Ng Kim-Soon

Driving and Fostering Strategic University and Industry Collaboration: Perspective from the Food Manufacturers

Universities are fostering links and facilitating technology transfer with industries. Industries are transforming rapidly to sustain and ensure businesses prosper well. These have created a dynamic approach by stakeholders towards university-industry collaboration (UIC). However, there is a lack of studies which focus on how the process of formation of the partnerships are developed and coordinated effectively. This case study examines the drivers of change in fostering collaboration of a Public University, an anchor institution located in a town with its surrounding food processing companies. Data were collected from 5 Chief Executive Officers of the food processing companies, as they are among the key decision makers who are able to influence the future direction of UIC of food industry. Face-to-face interviews were used to collect the views of the industry foresight into the year 2025. The rate of technology adoption and policies are the two key drivers of change driving future UIC between UTHM, an anchor institution in the Town with its surrounding food processing companies. This paper has made recommendation for future of the University and Food Industry collaborative linkages.

An Integrated Technical and Marketing Approach to E-Banking Customer Satisfaction

The use of e-banking services has increased competition for on-line customer satisfaction. Previous research works were done basically in terms of customer satisfaction from either the marketing or technical perspective. While each viewpoint has helped to improve understanding of online customer satisfaction, a framework to unify these views is lacking from the current literature. This study explores customer satisfaction of e-bank service via the integrated technical and marketing perspectives. The data collected from a total of 150 on-line e-bank customers were analyzed to test the hypotheses formulated using SPSS statistical package. Reliability analysis, descriptive and regression analysis were performed. There are seven main variables of marketing and technical factors. The results indicated that although these factors do have a tremendous influence on customer satisfaction, however, not all of them exert the same effect. Therefore, it is very important for researchers to take an integrative approach to determine customer satisfaction with e-bank online. The results of this study offer ideas on further enhancing e-bank customer satisfaction by improving technical and marketing of customer service.

Information system key success factors and student behavioral intention to use M-learning

Key success factor is a planning tool use in designing information system that meet the need of user. Mobile technologies for learning is an emerging tools in education evolution where the learning process occurs through integration of electronic learning and mobile technologies. Higher education institutions around the world will need to consider how to make the most of these new opportunities to be competitive in the market. Most previous studies have been focusing on social factors that influence behavioral intention to use m-learning while there is a lacking on finding technological factors such as system quality and information quality on behavioral intention to use m-learning. Thus, the current study was carried out to investigate technological factors that influence behavioral intention to use m-learning among students at the Malaysian technical universities. The research model was formulated using the constructs used in IS success model. A total of 400 duly completed survey questionnaires was collected via purposeful structured random sampling and self-administrated survey questionnaire. The hypotheses formulated were then tested using SPSS AMOS. The result revealed that the mean tendency of perceived usefulness, information quality, system quality, learning interaction was scored at high levels. Perceived usefulness and learning interaction have positive influence on behavioral intention to use m-learning, while information quality and system quality indicated negative relationship towards behavioral intention to use m-learning. Findings of this study add new understanding as regard to technological factors of m-learning and the level that it influences student learning behavioral intention to use m-learning among higher education students.

Turning industrial visit into rich learning experiences

Industrial visit is able to provide a graduate with added advantage of gaining the better understanding of the key elements implicitly emphasized in the production and operations management course. It enables the student to relate their theoretical knowledge with practical aspects of their study covering the curriculum related to operations management of competitive industrial operations, capacity, process technology, design concepts, supply chain, and other operations management aspects of safety, health, environment, society, and its relations with operations performance. This research is in the assessment and evaluation of student’s experiences and learning gains from their industrial visit. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in this research. Assessment of the students learning experience and different skills they gained throughout industrial visit were analyzed. The result shows that the levels of learning experiences, learning gains and student satisfaction with their study visit were all rated high. Exposure of students to study visit equips them with relevant industry knowledge, skills and conceptual learning. With enough insights and awareness of an actual working setting upon graduated to work in an industrial environment, students will be able to quickly adjust to real situation upon joining the workforce.

Export Promotion, Sales and Profits: A Structural Equation Modelling

Export promotion can be a differentiator for sales and profits. More research works are needed to explicitly delve into developing concrete models and multi-dimensional scales to strengthen the theoretical foundations for measuring export performance. This study uses SEM to model on export promotion, firms quality reputation, product and service quality for generating sales with profit. The respondents were the Johor State manufacturing exporters selected from the Federation of Malaysia Manufacturers Directory based on Krejcie and Morgan sampling plan. Respondents answered a self-administered survey questionnaire. Results indicated that the observable variable of export promotion comprises of management of sales promotion activities, selecting and participating in relevant trade fairs, preparation of product literature, and evaluating channel performance. The latent variables that have loaded highly into enhancing firms quality are improving products, providing better service quality and gaining reputation. The latent variables of sales performance that loaded in the observable measure of export sales are export sales efficiency and export sales growth. Profits measure was found to comprise of export profitability and profit margin. Structural equation modelling of good fitting has shown that export promotion enhances firms quality and will lead to higher sales with profits. Future research and practical implications are reported. Keyword : export, export promotion, products, service quality, export performance