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The research interest in the field of green marketing and waste management can be demonstrated through the published literature on the topic. However, there is a paucity of extensive and systematic research focusing on the evolution of this discipline in terms of its citation work. The main objective of this study is to explore the status of scholarly works on green marketing and waste management through a bibliometric citation and networking analysis of papers published from 2012 to 2021. The data was extracted from the Web of Science (WOS) utilizing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysed (PRISMA) review process. The VOSviewer software was used to visualize the networking linkages. The findings of descriptive analysis showed that publications and citations related to green marketing and waste management are highest in 2021. Likewise, the networking analysis showed that the Science of the Total Environment journal has the highest citation counts, while Wan Yinfeng, Wang Junshi, Xu Guoping and Yi Huang are the authors with the highest citation counts, respectively. The findings also uncovered Sinosteel Wuhan Safety & Environmental Protection Research Institute (WSEPRI) as the most cited institution. Co-authorship and co-occurrence analysis were also found to provide significant discoveries. This study offers future scholars’ knowledge on the analysis of cited journals, papers, authors, institutions, and countries in the same field. Overall, the study serves as a guide for journal editorial boards on the growth among authors and networking opportunities in the field of green marketing and waste management, especially at the international level.

Academicians represent the key factor in providing education service to students and universities cannot work well without academicians. This study aimed to examine the influence of human resource practices (HR practices) on employee engagement among academicians in Malaysian private universities. This paper examined four HR practices, namely employee compensation, performance appraisal, training, and employee development. The conceptual framework developed for this paper aimed to fully understand the influence of HR practices and employee engagement. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to academicians in Malaysian private universities using the proportional stratified random sampling technique. This study was conducted on 331 respondents. Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Multiple Linear Regression Analysis were performed with SPSS to test the hypotheses and secure results. The results indicated that each HR practice (performance appraisal, training, and employee development) has significant impact on employee engagement among academicians in Malaysian private universities. This study could provide useful information for decision-makers in Malaysian private universities in designing more appropriate and effective HR practices to improve employee engagement among academicians and for the government, in improving human resource employment acts, policies or legislation related to Malaysian private universities.

This study aims to provide insight into the publication trends of microcredit programmes from 2000 to 2021. This study conducted a bibliometric analysis of 1,241 scholarly works related to microcredit programmes as recorded in the Scopus database in September 2022. Specifically, this paper will analyse the evolution of microcredit programmes research by examining (a) document and source types, (b) year of publications and languages, (c) types of sources and subject area, (d) keyword analysis, (e) geographical distribution and citation analysis as well as (f) citation clustering analysis. The results of the bibliometric study provide important information on publications’ current and future trends in the field of microcredit programmes. Based on the data, the number of publications on microcredit programme research has fluctuated over 21 years since 2000. The results, also, present the United States as the largest contributor to microcredit programmes research, followed by India. Meanwhile, the Journal of World Development published the most publications related to research on microcredit programmes. The implications of this study indicate the evolving nature of microcredit programme research and the need for continuous exploration and analysis in this field. Understanding publication trends, identifying leading contributors, and to considering additional databases for research can contribute to the development of current and future studies on microcredit programmes.

Green manufacturing practices (GMP) are promoted by the United Nations through an effort known as Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has been welcomed by Malaysia to address global environmental problems, with manufacturing sectors becoming the primary focus, in line with the National Policy goals to enhance the capacity of the manufacturing sector by 2025. However, Malaysia’s green commitment is less encouraging globally, as most manufacturers are still struggling to implement GMP due to weak leadership, resulting in low acceptance within the organization. Servant leadership is proposed as a mediator to help manufacturers implement GMP effectively, where this leadership is less concerned with the context of green practices in Malaysia. In this paper, the influential factors of GMP implementation will also be identified. A total of 40 factory managers responded to the survey used in a pilot study. The initial results show that the most influential factor is law enforcement, based on mean score, followed by proactive communication and technology advancement. Meanwhile, servant leadership did not mediate the relationships between the business environment and organizational factors, except for individual factors and GMP, as employees are empowered to be creative in their own ways. This study offers new perspectives to manufacturers who intend to maintain their commitment towards GMP.

Kertas ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji kesan keterangkuman kewangan terhadap pertumbuhan firma dalam kalangan firma kecil, sederhana dan besar (275 buah firma) di negara Malaysia dan Indonesia dengan menggunakan teknik penganggaran regresi ambang keratan rentas. Tahap keterangkuman kewangan diukur berdasarkan agihan perkhidmatan kewangan merentasi firma iaitu akses kepada kredit. Keputusan kajian mendapati wujud kesan tidak monotonik dalam hubungan antara keterangkuman kewangan dan pertumbuhan firma, yang mana kesan keterangkuman kewangan terhadap pertumbuhan firma hanya signifikan dan positif di bawah tahap ambang. Implikasi dasar daripada kajian ini mencadangkan pemilik firma dan institusi kewangan perlu mengekang pengagihan akses kepada kredit supaya berada dalam lingkungan nilai optimum atau tahap ambang untuk menjamin pertumbuhan firma. Abstract This paper aims to investigate the effects of financial inclusion on the firms’ growth from selected small, medium and large firms (275 firms) in Malaysia and Indonesia countries using a cross section threshold estimation technique. The levels of financial inclusion across firms were measured based on the distribution of financial services across the selected firms (access to credit). This paper reveals that there is a non-monotonic effect in the financial inclusion-firm’s growth nexus in which the impact of financial inclusion on firm growth is significantly positive below a certain threshold point. The main finding suggest that the firms’ owners and banking institutions should restrict the distribution of credit access within the optimum value or threshold level in promoting the growth of the firms. Keywords: Financial inclusion; firm growth; threshold estimation.

This paper aims to examine the effect of macroeconomic condition on microcredit coverage in Malaysia. The Microcredit Organizations (MO) was established to complement the mainstream financial institutions but challenges remain with microcredit performances associated with microcredit coverage. The paper accordingly investigates the effects of macroeconomic condition on microcredit coverage in the Malaysian context. To achieve the objective, the static panel data technique is adopted, which comprises 13 states and three Federal Territories in the country, spanning 2011 to 2015. The findings reveal the resiliency of MO towards macroeconomic conditions in Malaysia. The increase in the inflation rate and agriculture GDP (LNAGDP) share shows significant negative and positive effects (non-resilient) on microcredit coverage. The main findings will assist in addressing the newly identified macroeconomic condition to improve on micro credit performance. Policy implications emanating from the study are expected to be relevant to the government, MOs and borrowers. The government accordingly can make important contributions to borrowers by maintaining macroeconomic stability (inflation and LNAGDP share) through appropriate policies in order to achieve good microcredit coverage. MOs may revisit the existing quality regulation (MOs risk weighing loan disbursement) based on the macroeconomic condition which, in turn, can be used in outreaching more microcredit borrowers. Finally, this study may also help to elucidate specific understanding of the government and MO objectives in outreaching microcredit borrowers. Keywords: microcredit coverage, macroeconomic condition, microcredit organisation, Malaysia

The Malaysian economy has undergone sound growth over the past three decades. During the 1990s, the government designed a vision to become a high-income developed nation by 2020. Strengthening aggregate demand within a developing economy such as Malaysia’s is critical for achieving this target. In quantifying the impact of such measures economists have employed the social accounting matrix as an analytical tool. The challenge associated with the construction of a social accounting matrix for Malaysia, especially when up-to-date databases are not readily available, is the main issue addressed by this paper. The constructed matrix can provide an updated country-wide data source for use in policy analysis and as a database for macroeconomic modelling purposes. The applied database investigates the key economic sectors contributing to Malaysia’s economic growth and income distribution between three household types. This paper presents the first attempt in this direction employing recently published input-output tables and complemented with updated data from different sources. Keywords: Social Accounting Matrix, Government expenditure, Income distribution, Multiplier analysis, Malaysia.

The Malaysian economy has undergone sound growth over the past three decades. During the 1990s, the government designed a vision to become a high-income developed nation by 2020. Strengthening aggregate demand within a developing economy such as Malaysia’s is critical for achieving this target. In quantifying the impact of such measures economists have employed the social accounting matrix as an analytical tool. The challenge associated with the construction of a social accounting matrix for Malaysia, especially when up-to-date databases are not readily available, is the main issue addressed by this paper. The constructed matrix can provide an updated country-wide data source for use in policy analysis and as a database for macroeconomic modelling purposes. The applied database investigates the key economic sectors contributing to Malaysia’s economic growth and income distribution between three household types. This paper presents the first attempt in this direction employing recently published input-output tables and complemented with updated data from different sources. Keywords: Social Accounting Matrix, Government expenditure, Income distribution, Multiplier analysis, Malaysia.

This paper examined the relationships between recruitment and selection practices with business performance in the manufacturing sector using the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Lagos metropolis as the unit of analysis. It identified employee referral, job vacancy advertisement, employment agency and employee promotion as the most commonly used recruitment and selection practices in the manufacturing SMEs’ environment. The study made use of a questionnaire administered to 288 respondents and the results obtained showed that the vacancy advertisement and employment agency have a moderate relationship with business performance while employee promotion has a weak relationship with business performance while employee referral has a negative relationship with business performance. Regression results also indicated a positive relationship between combined recruitment and selection practices and business performance. It was concluded that the management of SMEs should prioritise employment agency among the recruitment and selection practices since it was found to have a more decisive influence on business performance. Thus, having the patronage of the employment agency with sound personnel policies that will be costeffective and outline human resource requirements is recommended.

This paper aims to study the factors affecting the intention to use a mobile wallet of the private bank in Myanmar based on the bank and customer factors. The consequences of service quality and bank reputation among the bank customers were examined in this study. The investigation of the role of word-of-mouth of the mobile wallet adoption is another objective of the study. The research hypotheses were examined using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique from data collected from 250 customers of Kanbawza (KBZ) Bank.The analysis results indicated that the word-of-mouth was found to be the major factor affecting the intention to use the mobile wallet of the private bank, followed by trust. The study also confirmed that service quality is an antecedent of bank reputation, trust and word-of-mouth. The bank reputation has a positive significant effect on the word-of-mouth, however, there is no significant impact on trust. Marketing managers and business development managers of private banks should pay more attention to improve the service quality to develop the bank reputation, trust and positive word-of-mouth which will lead to acquiring more mobile wallet users.

Islamic banking products (IBP) are offered not only to the Muslim community, but also to communities of other religions who are free to choose products depending on their convenience. According to a report, the percentage of non-Muslim communities choosing IBP in Malaysia has been steadily increasing and is expected to continue to increase in future. The Dual Banking System is one of the initiatives that has been created in conventional banks as an extra facility for the communities to engage with IBP easily without going to Islamic Banks. This paper aims to study the factors that drive non-Muslim customers to accept IBP. Specifically, this paper examines the relationship between four factors: knowledge, understanding, perception and the level of awareness among non-Muslim customers regarding their acceptance on IBP in the Dual Banking System. About 140 non-Muslim IBP customers of the Dual Banking System around Changlun, Jitra and Alor Setar were selected based on convenience and were randomly picked as respondents of this study. Some data were also collected through interviews with the bank personnel and the bank’s customers besides the self-administered questionnaire survey. Employing the SPSS approach, the hypotheses of the study were tested. The findings showed that there are significance relationships between customer’s knowledge, understanding, positive perception, and the level of awareness perceived among non-Muslim customers and their acceptance of IBP. Keywords: Islamic banking products; non-Muslim customers; acceptance.

Islamic banking products (IBP) are offered not only to the Muslim community, but also to communities of other religions who are free to choose products depending on their convenience. According to a report, the percentage of non-Muslim communities choosing IBP in Malaysia has been steadily increasing and is expected to continue to increase in future. The Dual Banking System is one of the initiatives that has been created in conventional banks as an extra facility for the communities to engage with IBP easily without going to Islamic Banks. This paper aims to study the factors that drive non-Muslim customers to accept IBP. Specifically, this paper examines the relationship between four factors: knowledge, understanding, perception and the level of awareness among non-Muslim customers regarding their acceptance on IBP in the Dual Banking System. About 140 non-Muslim IBP customers of the Dual Banking System around Changlun, Jitra and Alor Setar were selected based on convenience and were randomly picked as respondents of this study. Some data were also collected through interviews with the bank personnel and the bank’s customers besides the self-administered questionnaire survey. Employing the SPSS approach, the hypotheses of the study were tested. The findings showed that there are significance relationships between customer’s knowledge, understanding, positive perception, and the level of awareness perceived among non-Muslim customers and their acceptance of IBP. Keywords: Islamic banking products; non-Muslim customers; acceptance.

Culture is a very important predictor of the activities of the entrepreneur. Studies on national culture focus have been on the differences of national culture in different countries with regards to entrepreneurship. Understanding the effect of national culture (individualism, power distance, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance) on entrepreneurship in a single country remains scarce due to a lack of research. Furthermore, the findings of previous studies revealed an inconsistency in the dimensions’ effect on entrepreneurial activity with some dimension(s) having a positive or negative relationship. Thus, this paper examined the effect of national culture on entrepreneurial activity in north-west Nigeria because of the presence of differences in culture as it relates to states in the region. A survey was conducted to gather the data. The results revealed that individualism, masculinity, and power distance had a positive effect on entrepreneurial activity. This study also found a positive relationship between uncertainty avoidance and entrepreneurial activity, which is not consistent with the a priori relationship. The findings also suggest that the differences in the states according to national culture variables are not due to chance. Thus, there is a significant difference among the states in relation to the stated dimensions. The study recommends that policymakers create awareness by educating the society of the growing need and importance of entrepreneurial activity. More importantly, policymakers should develop relevant policies that can improve the entrepreneurial spirit of states with negative culture on entrepreneurship.

At present many companies around the world are struggling to meet the challenges presented by the organization’s global trends. The workforce has been continuously reminded of the competitiveness and increasing productivity in ensuring better working life. Not forgetting to balance the routines, job satisfaction needs also to be deliberated in any organization. In the current business scenario, the workforce in Malaysia has often been called to acquire core competencies and maintain their competitiveness in a liberalized and globalized market. Further, with the implementation of various policies pertinent to employment including the retirement age and minimum wages, the workplace is no more a pleasant place. Workers need to be more innovative, creative and talented to sustain employment. For such reasons, this paper attempts to examine the relationship between organizational support and job satisfaction in the insurance industry. The results showed that satisfaction with the job (M = 3.68); successful people, directed or influenced by its own commitment to achieve organizational goals (M = 3.55); know and understand the policies and processes to do their job better (M = 3.54). This result is important in that it clearly shows that the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational support are intertwined and closely related to organization performance. This paper proposed a practical model that helps management or decision-makers to highlight the most influential factors that influence the quality of employees’ working life in their organizations. Keywords: Job satisfaction, quality of working life, insurance industry.

At present many companies around the world are struggling to meet the challenges presented by the organization’s global trends. The workforce has been continuously reminded of the competitiveness and increasing productivity in ensuring better working life. Not forgetting to balance the routines, job satisfaction needs also to be deliberated in any organization. In the current business scenario, the workforce in Malaysia has often been called to acquire core competencies and maintain their competitiveness in a liberalized and globalized market. Further, with the implementation of various policies pertinent to employment including the retirement age and minimum wages, the workplace is no more a pleasant place. Workers need to be more innovative, creative and talented to sustain employment. For such reasons, this paper attempts to examine the relationship between organizational support and job satisfaction in the insurance industry. The results showed that satisfaction with the job (M = 3.68); successful people, directed or influenced by its own commitment to achieve organizational goals (M = 3.55); know and understand the policies and processes to do their job better (M = 3.54). This result is important in that it clearly shows that the relationship between job satisfaction and organizational support are intertwined and closely related to organization performance. This paper proposed a practical model that helps management or decision-makers to highlight the most influential factors that influence the quality of employees’ working life in their organizations. Keywords: Job satisfaction, quality of working life, insurance industry.

This paper examines the nation brand image notion. Literature review is employed as the method to develop the conceptual model. This paper suggests that the multifaceted nature of a nation can be covered in the nation brand image. In addition, the theoretical relationship between national brand identity, national identity, tourism brand and nation brand image and is also explored. This paper eventually proposes a conceptual model of nation brand image and suggests that future research include the multi elements of national brand identity and national identity as the components of nation brand image. Keywords: Conceptual model, nation brand image.

Macroeconomic policy coordination and the fi eld of micro-foundation of the macroeconomic theory have been riddled with the contest of claimed effi cacy between the Keynesian school and the monetarist school. Keynesianism upheld the predominance of fi scalism (spending) in economic stabilization on the one side. Friedman’s monetarist theory vouched for the same on the other side. As a result of the monetary and fi scal contest between the two schools a convergence between them could not be att ained. Such a divide is similar in economic science as it has been a fi asco thus far in the physical sciences between Quantum Mechanics explaining the small world phenomenon, and Relativity Physics explaining the large world phenomenon. The nonhomogenous views of a unique reality in economics, as in science, have defied the unifi cation of theories and application for the greater objective of wellbeing in an embedded social economy, beyond sheer address of the stabilization question. Our paper strides out in the new direction of a socioscientific epistemological worldview of the unifi cation of monetary and fi scal (spending) regimes in a consolidated theory of complementarities between them. The paper does this by breaking new grounds that are based on the model of organic unity of knowledge, which acts upon the simulation of well being with the method of circular causation. A review of the literature and introduction of formalism are undertaken to expound the theme of economic stabilization by means of complementing monetary and fi scal (spending) regimes in a unifi ed theory, while addressing the simulation of well-being in a learning model of unity of knowledge. The emergent methodology presents the description of a system of inter-variables circular causation relations. An extensive review of the literature is undertaken. An empirical presentation and a case study establish the validity of the well-being model with circular causation. Keywords: Monetary and spending regimes, epistemology and economics, economic stabilization, well-being.

This paper examines the nation brand image notion. Literature review is employed as the method to develop the conceptual model. This paper suggests that the multifaceted nature of a nation can be covered in the nation brand image. In addition, the theoretical relationship between national brand identity, national identity, tourism brand and nation brand image and is also explored. This paper eventually proposes a conceptual model of nation brand image and suggests that future research include the multi elements of national brand identity and national identity as the components of nation brand image. Keywords: Conceptual model, nation brand image.

Macroeconomic policy coordination and the fi eld of micro-foundation of the macroeconomic theory have been riddled with the contest of claimed effi cacy between the Keynesian school and the monetarist school. Keynesianism upheld the predominance of fi scalism (spending) in economic stabilization on the one side. Friedman’s monetarist theory vouched for the same on the other side. As a result of the monetary and fi scal contest between the two schools a convergence between them could not be att ained. Such a divide is similar in economic science as it has been a fi asco thus far in the physical sciences between Quantum Mechanics explaining the small world phenomenon, and Relativity Physics explaining the large world phenomenon. The nonhomogenous views of a unique reality in economics, as in science, have defied the unifi cation of theories and application for the greater objective of wellbeing in an embedded social economy, beyond sheer address of the stabilization question. Our paper strides out in the new direction of a socioscientific epistemological worldview of the unifi cation of monetary and fi scal (spending) regimes in a consolidated theory of complementarities between them. The paper does this by breaking new grounds that are based on the model of organic unity of knowledge, which acts upon the simulation of well being with the method of circular causation. A review of the literature and introduction of formalism are undertaken to expound the theme of economic stabilization by means of complementing monetary and fi scal (spending) regimes in a unifi ed theory, while addressing the simulation of well-being in a learning model of unity of knowledge. The emergent methodology presents the description of a system of inter-variables circular causation relations. An extensive review of the literature is undertaken. An empirical presentation and a case study establish the validity of the well-being model with circular causation. Keywords: Monetary and spending regimes, epistemology and economics, economic stabilization, well-being.

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the management of zakat funds in Brunei Darussalam. More specifi cally, it aims at investigating how zakat funds recipients perceive the quality of the current zakat management with special attention to the aspect of zakat funds disbursement. It also aims to examine how effi cient Brunei’s zakat administration is, particularly the distribution aspect. This paper is explanatory and descriptive in nature and uses both secondary and primary data to examine the trends of zakat collection and distribution. The fi ndings in this paper show that zakat management in Brunei Darussalam is progressing to achieve the main objectives of zakat system. The paper also provides some useful policy implications to improve the management of zakat funds and how policy-makers can respond to the challenges positively as well as to develop and support zakat institutions in Brunei Darussalam to be more efficient and reliable in the collection and distribution of zakat funds. Keyword: Zakat management, Islamic finance, zakat recipients, Brunei Darussalam.

The main objective of this paper is to analyze the management of zakat funds in Brunei Darussalam. More specifi cally, it aims at investigating how zakat funds recipients perceive the quality of the current zakat management with special attention to the aspect of zakat funds disbursement. It also aims to examine how effi cient Brunei’s zakat administration is, particularly the distribution aspect. This paper is explanatory and descriptive in nature and uses both secondary and primary data to examine the trends of zakat collection and distribution. The fi ndings in this paper show that zakat management in Brunei Darussalam is progressing to achieve the main objectives of zakat system. The paper also provides some useful policy implications to improve the management of zakat funds and how policy-makers can respond to the challenges positively as well as to develop and support zakat institutions in Brunei Darussalam to be more efficient and reliable in the collection and distribution of zakat funds. Keyword: Zakat management, Islamic finance, zakat recipients, Brunei Darussalam.

Resource and environmental economists have argued that the conventional GDP is not an adequate indicator to reflect if an economy is growing sustainably, as it does not consider the changes in national capital and pollution impacts. The World Bank Genuine Savings indicator, though in the weak sustainability form, provides an alternative measure. This paper calculates the Genuine Savings for Malaysia from 1990–2008. While the results show that the Genuine Savings for Malaysia has been positive, its ratio to GDP declines markedly following the economic crisis of 1997/98. Comparisons with selected countries, especially South Korea and Indonesia are also made. Policy implications are deliberated at the end of the paper. Keywords: Malaysian genuine savings, sustainability path, macroeconomic sustainability measure.

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.

The determinants of educational attainment among children have become one of the main research agenda among scholars, educationists and economists alike. In most studies, the focus is on the relationship between educational attainment and factors such as the quality of teachers, schools, educational technologies, curriculum design, the fi nancial and human capital aspect of the families and the ability of children themselves. Recently, the focus has been expanded to explore the relationship between social capital and educational attainment. As an addition to the existing literature, this paper attempts to investigate the impact of social capital on educational attainment using a regression analysis based on a sample of 2500 households, gathered from a rural community in Terengganu, Malaysia. Six domains of social capital are used to arrive at the index of social capital. The argument advanced in this paper is that social capital, which could be viewed as the outcome of networking, cooperation and trust at the household level, is expected to have a positive impact on a child’s educational attainment. Towards this end, we regress children’s education attainment on social capital along with other relevant independent variables, i.e. family, children, school and neighbourhood characteristics. Interestingly, the result of our study reveals that the level of social capital that a family has, is found to be signifi cant and has the expected positive sign. This finding implies that social capital at the household level appear to be a critical factor in determining a child’s educational attainment. Thus, our finding lends support to the idea that social capital is a good predictor of children’s is educational attainment. Keywords: Social capital, educational attainment, rural community.

The determinants of educational attainment among children have become one of the main research agenda among scholars, educationists and economists alike. In most studies, the focus is on the relationship between educational attainment and factors such as the quality of teachers, schools, educational technologies, curriculum design, the fi nancial and human capital aspect of the families and the ability of children themselves. Recently, the focus has been expanded to explore the relationship between social capital and educational attainment. As an addition to the existing literature, this paper attempts to investigate the impact of social capital on educational attainment using a regression analysis based on a sample of 2500 households, gathered from a rural community in Terengganu, Malaysia. Six domains of social capital are used to arrive at the index of social capital. The argument advanced in this paper is that social capital, which could be viewed as the outcome of networking, cooperation and trust at the household level, is expected to have a positive impact on a child’s educational attainment. Towards this end, we regress children’s education attainment on social capital along with other relevant independent variables, i.e. family, children, school and neighbourhood characteristics. Interestingly, the result of our study reveals that the level of social capital that a family has, is found to be signifi cant and has the expected positive sign. This finding implies that social capital at the household level appear to be a critical factor in determining a child’s educational attainment. Thus, our finding lends support to the idea that social capital is a good predictor of children’s is educational attainment. Keywords: Social capital, educational attainment, rural community.

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.

Resource and environmental economists have argued that the conventional GDP is not an adequate indicator to reflect if an economy is growing sustainably, as it does not consider the changes in national capital and pollution impacts. The World Bank Genuine Savings indicator, though in the weak sustainability form, provides an alternative measure. This paper calculates the Genuine Savings for Malaysia from 1990–2008. While the results show that the Genuine Savings for Malaysia has been positive, its ratio to GDP declines markedly following the economic crisis of 1997/98. Comparisons with selected countries, especially South Korea and Indonesia are also made. Policy implications are deliberated at the end of the paper. Keywords: Malaysian genuine savings, sustainability path, macroeconomic sustainability measure.

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.

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.

The New Economic Model (NEM) is a need-based concept intended to integrate innovative ideas in chartering the path of socio-economic development of Malaysia. NEM is timely for building resilience into the economic systems through the participation of all, and for the benefit of all sections of the society. In a high income society, there will have to be value for money and money for value, reduction in subsidies, efficient fiscal management to reduce unnecessary expenditure, management of value-added and market-driven products and services, revamping of the education system, reviewing of R&D priorities, enhancing staff efficiency, less discussion for more action, less paper work for more output, and realistic targets for delivery. The sustainability dimension of NEM should envisage sustainable management of natural resources. This is achievable by aligning our activities with the new concept of ‘Green World Order’ which expands the existing peace and stability mottos of the World Order to include environment and sustainability. Under this concept there is a need for making changes in our activities. For example, short-term economic gains at the expense of long-term benefits that produce footprints of irreversible damage have to be addressed. Our development planning requires resetting in the light of environmental limitations to achieve the goals of NEM. With the valuation of the ecosystem services becoming increasingly important, we should pursue this matter aggressively to seek best deals for the natural resources we are blessed with. We can claim a substantial amount of international climate change mitigation funds because some of our resources (forests, mangroves and coral reefs) are carbon sinks which international agencies are seeking for investment. This not only generates resources for conservation but also brings dividends to the custodians of the carbon sinks. With an effective action plan, Malaysia can take advantage of the growing carbon market and green economy. The main elements of the proposed action plan are discussed in this paper. Keywords: Development plan, green perspectives, economic model.

The European Union (EU) Renewable Energy Directive set a target of 20 % share of energy from the renewable sources and 10% share of renewable energy specifically in the transport sector. This has resulted in some countries looking for bio-based alternative energies which lead to the increase in demand for bio-based feedstocks such as palm and rapeseed oil (for biodiesel) and sugar cane and corn (for ethanol). One of the new elements in the palm oil market is the growing demand for this commodity as a feedstock to biodiesel production. This will also put Malaysia in a better light on the international front for taking the effort to reduce carbon emissions. In line with this, the palm oil sector in Malaysia will be able to match the New Economic Model’s (NEM) major goals of high income, sustainability and inclusiveness. This new development is affecting the dynamics of the market, in particular, the supply and demand sectors of this commodity. This paper seeks to examine the impact of biodiesel demand on the Malaysian palm oil industry. This paper proposes a structural econometric model consisting of nine structural equations and four identities. The model has been estimated by the two stage least squares method using annual data for the period 1976–2010.

The New Economic Model (NEM) is a need-based concept intended to integrate innovative ideas in chartering the path of socio-economic development of Malaysia. NEM is timely for building resilience into the economic systems through the participation of all, and for the benefit of all sections of the society. In a high income society, there will have to be value for money and money for value, reduction in subsidies, efficient fiscal management to reduce unnecessary expenditure, management of value-added and market-driven products and services, revamping of the education system, reviewing of R&D priorities, enhancing staff efficiency, less discussion for more action, less paper work for more output, and realistic targets for delivery. The sustainability dimension of NEM should envisage sustainable management of natural resources. This is achievable by aligning our activities with the new concept of ‘Green World Order’ which expands the existing peace and stability mottos of the World Order to include environment and sustainability. Under this concept there is a need for making changes in our activities. For example, short-term economic gains at the expense of long-term benefits that produce footprints of irreversible damage have to be addressed. Our development planning requires resetting in the light of environmental limitations to achieve the goals of NEM. With the valuation of the ecosystem services becoming increasingly important, we should pursue this matter aggressively to seek best deals for the natural resources we are blessed with. We can claim a substantial amount of international climate change mitigation funds because some of our resources (forests, mangroves and coral reefs) are carbon sinks which international agencies are seeking for investment. This not only generates resources for conservation but also brings dividends to the custodians of the carbon sinks. With an effective action plan, Malaysia can take advantage of the growing carbon market and green economy. The main elements of the proposed action plan are discussed in this paper. Keywords: Development plan, green perspectives, economic model.

The European Union (EU) Renewable Energy Directive set a target of 20 % share of energy from the renewable sources and 10% share of renewable energy specifically in the transport sector. This has resulted in some countries looking for bio-based alternative energies which lead to the increase in demand for bio-based feedstocks such as palm and rapeseed oil (for biodiesel) and sugar cane and corn (for ethanol). One of the new elements in the palm oil market is the growing demand for this commodity as a feedstock to biodiesel production. This will also put Malaysia in a better light on the international front for taking the effort to reduce carbon emissions. In line with this, the palm oil sector in Malaysia will be able to match the New Economic Model’s (NEM) major goals of high income, sustainability and inclusiveness. This new development is affecting the dynamics of the market, in particular, the supply and demand sectors of this commodity. This paper seeks to examine the impact of biodiesel demand on the Malaysian palm oil industry. This paper proposes a structural econometric model consisting of nine structural equations and four identities. The model has been estimated by the two stage least squares method using annual data for the period 1976–2010.

This paper presents three different hypotheses that attempt to explain the CEO compensation structure and the optimal contract, managerial power, and tournament system hypotheses. Using knowledge gained from these three hypotheses, a brief analysis of the reasons the government needs to be involved in regulating the CEO compensation structure follows. The paper ends with a proposal to regulate the compensation structure and addresses various potential objections to government regulation.

This paper presents three different hypotheses that attempt to explain the CEO compensation structure and the optimal contract, managerial power, and tournament system hypotheses. Using knowledge gained from these three hypotheses, a brief analysis of the reasons the government needs to be involved in regulating the CEO compensation structure follows. The paper ends with a proposal to regulate the compensation structure and addresses various potential objections to government regulation.

The premise of this paper is that Total Quality Management (TQM) must be adopted as a way of life for employees and not just as a slogan per se, so that the intended goal of implementing TQM can be fully realised. In order to internalise the philosophy of TQM into each organisational member, control systems play an important role. Control systems, among others, are implemented as systems for aligning the intended objectives of TQM and the individual objectives of each employee. The findings of this study supported the contingency theory that suggested the control systems being practised should be aligned with the strategy pursued to achieve the intended objectives. This paper extends the current existing knowledge by investigating the mediating role of control systems in explaining the relationship between TQM and customer satisfaction.

The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the Indian Innovation System, IPR system and other related activities such as Judicial System, Enforcement System, and Academic Institutions etc. The paper is based on the existing data and relates those data and results to the India’s Intellectual Property Rights System, Innovation, Research and Development. This paper focus on the recent reforms in IPR laws to achieve a legal framework for protecting IPR that is comparable to that of most developed nations. As a part Information Technology, three major IT organizations focus on innovation and research discussed in addition to an overview about major multinational companies’ research initiatives in India.

The premise of this paper is that Total Quality Management (TQM) must be adopted as a way of life for employees and not just as a slogan per se, so that the intended goal of implementing TQM can be fully realised. In order to internalise the philosophy of TQM into each organisational member, control systems play an important role. Control systems, among others, are implemented as systems for aligning the intended objectives of TQM and the individual objectives of each employee. The findings of this study supported the contingency theory that suggested the control systems being practised should be aligned with the strategy pursued to achieve the intended objectives. This paper extends the current existing knowledge by investigating the mediating role of control systems in explaining the relationship between TQM and customer satisfaction.

The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the Indian Innovation System, IPR system and other related activities such as Judicial System, Enforcement System, and Academic Institutions etc. The paper is based on the existing data and relates those data and results to the India’s Intellectual Property Rights System, Innovation, Research and Development. This paper focus on the recent reforms in IPR laws to achieve a legal framework for protecting IPR that is comparable to that of most developed nations. As a part Information Technology, three major IT organizations focus on innovation and research discussed in addition to an overview about major multinational companies’ research initiatives in India.

As a result of the global financial crisis and its effects on the world economy, there is an increasing awareness and exploration of more vigorous frameworks and types of financial tools and intermediations. With its emphasis on asset-backed transactions, Islamic finance can contribute to overcoming the challenges and difficulties created by the current credit crisis. At its core, Islamic finance is concerned with the deployment of capital in genuine commercial activities that will benefit the whole world. So far, the techniques used in Islamic finance, if applied and executed properly, have created a much closer relationship among the customer, the financier, and the asset. In both principle and practice, Islamic finance prohibits the creation of debt through direct lending and borrowing, thus prohibiting excessive leverage, which is a root cause of the financial crisis. This paper highlights the strengths of Islamic finance in the context of the current financial and economic crisis. This paper examines whether Islamic finance could help to provide an alternative approach to the problems that led to the crisis that would prevent the repetition of a similar crisis in the future. Keywords: Islamic finance; Islamic financial system; financial crisis; profit-loss sharing; risk management. JEL Classification Code: G01; G21; G32, Z12.

This paper overviews the political-economics of FIAT and asset-based money. The paper further highlights the presumably syaria standpoint of the impartial character of money as the fundamental factor that differentiates asset-based money from the FIAT money. It is argued that while it is ideal for asset-based money to make a comeback in the interest of holistic wellbeing (maslahah) of humankind, it is necessary to complement it with an appropriate financial and regulatory system to safeguard its impartiality, i.e. non-tradable, non-interest bearing, and non-debt financing to avoid the recurring pitfalls which are immanent in the conventional financial system. It is hoped this rather concise paper will offer a thought provoking discourse on how syaria principles may present the world a useful ideological construct for a new monetary and financial architecture in light of the global financial crisis. Keywords: Asset-based money; FIAT money; Syaria perspectives of money; money impartiality; money and sustainable development; money and financial crisis.

This paper discusses how Malaysia manages the trilemma, the conjecture that a country cannot simultaneously maintain an open capital account, an exchange rate stability, and monetary policy independence. Only two out of these three goals can be mutually consistent and policy makers have to decide which third goal to give up. The paper shows how Malaysia adopts an intermediate regime – a regime that enables policy makers to manage all the three goals simultaneously. The impact of the global financial crisis on the Malaysian economy and the policy options for Malaysia to deal with the recent huge capital outflows are discussed in this paper. The willingness by Bank Negara Malaysia to allow a certain extent of exchange rate adjustments in the face of current global crisis reflects that Malaysia is not exempted from the trilemma.

As a result of the global financial crisis and its effects on the world economy, there is an increasing awareness and exploration of more vigorous frameworks and types of financial tools and intermediations. With its emphasis on asset-backed transactions, Islamic finance can contribute to overcoming the challenges and difficulties created by the current credit crisis. At its core, Islamic finance is concerned with the deployment of capital in genuine commercial activities that will benefit the whole world. So far, the techniques used in Islamic finance, if applied and executed properly, have created a much closer relationship among the customer, the financier, and the asset. In both principle and practice, Islamic finance prohibits the creation of debt through direct lending and borrowing, thus prohibiting excessive leverage, which is a root cause of the financial crisis. This paper highlights the strengths of Islamic finance in the context of the current financial and economic crisis. This paper examines whether Islamic finance could help to provide an alternative approach to the problems that led to the crisis that would prevent the repetition of a similar crisis in the future. Keywords: Islamic finance; Islamic financial system; financial crisis; profit-loss sharing; risk management. JEL Classification Code: G01; G21; G32, Z12.

This paper discusses how Malaysia manages the trilemma, the conjecture that a country cannot simultaneously maintain an open capital account, an exchange rate stability, and monetary policy independence. Only two out of these three goals can be mutually consistent and policy makers have to decide which third goal to give up. The paper shows how Malaysia adopts an intermediate regime – a regime that enables policy makers to manage all the three goals simultaneously. The impact of the global financial crisis on the Malaysian economy and the policy options for Malaysia to deal with the recent huge capital outflows are discussed in this paper. The willingness by Bank Negara Malaysia to allow a certain extent of exchange rate adjustments in the face of current global crisis reflects that Malaysia is not exempted from the trilemma.

This paper overviews the political-economics of FIAT and asset-based money. The paper further highlights the presumably syaria standpoint of the impartial character of money as the fundamental factor that differentiates asset-based money from the FIAT money. It is argued that while it is ideal for asset-based money to make a comeback in the interest of holistic wellbeing (maslahah) of humankind, it is necessary to complement it with an appropriate financial and regulatory system to safeguard its impartiality, i.e. non-tradable, non-interest bearing, and non-debt financing to avoid the recurring pitfalls which are immanent in the conventional financial system. It is hoped this rather concise paper will offer a thought provoking discourse on how syaria principles may present the world a useful ideological construct for a new monetary and financial architecture in light of the global financial crisis. Keywords: Asset-based money; FIAT money; Syaria perspectives of money; money impartiality; money and sustainable development; money and financial crisis.

The aim of this paper is to present a picture of return to education in Malaysia over the period from 1984 to 1997 based on earning equations model. The paper employed a set of data comprising micro-level data from the Household Income Survey (HIS) for several years during the period 1984 to 1997. The main finding of this paper is the changes in the wage differentials favouring the middle level of education (secondary level of education) workers. In general, the results show that the return for each level of qualification declined between 1984 and 1997, especially at the higher levels (diploma and degree). Interestingly, the return to education for females at low levels of education is higher than the return by males. However, at higher levels of qualification, especially for those with secondary and high school qualifications, males traditionally have a higher return compared to females workers. The results also indicated a significant gender differential, however the differences has fallen over time.

The aim of this paper is to present a picture of return to education in Malaysia over the period from 1984 to 1997 based on earning equations model. The paper employed a set of data comprising micro-level data from the Household Income Survey (HIS) for several years during the period 1984 to 1997. The main finding of this paper is the changes in the wage differentials favouring the middle level of education (secondary level of education) workers. In general, the results show that the return for each level of qualification declined between 1984 and 1997, especially at the higher levels (diploma and degree). Interestingly, the return to education for females at low levels of education is higher than the return by males. However, at higher levels of qualification, especially for those with secondary and high school qualifications, males traditionally have a higher return compared to females workers. The results also indicated a significant gender differential, however the differences has fallen over time.

The objective of this paper is to discuss the role(s) of organisational symbols in representing organisational identity. To what extent do the so-called organisational symbols have significant impact on the employees in an organisation in identifying themselves with the organisational identity? Is it due to the top-down approach imposed by the top management? This paper is based on a six month ethnographic study conducted in selected Information Communication Technology (ICT) based corporations in one of the Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) cities. From the fi ndings, there are three main organisational symbols which are related to organisational identity: identity cards, black sofa, and offi ce cubicles. The paper concludes that the construction of organisational symbols is a mix of a controlled culture (top-down) and to a certain degree is the participative activity of the employees. Nevertheless, the organisational symbols are embraced by the employees due to the need to be identified with an organisation.

The objective of this paper is to discuss the role(s) of organisational symbols in representing organisational identity. To what extent do the so-called organisational symbols have significant impact on the employees in an organisation in identifying themselves with the organisational identity? Is it due to the top-down approach imposed by the top management? This paper is based on a six month ethnographic study conducted in selected Information Communication Technology (ICT) based corporations in one of the Malaysian Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) cities. From the fi ndings, there are three main organisational symbols which are related to organisational identity: identity cards, black sofa, and offi ce cubicles. The paper concludes that the construction of organisational symbols is a mix of a controlled culture (top-down) and to a certain degree is the participative activity of the employees. Nevertheless, the organisational symbols are embraced by the employees due to the need to be identified with an organisation.

The Malaysian public sector has undergone various transformations since the Independence. From its custodial role in the newly independent country, the public sector had changed and taken an active role in the country’s economic development. However, since 1980s onwards, the philosophy and techniques of New Public Management (NPM) have been implemented in Malaysia. This again transformed the public sector from being an engine of economic growth to become a facilitator to the private sector and service provider to the public. In line with NPM’s underlying belief of the superiority of businesslike practices, various contemporary management practices and philosophy were implemented in the Malaysian public sector. The implantation of private sector practices in the public sector was enhanced with the introduction a performance measurement system which utilises the use of key performance indicators in 2005. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine and analyse the current improvement programme within the wider public sector reform programmes in Malaysia. The issues and consequences of using key performance indicators in the public sector are discussed. To understand further the reasons and the push for reform, contextual descriptions of the various phases of public sector reform in Malaysia are also discussed in this paper.