Vol. 15 No. 3(SI) (2023)

The impact of financial risk on inbound tourism is explored in this study by examining the effect of shocks in foreign debt level and debt service stability on the tourist arrival rate in Malaysia, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Quarterly data from 2010 to 2020 were obtained from multiple sources, which include the Malaysia Tourism corporate website, the official portal of the Ministry of Economy Malaysia, the Department of Statistics Malaysia, and the Federal Reserve (FRED) Economic statistical website. A VAR model was estimated, together with the Granger causality test, to identify the relationship between financial risk, control variables, and the tourist arrival rate in Malaysia. We specifically consider the effects of financial risk on estimated impulse responses and variance decompositions for the studied variables. Empirical results indicate that there is a unidirectional causality running from foreign debt level stability, debt service stability, and industrial production to tourist arrivals. In addition, there is also bidirectional causality from the effective exchange rate to tourist arrivals and from tourist arrivals to the effective exchange rate. This study is the first of its kind to explore the effect of financial risks in the context of foreign debt levels and debt service stability in Malaysia. The study emphasizes the importance of monitoring the country’s debt financing threshold to maintain financial stability, which if violated would be detrimental to tourism.

Income inequality is an enduring issue and an important one to address, especially in the new era of digital transformation, as it is a crucial element in promoting persistent income inequality. The theory is that while financial development promotes economic growth, the mixed explanations of previous studies show that this does not always help low-income people in emerging economies. Moreover, the effects of globalization may reinforce motives and increase opportunities for international corrupt practices. It is, therefore, crucial to explore how corruption can be motivated by ineffective rules governing cross-border crimes and how technology can open up new avenues for corrupt behavior, for example by making it easier to find victims, accomplices and money. Profound socio-economic changes can also provide incentives and opportunities for corruption. This study examines how corruption and financial development affect the wealth gap in a developing country like Malaysia over the period 1995 to 2021. The empirical results show that financial development has a positive impact on income inequality. Moreover, the result also shows that corruption control is an insignificant determinant of per capita income in Malaysia. Even though the growth of the financial sector has led to a variety of outcomes, it has only helped to reduce income inequality. Income inequality is negatively and significantly affected by the interaction between financial development and anticorruption. It is therefore important to promote financial development, prevent corruption and increase government transparency as these factors can promote sustainable economic development and resilience.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide, particularly those in emerging economies, disrupting their operations and affecting their sustainability. However, most SMEs were not able to utilize effective leadership to enhance their resilience and navigate the crisis successfully. This study aims to examine the relevance of the Full-Range Leadership Model in understanding the relationship between leadership styles and business sustainability, in the context of operations and supply chain management. The study used a cross-sectional survey approach with a purposive sampling technique to collect data from 214 SMEs in Malaysia. The findings of this study suggest that transformational and transactional leadership styles are significant and positive factors that contribute to business sustainability. On the other hand, laissez-faire leadership is a significant and negative factor that hinders the development of business sustainability and resilience. Therefore, SMEs should incorporate and leverage different leadership styles to strengthen their resilience in the post-pandemic work economy. This study has important implications for SMEs to improve their sustainability and resilience in the face of future crises. By adopting effective leadership styles, SMEs can improve their resilience, build their capacity to adapt to changes and enhance their long-term sustainability.

The digital proliferation and business innovation where ICT plays an important role in enhancing event experiences, has transformed the event industry to fundamentally deal with understanding the attendees' experience at events. The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that contribute to event technology usage among event attendees and how it influences them. A total of 202 sets of data were collected from the event management students in UiTM Puncak Alam through a convenience sampling approach from several online platforms. The results were analyzed using SPSS by conducting reliability analysis, correlation analysis, and regression analysis. The result of this study found that there was a significant relationship between memorable experiences, perceived value, and enjoyment of technology usage. The limitations, recommendations, and implications of the study were suggested for future research.

This paper examines the CEO experience's impact on commercial bank performance in Malaysia from 2016 to 2021. Using the fixed effect model, we find that more experienced CEOs have more incredible abilities to overcome the complexity of the banking environment, hence, improving commercial banks' performance. Specifically, the CEO, with experience working within and outside the bank (Total Working Experience), strengthens the financial performance of commercial banks. Furthermore, the CEO with working experience outside the banks has more pronounced effects in improving the banks' performance than those with experience within the banks, in which an increase of one unit of working experience enhances the bank’s performance by 102% for the former and 100% for the latter. The resource dependency theory supports the findings. Based on the findings, the results suggest the importance of the CEO experience as a determinant of commercial bank performance in Malaysia. This paper provides insight into the policymakers responsible for appointing the CEOs of the banks.

Malaysia was reported to have the highest car ownership ratio in the ASEAN region, with 3.3 people per vehicle. As a result of this rapidly growing automotive sector, Malaysia experienced a rise in the demand for premium lubricants. Recognizing the fact that most automobile users would rather pay a mechanic or workshop to perform an oil change rather than do it themselves, hence, this study seeks to understand the antecedents that influence automotive lubricant consumer satisfaction. A content analysis approach is used in this study to discover potential antecedents of consumers' quality-of-service experiences. The SERVQUAL model is then employed as the theoretical foundation for investigating and synthesizing the antecedents. Five antecedents are addressed during the examination and discussion: tangibility, dependability, responsiveness, assurance, and empathy. In addition, five quality-of-service experience propositions are offered, and the framework developed in this conceptual study highlights the quality-ofservice experience instigators. This study's conceptual nature provides preliminary insights into the qualityof-service experience in the automotive lubricant market. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by illuminating the antecedents that promote service quality, resulting in satisfied customers who will in turn stimulate the Malaysian automotive lubricant market, which can lead to a significant increase in the industry's contribution to Malaysia's gross domestic product (GDP) rate. The developed theoretical framework serves as a foundation for future empirical studies of quality-of-service experience.

Sustainable waste management has become a critical global concern, and Malaysia is no exception. With the country's increasing urbanization and economic growth, waste generation has risen significantly, posing environmental and social challenges. This paper explores the concept of sustainable waste management in Malaysia and proposes leveraging supply chain solutions as a pathway towards a greener future. The study examines the current waste management practices, their limitations, and the potential environmental impacts. It highlights the need for integrated and innovative approaches encompassing the entire waste management supply chain, from collection to disposal. By adopting sustainable supply chain practices, such as waste segregation, recycling, and waste-to-energy conversion, Malaysia can achieve more efficient resource utilization, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and minimize landfill usage. Furthermore, the paper addresses the role of government policies, private sector engagement, and public awareness in fostering a successful transition towards sustainable waste management. The findings and recommendations presented in this study contribute to the ongoing efforts to develop a comprehensive and eco-friendly waste management system in Malaysia and serve as a model for other developing nations facing similar challenges.

Agricultural production has become aggressive energy concentrated in a determination to supply more food to the increasing population and provide sufficient and adequate essentials. The limited natural resources and the effect of the use of different energy sources on the environment and human health such as global warming, it is necessary to investigate energy consumption patterns in agriculture. In this study data envelopment analysis method approach has been used to determine the efficiencies of kenaf farmers concerning energy use in kenaf cultivation production activities in Kelantan, Malaysia. The study’s empirical result will help to segregate the 15 most efficient farmers and inefficient ones. Other than that, the data envelopment analysis method also will help to identify wasteful uses of energy from different sources by inefficient farmers and to suggest reasonable savings in energy uses from different sources of inputs. The rank method and distribution of virtual inputs are used to get insights into the individual Kenaf farmer performance, rank efficient farmers and identify the improved operating practices followed by a group of truly efficient Kenaf farmers. The result of the analysis indicates the average value of technical efficiency (TE), Pure technical efficiency (PTE) and Scale efficiency (SE) scores of kenaf cultivation production were 0.854, 0.962 and 0.887 respectively. These results imply that all inefficient farmers operate at optimum scale size and management and 11.3% energy saving is possible without affecting the Kenaf yield level. The result also reveals the higher potential contribution to the total energy saving is from fertilizer (86.5%), Diesel (13%), Pesticides (0.3%) and human labor (0.2%).

The present research aims to highlight trends in the previous research conducted on the Musyarakah Mutanaqisah arrangement. This research conducted a systematic literature review on the Musyarakah Mutanaqisah arrangement on the Scopus database from 2018 until July 2023. This research includes 21 journal articles from the 29 documents retrieved from the Scopus database. It was found that interviews and questionnaire surveys were the most frequently used methods in researching Musyarakah Mutanaqisah. Diverse variables have been studied in previous research. Most previous research on the Musyarakah Mutanaqisah arrangement was carried out in Malaysia since Malaysia is the leader in Islamic finance. Not all previous research was supported by theories or models. Most of the previous research on Musyarakah Mutanaqisah has focused on home financing facility. The findings from the present research can provide the foundation for future research on the Musyarakah Mutanaqisah arrangement.

This study has examined the impact of remittances on human capital based on 23 Sub-Saharan countries (SSA) from 1981 to 2010. Our primary contribution lies in demonstrating that remittances have a positive impact on the enhancement of human capital in these SSA countries. The results indicate that a 1 percent increase in remittances leads to a 0.26 percent rise in the average years of schooling. To ensure the credibility of our findings, we employ a Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) approach to control for the endogeneity of remittances and human capital in our empirical analysis.