Syed Abidur Rahman

Factors influencing SMEs website continuance intention in Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to find critical determinants of Malaysian Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) intention to continue website as a business innovation. CEO, organizational, technological, and environmental characteristics are considered as cohesive significant predictors. Further, it is aimed to examine the influence of existing level of web adoption as a moderator in small to medium firm website continuance intention. A total number of 108 SMEs participated in this research. The website continuance intention was found to be depended on CEOs innovativeness, CEOs IT attitude, relative advantage, and cost in Malaysian SMEs. Surprisingly, CEO IT knowledge, firms size, employee IS knowledge, compatibility, security, external pressure and support do not play any role on the continuance of website adoption. In addition, the moderator effect of web adoption level is revealed to have an insignificant role in this study. Understanding the influential factors of websites continuance intention would help the government to devise appropriate policies and support programmes on promoting information technology (IT) acceptance and extension among the SMEs. Likewise website owner or solution provider can gain considerable value from a better insight into key determinants of businesses website retention intention.

Supporting entrepreneurial business success at the base of pyramid through entrepreneurial competencies

Purpose – Large private organisations (LPOs) creating entrepreneurship opportunities for people at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP) is a thought-provoking issue for researchers. The main purpose of this paper is to empirically explore the influence of support from LPOs on entrepreneurship business success among the BoP segment through entrepreneurial competencies. Design/methodology/approach – The paper follows a quantitative research approach. Data were collected from a sample of 134 BoP entrepreneurs in Bangladesh using a structured survey instrument. Partial least square has been employed as a statistical technique to analyse the data. Findings – The influence of support provided by LPOs, in terms of technical and training, increased entrepreneurial competencies among the BoP entrepreneurs. Further, entrepreneurial competencies contribute to the proliferation of the BoP entrepreneurship business success and play a mediating role to achieve business success as long as technical and training suppor...

Scale development and validation for DART model of value co-creation process on innovation strategy

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to validate scale measurements of dialogue, access, risk assessment and transparency (DART) constructs, as the process of value-co-creation, and then understand its effect on innovation strategy. Further, the paper explores the influence of innovation strategy on the market performance. Design/methodology/approach – The model links four dimensions of DART as building blocks of value co-creation, to the innovation strategy. Further, the model links innovation strategy to the market performance. In total, five hypotheses are postulated. Testing was conducted through structural equation modeling using PLS-SEM, utilizing data from 249 managers of telecommunication companies in Malaysia. Findings – The result of the analysis revealed dialogue, risk assessment and transparency having a significant positive relationship with innovation strategy. These results signified the importance of value co-creation to formulate an innovation strategy of the firms. The finding of the r...

Service innovation management practices in the telecommunications industry: what does cross country analysis reveal?

Service innovation management practice is currently being widely scrutinized mainly in the developed countries, where it has been initiated. The current study attempts to propose a framework and empirically validate and explain the service innovation practices for successful performance in the telecommunications industry of two developing countries, Malaysia and Bangladesh. The research framework proposes relationships among organisational culture, operating core (innovation process, cross-functional organisation, and implementation of tools/technology), competition-informed pricing, and performance. A total of 176 usable data from both countries are analysed for the purpose of the research. The findings show that organisational culture tends to be more influential on innovation process and cross-functional organisation in Malaysian telecommunication industry. In contrast, implementation of tools/technology plays a more instrumental role in competition-informed pricing practices in Bangladesh. This study revealed few differences in the innovation management practices between two developing countries. The findings have strategic implications for the service sectors in both the developing countries regarding implementation of innovative enterprises, especially in Bangladesh where innovation is the basis for survival. Testing the innovation management practices in the developing countries perhaps contains uniqueness in the field of innovation management.

The functional role of entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial bricolage in ensuring sustainable entrepreneurship

Purpose The purpose of the study is to delve the influencing factors of sustainable entrepreneurship among SMEs in Malaysia. The heightened awareness in sustainable development coupled with globalisation has created immense aspiration, enthusiasm and interest in the trajectory of sustainable entrepreneurship. With this set of circumstances, the objective of the study is to explore the possible predictive factors that enhance sustainable entrepreneurship among Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach This study examined the relationships between sustainable entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial orientation, sustainability orientation and entrepreneurial bricolage through the lens of a resource-based view, upper echelons theory and corporate social responsibility. A total of 102 responses from a survey instrument from Malaysian SMEs were analysed using partial least squares-structural equation modelling. Findings The results indicated that the entrepreneurial orientation is associated with the degree of sustainable entrepreneurship, and is mediated by the role and degree of entrepreneurial bricolage. Originality/value This study highlights the importance of sustainable entrepreneurship among SMEs with respect to the heightened societal and environmental awareness among consumers and international regulation concerning environmental protection.

Handbook of research on small and medium enterprises in developing countries

Smaller companies are abundant in the business realm and outnumber large companies by a wide margin. Understanding the inner workings of small businesses offers benefits to the consumers and the economy.The Handbook of Research on Small and Medium Enterprises in Developing Countries is an essential handbook for the latest research on the intentions, performance, and application models of independent firms.Featuring exhaustive coverage on a broad range of topics such as green IT, entrepreneurial ventures, and social capital, this publication is ideally designed for researchers, academicians, and practitioners seeking current research on the different opportunities and challenges in relation to this specific sector of business around the globe.

Modelling mobile money adoption: a Malaysian perspective

This study attempts to validate the extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) model to study mobile money services adoption among Malaysian consumers. A total of 200 usable questionnaires were secured using a structured questionnaire. We used the second-generation analysis of partial least square (PLS) using SmartPLS to test the hypotheses developed for this study. The analysis showed that perceived ease of use, perceived risk and convenience are the major predictors of the attitude of mobile money service adoption. This empirical study adds value in validating the TPB model in a new setting. The managers of service providers may use this model to design and develop secure, convenient and easy-to-use mobile money services which can result in effective marketing strategies that would encourage consumers to use such services.

Dwelling into Service Innovation Management Practices: A Comparison Between Telecommunication Industry in Malaysia and Bangladesh

In the multifaceted as well as vibrant telecommunications industry, service innovation management is a relatively new paradigm, which has attracted the attention of scholars and practitioners. Thus, this study embarks on to compare the practices of service innovation management between Malaysia and Bangladesh telecommunications industry. The strategy, process, organization, tool/technology and system (SPOTS) model with 26 indicators was employed to compare the management practices among these two countries. A total of 176 managers (98 from Malaysia and 78 from Bangladesh) participated in this research through survey questionnaires. An independent-samples t-test was conducted to compare the 26 indictors on management practices for Malaysian and Bangladesh telecommunications industry. The findings indicated that the management practices were operationalized differently in these two countries. Bangladesh put more emphasis on each of the innovation management practices when compared to Malaysia. It indicates that innovation management is practiced more in the country where the market is in the process of development. The results enable the firms to better compete in an environment which requires innovative changes and global discipline. In fact, the findings provide guidelines for the service sectors in both countries in terms of implementation of innovative enterprises, especially in Bangladesh where innovation is the basis for survival.

Entrepreneurial competencies of BoP entrepreneurs in Bangladesh to achieve business success

The objective of this study is to reveal required entrepreneurial competencies to achieve financial and non-financial performance of the BoP entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. This study includes 213 BoP entrepreneurs who signaled that opportunity competencies, commitment competencies and innovative competencies enhance financial and non-financial performance. On the other hand, strategic competencies and analytical competencies were found to be insignificant in this context. The study adds value to academia and policy-making, and to revamp and revitalise entrepreneurship among those who are at the base of the economic pyramid (BoP). Furthermore, this research will guide private and non-government organisations who intend to develop micro-entrepreneurship business through training for developing entrepreneurial abilities of BoP entrepreneurs.