Izaidin Abdul Majid

The commercialisation process of patents by universities

The commercialisation process of university patents and how the decisions were made to patent new scientific discoveries and to commercialise them have not been studied extensively. This paper attempts to understand in detail, the process of commercialisation of university patents from the initial scientific disclosures through patent filings to the choice of commercialisation routes. A series of interviews were conducted with seven directors of technology transfer offices (TTO) of UK universities. The interviews were structured in a way so as to discover how new disclosures in their universities were chosen to be patented and how the patents were commercialised. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed with the help of Nvivo software. Then, case and cross case analysis were done. The result of the study showed that there are variations in practices between universities in how they decide to patent and in the routes of exploitation. Universities do differ on which inventions need to be patented and which route to go for their commercialisation. Universities that practice very highly selective procedures would only patent an invention after a very thorough market analysis. But there are universities that practiced low selective procedures; as such, they file for patent as long as the invention fulfils an expectation of potential value. Decisions on which route to commercialise are sought after the patent filings. Overall, only one university practice a very systematic selection procedure, from which, inventions were patented and specific route of commercialisation was chosen. Most of the universities based their selection criteria on motivations of the inventors, either to patent and which commercialisation route to utilise for their inventions.

The effect of microfinance on women’s empowerment: Evidence from Malaysia

Microfinance is widely known as a financial development tool for those deprived of access to financial services, especially women. However, the literature provides conflicting evidence and shows that women’s empowerment may not, or may only be partially achieved through microcredit, especially in Muslim societies. This study seeks to scrutinize the effect of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), a microcredit institution, on Malay Muslim women in an urban area. A quasi-experimental method was used to conduct a cross sectional survey of 500 old and new clients. Informal semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 current clients who had received microcredit two years earlier. The findings show that AIM microcredit empowered the women and enhanced gender equality. It enabled women to access financial capital, form their micro- and small-businesses and obtain an income which helped them to contribute to household expenditure. Even though the effect of microcredit was partial, it provided them bargaining power for decision-making and controlling of resources and enhanced their self-esteem in their households and communities.

Household welfare and women empowerment through microcredit financing: Evidence from Malaysia microcredit

ABSTRACT Microcredit financing is considered a crucial vehicle to flourish the socioeconomic conditions of women and women empowerment, especially among those who are from low-income households and deprived of access to financial services. Nevertheless, the literature arrived with a conflicting conclusion about its effect and women demonstrate that microcredit has small or no effect. This study is intended to scrutinize the impact of a productive loan provided by Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) on women household welfare and empowerment. A cross-sectional survey was employed through the distribution of a questionnaire to 495 of old and new borrowers. We observe that microcredit has significant positive effects on borrowers’ household income and personal asset acquisition. However, even though the effect of microcredit empowers women borrowers in households’ decisions-making, it has no effect on women control over minor financials.

Understanding Strategic Reactiveness Influences on Entrepreneurial Management Tendencies

This study explores the relationship between strategic reactiveness (SR) and Entrepreneurial Management (EM) tendencies of SMEs sector within the states of Melaka and Johor in Malaysia. This research considers that strategy-related variables are competitively aggressive and adaptive. Strategic planning allows organizations to anticipate changes and create strategic options for those changes. It is commonly perceived that SR will have a positive relationship with EM. Respondents for this research include CEOs, owner-managers and entrepreneurs. Data was collected by distributing questionnaire to 200 small and medium-sized enterprises selected randomly from both the services and manufacturing sectors. This paper will explore and explain the concept and variables related to the research as well as brief demographic descriptions of the respondents.