K. Jayaraman

The examination on the drivers for green purchasing adoption among EMS 14001 certified companies in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of four drivers, namely regulations (RG), customer pressures (CP), social responsibility (SR), and expected business benefits (EBB) on green purchasing (GP) in the Malaysian manufacturing sector.Design/methodology/approach – The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Directory 2007 and SIRIM organization, Malaysia, are the two sources provided the population units of 569, International Organization for Standardization 14001 certified manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Out of 569 firms, 132 (23.2 percent) positively responded for the mail survey on GP.Findings – The empirical findings of the study suggest that GP is affected by the drivers namely RG, CP, EBB, and firm ownership. The results also suggest that, although Malaysian firms show a high level of SR, it does not constitute a genuine driver for these firms to adopt GP.Research limitations/implications – This paper is considered as one of the first attempts to empirically investigate the drive...

The perceptions and perspectives of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) practitioners

Purpose – The electronic manufacturing service (EMS) industry recognizes Lean Six Sigma (LSS) as an effective business strategy to strive for cost reduction and improve the profitability and growth of a company. There are many factors affecting the success of an LSS program to meet desired profitability and growth. The purpose of this paper is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) in successful LSS programs and to evaluate the CSFs’ impact on company performance.Design/methodology/approach – This study is carried out using the quantitative survey method containing structured questionnaires. The study population comprises the six multinational EMS industries in Malaysia that have successfully implemented LSS programs. The LSS practitioners, namely the holders of the Master Black Belt (MBB), the Black Belt (BB) and the LSS champions of the various international manufacturing sites of the six multinational EMS in Malaysia form the respondents.Findings – The significance of this research is the iden...

A Conceptual Model of Interactive Hotel Website: The Role of Perceived Website Interactivity and Customer Perceived Value Toward Website Revisit Intention☆

Abstract Malaysian hotel websites have received many online visitors but failed to convert it into online booking. Based on a synthesis of literature, this article illustrates a conceptual business model to enhance customer intention to revisit hotel websites to book for hotel rooms. The conceptual model proposes that customer perception on hotel website interactivity influences customer perceived value and intention to revisit the hotel website in the future. This article contributes to the existing body of knowledge by highlighting the importance of each dimension of perceived website interactivity in hotel sector. Its applications in the hospitality business and implications for future research were also discussed.

Scale development and validation for DART model of value co-creation process on innovation strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to validate scale measurements of dialogue, access, risk assessment and transparency (DART) constructs, as the process of value-co-creation, and then understand its effect on innovation strategy. Further, the paper explores the influence of innovation strategy on the market performance. Design/methodology/approach – The model links four dimensions of DART as building blocks of value co-creation, to the innovation strategy. Further, the model links innovation strategy to the market performance. In total, five hypotheses are postulated. Testing was conducted through structural equation modeling using PLS-SEM, utilizing data from 249 managers of telecommunication companies in Malaysia. Findings – The result of the analysis revealed dialogue, risk assessment and transparency having a significant positive relationship with innovation strategy. These results signified the importance of value co-creation to formulate an innovation strategy of the firms. The finding of the r...

The effects of consumer perception of volume discount benefits on intention to purchase grocery products: Deal proneness as a moderator

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of consumers’ perceptions towards volume discount (VD) benefits on their intention to purchase grocery products under this scheme using deal proneness as a moderator.,Data were gathered through a survey of 583 Malaysian consumers, and were analysed using the partial least squares technique.,The results showed that perceived savings, self-expression value, and convenience positively affected consumers’ intention to purchase grocery products under VDs. Deal proneness negatively moderated the relationship between perceived quality, innovation, and consumers’ intention to purchase under VDs.,The findings of the study will help retailers to understand the effects of consumers’ perceptions of VD benefits on their intention to purchase products under VDs, thereby allowing retailers to promote products under VDs more effectively.,Although the VD is a common type of sales promotion, this topic is rarely explored. This study thus contributes to the advancement of knowledge by determining the effects of the potential benefits of VDs on consumers’ intention to purchase.

Corporate sustainable business practices and talent attraction

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether organizations can leverage on their sustainable business practices to attract valuable talents to gain competitive advantage over their competitors. Design/methodology/approach Using factorial design, the authors conducted an experiment to assess the attractiveness of an organization in line with the social identity theory, based on the Bursa Malaysia corporate social responsibility (CSR) framework attributes (including environmental performance, community relation, workplace and marketplace performance). Findings The findings of the current study supported the notion of social identity theory, as study subjects were attracted more to organizations with high corporate sustainable business (CSB) practices than organizations with low CSB practices. Specifically, findings of the current study revealed that job applicants have a higher intention to join and willingness to accept a job offer from organizations with more sustainable business practices. Research limitations/implications This study is limited by its sample size and selection, self-reported measures and its cross-sectional nature. Practical implications Understanding the most preferred attribute of CSB practices will enable organizations to focus their valuable resources rightfully to market their CSR efforts for obtaining higher organizational attractiveness and competitive advantage. Social implications As many organizations perceive sustainable outcomes to be costly, demonstrating the positive link between CSB practices and organizational attractiveness for talents warrants a win-win paradigm. Originality/value Talented workforce is essential for differentiating an organization from its competitors. As human resources are mostly unique and non-imitable, it has been recommended as a newly minted strategy to enable organization to achieve sustainable competitive advantages.

Have libraries in private institutions of higher learning in Malaysia lost their original purposes? What else does the evidence say about gender issues?

The original purposes of a library as a place for knowledge fulfillment alongside other social responsibilities are perceived to have eroded over the years. This could be due to the emergence and dominance of the ever progressive digital media and has likely changed the availability and mode of access to knowledge thereby affecting library patronage. This paper attempts to validate the above perception of the utilization patterns of library in private institutions of higher learning. It has been observed that students still visit libraries. However, the intentions of their visits are more for general or self utilization purposes rather than for intellectual pursuits. The study has revealed that more than 65% of the students surveyed spent their time doing personal work in the library without utilizing other library services and facilities. This has raised a real concern that libraries are now made places for social gathering and self utilization. Gender has turned out to be non-significant factor in this research.

Macroeconomic factors influencing Malaysian tourism revenue, 2002-2008.

The Malaysian tourism industry has flourished considerably over the years due to the growth of new tourist landmarks, together with its rich cultural heritage. The industry generated 6.78% of the total income from exports in 2008. This paper focuses on the dynamic relationship between macroeconomic factors and tourism revenue in Malaysia from January 2002 to December 2008. In this context, the authors investigate the presence of seasonal fluctuations in tourism revenue and examine the macroeconomic factors influencing the five top tourist-generating countries for Malaysia.

The pattern of international tourist arrivals and revenue estimates for Malaysia: 2002-2007.

This article discusses the applications and the results of the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) forecasting model to predict the international tourist arrivals into Malaysia using the monthly data from January 2002 through December 2007. Based on the arrivals and the average length of stay, the revenue was computed and the time series forecast model was fitted to estimate the total revenue for the Malaysian tourism industry. International arrivals into Malaysia remained resilient and have been dominant by Asian visitors. The five Asian countries, namely Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Brunei, and China, together accounted for 75.3% of the international tourist arrivals into Malaysia and contributed to 66.5%, of the Malaysian tourism revenue for the year 2007. The forecasting models were also fitted for tourists coming into Malaysia from these five countries for future planning and managerial applications. It is worthwhile to mention that the forecasted arrivals and revenue for the year 2008 almost coincide with the actual Malaysian official tourism figures and the variation is negligible, which strengthens the validity and the robustness of the fitted models.

Scale Measurements for Airline Service Quality to Secure Passenger Confidence in Air Travel

The aviation industry is striving hard to provide a safe, secure, and enjoyable travel experience to passengers despite being exposed to extreme risks and prone to frequent disasters. Airline companies are faced with declining passenger confidence in the air transportation systems reliability and service offerings. The existing literature shows deficiencies in knowledge on passenger confidence in air travel. The passenger confidence to choose the same airline company depends on passenger satisfaction and passenger trust. To remain competitive, service providers must render quality service to their customers. This study identifies some of the service quality dimensions applicable to the aviation industry that can be leveraged by the airline companies to gain competitive advantage. The conceptualized dimensions of service quality pertinent to the present context of airline companies identified in the current study are safety and security, timeliness, pricing, facilities, information communication technology, and sales promotion. The scale measurements for airline service quality that influence passenger confidence in air travel with the mediating effect of service culture have been studied. The conceptual research framework has been proposed and is supported by the extended Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model. The research framework discussed in this study can be applied and customized by any full-service carrier airline for long-term sustainability to nurture passenger load in air travel and thereby increase revenue for airline companies.