Ezlika Ghazali

Demographics and personal characteristics of urban Malaysian entrepreneurs: an ethnic comparison

The study attempts to investigate whether becoming an entrepreneur is characterised by entrepreneurs personality characteristics. In addition, it attempts to explore the differences between two ethnic groups, namely, Malay and Chinese, with regard to entrepreneur personality, family background and company background. Four demographic variables, three business characteristics variables and six personality variables were found to be significantly different across ethnic groups. Overall, in terms of entrepreneurial personality characteristics, both Malay and Chinese entrepreneurs scored high with respect to the Pursuit of Excellence; moderately high on Work Ethics; moderate on Dominance, Mastery, and Internal Attributing and moderately lower on Powerful Others and Chance Attributing dimensions. The Pursuit of Excellence dimension was statistically significant different across the groups. The rest were statistically not significant. Some interesting results were that Malays derive satisfaction from working hard and seeing the job well done as compared to the Chinese and that Chinese enjoy having power over people as compared to the Malays. The implications of the study are also discussed along with some recommendations.

Constructing online switching barriers: examining the effects of switching costs and alternative attractiveness on e-store loyalty in online pure-play retailers

Developing switching barriers to retain customers has become a critical marketing strategy for online retailers. However, research on the role of switching barriers in e-retailing is still limited. Recent trends show that when competitors are just one click away, it is questionable if customer loyalty can be achieved at all in online environments. This leads to the research question on whether switching barriers have any impact on e-loyalty in pure-play retailers. The paper examines the influence of switching barriers on customer retention (i.e., e-store loyalty) and further investigates the moderating effects of switching costs and alternative attractiveness. Data were gathered via a survey of 590 shoppers of online pure-play retailers in the UK. Findings show that customer satisfaction and the two dimensions of switching barriers (perceived switching costs and perceived attractiveness of alternatives) significantly influence customer loyalty. Contrary to findings in earlier studies, it was found that switching costs did not moderate the relationships between satisfaction and loyalty nor between perceived attractiveness of alternatives and loyalty. The paper makes imperative recommendations to develop switching barriers and to foster loyalty along with suggestions for future research.

Attitude Towards Online Purchase of Fish in Urban Malaysia

Abstract This study was conducted to examine the possibility of online retailing of fish in Malaysia and an ethnic comparison of the factors motivating and impeding it. Data for the empirical study was collected via two means: primary and secondary sources. Quota sampling was utilized to ensure proportionate representation of the ethnic groups. The mall intercept technique of data collection was utilized for the study. It was found that all ethnic groups had an unfavorable response to the idea of purchasing fish online. Majority of the respondents agreed with statements used to identify factors impeding online fish purchasing and disagreed with items measuring factors influencing online fish purchasing. All fish e-grocers, particularly those operating in Malaysia such as PasarBorong.com, SubangGrocer.com and CGdeMART.com, should take steps to overcome the fears and negative perception of consumer to encourage adoption of this new retail format.

An exploratory study of the implementation of customer relationship management by Malaysian automobile distributors

The deregulation of the Malaysian automobile industry has resulted in intensified competition with the presence of more players in the market place. Customer relationships become important when there are many companies trying to satisfy their customer needs and create customer loyalty. The practice of customer relationship management (CRM) is relatively new in Malaysia and this exploratory study is one of the first to look into this area with regards to the automobile industry. The review of literature also presents a general overview of the development of CRM. This study compares the perspectives of two national and ten non-national car companies in Malaysia, with special reference to the various CRM programmes implemented by them. Despite the fact that CRM usage is still relatively new in Malaysia, the study concluded that it has indeed proven to be useful to Malaysian automobile marketers, especially in identifying the target customers and reaching specific customer segments, besides identifying various customer needs. The authors suggest some areas for future research.

An Integrative Measurement Model of National Competitiveness: The Perspective for Malaysia

National competitiveness has been regarded as one of the most critical issues for a country to attract foreign investments and enhancing economic development. Previous studies tended to evaluate national competitiveness from the perspective of developed countries while developing countries are given scant attention. This study attempts, firstly, to build a measurement model of national competitiveness and, secondly, to evaluate the national competitiveness of Malaysia through a series of expert interviews and questionnaire surveys. The results of this study indicate that, for most of the measurement items, the perceived achievement levels of Malaysia are higher than those of Thailand but lower than those of Singapore. In terms of economic resilience, financial resources, social responsibility, industrial relations, recognition to enterprise identity and ethical practices, Malaysia is perceived to have a higher achievement level than Singapore. The model developed in this study is useful for other countries to evaluate and improve their competitiveness through benchmarking, while at the same time providing potential investors with valuable information for investment purposes.

Case Study 14: Air Asia: Using Social Media to Reach Out to New Customers

With the tag line “Now everybody can fly” AirAsia has revolutionised air travel in the Asian region by offering incredibly low fares and innovative marketing techniques. The airline is one of the most innovative companies in the World, which has successfully deployed and expanded on the latest marketing/promotion practices. From August to December 2010, the airline ran their ‘Real People, Real Stories’ campaign where customers were encouraged to share their experiences on social media for a chance to win free tickets.

Demographic and Psychographic Profile of Active and Passive Investors of KLSE: A Discriminant Analysis

The study attempts to delineate the demographic and lifestyle characteristics of active and passive investors in Malaysia. The two groups are compared using eight demographic, five psychographic, and five activity dimensions. The results indicate that there were significant differences in terms of gender, age, occupation, monthly personal income and monthly household income between the two investor groups. In terms of psychographic dimensions, active investors were more risk takers or innovative than passive investors. When the activity dimensions of the two groups were examined, significant differences were also found. Active investors were found to be more knowledge-seekers, outdoor-lovers and outgoing/entertainment lovers when compared to passive investors. The application of discriminant analysis reveals that certain variables are relatively more important than others, in discriminating between active and passive investors. With regards to level of importance, personal monthly income ranks the highest, followed by occupation and outgoing/entertainment lover dimension of activity items. Some marketing implications were also discussed.

Avoidance of sponsored posts on consumer-generated content: a study of personal blogs

Purpose This study aims to conceptualise and empirically examine how blog users engage with the sponsored posts on consumer-generated content, specifically blogs. Design/methodology/approach This paper empirically tested the proposed hypotheses using the structural equation modelling using a sample of 399 blog users. Findings The need for cognition, perceived interactivity and perceived credibility of blogs has been found to directly influence consumers’ attitude towards blogs. Innovativeness has been found to have a weak negative link with the attitude towards blogs. Blog users were more favourable towards the sponsored posts if the blogs were more interactive. Attitude towards blogs has been found to mediate the relationship between users’ perceived interactivity and their avoidance of the sponsored posts and also between perceived credibility and avoidance of the sponsored posts on blogs. The most significant finding of this study is that the positive attitude towards a blog results in a higher avoidance of the sponsored posts. Research limitations/implications This study focuses on the sponsored posts on blogs. It does not look at other forms of advertising on blogs such as banner ads, or other forms of consumer-generated content. Practical implications Marketers and bloggers should carefully consider the suitability of the sponsored posts on blogs as they risk alienating the regular users of the blogs. Sponsored posts which are perceived as honest reviews (as opposed to paid advertorials) might be more acceptable to blog users. Social implications This study highlights the importance of credibility of bloggers to blog users. There are some serious ethical issues related to the sponsored posts which have not been discussed here but need to be examined further. Originality/value This study represents one of the first attempts to conceptualise and empirically examine how blog users engage with customer-generated advertising – sponsored posts. It contributes to marketing literature by enhancing the understanding of how consumers perceive consumer-generated content and more specifically, with regard to consumer attitudes towards online consumer-generated advertising. This study enhances the theoretical and empirical knowledge on how consumers react to advertisements on social media, with important suggestions for future research and implications for practitioners.

Islamic Marketing: Compatibility with Contemporary Themes in Marketing

Abstract Purpose This chapter discusses whether marketing can ever be Islamic given the common view of marketing functions as unsustainable and sometimes unethical, for example, how marketing promotes materialism. Methodology/approach This chapter reviews extant literatures in Islamic marketing, with a particular emphasis on stakeholder orientation in marketing. Findings We argue that Islamic marketing is indeed compatible with the concepts of ethical and sustainable marketing encompassing social, environmental as well as economic perspectives and encourages ethical behaviour. Originality/value This chapter highlights that discussions on Islamic marketing should include sustainable marketing and emphasises the growing importance of stakeholder orientation in marketing.

Social marketing: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

This chapter looks at social marketing in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Despite their cultural similarities and historical ties, each country has their unique challenges. Diversities and issues are explored with special reference to the contraceptive social marketing programmes in these three countries. The aim is to enable readers to comprehend how organisations organise and manage social marketing in these countries. Furthermore, the chapter presents important aspects of decision-making processes, influencing consumers’ perceptions towards social marketing. Theories on social marketing are reviewed and extant research presented.