Vol 5 Iss 2 Part 2

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Competitive Advantages of Production and Marketing of Small and Medium Enterprises in the Northeast of Thailand: A Case Study of Food Industry

Nisarat Chotechoei^a, ^aFaculty of Management Science, Rajabhat Maha Sarakham University, Thailand, (Pages 316 to 336)

This research aims to study factors affecting success in competitive advantages of production and marketing of small and medium enterprises in the Northeast of Thailand. The samples of the study were 1,047 small and medium food industry enterprises in the northeast of Thailand. The research tools include statistical approaches in data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis for hypothesis testing. The research findings are as follows: Quality of service, improving existing products, customizing products, answering customers question, completeness of product and reputation had a positive relation on the success in competitive advantages through increased sales. Improving existing products, quality of services, customizing products, answering customers question, technology, product features and completeness of product had a positive relation to the success in competitive advantages through increased net profits.Reputation, product features, delivery of ordered products, improving existing products, customizing products, technology and after-sales services had a positive relation to the success in competitive advantages through standard certification and famous awards. Therefore, the food industry can apply the research findings as a guideline in developing competitive capability for small and medium enterprises in Thailand, this can make the food industry survive and sustainably grow.

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Creative Works of Judges in Handling Internet-of-Things (I-O-T) Cases

Peter Machmud Marzuki^a, ^aFaculty of Law, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia, (Pages 337 to 350)

Lack of clear-cut rules and the absence of statutory provisions concerning Internet of Things does not prevent judges from reaching equitable solutions on the subject matter. Information Technology including Internet of Things develops faster than legislative work. In reality, cases on Internet of Things needs judicial settlement. Under no circumstances, may a court reject to try the cases. Judges, therefore, should be creative to handle the cases, by which equitable solution may be reached. The creative works of a judge, in settling hard cases, may be in the form of interpretation of statutory provisions or creation of law based on legal principles, if neither statutory provision nor unwritten laws dealing with the cases is found. It is inevitable that judges interpret statutory provision if it is unclear, by which it may be applied aptly to the case. If a judge finds neither written nor unwritten rules applicable to the case, he/she uses his/her initiative to refer to legal principles to resolve the case. Both interpretation of statutory provisions and the creation of laws are acceptable in judiciaries throughout the world. Three cases, from different countries, prove that creative works of judges are successful to reach equitable solutions of Internet-of-Things (I-o-T) cases.

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Model On Legal Transformation of the Local-Owned Enterprise to Public and/or Private Local Entities towards Climate Investment Boost

Bagus Oktafian Abrianto^a, Sri Winarsi^b, Agus Widyantoro^c & Faizal Kurniawan^d, ^a,bAdministrative Law Department, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia, ^c,dCivil Law Department, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia, (Pages 351 to 366)

The investment climate in Indonesia, after the issuance of the Investment Law and the demands of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2016 and in line with the Nawacita program of Joko Widodo, has made investors and the nation of Indonesia more active in the realization of economic independence by mobilizing the strategic sectors of the domestic economy. Efforts to increase local revenue have come by way of establishing Local-Owned Enterprises (Badan Usaha Milik Daerah/ BUMD in bahasa) to support the synchronization and objectives of regional autonomy. BUMD form, among others, Local Enterprise, Regional Development Bank and are pioneers of business activity. Some BUMD have low financial performance, so their function as a source of regional income is not achieved because the profit / profit given to the Provincial Government, City and Regency is very small or even a loss. One cause is the corruption done by BUMD itself. Therefore, this research is conducted in the framework of the development of regional investment through the transformation of the status of Local-Owned Enterprise into Public Local Entities or Private Local Entities as regulated further by the Law on Regional Government. This research is a legal research; the method used in this research is a statute approach by needing an empirical approach and case approach to support the issue.

Offensive Content on The Internet: The Malaysian Legal Approach

Ammar Abdullah Saeed Mohammed^a, Nazli Ismail Nawang^b, ^a,bFaculty of Law and International Relations, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, (Pages 367 to 377)

Recently, there has been a lot of offensive contents available on the internet. Therefore, new legal challenges have arisen, and many legislators have updated the existing laws to criminalise offensive content on the internet. In Malaysia, s.211 and 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 regulates offensive content on the internet. However, these two provisions have been criticized as they can be used to silence the critics and comments on political issues, as well as a breach of freedom of expression. This paper aims to discuss the offensive content on the internet, under s.211 and s.233 of the CMA 1998, by analysing legal texts and cases and legal opinion. To sum up, no comprehensive definition for offensive content exists, and it is submitted that s.211, and 233 CMA is very broad to describe the offensive content on the internet, but it's subject to the court’s assessment whether the content falls under the types of offensive content on the internet in s.211 and s. 233 of CMA. After All, there is no breach to freedom of expression under s 211 and 233 of CMA, because freedom of expression is not absolute and must be limited within the law, and nobody can insult others under the guise of freedom of expression. Finally, s. 211 and 233 CMA protects people’s rights and the broad interpretation will help to stop any offensive content on the Internet in the future as it will be in the end evaluated by the court whether the content is offensive or not.

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Rational Choice Theory in the Scheme of Mining Shares Divestment Based on National Interest Protection

Widhayani Dian Pawestri^a, Muchammad Zaidun^b, Iman Prihandono^c, Mas Rahmah^d,, ^a,b,c,dPrivate Law Department, Faculty of Law Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, Indonesia, (Pages 378 to 389)

This paper is a revised version and an expanded version of the paper entitled ‘Shares Divestment Scheme in Indonesian Mining Law’. Several cases of ICSID are cases of shares divestment, one of them is the Freeport case that offers divestment by giving the assumption of investment if the Government extends the Freeport Operational License until 2041. It violates determination of divestment share price as the value should be based on fair market price without calculating the amount of minerals. Shares divestment execution is often hampered by the determination of divestment shares’ price. The purpose of the divestment arrangement was not achieved because of the price fixing issue which causes divestment failure or causes divestment delay, and the shares that were previously for the government eventually fell on private shareholders which might be owned by foreign parties. This paper is a legal research. It is intended to formulate a shares divestment scheme in the mining sector in Indonesia based on rational choice theory and public choice theory, which is expected to give a valuable contribution to the Government of the Republic of Indonesia as well as stakeholders and can be the ontological basis for laws and policies related to the investment and mining laws in Indonesia. The approaches which are used are the conceptual, statute, case and comparative approach. The primary legal materials that are used are legislation, international conventions and court decisions, while the secondary legal materials are in the form of literature and related materials. 

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The Function of Deposits Insurances Institutions to Create a Solid Banking System For The Sake Of Continuity of Infrastructure Development in Indonesia   

Prawitra Thalib^a, Faizal Kurniawan^b, Hilda Yunita Sabrie^c, ^a,b,cDepartment of Private Law, Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia, (Pages 390 to 396)

The monetary crisis that hit Indonesia in 1998, which resulted in the liquidation of 16 banks, has made public confidence in the banking sector decreased. To resolve this, the Government has issued a policy giving a guarantee for the entire banks obligations towards its customers, including savings societies (blanket guarantee). Blanket policies guarantee can improve public confidence towards banking, through a solid banking system and trust of the community to the Agency bank, the banking institutions can provide support to project infrastructure in Indonesia, as in any workmanship infrastructure projects definitely need the financial support of banking institutions. In line with this, it is a refinement of the basic rules of the banking system devices, especially in the field of guaranteeing deposits. This refinement aims to create a reliable banking sector and create a healthy banking system, which is efficient and competitive and is expected to be spared from systemic risk and can support infrastructure development in Indonesia.

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Leadership in Supply Chain Management: Role of Gender as Moderator

Kittisak Jermsittiparsert^a,b, ^*Wiroj Srihirun^c, ^aDepartment for Management of Science and Technology Development, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, ^bFaculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, E-mail: kittisak.jermsittiparsert@tdtu.edu.vn, ^cFaculty of Management Science, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand, ^*Corresponding author email: wiroj.sr@ssru.ac.th,

The main aim of this empirical research is to investigate the impact of the leadership on supply chain management. In addition to that the study has also investigated the moderating role of gender in the relationship between leadership and supply chain Management. This article has drawn the attention to supply chain management concepts to discuss managing gender diversity. The contribution of the paper will be in the investigation of supply chain management literature through the lenses of supply chain leadership and the role of gender in the relationship of the supply chain and leadership relationship. The study revealed the fact that the leader of the supply chain brings the improvement and the change within the organization. As a result, the productivity and the performance of the organization is increased. In order to achieve high performance, it is important to change every aspect of the supply chain, including processes design. The findings of the study have shown an agreement with the proposed findings of the study. Pages 448 to 466

The Relationship between Supply Chain Agility and Supply Chain Adaptability: Exploring Product Complexity as Moderator

Kittisak Jermsittiparsert^a,b, ^*Aphichart Kampoomprasert^c, ^aDepartment for Management of Science and Technology Development, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, ^bFaculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, E-mail: kittisak.jermsittiparsert@tdtu.edu.vn, ^cFaculty of Management Science, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand, ^*Corresponding author email: aphichart.ka@ssru.ac.th,

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Office Ecosystem: The Effect of Personal Attribute on Employees’ Perception on Office Politics

Daud Z^a, Saiful Azizi I.^b, Mohd Rashdan S.^c, Rusli A.^d, ^a,b,cUniversiti Utara Malaysia, School of Business Management, ^dUniversiti Malaysia Sarawak, Department of Human Resource Development, Faculty of Cognitive Science and Human Development, (Pages 502 to 513)

Office politics has become a fuss in the office ecosystem. Nowadays, corporate offices suffer from the politics played by its employees to sometimes excel and most of the time to degrade others performance. Despite the immense efforts from management, this problem is incurable. This empirical paper attempts to find out if there are any demographic differences between the employees while engaging in such politics. From factor analysis result, office politics in this study is represented by the get-along-to-go-ahead dimension. This study has revealed that personal attributes have determined employees' perception of office politics. To this end, a conclusion is provided with certain recommendations on how to reduce the situation of office politics.

TQM, Human Oriented Elements and Organizational Performance: A Business Excellence Model for Higher Education Institutes of Thailand

Kittisak Jermsittiparsert^a,b, ^*Komson Sommanawat^c, ^aDepartment for Management of Science and Technology Development, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, ^bFaculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, E-mail: kittisak.jermsittiparsert@tdtu.edu.vn, ^cCollege of Logistics and Supply Chain, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, Bangkok, Thailand, ^*Corresponding author email: komson.so@ssru.ac.th,

The prime objective of this study is to investigate the link between TQM, human oriented elements and the organizational performance. The satisfaction, commitment, and loyalty are considered as human oriented elements. The TQM is accessed as a determinate of the organizational performance. In addition to that, the current study has examined the mediating role of human oriented elements in the relationship between TQM and organizational performance, in the higher education institutes of Thailand. The Structural equation model is employed to analyse the structural model and structural relation among measured and latent variables. It analyzes the direct and indirect association among variables. The SEM-AMOS is used, and the results of the study have provided a great deal of agreement with the hypothesized results. It is evident that the youth and graduates from Thailand tertiary institutions are not prepared with the skills with which to exploit and judicially utilized the endowed natural resources in the country. These and other reasons have rendered the attainment of self-reliance and entrepreneurship education among the teaming graduates difficult to maintain. This study has focused on the subjective measures of organizational performance including information gathering in problem solving/communication, faculty intellectual pursuits, achievement and development among staff and students, achieving academic excellence through quality adherence and feedback among others. This study, which is among pioneering studies, will be helpful for policymakers, educationist and researchers and student in understanding the issues in the higher education sector of Thailand. Pages 514 to 532

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Influence of product innovativeness and subjective norms on female Generation Y students’ attitudes towards beauty products

Riané Dalziel^a , Ayesha Bevan-Dye^b, ^a,bMarketing management, Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences, North-West University, South Africa, (Pages 533 to 550)

The beauty-product industry represents a significant portion of the international economy, with an estimated value of 532 billion USD in 2017, which is predicted to grow to 863 billion USD by 2024. Beauty products encompass any product used to care for, clean and enhance the beauty of the human body. The Youth, currently classified as Generation Y (individuals born between 1986 and 2005), represent a salient current and future market segment for various industries. For the beauty-product industry, the adult portion of this generation, especially the female Generation Y adults, represent a particularly relevant target market given that this bachelorhood stage of the family life cycle is characterised by self-indulgence, the need for reference group acceptance and the prominent concerns of meeting and dating. As such, this study sought to determine the influence of product innovativeness and subjective norms on female Generation Y students’ attitudes towards beauty products. Data was gathered using a questionnaire from a convenience sample of 610 Generation Y female students registered at three South African university campuses. Data analysis included exploratory principle component analysis, collinearity diagnostics, confirmatory factor analysis, measures of reliability and construct validity and path analysis. The findings suggest that female Generation Y students’ attitudes towards beauty products is a three-factor model comprising attitudes, subjective norms and innovativeness. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis also indicate that this model exhibits reliability, construct validity and good model fit. The path analysis results indicate that beauty product innovativeness and subjective norms are statistically significant predictors of female Generation Y students’ attitudes towards beauty products. These findings suggest that beauty-product manufacturers need to constantly innovate their products and that beauty-product advertisement should incorporate typical members of the female Generation Y reference group so as to promote subjective norms.

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Analysing the Impact of Water Access and Sanitation on Local Economic Development (LED) in the Sedibeng District Municipality, South Africa

Jacques De Jongh^a, Precious Mncayi^b, Phindile Mdluli^c, ^a,b,cEconomic Science, Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, North-West University, South Africa, (Pages 551 to 572)

Globalization, climate change and increasing populations have put severe pressure on service delivery and water management in developing countries. This is not unique to South Africa, as the country is still plagued by significant inequalities and compromised service delivery relating to water access and sanitation. Despite these challenges, clean water and access to sufficient and safe sanitation facilities remain crucial for human health, food production, industrial output and social stability. As such, the main purpose of the study was to analyse the impact of water access and sanitation on local economic development (LED) within the Sedibeng District Municipality in South Africa. The study followed a quantitative approach using annual time series data between 1995 to 2018. Various econometric methods were employed including unit root tests, ARDL Bounds test for co-integration, an Error Correction Model (ECM) as well as Toda-Yamamoto granger causality tests. The results show the presence of both long and short run relationships between the dependent and independent variables. Having access to water facilities within households as well as quality sanitation contributes positively to the economic and social wellbeing of the region. Causality results further indicated a bi-directional relationship between water access and the local economic development index highlighting the interdependence of these aspects. The findings reiterate the significance of these resources to the wellbeing of the region. Not only does the access to these basic services contribute to the quality of life for many but its linkages within various economic domains such as diversification, energy utilization, employment and productivity make them vital drivers for the region’s prosperity. As such, water and sanitation management should receive high priority in local stakeholders’ policy agenda. Focus should be shifted to the implementation of sustainable water practices and improved sanitation infrastructure development to enhance the economic and social sustainability of the region.

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Students and Cultural Issues in International Contexts: The Case of Malaysian International Businesses Students in UK and China

Aissa Mosbah^a, Abdul Hakim bin Abdul Razak^b, Ibrahim Al-Jubari^c, ^a,b,cManagement and Science University (MSU), Shah Alam Selangor Malaysia, (Pages 573 to 590)

Research that addresses cultural issues and reactions of Malaysian students pursuing studies overseas are not available. Following a qualitative approach of inquiry, this pioneering study aimed at exploring cultural challenges faced by Malaysian international business students in China and the UK; their adaptation strategies. The paper also aimed at assessing whether there are differences within these two contexts in terms of challenges. The findings showed that in both contexts, student’s face a number of issues, such as unavailability of halal food, communication (intonation and misinterpretation) toilet deign and use, and lack of spaces to perform prayers. Some of these issues suggest that students need to have better preparation before departing abroad. However, in the UK we found evidence of cases related to mis-perception against Muslims, while language barriers and misconceptions over Muslim scarf (Hijab) were more common in China. Implications and recommendation were discussed in the paper.

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Intention to Pursue Postgraduate Studies in Malaysian Universities

Aissa Mosbah^a, Ibrahim Al-Jubari^b, Zunirah Mohd Talib^c, ^a,b,c Faculty of Business Management and Professional Studies, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, 41000, Selangor, Malaysia (Pages 591 to 609)

Intention is a key element that precedes human behaviours requiring decisional processes. This topic was considerably addressed in education fields. However, there is a dearth of studies that looked at students’ intention to pursue postgraduate studies. This paper investigated this issue among 330 Malaysian undergraduate students from both public and private universities. By applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), the study examined the effect of TPB proximal determinants (attitudes towards the behaviour, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control) on intention. Furthermore, the paper assessed possible moderating effects of gender, race and type of university (public vs private). The results showed a positive effect of attitude and perceived behavioural control on intention, but not subjective norms. Additionally, no moderating effect was observed in this study. Implications and recommendation were discussed towards the end of the paper. Pages 591 to 609

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Linking Emigration to Social Development: The case of Pakistan

Aissa Mosbah^a, Ibrahim Aljubari^b, Khairul Anuar Rezo^c, ^a,b,cFaculty of Business Management and Professional Studies, Management and Science University, Shah Alam, 41000, Selangor, Malaysia (Pages 610 to 626)

This paper explores the link between emigration and social development in Pakistan; a developing country that struggles to reach appropriate levels of development. By doing so, the paper offers a general review of the available literature that addresses the topic of social development as influenced by remittances of emigrants, while paying attention to government policies developed in favour of emigration and its use for development. The results of the discussion conclude with the following notes: 1) emigration from Pakistan has accelerated in the last decades. However, 2) policy makers have only recently granted it full recognition through the implementation of more stringent strategies and mechanisms aimed at maximizing its impact on various socioeconomic aspects. 3) the association between emigration and social development in Pakistan has not been properly addressed despite the announced contribution of emigrants to the home country. 4) Remittances play an undeniable developmental role, and they seem to have been used immediately at the family level mostly to support different types of short-term spending. Remittances are also used as a means of solidarity at both levels of the community and the state.

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Input Radial Model VS Slack Based Measure Model of Data Envelopment Analysis in Evaluating Five-Year Efficiency of Malaysia Banking Sector

Maznah Mat Kasim^a, Md. Azizul Baten^b, Mushtaq Taleb^c, ^aSchool of Quantitative Sciences, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia, ^bShahjalal University of Science and Technology, Kumargaon, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh, ^cCollege of Administration and Economics, University of Anbar

The financial system of a country is highly related to the performance of its banks. As Malaysia is moving towards achieving a high income-economy country status by 2020, the performance of its banking sector should be monitored closely. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique has been used extensively to measure bank efficiency and one recent study focuses on banks in Malaysia from 2000 to 2010. However, our study analyses amore recent data, that is the five-year data cycle from 2009-2013. Moreover, this paper aims to demonstrate the adoption of two DEA models, the radial input-oriented model and the slack –based measure model to measure the annual efficiency of nine Malaysia commercial banks from 2009 to 2013. Both DEA models measure the efficiency but with different conceptions. The results from the traditional radial input DEA model show that two banks that were fully efficient every year in those five- year periods were BIMB and Maybank, while the highest efficiency average score for the nine banks was achieved in 2009. Results from the SBM-DEA model give a little different picture where only BIMB maintained efficiency annually in that 5-year period, however the highest efficiency average of the banks took place in 2009 as well. The two DEA models can be considered as complementing each other since the traditional radial model measures efficiency based on the distance of any existing decision-making unit (DMU) from the optimal DMUs, while the SBM model measures efficiency of a DMU based on the DMU’s weighted average of the DMU’s normalized input and output slacks. The use of two DEA models in measuring efficiency could be extended in other sectors since the results would give a better picture about the performance of the production system under study. Pages 627 to 637