This study investigates the distribution, integration and practices of university accelerators in higher education institutions of a developing country. Next, this study proposes…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the distribution, integration and practices of university accelerators in higher education institutions of a developing country. Next, this study proposes a pedagogic mode that combines theoretical and experiential learning to enhance higher education institutions’ ability to co-create and deliver an entrepreneurial learning environment for its students, graduates, and academic staff.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applied a multi-methods design. The quantitative design collected secondary data of entrepreneurship education programmes and university accelerators by browsing websites of 39 Malaysian higher education institutions in June 2023. The qualitative design collected primary data in the form of narratives of practices of university accelerators and secondary data in the form of descriptions of practices of university accelerators from selected exemplar entrepreneurial universities.
Findings
Twenty-five higher education institutions, consisting of 15 public higher education institutions and 10 private higher education institutions, have some form of university accelerator initiatives. However, there is a lack of evidence to suggest integration of entrepreneurship education programmes and university accelerators in Malaysian higher education institutions, with the exception of a few higher education institutions. Lastly, this study found heterogeneity in the characteristics and outcomes of different university accelerators in Malaysian higher education institutions.
Research limitations/implications
This study is exploratory and subjected to the availability and accuracy of published information on the websites and in the reports of Malaysian higher education institutions surveyed.
Originality/value
This study contextualises university accelerators in a developing country where this type of research is scarce and contributes to the body of knowledge by replicating prior empirical analyses.
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This study aims to investigate the contextual challenges of emergency Web-enabled teaching from instructors’ point of view and their future preference for online education.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the contextual challenges of emergency Web-enabled teaching from instructors’ point of view and their future preference for online education.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 165 instructors from various public and private universities and university colleges in Malaysia participated in this online survey. Data were analyzed using multiple regression.
Findings
The significant challenges for future preference for online education in terms of their relative importance were supporting learners, effectiveness, disadvantages and advantages of emergency Web-enabled teaching.
Originality/value
This study discusses theoretical, practical and public policy implications for the future of teaching in higher education due to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
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This study aims to examine the status of entrepreneurship education (EE) in Malaysia and entrepreneurship education programmes (EEPs) offered by Malaysian public and private…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the status of entrepreneurship education (EE) in Malaysia and entrepreneurship education programmes (EEPs) offered by Malaysian public and private higher education institutions (HEIs), against the backdrop of macro-level context of Malaysian government institutions related to entrepreneurship.
Design/methodology/approach
This study replicates and extends the research by Maritz et al. (2015, 2019). The study expands a nascent archetype regarding an iterative and systematic open-ended emergent enquiry, together with data collection from Malaysian HEIs.
Findings
The findings suggest significant emergence of EE (programmes and research) in Malaysia, despite EEPs being sparsely distributed across HEIs in the bottom half of Table 1. The top ten HEIs (12% of all HEIs in Table 1) accounted for 35% of all EEPs. This study highlights the significant influence of Malaysian government institutions related to entrepreneurship on EE and EEPs.
Research limitations/implications
The findings are subject to the availability and accuracy of information and documents available on official websites of HEIs. This limitation has been mitigated with telephone and email inquiries and other sources of information.
Practical implications
The findings provide critical grounding and inferences on the status of EE and EEPs in Malaysia for researchers, practitioners, HEIs, governments and other stakeholders.
Originality/value
This study is first of its kind on emergent enquiry into the status of EE in Malaysia and EEPs offered by 19 public HEIs and 67 private HEIs in Malaysia. Moreover, this study links macro-level context of the Malaysian government institutions related to entrepreneurship with micro-level context of EE and EEPs.
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This study identified salient challenges related to future preference for e-learning of undergraduates during closure of institutions of higher learning due to the Coronavirus…
Abstract
Purpose
This study identified salient challenges related to future preference for e-learning of undergraduates during closure of institutions of higher learning due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and put forth suggestions to overcome challenges of e-learning for present and future crises.
Design/methodology/approach
Undergraduates were drawn from two universities in Malaysia who normally attend conventional classroom learning. Underpinned by the literature, the challenges and future preference for e-learning were operationalised into statements. Data were collected via a self-administered questionnaire hosted on Google Forms and were analysed with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and STATA statistical software.
Findings
The hierarchical multiple linear regression results showed that the salient challenges related to undergraduates' future preference for e-learning, in descending order, were learning outcomes, followed by disadvantages (negatively) and discipline. Moreover, there were nuanced gender differences on the relative importance of salient challenges related to future preference for e-learning.
Research limitations/implications
Because the literature on e-learning during the closure of institutions of learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic is evolving, some salient challenges may not be captured in this study. Next, this survey was carried out in July 2020 when all courses were conducted using one hundred per cent e-learning for the first time. Hence, future replication studies may produce different results. Lastly, findings are not generalisable to other contexts as the salient challenges may be unique to the Malaysian context.
Practical implications
Concerted efforts by all stakeholders to address these salient challenges will shift e-learning in higher education closer to a panacea during present and future crises.
Originality/value
The sudden and involuntary switch from face-to-face learning to e-learning during the closure of institutions of higher learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided opportunity to research the salient challenges encountered by undergraduates and to overcome these salient challenges.
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Gaston Ares, Florencia Alcaire, Vanessa Gugliucci, Leandro Machín, Carolina de León, Virginia Natero and Tobias Otterbring
The current research aimed to examine the prevalence of Instagram posts featuring ultra-processed products targeted at adolescents in Uruguay and hence investigate the frequency…
Abstract
Purpose
The current research aimed to examine the prevalence of Instagram posts featuring ultra-processed products targeted at adolescents in Uruguay and hence investigate the frequency of such posts among a vulnerable consumer segment in a country that cannot be classified as WEIRD (i.e. Western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic).
Design/methodology/approach
The study relied on a cross-sectional content analysis. A total of 2,014 Instagram posts promoting ultraprocessed products or brands commercializing such products, generated by 118 Instagram accounts between August 15th, 2020, and February 15th, 2021, were analyzed. Nine indicators of food marketing targeted at adolescents were selected to identify posts targeted at this age segment. Inductive coding was used to describe the content of the posts. Descriptive statistics and generalized linear models were used to analyze the data.
Findings
In total, 17.6% of the posts were identified as targeted at adolescents. Graphic design and adolescent language were the most prevalent indicators of marketing targeted at adolescents, followed by explicit references to adolescents or young adults and memes. Posts identified as targeted at adolescents mainly promoted snacks and discretionary foods. Differences in the content of posts identified as targeted and not targeted at adolescents were observed.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis was restricted to one social media platform in one country during a limited period of time, which limits the generalizability of the findings to other media platforms, samples and settings.
Social implications
Results stress the need to implement digital food marketing regulations to reduce exposure of adolescents to the deleterious effects of stemming from marketing of unhealthy foods and provide empirical evidence to inform their development.
Originality/value
The study breaks new ground by analyzing the prevalence and exploring the characteristics and content of Instagram posts promoting ultra-processed products to adolescents in an under-researched geographic area of the world.
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Loading the work on social capital theory, we have tried to check the influence of social currency (SC) on social media usage (SMU) and its subsequent impact on the brand…
Abstract
Purpose
Loading the work on social capital theory, we have tried to check the influence of social currency (SC) on social media usage (SMU) and its subsequent impact on the brand experience (BE). The study attempted to ascertain the mediation of loyalty (LT) between the SC and SMU as well as the moderation of perceived ease of use (PEU) in the SMU and BE relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected from 384 respondents employing snowball sampling technique by administering a questionnaire on seven-point Likert scale. The respondents were the active internet users, who devote the significant part of their daily routine to social media activities. Structural equation modelling was used to study the path of the considered variables.
Findings
The result of the study strengthened the findings of earlier studies on SC dimensions. This study elaborated about the positive impact of SC on SMU, SC on LT, LT on SMU, SMU on BE. The study also found the mediating effect of LT in the SC and BE relationship. The study did not identify a moderating role of PEU in the SMU and BE relationship.
Research limitations/implications
By taking into account SC, SMU, LT, PEU and BE, the study adds the knowledge to the social capital theory.
Practical implications
This study aids marketers in adjusting social media strategies for the effective use of SC aimed to deliver enhanced BE. Additionally, it demonstrates the value of customer LT in the context of SC and SMU by customers.
Originality/value
This study is among the few research on the SC of the Indian user and its impact on SMU and BE. Checking the mediation of LT and the moderation of PEU in the SC context makes this study novel and different from any study conducted earlier.