Nik Ab. Halim Nik Abdullah

The Internationalization Theory and Malaysian Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs)

Reduction in trade barriers and development in information and communication technology provide the opportunity for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to expand their business into foreign market, even on the first day of its establishment. Such circumstances have lead into a debate among internationalization researchers on which theory effectively explain the firms internationalization process and whether the older theories are not relevant anymore these days. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to look at the internationalization process of Malaysian SMEs and how it fits the internationalization theories. Discussions are based on the related theories of internationalization namely the Uppsala Model, Network Approach and International New Venture or Born global. This paper also presents a descriptive analysis on the level of internationalization among Malaysian SMEs, reason for internationalization, the mode of entry used, and the reason for non-internationalization among firms that have no international activities. Data were collected through self-administered questionnaire and a total of 250 responds were received. Findings indicate that all three theories are still applicable as not all SMEs that internationalized are born global in nature. Exporting was the most used mode of entry and increasing profit was the main reason for internationalization. Potential difficulties and uncertainties in making profit appear to be the major reason for non-internationalization. Discussions of the findings, significance of the study and direction for future research are then discussed.

Environmental sustainability strategies and impacts

Given the relevance of environmental sustainability, the aim of the present paper is twofold: first, to investigate the impact of strategies implemented by Northport, Klang in order to be environmentally sustainable, and, second, to ascertain the priorities of these strategies. Using qualitative research design, data was collected through semi-structured interview with the officers in charge of environment at the Northport, Klang, Malaysia. Findings indicate that strategies implemented by the port have been successful in reducing emission and improve air quality, a big step to being environmentally sustainable. Several criteria were used to prioritize the strategies, chief among them are implementation cost and time, maintenance cost and reduction of carbon emission.