Hasliza Hassan

Malaysian hypermarket retailing development and expansion

Purpose – The hypermarket industry in Malaysia has created a huge momentum for modern retailing concepts. The industry has been developing impressively, and the word hypermarket seems in need of a new definition. There is an overlap of the definitions for hypermarket, supermarket and shopping mall. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to focus on recent Malaysian hypermarket retailing developments that could be used as sources for definition. A few expansion opportunities are also emphasized in this paper.Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature from various research studies in the field was made. In order to strengthen the existing findings, practical implementations on hypermarket retailing within the Malaysian market were also studied in this research. In general, this research focuses on hypermarket retailing in the Malaysian scenario.Findings – Malaysian hypermarkets can be defined using retail developments within the industry as sources for definition works. This industry can also be e...

Trust and work place spirituality on knowledge sharing behaviour: Perspective from non-academic staff of higher learning institutions

Purpose – This empirical research aims to, to add value in the existing research on knowledge sharing, investigate the antecedents of knowledge-sharing behaviour by embedding trust and workplace spirituality variable on non-academic staff from higher learning institution in Malaysia. The role of trust, perceived risk and workplace spirituality towards knowledge-sharing behaviour has attracted significant attention from researchers and practitioners to facilitate the culture of knowledge sharing in organization settings. Design/methodology/approach – The units of analysis include non-academic staffs who are currently working in different higher learning institutions in Malaysia. Apart from descriptive study, this research applied confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings – The result revealed that there is a strong relationship between workplace spirituality and knowledge-sharing behaviour. On the other hand, the perceived risk variables partially mediate the association betw...

Transformation of hypermarket retailing industry in Malaysia

Retailing industry in Malaysia has been transforming from traditional grocery retail shops to supermarkets and expanded into hypermarkets. Hypermarket retailing is a common industry to everyone regardless of social status, income and even background. The emergence of hypermarket retailing in Malaysia since 1993 has changed the whole retailing industry to be more efficient and effective. The five main hypermarket players in Malaysia are Carrefour, Econsave, Giant, Mydin and Tesco. There are 296 hypermarket outlets throughout Malaysia. 40.88% of the total hypermarket outlets are located in Selangor which is one of the highest population growth states. Continuous strong pushes that have been given by the consumer have influenced the hypermarket retailers to continuously move ahead through high intense competitions to compete and sustain in the industry. This research is suggesting a potential path that has never been practiced and studied in Malaysia which is electronic hypermarket as an upcoming transformation in this industry.

Generation “X” and “Y” knowledge sharing behaviour: The influence of motivation and intention on non-academic staff of higher learning institutions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between employee motivation and intention for knowledge sharing behaviour. Inter-generational differences (generations X and Y only) were assumed to moderate in the relationship between intention and knowledge sharing behaviour of non-academic staff of higher learning institutions. This research also aims to test the role of behavioural intention as mediation between motivation and knowledge sharing behaviour. Design/methodology/approach This research tested a conceptual framework derived from widely accepted theories. This study was carried out on non-academic staff working at the different higher learning institutions in Malaysia. Respondents from private and public higher learning institutions in Peninsular Malaysia were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire. This research also applied confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to examine the proposed hypothesis of this inquiry. Findings Results indicate that non-academic staff knowledge sharing behaviour was significantly mediated by intention between motivation and knowledge sharing behaviour relationship. More specifically, inter-generational differences (generations X and Y) play a significant moderation role between intention and knowledge sharing behaviour. Research limitations/implications The generalizability of this cross-sectional study can be strengthened by adopting a longitudinal approach in the next phase of the study. Practical implications The results of this research highlighted that the higher learning institutions need to institutionalize knowledge sharing behaviour among their non-academic staff (executive and non-executive) by facilitating knowledge sharing-oriented work environment. Originality/value This paper has attempted to furnish a comprehensive understanding of knowledge sharing behaviour among the non-academic staff of higher learning institutions.

Effects of workplace spirituality and trust mediated by perceived risk towards knowledge sharing behaviour

Purpose This research paper aims to provide an empirical examination to explain the relationship between trust, workplace spirituality, perceived risk and knowledge sharing behaviour among the non-academic staff of private higher learning institutions. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative methodology was adopted to examine the proposed relationship between trust, workplace spirituality, perceived risk and knowledge sharing behaviour. The study used survey data from 240 non-academic staff of private higher learning institutions in Malaysia. This research applied confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling to test the stated hypotheses of the proposed conceptual framework. Findings The empirical findings indicate that workplace spirituality has a significant positive influence on knowledge sharing behaviour, whereas trust is found to have a positive effect, mediated by perceived risk, on the knowledge sharing behaviour among the non-academic staff of private higher learning institutions. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to private higher learning institutions in Malaysia, and used a cross-sectional research design. Further investigations into the moderating effect of socio-demographic variables are necessary. Practical implications The results of this survey provide constructive information towards understanding the extent of knowledge sharing predictors at the individual and non-academic staff levels in the context of private higher learning institutions in Malaysia. Thus, this empirical study serves as a baseline research for this unexplored scope as it provides new information in this field. Originality/value Previous studies have not tested the function of trust and workplace spirituality from the perspective of non-academic staff employed in private higher learning institutions.

Consumption values, destination cues and nostalgia on the attitude in the selection of destination for educational tourism: the mediating role of destination image

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between consumption values (CV), destination cues (DC), nostalgia and attitude in the selection of destination for educational tourism, and the mediating effect of destination image (DI). Design/methodology/approach The research applied descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modelling techniques. The study tested the reliability and validity of the measurement model through CFA, Cronbach’s α and inter-correlation analyses. This research applied the structural equation model to examine the relationship between the research variables using 250 foreign students. Findings The results of data analysis support the stated hypotheses. All the direct relationships were significant and positive. However, DI found a partial mediating role among the relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. Research limitations/implications From this research the tourism researchers, policymakers and managers of the respective higher learning institution may develop a complete understanding of the antecedents of attitude formation of the edu-tourists which were not even studied before from the perspective of educational tourism. Originality/value To date, there have been few empirical studies examining the attitude of the edu-tourists in the selection of a destination for educational tourism. Therefore, understanding the purpose of CV, DC and nostalgia in a tourist’s decision-making operation, and their theoretical relationship, will make both scientific and practical contributions.

Tourist’s preferences in selection of local food: perception and behavior embedded model

Purpose Locally derived foods from the lens of restaurant settings play an important source of tourist attraction. Surprisingly, research into this sector is quite scarce. The aim of the paper is to develop and empirically examine a conceptual framework on tourist’s preferences in selecting local foods. The framework includes tourists’ satisfaction, quality of food, tourist’s perception, purchase intention and purchase behavior among tourist’s selection for local foods. Design/methodology/approach The research is designed as quantitative in nature. A sum of 280 usable questionnaires was used from 300 distributed instruments by using convenient sampling techniques. Findings The results show that the relationship of tourist satisfaction and behavior is mediated by purchase intention, whereas tourist’s satisfaction and perception have a positive and significant impact on the intention of purchasing local foods. There is also a significant relationship between tourist’s satisfaction and perceived quality toward the tourist’s perception of local foods. Moreover, a significant relationship exists between tourist’s intentions and tourist’s purchase behavior. Research limitations/implications The study derived the purchase behavior dimensions of local foods by the tourists through literature and verified the conceptual model through empirical testing. Based on these findings, managers of local food restaurants require maximizing the purchase behavior of the visitors by considering satisfaction and perceived quality. In summation, they also should consider perception and behavioral intention of tourists. The limitation of this research relates to the sample, where data were collected from the major city of a tourist-friendly country. Future research could investigate the perceived value and gender variance as moderating variables in and between purchase intention and purchase behavior. Practical implications Managers and policymakers may use the outcome of this research as a guideline to understand the depth of tourist’s behavior. By identifying the antecedents of the behavioral factors may assist the managers to strengthen the restaurant’s competitive position within the industry. Finally, policymakers may use the research to assess tourists’ perceptions of local foods acceptability in promoting the nation’s culture to other parts of the world. Originality/value This work adds to tourism behavior research by exploring the effect of satisfaction, perceived quality, perception and intention on behaviors associated with local foods purchase behavior. In particular, the study highlights the relationships between tourist’s perception, perceived quality of local foods and satisfaction of local foods to measure tourist’s behavior through purchase intention for local foods from the perspective of restaurant settings, which have received less research attention.

Loyalty membership for luxury hotels in Malaysia

Purpose Loyalty membership is widely used as a marketing strategy to secure customer’s loyalty in many business sectors. The purpose of this paper is to focus on loyalty membership of customer in Malaysian luxury hotels, specifically, in the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia by looking into the perceived value of economic, interaction and psychological needs. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative cross-sectional research was conducted to explore the feedback from customers who have loyalty membership with a luxury hotel. Surveyed data of 489 respondents were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings There is a significant positive relationship between the psychological needs and perceived value. The relationship between the perceived value and customer’s loyalty is also significant and positive. However, there is no significant relationship between the economic value and the interaction constructs with the perceived value. The perceived value functions as a mediator for the economic value, interaction and psychological needs in respect of customer’s loyalty. Practical implications Hotel management should prioritise addressing the elements of psychological needs to enhance the perceived value from the customers’ perspective. The strength of the perceived value indirectly stimulates customer’s loyalty to a hotel, followed by the interaction and economic value from the customer value perspective to ensure customer’s loyalty. Originality/value This research highlights on how customers can be secured by a luxury hotel chain through a loyalty membership strategy. The knowledge generated from this research is expected to provide insights to practitioners on how to enhance their loyalty membership marketing strategy.

Obesity and overweight issues could undermine Malaysia’s competitiveness

The Malaysian lifestyle has been undergoing changes over time. With better socio-economic conditions, Malaysians tend to consume more food today than they did previously. Excessive intakes of high calorie foods combined with little daily physical activity have led to increased numbers of overweight and obese people in the population. The purpose of this paper is to compare the incidence of overweight and obesity in the population in Malaysia with other Southeast Asian countries.,Data for this research were based on secondary data of average weight, overweight and obese people for populations in the Southeast Asian countries. The analysis for this research focused on the population in Malaysia and compared it with populations from neighboring countries.,The population in Malaysia was ranked the second highest in the number of overweight and obese people in the Southeast Asian region. In addition, the rate of increase overweight and obese people in the population of Malaysia was found to be the highest in the region. Since the percentage of overweight and obese people had increased consistently from 2010 to 2014, there was a high possibility that the momentum would continue into the following few years.,Being overweight and obese was not desirable by the majority of people as it could lead to various health diseases and psychological problems. Unfortunately, the percentage of overweight and obese people in Malaysia seems to be increasing. Improved socio-economic conditions have increased the amount of food normally consumed by people. Although many people were found to be aware of the negative impact of being overweight and obese, the majority of them did not seem to take the initiative to reduce their body weight. This research is expected to create awareness of the alarming rate of increase in the number of overweight and obese people in Malaysia in order to encourage a healthier lifestyle.

Tacit knowledge-sharing behavior among the academic staff: Trust, self-efficacy, motivation and Big Five personality traits embedded model

The purpose of this paper is to examine the critical success factor of tacit knowledge-sharing behavior among the academic staff of higher learning institutions.,A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed among the academic staff of higher learning institutions in Bangladesh. Collectively, 150 usable responses were returned. Apart from descriptive statistics, this research applied confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the measurement model and test the research hypotheses.,The findings from this empirical examination show that all the Big Five personality traits affect tacit knowledge-sharing behavior among the academic staff of higher learning institutions, except conscientiousness personality trait. However, the role of motivation, self-efficacy and mutual trust are also playing a significant role in tacit knowledge-sharing behavior. The CFA, SEM analysis confirmed the proposed conceptual model with a good model fit.,The findings of this research contribute to the understanding of the role of personality traits and other antecedents which play a significant role for the academic staff tacit knowledge-sharing behavior which are interesting for policymakers and authorities of higher learning institutions. As there was no sampling frame, the researchers applied convenient sampling technique in choosing the respondents.,This research plays a pioneering role where it contributes to the growing literature on the relationships between personality traits and other factors to construct a model for the tacit knowledge behavior by considering academic staff of higher learning institutions from a developing country’s perspective.