Absorptive capacity and performance in Malaysian SMEs / Zarina Denan

Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) presently evolve in a complex business environment characterized by globalization the internationalization of markets and the need for greater efficiency effectiveness and competitiveness based on innovation and knowledge. This has put increasing pressure upon the management of these firms especially manufacturing and technological SMEs that must now compete globally. Many entrepreneurial researches have highlighted the significance of potential strategies, technological innovation, or entrepreneurial orientation in improving SMEs productivity

Drug and Substance Abuse among Youth: A rehabilitation centre in Kuala Lumpur

Drug and substance abuse create a social disorder that would destruct the society. This study examines factors leading to drug abuse among youth in a rehab center located in Kuala Lumpur. Out of 61 respondents surveyed, 71% was Malay, 13% was Chinese, and 10% was Indian and majority of them 80% were male. The study found that there were no significant differences in the mean of social environment, income, law enforcement and peer influence scores among the three ethnic groups. The multiple regression analysis revealed that peer influence was a significant factor leading to drug abuse among the youth.© 2016. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.Keywords: Drug abuse; youth; ethnicity; peer influenc

The impact of environmental dynamism on knowledge absorptive capacity-innovation performance relationship amongst manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia / Zarina Denan, Noraini Ismail and Noormala Amir Ishak

This study examines the absorptive capacity construct at the organization level: its influence on the innovation performance. The primary question this study sought to answer was: How does absorptive capacity affect innovation performance? More specifically, the study examines the relationships of absorptive capacity dimensions and innovation performance. Also, the role of environmental dynamism, as a moderator on absorptive capacity-innovation performance relationship was also investigated. Absorptive capacity is defined as a firm’s capability to complete the entire process from acquiring, disseminating and exploiting knowledge for commercial ends. This study focuses on three dimensions only; knowledge acquisition, knowledge dissemination and knowledge exploitation. The innovation performance concentrates on incremental innovation which includes product, service, method of production, market, sources of supply and ways of organizing. The study used a survey research method and regression analysis technique to examine the hypothesized relationships among constructs using data collected from 180 manufacturing SMEs in Malaysia. It was found that absorptive capacity is positively and significantly related to firms’ innovation performance. Nevertheless, none of the dimensions of absorptive capacity was found significant. The environmental dynamism significantly moderates the relationship between absorptive capacity and innovation performance. The results indicated that both researchers and managers need to pay more attention on SMEs capability in acquiring, disseminating and exploiting knowledge and these capabilities must be integrated in order to achieve superior innovation performance. Also Malaysian SMEs are seen to be more absorptive in more stable environment which eventually enhances the innovation performance

Vaccination Acceptance among Indigenous Community: The Moderating Role of Tribal Leader Endorsement

Coronavirus disease 2019 cases are showing a downward trend in Malaysia but with active cases still present, the virus remains a persistent public health threat. Amid vaccination at no cost, some of the populace is refusing to get vaccinated. As getting indigenous communities vaccinated are much more difficult due to contextual and cultural difference, this study investigated whether tribal leader endorsement moderates the relationship between attitude and intention towards vaccination. Drawing from a survey of 312 indigenous from various generations of Millennials, Generation X and Generation Z, this study found that endorsement of tribal leaders does not act as a moderating factor in the association between attitude and intention to accept vaccination across generations. This study contributes to understanding whether indigenous communities require cultural-based approaches to support vaccination uptake. This study would be beneficial in supporting initiatives to curb COVID-19 disease and the right to good health among indigenous communities

Drug and Substance Abuse among Youth: A rehabilitation centre in Kuala Lumpur

Drug and substance abuse create a social disorder that would destruct the society. This study examines factors leading to drug abuse among youth in a rehab center located in Kuala Lumpur. Out of 61 respondents surveyed, 71% was Malay, 13% was Chinese, and 10% was Indian and majority of them 80% were male. The study found that there were no significant differences in the mean of social environment, income, law enforcement and peer influence scores among the three ethnic groups. The multiple regression analysis revealed that peer influence was a significant factor leading to drug abuse among the youth

Kebolehpasaran graduan dan kesesuaian kurikulum program ekonomi di universiti tempatan

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis kesesuaian program ekonomi yang ditawarkan di universiti-universiti seluruh Malaysia dengan perkembangan ekonomi dunia dan juga masalah kebolehpasaran graduan program ekonomi. Objektif khusus kajian ini adalah untuk: i. Menganalisis trend kemasukan pelajar ke program ekonomi. ii. Mengenal pasti tahap kesesuaian program ekonomi dengan kehendak semasa pemegang taruh. iii. Mengenal pasti kesesuaian dan ketersediaan tenaga kerja dalam bidang ekonomi dan tahap infrasruktur. iv. Menganalisis tahap kebolehpasaran graduan program ekonomi. v. Menyediakan garis panduan bidang ekonomi yang akan menjadi rujukan universiti awam dan swasta untuk jangka masa sehingga sepuluh tahun akan datang