Mohd Yusof Hussain

Knowledge transfer and the role of local absorptive capability at science and technology parks

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate to what extent knowledge inflows have taken place among professional Malaysian workforces and what the significant employee‐related factors of knowledge transfer are. The development of technology parks at Technology Park Malaysia (TPM), Kulim High Tech Park (KHTP) and Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) is the focus of the discussion.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected through a self‐administered survey to 300 local professionals; and 51 percent responded. A multiple regression was used to identify the significant determinants of transfer of knowledge.Findings – Knowledge transfer from foreign expatriate, parent and peer subsidiary companies to local professionals is at a moderate level. The overall multiple regression shows that workplace learning, personal time management, symptom of replication, adaptation and innovation, and work experience significantly contribute to the transferring of expertise to local professional employees.Research limitations/...

A study on the mediating role of halal perception: determinants and consequence reflections

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine potential determinants of halal perception and to validate the mediating model of halal perception on purchasing decision of Malaysian consumers. Design/methodology/approach This study uses a survey to obtain the relevant data. The survey involved self-administration of questionnaires to 420 consumers and 96 per cent responded. The questionnaire consists of four sections designed to obtain information on demography, halal perception, determinants of halal perception and purchase decision. Findings The main finding reiterates the role of credible signals in credence items purchased as suggested by the signaling theory. Halal perception has association with respondents’ purchase decision. Thus, it highlights that halal perception is the mediating variable that intervenes in the relationship of a few independent variables and the purchase decision trends. The independent variables such as manufacturer identity, product label, physical product and packaging as well country of origin are considered to be important extrinsic cues that deliver messages regarding the halal of certain food products. The association of the four variables with halal perception is also found to be significant. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in its attempt to explore the role of halal perception in the marketing of food products especially within the scope of a Muslim’s market. Besides, this study attempts to investigate the halal issue based on a specific model that includes potential variables and the intervening role of halal perception.

A Preliminary Study of Tourist Friendly Destination Concept in CityTourism

Tourist friendly destination is a growing concept applicable to many tourism sectors, which aim to satisfy the needs and demands of domestic as well as international tourists. In the city tourism, recent practices have shown that tourism providers have given emphasis to the general provision of physical facilities compared to the facilities and services that meet and satisfies the tourists’ needs. Previous studies have also focused on the positioning, image, and branding of tourism destination, thus, making the tourist friendly destination concept untapped. Therefore, this article aims to develop a preliminary concept of tourist friendly destination from domestic tourist’s perspective. A total of 30 respondents chose the purposive sampling method in Kuala Lumpur. The results of the study showed that the level of attributes was “important” and “very important” to overall mean value range 3.09 to 4.63. This study contributes to the tourism providers and planners in developing city tourism towards tourist friendly destination concept.

Program AZAM Tani dalam mewujudkan pendapatan kedua isi rumah komuniti miskin di Seberang Perai

Abstrak Pembasmian kemiskinan telah menjadi salah satu agenda kerajaan semenjak pelaksanaan Dasar Ekonomi Baru. Sejak itu, pelbagai program pembasmian kemiskinan telah dilaksanakan oleh agensi kerajaan dan bukan kerajaan. Hal ini adalah kerana kebimbangan kerajaan kepada isu kemiskinan dan kesejahteraan rakyat. Oleh itu, suatu program telah dilaksanakan oleh kerajaan pada tahun 2010 iaitu Program AZAM Tani. Pelaksanaan program AZAM Tani dilihat sebagai satu impak positif kepada komuniti miskin. Namun begitu, adakah perlaksanaan AZAM Tani dapat membantu pesertanya memperoleh pendapatan tambahan. Oleh itu, objektif utama kajian ialah mengenalpasti sejauhmana program AZAM Tani berjaya mewujudkan peluang pekerjaan kedua kepada pesertanya. Selain itu, kajian ingin melihat hubungan di antara pengetahuan, kemahiran dan daya saing peserta dengan pelaksanaan program AZAM Tani. Kajian dilakukan di di Seberang Perai. Kajian menggunakan gabungan pendekatan kuantitatif dan kualitatif. Kaedah bancian digunakan dalam kajian yang melibatkan 54 orang responden. Hasil kajian mendapati 70 peratus responden telah berjaya mewujudkan pekerjaan kedua selepas mereka menyertai program AZAM Tani. Hasil ujian korelasi spearman menunjukkan hubungan yang positif di antara pengetahuan, kemahiran dan daya saing peserta dengan pelaksanaan program AZAM Tani. Implikasinya, program AZAM Tani berjaya mewujudkan peluang pekerjaan kedua dan ini membantu petani meningkatkan pendapatan mereka. Dalam masa yang sama, aspek pengetahuan, kemahiran dan daya saing peserta AZAM Tani perlu diberi perhatian dalam setiap program pembangunan komuniti akan datang kerana mempunyai hubungan positif dengan kejayaan program yang dilaksanakan. Kata kunci: program AZAM tani, komuniti miskin, petani, pendapatan, pekerjaan kedua Abstract Eradication of poverty has become one of the governments agenda since the implementation of the New Economic Policy. Since then, various poverty eradication programs have been implemented by government agencies and non-governmental organizations. This is because of the governments concern for the issue of poverty and the well-being of the people. Thus, the AZAM Tani program was implemented by the government in 2010. The implementation of the AZAM Tani program is seen as providing positive impact on the poor community. However, there is concern on whether the implementation of AZAM Tani can help participants to earn additional income. Hence, the main objective of this study is to identify the extent to which the AZAM Tani program has successfully created a second job opportunity for its participants. Additionally, the study wanted to see the relationship between knowledge, skills and competitiveness of participants with the implementation of the AZAM Tani program. This study was conducted in Seberang Perai. The study uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. The survey method was used and involving 54 respondents. The findings show that 70 percent of respondents succeeded in creating a second job compared to just six percent before joining AZAM Tani. In addition, the Spearman correlation test also shows that the amount of income difference has a positive relationship with the combination of program implementation, knowledge, skills and competitiveness. If viewed through knowledge, the respondents are able to perform the second job. This can be seen as a positive association between knowledge and program implementation. Keywords: AZAM Tani program, poor community, peasant, income, second job https://doi.org/10.17576/geo-2018-1402-12

A Study on Costs, Risks and Competitiveness of Palm Oil Fruit Dealers’ Business in Malaysia

This exploratory study aims to describe the nature of palm oil intermediary business focusing on the costs structure, risks and competitive challenges. This study employs qualitative research design. Five fruit dealers (FD) are involve in the interview. The findings show that palm oil fruit dealer business requires enormous amount of cash and equipment investments during the start-up and growth stages. In addition, FDs must comply with specific requirements to apply for the operating license. The risks are divided into non-controllable and controllable risks. The non-controllable risk refers to the external source of risks such as fresh fruit bunch (FFB) shrinkage due to weather factor, volatility of market price and inconsistent mills purchase decisions. Meanwhile, the controllable risk consist of the probability of unripe FFB purchased from the smallholders. Furthermore, the finding indicates that the business competitive structure is relatively intense due to strong bargaining power of buyers and sellers, high service substitutability from nearby FDs, high rivalry among existing firms, and the need of special equipment. However, the threat of new entrants is low due to the high entrance and exit barriers of the business. Finding of this study suggested that agriculture intermediaries have important roles within the palm oil smallholders’ value chain. Therefore, this study disseminates preliminary insights on FDs’ business in terms of costs, risks and challenges.