Alain Yee-Loong Chong

What drives Malaysian m‐commerce adoption? An empirical analysis

– This study aims to empirically examine the factors that affect the consumer intention to use (IU) mobile commerce (m‐commerce) in Malaysia. The five factors examined in this study are perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease‐of‐use (PEOU), social influence (SI), perceived cost and trust., – The study sample consists of 222 respondents with a response rate of 84.09 per cent. Data were analyzed by employing correlation and multiple regression analysis., – The findings revealed that PU, SI, perceived financial cost and trust are positively associated with consumer IU m‐commerce in Malaysia. In addition, PEOU and trust were found to have an insignificant effect on consumer IU m‐commerce in Malaysia., – The generalizability of the findings is limited as the study focuses only on Malaysia., – Based on the findings, companies involved in m‐commerce should focus on improving the usefulness of the system, trust (i.e. security and privacy protection) and reducing the cost of m‐commerce services to improve the adoption of m‐commerce., – The findings made a contribution in terms of allowing us to understand the factors that can contribute to the adoption of mobile commerce. This study successfully extend the TAM model in the context of mobile commerce by incorporating one trust‐based construct (trust), one behavioural control construct (perceived financial cost) and one subjective norm construct (SI). This extended TAM model provides a greater understanding of user acceptance of mobile commerce in Malaysia.

Predicting consumer decisions to adopt mobile commerce

Advancements in wireless communications have increased the number of people using mobile devices, and have accelerated the growth of mobile commerce (m-commerce). This study aims to investigate the factors that predict consumer intention to adopt m-commerce in Malaysia and China. The work extends the traditional technology acceptance model (TAM) and diffusion of innovation (DOI) model, and includes additional variables such as trust, cost, social influence, variety of services, and control variables such as age, educational level, and gender of consumers. By comparing consumers from both Malaysia and China, this research is able to form a prediction model based on two different cultural settings. Data was collected from 172 Malaysian consumers and 222 Chinese consumers, and hierarchical regression analysis was employed to test the research model. The results showed that age, trust, cost, social influence, and variety of services are able to predict Malaysian consumer decisions to adopt m-commerce. Trust, cost, and social influence can be used to predict Chinese consumer decisions to adopt m-commerce. This research confirms the need to extend the traditional TAM and DOI models when studying technology such as m-commerce. The results from this study will be useful for telecommunication and m-commerce companies in formulating marketing strategies. Highlights? This research compares the m-commerce adoption decisions in China and Malaysia. ? TAM was extended by incorporating trust, cost, social influence and variety of services. ? Hierarchical regression analyses were performed to examine the conceptual model. ? Traditional TAM variables are unable to predict m-commerce adoption. ? Cultural factors played an important role in predicting m-commerce adoptions.

Predicting m-commerce adoption determinants: A neural network approach

M-commerce has continued to grow at an explosive rate. This purpose of this paper is to examine the predictors of m-commerce adoption by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model. The extended model incorporates additional constructs such as perceived value, trust, perceived enjoyment and personal innovativeness. A non-linear, non-compensatory model is developed to understand the predictors of m-commerce adoptions. Online survey was used to collect data from 140 Chinese users. Neural network analysis was used to predict m-commerce adoption, and the model was compared with the results from regression analysis. The neural network model outperformed the regression model in adoption prediction, and captured the non-linear relationships between predictors such as perceived value, trust, perceived enjoyment, personal innovativeness, users demographic profiles (e.g. age, gender and educational level), effort expectancy, performance expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions with m-commerce adoption. This study applied neural network to provide further understanding of m-commerce adoption decisions based on a non-linear, non-compensatory model. The UTAUT model was also extended to examine consumer information systems such as m-commerce. The m-commerce study conducted in this research is in China, one of the fastest growing m-commerce markets in the world.

Can Malaysian firms improve organizational/innovation performance via SCM?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically test a framework which identifies the relationships between supply chain management (SCM) practices, operational performance and innovation performance of Malaysian manufacturing and service firms.Design/methodology/approach – Data for the study were collected from a sample of 163 Malaysian manufacturing and service firms. The research model was tested using structural equation modeling.Findings – The results show that SCM practices in both the upstream and downstream supply chain have a direct and significant impact on organizational and innovation performance of Malaysian firms. Innovation improvement caused by SCM also results in better organizational performance. The findings also reveal that manufacturing and service firms in Malaysia do not have a significant difference in their SCM practices.Research limitations/implications – The time sequence of the association between the variables could not be concluded given that cross‐sectional data were u...

Are TQM practices supporting customer satisfaction and service quality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and customer satisfaction and also to investigate the association between TQM practices and service quality within the context of Malaysias small service organizations.Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses data from the perceptions of sales and marketing managers in 108 small service organizations in Malaysia. Data were analyzed by employing correlation and multiple regression analysis to test the relationship between TQM practices, customer satisfaction and service quality.Findings – The results showed that TQM practices are significantly and positively linked to customer satisfaction and service quality of the small service business firms. It was further confirmed that the dimensions of customer focus and information and analysis were strongly linked to customer satisfaction and service quality.Practical implications – The results of this paper can be used by marketing/sales manage...

Adoption of 3G services among Malaysian consumers: an empirical analysis

The purpose of this study is to analyse the factors influencing the usage of 3G technology in Malaysia. By extending the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) model, this study found that perceived advantages, perceived ease of use, variety of service and social influence are able to predict the adoption of 3G among Malaysian consumers. This study allows 3G service providers to understand which factors influenced the usage of 3G in Malaysia. Other developing countries that plan to deploy 3G can also formulate business strategies using the results from this study.

Modeling the stimulators of the behavioral intention to use mobile entertainment: Does gender really matter?

Abstract This research aims to empirically examine the stimulators that influence consumers’ behavioral intention to use (IU) mobile entertainment (ME) in Malaysia. The proposed stimulators are perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), social influence (SI), perceived self-efficacy (PSE) and perceived enjoyment (PE). PU and PEOU were derived from TAM, SI was taken from the TRA, TPB and DOI model, PE was obtained from the extended-TAM model and PSE was taken from Bandura’s theory. This is among the first study that uses a model consisting of integrated constructs from TAM, extended-TAM, TRA, TPB, DOI and Bandura’s theory in predicting acceptance of ME. Empirical data were analyzed by employing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis. Gender moderating effect was examined via multiple group analysis (MGA). The findings revealed that PU, PEOU, SI and PE are positively associated with consumer IU of ME. Surprisingly, there were no significant moderating effects of gender. The control variables (i.e. age, marital status, education level, number of mobile phone and experience) were found to have no confounding effects on the ME adoption. The findings have contributed theoretical and managerial implications to ME providers, mobile phone manufacturers, the music, movie and gaming industry players.

HRM practices and knowledge sharing: an empirical study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between human resource management (HRM) practices and knowledge sharing from the Malaysian industry context.Design/methodology/approach – The method of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were employed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the measurement model. The structural equation modeling (SEM) method was applied to examine the theoretical framework.Findings – The results indicate that recruitment and selection, teamwork, training and development, and performance appraisal, showed a positive relationship with knowledge sharing, as perceived by the managers in the Malaysian manufacturing and service organizations.Research limitations/implications – The research design in this study was cross‐sectional rather than longitudinal. Hence, even though the SEM method was adopted, the interpretations of the cause‐effect‐relationship among the variables could not be determined. In this case, longitudinal resea...

A structural analysis of the relationship between TQM practices and product innovation

Summary The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and product innovation performance as perceived by managers in electrical and electronics (E&E) organizations in Malaysia. This study is based on empirical data collected from a survey of 125 managers of E&E firms. Structural equation modeling analysis is conducted to test the research questions presented in this paper. Results reveal that leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, information and analysis, human resource management, and process management are positively associated with product innovation performance. Information and analysis is perceived as a dominant TQM practice in improving firms performance on product innovation. This analysis is especially vital for senior managers of E&E companies who want to establish innovation capability. Senior managers can focus their efforts on TQM practices as means of maximizing organizational gains via product innovation in the context of a competitive environment.

An empirical analysis of the adoption of m-learning in Malaysia

This paper empirically examines the factors affecting the adoption of Mobile learning (m-learning) in Malaysia. The six factors examined in this study are perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, technical feasibility, cost effectiveness, quality of services and cultural aspects. Data were collected from 181 Malaysian users. The hypotheses were analysed using multiple regression analysis. The results show that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, quality of services and cultural aspects have significant and positive effects on the adoption of m-learning in Malaysia. Educational institutions that are planning to adopt m-learning will be formulate adoption strategies based on this studys findings.