Md. Nor Othman

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.

Predicting and explaining complaint intention and behaviour of Malaysian consumers: an application of the planned behaviour theory

This report investigates attitude towards complaining, societal benefits and probability of complaint success, with emphasis on complaint intentions and actions, in applying the theory of planned behaviour to complaint behaviour in Malaysia. On the basis of a sample of 834 respondents at the National Consumer Complaint Centre, the Tribunal for Consumer Claims Malaysia, and three shopping malls, the research findings suggest that complainers with a more positive attitude towards those three factors have a stronger tendency to make a complaint. However, consumers with positive perceptions of societal benefits and a higher probability of success are less likely to take action for seeking redress. Moreover, the influence of attitude, benefits, and probability of success on complaint actions is mediated by intention.

A Study of Life Events, Stress and Coping Strategies among Older Adults in Malaysia: Implications for Marketers

Although the positive relationship between life events and stress has been well researched in the behavioral and social sciences, the relationship between life events and consumer behavior has scarcely been examined especially in developing economies such as Malaysia. This paper is an attempt to examine the impact of life events on older adults from the perspective of consumer behavior. It is based on the theoretical underpinnings that occurrence of life events brings about stress which in turn motivates people to seek changes in behavior as consumers. The positive relationship posits that the larger the number of life events experienced, the greater the level of stress experienced and hence the more the changes in consumer behavior. Methodology adopted for the study is the door-to-door survey method using non-probability quota sampling. Findings support that life events are positively related to changes in brand preference and consumption-related lifestyles changes in consumer-related lifestyles bring about changes in brand preference. Brand preference changes could also be observed for a limited number of life events examined.

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.

Marketing to Healthy Lifestyle Consumers: An Analysis of Demographic and Social Cognitive Factors

Individuals who adopt a healthy lifestyle are excellent customers for health-related offerings. The present study represents the first attempt to examine group differences between ”high active” and ”low active” exercisers in demographic and social cognitive characteristics which aims to provide useful insights to marketers in segmenting markets, targeting promotions, and positioning products and services. Cross-sectional data was collected via self-administered surveys from general adults sample (n=512) in Malaysia. Prior to data analysis, measurement scale was validated using confirmatory factor analysis. Significant differences were found between the two exercise groups in age, occupation and all the social cognitive factors studied. The ”low active” group had less favourable instrumental and affective attitude, were less subject to social pressure, and felt less perceived control and self-efficacy over exercising compared to ”high active” exercisers. The discriminant analysis reported perceived self-efficacy to be the most important factor in discriminating between the two groups.

Occasions and Motivations for Gift-Giving: A Comparative Study of Malay and Chinese Consumers in Urban Malaysia

The main purpose of this study is to examine the occasions and motivations for gift-giving behaviour amongst urban Malaysian consumers. In addition, a comparison between the gift-giving behaviours of the two major ethnic groups in Malaysia, namely the Malays and the Chinese, will be made. The study utilized the survey approach. The sample consisted of 300 respondents. Findings showed that most of the respondents buy gifts during birthdays and weddings. When the motivations of gift giving were examined, the study found that the most preferred motivation for gift giving is for practical purposes. Comparing the behaviour of the two ethnic groups, significant differences were found. Some marketing implications of the study are discussed.

Brand Selection Decisions for the Purchase of Electrical Appliances: A Cross-Cultural Study of Urban Malaysian Consumers

This study investigates various aspects of brand selection decisions for the purchase of durable products. The findings indicate that the majority of the respondents considered only two to three brands when making the purchase decision for an electrical appliance. The study also found that performance was a major factor for brand selection. This was followed by affect, price and normative factors respectively. The study also found that spouse was the most important “other people” to influence the buyer. The differences between two ethnic groups (i.e. the Malays and Chinese) on these aspects were also examined.

Comparing theories to explain exercise behaviour: a socio-cognitive approach

Consumer education plays an important role in cultivating the beliefs that exercise helps to improve ones health status. In this vein, a solid theoretical model that provides insight into what motivates exercise participation is essential for managerial formulation of health intervention strategies. Addressing the calls for more solid theoretical work to explain exercise behaviour, this study tests and compares empirically the predictive validity of three social cognitive theories – the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and the modified TPB (with an additional path from subjective norms to attitude) – in predicting exercise intention. Cross-sectional data were collected via self-administered surveys from a sample of adults in Malaysia. All three alternative models have achieved acceptable model fit to the data, and the TPB appeared to be more superior to the alternative models. Given strong support for the second-order TPBs application to exercise that is provided by our study, it seems feasible that desirable modifications in social cognitions especially the attitudinal components might lead to corresponding changes in the subjects’ exercise intention. This study sets the ground for health professional, social marketers and government to improve their understanding of exercise behaviour and, in turn, consumer welfare.

A Marketing Perspective of Tobacco Consumption Among Adolescent Consumers: A Conceptual Model of Adolescents¿Smoking Behaviour

Adolescents, as tobacco consumers, have been the subject of constant interest and research worldwide. Scientific research, both empirical and conceptual, provides clear insight about the dangers and the environmental factors associated with tobacco smoking among adolescents across the world. This paper is an attempt to contribute to existing knowledge by proposing a conceptual model, which would contribute to our understanding of how various environmental influencers are associated directly and indirectly with adolescents’ smoking behavior. Specifically, this study attempts to close the gap in literature by closely re-examining the effect of parental style, particularly adolescents characterized by a religiously-oriented family communication pattern at home and its potential association with smoking behaviour. Previous studies have only