Validity of the technology acceptance model (TAM) : A sensemaking perspective

This study investigates whether sensemaking activities influence technology acceptance and if the strength of relationship between TAM’s constructs changes over a period of time. This study was a panel-based longitudinal study, whereby data was collected in three stages within a single semester. The setting of the study was at the School of Management, USM. The major findings of the study showed that sensemaking does influence the TAM if activities are undertaken at high and low levels and also sensemaking influences individual constructs of TAM rather than the whole model. This study failed to prove that there is a significant change in the strength of relationship between TAM constructs over a period of time under sensemaking influence, which is that sensemaking activities were found not to exhibit any moderation effect on the TAM constructs. Sensemaking acts as an external variable which influences TAM rather than moderate the strength of the relationship between TAM constructs. This could be because the technology in question was mandatory to be used by the subjects rather than voluntary. Implications for managers are discussed

Change management and implementation of total productive maintenance: an exploratory study of Malaysian manufacturing companies

This study examines the effects of change management towards the implementation of productivity and quality improvement programs through the concept of Total Productive Maintenance (TPM), in manufacturing firms in Malaysia. The factors measured are management commitment, training and education, employee empowerment, team culture and company policies and goals for change management. Autonomous maintenance and planned maintenance factors were used to measure TPM. The findings of the study provide empirical evidence that change management factors significantly enhances the extent of TPM implementatio

Course Website Usage Does Prior Experience Matter?

Course websites have been used to enhance the delivery of learning materials that is not bounded by time and space

The mediating effect of perceived usefulness towards tax service quality and the continuance usage intention of the filing system in Malaysia

This study examines the mediating effect of perceived usefulness on the relationship between tax service quality (correctness, response time, system support) and continuance usage intention of e-filing system in Malaysia. A total of 116 data was analysed using Partial Least Squared Method (PLS). The result showed that Perceived Usefulness has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between tax service quality (Correctness, Response Time) with the continuance usage intention and tax service quality (correctness) has significant positive relationship with continuance usage intention. Perceived usefulness was found to be the most important predictor of continuance usage intentio

The Impact Of Intra And Inter-Firm Sourcing Strategy On Supplies' Quality, Delivery And Cost

In recent years, the business environment has become extremely competitive. Firms, searching for sources of competitive advantage began to look into the potential of sourcing in adding value as purchased inputs account for 60% to 80% of cost of goods sold. Thus, the objective of this paper is to investigate which sourcing strategy, inter-firm or intra-firm, will lead to better supplies' quality, delivery and cost and whether in the process of achieving this outcome, it is moderated by environment-related factors. Intra-firm sourcing takes place when a firm procures materials, parts and components from within its corporate system, either a parent from its subsidiaries, or subsidiaries from their parent or from other related subsidiaries. By contrast, inter-fi rm sourcing occurs when a firm sources from independent, unrelated suppliers. The population for thi s study is the organizations that are involved in the manufacturing of electronics and electrical product located in Penang. The results reveal that in all of the three performance measures: quality, delivery and cost, intra-firm sourcing is seen to outperform inter-firm sourcing. Additionally, assets specificity is not a significant moderating variable on the differences in supplies' quality, delivery and cost of intra-firm and inter-firm sourcing, but bargaining power is. This study provides an avenue for further exploration on the potential of intra-firm sourcing

Intention to shop online amongst MBA students: Applicability of the theory of reasoned action (TRA)

Internet has changed the way business is conducted and one of the emerging uses of the Internet is for shopping.With an increasing affluent community the potential of Internet shopping cannot be ignored.The purpose of this paper is to test the applicability of the TRA (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) in predicting the intention to shop online among a group of Masters of Business Administration students of a public institution of higher learning.A structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from MBA students using a convenience sampling techniques.A total of 102 responses were received.The findings indicate that the TRA is a valid model in the prediction on the intention to shop online.Attitude (β = 0.575, p< 0.01) and subjective norm (β = 0.213, p< 0.01) were found to be positively related to intention with attitude being the more influential predictor. Subjective norm also positively influences (β = 0.374, p< 0.01) the attitude to shop online

Searching the web: The impact of user knowledge on search satisfaction

Searching on the web is a tedious process as it requires knowledge and skills on what and how to search.What to search is basically, the core of the searching activity as it represents the need of the searcher.How to search is related to the knowledge on how the facilities available on the web can be utilized in order to achieve the needs. Search satisfaction is the level of measurement that describes the achievement of the searcher towards his/her information needs.In this paper, two categories of knowledge: topic understanding and web search system understanding have been identified to contribute to the search satisfaction.The Linear Regression analysis confirms that both topic and search system understanding are equally important since they are significantly associated with search satisfaction

User acceptance of the e-Government services in Malaysia: SEM approach

This paper identifies the factors that determine users’ acceptance of e-Government services and its causal relationships using a theoretical model based on the Technology Acceptance Model. Data relating to the constructs were collected from 200 respondents in Malaysia and subjected to Structural Equation Modeling analysis. The proposed model fits the data well. Results indicate that the important determinants of user acceptance of the e-Government services are perceived usefulness, ease of use, compatibility, interpersonal influence, external influence, self efficacy, facilitating conditions, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and intention to use e-Government services/system. Finally, implications and recommendations of these finding are discussed

An empirical assessment of the role of organizational citizenship behavior in explaining academic success : Some evidence from East Malaysian sample

Management researchers have consistently reported the significant role of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in predicting individual success in organizational settings. This topic, however, has been largely ignored in the business education environment. Given the demonstrable benefits of OCB enactment in terms of influencing performance evaluations and organizational rewards, we emphasize the importance of examining the role of OCB in predicting student performance and their eventual career success. This endeavor holds important implications for students who are on the threshold of entering the industry. Using a self-administered questionnaire, we collected data from a total of 177 undergraduate students from two different schools in a Malaysian public university. Analysis reveals that of the three distinct dimensions of OCB, only one (consisting of altruism and courtesy items) has influences on both measures of student performance (i.e., productivity and cumulative grade point average). Implications of these findings are discussed