Research

Muhammad Haseeb · Irwan Shah Zainal Abidin · Qazi Muhammad Adnan Hye · Nira Hariyatie Hartani ·International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy ·2019 ·JEL: I31; Q22; Q52

This present study examines the role of renewable energy in influencing economic well-being in Malaysia. We used annual data over the period of 1980–2016 in order to apply recent econometrics. The study used renewable energy and economic growth as a proxy of economic well-being to examine the long run connection between renewable energy and economic well-being. The results of auto regressive distributed bound testing approach confirm the valid long-term connection among renewable energy and economic well-being in Malaysia. Furthermore, the results indicate that renewable energy have significant and positive impact on economic well-being in short and long run. It is therefore recommended that the policymakers are required to focus on the green energy generation sector by increasing renewable energy production from the existing sources.

Christopher Richardson · Guat-Hoon Tan · Shaian Kiumarsi ·Journal of Asia Business Studies ·2018

Purpose This paper aims to investigate and reflect upon the effects of personality traits on expatriate adjustment within the context of Malaysia’s multicultural society. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the multicultural personality questionnaire (MPQ) and extrapolating from the literature on expatriate adjustment, the authors introduce five hypotheses, which are then tested based on data derived from 101 expatriates working in Malaysia. Findings The results indicate a positive relationship between both open-mindedness and adjustment as well as between flexibility and adjustment. However, the authors did not observe any significant positive relationship between the three remaining MPQ personality traits and expatriate adjustment. Originality/value While various studies have investigated the relationship between personality and expatriate adjustment in an Asian context, the majority have been conducted in largely monocultural settings, or at least on the implicit assumption of a single societal culture within the host country. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the relationship in the context of a multicultural Asian host country.

Miao Zhanga · Md Aslam Mia ·Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy ·2020 ·JEL: D22 F23 L60 O14

With cognizance to firms’ heterogeneity in an industry, this paper employs the most recent, unpublished and large-scale firm-level data of 14,687 manufacturing firms in Malaysia in 2015 to revisit the drivers of manufacturing exports. Applying the OLS and logistic regressions, we observed a strong positive relationship between a firm’s labor productivity and export intensity. Firms’ foreign ownership, size and age are positively connected to their export competitiveness. The incorporation of location variables into the regression reveals that firms in the Southern peninsula of Malaysia (e.g., Johor) have a positive effect and demonstrate the highest probability to engage in export activities. Our study is informative to trade policymakers on the key drivers of manufacturing exports, providing references to not only Malaysia, but other economies in Eastern Asia and developing nations.

Kartini Muniandy · Suzari Abdul Rahim · Aidi Ahmi · Nor Aida Abdul Rahman ( Malaysian Institute of Aviation Technology (UniKL MIAT)) ·International Journal of Supply Chain Management ·2019

In recent years, the hospitality Industry has overcome numerous challenges to initiate green practices. Greater interest in customers green behaviours has led the hotel industry to practice more environmentally friendly activities. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors that influence customers in visiting green hotels in Malaysia. The theory of planned behaviour (TPB) has been embedded to investigate the factors. Data was collected via questionnaires through online by invitation through email and offline from travellers in selected airports. IBM SPSS Statistics software was used to analyse the data. The results discovered that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and environmental concern significantly influence customers in visiting green hotels. Meanwhile, attitudes mediate subjective norms and perceived behavioural control and finally attitudes, and perceived behavioural control possess a positive relationship with the environmental concern of visitors in visiting green hotels. Findings from this research can help the Malaysian government and hoteliers to integrate the research framework in their current business model and imposed more effective strategies on a green environment in developing green hotels.

Basem Ertim · Tamat Sarmidi · Norlin Khalid · Mohd Helmi Ali ·Asian Economics Letters ·2022

In an attempt to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, the Malaysian government imposed the Movement Control Order (MCO). To address the adverse impacts of the MCO policy, the Malaysian government initiated a series of recovery plans for both fiscal and monetary measures. This study aims to assess the government’s various policy measures on Malaysia’s leading macroeconomic indicators. Regardless of the differences in the gross domestic product (GDP) components, the real impacts on GDP growth are almost identical between Malaysia and a control group. This result is partly explained by the increase in total and domestic investment and private consumption.

Krishna Moorthy · Nik Mohamad Zaki Nik Salleh · Ang Xin Jie · Chan Shu Yi · Lau Shin Wei · Loo Yian Bing · Yee Zhao Ying ·Millennial Asia ·2021

This study examines the social media usage of Malaysian millennials in planning their domestic holidays. This study integrated the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and technology acceptance model (TAM) variables by adding electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM), as it is a crucial factor influencing the travel industry nowadays. Data were collected from 301 Malaysians. The results show that e-WOM is the greatest antecedent influencing Malaysian millennials to use social media in planning their domestic holidays. Local tourism organizations such as Tourism Malaysia could gain an understanding of the issue through this study, and the promotion of local tourism through social media could be developed to reach millennials in Malaysia.

Siew Yean Tham · Soo Khoon Goh · Koi Nyen Wong · Ahmad Fadhli ·Emerging Markets Finance and Trade ·2018 ·JEL: F21

In light of a change in the foreign direct investment (FDI) landscape such as the rapid growth of outward FDI from Malaysia since 2007, this article ascertains the possible impact of inward and outward FDI on Malaysia’s bilateral export trade at the sectoral level, using a dynamic gravity approach. The findings reveal that both inward and outward FDI are complementary to bilateral export trade in the services, mining, and manufacturing sectors. Furthermore, the distance elasticity and the real effective exchange rate have a different negative impact on different sectors. Overall, the sectoral bilateral exports could not insulate against external events.

Mohammad Sharif Karimi ·International Economic Journal ·2018 ·JEL: C22; O11

In this study, we examine the nonlinear relationship between international tourism arrival and economic growth of Malaysia by using asymmetric models over the periods 2000:1–2015:4. The results show that the tourism arrival is positively related to Malaysia’s economic growth in the long run, but there is no short-run relationship and other traditional growth factors such as trade, exchange rate and Consumer Price Index are important for economic growth in the case of Malaysia. This implies that tourism can be one of the important factors for Malaysia’s economic growth in the long run and development and can be used to stimulate the overall economic growth and hence, policy-makers should pay greater attention towards promoting inbound tourism.

Habib Ahmed · Ahmed H. Elsayeda ·Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance ·2019

This study examines the decoupling hypothesis between Islamic and conventional capital markets by analysing the dynamic interdependencies among conventional stock, Islamic stock, bonds and sukuk markets in Malaysia over the period January 3, 2007 to March 31, 2017. Empirical findings on the total spillover index show that, on average, one third of the total forecast error variance attributed to spillovers has affects across four markets, indicating that conventional and Islamic markets are highly interconnected. The conventional stock and bond markets are considered to be the main net transmitters of spillovers towards other markets, whereas the sukuk market is a net receipt of modest levels of return shocks from conventional, Islamic and bond markets throughout the sample period. The interlinkages and connectedness between sukuk and conventional bonds are robust compared with other markets but show variations in the spillovers over the period. While one way to explain the differences in the spillovers between the conventional bond and sukuk indices can be attributed to external factors such as the financial crisis, changes in the legal regime and political uncertainties, another explanation may lie in the differences in the contractual structures of these instruments.

Hon Chung Hui ·South Asian Journal of Macroeconomics and Public Finance ·2021 ·JEL: F31, D72, D73, O38

This article explores the effects of political events on foreign exchange returns in Malaysia. We identify five political events in recent history, namely the 13th General Election (GE13), the imprisonment of a key opposition politician, the scandal from the 1MDB exposé, the appointment of a new Central Bank Governor and the 14th General Election (GE14). Using event studies, our findings show that the imprisonment of the opposition party leader triggered a favourable response from the foreign exchange market. However, market reactions to the 1MDB scandal were largely unfavourable. The GE13 triggered unfavourable market response, while the reverse is true for market reactions to GE14. Market response to the appointment of the new Central Bank Governor was rather positive. The Event Study is the first of its kind that examines the foreign exchange market implications of key political events in Malaysia. There are practical considerations that emanate from these findings.

Asrul Akmal Shafie · Haarathi Chandriah · Yee Vern Yong · Sharifa Ezat Wan Puteh ·Value in Health Regional Issues ·2019

Objective To describe the process and role of health technology assessment (HTA) in the context of drug policy in Malaysia. Methods We summarized the HTA process through review of documents and reports available in the public domain combined with the authors' experience. Results Health technology assessment plays an integral part in prioritizing treatment in public health facilities in Malaysia, particularly for the Ministry of Health Medicines Formulary (MOHMF). The MOHMF is the reference list of drugs allowed to be prescribed in the Ministry of Health (MOH) facilities. There are 2 organizations within the MOH that conduct HTA as their core activities, namely the Malaysian Health Technology Assessment Section and the Formulary Management Branch of Pharmacy Practice & Development Division. The assessment of pharmaceuticals for the purpose of listing medicines into the MOHMF is under the purview of the Formulary Management Branch. The evidence-based assessment focuses on safety, efficacy, effectiveness, and budget impact of the drug. Cost-effectiveness evidence is currently not mandatory but is of interest to the decision makers. The assessment outcomes are considered by the MOH Medicines List Review Panel for formulary decisions. Conclusions Health technology assessment has supported formulary decisions in MOH. Evidence generation needs to progress beyond efficacy or effectiveness, safety, and budget impact to incorporate cost-effectiveness. Nevertheless, there are challenges to be met to achieve this. The impact of the HTA process is currently unknown and is yet to be evaluated formally.

Paul Hughes · Vitor Leone · Ian R. Hodgkinson · Mathew Hughes · Darwina Arshad ·Asia Pacific Journal of Management ·2017

Planning and improvisation are depicted as alternate decision-making orientations in the strategy process literature, executed by two parallel cognitive contexts: rational or intuitive, but can rationality and intuition be harmonized in the strategy process? Strategic managers may not have to choose to either plan or improvise, rather there is a need to shift the focus of research from such trade-offs to paradoxical thinking. Drawing on survey data from Malaysian research-intensive firms, we investigate how strategy develops through managers’ strategic reasoning under key external (market turbulence) and internal (centralization, manager level) contingencies. In contrast to common assumptions in the management literature, we find that both rational and intuitive reasoning can drive planning and improvisation for firms in emerging economies, with additional positive moderation effects under centralization and manager level. Firms that achieve high levels of both planning and improvisation concurrently are characterized by significantly greater rationality relative to the high planning group and the high improvisation group. The findings extend strategy process research, highlighting how firms in emerging economies differ from theory derived from developed economies.

Suhaiza Ismail · Zuhudha Rasheed ·Meditari Accountancy Research ·2019

Purpose This paper aims to identify the influence of personal factors on the ethical judgement of future accountants in Malaysia. In particular, there are two research objectives for this study: first, to investigate the influence of ethical ideology on the ethical judgement of accounting students and second, to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on ethical judgement. Design/methodology/approach The respondents of the study were final year undergraduate accounting students from three public universities in Malaysia. A survey questionnaire comprising instruments about ethical ideology, EI and ethical judgement was distributed. A total of 205 responses were received and were deemed as useable. To achieve the research objectives, multiple regression was performed. Findings The findings indicate that idealism and EI have a positive influence on the ethical judgement. In contrast, the study discovered that relativism influences ethical judgement negatively. Originality/value This study fills the research gap as research on personal factors on the ethical judgement of future accountants is very limited and scarce. It gives insights to the various parties concerning how to enhance ethical judgement among future accountants, which ultimately will improve the credibility of the accounting profession.

Muhammad Hafiz Abd Rashid · Muhammad Iskandar Hamzah · Amirul Afif Muhamat · Aida Azlina Mansor · Rahayu hasanordin ·Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business ·2022 ·JEL: M10, M30, M31

Studies examining the interplay between brand transgression and brand forgiveness is notably sparse especially in the context of Southeast Asian banking customers. The purpose of this research is to add to the existing literature by examining the impact of brand transgression, which is represented by negative past experience image incongruence, and corporate wrongdoing on brand forgiveness among Islamic banking customers in Malaysia. The increasing surge in interest in unfavorable brand relationships has sparked concerns about its impact on brand forgiveness. As a result, this theoretical argument, which lacks empirical proof, has to be statistically tested. The current study was conducted utilizing a non-probability purposive sampling technique among clients in the Klang Valley who had poor experiences with Islamic banking services. Data analysis included descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, and multiple regression on a total of 211 valid replies. The findings show that two elements of brand transgression, image inconsistency, and corporate wrongdoing, have a major impact on brand forgiveness. However, the other dimension namely negative past experience was found to be non-significant to brand forgiveness. Research implications and directions for future studies are also discussed in this paper.

Emile Kok-Kheng Yeoh · Le Chang · Yemo Zhang ·The Chinese Economy ·2019

With trade volume registering more than US$10 billion in recent years, Malaysia has already been China’s largest Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) trading partner since 2008 and its third biggest Asian trading partner after Japan and South Korea. It is expected that China–Malaysia bilateral trade with an 8% annual growth rate will continue to expand, and this strong bilateral tie is set to be strengthened in the face of Chinese president Xi Jinping’s efforts to enhance regional connectivity and especially maritime linkage by proposing the “One Belt One Road” (OBOR) construction. Malaysia is well placed, probably even better than most of its ASEAN neighbors, to embrace the opportunities brought about by the surge of infrastructure development and trade deals that is going to come with the progress in constructing the ocean-based Maritime Silk Road (MSR), one of the two initiatives of OBOR, the other being the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt. With Malaysia’s traditional linkage with China’s southeastern provinces of Guangdong and Fujian, and as the holder of the Strait of Malacca, Malaysia is occupying a key strategic location that can serve well as China’s gateway to the ASEAN Economic Community. A statement made by the Malaysian transport minister has declared that a few ports in Malaysia has been identified to be part of the MSR. The close ties between both countries have resulted in cooperation in the transportation field such as railway projects and purchasing of trains from China. Indeed, Malaysia is in the process of developing inter–port city collaboration between China’s Qinzhou Port and Malaysia’s Kuantan Port. In recent years, China’s Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group has bought a 40% stake in Malaysia’s Kuantan Port Consortium from the construction group IJM Group for a total of US$102 million. It is in such context and with due consideration of such developments that this paper will explore the prospects and challenges facing China–Malaysia cooperation within the overall framework of China–ASEAN strategic relations.