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Volume 3 Number 2

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The Effects of SRM Capability on Supply Management Performance

Supplier relationship management (SRM) connects the firm’s supply organization to the external supplier network. Firms aim to increase firm competitiveness by exploiting the synergy of mutual business activities with the suppliers. To increase the effectiveness of SRM the drivers of performance need to be examined and regular monitoring of the success of SRM is required. This study examines the effects of SRM capability on monitoring and measuring supply management performance. The supply management performance is divided into monitoring of non-financial measurements measuring supply management’s internal service ability and into financial measurements measuring supply management’s monetary impact on firm’s overall results. The effects were tested using survey data collected from 100 Finnish firms. The results indicated that the SRM capability has a positive effect on monitoring of supply management performance. Moreover, it was found that the effect of capability is more powerful on non-financial measurements than on financial measurements.

Adoption of Biometric Technology in Online Applications

This paper aims to determine the factors that influence the users’ intention to use biometric technology in online applications. A questionnaire survey was conducted among internet users in Malaysia. Results demonstrate that the highest predictive power for intention to use is perceived credibility, followed by perceived ease of use, personal innovativeness, perceived risk towards new technology and computer self-efficacy. Perceived usefulness was found to be insignificant on intention to use. The results provide significant insights on the various factors that affect the adoption of biometric technology in Malaysia, which also might be applicable to other developing countries as well. By discovering and understanding the important determinants of biometric technology in online applications, appropriate strategies can be planned and implemented to increase the acceptance of this technology as a better security measure to customers.

The Impact of Supply Chain Operational Capabilities on Business Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in Malaysia: A Preliminary Analysis

This study determines the underlying determinants of supply chain operational capabilities (SCOC) and empirically tests a framework that can be used to identify the relationship among those determinants and business performance with special emphasis on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. The study is based on a quantitative approach using a questionnaire survey from 135 Malaysian manufacturing SMEs. The empirical findings provide evidence on the relationship between structural and technological capability with business performance. However, it was found that there was no support on the impact of logistical capability on business performance. The most critical limitation of this study was its narrow focus on the manufacturing sector in Malaysian SMEs, thus, preventing the generalisation to other sectors and also to other countries that may gain the benefits from the responsiveness of SCOC. This study might offer several practical implications which could have some practical values for SMEs’ practitioners and managers particularly in Malaysia.

The Adoption of Online Banking in Malaysia: An Empirical Analysis

Although millions of dollars have been spent in developing online banking infrastructures, findings revealed that consumers have yet to adopt the systems in spite of their availability and convenience. As such, the paper aims to investigate the factors that affect the adoption of online banking in Malaysia. Using a self-administered questionnaire, 231 online banking services users were tested. The finding of the study indicated that social influences, perceived usefulness, trust, perceived ease of use were positively associated with the intention to adopt online banking. Interestingly, social influences are found to be the most influential factors, contradicting with many past studies. However perceived financial cost and perceived security risk were found insignificant in this study. The results provide valuable information for both bankers and policy makers especially when formulating online banking marketing strategies.

Manufacturing Performance Evaluation Tool for Malaysian Automotive Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

This study is aimed to develop a manufacturing performance evaluation tool for Malaysian automotive SMEs. The performance criteria were identified and adapted from literature study. A survey was conducted to Malaysia automotive SMEs in matching the criteria with the industry practices. Finally, five factors with a total of 25 dimensions are proposed as the manufacturing performance criteria. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach was applied in developing manufacturing performance evaluation tool for Malaysian automotive SMEs. A software-based tool is subsequently developed using PHP and MySQL. Two case studies were conducted to validate the tool. The tool hopefully will enable and assist Malaysian automotive SMEs in their efforts to continually improve their manufacturing performance so as to become more effective and competitive. The tool could also identify the strengths and weaknesses that indicate where and how improvements need to be made. It provides the direction to practice continuous improvement towards achieving excellence.

Integrated Vendor-Buyer Production and Inventory Policy: A Critical Review

Tough competition in the current global economy has been forcing vendors to collaborate with buyers in managing their material flows to achieve a higher level of customer satisfaction. Integrated production and inventory policies between vendors and buyers could provide significant operational cost savings. Despite its potential saving, however, no up-to-date review which provides a picture of how far such integration has been achieved. Therefore, this study fulfils this need by presenting a thorough literature survey on integrated vendor-buyer (IVB) production and inventory policy based on supply chain structure, uncertainty factors, transportation issues and coordination mechanisms aspects. Two areas of IVB, namely the Joint Economic Lot Sizing Problem (JELSP) and the Economic Lot and Delivery-Scheduling Problem (ELDSP) are covered. The review reveals that significant gaps between current research and real industrial problems are found. The majority of previous works tend to oversimplify industrial practices in the concerned aspects. Hence, potential works to be addressed in future studies are proposed to bring those areas closer to real life industrial problems.

An Exploratory Study on Leadership in a Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm’s Performance

Top management leadership is considered one of the most important principles of TQM due to its assumed relationship with customer satisfaction. However, the evidence for which TQM factors like leadership contributes most to the improved organizational performance is not yet conclusive, and sometimes contradictory. Few studies have been carried out on the systemic affects of leadership practices on engineering project performance in Malaysian manufacturing firms. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to study the impact of leadership towards engineering project performance in a semiconductor manufacturing firm. The study involves analyzing the influence of a set of leader traits, values and behaviours that are extracted from the TQM philosophy within the organization. The findings identify the conditions, culture and environment whereby effective performance is influenced by effective leadership within this organization. This study is useful for engineers, managers and researchers as it provides insights on the specific factors that require adequate attention to ensure effective engineering project performance.

A Framework for Human Resource Management in the Knowledge Economy: Building Intellectual Capital and Innovative Capability

The business environment is experiencing rapid advancements in technology which are driven by firms’ capacity to innovate. Firms depend on their innovative capabilities to gain competitive advantage. Innovation is driven by knowledge in organizations, and knowledge resides in individuals. Knowledge needs to be effectively acquired, shared, and applied for the benefit of organizations. Hence, the issue is on how to facilitate knowledge exchange among organizational members in order to help build an organization’s innovative capability. The purpose of this paper is to propose a framework capturing how a firm’s people management strategies influence organizational learning and the firm’s capacity for knowledge management. The framework also captures how a firm’s knowledge management capacity positively relates to its intellectual capital, which in turn has a positive influence on its innovative capability.