Shahmir Abdullah | University Utara Malaysia (original) (raw)

Papers by Shahmir Abdullah

Journal of Business & Retail Management Research, 2019

Strategy is an important element in enhancing management competitiveness which directly influence... more Strategy is an important element in enhancing management competitiveness which directly influences firm performance. Therefore, contemporary business environments which are driven by technology require urgent and sustained attention by firms seeking to enhance their competitiveness. Simply put, technology is the tool through which a firm's strategy is achieved. Online banking is an example of a technology driven business environment. It is therefore important for the banks who offer this service to understand that the strategy they adopt influences the uptake of the service being offered. The level of adoption of online banking is an indication of the success of the strategy that has been adopted by banks. Consumer perception of the service has a strong influence on its actual usage. This study has used the perceived usefulness (PU) and behavioural intention to adopt (ADO) construct from the technology adoption model and the e-strategy construct to study online banking adoption in Malaysia. The moderation effect of e-strategy on the relationship between PU and ADO was examined. To achieve this, a random sampling of urban residents in the cities Ipoh, Georgetown, Alor Setar and Kangar in Malaysia was used. A total of 2560 questionnaires were distributed but only 360 usable questionnaires were received. The analysis was conducted by using SPSS 24 and Hayes SPSS process macro. From the analysis that was conducted it was found that e-strategy had a positively significant moderating effect on the perceived usefulness of adopting online banking by the consumer. The study found that e-strategy had a stronger effect on PU when applied effectively by banks. The study therefore confirms the hypothesis that the element of strategy influences online banking adoption rates in Malaysia.

Journal of Business & Retail Management Research, 2018

Employee performance is always considered as one of the important factors of employee management ... more Employee performance is always considered as one of the important factors of employee management that determines the success of an organization. The higher education sector of any country is considered as an important sector which needs to concentrate on achieving its goals successfully. Thus, this research aimed to investigate effect of leadership and training on employees' performance by taking role ambiguity as a moderating variable in the higher education sector of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The population of this study consisting of 39154 employees was divided into five groups based on the geographic regions (East, West, Middle, North, and South). This study used the systematic sampling. 600 questionnaires were distributed among the employees working in the higher education system of KSA. 366 questionnaires were returned and were usable for analysis. To test the proposed hypotheses, the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed. The results found leadership and training have significant positive impacts on employee performance. The study also showed that role ambiguity significantly moderates the relationship between leadership styles with employees' performance in the higher education sector of KSA. Unpredictably, this study found that role ambiguity does not significantly moderate the relationship between training and employees' performance. Role ambiguity negatively influences the relationship of leadership with employees' performance. Therefore, policy-makers and leaders of higher education institutions of KSA should focus on reducing role ambiguity.

J. for Global Business Advancement

Online banking has predominantly been studied in relation to adoption and its relationships with ... more Online banking has predominantly been studied in relation to adoption and its relationships with trust or in combination with other technology adoption theories such as the technology adoption model (TAM).This study however looked at the influence of E-strategy on the adoption of online banking by consumers.Most studies on strategy have tended to look at this from the perspective of the organization itself but this study has done the exact opposite i.e. it has studied strategy from the consumer’s point of view. E-strategy here is posited as the electronic strategy that is adopted by firms to increase the uptake of services offered by banks through the use of the internet from the consumer’s home.To this end, a systematic random sampling of residents in and around various cities in Malaysia was used as the study’s sample. A Pearson correlation followed by a multiple regression, and later a bootstrap of the regression output was used to test the hypotheses that were generated.The dime...

From 2000-2005, Proton’s market share began to erode due to the introduction of AFTA and the inab... more From 2000-2005, Proton’s market share began to erode due to the introduction of AFTA and the inability of the organization to meet the expectations of ever increasing and demanding customers. The open market situation left Proton trailing other global automakers such as Toyota and Honda.Toyota, through its subsidiary company, Daihatsu-Perodua began to command market share from 2005-2008. Toyota which is very much associated with product reliability has been able to translate its forte into Perodua’s product and thus was capable of winning the hearts of customers. Proton on the other hand, is still immersed in a status quo and tends to ignore the change within its business environment. An appropriate Business Turnaround Plan is needed to enable Proton to remain competitive and relevant in the open market and to resolve the issues that has been demanded by their customers all this while. Proton’s second phase mission should focus on these issues and must be clearly defined. A comprehe...

Presently, most of the countries in the world are concerned about environmental degradation.One o... more Presently, most of the countries in the world are concerned about environmental degradation.One of the avenues to protect the environment is the active promotion of ecotourism which shows a growing niche market within the big travel industries and possesses the potential of being an important sustainable developmental tool.Of all the acitivities conducted by the management of ecotourism, process of development and management are found lacking, and this has a great impact on the intention of creating and developing ecotourism in a country.The absence of proper process of management in ecotourism calls for the implementation process in ecotourism which is crucial in developing ecotourism, particularly in Belum Rainforest Resort in Malaysia.Moreover,the research made use of qualitative research approach involving the use of secondary data that relate to the process of assessing management effectively.The result showed that process determines whether or not the best systems and processe...

The paper was designed to examine the role of an entrepreneur’s social network and human capital ... more The paper was designed to examine the role of an entrepreneur’s social network and human capital on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) performance in Nigeria. This study tries to find out if human capital moderates the relationship between social network and the SMEs performance in the country. Self-administered questionnaires were used to source data from a sample of 283 SMEs firms spread across Kano state in North-western Nigeria. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was utilized to test the hypotheses. The results obtained indicated that an entrepreneurial social network and human capital have significant positive effects on SMEs performance. Correspondingly, human capital moderates the relationship between the entrepreneur’s orientation and the performance of SMEs. The result implied that social network and human capital are essential drivers for firm performance. Finally, some of the study limitations include that the sample used in this study only inv...

Trust is often studied as a variable that contributes towards the adoption and subsequent use of ... more Trust is often studied as a variable that contributes towards the adoption and subsequent use of online banking (OB).This study however studied the influence that trust (TRT) exerts on perceived usefulness (PU) when intending to adopt online banking.A systematic random sampling of residents in and around various cities in Malaysia was used as the studies sample.A Pearson correlation followed by a multiple regression, and later a bootstrap of the regression output was used to test the hypotheses generated.The dimensions of trust (security, privacy, reliability) were studied first before the trust variable was tested.The regression analysis indicated a significantly positive relationship between the individual dimensions of trust and further to this the trust variable itself with PU in the context of consumer online banking adoption. The study provided a useful insight on the dimensional attributes of trust that impacts PU.The study also implied that trust has a strong impact on PU an...

The challenge before Bangladesh today is how to make her existing SMEs compete with their equal-l... more The challenge before Bangladesh today is how to make her existing SMEs compete with their equal-level rivals from abroad by modernizing themselves with up-to-date technologies and production processes. Along with that comes the question of how to develop the culture and practice of setting up new industries able to thrive in global competition right from the beginning Globalization, as one knows, has not only challenges but also enormous opportunities for those who have the capability of utilizing them. For them to the most important issue will be choice of correct technology. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of information system in SMEs performance in Bangladesh. To accomplish this objective sample has been selected from industrial area in Dhaka Bangladesh and questionnaire was distributed to the respondents. There is positive relationship has found among ease of use, skills and knowledge and information quality with SMEs performance in Bangladesh.

Academy of Strategic Management Journal, 2019

The world has entered a new paradigm in air travel which has enabled anyone to travel to any corn... more The world has entered a new paradigm in air travel which has enabled anyone to travel to any corner of the globe in a matter of hours. The objective of this paper is to examine the technical efficiency level of US (United States) airlines and how internal factors affect the technical efficiency of these airlines. The paper utilized the Cobb Douglas production function to estimate the efficiency level of the US airline industry. The findings reveal that the average technical efficiency of US airlines over the period from 2005 to 2016 was 54.3% with the technical efficiency score steadily decreasing from 56.9% in 2005 to 46.4% in 2016. Labour costs have a significant impact on airline performance due to the relationship between reductions in labour cost and the increase in productivity levels which inherently affectthe overall technical efficiency of US airlines.

Academy of Entrepreneurship Journal, 2019

The growth of management research on expatriates over the years has enabled a strong understandin... more The growth of management research on expatriates over the years has enabled a strong understanding of the field. However, the issue of expatriate job performance remains crucial and certainly requires further investigation. There has been extensive research conducted in developed countries but the same has not been done in the developing nations including Malaysia. However, in developed countries like Malaysia, the issue of expatriate job performance, especially in MNCs still gets less attention from researchers. Generally, expatriate job performance depends primarily on their adaptability and adjustment to host countries during the international assignment. In other words, once expatriates can adjust themselves to new cultures, norms and values of the host country, their job performance per se could also be affected. However, there is a lack of evidence to support this claim. Consequently, the current study examined the relationship between expatriate adjustment and expatriate job ...

The majority of e-business solutions have focused on individual business improvement programs and... more The majority of e-business solutions have focused on individual business improvement programs and strategies (Turban & King, 2012; Cunningham, 2002).Hamel (2002) cites an example where this new approach has both worked and at the same time created disruption within an industry whilst referring to Charles Schwab and Fidelity (both are American financial institutions) have changed the manner which customers deal with their savings resulting in mainstay US banks losing almost half of their market share to new online business models such as them.Robert and Racine (2001) conclude that there is a gap between convention and practice in this new area of commerce.They contend that in order for firms to transform from a conventional business model to an e-business model which is highly dependent on the Internet, firm‘s need to understand how IT systems are developed and deployed. Unfortunately, to most CEO‘s this is foreign terrain and the primary area of resource allocation is delegated to a...

Higher education is critical for the social and economic development of any country. In developed... more Higher education is critical for the social and economic development of any country. In developed countries, the performance of higher education institutions is at its peak. However, higher education in Pakistan is facing some crucial challenges.These challenges include political, social, economic and moral challenges. The Pakistani higher education sector is facing problems with low enrolment rates, disparities in gender and regions, lack of teaching material, lack of faculty members and poor infrastructure. Furthermore, Pakistani institutions are suffering from a crucial lack of resources.To address this issue and to gain a better understanding of what may improve the situation in Pakistan this conceptual paper is presented.

The challenge for Bangladesh today is how to make her existing SMEs better able to compete with t... more The challenge for Bangladesh today is how to make her existing SMEs better able to compete with their SME rivals from abroad.One way to overcome this challenge is by modernizing their operations with the inception of contemporary technologies into their production processes. Along with this comes the challenge of aligning and enhancing the prevalent culture and practices in line with the needs of these new industries so as to ensure not only survivability but also effectively compete globally. Globalization, as one knows, does not only have challenges but also enormous opportunities for those who have the capability of utilizing this phenomenon.The major issue that is implied for this to take place is the ability to adopt not only any technology but having the ability to choose the most appropriate technology. The primary purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of information systems on the performance of SMEs in Bangladesh which more often than not is related to technolo...

Journal of Business & Retail Management Research, Apr 20, 2018

The main objective of this study is to examine strategic alignment and implementation perspective... more The main objective of this study is to examine strategic alignment and implementation perspective of manufacturing based of SMEs in Nigeria. The study established the strategic match between firm's growth strategy, competitive strategy, and performance. Specifically, this paper aims to investigate the effects of market penetration strategy, market development strategy and cost leadership strategy on performance. Hence, this study employed cross-sectional survey design; SPSS and PLS-SEM were used for preliminaries and hypothesis testing. 277 usable questionnaires were collected from owners-managers of manufacturing based of SMEs. The findings of this study indicate that market penetration strategy and market development strategy significantly influence the firm performance of manufacturing based SMEs in Nigeria. Also, the result shows that market penetration and market development strategy have a significant impact on cost leadership strategy, which enhances firm's competitiveness and competitive advantage. However, the result of mediating role of cost leadership strategy was established. The findings suggest that cost leadership strategy exert the relationship of market penetration & market development strategy and performance alignment. Therefore, owners-managers of manufacturing based of SMEs possibly make decisions considering their strategic orientation perspective collectively to integrate growth strategies and competitive strategy to sustain competitive advantage, improve competency and achieve superior performance.

International Journal of Supply Chain Management, 2019

The primary objective of this study is to examine the factors that influence the implementation o... more The primary objective of this study is to examine the factors that influence the implementation of Industry 4.0 among Malaysian and Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises. The Questionnaires were distributed to SMEs operators in both countries while analysis was done with 74 and 95 responses from Malaysia and Nigeria respectively using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM 3). Based on the findings from Malaysian data, information access, cost reduction, and efforts coordination significantly and positively influence the implementation of IR 4.0 while reluctance behaviour is not significant. For Nigerian data, information access, reluctance behaviour and effort coordination significantly and positively influence implementation of Industry 4.0 while effort coordination is not significant. The implications for both academia, practitioners, and policy makers are highlighted.

Journal of Business & Retail Management Research, Apr 1, 2019

Whilst the TAM provides an important judgement of user acceptance it primarily is trained on the ... more Whilst the TAM provides an important judgement of user acceptance it primarily is trained on the causes of intention and does not afford any insight on how these perceptions are formed or how to mould users to uptake the technology targeted at them (Callaway, 2015; Mathieson, 1991). This particular variable has been included in this research based on the recommendations by Shih (2004); Suh and Han (2002) where they opined that trust needs to be included in research on Internet banking in Malaysia. Winarto (2011: 16) confirms that there are many external variables that can be used along with the TAM that can be a pointer to methods that must be followed in the use and adoption of new skills. Winarto (2011: 16) identifies more than 70 external variables that have been popularised to explain the procedure people go through in acquiring new skills. Yousafzai, et al. (2007: 252) classifies the variables into four categories, namely: organizational characteristics, system characteristics, user`s personal characteristics, and other variables. Findings show that TAM predicts a substantial portion of the use or acceptance of health IT, but that the theory may benefit from several additions and modifications (Holden and Karsh, 2010).