Search results

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between culture and leadership style preference among Sabahans, namely Malay-Brunei, Bajau and Kadazan-Dusun.

The sample of this research was selected based on purposive convenient sampling whereby all respondents are located in Kota Kinabalu. A questionnaire was administered for data collection with a sample of 219 employees from both the public and the private sectors. The data were analyzed using linear regression.

The evidence was found on the relationship between culture and leadership style preference among Sabahans, namely Malay-Brunei, Bajau and Kadazan-Dusun.

Understanding on what is preferred by employees and what is practiced by the leaders will lead to better and improved performance among the employees. Better understanding on the influence of culture will help a leader to be more effective and successful in their role. Therefore, it provide implication that leader should understand the culture in order for them to be accepted by the followers.

This paper fulfils an identified need to study what leadership style preferred by the employees among Sabah ethnicity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the reasons behind customers' selection of Islamic mortgage in Sabah, Malaysia and present factor and cluster analyses to identify the importance of choice criteria for Islamic mortgage selection. The choice criteria among Sabahans are investigated along with their gender, age group, religion, monthly income, and ethnicity.

A total of 250 bank customers responded to a survey addressing the choice criteria for Islamic mortgage providers. It is important to address the criteria in order to make sure the service providers are able to come up with attractive package of Islamic home financing to their prospective customers. Of these, only 211 questionnaires are usable, which gives us a response rate of 84.4 percent. No extra efforts are conducted in order to increase the number of respondents. Non‐probability, convenience sampling is implemented. This paper uses a quantitative study similar to what employed by Lymperopoulos et al. and by Devlin. Frequencies, descriptive, factor and cluster analyses are used to analyze the data.

A cluster analysis indicates that bank customers can be divided into three clusters. Members of cluster 1 reported a tendency to select mortgage bank on the basis of “service provisions” while the members of cluster 2 reported a tendency to select mortgage bank on the basis of “elements of Shariah and Islamic principles.” While those of members in the cluster 3, almost entirely had lower mean scores as compared to other clusters. Nevertheless, the members of this cluster reported a greatest tendency to choose Islamic mortgage provider on the basis of “pricing.”

The paper has addressed three limitations that provide opportunities for other researchers to explore them in depth in the future in the similar field of Islamic home financing. The limitations are presented in the conclusion's part.

With regard to implications, this paper offers inputs for management decision among Islamic mortgage providers (i.e. Islamic banking institutions such as full‐fledged Islamic banks, conventional banks with Islamic windows and conventional banks with Islamic subsidiaries). In addition, this paper adds to the literature in the area of home loans/financing.

This paper offers the choice criteria for Islamic mortgage providers provides useful information on the Islamic mortgage providers' selection among Sabahans. This paper indeed provides useful information on the main choice criteria that affect why Sabahan choose Islamic mortgage providers.

This study aims to examine the trajectory of the urban growth of Borneo by portraying its resilient settlements in the pre-colonial times, tropical sensitive colonial architecture, the built environment of the post–independence period and finally the contemporary city image. This is followed by a comparative study of its major urban centres and determining how globalisation and neoliberalism impact the traditional urban settlements of this island and poses a threat to its rich biodiversity.

This study uses case study research methodology involving selected cities on the Island of Borneo including Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Miri and Kuching (Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia), Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), and major cities of the state of Kalimantan, Indonesia. Data collection includes a literature review, content analysis, field assessment and observations. The major research objectives would address past and current issues in the selected urban environment of Borneo. They address the historical evolution of major cities of Borneo, current urban development trends, the deterioration of the traditional urban fabric as a result of post–independence development and later globalisation.

This study found that the rich cultural tradition and climate-responsive architecture from the past have been discontinued to pave way for fast track and often speculative development. The results contribute in the convergence of existing shortcomings of cities from three nations on Borneo Island in guiding future sustainable urban planning agenda for achieving a resilient city status while reinstating the character and the sense of place. The study expects the recommendations to become prerequisites for future urban planning in sensitive tropical regions.

This research identified a new “Borneo approach” to urban development. The study strongly recommends top priorities for the central, state and local governments of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia allowing the planners and decision-makers to establish a new tropical urban planning initiative with the ample design practice for this unique region in Southeast Asia. The results of this study can serve as the guiding principles for other urban environments in fragile and sensitive tropical regions.

Local cultures under the nation-states have evolved and produced new concepts. Migrations and cultural interactions have also influenced the language. Thus, different conceptualisations of migration have developed in the “Malay World.” Language is not only a product of ecological and geographical environment, but it is also a result of human mobilisations and cultural intercourses. The differences caused by various Malay World conceptualisations are also related to different interactions, histories and social realities. In the “Malay World,” Bahasa Malaysia and Bahasa Indonesia are threatened by English hegemony. At this juncture, demonstrating these interrelationships helps one to understand local cultural intercourses between culture and social reality.

This paper implements the critical discourse analysis, notably, the dialectical–relational approach to different conceptualisations in the “Malay World.” Thus, it aims to discuss the reasons behind the usage of migration-related terms in Indonesia and Malaysia. How migration terms mainly shape social forms, process and circulate in the social world is argued in this paper. The authors target to investigate the local meaning sets for migration concepts and explore self-reflectivity in and critique of the usage of established images between Bahasa Indonesia and Malay concepts, using a Critical Discourse Analysis framework. The discussion section attempts to analyse and explain dialectical relations between social norms and social elements.

Trade diasporas, culture and identities of immigrants, cultural richness and multi-ethnicity have continuously diversified the conceptualisations. These concepts also indicate cultural dominations and exclusions. Thus, the migration dynamics in Southeast Asia might be understood by scrutinising these boundaries and patterns. This study showed that migration conceptualisations in the Malay world are substantially locally determined. Local wisdom and cultural codifications prevail in the migration context. A deeper understanding of the local context is essential in evaluating the international refugee protection mechanisms in these countries as neither Indonesia nor Malaysia are parties to the Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Definitions of various types of migration are referred to in multiple terminologies throughout the Nusantara. While in Bahasa Melayu, migrant refers to pendatang, nomadic refers to nomad; refugee refers to pelarian, to migrate refers to berhijrah; in Bahasa Indonesia, migrant refers to migran, nomadic or nomad refers pengembara, refugee refers to pengungsi and migrate, or migration refers migrasi. At the same time, in the Nusantara, many communities define themselves according to their geographical features, such as Orang Sungai, Orang Laut or Orang Kuala. In this context, defining leads to a significant impact on shaping the discourses and approaches.

Definitions determine the borders, flexibilities, plausibility and flows of terms. Critical Discourse Analysis especially placed emphasis on languages and their impacts on social reality. According to Critical Discourse Analysis, terms and their genealogies, transformations and limits are vital in order to comprehend social facts and truth. To understand the change and continuity of migration flow in Southeast Asia, scrutinising the migration-related terms is crucial. This study aims to examine those main terms, their connection with other words, and their transformation in the Malay world sociologically. This as such will shed more light on the social changes regarding genealogical relationships and their usage in daily life within the Critical Discourse Analysis.

This study aims to fulfil the gap between authentic concepts of migration literature in Nusantara. Although Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia have a strong connection and interaction, migration definitions in these languages are separated from each other. Cultural and social elements greatly influence migration-connected terms in Bahasa Melayu and Bahasa Indonesia. Without this understanding and the absence of local context, any assessment of their refugee protection systems may be incomplete. This study deals with different cultural nuances and refinements and their migration conceptualisations and histories are based on the ground of their social realities.

This study aims (i) to assess the quest for tax education among working adults that pursuing off‐campus non‐accounting program, (ii) to analyze the level of tax knowledge among the working adults, (iii) to elicit the relevant tax topics to be taught should tax education be integrated into non‐accounting curriculum in higher education. We surveyed 450 working adults pursuing off‐campus non‐accounting program in one Malaysian public university. 190 usable responses were received. The survey found 64 per cent of the respondents were keen to learn taxation, and only 23.7 per cent of the respondents possessed high level of tax knowledge. The topics that they desired to learn the most are basic tax principles, personal taxation, tax planning for individuals and taxation for small business and company. The findings suggest that as we moved into the era of self‐assessment tax system, it is imperative for the accounting academics and the education authorities to seriously consider introducing tax education in non‐accounting curriculum in higher education.

This paper aims to investigate the perceptions of indigenous people towards tourism development and the factors that influence their perceptions of the economic, social and environmental impacts of tourism.

This study will focus on the perceptions of an aboriginal group indigenous to Malaysia, and draws upon a sample of 272 from the Lower Kinabatangan region of Sabah, Malaysia. Respondents were administered a questionnaire, the results of which were analysed by way of partial least squares–structural equation modelling.

The results indicate a significant positive effect for economic gain on the perceived economic and environmental impacts of tourism, and of community involvement on the perception of social impacts. Moreover, the study found that the perception of environmental impacts, followed by perceived economic impacts, had a strong effect on support for tourism development.

This study makes a significant theoretical contribution to the resident perception literature by investigating how the perception of tourism impacts affects indigenous residents’ support for tourism development. Furthermore, this study describes a number of practical implications of this study for the promotion of sustainable tourism development among indigenous residents.

It is undeniable that proper planning of spatial development and local regional policies are paramount to ensure whether a country is prosperous or not. In order to ensure its prosperity, discussion on administrative arrangement, spatial development, and regional policy issues in the Malaysian context will be focused. In addition, the importance of Malaysian major development policies and the authorities responsible for its development and implementation are highlighted, followed by the roles of urban development planning. Lastly, Malaysian regional economic corridors, specifically the Northern Corridor Economic Region, are highlighted to show the emphasis given by the Malaysian Government on regional spatial development issues.

Geertz is well known for his methodology. Many Symbolic Interactionists refer to his notion of “thick description.” They may not know his work on Indonesia in general, but they often know his famous essay on the Balinese cockfight: “Deep Play” (Geertz, 1972, 1973). That essay is often held up as an exemplary “model” of ethnographic fieldwork. But we need to examine what he calls “thick description” more carefully. After the first few pages of the essay there is actually very little “idiographic description” per se. Much of the paper concerns general description and analysis. We do not get a blow-by-blow account of a cockfight as viewed by Geertz. Instead we get an analysis that is based on Jeremy Bentham’s Utilitarianism (Parekh, 1998). There is a good deal missing from the broader analysis as well. Much of that can be found in other work (Geertz, 1959, 1966, 1980, 1995). Students who only read “Deep Play” often form a superficial impression of the method of “thick description” and a distorted sense of Balinese culture (Howe, 2001; Vickers, 1996 [1981]; Warren, 1993). This essay supplements Geertz’s essay with a discussion of a religious ceremony of far more importance than the largely secular cockfight. I touch on a central feature of Balinese society not emphasized by Geertz: the temple anniversary festival. It is called an odalan (Belo, 1966 [1953a]; Eiseman, 1990; Geertz, 2004). But the problem is not just restricted to the “Deep Play” essay. Geertz’s other work is often also not based primarily on ethnographic thick description. It concerns historical and sociological generalizations. Those are often based on archives and general fieldwork. Geertz also benefits from reading of Dutch research not available in English. The celebrations which take place at a temple are “deeper” than more immediate, largely secular games like a cockfight. Geertz’s oeuvre is well worth reading, but his notion of “thick description” needs to be seen in a broader, comparative historical sociological context. That involves Interpretive research paradigms that Geertz, as a symbolic anthropologist, distanced himself from, including Symbolic Interactionism and Weberian verstehende Soziologie.

Innovation performance is an issue that has a profound effect not only on Malaysian large companies but also among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) especially Bumiputera SMEs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical review of innovation culture pertaining to innovation performance by conducting a literature review on SME studies. The previous reference on innovation performance in Malaysian SMEs is still scarce, even though it is the key benchmark to measure firm performance. It has been demonstrated by the literature that innovation culture is significantly associated with innovation performance. Nonetheless, its effect on Bumiputera SMEs is still underexplored. Thus, this study examines the importance of internal factors (specific human capital and social capital) to innovation culture in driving innovation performance.

A questionnaire-based survey was conducted to gather data from Bumiputera SMEs. A total of 140 responses were obtained and analyses were carried out using Smart-PLS software to produce interesting findings.

The findings indicate that social capital (relational capital and social network) has a significant impact on innovation culture and indirectly impacts innovation performance. The findings also reveal that specific human capital does not have significant impact on innovation culture and innovation performance. This paper shows the importance of social capital and how it directly influences Bumiputera SMEs and innovation performance. This result will be encouraging to firms in other developing countries.

Although SMEs play an important role in economic development, their contribution to innovation is small and marginal. This study makes an important contribution by providing information to the Malaysian SMEs, especially those that are of Bumiputera status on the factors that could enhance innovation performance and nurture innovation culture in their organisations. Thus, it is hoped that this study will generate interest among researchers to attain more conclusive evidence about the practice of innovation culture among Malaysian SMEs.

This paper is one of the first to address the mediating effect of innovation culture on specific human capital, social capital and innovation performance.