Nik Mohd Hazrul Nik Hashim

A Survey on Renewable Energy Development in Malaysia: Current Status, Problems and Prospects

Abstract Energy demand in Malaysia is increasing over seven per cent a year, while forty per cent of the energy is supplied from conventional fossil fuel. However, a number of social barriers have mired the social acceptance of renewable energy among the users. This study investigates the current status of renewable energy, problems and future outlook of renewable energy in Malaysia. A total of 200 respondents were surveyed from Klang Valley in Malaysia. Majority of the respondents use energy to generate electricity. Although some respondents reported using solar energy, there is lack of retail availability for solar energy. The findings show that limited information on renewable energy technologies, lack of awareness, and limited private sector engagement emerged as major barriers to sustainable renewable energy development. In addition, the respondents suggest for increasing policy support from the government to make information more accessible to mass users, provide economic incentives to investors and users, and promote small-community based renewable energy projects. The study suggests that the government begin small scale projects to build awareness on renewable energy, while academically, higher learning institutions include renewable energy syllabus in their academic curriculum. The study concluded that to have sustainable renewable energy development, government’s initiative, private sector engagement and users awareness must be given priority.

Why resist? examining the impact of technological Advancement and perceived usefulness on Malaysians' switching intentions: The moderators

The adoption of new technology represents a critical issue that firms need to confront when an improved product version is introduced to customers. Although prior research has established the benefits of technological improvements, it is still unclear why customers are typically slow to accepting new technology despite extensive marketing efforts. The main purpose of this paper is to examine how specific components of switching barrier, namely, lack of service facilities, switching costs, and adoption difficulty, moderate the effects of technological advancement and perceived value on switching intentions. A survey was conducted among highway commuters with alternative technological improvements, particularly an upgraded mobile devise in electronic toll collection (ETC) services. Results indicate that both technological advancement and its perceived value have a positive impact on customers’ intention to switch products. Nevertheless, high levels of perceived switching barriers mitigate the technological advancement–and perceived value–switching intention relationships. Based on the study findings, practical implications are discussed.

Effects of communication and financial concerns on banking attitude-behaviour relations

ABSTRACT Despite extensive discussion of the concept of Islamic banking, which is based on the fundamental doctrines of Islamic law (Shariah) and Islamic economics (prohibition of interest and profit-loss sharing), few studies have explored the factors that potentially affect behaviour intentions among customers. This study investigates direct and moderating effects of communication and financial factors on customer attitudes and behavioural intentions towards Islamic banking. Data were collected from the customers of Islamic banks and the Islamic banking divisions of conventional banks in Malaysia using online surveys. The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical regression analysis. The results suggest that relationship marketing, informative advertising, perceived benefits, and profit-loss sharing are important determinants of behavioural intentions among both Muslim and non-Muslim customer groups. This study also found moderating effects for most of the conceptualized moderating variables, particularly attitude interactions with informative advertising, ease of online banking, and the principle of profit-loss sharing. There are both notable similarities and differences in the results for the two customer groups. The findings imply that different strategies should be used both to retain existing customers and attract new ones.