Yuserrie Zainuddin

The relationship between corporate social responsibility disclosure and corporate governance characteristics in Malaysian public listed companies

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between corporate governance characteristics, namely the board size, board independence, duality, audit committee, ten largest shareholders, managerial ownership, foreign ownership and government ownership and the extent of corporate social responsibility disclosure. Design/methodology/approach - The content analysis was used to extract the CSR disclosure items from annual report and companies web sites. Then, a CSR disclosure index was constructed after combining CSR disclosure items disclosed both in annual reports and in companies web sites. Hierarchical regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the corporate social disclosures index and the independent variables, namely the board size, board independence, duality, audit committee, ten largest shareholders, managerial ownership, foreign ownership and government ownership after statistically controlling the effects of a firms size and the profitability of the companies. Findings - Results based on the full regression models indicated that only two variables were associated with the extent of disclosures, namely government ownership and audit committee. Government ownership and audit committee are positively and significantly correlated with the level of corporate social responsibility disclosure. The most significant variable that influences the level of CSR disclosure is government ownership. Research limitations/implications - The findings are limited to the context of the study and it was limited to Malaysian public listed companies, January to December 2006. The sources of data in this study were companies annual reports and web sites only. Practical implications - The study is useful to organizations and statutory bodies to take into consideration in identifying the corporate governance characteristics that will enhance CSR disclosure, since it had been shown in previous studies that corporate social responsibility reporting in Malaysia is generally low. The government can determine how important it is that a company should be willing to allocate their costs towards corporate social responsibility activities. Thus, this study will emphasize the level of activities through corporate social responsibility reporting in Malaysian public listed companies and help the government to ascertain the level of corporate social responsibility activities through corporate social responsibility reporting among Malaysian public listed companies. Originality/value - The study reveals the extent of the disclosure of corporate social responsibility to companies web sites and constructed the CSR index based on two sources of data, namely companies web sites and annual reports.

Determinants of Information System Adoptions in Private Hospitals in Malaysia

Goldschmidt (2005) defined the hospital information system as The application of information processing involving both computer hardware and software that deals with the storage, retrieval, sharing, and use of health care information, data, and knowledge for communication and decision making. This definition includes such applications as: electronic health record, electronic billing, electronic discharging and telemedicine. In Malaysia, hospitals across the country are continually searching for ways to ensure patient safety and improve the quality of care. This study examines the factors influencing the adoption of information system (IS) at the administration departments of private hospitals in Malaysia. These factors include innovation, relative advantage, competitive edge, patients/customers pressure, top management support, size of hospital, and employees IS knowledge. The information system in this study was classified into five types: electronic registration, electronic patient record, electronic pharmacy, electronic billing, and electronic discharging. The population used in this study was the private hospitals in Malaysia and the unit of analysis was the administration department at these private hospitals. Survey by a questionnaire is the method used in this study.

Successful IT Outsourcing Engagement: Lessons from Malaysia

The literature on IT outsourcing is well‐developed with clear explanations of what may determine success. The context of IT outsourcing studies has primarily focused upon North American and European companies, seeking low‐cost economies from links with developing nations to gain competitive advantage. These studies may not be generalisable to companies based in developing economies, who may be trying to replicate successful outsourcing approaches. If the focus of outsourcing is primarily one of cost cutting, IT policy makers and managers in Malaysia cannot assume that successful outsourcing determinants are of any significance to them. This article therefore addresses the question of how generalisable the determinants of successful IT outsourcing are to a Malaysian context. The study is based upon a sample survey of companies in the Penang region of Malaysia. It presents and tests hypotheses on the nature of outsourcing relationships. In conclusion, Malaysian managers can take some comfort in that the lessons of outsourcing can be generalised to their context. Of particular note is the value of selective outsourcing in comparison to full outsourcing and the impacts of communication and management commitment.

Business strategy-balanced scorecard measures alignment: an empirical test of its performance implications using systems approach

This study empirically examined the alignment between business strategy and the use of balanced scorecard (BSC) measures and its impact on firm performance. Alignment was conceptualised according to the systems approach as proposed by Drazin and Van de Ven who defined it as the internal consistency of multiple contingencies and multiple structural characteristics. Given the importance of non-financial performance measures in providing better indicators of performance, this study intends to address that, regardless of which business strategy firms emphasise, firms would rely on using multiple performance measures (both financial and non-financial measures) in their performance measurement system. Overall, the results indicate that the effect of alignment between business strategy and all four dimensions of BSC measures usage on non-financial performance is prominent among both high and low emphasis of business strategy. Hence, there is support found for the systems approach to fit.