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This research was designed to expand the understanding of how brand familiarity may affect the motivation to process word-of-mouth (WOM) information in brand evaluation. The pre-WOM brand attitude certainty is expected to explain the moderation effect. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Two experiments were conducted. The study participants were undergraduate students from a major university in Singapore. The main statistical analysis was done using a two-way analysis of covariance.

The results of Experiments 1 and 2 support the prediction that consumers are more likely to use the perceived expertise of the WOM sender to evaluate an unfamiliar brand vs a familiar brand. Experiment 2 also provides some preliminary evidence that this interaction effect may be due to the difference in certainty of the study respondents in regards to the pre-WOM evaluation of unfamiliar and familiar brand.

This manipulation method of presenting WOM in a printed format may understate the impact of WOM. A more vivid manipulation of WOM that allows for a feedback loop may be considered for future research.

The results highlight the importance of considering the strength dimensions of brand attitudes (e.g. attitude certainty) in the marketplace. For marketers of unfamiliar brands, source factors (e.g. expertise of WOM sender) are important to consider for effective use of WOM to market their products. For familiar brands, source factors are less relevant.

This paper highlights the importance of considering attitude certainty and the subsequent malleability of attitude toward new information about the brand in the marketplace. Hence, marketers and researchers who are interested in changing brand attitude should take meta-attitude factors into consideration.

The project was undertaken to re-design the performance management system for allied health professionals (AHPs). The primary aim of the system is to protect healthcare workers from being assigned excessive responsibilities that often result in over-time work.

A project algorithm provided an overview of objectives (project scope) to achieve during the project period, October 2020 to August 2022. The project uses top-down and bottom-up approaches in re-design of the performance management system to ensure that the end-product is acceptable for the senior management and AHPs. Process evaluation was used throughout the project phases to reiterate and improve the system. User acceptance (outcome evaluation) was surveyed from senior management and AHPs separately to support finalization of the system.

The authors found acceptance in use of the revised system from senior management and AHPs, thus the system is validated. Based on qualitative feedbacks, participants are motivated by the new system. Therefore, the system designed is feasible for implementation to control for work task assignment.

This is the first paper that demonstrates the application of skills and tasks approach in performance management of AHPs. The use of entrustable professional activities framework is currently limited to undergraduate AHPs, but the authors have successfully translated and implemented the framework for practising AHPs.

This chapter explores the significance of blockchain technology in protecting data for intelligent applications across various industries. Blockchain is a distributed ledger that ensures the immutability and security of transactions. Given the increasing need for security measures in industries, understanding blockchain technology is crucial for preparing for its future applications.

This chapter aims to examine the use of blockchain technology across industries and presents a compilation of existing and upcoming blockchain technologies for intelligent applications. The methodology involves reviewing research to understand the security needs of different industries and providing an overview of methods used to enhance multi-institutional and multidisciplinary research in areas like the financial system, smart grid, and transportation system.

The findings highlight the benefits of blockchain networks in providing transparency, trust, and security for industries. The Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network (RSBN) is an example that utilizes blockchain's decentralized ledger to track sustainable sourcing from mine to final product. This information can be shared with auditors, corporate governance organizations, and customers.

The practical implications of this chapter are significant, serving as a valuable resource for industries concerned with identity privacy, traceability, immutability, transparency, auditability, and security. Understanding and implementing blockchain technology can address the growing need for secure and intelligent applications, ensuring data protection and enhancing trust in various sectors.

Mentoring programmes for school administrators aim to facilitate learning by mentor‐protégé pairing. Selected vice‐principals are paired with experienced principals in protégé‐mentor pairs, for eight weeks of intensive mentoring in Singapore. Research suggests that mentoring programmes can be designed to benefit both mentors and protégés. Presents the results of a study on mentoring in Singapore. It highlights the benefits from mentoring and its correlates. Findings indicate that the behaviours and personal qualities of mentors and protégés could determine the benefits of mentoring.

The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive advantage provided by BI capability is not well researched. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for successful BI deployment and empirically examines the association between BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage. Taking the telecommunications industry in Malaysia as a case example, the research particularly focuses on the influencing perceptions held by telecommunications decision makers and executives on factors that impact successful BI deployment. The research further investigates the relationship between successful BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage of the telecommunications organizations. Another important aim of this study is to determine the effect of moderating factors such as organization culture, business strategy, and use of BI tools on BI deployment and the sustainability of firm’s competitive advantage.

This research uses combination of resource-based theory and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory to examine BI success and its relationship with firm’s sustainability. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and a two-phase sequential mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. The chapter presents a qualitative field study to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. The study includes a survey study with sample of business analysts and decision makers in telecommunications firms and is analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that some internal resources of the organizations such as BI governance and the perceptions of BI’s characteristics influence the successful deployment of BI. Organizations that practice good BI governance with strong moral and financial support from upper management have an opportunity to realize the dream of having successful BI initiatives in place. The scope of BI governance includes providing sufficient support and commitment in BI funding and implementation, laying out proper BI infrastructure and staffing and establishing a corporate-wide policy and procedures regarding BI. The perceptions about the characteristics of BI such as its relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and observability are also significant in ensuring BI success. The most important results of this study indicated that with BI successfully deployed, executives would use the knowledge provided for their necessary actions in sustaining the organizations’ competitive advantage in terms of economics, social, and environmental issues.

This study contributes significantly to the existing literature that will assist future BI researchers especially in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, the model will help practitioners to consider the resources that they are likely to consider when deploying BI. Finally, the applications of this study can be extended through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

The evolution of modern digitalization technologies necessitates the development of a competitive digital supply chain quality management (SCQM) strategy by manufacturers. Using the new institutions and institutional theory (IIT), the study research first aims to identify the most important SCQM practices that can influence competitive performance (CP). Second, the authors intend to investigate the role of digital strategy alignment (DSA) in moderating the relationship between the multidimensionality of SCQM practices and CP among manufacturers.

The authors employ the Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to examine 225 valid samples from Malaysian manufacturers who use SCQM practices.

The study findings indicate that five of the twelve hypotheses developed were accepted. This suggests that supplier focus, strategic collaboration, information sharing and customer focus are positively and significantly correlated with CP. Unexpectedly, DSA moderates the relationship between leadership and CP.

This study extended the new IIT by empirically testing the six SCQM practices for CP in a DSA context, which can serve as a model for future research in the SCQM, CP and DS fields.

Quantity surveying is a profession that blends engineering, construction and economics. To be competent is to have the ability to apply the set of related knowledge, skills and abilities to perform a task effectively. This paper examines the competency requirements for quantity surveyors (QSs) in the face of changing and increasing client needs.

Based on a detailed meta-analysis of the literature, 12 basic/core and 16 evolving competencies are identified. Primary data were gathered through a field survey involving practicing QSs from client, consultant and contractor organisations, and university students undertaking QS programmes in Malaysia. The data obtained were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistical tools.

The significance of the basic/core and evolving competencies are presented. Overall, the most important contemporary skills are cost planning, valuation of works, measurement/quantification and contract documentation. The evolved roles require expertise in communication and negotiation, ethics and professional conduct and value management. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicates there are misaligned expectations of the proficiency levels needed to provide contemporary and future services between practitioners in client/consultant organisations, contractors and new generation students.

The findings provide guidance on the education, training and practice of quantity surveying to deal with emerging challenges in the dynamic built environments in Malaysia and beyond.

The objective of this paper is to examine the influence of interorganizational relationships on the adoption of e‐business in the supply chain of Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

A questionnaire was distributed to 200 Malaysian SMEs with a response rate of 68 percent. Data were analyzed by employing multiple regression analysis.

Interorganizational relationships such as communication, collaboration and information sharing were found to be significant in affecting Malaysian SMEs' decision to adopt e‐business in their supply chain. Contrary to existing literatures, this research found that trust and trading partners' power have no significant influence on the adoption of e‐business in the supply chain of Malaysian SMEs.

Organizations that would like to adopt e‐business in their supply chain with their trading partners will be able to apply strategies based on the findings from this research. Based on these finding, organizations that would like to implement e‐business with their trading partners in Malaysia should focus on improving interorganizational relationships such as communication, collaboration and information sharing.

The findings created an understanding of what attributes of interorganizational relationships influence the adoption of e‐business in the supply chain. In terms of theoretical contributions, this study has extended previous researches conducted in Western countries and provides great potential by advancing the understanding between the association of adoption factors and e‐business adoption in Malaysian SMEs. SMEs planning to adopt e‐business in their supply chain would be able to applied strategies based on the findings from this research.

Soft total quality management (STQM) practices are essential for promoting value-added organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) among employees in quality-focussed manufacturing firms. This study intends to investigate how STQM practices (empowerment, training, teamwork and involvement) affect OCB under the moderating influence of collectivism among employees for excellence in business performance using social exchange and social cognitive theories (SET-SCT).

A total of 245 useable surveys were gathered from manufacturers. Given the importance of the two-staged structural equation modelling–partial least squares–artificial neural networks (SEM-PLS-ANN) technique, this study used a two-staged SEM-PLS-ANN analysis to capture both linear and compensatory PLS models and nonlinear and noncompensatory ANN models.

The findings confirmed that empowerment, involvement and training had a significant impact on OCB. However, teamwork had no impact on OCB. Interestingly, collectivism was found to have a significant and positive moderating effect on training and OCB.

The study contributes significantly to the literature on TQM and human resource management. First, the study broadens researchers’ understanding of how to apply SET by including a collective value from SCT as positive reciprocity to foster positive workplace behaviour. Second, the authors offer a solid management strategy for organizations to assist them in understanding an STQM model that promotes OCB while including collectivism for superior business performance.