Search

PurposeThis study investigates the antecedents of student loyalty towards universities. This study offers new insights into postgraduate loyalty in the context of the Malaysian higher education industry.Design/methodology/approachPartial least squares structural equation modelling is used to analyse data obtained from a survey of 231 postgraduate students in Malaysia.FindingsThe findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between price value and both student satisfaction and student loyalty. There are also strong relationships between learning environment and student satisfaction and between student satisfaction and student loyalty. While university prestige showed a significant relationship with student satisfaction, it is not related to student loyalty. Another important finding is that price value has a strong and direct relationship with both student satisfaction and student loyalty.Originality/valueThis study presents an updated empirical model of student loyalty. Contrary to previous studies, the results indicate that service quality is not related to student satisfaction. However, it is found to influence student loyalty towards the University. The results also indicate the important mediating effect of student satisfaction. This is the first study to look specifically at student satisfaction and loyalty of postgraduate students in Malaysia.

PurposeThe goal of this study is to examine the factors (e.g. enjoyment, skills, challenge, telepresence and flow) that influence players’ purchase intention toward Dota 2 virtual in-game as well as examine the effect of flow toward purchase intention of Dota 2 through the critical mechanism (i.e. continuous intention). Notably, the analysis of the moderating role of enjoyment of buying on the relation of (a) flow and purchase intention of Dota 2 in-game, as well as (b) between flow continuous intention and finally (c) between continuous intention purchase intention of Dota 2.Design/methodology/approachThe data were gained from 331 users using Google Forms and posted to respondents on social media platforms and forums such as Facebook and Reddit, as these websites have the closest reach to gamers.FindingsThe study revealed that enjoyment, skill, challenge and telepresence have a positive effect on flow. Also, the flow was significantly related to purchase intention. The continuous intention has significantly mediated the relationship between flow and purchase intention. Importantly, this study found that the moderating role of buying enjoyment increases the relationship between flow and purchase intention (H7a) and between continuous intention and purchase intention (H7c). In contrast, the moderating role of buying enjoyment on the relationship between flow and continuous intention (H7b) was not supported. Hence, this study sheds a new light on the notable Dota 2 in-game and continuous intention purchase intention of the users.Originality/valueIn response, this study's main research question can be highlighted on testing how enjoyment, skills, challenge, telepresence, in-game virtual items influence purchasing intention when the enjoyment of buying moderates the proposed relationship? Therefore, this study aims to examine the significant elements like enjoyment, skills, challenge telepresence toward flow, and subsequently, the effect of flow toward purchase intention of Dota 2 in-game through continuous intention as a key mechanism which is urgently needed to minimize the gap in-game virtual items literature. Significantly, this study also intends to explore the contingent role of enjoyment of buying on the relation of flow and purchase intention of Dota-2 in-game, as well as between flow and continuous intention and finally between continuous intention and purchase intention.

PurposeThis study presents a framework for integrating distinct perspectives on social entrepreneurship by combining institutional theory with the social entrepreneurship intention model. The framework assesses the relationships between social support and the perceived feasibility and desirability of social entrepreneurship, the relationships between social support and the institutional environments of social workers, and the moderating role of prior experience of social work and volunteering.Design/methodology/approachThe model was tested using 266 validated responses from an online and paper-based survey distributed among social workers. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data, and multi-group analysis was conducted to examine the moderation effects.FindingsThe findings indicate that experience moderates the relationships between the regulatory and cognitive environments, cognitive environments and social support, and social support and perceived feasibility. Experience negatively moderates the relationship between the normative environment and social support.Practical implicationsActive government involvement in the form of incentives and financial support would encourage the creation of social ventures.Social implicationsEducational programmes are also necessary to help raise awareness and increase the familiarity and knowledge of potential social entrepreneurs.Originality/valueThe study analyses the effects of institutional environmental components, recognised as highly influential on the development of social entrepreneurship, as well as the impact of perceived social support on the antecedents of the perceived desirability and feasibility of social entrepreneurship. It also addresses how social work experience modifies these relationships. Contrary to previous studies, the findings suggest that increasing social work experience isolates entrepreneurs from their environment.

This study investigates whether an individual’s social work experience impacts the relationship between institutional environmental constructs and the perceived desirability and feasibility of establishing a social venture. It extends Urban, B. and L. Kujinga’s. (2017. “The Institutional Environment and Social Entrepreneurship Intentions.” International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behaviour and Research 23 (4): 638–55, doi: 10.1108/IJEBR-07-2016-0218.) social entrepreneurial intent model by comparing two groups of volunteers in Malaysia with different levels of social working or volunteering experience. The results show that the cognitive environment influences perceived desirability, with a distinctly higher path significance for perceived desirability among individuals with higher levels of experience. Perceived desirability has a relatively more substantial impact on social entrepreneurship intention for highly experienced individuals. Interestingly, the results indicate that neither the regulatory nor the normative environment influences perceived feasibility for either group. Governments and other relevant organisations can utilise these findings to devise better policies for promoting social entrepreneurship.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of successful service recovery in the airline sector by examining the interrelationship between perceived justice, recovery satisfaction and overall satisfaction, customer trust and customer loyalty. Furthermore, the research assesses the mediating effect of overall satisfaction and customer trust on customer loyalty.Design/methodology/approachData were collected via an airport intercept survey of Malaysia Airlines passengers who had experienced service failure. In total, 380 responses were used for the final analysis. The study uses partial least squares structural equation modelling technique with SmartPLS 3.0, in order to test and validate the research model and hypotheses posited.FindingsThe results reveal that: recovery satisfaction is significantly affected by procedural and interactional justice; distributive and procedural justice, as well as recovery satisfaction influenced overall satisfaction; customer trust is most influenced by interactional justice, distributive justice and recovery satisfaction; customer loyalty is positively affected by customer trust, overall satisfaction and recovery satisfaction; and the influence amongst recovery satisfaction and customer loyalty is partially mediated by customer trust and overall satisfaction.Originality/valueThe study contributes to a whole conceptual comprehension of the essential determinants of customer loyalty from the combined perspectives of three theories, namely, justice theory, expectancy disconfirmation theory and commitment-trust theory. This study successfully differentiates the three dimensions of perceived justice and assesses them individually to discern and compare their influence on overall satisfaction, recovery satisfaction and trust. In addition, the study finds that the influence of recovery satisfaction on loyalty is partially and sequentially mediated by trust and overall satisfaction.

This study applies the “push-pull-mooring” model of migration to explain home purchase intention in a suburban township. “Push” effects include dissatisfaction and high housing costs in one’s current neighbourhood (“the origin”). “Pull” effects were consumers’ perceived value of the suburban township (“the destination”), which encompassed price, functional, emotional, social, symbolic, and Feng Shui aspects. Relocation costs and alternative township’s attractiveness were hypothesized as “mooring” effects that negatively impact purchase intention as well as moderate the push and pull effects. 179 valid responses from prospective home buyers were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Pull effects were found to exert a positive influence while mooring and push effects exert a negative influence on purchase intention. Moderation effects of the mooring factors were found to be not significant in this context. This study offers several interesting implications for researchers and marketing practitioners in the real estate industry.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effects of hotels’ brand attributes on consumers’ (patrons’ and guests’) by fostering brand credibility and brand attachment towards the propensity of word-of-mouth. The study uses the signaling theory to assess the relationships among the constructs. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach to validate the research model and the research hypotheses. To test the hypotheses, 474 travellers in Malaysia were recruited. Findings The empirical results reveal that hotel attributes have direct influence on brand credibility and brand attachment. Similarly, brand credibility has direct influence on brand attachment, while brand attachment also has direct influence on word-of-mouth. Consumers’ brand credibility partially mediates the relationship between hotel attributes and brand attachment. Likewise, consumer’s brand attachment also partially mediates the relationship between hotel attributes and word-of-mouth. Last but not least, brand credibility and brand attachment sequentially mediate the relationship between hotel attributes and word-of-mouth. The theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed together with its limitation and future research direction. Originality/value First, in terms of measures, brand attachment construct is operationalised as a formative second-order construct, with three reflective variables (brand passion, self-brand connection and brand affection) as the first-order constructs. In addition, brand credibility is also operationalised as a formative second-order construct, with three reflective variables (expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness) as the first-order constructs. On the other hand, hotel attributes construct is operationalised formatively as a higher-order abstraction of three categories of hotel facilities, which were also operationalised formatively (essential, culture compliant and in-room facilities). Second, this paper offers new insight into how brand credibility and brand attachment influence the relationship between hotel attributes and word-of-mouth. In a sustainability era, dissemination of complete and correct information is vital, to ensure consumers’ acceptance (e.g. likelihood to recommend to others). Thus, it is suggested that hotel managers to pay close attention to the role of brand credibility and brand attachment in tourists’ hotel choice, to secure sustainable brand.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of players’ continuance intentions to play Pokémon GO (PG) and ultimately make in-app purchases, mainly from the perspectives of psychological, social and gaming motivational factors. Design/methodology/approach The research model was empirically assessed based on 362 validated responses from current players of PG in Malaysia. Analysis was carried out using the partial least squares path modeling method. Findings The results indicated that enjoyment, network externalities, community involvement and the need-to-collect significantly influence players’ continuance intention. Furthermore, the findings reveal that flow and nostalgia have indirect effects on players’ continuance intention, which in turn significantly influences their purchase intention. Originality/value This study provides empirical support for an integrated model for understanding the antecedents of the players’ behavioral intentions that incorporates psychological, social and gaming motivational factors in the context of an augmented reality mobile game.

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the influence of store environment cues, store personality and attitude toward halal product (AHP) on store evaluation and repatronage intention. The authors extended the conceptual framework of Baker and colleagues (2002) and examined the indirect effects of store personality (i.e. sophistication and sincerity) and AHP on the outcome variables.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted survey design to test our hypotheses. Data were collected random to store patrons and post-graduate students of public university business schools in Klang valley. There was almost equal selection of Muslim (49.6%) and non-Muslim respondents.FindingsResults indicate that the model explains 44 per cent of the variance in store repatronage intention. In particular, serial mediation is not significant only for two mediation paths.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings imply that brand personality, attitude toward halal product and store evaluation mediate the relationship between store environment cues and purchase intention. However, there are few limitations. First, the respondents were only limited to store patrons in Klang valley. Second, the authors only tested for three store environment cues.Practical implicationsStore repatronage intention could be increased by focusing on store environment cues (i.e. music and design), forming sincere and sophisticated store personalities and attaining favorable evaluation for both store and particularly halal products.Social implicationsHalal requirements for consumable goods especially food and drinks are warrant concerns for both Muslim and non-Muslim consumers. It deals with safety and health issues of producing such goods. In a nation that comprises multiethnic-multireligious population, it is not surprising that non-Muslims are assured by quality of faith-based products made for Muslims.Originality/valueStore repatronage intention is a valid concern for all retailers. In this study, stores which carry halal products should focus on enhancing store design and music perception, forming sincere and sophisticated personality, and generating favorable attitudinal evaluation for both halal products and store. After all, halal products are an assurance of quality for all store patrons.

This study examines the relationships between religious beliefs, brand personality, and new religion-compliant product adoption (NRCPA) in Islamic markets. Findings confirm that religious c...

Green purchase behaviour is an increasingly important topic, gaining much attention. A review of current literature reveals that the relationship between green attitudes and green purchase behaviour is contentious because consumers’ attitudes do not necessarily translate into green purchase behaviour. This paper examines the relationships between religious values, green habit, and green purchase behaviours via a holistic approach based on the Theory of Reasoned Action and Homer and Kahle's (1988) cognitive hierarchy model. Data were collected from 504 Muslim consumers in two Southeast Asian countries, namely, Indonesia and Malaysia. Partial least squares (PLS), a variance-based structural equation–modelling technique, was selected to test the research model and hypotheses. The term “religious values” is conceptualised in this paper as a multidimensional construct with reflective first-order and formative second-order items. Previous studies have ignored the quest orientation, which refers to constant questioning and doubting as a way of being religious. The results demonstrate that religious values have a positive impact on natural environmental orientation, environmental concerns, green purchase attitudes, and green purchase intentions. Green habit and green purchase intentions were also found to positively affect green purchase behaviours. This study also highlights the important role of habit, namely, a stronger impact on green behaviour than intentions. Green habit was also found to moderate the relationship between green attitudes and green intentions. The study has practical implications for green marketers, green policy makers, and green consumers, as well as directions for future research.

Purpose Mobile shopping is expected to emerge as a new way of shopping as the Asia Pacific region moves towards the digital era. It is important to understand factors that influence consumers’ intentions to adopt this new shopping channel, especially in developing countries such as Malaysia where it has the fastest growing mobile penetration rate in the world. The purpose of this paper is to integrate the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), and includes additional variables such as personal innovativeness (PI) and trust. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data from 453 consumers were tested against a proposed model using partial least squares structural equation modelling. Findings Findings suggest that most of the constructs in the model (i.e. trust, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitudes, PI and perceived behavioural control) influence a shopper’s intentions towards adopting mobile shopping. For example, consumers’ attitudes towards M-shopping adoption is higher if a system is not complex and easy to use; if consumers can easily pull out their mobile devices from their pockets to browse or shop by using just one finger, without a complicated process, they tend to use M-shopping channels. In addition, when mobile technology is user-friendly and free from mental effort, it creates positive perceptions that the system is useful, developing stronger intentions for consumers to adopt this alternative. Originality/value Since M-shopping is a personalised activity that involves money transactions, consumers are more cautious with adoption intentions, and do not follow social norms blindly. Thus, the empirical evidence from Malaysian consumers contributes to literature with insights into their specific m-shopping behaviour in this emerging market. In addition, from a theoretical perspective, the research model in this study integrates both TAM and TPB to provide a holistic view of consumers’ M-shopping adoption intentions in an emerging market, incorporating user-centric factors (i.e. trust and PI). An important finding which differs from other studies is that the relationship between subjective norms and behavioural intention to use M-shopping was not significant, which is contrary to the findings of previous studies. Moreover, attitude was found to mediate the effect of PEOU and PU on consumer’s intention towards mobile shopping adoption. The validated instrument would serve as a useful guideline for researchers during development and refinement of studies on M-shopping.

PurposeThis study aims to conceptualise and empirically examine how blog users engage with the sponsored posts on consumer-generated content, specifically blogs.Design/methodology/approachThis paper empirically tested the proposed hypotheses using the structural equation modelling using a sample of 399 blog users.FindingsThe need for cognition, perceived interactivity and perceived credibility of blogs has been found to directly influence consumers’ attitude towards blogs. Innovativeness has been found to have a weak negative link with the attitude towards blogs. Blog users were more favourable towards the sponsored posts if the blogs were more interactive. Attitude towards blogs has been found to mediate the relationship between users’ perceived interactivity and their avoidance of the sponsored posts and also between perceived credibility and avoidance of the sponsored posts on blogs. The most significant finding of this study is that the positive attitude towards a blog results in a higher avoidance of the sponsored posts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on the sponsored posts on blogs. It does not look at other forms of advertising on blogs such as banner ads, or other forms of consumer-generated content.Practical implicationsMarketers and bloggers should carefully consider the suitability of the sponsored posts on blogs as they risk alienating the regular users of the blogs. Sponsored posts which are perceived as honest reviews (as opposed to paid advertorials) might be more acceptable to blog users.Social implicationsThis study highlights the importance of credibility of bloggers to blog users. There are some serious ethical issues related to the sponsored posts which have not been discussed here but need to be examined further.Originality/valueThis study represents one of the first attempts to conceptualise and empirically examine how blog users engage with customer-generated advertising – sponsored posts. It contributes to marketing literature by enhancing the understanding of how consumers perceive consumer-generated content and more specifically, with regard to consumer attitudes towards online consumer-generated advertising. This study enhances the theoretical and empirical knowledge on how consumers react to advertisements on social media, with important suggestions for future research and implications for practitioners.

In investigating consumers’ intentions to re-purchase organic personal care products (PCP), this study extends the theory of planned behaviour by including perceived value dimensions as the antecedents of attitude in the model. The findings revealed that most of the hypothesised relationships linking the consumer perceived value constructs (namely, health, safety, hedonic and environmental) with attitude towards the rebuying of organic PCP, were supported. Also, better product knowledge about organic PCP would lead to more positive attitudes towards re-purchasing the product. In contrast, social value was not important in predicting attitude. Similarly, the influence of subjective norm on rebuying intention was not supported. In terms of ranking of importance with regards to prediction of re-purchasing intention, attitude was the most important predictor followed by perceived behavioural control, product knowledge, hedonic value, environmental value and safety value.

Purpose This study attempts to ascertain the essential dimensions and components of university brand image, including the cognitive attributes (service/educational quality) and affective attributes (corporate brand image) of the university. Design/methodology/approach The study develops, explores and presents a student-consumer behavioral response model based on students’ experiences at university, exploring the relationship between these attributes with satisfaction and behavioral response [word-of-mouth (WOM)]. Findings Findings reveal that both branding aspects – brand experience and corporate brand image – follow a rational thought process first before an affective component is then taken into account, resulting in brand promise and loyalty. The study identifies several important cognitive brand image attributes and experiences that guide brand positioning for the Malaysian market, linking these to satisfaction and WOM. Research limitations/implications It was conducted in a single case-university and future research could replicate this in other schools/institutions. Cross-validation to other private institutions lies outside the scope of this study. Furthermore, although the study has identified specific attributes of university brands, they tend to be seen or interpreted as overall for both brand experiences and corporate brand image attributes because of the reflective nature of the construct, and also they tend to be seen as higher order rather than at individual levels. Further research is needed to analyze these dimensions using a quantitative approach at individual levels and testing the conceptual model as presented in the conceptual model. The study is focused on one Asian market (Malaysian students in X University) chosen for its potential growth in the future. Practical implications The present study contributes to the identification of specific students’ needs and attributes including courses and modules, reputable schools, the environment (e.g. campus – near to lecturer, international), helpful lecturers and the university location. Addressing the right brand attributes enhance and clarify the positioning aspect of the university brand, while simultaneously addressing the needs and wants of consumers. For example, by understanding the culture – consumer buying behavior within this setting, marketers or school administrators can identify exactly, which behaviors could be changed and by which mechanism i.e. talking to sponsors, and introducing activities to increase visibility/image in Malaysia. Interacting with sponsors can influence them toward sending students to X instead of to other universities in the UK. Originality/value The study contributes to theoretical knowledge in at least two different ways: by identifying possible corporate brand image attributes and experience that guide brand positioning (for the Malaysian market), and by exploring the relationship between these attributes and satisfaction and behavioral response (WOM) as proposed in the study’s conceptual framework. The study has identified the specific attributes that influence Malaysian students’ early interest in selecting X University via, for example, a recommendation from existing students at X, their sponsors, employers, the courses or modules X offers and location – in London. The study further revealed that corporate brand image attributes of business schools (cognitively and effectively) enhance corporate brand differentiation and positioning (Rauschnabel et al., 2016).

This introduction to the case study book provides a description of the book and explains why it is indeed timely. Brief descriptions of each of the 15 cases are provided. This book is targeted at academics, researchers, practitioners and policymakers, who are interested in Islamic business and finance.

In August 2014, McDonald’s Malaysia found themselves in the middle of a marketing crisis, after Palestinian supporters in Malaysia called for a national boycott of the fast-food chain through an online campaign. The ‘Boycott McDonald day’ turned into violent demonstrations outside the outlets of two McDonalds, which resulted in a loss of around 80% of revenue, and other outlets deciding to close for the day. This case study examines the background and issues involved and the actions taken by McDonalds to deal with this crisis.

On 23 May 2014, Malaysian newspapers reported that samples of two Cadbury products in Malaysia, namely, Cadbury Dairy Milk Hazelnut and Cadbury Dairy Milk Roast Almond, tested positive for traces of porcine DNA by the Ministry of Health Malaysia. This was a serious issue in a country with a large number of Muslim consumers. As soon as the news came out, the Malaysian Department of Islamic Development suspended the halal certification of two Cadbury chocolate products that allegedly contained porcine DNA. This case study examines the issues and the response of the company to the crisis. It highlights the importance of the role of swift public relations in crisis management. It also highlights the fact that sustainable marketing is not just about profits and that companies need to take all stakeholders into account.

The results of empirical research on online retail switching tendencies is quite mixed and only a few have specifically examined the presence, frequency or impact of switching barriers and switching inducements in the context of online services. Empirical evidence shows that there is “stickiness to certain sites” experienced by online customers and that they do less comparative shopping than might be expected. This paper conceptualises online switching behaviour as the interaction of barriers and inducements (both real and perceived) using Oliver׳s four-stage loyalty model. It also highlights the need to re-examine the concept of online loyalty and its interaction with switching barriers and inducements in the online context.

Previous environmental sustainability studies have examined only limited type of pro-environmental behaviour (PEB, e.g., recycling), but have not explored relationships among various types or dimensions of PEBs. This paper explores six types of PEBs (i.e., activist, avoider, green consumer, green passenger, recycler and utility saver) and investigates their antecedents and interrelationships between two ethnic groups&mdash, Malays and Chinese in Malaysia. Survey data from 581 respondents, comprising 307 Malays and 274 Chinese, were used to assess the research model. To conduct multi-group analysis, the study used partial least squares structural equation modelling in SmartPLS 3. The study extends the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory by using social norms to predict PEBs. The results suggest that social norms predict each type of PEB, in contrast to other constructs in VBN theory, except for utility-saving behaviours. The findings also reveal some similarities as well as differences between Malays and Chinese, indicating that the two ethnic groups are not homogeneous. The study is the first to simultaneously study six types of PEB and to examine the differences between Malays and Chinese on PEB constructs and offers a valuable contribution to the literature by extending VBN theory to social norms and PEB.

Purpose This chapter discusses whether marketing can ever be Islamic given the common view of marketing functions as unsustainable and sometimes unethical, for example, how marketing promotes materialism. Methodology/approach This chapter reviews extant literatures in Islamic marketing, with a particular emphasis on stakeholder orientation in marketing. Findings We argue that Islamic marketing is indeed compatible with the concepts of ethical and sustainable marketing encompassing social, environmental as well as economic perspectives and encourages ethical behaviour. Originality/value This chapter highlights that discussions on Islamic marketing should include sustainable marketing and emphasises the growing importance of stakeholder orientation in marketing.

This chapter looks at social marketing in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Despite their cultural similarities and historical ties, each country has their unique challenges. Diversities and issues are explored with special reference to the contraceptive social marketing programmes in these three countries. The aim is to enable readers to comprehend how organisations organise and manage social marketing in these countries. Furthermore, the chapter presents important aspects of decision-making processes, influencing consumers’ perceptions towards social marketing. Theories on social marketing are reviewed and extant research presented.

With the tag line “Now everybody can fly” AirAsia has revolutionised air travel in the Asian region by offering incredibly low fares and innovative marketing techniques. The airline is one of the most innovative companies in the World, which has successfully deployed and expanded on the latest marketing/promotion practices. From August to December 2010, the airline ran their ‘Real People, Real Stories’ campaign where customers were encouraged to share their experiences on social media for a chance to win free tickets.

In 2005, IKEA Malaysia faced one of their most serious challenges since they started operations in the country, when their restaurants were raided by government officials on suspicion that food served there did not comply with the strict religious dietary regulations in the country.

The study attempts to explore the relationship of the level of education (graduate and non-graduate) with personality, family background and company background of entrepreneurs in urban Malaysia. Three demographic variables and one business characteristics variable were found to be significantly different between graduate and non-graduate entrepreneurs. Overall, in terms of entrepreneurial personality characteristics, both graduate and non-graduate entrepreneurs scored high with respect to the Pursuit of Excellence; moderately high on Work Ethics; moderate on Dominance, Mastery and Internal Attributing and moderately low on Powerful Others and Chance Attributing dimensions. The Chance Attributing dimension was found to be statistically significant in differentiating the two groups, whereas 'pursuit of excellence' and 'dominance' dimensions were marginally significant. The implications of the study are also discussed along with some recommendations.

The deregulation of the Malaysian automobile industry has resulted in intensified competition with the presence of more players in the market place. Customer relationships become important when there are many companies trying to satisfy their customer needs and create customer loyalty. The practice of customer relationship management (CRM) is relatively new in Malaysia and this exploratory study is one of the first to look into this area with regards to the automobile industry. The review of literature also presents a general overview of the development of CRM. This study compares the perspectives of two national and ten non-national car companies in Malaysia, with special reference to the various CRM programmes implemented by them. Despite the fact that CRM usage is still relatively new in Malaysia, the study concluded that it has indeed proven to be useful to Malaysian automobile marketers, especially in identifying the target customers and reaching specific customer segments, besides identifying various customer needs. The authors suggest some areas for future research.

This study is one of the first attempts to investigate consumer behaviour towards e-groceries shopping in the Malaysian context. It seeks to explore Malaysian consumers' general attitude towards buying fish on the internet. Past studies shows that online shopping has certain advantages as compared to physical shopping. However, this study found that consumers' attitudes are unfavourable to the idea of purchasing fish online. The majority of the respondents agreed with statements used to identify the factors that impede online fish purchasing and disagreed with items measuring factors that influence or motivate online fish purchasing.

The study attempts to investigate whether becoming an entrepreneur is characterised by entrepreneur's personality characteristics. In addition, it attempts to explore the differences between two ethnic groups, namely, Malay and Chinese, with regard to entrepreneur personality, family background and company background. Four demographic variables, three business characteristics variables and six personality variables were found to be significantly different across ethnic groups. Overall, in terms of entrepreneurial personality characteristics, both Malay and Chinese entrepreneurs scored high with respect to the Pursuit of Excellence; moderately high on Work Ethics; moderate on Dominance, Mastery, and Internal Attributing and moderately lower on Powerful Others and Chance Attributing dimensions. The Pursuit of Excellence dimension was statistically significant different across the groups. The rest were statistically not significant. Some interesting results were that Malays derive satisfaction from working hard and seeing the job well done as compared to the Chinese and that Chinese enjoy having power over people as compared to the Malays. The implications of the study are also discussed along with some recommendations.

This research examine the mediating role of brand credibility between the relationship of hotel attributes and brand attachment that will to lead to post-consumption outcomes. We also examine how hotel attributes contributes to the brand attachment and post-consumption outcomes.Based on the mean-end chain theory, it explores the relationship among six constructs; hotel attributes, brand credibility, brand attachment and post-consumption outcomes (i.e., satisfaction, revisit intention and word-of-mouth). Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was deployed to validate the research model. The result indicatesbrand credibility fully mediates the relationship between hotel attributes and brand attachment. Subsequently, brand credibility and brand attachment are found to be significantly linked with post-consumption outcomes. The result offers implications for hotelier and direction for future research.