow. So is Malaysia. Currently, tourism is Malaysia’s important foreign exchange earner, second only to manufacturing. Tourism, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries is a strategic factor for economic growth. Since the empirical results associated with Granger causality among economic growth, tourism and exports within neoclassical framework are inconsistent, the present study sets out to show that tourism has a role in economic growth using the Malaysian context by utilizing the selected macroeconomic variables of physical capital, education, health and exports as the control variables from 1974-2010. The objectives are to determine 1) the long run relationships, 2) the short run relationships, 3) the long run and short run Granger causality, 4) the long run triangular relationships and 5) the speed of adjustment for economic growth. The study employs econometric techniques such as unit roots, Johansen cointegration, Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) within Granger causality. Results from Johansen cointegration show all the variables are positive and statistically significant to growth except exports and government tourism expenditure. Short run relationships reveal only tourism variables are significant and positively related to growth. The long run Granger causality in VECM show bidirectional relationship among economic growth, tourism receipts and health; while unidirectional causalities are found for the rest of the variables to growth. Interestingly, the selected macroeconomic variables and government tourism expenditure precede tourism receipts while tourism receipts cause health–all these in turn indirectly lead to economic growth thus showing that triangular relationships exists. The speed of adjustment shows a high coefficient when there is a state of disequilibrium. Besides enhancing the present knowledge, the findings also suggest to policy makers to further improve and sustain tourism and the selected macroeconomic variables in order to generate greater economic growth

Determinants of Online Teaching and Learning Effectiveness for Statistical Concepts and Calculations Subjects During the COVID-19 Movement Control Order (MCO)

In today’s fast-paced ICT-driven world, understanding the factors influencing the effectiveness of online teaching and learning is paramount, especially during the Movement Control Order (MCO) when physical educational activities are restricted. Assessing the efficacy of undergraduate students under these circumstances can be particularly challenging, and the resulting conclusions may vary depending on the context. Consequently, this study is driven by three primary objectives. Firstly, this study seeks to employ factor analysis as a robust method for validating the selected online teaching and learning instruments. Secondly, it endeavors to categorize the survey instruments into distinct core variables using Principal Axis Factor analysis. Additionally, the study aims to harness multiple regression analysis to uncover the factors influencing the efficiency of online teaching and learning. To achieve these objectives, an online questionnaire was administered to 107 students enrolled in a university in Malaysia. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results of the multiple regression analysis revealed that lecturer roles and student attitudes have significant positive relationships with the success of online teaching and learning. In contrast, flexibility exhibited a significant but inverse association. Despite the global transition into the endemic phase of COVID-19, this study aspires to furnish valuable insights for lecturers, students, and university administrators regarding the ongoing practices of online teaching and learning. Ultimately, these insights can empower policymakers to formulate optimal strategies thereby benefiting all stakeholders involved. In conclusion, this study acknowledges its limitations and offers recommendations for further research

Tourism, selected macroeconomics variables and economic growth: An econometrics of long run and short run relationship

Economic growth plays an important role in any country as it leads to increase in standard of living, income per capital, business opportunities, employment level, economic stability, etc. With the great outburst of world tourism in recent years, it is now one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world which is a potential factor for economic growth.Nevertheless, the yields from this economic activity are different across geographical regions.Since tourism in Malaysia has become the second largest income contributor of foreign exchange after manufacturing, this study attempts to determine whether tourism (in terms of tourism receipts and government tourism expenditure) is crucial for enhancing economic growth in Malaysia from 1974-2010, given production function framework and exports are the control variables. The empirical analysis will be based on Johansen Co integration for long run relationship and Error Correction Model (ECM) for short run dynamic. Results of long run relationship show all the variables are statistically significant and positively related to economic growth except exports and government tourism expenditure. Error correction model (ECM) for short run dynamic reveals only tourism receipts and government tourism expenditure are significant and positively related to economic growth

Local Tourist Food Consumption Behaviour in Kota Bharu, Kelantan / Soo-Cheng Chuah,Chai Li Cheam and Sulaika Abd. Kadir

Tourism is now one of the rapidly growing industries in the world, as well as a potential sector to generate economic development. While travelling to a locality, tourists will definitely opt for local authentic food choices to fulfil their taste buds, which provides good experience for them and adds value to their choices of destination. Food tourism has grown rapidly in recent years, especially due to the fact that local food playing an important role in differentiating a destination from another. Therefore, a tourist’s experience of tasting local food is capable of developing their perceptions and values of the place. In particular, food tourism is one of the important aspects in promoting Kota Bharu and its cultural tourism, especially for local tourists, as local food is a manifestation of the national, regional, and cultural values of a tourism destination. This study attempted to determine the explanatory factors influencing tourist food consumption in Kota Bharu, which was achieved by collecting a sample size of 236 local tourists using the convenient sampling method. The resulting findings revealed that price was a major point of concern for domestic tourists in the context of food consumption, considering the factors of gender, age, or education level accordingly. Bootstrapped multiple regression was analysed and found out that motivational and physiological factors were affecting food consumption behaviour among local tourists in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Therefore, local food operators should take into consideration of their food prices when developing effective marketing strategie