Boon-In Tan, Garry Wei-Han Tan and Keng-Boon Ooi
Management, marketing and branding and strategy.
Abstract
Subject area
Management, marketing and branding and strategy.
Study level/applicability
Undergraduate and postgraduate management courses.
Case overview
This is a real-life case involving a confectionery manufacturer in Malaysia where it has grown over the years. As the market becomes more competitive, more challenges are confronting the company. Although there is still profit to be made, the margin is declining. Hence, the management of King's Biscuits Berhad must embark on the marketing environment scanning to prepare the company for future challenges and to ensure continued existence. As in the case of most strategy cases, little guidance was available for the students to reflect upon.
Expected learning outcomes
With the completion of this case study; student will be able to familiarize with the exercise of marketing environment scanning, determine the branding, product lines and positioning issues, adopt the marketing mix concept into real practice, and have the opportunity to visualize a true business scenario and simulate their minds and thinking towards managing a business.
Supplementary materials
Teaching note.
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Alain Yee‐Loong Chong, Keng‐Boon Ooi, Binshan Lin and Boon‐In Tan
This paper aims to empirically examine the factors that affect the adoption of online banking in Vietnam. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust and government support…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to empirically examine the factors that affect the adoption of online banking in Vietnam. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust and government support were examined to determine if these factors are affecting online banking adoption.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was distributed to 156 respondents in Vietnam with 103 usable samples giving a response rate of 66 percent. Data were analyzed by employing correlation and multiple regression analysis.
Findings
The results showed that perceived usefulness, trust and government support all positively associated with the intention to use online banking in Vietnam. Contrary to the technology acceptance model, perceived ease of use was found to be not significant in this study.
Research limitations/implications
This study was conducted in Vietnam and future research can use this model to study the adoption of online banking in other countries.
Practical implications
The results allow banks' decision makers to develop strategies that can increase the adoption of online banking. Banks should improve the security and privacy of the web sites, which will increase the trust of users. Banks should also create features which are useful to users and make sure users are aware of these features. Lastly, government should also play a role to support banks in their efforts to increase online banking adoption.
Originality/value
The findings allow the factors that can influence the adoption of online banking in Vietnam to be understood. Unlike existing studies based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study includes both security and government support on top of the existing variables used in TAM. Most studies on adoption of online banking are focused on developed countries. By focusing on Vietnam, this model can also be applied to other countries which are relatively new to e‐commerce and online banking.
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Keng‐Boon Ooi, Binshan Lin, Boon‐In Tan and Alain Yee‐Loong Chong
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and customer satisfaction and also to investigate the association between…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and customer satisfaction and also to investigate the association between TQM practices and service quality within the context of Malaysia's small service organizations.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper uses data from the perceptions of sales and marketing managers in 108 small service organizations in Malaysia. Data were analyzed by employing correlation and multiple regression analysis to test the relationship between TQM practices, customer satisfaction and service quality.
Findings
The results showed that TQM practices are significantly and positively linked to customer satisfaction and service quality of the small service business firms. It was further confirmed that the dimensions of customer focus and information and analysis were strongly linked to customer satisfaction and service quality.
Practical implications
The results of this paper can be used by marketing/sales managers to prioritize the adoption of the dimensions for TQM practices. For instance, those dimensions that are found to have positive influence on customer satisfaction and service quality can be recommended to marketing/sales managers so that they can allocate resources to improve these practices to achieve higher customer satisfaction and quality of service.
Originality/value
This paper identifies two dimensions of TQM namely, customer focus and information and analysis that can influence customer satisfaction and service quality in Malaysia's small service business firms.
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Chee‐Yang Fong, Keng‐Boon Ooi, Boon‐In Tan, Voon‐Hsien Lee and Alain Yee‐Loong Chong
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between human resource management (HRM) practices and knowledge sharing from the Malaysian industry context.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between human resource management (HRM) practices and knowledge sharing from the Malaysian industry context.
Design/methodology/approach
The method of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were employed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the measurement model. The structural equation modeling (SEM) method was applied to examine the theoretical framework.
Findings
The results indicate that recruitment and selection, teamwork, training and development, and performance appraisal, showed a positive relationship with knowledge sharing, as perceived by the managers in the Malaysian manufacturing and service organizations.
Research limitations/implications
The research design in this study was cross‐sectional rather than longitudinal. Hence, even though the SEM method was adopted, the interpretations of the cause‐effect‐relationship among the variables could not be determined. In this case, longitudinal research designs serve to be more constructive as compared with cross‐sectional designs in providing causation evidence between HRM practices and knowledge sharing.
Practical implications
Findings from this study should be beneficial for HRM managers in developing countries such as Malaysia, who plan to develop competitive knowledge sharing competencies through the adoption of HRM practices.
Originality/value
The contribution of this study is the construction of a measurement system of HRM practices and knowledge sharing that could facilitate future research on human resource management, as well as highlighting important implications for HR managers in developing countries.
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Ravisankar Jayaraman and Sushanta Kumar Mishra
The purpose of this study is to comprehend the approach and adaptation of research and development (R&D) professionals in managing work and non-work life during Covid-19. Besides…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to comprehend the approach and adaptation of research and development (R&D) professionals in managing work and non-work life during Covid-19. Besides, it investigates the influence of organizational culture on extra-role behavior both within and outside the organizational boundaries during uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach
Being an exploratory study, the data were generated through the in-depth personal interview from 23 respondents of the Indian Space Research Organization. Besides, the study also used data from secondary sources. The authors followed thematic analysis for eliciting themes from the text data.
Findings
Primarily, it found that the organizational culture may influence employees to perform extra-role behavior within and outside the organizational boundaries during the pandemic. Besides, it found that R&D professionals are adaptive toward the work from home culture.
Research limitations/implications
The qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews of 23 R&D professionals during the Covid-19. Future studies may conduct a larger-scale quantitative study to generalize the findings. Implications for future research on hybrid work culture are discussed.
Practical implications
This study hints that employers need to move from a short-term transactional approach to a long-term cultural approach to navigate extreme uncertainty. It also highlights reorientation of human resource professionals in managing workplace evolution.
Originality/value
The study extends the literature on organizational culture by attributing culture for the extra-role behaviors of R&D professionals beyond the organizational boundary and navigating uncertainty.
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Shailesh Rastogi and Jagjeevan Kanoujiya
This study aims to determine the association of Transparency and Disclosure (TD) with financial distress (FID) while the competition (as Lerner Index) moderates the association…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to determine the association of Transparency and Disclosure (TD) with financial distress (FID) while the competition (as Lerner Index) moderates the association between the two.
Design/methodology/approach
The panel data analysis (static model) is performed to examine the effect of disclosures on the bank's FID. A TD index is built to assess the level of TD. All three versions of Altman's Zscore are employed to measure a bank's FID (High Zscore is opposite of FID). The data of 34 banks running in India for the timeframe 2015–16 to 2018–19 is utilized. Lerner index (LI) is taken as the moderator. The bank-size, valuation and financial leverage are control variables.
Findings
There exists no linear connection between TD and FID. However, TD is positively associated with financial stability (opposite FID). It means TD initially reduces financial stability and improves it after TD crosses a threshold level. Competition (as LI, where the higher value of LI means reduced competition) negatively moderates the association of TD with financial stability. Hence, the findings of this study support the competition-fragility premise. Surprisingly, the negatively significant interaction term of LI and TD implies either high competition and high TD or low competition with low TD, which helps in the bank's financial stability.
Originality/value
The findings provide input to a long-term policy of disclosures and competition in the banking sector, keeping in view the financial stability of the banks. Therefore, findings are novel and carry immense value to the existing knowledge on the topic.
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Richard E. Luce, Richard Steele and Nancy Walters
What started as a pilot project in 1985 has become a successful online tool for resource sharing today. The IRVING Network gives libraries with incompatible computers the ability…
Abstract
What started as a pilot project in 1985 has become a successful online tool for resource sharing today. The IRVING Network gives libraries with incompatible computers the ability to access each other's current catalog, determine circulation status, and process interlibrary loan transactions, while maintaining the integrity of their own systems. Although communication standards are evolving through the efforts of the Linked Systems Project, cooperative vendor programs in AVIAC, and Standards Committee D of NISO, it may be years before the majority of vendors can implement the standards and offer network packages to libraries across the country. In the meantime, the IRVING Library Network presents a practical, working solution to the problem of linking heterogenous library systems.
Focuses on examining consumer characteristics that influence Internet users to adopt the Web for purchase related behavior (retail usage). The key constructs examined in relation…
Abstract
Focuses on examining consumer characteristics that influence Internet users to adopt the Web for purchase related behavior (retail usage). The key constructs examined in relation to actual adoption are attitudes and perceived usefulness. Also focuses on variables that impact Internet users’ attitudes toward Web retailing, including Internet users’ shopping orientation, perceived Web security, shopping innovativeness, satisfaction with Web sites, importance of inspecting products and price sensitivity. Data was gathered via a self‐administered Web survey. A total of 392 completed surveys were obtained and the results indicate that such characteristics of consumers do influence attitudes towards using Web retailing. The results also indicate that attitude and perceived usefulness do predict adoption of the Web for retail usage. Finally, the results indicate that significant differences exist between adopters of Web retailing and non‐adopters in the price significance, need to handle products and purchase likelihood when they cannot handle products purchased via retailing channels.
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This article conceptualizes essential keys to the future of peer reference in academic libraries as extrapolated through the dual lenses of academic library history in the United…
Abstract
Purpose
This article conceptualizes essential keys to the future of peer reference in academic libraries as extrapolated through the dual lenses of academic library history in the United States of America and recent experiences of a peer program with prospective and actual out-of-the-building experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
A 30,000-foot historical view of the dispositions of space in academic library buildings, collections, spaces, technology and reference provision is integrated with a description of the responses and insights of a peer reference program during the program's prospective and actual out-of-the-building experiences. These components are then analyzed to extrapolate keys to peer reference provision in any learning environment.
Findings
Peer reference is a natural extension of the Learning Commons model as developed in many academic libraries. To find optimal success in leveraging the benefits of peer-to-peer learning, program coordinators should keep in mind the social aspects of peer learning and intentionally articulate a framework for service delivery that best matches the modalities of providers, patrons and the information environment. In reviewing training and service practices, coordinators should be particularly on guard for any bias due to traditional reliance on the affordances of a library building and/or physical service point.
Originality/value
This article founds its conclusions in regard to the future of peer reference by contextualizing the evolution and future of such programs in the wider historical context of academic library dispositions of space in support of learning. It proposes a conceptual framework for intentionally matching the modalities of providers, patrons and the information environment.
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“GIVE a dog a bad name and hang him,” is an aphorism which has been accepted for many years. But, like many other household words, it is not always true. Even if it were, the dog…
Abstract
“GIVE a dog a bad name and hang him,” is an aphorism which has been accepted for many years. But, like many other household words, it is not always true. Even if it were, the dog to be operated upon would probably prefer a gala day at his Tyburn Tree to being executed in an obscure back yard.