Abdul Hakim Mohammed

Estimating the tourism-led growth hypothesis: a case study of the Middle East countries

The study examines tourism-led growth hypothesis in the Middle East. A panel gross domestic product (GDP) model is used taking the period of 1985–2012. The results from the Pedroni cointegration test indicated that tourism receipt (TR) is cointegrated with GDP growth (GDP). The dynamic ordinary least-squares test results revealed that TR has a positive long-run effect on GDP in the investigated countries. Moreover, the results from the Granger causality test showed that TR has a positive causal relationship with GDP. Moreover, the results also concluded that the increase in GDP, total trade, and the depreciation of the local currency are essential to promote tourism expansion. From the results, a number of recommendations were provided to increase the tourism expansion of the examined countries.

What is the optimum social marketing mix to market energy conservation behaviour: an empirical study

This study attempts to identify the optimum social marketing mix for marketing energy conservation behaviour to students in Malaysian universities. A total of 2000 students from 5 major Malaysian universities were invited to provide their preferred social marketing mix. A choice-based conjoint analysis identified a mix of five social marketing attributes to promote energy conservation behaviour; the mix is comprised of the attributes of Product, Price, Place, Promotion, and Post-purchase Maintenance. Each attribute of the mix is associated with a list of strategies. The Product and Post-purchase Maintenance attributes were identified by students as the highest priority attributes in the social marketing mix for energy conservation behaviour marketing, with shares of 27.12% and 27.02%, respectively. The least preferred attribute in the mix is Promotion, with a share of 11.59%. This study proposes an optimal social marketing mix to university management when making decisions about marketing energy conservation behaviour to students, who are the primary energy consumers in the campus. Additionally, this study will assist university management to efficiently allocate scarce resources in fulfilling its social responsibility and to overcome marketing shortcomings by selecting the right marketing mix.

The effect of tourism arrival on CO2 emissions from transportation sector

This study examines the effect of tourism arrival (TOR) on carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector (TCO2). The panel methodology techniques were utilized to analyse the data which included statistics from 48 top international tourism destinations. The results in general show that TORs have a significant impact on the TCO2 in all the selected countries with the exception of the European countries. The insignificant impact of TOR on TCO2 in the European countries is due to the strict environmental regulations. Therefore, implementation of regulations similar to that of the European countries is recommended for the other countries to limit the pollution from the transportation sector that is caused by international TOR.

Oil-Induced environmental Kuznets curve in organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC)

ABSTRACT This study investigates the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in 10 of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). To realize the study’s aims a time series model is built based on the period 1977–2008, utilizing the ecological footprint as an environmental indicator and income, labour, capital, oil consumption and oil price as economic indicators. Employing the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach, by comparing the short and long-run income elasticities, the EKC hypothesis is present in six OPEC countries namely Algeria, Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria, Qatar and Kuwait. Moreover, the Toda–Yamamoto–Dolado–Lütkepohl (TYDL) causality tests outcome show that, after oil consumption, the most significant factors in increasing ecological footprint are labor and capital. This implies the relocation of pollution intensive industries to almost all of the OPEC countries. However, oil prices reduce environmental damage by its negative effect on the ecological footprint. From the outcome of this study it is important for the investigated countries to reduce their consumption of fossil fuel energy since it represents an important source of pollution. This can be achieved by allocating more labor and capital in projects and investments on renewable energy, energy efficiency and energy saving.

Foreign investments in real estate, economic growth and property prices: evidence from OECD countries

The last two decades have witnessed a growth in foreign direct investments (FDI) in the real estate sector in most of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) countries. It is argued that FDI in the real estate sector may improve economic growth in recipient economies. On the other hand, property prices have increased considerably in OECD countries in recent years and some argue that FDI in real estate is one of the driving forces of high property prices in these countries. The purpose of this study is to analyze the interrelationship between FDI in the real estate sector, economic growth, and property prices while controlling for interest rate and inflation. We use observations from a set of OECD countries for the period between 1995 and 2008. The dynamic interrelationship is analyzed by applying a panel cointegration technique. Our empirical results show that FDI in real estate do not cause property price appreciations and also do not contribute to economic growth in OECD countries in the short run and the long run.

Proposed implementation strategies for energy sustainability on a Malaysian university campus

Purpose – This study seeks to propose the implementation strategies for energy sustainability on a Malaysian university campus.Design/methodology/approach – The paper describes five proposed implementation strategies for Malaysian Universities to contribute to a sustainable energy future and to realise a sustainable university, namely: gaining top management commitment, raising energy awareness, providing energy education, developing energy conservation behaviour and developing a sustainable campus implementation blueprint.Findings – Over the years, numerous global energy issues have been identified, which include fluctuation of world energy prices, uncertainty of future energy supplies and environmental degradation. All these problems are threatening global movement towards a sustainable energy future. Immediate action should be taken by everyone in order to secure a sustainable energy future for the next generation. Malaysian universities, which are composed of hundreds of building blocks equipped with ...

Dynamic Relationship between House Prices in Malaysia's Major Economic Regions and Singapore House Prices

Fereidouni H. G., Al-Mulali U., Lee J. Y. M. and Mohammed A. H. Dynamic relationship between house prices in Malaysias major economic regions and Singapore house prices, Regional Studies. The purpose of this study is to examine house price diffusion among Malaysias major economic regions (Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Pulau Pinang and Johor) and between each of these regions and neighbouring Singapore by using the quarterly data from 2000:Q1 to 2011:Q1. By applying multivariate co-integration approach, the results show the existence of ripple effects among Malaysias major economic regions. Moreover, it is found that house price diffusion observed within a country can be extended across the border. Implications are offered along with the findings of this research.

The relationship between energy consumption and GDP in emerging countries

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the relationship between gross domestic product (GDP) by sector and energy consumption by type in 16 emerging countries. Design/methodology/approach – The panel model was utilized taking the period 1980-2010. Findings – The results revealed that GDP by sector and energy consumption by type are cointegrated. Moreover, the Granger causality concluded a bi-directional causal relationship between oil, natural gas and renewable energy consumption and the value of the manufacturing, industrial and services sector. Furthermore, a bi-directional causal relationship was also found between coal consumption and the value of the services sector. Furthermore, a one-way causal relationship was found from oil consumption to the value of the agriculture sector, the value of the agriculture sector to coal consumption, and coal consumption to the value of the manufacturing and the industrial sectors. Practical implications – This study recommended that these countries should increas...

Modeling Critical Success Factors Influencing Energy Management Performance towards Sustainability in Malaysian Public Universities Using PLS-SEM Approach

Energy usage in Malaysian universities has increased constantly. Frequent commentaries in the literature have stated by identifying critical success factors (CSFs) and continually measured using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will ensure successful effective performance for the organization. However, no one has yet tried to define in a formal way these relationships. Thus, this study is carried out to identify the CSFs and determine the relationship of identified CSFs with the KPIs, indirectly developing the CSFs structural model. The conceptual model is composed by exogenous latent variables (LVs) namely Top Management Support, Comprehensive Energy Management Team, Awareness, Strategic Maintenance Management and Good Relationship of Stakeholders and one endogenous LVs which is KPIs to achieve the goals of energy management performance improvement. The study presents empirical evidence from a survey of five research universities in Malaysia, where 280 sets of questionnaire were analyzed using PLS-SEM to test the conceptual model. The indicators for these enablers and result criteria were extracted from the past literature and by a pilot study. The findings show that the comprehensive EM team has the highest path coefficient (s value) which has the most significant relationship on KPIs (s=0.195; t-value=2.701) followed by strategic maintenance management (s=0.187; t-value= 2.661); awareness (s=0.149; tvalue=2.336); top management support (s=0.106; t-value=1.963); and the least is good relationship of stakeholders (s=0.104; t-value=1.443). From the findings, this study provide insight to management team in universities to focus on the implications from these four constructs to improve the energy management performance within an organization.

An Overview of Sport Facilities Management in Malaysia

Sport facilities are integral part for physical activity. Improper design and unavailability of these facilities restrict participation. The government of Malaysia has taken steps to construct and provide sport facilities throughout the country at district and state levels, while the private sector is focusing in the main cities. However, sport facilities require an excellent management team to successfully manage all operations involved, meet the demands of the public, and counter the problems that arise in sport facilities. Therefore, a review of literature was carried out to identify the problems related to sport facilities. Among of the problems that are highlighted in this paper include globalization that requires the manager to be more competitive, the grand vision of the Malaysia Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak to construct world-class sports stadiums, financial problems, and lack of skilled staff and administrative professionals. This paper provides an overview of the current situation in the management of Malaysia’s sports facilities.