bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Drivers of Efficient Service Delivery and Caller Satisfaction: A Model of CRM Customer Contact Centres in Malaysia
Authors: Abdullateef Aliyu Olayemi , Mohd Mokhtar Sany Sanuri , Yusuf Rushami Zien 
Published: August 2020

The benefits of CRM projects on business development has been a subject of discussion globally since 1990s. Evidence from different literature had equally established that there has been an increase in the attention paid to CRM by researchers, but to date, not much attempt has been made to develop a valid framework upon which the impact of CRM projects on the drivers of efficient service delivery and caller satisfaction in customer contact centre industry. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for measuring the drivers of efficient service delivery and caller satisfaction in customer contact centre. Given the need for more information that will assist in developing a viable theoretical framework for investigating service delivery in CRM contact centres, an exploratory pilot interview was conducted in four internationally recognised CRM customer contact centres that are based in Malaysia. The current results revealed a total of four major drivers of efficient service delivery (client factors, technology, process, and people), plus first call resolution as the determinant of caller satisfaction. Necessary recommendations as a guide for future research are also suggested. Keywords: Customer relationship management (CRM); service delivery; caller satisfaction; contact centre.
Global Financial Crisis: Lessons Learned
Authors: Ahmad Nor Hayati 
Published: August 2020

A financial crisis appears to occur in a certain pattern; it usually starts with a rally of bank credits against a backdrop of easier monetary policy, ample liquidity, and more relaxed banking regulations. Such financial environment stimulates excess leverage to fund assets in real estates and housing in which consumers take advantage of cheap money and borrow heavily, while bankers zealously lend out in order to achieve high loan growth targets. As with all levered instruments, this practice generates great profits when the asset value rises. In contrast, it produces great losses when the assets fall in value, forcing lenders to ration credits and to compete aggressively for funds to cover the resultant losses. Retrospectively, the Global Financial Crisis exhibits far reaching implications from the excessive leverage, deregulation and from the spiral effects of globalisation, financial speculation, product innovation, moral hazards, and incentives problems. This paper reflects how similar or different the Global Financial Crisis is from the past crises in terms of its causes and manifestations, how Malaysia was impacted, and what key lessons could be learned from it. Keywords: Financial crisis; risk taking and banking.
Predictive Power of Output Growth, Inflation, and Interest Rate on Stock Return and Volatility: A Comparison
Authors: Poon Wai Ching , Tong Gee Kok 
Published: August 2020

Using monthly data from seven mature and emerging markets and a battery of GARCH and EGARCH models, the study of Davis and Kutan (2003) on inflation and output on stock returns and volatility is extended by including interest rate to compare the effect between three mature markets (US, Japan, and Singapore) and four emerging markets who experienced a crisis before (Malaysia, India, Korea, and Philippines). It is found that economic volatility, as measured by movement in inflation, output growth, and interest rate, have a weak predictor power for stock market volatility and returns. In line with the evidence reported in Davis and Kutan (2003), the findings suggest that there is no support for the Fisher effect in stock returns among the seven mature and emerging markets. Keywords: Predictive power; output; inflation; interest rate; stock return volatility.
Choosing a Newspaper for Advertising Using the Weighted Exposure Matrix Method — a Malaysia Case Study
Authors: Dominic P. D. D , Savita K. S , Emelia Akashah P. A. 
Published: August 2020

Advertising is one of the marketing strategies to promote products to consumers. Many advertising vehicles are available offering interesting advertising packages. The key objective of this study is to find which Malaysian newspaper is the better option to advertise your products or services in the newspaper so as to maximize your reach of the audience. Here the researchers selected two popular newspapers – The Star and Harian Metro – for this research and analyzed them based on the lowest cost for advertising per 1000 exposures using the weighted exposure matrix method. The result of this study shows that important factors such as cost, reach, frequency and target audience play important roles in selecting the best newspaper as the preferred advertisement vehicle. Keywords: Advertisement; cost per thousand exposures; media, newspaper.
Revisiting Classic Needs Theory: Does Maslow Explain Mexico’s Maquiladora Workers’ Needs?
Authors: N. Gonzalez Melissa 
Published: August 2020

Maslow’s hierarchical theory of needs has considerably influenced additional research streams that base needs as forces of human behavior. While the applicability of Maslow’s hierarchy has been scrutinized throughout the needs research, it still stands as the most researched and most cited needs theory in existence. The purpose of this recent attention to a needs theory is to “test” the applicability of Maslow’s Hierarchy to a sample of maquiladora workers and their needs. A qualitative field study was conducted to discover the applicability of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to the needs of maquiladora workers. Semi structured interviews with open-ended questions were used in gathering responses from lower-level maquiladora workers. Content analysis was used. According to the qualitative results, Maslow’s Hierarchy does not explain the needs of lower-level maquiladora workers. In addition, actual needs based on the interviews were uncovered and discussed. Keyword: Maquiladoras, Maslow's hierarchy, needs theory, Mexican workers.
The Family as a Socioeconomic Management System
Authors: Choudhury Masudul Alam 
Published: August 2020

The family is a social miniscule in every culture. It is a central theme of gender-development issue. As such it has a distinct and abiding effect on the nature of the socioeconomic order in terms of preference formation relating to the kinds of artifacts that get exchanged and thus play a key role in socioeconomic development. The totality of these issues comprises the study of the family as a socioeconomic management system. The intergenerational interaction and co-evolution of the family in concert with the social complex is differently explainable in neoclassical economic and Islamic contexts. Consequently, the triangular circular interrelationships between the individual, the household and the socioeconomic order leave different effects in the above two paradigms. These in turn have profound influence on the future of socioeconomic development according to these paradigms. This paper formalizes an interrelationship between the inter-generational family and the socioeconomic order using the concept of circular causation of unity of knowledge in Islam and the methodological individualism in neoclassical economic theory. The inter temporal context of the theme is included with family extensions and their socioeconomic effects over populations of grandfathers and grandchildren. Keywords: Microeconomics of family, socioeconomic management system, inter-generational endogenous preferences, culture and political economy.
IT– Business Strategic Alignment in Influencing Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Jordan: Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) Approach
Authors: Al-Majali Damnithan , Md. Dahalin Zulkhairi 
Published: August 2020

In many review articles or studies, the researchers have encouraged further exploration on the causal links between Information Technology (IT) investments and a firm’s sustainable competitive advantage. The outcomes of empirical studies have been inconclusive, which is to a certain extent due to the omission of IT-business strategic alignment. Indeed, strategic alignment has emerged as one of the most important issues facing business and IT executives all over the world. This paper reports on the empirical investigation of the success factors, which consist of leadership, structure and process, service quality, and values and beliefs, which are representative of the culture gap between IT strategy and business strategy. A questionnaire survey among 200 IT managers was carried out and 172 data sets were collected. This represented a 86% response rate. After a rigorous data screening process including outliers, normality, reliability and validity, 172 data sets were ready for structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed to examine the composite reliability, convergent validity and goodness of fit of the individual constructs and measurement models. The revised structural model demonstrates the relationships between all the four exogenous variables and IT-business strategic alignment, and all the four exogenous variables and sustainable competitive advantage. In addition, regarding the revised model there are two mediating effects of strategic alignment in the relationship between leadership, structure and process, service quality, values and beliefs, and sustainable competitive advantage. Keywords: Strategic alignment, alignment gap, information technology, sustainable competitive advantage.
Atribut Sistem Penilaian Prestasi dengan Kepuasan Kerja dalam Kalangan Guru
Authors: Veloo Arsaythamby , Zolkepli Wirda Hasmin 
Published: August 2020

Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti atribut Sistem Penilaian Prestasi dengan kepuasan kerja guru sekolah kebangsaan di negeri Perlis. Kajian ini meninjau hubungan antara pemboleh ubah atribut Sistem Penilaian Prestasi dengan kepuasan kerja guru. Sejumlah 107 orang guru telah dipilih sebagai responden kajian. Atribut Sistem Penilaian Prestasi (ASPP) terdiri daripada enam pemboleh ubah tidak bersandar iaitu keadilan sistem, kejelasan sistem, kawalan kriteria penilaian, penyertaan guru dalam sistem penilaian, pengendalian sistem penilaian dan kredibiliti penilai dengan pemboleh ubah bersandar iaitu kepuasan kerja guru. Instrumen kajian ini mengandungi sejumlah 26 item yang diadaptasi daripada instrument Kelly, Ang, Chong dan Hu (2008). Data yang dikumpul dianalisis dengan menggunakan SPSS versi 12.0 melalui ujian korelasi Pearson. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan hubungan positif yang signifi kan antara atribut Sistem Penilaian Prestasi iaitu keadilan sistem, kejelasan sistem, kawalan criteria penilaian, pengendalian sistem penilaian dan kredibiliti penilai dengan kepuasan kerja guru-guru kebangsaan di negeri Perlis. Namun, terdapat satu pemboleh ubah yang tidak mempunyai hubungan yang signifi kan dengan kepuasan kerja guru iaitu penyertaan guru-guru dalam sistem penilaian prestasi. Dapatan kajian ini memberikan input kepada pihak pentadbir sekolah kebangsaan tentang tingkah laku guru-guru terhadap penilaian prestasi dan bagaimana hubungan pelbagai atribut Sistem Penilaian Prestasi dengan kepuasan kerja. Setiap individu mengharapkan Sistem Penilaian Prestasi yang dilaksanakan adil dan telus. Melalui kajian ini, terbukti bahawa keadilan merupakan perkara yang perlu dititikberatkan dalam pengendalian Sistem Penilaian Prestasi. Kata kunci: Keadilan sistem, kejelasan sistem, kawalan kriteria penilaian, penyertaan guru dalam sistem penilaian, pengendalian sistem penilaian, kredibiliti penilai, kepuasan kerja, atribut sistem penilaian prestasi.
Antecedents and Consequences of Employee Loyalty towards the Organization: Empirical Evidence from Indian Software Industry
Authors: S Sreejesh , Nagra Tavleen 
Published: August 2020

Although substantial differences exists between employee commitment and loyalty, none of the studies made an attempt to understand these constructs separately and analyse the causes and consequences of employee loyalty. In this context, the present study attempts to investigate the antecedents and consequences of employee loyalty in the software industry context. The findings of this paper indicate that employee engagement, satisfaction and commitment have positive and significant impacts on employee loyalty and are considered to be the significant causes for predicting employee loyalty; at the same time the consequences of employee loyalty such as absenteeism and intention to quit do not have any significant effect. However, the study finds that employee satisfaction has a significant effect on the intention to quit via employee absenteeism. The paper shows that, from the managerial perspective, it is necessary for employers and policy-makers to know the causes and consequences of employee loyalty to retain the employees in the long run. The findings of the study suggest that, in order to develop commitment and thereby loyalty, the employer should create a congenial atmosphere for employee engagement and should create satisfied employees. At the same time, this created satisfaction will reduce employee absenteeism and the intention quit. Thus, the attention of the software-employee management should fruitfully focus on the development of employee engagement, satisfaction and commitment, which will ultimately lead to employee loyalty. Keywords: Customer engagement, job satisfaction, commitment, loyalty, absenteeism, intention to quit.
Competitiveness of Malaysia: A Comparative Study
Authors: Bhatt P. R. 
Published: August 2020

The objective of this paper was to study the competitiveness of Malaysia in comparison with some countries like Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The study analysed the competitiveness of Malaysia in terms of four parameters viz. Global competitive index ranking; Total, labour and capital productivity; Foreign direct investment inflows, and Trade competitiveness in terms of the cost of production. It is found that the domestic cost of production of exports of Malaysia has become competitive in 2007 and 2009. The study shows that Malaysia’s competitiveness has improved especially in the later part of 2000. There is a need to improve the competitiveness of Malaysia by focusing on research and innovation which can be achieved through collaboration of research institutions and industry. Keywords: Malaysia, competitiveness, productivity, mergers and acquisition, price index. JEL classifi cations: F10, F13
Persekitaran Stesen Kerja dan Niat Untuk Berhenti
Authors: Mohd Makhbul Zafir , Mohamad Hasun Fazilah 
Published: August 2020

Penyelidikan ini bertujuan memberikan bukti empirikal tentang perhubungan antara faktor persekitaran stesen kerja dengan niat untuk berhenti. Sampel seramai 500 operator pengeluaran telah dipilih daripada sebelas organisasi perkilangan elektronik yang berdaftar dengan Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) dengan menggunakan kaedah persampelan rawak berstrata berkadaran. Kaedah soal selidik digunakan dalam proses pengumpulan data kajian ini. Analisis regresi linear berbilang menunjukkan 59.1 peratus perubahan dalam niat untuk berhenti disebabkan oleh hubungannya dengan persekitaran stesen kerja. Analisis regresi linear berbilang secara terperinci menunjukkan hanya faktor reka bentuk ruang kerja dan tempoh masa bekerja sahaja yang signifi kan dengan niat untuk berhenti (p<0.01). Faktor pengudaraan, sistem bunyi dan pencahayaan tidak signifi kan dengan niat untuk berhenti. Penemuan kajian ini menunjukkan bahawa faktor reka bentuk ruang kerja dan tempoh masa bekerja memainkan peranan penting dalam meminimumkan niat untuk berhenti daripada organisasi. Persekitaran stesen kerja yang selesa boleh meningkatkan tahap daya saing pekerja dan menjamin modal insan yang cekap dan berkesan. Kata kunci: Stesen kerja, ergonomik, stres, niat untuk berhenti, perkilangan.
The Future of Monetary Reform and the Real Economy: A Problem of Trade Versus Interest
Authors: Choudhury Masudul Alam , Harahap Sofyan Syafri 
Published: August 2020

The prologue is our starting premise. The Qur’an (2: 275) declares, “As for those who devour interest, they behave as the one whom Satan has confounded with his touch. Seized in this state they say: ‘Trade is but a kind of interest’, even though Allah has made trade lawful, and interest unlawful”. Keynes (1930, p. 368) picked up such wisdom of the inverse relationship between trade and interest and wrote, “The strenuous purposeful moneymakers may carry all of us along with them into the lap of economic abundance. But it will be those peoples, who can keep alive, and cultivate into a fuller perfection, the art of life itself and do not sell themselves for the means of life, who will be able to enjoy the abundance when it comes.” Such are the messages of moral highness and wisdom picked up in this paper. The fundamental point here is to establish the fact that the only way of phasing out interest rate from Islamic activities is to understand and implement the formalism of the inverse relationship that permanently exists between trade in the good things of life and the rate of interest as the impediment to the free flow of resources into such tradable activities. The central bank and commercial banks and fi nancial intermediaries as practitioners must understand this organic relational concept of intellection in relation to money and the real economy. The monetary system and the real economy with the financial instruments between would thus be shown to formalize the intellection paradigm – which indeed is a truly scientific revolution. The result is replacement of the fractional reserve requirement monetary system by the 100 per cent reserve requirement monetary system backed by the gold standard. Likewise, the organic relationships of such a monetary arrangement including its monetary policy and transmission mechanism would structurally change the nature of markets and its institutional relations and individual preferences. The result at the end will be a phased down interest rate regime into a trade-related one by the rise of the tradable relationships that are generated. The foundational methodology that enters this kind of organically relational worldview with the episteme of unity of knowledge (the divine law in Islam) provides the functional ontology of the socially and morally constructed money, production and real economy circular causation. It models the legitimacy of trade as the resource mobilization instrument, while rejecting interest as the permanent impediment of resource mobilization. Keywords: Monetary economics, Islamic economics and finance, Islamic political economy and world-system, social economics, ethics and economics.
The Effects of Interest Rates Volatility on Stock Market Returns in Malaysia and Singapore
Authors: Tan Karen , Yahya Mohamed Hisham , Bany Ariffin Amin Nordin 
Published: August 2020

This research examines the eff ects of interest rates volatility on stock market returns in Malaysia and Singapore. The data used are market returns on the FBM Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (FBM KLCI) and 3-months deposit yields in Malaysia over the period of September 1999 to December 2010. For the Singaporean market, the monthly data of market returns on the Straits Times Index (STI) and 3-months deposit yields in Singapore during the same period are used. Two separate GARCH (1,1) models are applied for Malaysia and Singapore. Results suggest that interest rate volatility in each country has a strong positive relationship with its respective stock market volatility. The results also show that the volatility of interest rates has a negative relationship with the stock market return but the relationship is insignificant. Keywords: Interest rates, stock market, GARCH, Malaysia, Singapore, FBM KLCI, STI.
Malaysia Household Wealth Distribution: Current Evidence and Future Prospects
Authors: Abdul Khalid Muhammed 
Published: August 2020

The paper studies the distribution and inequality of wealth among the household per capita in Malaysia, using the 2007 Malaysia’s Household Income Survey (HIS) data. Consistent with findings from other countries, the distribution of wealth is more skewed than that of income. The distribution of wealth shows that the top 10% of Malaysian households per capita control 35% of the country’s wealth, while the bott om 40% own 8%. The decomposition of wealth shows that the Gini coefficient for savings is 0.98, while the figure for investment assets and real estate assets are 0.90 and 0.52 respectively. It is expected that wealth inequality will widen in the future due to several factors such as liberalization of the higher education policy and pro-rich tax treatment. Keywords: Inequality, Malaysia, wealth.
Effects of Susceptibilty to Interpersonal Influence on Clothing Benefits Sought
Authors: Abdul Shukor Syadiyah 
Published: August 2020

Susceptibility to interpersonal infl uence is the tendency of an individual to be influenced by other people in their decision-making. Prior research suggests that susceptibility to interpersonal influence aff ects various numbers of consumer behaviours. This paper aims to investigate the effects of susceptibility to interpersonal influence on clothing benefits sought, which are: uniqueness, conformity, self-congruity, social status and modesty. Data for the present study was collected through web-based and drop off questionnaires. 222 completed questionnaires were received and analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). Results of this study show that susceptibility to interpersonal influence is positively related to uniqueness, conformity, self-congruity and social status. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed towards the end of this paper. Keywords: Susceptibility to interpersonal influence, clothing, clothing benefits sought.
Knowledge Stickiness, Knowledge Management and their Impact on Firm Level Competitive Advantage
Authors: Lipinski John 
Published: August 2020

This paper explores the areas of Knowledge Stickiness and Knowledge Management. In doing so, it develops a set of propositions for considering the Stickiness of Knowledge as a construct to be used to understand the impact of knowledge management strategies and fi rm-level performance within a given industry. The result of this work builds on previous work in knowledge management and business strategy thus providing a research stream that looks at the relationship between a fi rm’s knowledge management strategy and how the fi rm views its boundaries with other fi rms in the industry. Keywords: Knowledge management, sticky knowledge, competitive advantage, tacit knowledge, explicit knowledge.
Patterns and Factors Affecting Wives’ Influence in Family Purchase Decision-Making in Urban Malaysia
Authors: Md Sidin Samsinar , Zawawi Dahlia , Hui Carol Teo Boon 
Published: August 2020

Family purchase decision-making is the process by which decisions regarding purchases for the families are made. The roles played by family members differ with regard to the products being purchased, the stage in the decision-making process, and the characteristics of families and spouses. This study aims to investigate the family purchase decision-making process in urban Malaysia and the factors aff ecting this process. Taking into consideration past research, four hypotheses were developed. These hypothese were based on products / services, stage of the decision-making process, and selected demographic variables (income, occupation, education). A survey using a structured questionnaire was used to collect data (N=1,000) in four different regions in Malaysia (Klang Valley, Penang, Kuantan, Johor Bahru). The findings of this study revealed that the majority of the products/services purchased for the family was a joint decision. The wives’ infl uence generally decreased in the outcome stage, i.e., when products were actually purchased. The analyses of the effects of the selected demographic variables revealed that generally, there were significant effects of these variables on the majority of the purchases. Keywords: Decision-making, demographic variables, family purchases, role structure, wives’ influence.