Vol 21 (S1), 2018
Regular Articles
The Mediation Effect of Customer Satisfaction on the Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Loyalty in Telecommunication Industry The Influences of Brand Equity On Consumers’ Perception: A Case Study On Beko Measuring Service Quality of Fast Food Restaurant: What Matters Most To Malaysian Gen-Y Consumers? An Exploration Of Tourists Out-Shopping Experience In Johor Bahru, Malaysia Perceived Website Interactivity, Perceived Usefulness And Online Hotel Booking Intention: A Structural Model The Influence Of Service Quality On Customer Satisfaction And Customer Loyalty In TMpoint In Malaysia Individual Market Orientation and Its Implications On Job Performance: Does Sense of Togetherness Matters? Homestay Resources, Marketing Capability and Homestay Performance: A Study among Homestay Operators in Sabah and Sarawak Examining E-Voting Intention in an Emerging Nation: Towards a Unified View Job embeddedness and retention: a study among teachers in private Islamic schools in Malaysia Exploring the Understanding, Role and Participation of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) on Digital Economy in Malaysia
Mohd Khirzan Badzli A Rahman, Abdul Kadir Othman, Che Hanisah Che Hamzah, Siti Asiah Md Shahid, Rozita Naina Mohamed, Universiti Teknologi MARA
Page 1-14 | 
Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
Customer loyalty is crucial for companies to remain competitive in business. This statement is also applicable to telecommunication companies. One of the main determinants of customer loyalty is service quality. However, studies have found that a direct relationship between service quality and customer loyalty is not always justified. Therefore, in this study, the mediating role of customer satisfaction is included to overcome the limitation of existing studies in establishing the relationship between service quality and customer loyalty. Based on 225 responses obtained from customers of four major telecommunication companies in Malaysia, the results of the study indicate that customer satisfaction mediates the relationship between some dimensions of service quality; reliability, responsiveness and empathy, and customer loyalty. These findings signify that customers need to be satisfied before they become loyal to the company especially when it involves reliability, responsiveness and empathy. The implications of the study are further discussed in the paper.
Keywords: Customer satisfaction, Service quality, Customer loyalty, Telecommunication industry
Lau Shu Chui, Tunku Abdul Rahman University College
Roslan Mohd Rose, UNITAR International University
Page 15-23 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
The aim of this research is to increase understanding of brand equity dimensions on existing customer of Malaysia Beko. It seeks to investigate the influence of these variables on consumers’ perception using data collection from Beko Company customers in Malaysia. The findings of the various dimensions of brand equity and their impact on consumer perceptions are presented. This is a quantitative research that conducts exploratory factor analysis and multiple linear regressions to test the relationship between the dimensions of brand equity perceived by consumers with SPSS software (version 23). Hence, this paper seeks to determine the relationships between each dimension of brand equity and customers’ perception. Findings revealed that all the variables used to measure brand equity have significant effects on consumers’ perception. Managerial implications are addressed in the conclusion and recommendations section.
Keywords: Brand equity, Brand awareness, Brand association, Perceived quality, Brand image, Beko, Consumers’ perception
Siti Zaleha Sahak, Amnah Mohamad, Maizura Abdul Samad , Aina Mardhiah Ahmad Faizul, Universiti Teknologi MARA
Page 24-33 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
Gen-Y consumers are well known for their sophistication, technology wise and less loyal to brand. The purpose of this study was to examine the way Gen-Y consumers evaluate the service of fast food restaurant by measuring and comparing their level of perceived and expected quality towards the restaurant’s outlet. Based on SERVQUAL measurement, five dimensions of service were examined in this study. They were tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. Data were obtained using questionnaire, and this was personally administered to dine-in customers of one of the major fast food restaurant’s outlets located in Shah Alam City, Malaysia. Convenience and purposive sampling techniques were utilized in this study. A total of 216 responses were obtained and the usable responses were 203. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and paired samples statistics. The results demonstrated that in all five SERVQUAL dimensions namely, tangibility, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy, there was a negative quality gap. Based on the descriptive statistic, it can be said that there may be a difference between perceived quality and experience at the outlet. Reliability aspect emerged as the most critical dimension of SERVQUAL as it recorded the highest negative gap. Tangibility aspect recorded the lowest negative gap. The findings suggested that the management and staff capable of handling customer’s problem and providing its service within the promised time are highly critical in fulfilling and exceeding the customers’ expectations, hence may improve the Gen-Y customers’ level of satisfaction towards the outlet.
Keywords: Customer satisfaction, Dine-in customers, Fast food restaurant, Generation Y, SERVQUAL
Azila Azmi, Noor Amy Halida Zolkopli, Saiful Bahri Mohd Kamal, Dahlan Abdullah, Universiti Teknologi MARA
Page 34-44 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
The number of development projects made to promote Malaysia as a shopping tourism destination has increased abruptly, so as the research made on shopping tourism. However, studies which focused on the out-shopping experiences are still at its scarcity especially in Asian countries. Therefore, to fulfil this gap, the main purpose of this study is to examine the out-shoppers shopping experiences in several shopping malls in Johor Bahru and to identify the factors influence the tourists to choose this city. Johor Bahru, the southern state in Malaysia, is one of the cities recognised by Tourism Malaysia as one of the top shopping destinations within Malaysia in 2016. Qualitative research strategy was employed as an attempt to understand the out-shopping experiences of international tourists visiting Johor Bahru. Thirty respondents were interviewed using mall-intercept survey with in-depth semi-structured interview questions. The transcribed interview data were analysed using qualitative data analysis software, ATLAS.ti for coding, themes, and visualisation. The findings disclosed that the out-shoppers perceived shopping malls in Johor Bahru to be identical like other shopping malls and considered as convenient malls. In addition, they are motivated to shop in shopping malls in Johor Bahru due to its product and service availability, price affordability, and the mall ambience. Apart from that, to confirm the validity and reliability of this study, a prolonged engagement in the research site, as well as the disconfirming evidence procedure was conducted by the researcher. This study can be beneficial for the shopping tourism sector and mall retailers as it provides a dense factor on the experience and perception, along with the factors influencing out-shopper to shop in a mall.
Keywords: Shopping experience, Shopping tourism, Shopping landscape, Retailing, Out-shopper’s mall experience
Dahlan Abdullah, Universiti Teknologi MARA
Saiful Bahri Mohd Kamal, Azila Azmi, Johanudin Lahap, Khairil Anuar Bahar I, Norrina Din
Page 45-57 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
Rapid advancement in ICT has led to a more challenging competition among hoteliers. Since information can now be obtained anywhere at any time by anyone with just a finger tap, hoteliers need to ensure their hotel booking websites are more interactive than ever before. The present study aims to investigate the influence of perceived website interactivity on perceived usefulness and consequently the effect of perceived usefulness towards online hotel booking intention. The data were collected through an online survey from 98 hotel customers in Malaysia and analyzed using Partial Least Squares – Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) techniques. The results show that perceived website interactivity has a significant positive influence on perceived usefulness. Consequently, perceived usefulness also has a positive influence on online booking intention. Mediation tests also confirm that perceived usefulness mediates the relationship between perceived website interactivity and online hotel booking intention. Therefore, hoteliers need to ensure interactive website features are appropriately used to meet customer needs and preferences to encourage direct booking through the hotel official website. However, the present study does not examine the role of any moderating variable as part of the model. Hence, future researchers are recommended to examine the moderating role of habit and technology readiness in understanding e-commerce adoption.
Keywords: Online hotel booking, Perceived interactivity, Perceived usefulness, Technology Acceptance Model, SmartPLS
Noor Azlina Mohamed Yunus, Maimunah Mohd Shah, Norol Hamiza Zamzuri Rozilah Abdul Aziz, Idaya Husna Mohd, Universiti Teknologi MARA
Page 58-70 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
In the era of intense competition, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty are the most important outcomes of marketing. Both elements serve various stages of consumer buying behavior. Excellent service quality has become a major corporate goal as more companies gradually struggle for quality products and services. Therefore, this study aims to determine the influence of service quality on customer satisfaction and customer loyalty in TMpoint. The data were gathered through the distribution of questionnaires. SPSS was used to conduct correlation and multiple regression analyses on 279 cases. The respondents were the customers who visited and used the products or services of this company. The results revealed that there was a significant relationship (p = < 0.01 ) between service quality and customer satisfaction. However, there was no significant influence between responsiveness and customer satisfaction. Further result indicated a significant relationship between service quality and customer loyalty. The most influencial factor on customer loyalty was assurance and followed by reliability and tangibles. This TMpoint is recommended to strategize approaches to satisfy customers’ needs, and to adopt action-oriented approach.
Keywords: Customer satisfaction, Customer loyalty, Service quality, TMpoint
Muhammad Iskandar Hamzah, Abdul Kadir Othman, Faridah Hassan, Rosidah Musa, Mohd Zulkifli Abdullah, Universiti Teknologi MARA
Page 71-85 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
In today’s world, businesses are gradually realizing the importance of employees’ needs and treating them as a ‘family’ in ensuring a happy and productive workforce. Undoubtfully, a happy employee will eventually create a happy customer. Furthermore, there is this ongoing interest over individualized form of market orientation. Individual market orientation or I-MARKOR, is essentially revolved around how effective that salespeople is in acquiring, disseminating and utilizing the customer knowledge into productive actions that positively benefit the marketing firm. Nevertheless, the interaction effects of employees’ unity and togetherness on the link between I-MARKOR and job performance is relatively unknown due to insufficient works on I-MARKOR within the academia. A firm that enacts Group Culture is primarily inclined towards internal affairs and flexibility, by advocating the sense of mutuality, respect and trust among the employees. Hence, Group Culture is regarded as one of the best approach in nurturing a competent workforce. This study seeks to ascertain whether these market oriented outcomes can be possibly amplified with the inculcation of Group Culture within the firms. The scope of this study is focused on business-to-business (B2B) salespeople of financial institutions, often referred to as Relationship Managers (RMs). A field study participated by 539 RMs from 18 banks across the Klang Valley was conducted. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was performed using SmartPLS 3.0 to assess whether the theoretical model can fit well with the actual data. In general, the results demonstrate evidence for construct validity and reliability among all the variables. The results indicate that Group Culture significantly moderates the effects of Information Acquisition on Job Performance. The theoretical and practical implications are also discussed in this study, particularly on the right strategies and insights that could be deployed by marketers based on the model.
Keywords: Individual market orientation, Organizational culture, B2B; Marketing, Salespeople performance
Cynthia Robert Dawayan, Stephen Laison Sondoh Jr, Sorayah Nasip, Bonaventure Boniface, Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Geoffrey Harvey Tanakinjal, UMS Labuan International Campus
Page 86- 109 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
Homestay industry in Malaysia started in the 1980’s and has encouraged the development of innovative local products. Nonetheless, registered homestay operators are dwindling due to insufficient income which may be tied to homestay performance depending on the marketing capabilities and homestay resources (collaboration, product knowledge and supporting resources). Resource Based View (RBV) approach was used to accomplish three objectives, first, to investigate the direct influence of supporting resources, product knowledge and collaboration towards marketing capability. Second, to determine how marketing capability may influence performance in the homestay industry. Third, to test the mediating effect of marketing capability between supporting resources, product knowledge and collaboration towards performance. Data for this study were collected from current homestay operators in Sabah, Malaysia registered under the Ministry of Tourism Malaysia (MOTAC). A total of 220 self-administered questionnaires were distributed and 180 questionnaires were returned with only 144 were usable. Data was analysed using PLS-SEM technique. Based on the results, marketing capabilities has a significant influence towards homestay performance. Collaboration and supporting resources were found to have a significant influence towards marketing capability while product knowledge was not significant. Mediation analysis illustrates that marketing capability significantly mediates the relationship between collaboration and performance and the relationship between supporting resources and performance but not significant for product knowledge and performance. These findings indicated the homestay operators should focused on their marketing capabilities to boost performance. However, the insignificance of product knowledge highlighted in this study needs more attention in future research.
Keywords: Homestay, Performance, Marketing capabilities, Collaboration, Product knowledge, Supporting resources
Norazah Mohd Suki, Norbayah Mohd Suki, Universiti Utara Malaysia
Page 110-124 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
The goal of this research is to examine consumers’ intention to use an e-voting system in an emerging nation by using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model as the guiding principles. Data collected among 300 citizens in an emerging nation were analysed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach. The present research clearly pointed out that positive performance expectancy, effort expectancy, trust in the Internet, and low computer anxiety will increase consumers’ intention to use an evoting system. Nonetheless, the latter was not impacted by aspects of social influence. Among these constructs, a lower level of computer anxiety was found as the most vital predictor towards consumers’ intention to use an e-voting system in an emerging nation. The reason for this positive connection is that they have a minimal level of wariness that their vote could be lost when hitting the wrong key while casting votes. Further, there is zero expectance of unforeseen mistakes during counting of votes in the paperless voting with no daunting experience. Direction for future research is also elucidated.
Keywords: E-Voting, Performance expectancy, Effort expectancy, Social influence, Trust, Computer anxiety
Nurita Juhdi, Junaidah Hashim, Rozailin Abdul Rahman, International Islamic University Malaysia
Page 125-138 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
Malaysia is in the midst of embracing the Industrial Revolution 4.0 and is working hard to strengthen the educational sector so that the future human capital possesses high ethical values and morality. Term like internet of things become the buzzword of the day but still, Islamic education providers particularly private Islamic schools in Malaysia are still struggling to survive and coupled with high turnover rates among the teachers, they have difficulty in producing high quality Islamic education. They are in dire needs of teachers who are willing to stay and sacrifice for students. Despite the high turnover rate, there are teachers who are still willing to stay and hence, the study was conducted to investigate the reasons for the teachers to stay. Job embeddedness theory was used in this study because it was able to uncover the reasons why employees stay in organizations and thus, the study examined the relationship between job embeddedness and employee retention among teachers in private Islamic schools in Malaysia. Three hundred and ninety school teachers in private Islamic schools participated in the study and the data was collected using survey forms. The findings revealed that fit to organization, fit to Islamic school practices, fit to community, links to school and organization-related sacrifices were significantly related to employee retention. The findings contribute significantly to the school administrators. Islamic education aims to nurture the young people as the future leaders. High turnover rates could negatively affect the goal of Islamic education and thus, the administrators and the policy makers have to give attention to the pressing issue especially in the era of technological sophistication.
Keywords: Private islamic school, Malaysia, Job embeddedness, Link to school, Community-related sacrifice, Organization-related sacrifice, Fit to community, Fit to organization, Fit to islamic school practices
Maya Puspa Rahman, Nurfatihah Senusi, International Islamic University Malaysia
Page 139- 152 | Download PDF | ABSTRACT PREVIEWAbstract
This study explores the understanding, role and participation of the SMEs on digital economy, in line with the aspiration by the Malaysian government to have higher growth contribution coming from this segment. The primary data is collected from a semi-structured interview with six SMEs around Klang Valley from various industries and the analysis is conducted using coding and thematic analysis. Most of the SMEs interviewed are aware on the importance of online presence but lack the understanding on its contribution towards digital economy. While a high number of them are ready to embrace technology driven tools for sales, several others are still quite skeptical and facing difficulties in related cost management. This paper aims to offer specific insights from the SMEs on digital economy and the Malaysia’s move towards adopting the relevance of the fourth industrial revolution. It also identifies some of the issues to be tackled by the government in order to have more SMEs participation in the Malaysian digital economy.
Keywords: Digital economy, SMEs, Thematic analysis, Malaysia
