Search results

This paper aims to understand the importance of young female consumers in Asia as a market and propose strategies for retail marketers to effectively engage with them while respecting their evolving gender roles and identities.

Data are derived from self-administered questionnaires completed by Malaysian female secondary school students aged 13 to 19. Using statements about gender roles and identities, the authors first segment respondents based on their perceptions of ideal female gender roles and identities and subsequently investigate each segment’s shopping orientation.

This study identifies four segments of young female consumers based on gender identity: civic intellectuals, presentable intellectuals, career-oriented and family-oriented. While young female young consumers with higher presentable intellectual traits are more likely to go window shopping (recreational shoppers), those with higher civic intellectual traits are more inclined to look for things they wish to buy and spend less time doing so (utilitarian shoppers).

Marketers and retailers should continue to use profiling of young female customers to predict the psychological changes related to societal and economic changes. Merely focusing on females’ appearance and family responsibilities may no longer be relevant due to the evolving social order. This implication is especially critical for marketers and retailers targeting the female market.

The results of this study will have important theoretical and managerial implications for marketers and retailers interested in understanding the changing needs and beliefs among young female consumers and how these impacts their shopping orientation.

Building upon the attribution and brand resonance theories, this paper aims to investigate the effects of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) in higher education institutions on brand reputation, trust, equity and loyalty.

The data for this study were collected from international students of one public and one private university in Malaysia. Partial least squares-structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data.

The findings revealed very strong effects of perceived CSR on brand reputation and trust. Moreover, the results determined the positive effects of brand reputation and trust on brand equity and loyalty. Additionally, findings support the positive indirect effects of perceived CSR on brand equity and loyalty through brand reputation and trust.

This study provides unique theoretical and practical contributions which can inform countries how to attract international students, particularly in post COVID-19 era.

This study aims to investigate how artificial intelligence (AI)-powered smart home devices affect young consumers' requirements for convenience, support, security and monitoring, as well as their ability to advance environmental sustainability. This study also examines the variables that impact users' motivation to use AI-powered smart home devices, such as perceived value, ease of use, social presence, identity, technology security and the moderating impact of trust.

The responses from residents of Sarawak, Malaysia, were collected through online questionnaires. This study aimed to examine the perceptions of millennials and zillennials towards their trust and adoption of AI-powered devices. This study used a quantitative approach, and the relationships among the study constructs were analysed using partial least squares - structural equation modelling.

The present study found that perceived usefulness, ease of use and social presence were the main motivators among actual and potential users of smart home devices, especially in determining their intentions to use and actual usage. Additionally, there was a moderating effect of trust on the relationship between perceived ease of use, social presence, social identity and intention to use AI-powered devices in smart homes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to examine the factors influencing smart technology adoption. This study provided meaningful insights on the development of strategies for the key stakeholders to enhance the adoption and usage of AI-powered smart home devices in Sarawak, one of the promising Borneo states. Additionally, this study contributed to the growing body of knowledge on the associations between technology acceptance model dimensions, intention and actual usage of smart technology, with the moderating impact of trust.

This study examines the predictors of behavioral intention of farmers to adopt a mobile agricultural finance application called e-AgriFinance using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and perceived cost as an additional predictor.

Using a questionnaire survey, data are collected from 337 farmers in Sarawak, Malaysia. The collected data are analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The research finds that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions are positively related to behavioral intention to adopt the e-AgriFinance app, with social influence being the strongest predictor. Perceived cost is also found to be positively related to behavioral intention which contradicts the prediction of the model.

This study contributes to the use of UTAUT in predicting the adoption of mobile agricultural finance applications among farmers.

For practice, this study provides implications for the Sarawak government to promote digital and financial inclusivity for all communities. This study also provides insights into important features of the e-AgriFinance app for digital finance providers to develop the apps that will be well accepted by farmers in the future.

This research is one of the few studies that focused on farmers' mobile technology adoption in agribusiness from the perspective of an emerging economy.

Although it is a well-known notion that “a family firm does not survive beyond the third generation”, owing to the ineffective tacit knowledge transfer, studies investigating the relationship between generational evolution and knowledge innovation is scarce. Thus, this case study revolving Sin Kwang Plastic Resources Berhad (SKP) seeks to address this gap in literature.

To assess the development of family business, a longitudinal case study was performed by documenting the entire evolutionary process starting from its establishment until now. The historical profiles for SKP were obtained from the previous annual reports submitted to the government's Companies Commission (SSM). Secondary materials from the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and the edge newspaper and articles on the company were also gathered. Throughout the in-depth interviews, the author can see how the next generation of this family firm innovates and implements tacit knowledge innovation in original equipment manufacturing (OEM) by adhering to the Japanese industrial standards.

Findings show that the second generation utilized the company's extensive knowledge in plastic contract manufacturing in SKP for tacit knowledge conversion, triggers the birth of STS Tecnic Berhad, a subsidiary company that manufactures plastic parts for the industrial packaging and automotive industry. To simplify the process of managing the complex business, SKP opted to “prune the family tree” by dividing the business, involving fewer managers and restricting the number of family shareholders.

This case study traces how Gan's family's tacit knowledge in plastic contract manufacturing have been acquired from the experience of contract manufacturing with the Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) by further commercializing the tacit knowledge into different companies for different plants. SKP promotes tacit knowledge innovation in the learning organization, thus responding to the firm's sustainability.

This study demonstrates that knowledge transformation plays vital roles in product development and gaining competitive advantage. The success of this business is founded by the building of shared values, norms and technical understanding in plastic contract manufacturing among the Japanese MNCs in Malaysia.

In recent years, the traditional pastries industry has gained popularity among tourists due to the advantage of the pastries location at UNESCO Heritage city, Penang. However, the little research focussed on this particular industry, and there is lack of evidence of the tourists' experience with the traditional pastries and how these attributes affect their revisit decision.

The study utilizes a qualitative research design to gain in-depth understanding on tourists' thought and their repurchase decision. Secondary data were collected via TripAdvisor with 68 tourists who visited the most popular three pastries shops namely, Him Heang, Ghee Hiang and Min Xiang Tai, which are later analysed using qualitative content analysis.

The findings revealed that tourists generally concerned about the service quality, value, brand image and atmospherics that could affect their repurchasing decision. Particularly, the staff service quality has been viewed as the upmost important attribute to influence the tourists' decision. Therefore, the pastries shops shall ensure that the staff who serve the tourists shall be well trained to satisfy the tourists' enquiry.

The limitation concerning the interpretation of the secondary data based on the feedbacks and comments of the tourists may derive the bias possibility. Future research might consider the large-scale primary data to extend the findings.

Limited research exists on the tourists' experience which affects the repurchasing decision in pastries industry. This study provides valuable information for pastries shops and researchers interested in this area.

This paper positions environmental concern as the antecedent of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. It also sets to expand the theory of planned behaviour by including two condition factors: favourable situation and facility availability on the intention to separate food waste at source.

The study collects data by using self-administered questionnaires on 682 respondents in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling is employed to test the conceptual model and the proposed hypotheses.

The results show that environmental concern positively influences attitude and subjective norms, which, in turn, influences food waste separation intention. Favourable situation and facility availability are found to influence the separation intention.

This study is one of the earliest studies to investigate residents’ intention to participate in food waste separation at a source that employs the expanded theory of planned behaviour with environmental concern and condition factors.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of family directors and independent directors on executive remuneration of listed family firms in Malaysia, and their involvement in remuneration committee on executive remuneration.

Fixed effect estimation is employed to examine 1,395 firm-year observations from 2010 to 2014.

Family and independent directors do not have statistically significant influence on executive remuneration. Rather, family ownership exerts a significant positive influence on executive remuneration. This study also reveals that the interaction of family CEOs with the family directors on remuneration committee exerts a significant positive influence on executive remuneration.

The measurement of executive remuneration excludes the share options due to the non-disclosure of this information in the annual reports.

The findings would be useful to the policy-makers and regulators in appraising the governance measures of remuneration arrangement.

This study premises on the Type II agency conflict between controlling shareholders and minority shareholders. Independent directors could not mitigate the Type II agency conflict via the governance of executive remuneration. They are not the effective governance mechanism that the minority shareholders can rely on. The additional analyses provide theoretical implication that the pervasive Type II agency conflict is ameliorated when the CEOs do not have family relationships with the controlling family shareholders.

This research aims to examine the effect of the two dimensions of technology readiness – motivator and inhibitor on behavioural intention to adopt a mobile agricultural finance app called e-AgriFinance app among the farmers in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Data were collected from 337 farmers who cultivated the 4 major crops in Sarawak – oil palm, rubber, cocoa and pepper using a face-to-face questionnaire survey. Collected data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling with R plspm package.

The research found that both motivator and inhibitor dimensions of technology readiness predicted the farmers’ behavioural intention to adopt the e-AgriFinance app, with the former had a relatively stronger positive effect and the latter had a relatively weaker negative effect.

This research was conducted in the context of rural farmers in an emerging economy. As such, modern farmers in developed countries may have different adoption behaviour of mobile agricultural finance app. The data were collected from farmers of the four major crops – oil palm, rubber, cocoa and pepper, and thus it may not be representative of the whole population of farmers in Sarawak.

This research served as one of the few studies that focused on the relationship between technology readiness and mobile app adoption among farmers from the perspective of an emerging economy.

Studies of Tianhou-Mazu cult have been focused on three themes: studies in Taiwan emphasize hegemonic order; studies in Hong Kong reveal a relationship of “sisterhood” alliances; and studies in Singapore highlight the important role of ethnic groups. The rebuilding of the goddess’s ancestral temple in early 1980s and her acquiring a world intangible cultural heritage status in the early twenty-first century facilitate the redefinition of overseas Chinese’s religious affiliation. The purpose of this paper is to discuss this global development of the cult from the 1980s and its ritual implication in overseas Chinese communities.

This paper, by comparing the Tianhou-Mazu cult in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asian Chinese settlements, argues that from sisters to descended replicas, or from local alliances to global hegemony, the cult of Tianhou-Mazu since the 1980s has not only replaced local culture with an emphasis on “high culture,” but also represents a religious strategy regarding local people’s interpretation of correctness and authority.

This paper argues that despite the imposition of hegemonic power from various authorities, popular religion is a matter of choice. This reflects how local religious practice is construed according to the interpretation of global cultural languages by the elite Chinese; their decision of when and how to reconnect with the goddess’s ancestral temple or the “imperial state,” or to form alliances with other local communities; and the implementation of the local government’s cultural policy.

This paper is one of the few attempts comparing development of a folk cult in various communities.