Modelling continuance intention of citizens in government Facebook page: A complementary PLS approach

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the continuance intention (CI) of citizens in following government Facebook page. Applying theories of expectation-confirmation, and information system success on a sample of 362 students in Malaysia, and using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), the study finds that CI and satisfaction of government Facebook page is contingent upon information quality (IQ) of the Facebook page per se. IQ is found as a second order construct of five first order factors: reliability, completeness, relevancy, timeliness, and understandability. Satisfaction of government Facebook page is also found as a partial mediator to the relationship between IQ and CI of following government Facebook page. In addition, applying PLS multi-group analysis, the results show that different government Facebook pages moderate the relationships between IQ and satisfaction of government Facebook page, IQ and CI of following government Facebook page as well as satisfaction of government Facebook page and CI of following government Facebook page

Knowledge quality effect on small and medium-sized enterprises’ competitiveness through improvisational creativity, compositional creativity and innovation

The concept of competitiveness involves the level of creative actions and ability to produce quality goods and services. For Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), competitive advantage is contingent upon their timely decisions and speedto- market production capabilities. Many researchers have considered competitiveness as the degree of creativity and innovation. In recent years, the concept of quality has been synthesized with data, information, and knowledge while advancements in knowledge management concepts have made it necessary to consider knowledge quality (KQ) as well. A sample of 358 Malaysian SMEs was used applying partial least squares (PLS) approach which is a variance based structural equation modeling method. This thesis proposes that organizational factors such as absorptive capacity (AC), functional diversity (FD), knowledge network (KN), organizational structure (OS), organizational culture (OC), and technology utilization (TU) influence the sense-making activities (KQ dimensions) of business entities. This research combined theories of sense making, creativity, and organizational improvisation and developed a cogent model helping to understand and examine the structural relationships between organizational factors, KQ, and competitiveness. The findings indicate that TU, AC, FD, and OC are significant contributors to sense-making activities of Malaysian SMEs and TU, AC, and OC are found to be indirectly significant with improvisational creativity (IC), compositional creativity (CC), and innovation. Actionable KQ and accessibility KQ are found as mediators to the relationship between intrinsic KQ, contextual KQ, and IC and CC. The results of PLS-multi group analysis show a discrepancy between the results of Malay and Chinese ethnic groups. Finally, importance-performance map analysis indicates that IC and actionable KQ have the highest importance on Malaysian SMEs’ innovation

Country-of-origin effects on consumer cognitive structures and preference for foreign brands among elites

Purpose Despite the plethora of research into country-of-origin (COO) effects, research that investigates the cognitive structures behind elite consumers' preferences for foreign brands remains limited. Hence, this study aims to investigate the cognitive structures behind foreign brand preference among professional elites in Sri Lanka. Design/methodology/approach Using the means-end chain (MEC) theory as the theoretical lens and building on the findings of 30 laddering interviews (semi-structured), a survey was conducted among 311 professional elites to uncover the key elements of the cognitive structures behind foreign brand preference. Findings The findings revealed that the cognitive structures behind foreign brand preference are influenced by a bundle of brand attributes, brand consequences and personal values of elites', which significantly influence their attitudes towards foreign brands. Multi-group analysis further revealed that the relationship between brand attributes and attitudes significantly differs across Chinese and US COOs where the path coefficient is stronger for elites' preference for Chinese brands. Originality/value This study is the first of its kind to explore the COO effects on consumer cognitive structures. The findings contribute to MEC theory and shed light on the understanding towards elites' preference for foreign brands

Organizational factors and process capabilities in a KM strategy: toward a unified theory

This study aims to examine the role of knowledge management (KM) enablers on KM activities in the context of Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The effects of organizational culture, transformational leadership, organizational structure, and technology utilization as infrastructural KM enablers are examined on KM activities as knowledge acquisition, knowledge conversion, application, and protection. A total of 227 responses from SMEs’ top management are used to assess the measurement and structural models applying partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that technology utilization and organizational structure are two main factors in KM activities (all structural relationships are supported). Surprisingly, organizational culture is only associated with knowledge conversion and protection and the findings indicate no relationships between organizational culture and knowledge acquisition and application. The results also indicate a positive relationship between transformational leadership and knowledge acquisition and the hypotheses on the association between transformational leadership and knowledge conversion, application, and protection are rejected. The results of importance-performance map analysis (IPMA) imply that technology utilization has the highest importance on knowledge acquisition, conversion, and protection while organizational structure has the highest importance on knowledge application. The results of IPMA also show that organizational culture has the highest performance on all KM activities. This study is amongst the few that examines the structural relationships between organizational factors and KM activities in a SME context

Guideline for application of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in tourism and hospitality studies

The aim of this chapter is to review and illustrate a step-by-step guideline in conducting fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in tourism and hospitality studies. As an emerging method, fsQCA is simultaneously quantitative and qualitative in nature which makes it an appropriate method for social science disciplines including tourism and hospitality area because of complex nature of relationships between multiple variables where theories and models are underdeveloped. Unlike conventional statistical techniques, fsQCA is an asymmetrical analysis technique that provides a holistic view and interrelationships among several conditions using Boolean algebra. The fsQCA analyses produce comprehensive assessment by revealing causal combinations of antecedents to predict an outcome; and identify sufficient configurations (i.e., causal combinations and recipes) and necessary condition/s. By utilizing this method, researchers would be able to produce complex, comprehensive, and robust results

Does brand personality and perceived product quality play a major role in mobile phone's consumers switching behaviour?

This study’s main objective is to explore the antecedents of consumer switching behaviour in the mobile industry’s context. At the same time, this study gives a closer focus on the roles that brand personality (BP) and perceived product quality play in customer satisfaction, consumer brand identification, and switching behaviour. Using a self-structured questionnaire, 381 usable responses were recorded for data analysis. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis, and Structural Equation Modelling were employed to analyse the data. The EFA outcome reveals that excitement, competence, and sophistication are the most significant qualities predicting BP in the mobile industry’s context. The result demonstrates that BP, indirectly through consumer brand identification and customer satisfaction, has a negative effect on consumer’s switching behaviour intention. Perceived product quality has a direct and indirect relationship with switching behaviour intention. Finally, it is revealed that BP has high impact on perceived product quality’s evaluation as well

Job satisfaction and job performance in the media industry: A synergistic application of partial least squares path modelling

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job satisfaction and employee performance in the media industry as well as the role of demographic variables, namely, age, gender, income, marital status, and the level of education as categorical moderators on this relationship. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 220 valid questionnaires were collected from employees in the Malaysian media industry to examine the goodness of model fit, sign indeterminacy, measurement model, and structural relationships between constructs. Using partial least squares (PLS) path modelling, this study introduces a full-fledged structural equation modelling approach by applying ADANCO 1.1 advanced composite modelling and SmartPLS 3.2.3. PLS-multi-group analysis is applied to examine the heterogeneity of data and test the hypotheses on moderating variables. Findings – Payment, promotion, supervision, operating conditions, co-workers, and nature of the work were found to be conducive to employees’ job performance, among which co-workers generated the highest path coefficient followed by operating conditions, payment, and promotion. Hypotheses on the relationships between fringe benefits, contingent rewards, communication, and job performance were rejected. Age, gender, and level of education were found as moderators to the relationship between facets of job satisfaction and employees’ job performance. Practical implications – The results of importance performance map analysis can help managers and decision makers to prioritize their actions. The findings show that co-workers and operating conditions have the highest importance and payment and contingent rewards have the highest performance on job performance in the media industry. Originality/value – This study is among the few that investigates the relationship between job satisfaction and job performance in the media industry by considering demographic factors as the moderating variables. This study also contributes methodologically through the introduction of a synergistic PLS approach