INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND MANAGEMENT PRACTISES (IJEMP)

WHEN DATA BECOMES AUTHORITY: TRUST IN ANALYTICS AND DECISION-MAKING IN SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES

Zalina Jonit, Norhasyikin Rozali — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Data analytics is increasingly embedded in Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) decision-making, where dashboards and performance metrics are commonly treated as objective and authoritative bases for managerial judgement. While prior research has focused on analytics adoption and performance outcomes, limited attention has been given to how trust in analytics shapes decision-making after adoption. Drawing on theories of trust, organisational sensemaking, automation bias, and sociotechnical critiques of quantification, this conceptual paper develops the Trust Calibration Loop to explain how analytics acquires, stabilises, or loses authority through iterative cycles of interpretation, decision action, and outcome feedback. Accordingly, the model conceptualises trust as a dynamic, post-adoption process through which analytics is legitimised, contested, or marginalised in organisational practice. By foregrounding trust as a communicative and interpretive mechanism, the paper advances business communication and information systems literature. In addition, it highlights the risks of both uncritical reliance on analytics and premature scepticism in SME decision-making.

EXPLORING SUSTAINABLE DIGITAL MARKETING PRACTICES OF YOUTH ENTREPRENEURS: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This case study explores at how young entrepreneurs may use sustainable digital marketing and how it can help them run their businesses on a daily basis and stay in business for a long time. In a corporate world that is becoming more digital and where online competition is getting tougher, young entrepreneurs need to constantly find a balance between making smart business decisions that are good for the environment and using marketing methods that work. This research employs a qualitative case study methodology, including data collecting through semi-structured interviews and document analysis of youth entrepreneurs across diverse business sectors. The study's findings indicate that sustainability elements are integrated into digital marketing efforts via ethical online communication, responsible content creation, customer engagement centered on consumer needs, and the strategic utilization of digital platforms to manage expenses and mitigate environmental effects. These practices help make the brand more trustworthy, improve relationships with customers, and make the firm more resilient. This survey also finds some important problems, such as not having enough resources, not having enough digital skills, and being under pressure to put short-term sales targets ahead of long-term sustainability goals. This study shows that sustainable digital marketing is a useful and doable way for managers to help young entrepreneurs' businesses do better and be more competitive. The results of this study provide valuable insights for youth entrepreneurs, entrepreneurship support organizations, and governments in their initiatives to enhance sustainability-oriented digital marketing practices within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

DECODING EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN CUSTOMER RESEARCH: A BIBLIOMETRIC STUDY OF GLOBAL SCHOLARLY TRENDS

Norhidayah Ali, Nurul Hayani Abd Rahman, Bawani Selvaraj, Zuraidah Mohamed Isa — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study aims to examine global scholarly trends, intellectual structure and emerging themes in Emotional Intelligence (EI) in customer research with emphasis on the growing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), emotionally responsive technologies and digital customer interaction environments. A bibliometric analysis was conducted using 464 journal articles retrieved from the Scopus database from 2001 to 2025. A systematic screening process was applied using predefined inclusion criteria, including English-language journal articles at the final publication stage. The analysis identified major publication trends, influential publication sources, leading authors, geographical research contributions, prominent keyword networks, and emerging thematic directions shaping EI research within customer contexts. The findings reveal a substantial increase in publications after 2020, reflecting growing scholarly interest in emotionally intelligent customer interaction and AI-enabled service technologies. EI and AI emerged as dominant themes, highlighting a transition from traditional emotional labour research toward hybrid human-AI service ecosystems. The analysis identified influential publication sources, leading scholarly contributors, international research participation, and interconnected thematic clusters centred on customer satisfaction, customer experience, empathy, service quality, chatbots, emotion recognition, and AI-mediated customer interactions. Emerging research directions further indicate increasing attention to emotionally responsive technologies, service robots, and intelligent customer engagement systems.

DIGITAL MARKETING ADOPTION AND CONTINUANCE CHALLENGES IN MALAYSIAN MSMES: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Nurezali Osman, Rohaida Basiruddin, Ida Shafira Anoar Ibrahim — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This systematic literature review synthesises Malaysian empirical evidence on the challenges that constrain the adoption and post-adoption continuance of digital marketing among MSMEs, with implications for sustained use support. Following PRISMA 2020, Databases (Scopus and Web of Science) were searched for peer-reviewed English-language studies (2015–2025). After deduplication and screening, 22 studies were included from 107 records (71 unique). A six-item quality checklist was applied. A total of 156 challenge statements were extracted and coded via thematic synthesis. Next, they were classified by phase as adoption, continuance or cross-cutting when phase indicators were unclear. Six themes emerged. Adoption constraints were dominated by capability and readiness gaps and ecosystem/infrastructure bottlenecks, pointing to skills deficits, platform complexity and uneven enabling conditions. Continuance-related challenges were less frequently reported but clustered around resource scarcity and opportunity costs, trust/risk, reputational exposure and market volatility, suggesting that sustained use declines when effort, perceived risk and uncertain returns outweigh perceived benefits. Over half of the challenges were cross-cutting, indicating limited phase specificity in the Malaysian corpus and limiting insights into discontinuance mechanisms. Future research should operationalise phase-specific constructs and use longitudinal or process-sensitive designs. Practically, programmes should complement training with maintenance support such as routines, feedback loops and risk-mitigation practices to reduce the effort–return burden of sustained digital marketing use.

EXPLORING THE LEADERSHIP STYLES AMONG THE MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING (MLM) LEADERS IN MALAYSIA

Shalini Raja Kapol, Balakrishnan Parasuraman, Dzulkifli Mukhtar — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The long-term sustainability of Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) industry are strongly depending on proficient and skilfulness of MLM leader’s leadership, in which led to stronger growth network and market expansion. Although MLM industry provide long-term sustainability in market and key contribute Malaysia economy, but this industry still faced some key challenges, such as negative perception among community as money laundering business, no proper structured succession planning and lack of qualitative research. Therefore, this research resolves the issue by exploring the leadership styles adopted by MLM leaders in Malaysia. This study utilizes a single case study approach by using semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion. This research examined 10 key leadership styles as well as determine beyond leadership styles factors that contribute long-term sustainability in MLM industry. The results shows that transformational, coaching and servant leadership styles are the most dominant leadership styles as well as product quality are playing the role for the industry sustain in long-term. This research blending of three key theories to offer a comprehensive model of MLM leadership, which include of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory, Contingency Theory and Resource Based View (RBV) Theory. The findings also provide practical contributions to MLM practitioners, government regulators, and academic institutions to better understand and professionalize the industry leadership practices.

MUTAWALLI COMPETENCY CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: AMALGAMATION OF TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND ISLAMIC BEHAVIOURAL COMPETENCIES

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Waqf is a crucial socio-economic mechanism in Islam, possessing substantial potential to facilitate sustained community development. Nonetheless, its efficacy is frequently limited by inadequate governance frameworks, disjointed institutional processes, and a lack of proficiency among mutawalli tasked with overseeing waqf assets. This study seeks to establish a practice-oriented mutawalli competency framework by amalgamating Facilities Management (FM) competencies, behavioural competencies, and Islamic principles (Qowwiyul Amin), and to illustrate the operationalisation of these competencies within waqf management processes. This conceptual study utilises a qualitative methodology based on systematic literature synthesis, employing academic research, institutional reports, and professional competency standards to delineate and amalgamate essential competency areas. The suggested framework employs an Input–Process–Output model, connecting competency domains to their practical implementation in governance and management activities. The results demonstrate that proficient waqf governance relies on the amalgamation of technical, behavioural, and ethical competencies. The framework illustrates how these competencies augment asset utilisation, fortify governance processes, and boost transparency and accountability while guaranteeing Shariah compliance. By connecting facilities management, behavioural competences, and Islamic governance inside a single competency framework, this study makes a theoretical contribution. It offers pragmatic guidelines for competency-based appointments, training, performance assessments, and institutional advancement, presenting a systematic approach to evolve mutawalli roles into professional, accountable, and value-oriented managers of waqf assets.

MAPPING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AND SUCCESSION PLANNING: A BIBLIOMETRIC REVIEW WITH INSIGHTS ON COGNITIVE BIAS

Fetty Asmira A. Azman, Idris Osman, Nurul Ezaili Alias, Ainaa Idayu Iskandar — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study maps the scholarly landscape of performance management practices and succession planning with particular attention to the emerging role of cognitive bias in organizational decision-making. Despite the growing importance of structured talent development and performance evaluation systems, research in this domain remains fragmented across multiple disciplines. This includes limited integration of cognitive bias perspectives that may influence managerial judgments and succession decisions. Consequently, this fragmentation poses a challenge for scholars and practitioners in understanding the field's intellectual structure and evolution. To address this gap, this study employs a bibliometric analysis approach to systematically examine global research trends. Data were retrieved from the Scopus database using advanced search strings combining two core keyword clusters: “succession planning” and “performance.” The dataset comprises 1,346 publications spanning the period from 1970 to May 2026. The analysis was conducted using Scopus Analyzer for preliminary descriptive statistics, OpenRefine for data cleaning and standardization, and VOSviewer for science mapping and visualization of co-authorship, co-citation, and keyword co-occurrence networks. The results indicate steady and accelerating growth in publications over time, particularly after 2010, reflecting increasing scholarly attention to strategic talent management and the quality of decision-making in organizations. Keyword co-occurrence analysis reveals dominant thematic clusters around leadership development, employee performance evaluation, and decision-making processes, while emerging connections highlight the integration of behavioral perspectives, including cognitive bias. Co-authorship patterns reveal strong contributions from the United States (US), the United Kingdom (UK), and selected Asian countries, indicating a geographically diverse but unevenly distributed research network. Overall, the study concludes that while performance management and succession planning are well-established fields, incorporating cognitive bias remains underexplored yet increasingly significant. Moreover, these findings provide a comprehensive intellectual structure of the field and offer directions for future research integrating behavioral science into talent management systems.

MEASURING THE LEVEL OF DIGITAL LIBRARY FLUENCY AMONG SCHOLARS IN SAUDI ARABIA- A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS

Hussin Ali Daqal , Mad Khir Johari Abdullah Sani , Ahmad Nadzri Mohamad — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Following Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, Saudi digital libraries have undergone extensive modernization supported by advanced digital infrastructure. Despite these investments, an infrastructure engagement gap has emerged because of insufficient advanced digital competencies among scholars. To examine this issue, a mixed convergent design was used with descriptive techniques, in which digital library fluency was assessed through a survey of 386 scholars (N=386, 95% confidence level) using a scale from one to seven, along with conducting nine interviews with semi-structured questions for key informants at major Saudi research universities. Survey findings revealed a clear competency hierarchy: management competencies were highest (M=6.18), followed by information retrieval and critical thinking skills (M=5.95 each). Notably, a difference of 1.27 points between scholars' ability to use collaboration tools and their collaboration behavior became apparent, as the usage was rated very high (M=6.55, SD=0.92), while peer collaboration (M=5.28, SD=1.44) and shared workspaces (M=5.35, SD=1.38) were found to be significantly lower. Qualitative analysis identified three key barriers: the lack of fluency occurs because of the complex user interface for accessing local repositories, unmodeled senior management, and the presence of reward silos. This implies that digital literacy should be redefined as socio-technical competency at an organizational level.

MODERATING EFFECT OF AGING POPULATION ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VIRTUAL TEAM COHESIVENESS AND TEAM PERFORMANCE

Ahmad Nizam Mohd Yusof — Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Digital communication has made it easier for people to work together by breaking down organisational borders and allowing virtual teams to form. These teams, made up of people who live in different places, rely on computer-mediated communication, which makes it harder to build trust, stay together, and work together. This study evaluates the impact of virtual team cohesiveness on team performance and explores the moderating influence of ageing demographic cohorts (Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y). We used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to look at data from 500 Malaysian academic personnel who were teaching online. The findings demonstrate that cohesiveness, trust, and the use of information and communication technology (ICT) substantially affect performance. Additionally, generational differences influence the cohesiveness–performance relationship: younger groups gain more from cohesive interactions, whereas older groups depend more on trust and regulated communication. The results underscore age-sensitive approaches for overseeing. virtual teams.

THE SEARCH-TO-DISCOVERY EVOLUTION: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA SEARCH BEHAVIOURS AND GENERATION Z ENTREPRENEURIAL ENTRY

Dzunnur Zaily Mohd Dzulkifli, Umi Kartini Rashid , Noor Aslinda Abu Seman — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The rapid growth of social media has transformed traditional information-seeking activities into search-to-discovery experiences, influencing how Generation Z identifies entrepreneurial opportunities and makes business-related decisions. Despite growing interest in digital entrepreneurship, limited understanding exists regarding how social media search behaviours encourage entrepreneurial engagement among this generation. To address this gap, this study conducts a systematic literature review that synthesizes existing literature on search-to-discovery dynamics and their implications for Generation Z entrepreneurship. Following the PRISMA protocol, studies were retrieved from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, resulting in the selection and analysis of 26 eligible primary studies. The thematic synthesis identifies three themes. Social media discovery influences how Generation Z recognizes opportunities, develops entrepreneurial intentions, and transitions from consumers to potential entrepreneurs. First, influencer credibility shapes entrepreneurial awareness and decision-making. Second, platform engagement and social commerce features support opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial discovery. Third, emotional engagement and perceived value strengthen entrepreneurial intentions and sustained participation. Overall, the findings suggest that social media functions as a discovery environment that supports opportunity recognition, entrepreneurial intention development, and consumer-to-entrepreneur transitions among Generation Z. This review develops an integrated framework linking entrepreneurial cognition, social commerce, digital consumer behaviour, and opportunity recognition to explain how social media search experiences influence entrepreneurial entry. The framework contributes to digital entrepreneurship literature by clarifying the mechanisms through which online discovery processes shape entrepreneurial engagement and provides practical guidance for educators, platform developers, and entrepreneurship support agencies.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VUCA AND EMPLOYEE COMPETENCIES IN MALAYSIA BANKING SECTORS: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Employees in the Malaysian banking sector increasingly operate in a VUCA environment characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. While employee competencies are essential for performance, they may be insufficient on their own when employees face rapid change, unclear outcomes, and intensified workplace demands. This research examines the relationship between VUCA elements and employee competencies and investigates emotional intelligence as a mediating mechanism that may strengthen employees’ adaptability and performance under such conditions. Grounded in McClelland’s Competency Model and Mayer and Salovey’s Emotional Intelligence theory, this research adopts a quantitative design using questionnaire data collected from full-time banking employees in the Klang Valley. Respondents are aged 21 years and above and have at least one year of work experience. The research highlights the practical importance of integrating competency development with emotional intelligence enhancement to support resilience, teamwork, and leadership in challenging environments. The findings offer implications for human resource practices, particularly in recruitment, performance management, and employee development initiatives. By strengthening both competencies and emotional intelligence, banking institutions can enhance workforce readiness and better respond to emerging challenges and opportunities in a VUCA context.

EXPLORING THE DYNAMICS OF LEADERSHIP STYLE IN FATONI UNIVERSITY THAILAND

Mohammad Firdaus Nizam, Balakrishnan Parasuraman, Hazriah Hasan — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study investigates the association of sustainable operations practices (SOPs) to institution’s performance in waqf management in higher education institutions with an emphasis on Fatoni University, Thailand. We systematically reviewed the literature and meta-analysed the correlations to evaluate the direction and strength of the SOP performance relationship and complemented this with qualitative insights from selected case studies. The results show a strong positive relationship, as 14 empirical relationships have found significant positive correlations. It indicates that the adoption of SOPs improves the efficiency, accountability, transparency and long-term sustainability of waqf institutions. There were an additional 12 relationships moderated by leadership style, institution’s culture, governance structure and institution’s environment which indicated that the effectiveness of SOPs depends on the internal and external institutios conditions. These results support the contingency theory that institutions effectiveness depends on the fit between the orientation of leadership and the environmental context. Limitations of the study include a small number of empirical studies that report the statistical details (correlations, effect sizes, standardized coefficients) required for robust meta-analysis. From a practitioner perspective, the study points to the importance of context sensitive leadership, governance and institutions reforms to get the best out of SOPs. This study contributes its multidimensional approach which combines quantitative meta-analysis and qualitative case evidence for a more inclusive understanding of the effect of sustainable operations practices on waqf management performance.

INISIATIF PELAKSANAAN AKTIVITI ASNAFPRENEUR OLEH INSTITUSI ZAKAT DALAM PEMBENTUKAN CIRI KEUSAHAWANAN DI KALANGAN PENERIMA ZAKAT

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Institusi zakat di Malaysia memainkan peranan penting dalam memperkasakan golongan asnaf melalui pelbagai program pembangunan keusahawanan yang bertujuan meningkatkan taraf sosioekonomi mereka. Walau bagaimanapun, kajian yang meneliti secara mendalam bagaimana inisiatif institusi zakat membentuk ciri keusahawanan dalam kalangan asnafpreneur masih terhad. Oleh itu, kajian ini bertujuan mengenal pasti aktiviti asnafpreneur serta menilai inisiatif pelaksanaan aktiviti institusi zakat dalam membentuk ciri keusahawanan penerima zakat. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif melalui temu bual separa berstruktur dengan 25 orang asnafpreneur daripada lima buah negeri di Malaysia serta analisis dokumen. Data dianalisis menggunakan analisis tematik bagi mengenal pasti tema-tema utama. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa bantuan modal, latihan, bimbingan, pameran produk dan jaringan perniagaan berjaya meningkatkan pembangunan perniagaan, keyakinan diri, peluang pekerjaan dan mengurangkan kebergantungan terhadap bantuan zakat. Di samping itu, inovasi dan adaptasi teknologi dikenal pasti sebagai faktor penting dalam meningkatkan daya saing perniagaan. Dari sudut implikasi praktikal, kajian ini membantu institusi zakat memperkukuh program pembangunan asnafpreneur melalui sokongan yang lebih holistik dan berterusan. Dari sudut implikasi dasar, kajian ini mencadangkan pelaksanaan program mentoring jangka panjang, sistem pemantauan prestasi berasaskan KPI, penubuhan dana pusingan (revolving fund), serta pengukuhan kerjasama strategik dengan SME Corporation Malaysia dan MARA bagi memastikan kelestarian ekosistem keusahawanan asnaf.

Zakat institutions in Malaysia play an important role in empowering the asnaf through various entrepreneurship development programmes aimed at improving their socioeconomic status. However, studies that comprehensively examine how the initiatives of zakat institutions shape the entrepreneurial characteristics of asnafpreneurs remain limited. Therefore, this study aims to identify the activities of asnafpreneurs and evaluate the implementation initiatives of zakat institutions in shaping the entrepreneurial characteristics of zakat recipients. This study employed a qualitative approach through semi-structured interviews with 25 asnafpreneurs from five states in Malaysia, complemented by document analysis. The data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify the main themes. The findings indicate that financial assistance, training, guidance, product exhibitions, and business networking successfully enhanced business development, self-confidence, employment opportunities, and reduced dependency on zakat assistance.In addition, innovation and technology adoption were identified as important factors in enhancing business competitiveness. From a practical perspective, this study assists zakat institutions in strengthening asnafpreneur development programmes through more holistic and continuous support. From a policy perspective, this study recommends the implementation of long-term mentoring programmes, a KPI-based performance monitoring system, the establishment of a revolving fund, and strengthened strategic collaboration with SME Corporation Malaysia and MARA to ensure the sustainability of the asnaf entrepreneurship ecosystem.

UNVEILING THE DRIVERS BEHIND POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS' AMBITION TO PURSUE ENTREPRENEURIAL PATHS

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Graduate employability continues to shape higher education priorities, and entrepreneurship remains a strategic pathway for students who aspire to become future job creators. This study examines the drivers of entrepreneurial career intention among postgraduate students in selected Higher Learning Institutions in East Coast Malaysia. Four predictors are investigated: contextual factors, self-efficacy, risk-taking propensity and entrepreneurial education. A quantitative survey design was applied, and data from 182 postgraduate students were analysed using Pearson's Correlation and Multiple Regression Analyses. The results show that contextual factors, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial education significantly and positively predict entrepreneurial career intention. Self-efficacy recorded the strongest influence, indicating that students' confidence in their entrepreneurial capability is central to the formation of entrepreneurial career aspirations. Risk-taking propensity, however, did not significantly predict entrepreneurial career intention. This suggests that students' intention to pursue entrepreneurship may be shaped more by confidence, educational exposure and supportive environments than by risk orientation alone. The study offers practical implications for universities, entrepreneurship educators and policymakers in designing programmes that strengthen entrepreneurial confidence, opportunity recognition and career readiness among postgraduate students.

CAN SUSTAINABILITY ORIENTATION AND HRM PRACTICES IMPACT ENTERPRISES’ PERFORMANCE?

Abdullah Abdulaziz-al-Humaidan — Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

In the post-COVID-19 era, organizations are experiencing significant changes in performance and activities. Leaders are reassessing their firms’ resources, including employees, and carefully examining factors that could affect performance positively. In this article, sustainability orientation (SO) and human resources management practices (HRMPs) are proposed since they are expected to have a significant role in changing enterprises’ directions. However, literature does not provide much with the impact of sustainability orientations on people practices, and how these variables affect performance. In particular, studies have yet to provide an explanation of their relationships comprehensively, mainly across the service sector in the Arabic context. Therefore, the paper's objective is to examine employees' and seniors’ sustainability orientation influence on HRMPs, and how these practices might influence performance. Moreover, it aims to find out whether or not these activities can give an explanation of the association between sustainability orientation and performance by relying on the natural resource-based view (NRBV), since it can offer further and deeper clarification. A quantitative method is adopted in order to respond to the goal of this paper. The data of this paper were collected through questionnaires given to workers and supervisors of service firms in Saudi Arabia. A simple random technique is used. AMOS and SPSS were chosen for analyzing and scrutinizing 143 usable questionnaires. The findings illustrate that employees’ sustainability orientations affect human resources practices, and these practices influence performance. Further, HRMPs (i.e., empowerment, security, and participation) mediate such orientations and performance dimensions (i.e., quality, image, productivity, and revenue). The results contribute on sustainability and performance fields due to providing empirical evidence. Furthermore, supervisors and managers can be aware of the main reasons that impact their company’s performance.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BOARD FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURE, CEO DUALITY, AND ESG REPORTING QUALITY: EVIDENCE FROM THE AMMAN STOCK EXCHANGE

Menazel Fatehi Srouji, Suraiya Ibrahim, Wan Sallha Yusoff — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study investigates the impact of board functional structure and CEO duality on the quality of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting among companies listed on the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE). Drawing on Agency Theory and Resource Dependence Theory, we analyze a sample of Jordanian firms following the introduction of the ASE 2022 Sustainability Reporting Guidance. Our findings aim to provide insights into how corporate governance mechanisms influence transparency in an emerging market context. The results have implications for regulators, investors, and corporate boards seeking to enhance sustainability disclosure practices.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN CULTURAL AND ARTS MANAGEMENT: THEMES AND RESEARCH TRENDS

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as an increasingly influential force in the management, production, and governance of arts and cultural sectors, prompting growing scholarly attention across multiple disciplines. However, existing studies remain dispersed and lack a consolidated understanding of how AI is conceptualised and applied within cultural and arts management. This Systematic Literature Review (SLR) aims to map key themes and research trends in the field of Artificial Intelligence in Cultural and Arts Management by synthesising peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2020 and 2025. Guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, a systematic search was conducted using the keyword combination “Artificial Intelligence and Arts Management” across two major academic databases, namely Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. Following a structured process of identification, screening, eligibility assessment, and quality appraisal, 27 primary studies were retained for qualitative analysis. The findings were organised through thematic synthesis, resulting in three overarching themes: (1) AI-Enabled Management and Operational Systems in Arts and Cultural Institutions, which highlights the use of AI for organisational planning, decision support, resource optimisation, and audience engagement; (2) AI, Creativity, and Cultural Production, which examines human-AI collaboration in creative processes, curation, valuation, and cultural production practices; and (3) AI, Cultural Policy, Governance, and Societal Implications, which addresses issues related to regulation, cultural labour, participation, ethics, and governance frameworks. The review reveals a dominant trend toward hybrid human-AI models that emphasise augmentation rather than replacement of human expertise, alongside increasing concern for governance, equity, and cultural sustainability. Overall, by consolidating fragmented research and identifying prevailing thematic patterns, this review provides a structured overview of current scholarship. It also highlights emerging directions for future research, practice, and policy development in cultural and arts management.

HYBRIDISING EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION IN EMERGING ECONOMIES: A SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES (SEZ)–CULTURE–TECHNOLOGY FRAMEWORK IN CHINA

Wang Yajuan, Balakrishnan Parasuraman, Adi Aizat Yajid — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study examines the evolution and localisation of employee participation (EP) in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in China, focusing on the interplay of institutional adaptation, cultural buffering, and technical participation competence. Using a qualitative multi-case design involving six private enterprises from manufacturing, technology, and service sectors, data were collected through semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and non-participant observation. The findings reveal three dominant participation forms—institutionalised, technology-enabled, and culturally embedded—and identify distinct archetypes that reflect differences in ownership structure, industry context, and technological readiness. The analysis demonstrates that cultural norms mediate the effectiveness of formal EP mechanisms, while employees’ digital skills significantly influence participation depth in Industry 4.0 contexts. The study advances EP theory by integrating cultural and technological dimensions into institutional frameworks and offers practical insights for managers and policymakers seeking to design contextually appropriate participation strategies in emerging economies.

GLOBAL TRENDS IN LEADERSHIPS, RESILIENCE, AND INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOUR: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

A proposed bibliometric is an analysis of leadership and resilience in IWB (innovative work behaviour) from 2016 to 2026. With the rapid digital transformation, instability and confusion in around the world, it is struggling to be having workplaces with flexibility of leadership and employee for ensure sustained Innovation. However available literature is fragmented lacking synthesis around proposition made about this potentially major evolving area of research. Closing this gap, the study systematically tables the development, impact and thematic content of the literature, clarifying how knowledge in this area has progressed. A total of 518 Scopus-indexed documents were extracted and cleaned through OpenRefine by using a rigorous bibliometric methodological approach. Scopus Analyzer was employed for descriptive performance analysis while VOSviewer was used to conduct science mapping, co-author, citation and keyword co-occurrence analyses. Our findings illustrate a rapid and sustained increase in publications from 2020 onward, reflecting rising scholarly interest fueled by the forces of digitalization and pandemic-initiated operational difficulties. Innovative work behaviour with a central thematic link between leadership styles (transformational, servant, ethical, inclusive and digital leadership) and resilience-related psychological mechanisms such as empowerment, self-efficacy and work engagement. Publications output and strength of collaborative links indicate a less clear change for countries lead by economic words including China, Pakistan and Malaysia. Thematic clustering points to a heavy reliance on leadership focused and individual-level explanations, while digital capability and sustainability perspectives are relatively under-participated in the literature. Together, this study offers a theoretical mapping of the intellectual heritage of the field, a review of various hotspot and underexplored areas, an updated understanding of changing patterns in research into leadership to resilience to innovative work behaviour in modern organizations.

CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION OF DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A REVIEW OF LITERATURE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH AGENDA

Azizan Abdullah — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Digital entrepreneurship emerges when Artificial Intelligent (AI) becoming important agenda to the world in the 2020s. The application of AI to the industries and society have a significant impact. Global economy has undergone dramatic changes due to advance technology introduced, everyday life, society and businesses. Hugh number of businesses in the world today used AI for better performance of their organization through creativity and innovation. These creativity and innovation work hand in hand through personnel, individual or groups to think a new way of solution for problem solving. It has been utilised continuously to generate ideas among entrepreneurs and their teams for new product creation or latest method of processing. Extensive research has been conducted on creativity and innovation by scholar; however, majority of the studies focused on traditional ways of stimulating both techniques. Such traditional ways include force analogy, lateral thinking, brainstorming, brainwriting, reverse brainstorming and mind mapping. Those kinds of approaches are insufficient in the digital era in which provides new business challenges. The traditional techniques of stimulating creativity are too slow, limited scope and struggle to match the speed and complexity of the market and environment. Thus, it has been replaced and aided by technology-driven innovations, such as internet of things (IoT), virtual reality (VR) and AI. The new innovations are changing technological entrepreneurship especially when it comes to new business creation processes. AI provide crucial implications of how entrepreneurs develop, strategize and growth their companies during the entrepreneurial processes. This system is able to empower entrepreneurs of creation new opportunities, introducing new products or services through digital entrepreneurial activities. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the role of Artificial Intelligent in enhancing creativity and innovation within digital entrepreneurship.

WHICH LEAN PRACTICES DRIVE OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE? A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE MALAYSIAN ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS INDUSTRY

Mohamad Shaufi Ishak, Azyyati Anuar, Law Kuan Kheng — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This paper develops a conceptual framework examining how six Lean Manufacturing Practices (LMPs) influence Operational Performance (OP) in the Malaysian Electrical and Electronics (E&E) industry. OP is conceptualized through cycle time, defect rate, on-time delivery, and cost efficiency. Although lean manufacturing is widely recognized as a driver of operational excellence, empirical evidence from emerging-economy manufacturing contexts remains inconsistent, suggesting that individual lean practices may not contribute equally across industrial settings. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) and the Toyota Production System (TPS), the paper proposes that Cellular Manufacturing, Pull System, Continuous Improvement, Total Quality Management, Total Productive Maintenance, and Small Lot Production exert differential influences on OP in a mature, capital-intensive industry. The Malaysian E&E context is theoretically distinctive because it combines long-standing multinational lean adoption, stringent international quality requirements, short product life cycles, and high capital intensity. Six propositions are developed to guide future empirical research. The paper contributes to lean scholarship by conceptualizing lean implementation as a portfolio of practices rather than a uniformly beneficial bundle, and by offering a context-specific framework aligned with Malaysia's National Industrial Master Plan 2030 and National Semiconductor Strategy.

RANKING ONLINE SHOPPING APPLICATION USING FUZZY TOPSIS APPROACH

Siti Nor Nadrah Muhamad, Nur Syuhada Muhammat Pazil — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Nowadays, there are many online shopping applications used by modern society. However, the growth of online shopping applications has left users with a challenge of discerning the most reliable platform that meets with personal preferences. The wide range of alternatives complicates the decision-making process, requiring the need to determine the best alternative. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the best online shopping applications among students at UiTM Perlis by using Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) approach. During the analysis, primary data is collected through an online questionnaire distributed to UiTM Perlis students. In this study, it considers ZALORA, Shopee, TikTok Shop, SHEIN, and Lazada as alternatives. The criteria for evaluation are system quality, information quality, and service quality. The result of fuzzy TOPSIS highlights that Shopee as the top-ranked online shopping application, thus directly being acknowledged as the best among the alternatives. TikTok Shop comes in second, followed by ZALORA, Lazada and SHEIN. This study gives significant knowledge into the preferences of UiTM Perlis students, offering a practical application of the Fuzzy TOPSIS approach of making decisions in the realm of online shopping application and hence, contributes to the ongoing discussion over dependable approach for selecting the best online shopping apps particularly in the context of user satisfaction.

INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Lumatul Faizah, Nurita Juhdi, Nur Fariza Mustaffa — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Employee engagement is a critical factor influencing organizational performance, innovation, and retention in contemporary work environments. Leadership plays an essential role in shaping employee engagement; however, the mechanisms through which leadership affects engagement remain insufficiently integrated. This study aims to examine how inclusive leadership influences employee engagement through the mediating roles of psychological safety and organizational commitment. Using a literature review approach, this study synthesizes prior empirical and conceptual research on leadership and employee engagement. The findings indicate that inclusive leadership characterized by ethical behavior, openness, authenticity, and support enhances employee engagement both directly and indirectly. Psychological safety enables employee voice, trust, and participation, while organizational commitment strengthens employees’ emotional attachment and loyalty, translating supportive leadership practices into sustained engagement. This study concludes that employee engagement is most effectively fostered when inclusive leadership simultaneously cultivates psychologically safe work environments and strengthens organizational commitment, offering theoretical and practical insights for sustaining employee engagement.

BEYOND BARRIERS: HOW TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP TRAITS SHAPE WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP OUTCOMES IN MALAYSIA’S PUBLIC SECTOR

Niza Tan Mohd Aminuddin — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The role of women leadership in the public sector is also becoming a burning topic in Malaysia as the government puts more effort into the inclusive governance and sustainable institutional performance. Notwithstanding these efforts women are still underrepresented in top leadership positions, in most cases as a result of structural, cultural and organizational factors. The study design is empirical research that looks into the effect of transformational leadership characteristics on leadership performance of women leaders in the Malaysian public sector. The research coordinated by the transformational leadership theory discusses the four major dimensions, including idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration and their impacts of the leadership performance, which are job performance, organizational commitment, and perceived career advancement. The quantitative research design was embraced and data was gathered using a structured questionnaire which was given to 240 women who had supervisory and managerial roles in the federal ministries, state departments and statutory bodies. Descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were applied to analyze 221 usable responses. The results show that the transformational leadership qualities positively and significantly influence the leadership outcomes. Inspirational motivation and individualized consideration became the most formidable predictors and idealized influence and intellectual stimulation also provided significant contributions. These findings indicate that transformational leadership is important in helping women leaders to break institutionalized challenges in order to deliver positive leadership results in the public sector. The research will make an empirical contribution to the literature on leadership and gender and will offer practical implications in terms of leadership development programs and gender-based policies in the Malaysian public sector.

STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE IN PRACTICING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TOOLS FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

Nur Syuhada Muhammat Pazil, Siti Nor Nadrah Muhamad — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The increasing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into higher education has transformed how students learn, conduct research, and complete academic tasks. In the era of rapid technological advancement, AI has become an essential element in education, transforming the way students learn, research, and complete academic tasks. However, the extent to which students understand and utilize AI tools effectively remains uncertain. Therefore, this study investigates the factors influencing knowledge and attitude in the use of AI tools for academic purposes among students in the Diploma in Mathematical Sciences program at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Arau, Perlis. Data were collected using an online questionnaire comprising four sections covering demographic profiles, knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to AI tool use. A sample of 61 students was selected using convenience sampling, and data analysis was conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), employing frequency, reliability, correlation, and regression analyses. The Pearson correlation results revealed a moderate positive relationship between students’ knowledge and AI tool use, and a weak positive relationship between attitude and AI tool use. Meanwhile, the regression analysis indicated that knowledge was a significant predictor of AI tool usage. The overall model was significant, suggesting that knowledge plays a more substantial role than attitude in predicting AI use for academic purposes. The study concludes that enhancing students’ knowledge and digital literacy is crucial to encourage the responsible and effective use of AI in education. Institutions should focus on integrating AI literacy, ethical guidelines, and practical training into the curriculum to strengthen students’ academic engagement with AI tools.

SERVICE QUALITY, PERCEIVED VALUE AND TAKAFUL SUBSCRIPTION DECISIONS: THE MODERATING ROLE OF FINANCIAL LITERACY

Ahmad Tarzidi Ahmad Tamezi — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Despite increasing awareness of takaful products, participation rates remain lower than expected, suggesting that awareness alone is insufficient to drive subscription decisions. Existing studies have largely examined service-related factors, perceived value, and financial capability independently, offering limited insight into how these factors jointly influence consumer behaviour. Grounded in the Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991), Consumer Value Theory, and Information Processing Theory, this study examines the effects of service quality and perceived value on takaful subscription decisions and investigates the moderating role of financial literacy. A quantitative research design was employed using survey data collected from 350 Malaysian consumers through convenience sampling. Data were analysed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to assess both direct and moderating relationships. The findings indicate that service evaluations and perceived benefits significantly influence subscription decisions, with perceived value emerging as the strongest predictor, while financial literacy strengthens both relationships by enhancing consumers’ ability to evaluate product information and benefits. This study contributes to the literature by integrating service quality, perceived value, and financial literacy within a unified framework and demonstrating that financial literacy functions as both a direct determinant and a moderating mechanism in Islamic financial decision-making. Practically, the findings suggest that takaful operators should strengthen customer engagement, simplify product information, and communicate long-term protection benefits more effectively, while policymakers should expand targeted financial literacy initiatives to encourage greater participation in the takaful market.

STRENGTHENING EMPLOYEE RETENTION THROUGH CAREER GROWTH: A SCOPUS-BASED BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Rising employee mobility and mobility expectations, evolving employee needs and requirements, and increased competition to attract scarce talent have made career growth a priority in this study on employee retention. While previous studies have examined various factors that may affect retention, the literature remains fragmented. This deficit has been addressed by the study, which suggests an integrated review and systematic knowledge mapping in the period 2017-2026. The research was conducted through a literature review; data were retrieved from the Scopus Database, and 452 publications were qualified. In OpenRefine, the dataset was standardized and cleaned for accuracy. Bibliometric performance analysis and science mapping were conducted using Scopus Analyzer and VOSviewer software to provide information on publication trends, influential publications, countries, thematic clusters, and collaborations. The findings indicate that the volume of published work has continued to rise during this period, suggesting that the academic community has been growing in its interest in employee retention and the relationships between retention and career advancement. Keyword co-occurrence analysis has revealed dominant themes in the organizational context (commitment, career development), employee performance, and career adaptability/psychological capital. The most prominent research avenues are sustainable careers, protean career orientation and workplace well-being. There is also growing international cooperation reflected in the country co-authorship analysis of developed and developing countries. Moreover, the systematic and empirical mapping of the intellectual structure of employee retention research makes this research a broader contribution to the literature. It further identifies key strands of research and their modes of collaboration, and offers a synthesis that will inform the work of employees and those interested in creating retention plans based on long-term engagement with work and careers.

MICRO-INFLUENCER PROFESSIONALISM AND CONSUMER TRUST IN MALAYSIAN COSMETIC SMES: EVIDENCE FROM INSTAGRAM USERS

Mon, 08 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The increasing reliance on influencer marketing has created new opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to promote products through social media platforms. However, the effectiveness of influencer promotions depends largely on how consumers perceive the professionalism and credibility of the influencer presenting the promotional content. This study investigates the relationship between perceived micro-influencer professionalism and consumer responses toward SME cosmetic brands promoted on Instagram. A quantitative survey design was employed, and data were collected from 100 Malaysian social media users who regularly engage with influencer-generated promotional content. The study examined multiple dimensions of influencer professionalism, including content accuracy, demonstration quality, transparency disclosure, professionalism and brand alignment, message consistency, engagement quality, influencer trustworthiness, and ethical expectations. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate the relationships between these constructs and two consumer outcome variables: brand perception and purchase intention. The results indicate that all examined professionalism constructs demonstrate statistically significant positive relationships with both brand perception and purchase intention (p < 0.001). Demonstration quality and influencer trustworthiness were found to have the strongest relationships with brand perception, while ethical expectations and demonstration quality showed the strongest associations with purchase intention. These findings suggest that professional influencer communication plays a critical role in shaping consumer trust and behavioural responses in digital marketing environments. The study provides practical insights for SMEs seeking to enhance the effectiveness of influencer collaborations by prioritising professionalism and credibility in promotional strategies.

MACROECONOMIC INSTABILITY, POLICY REFORMS, AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT INFLOWS IN ASEAN COUNTRIES: A PILOT STUDY ON INSTRUMENT VALIDITY, DATA FEASIBILITY, AND METHODOLOGICAL CALIBRATION USING PANEL ARDL APPROACH

Mohd Fairuzz Rosli — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Foreign direct investment continues to be an important source of development and innovation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Many studies examine the effect of FDI on macroeconomic instability and policy reforms separately, but very few examine how policy reforms might be contingent on macroeconomic stability. Such a shortcoming does not allow for a comprehensive examination of how the two interact in affecting investment flows to developing nations. The following is a pilot study examining the feasibility of conducting such research. The assessment of the developed MII takes into account high frequency indicators of macroeconomic instability, whereas the construction of the PRI index makes use of the Principal Component Analysis approach. A Panel ARDL benchmark model allows for further analyses to be conducted. A preliminary analysis using quantitative longitudinal research design and panel data includes five ASEAN economies namely Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia and spans the period from 2000 to 2024. The data used are taken from the World Bank Development Indicators Database, cross-checked with IMF International Financial Statistics. From the pilot test, it is observed that the data quality is good and there is high consistency across data sources. Diagnostic tests confirm cross-section dependency, necessitating the use of second-generation econometrics in our complete study. Any substantive inference cannot be made out of this pilot exercise, although the methodological aspects need to be considered. Methodologically, the pilot exercise involves identification of a methodology to measure macroeconomic instability, construction of an index for institutional reforms, and applying Panel ARDL approach to pave way for further studies.

THE MODERATING ROLES OF OPENNESS TO EXPERIENCE TOWARDS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JOB CHARACTERISTICS AND JOB ENGAGEMENT AMONG ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AT THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS, MALAYSIA

Nooranizan Ariffin, Narehan Hassan — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Job characteristics refer to the specific aspects or features of a job that shape how employees perceive, experience, and respond to their work environment. These characteristics play a crucial role in determining employees’ levels of motivation, job satisfaction, performance, engagement and their overall intention to remain within an organization. The main objective of this study was to investigate the moderating role of the personality trait “openness to experience” on the relationship between job characteristics and job engagement among enforcement officers working under the Ministry of Home Affairs in Putrajaya, Malaysia. The study adopted a correlational quantitative design to examine the relationships among the key variables. Data were collected using a snowball sampling technique and gathered through an online questionnaire consisting of four structured sections measuring job characteristics, openness to experience, job engagement and demographic information. The hierarchical regression analysis was employed to determine both the direct and interaction effects between job characteristics and openness to experience on job engagement. The findings revealed that openness to experience significantly moderated the relationship between job characteristics and job engagement. This indicates that employees who score high in openness to experience are more likely to engage deeply with their work when their job characteristics are enriched and stimulating. The implications of this study are both theoretical and practical. By fostering a supportive and empowering work environment where employees feel valued, trusted and challenged, organizations can strengthen engagement levels, promote higher motivation, and enhance overall job performance. Ultimately, the study emphasizes that aligning job characteristics with individual personality traits, particularly openness to experience, can create a more dynamic, committed, and productive workforce.

FACTORS INFLUENCING WORK ENGAGEMENT AMONG MALAYSIAN PUBLIC UNIVERSITY ACADEMICS: THE ROLES OF JOB DEMANDS-RESOURCES

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

This study investigates the influence of personal resources, job resources (autonomy, social support, performance feedback), and job demands (workload, emotional demand) on work engagement among academic staff in Malaysian public universities. It contributes to the Job Demand-Resources (JD-R) model by incorporating Big Five personality traits as personal resources. Employing a cross-sectional quantitative design, data were collected from 132 academic respondents using a non-probability sampling method through an online questionnaire. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, reliability testing, normality assessment, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. Results indicate that personal resources and workload significantly predict work engagement, whereas autonomy, social support, performance feedback, and emotional demand do not. The findings suggest that enhancing motivational factors across multiple dimensions is essential to sustaining academic engagement and advancing the JD-R model’s applicability within higher education contexts.

CREATIVE AND CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS AND TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING (TVET) ENTREPRENEURS’ SUSTAINABILITY IN THE VOLATILITY, UNCERTAINTY, COMPLEXITY AND AMBIGUITY (VUCA) ERA

Noor Asmida Mohd Saleh, Shahlan Surat — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The business sustainability of TVET entrepreneur has become increasingly important as Malaysia continues to strengthen the TVET ecosystem to produce highly skilled graduates and encourage them to venture into entrepreneurship. While TVET programmes are widely recognised for emphasising practical and hands-on competencies, long-term business sustainability requires entrepreneurs to complement technical expertise with higher-order thinking skills, particularly creativity and critical thinking, to make informed decisions, solve complex problems, and adapt to rapidly changing business conditions. Although creative and critical thinking are widely recognised as essential entrepreneurial competencies, empirical evidence explaining how these cognitive capabilities contribute to the sustainability of TVET businesses remains limited. This study therefore examines the relationship between creative and critical thinking skills and business sustainability among TVET entrepreneurs in Malaysia. A quantitative correlational research design was employed, involving 131 TVET entrepreneurs selected through simple random sampling. Data were collected using the Yanpiaw Creative-Critical Thinking Style Test and a sustainability questionnaire based on the Triple Bottom Line framework. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the data. The results showed that the respondents demonstrated relatively high levels of creative and critical thinking skills. However, no significant relationship was found between thinking skills and entrepreneurial sustainability. In contrast, sustainability levels differed significantly according to business structure, with enterprise-based businesses reporting higher sustainability than other business forms. These findings suggest that sustaining a TVET business requires more than cognitive capabilities alone and is likely influenced by organisational characteristics, strategic adaptability, and effective business management practices. The study contributes to entrepreneurship and TVET literature by providing empirical evidence on the factors associated with business sustainability and offers practical guidance for educators, policymakers, and entrepreneurship support agencies for designing entrepreneurship education and support programmes that strengthen the long-term sustainability and resilience of TVET businesses in an increasingly uncertain business environment.

FROM SCROLL TO MOOD: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF EMOTIONAL CONTAGION MECHANISMS ON TIKTOK AND INSTAGRAM

Azlyantiny Mohammad, Nurliyana Abas, Shamsinar Ibrahim, Hanani Hussin — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Emotions have evolved significantly because of the fast development of TikTok and Instagram. Both are social media platforms, which are highly visual, algorithm-driven and can cause emotional contagion through emotional content, interaction and recommender systems. Although the area has gained some attention from the research community, more scholarly research is scattered throughout various disciplines and is lacking in synthesis of how the mechanisms of emotional contagion work in these platforms. The study aims to systematically review and synthesize the literature on emotional contagion mechanisms on TikTok and Instagram, which covers key concepts, thematic relationships, influential scholarly work, and emerging research trends. The literature retrieval was carried out using Scopus AI as a supporting analytical tool in literature retrieval, literature exploration, concept mapping and identification of experts in a systematic literature review approach. To understand the emotional contagion in social media environment, summary and expanded summary analysis, concept map analysis, topic experts’ analysis, and emerging themes analysis were performed. To ensure a rigorous analysis and transparency in the interpretation and synthesis of findings, the authors have undertaken this work. The results show that emotional contagion in TikTok and Instagram is influenced by emotional mimicry, emotional synchronisation, social influence, algorithmic amplification, social comparison, and network-based interaction. In Instagram, users engage with their emotions through immersive visual curation and self-presentation, as well as through algorithmic acceleration, whereas on TikTok, users engage with their emotions through immersive short video exposure and algorithmic acceleration. Themes that emerge show that digital well-being issues, influencers and emotional contagion, algorithmic influence, and collective emotional climates are now increasingly becoming a central concern in online communities. This review makes a significant contribution to the scholarship of emotional contagion by combining a behavioural, communication and technological approach and offering recommendations for researchers, platform developers, policy makers and educators interested in creating healthier and more responsible digital spaces.

THE IMPACT OF BRAND IDENTIFICATION, CORPORATE STRATEGY AND VISUAL BRANDING ON CUSTOMER LOYALTY IN AIRLINE SERVICE

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The airline industry is a very competitive market. This makes strong airline brand appeal important to foster loyalty. The objective of the study is to see what the influence between brand identification, corporate strategy and visual branding towards customer loyalty in airline service is. To employ the study, quantitative research is done using an online survey to distribute questionnaires. Using the G-calculator and the population size of the airlines in KLIA1 and KLIA2, 385 sample sizes are gathered to measure the variable of the study. The data is analysed using SPSS and having reliability analysis and multiple regression. Findings showed that all variables have significant influence towards customer loyalty in the airline industry. Thus, this urges airlines to strengthen their brand identification, corporate strategy and visual branding to improve customer loyalty in airline service.

KEBEBASAN BERSUARA MENURUT AL-QURAN: ANALISIS TAFSIR MAWDU'I DAN ISU KONTEMPORARI DI MALAYSIA

Mohamad Murad Mahyudin Muheji — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Kebebasan bersuara merupakan hak asasi yang diiktiraf oleh Islam namun perbincangan tentang batasannya dalam konteks Malaysia masih kurang berpandukan analisis teks al-Quran secara sistematik. Kajian ini mengkaji kebebasan bersuara menurut al-Quran melalui pendekatan tafsir mawdu'i, menganalisis batasannya melalui kes G25 Malaysia dan Sisters in Islam serta menilai kesesuaian kerangka wasatiyyah sebagai penyelesaian. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif melalui analisis dokumen dengan menghimpunkan ayat-ayat al-Quran berkaitan tema kebebasan bersuara daripada kitab-kitab tafsir muktabar iaitu Al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Al-Zuhayli dan Quraish Shihab. Analisis tematik Braun dan Clarke turut digunakan untuk menilai kes-kes kontemporari yang berkaitan. Dapatan kajian mengenal pasti tiga kelompok prinsip kebebasan bersuara dalam al-Quran iaitu kelompok pengiktirafan hak bersuara, kelompok etika bersuara dan kelompok hikmah dalam berdialog. Analisis terhadap kes G25 dan Sisters in Islam mendapati bahawa kedua-dua pertubuhan ini mempunyai sandaran yang sah dalam kerangka al-Quran untuk menyuarakan pandangan mereka namun cara penyampaian dan metodologi yang digunakan turut menentukan kesahan hak bersuara tersebut dari sudut Islam. Kajian ini menyimpulkan bahawa kerangka wasatiyyah berpotensi menjadi landasan penyelesaian yang seimbang dan berpandukan wahyu dalam menangani ketegangan berkaitan hak bersuara di Malaysia. Kajian ini menyumbang kepada literatur sedia ada dengan menggabungkan pendekatan tafsir mawdu'i, kerangka wasatiyyah dan analisis kes kebebasan bersuara dalam konteks sosio-perundangan Malaysia secara bersepadu.

Freedom of expression is a fundamental right recognised by Islam, yet discussions on its boundaries in the Malaysian context remain insufficiently grounded in systematic Qur'anic textual analysis. This study examines freedom of expression according to the Qur'an through the thematic exegesis approach, analyses its boundaries through the cases of G25 Malaysia and Sisters in Islam, and evaluates the suitability of the wasatiyyah framework as a resolution to existing tensions. A qualitative approach through document analysis was employed, gathering Qur'anic verses related to the theme of freedom of expression from authoritative exegetical works including Al-Tabari, Ibn Kathir, Wahbah al-Zuhayli and Quraish Shihab. Thematic analysis by Braun and Clarke was also utilised to evaluate relevant contemporary cases. The findings identify three clusters of principles governing freedom of expression in the Qur'an, namely recognition of speech rights, ethics of expression, and wisdom in dialogue. Analysis of the two cases reveals that both organisations are grounded in Qur'anic principles in voicing their views, although the manner of expression and methodology employed also determine the legitimacy of that right from an Islamic perspective. This study concludes that the wasatiyyah framework holds potential as a balanced framework grounded in Qur'anic guidance for addressing tensions related to freedom of expression in Malaysia. This study contributes to existing literature by integrating thematic exegesis, the wasatiyyah framework, and case analysis of freedom of expression within the Malaysian socio-legal context.

DESTINATION BRAND EXPERIENCE IN TOURISM RESEARCH: A THEMATIC REVIEW AND FUTURE RESEARCH AGENDA

Jiao Wei, Zuraidah Zainol — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Destination brand experience (DBE) has become a central construct in tourism marketing, capturing tourists’ sensory, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses to destination brands. Despite growing interest, no review has examined the conceptual development and empirical findings specific to DBE. This paper conducts a thematic review of 42 studies published between 1996 and 2025, synthesizing current knowledge across five themes: conceptualization and dimensional structure, theoretical foundations, antecedents, outcomes and consequences, and methodological approaches. The four-dimensional framework (sensory, affective, behavioral, intellectual) from Brakus et al. (2009) remains dominant, though relational and spiritual dimensions are gaining attention. The Stimulus-Organism-Response model and Social Exchange Theory are the most applied lenses, yet many studies lack explicit theoretical grounding. A clear gap exists between extensive outcome research and limits antecedent investigation. An integrative framework and seven-point future research agenda are proposed. This review provides the first dedicated synthesis of DBE research, offering guidance for scholars and destination marketers.

THE INNER SPARK: A BIBLIOMETRIC JOURNEY THROUGH INTRINSIC MOTIVATION IN ENTREPRENEURIAL RESEARCH

Nurul Hayani Abd Rahman, Zuraidah Mohamed Isa, Azyyati Anuar — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Research on entrepreneurship has increasingly emphasised the relevance of intrinsic motivation, as it explains entrepreneurial action beyond financial incentives and necessity-based opportunity recognition. Previous reviews have focused on entrepreneurial motivation, social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial intention, and other frameworks grounded in motivation. However, most of these reviews have used conceptual or systematic synthesis methods. Therefore, minimal attention has been given to mapping the intellectual and citation landscape of research that directly links intrinsic motivation to entrepreneurship. To fill this gap, this paper offers a bibliometric review of the literature on intrinsic motivation in entrepreneurship published in the Scopus database from 1995 to 2025. In the final stage, the dataset consisted of 323 English-language publications. The analysis included publication growth, document and source types, subject area distribution, source titles, keyword trends, citation metrics, highly cited articles, co-authorship network, and keyword co-occurrence network using VOSviewer and Publish or Perish. The results showed that the field is journal-centric, with 74.61% of publications and 76.16% of source types being articles and journals, respectively. The topic has become more of an academic interest since 2017, and publication production peaked in 2025, showing a clear increase. The citation analysis shows 8,714 citations, an average of 281.10 citations per year. This implies the high citation visibility and intellectual maturity. The network analysis shows the authors’ collaboration. The co-occurrence of the keywords emphasises significant thematic clusters, such as entrepreneurial motivation, social entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial intention and prosocial motivation. These findings suggest that intrinsic motivation is key to autonomy, competence, intention formation, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial agency across social, institutional and sectoral contexts. Overall, this study contributes to the literature by examining the conceptual, citation, collaborative and theoretical landscape of intrinsic motivation research in entrepreneurship. It also suggests future directions for longitudinal, cross-cultural, theory-driven and mechanism-focused research.

TIKTOK SEBAGAI PEMANGKIN EKONOMI PELAJAR ASNAF: KE ARAH PENDIGITALAN USAHAWAN MUDA

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Transformasi digital telah membuka ruang baharu dalam keusahawanan, khususnya melalui penggunaan platform media sosial seperti TikTok. Golongan pelajar asnaf di UiTM Perlis berpotensi besar untuk memanfaatkan medium ini sebagai sumber penjanaan ekonomi serta sebagai langkah awal ke arah pendigitalan usahawan muda. Kertas konsep ini membincangkan peranan platform ini sebagai pemangkin ekonomi bagi pelajar asnaf di UiTM Perlis dengan memberi tumpuan kepada peluang, cabaran dan strategi yang boleh digunakan untuk meningkatkan keterlibatan mereka dalam ekosistem digital. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif berasaskan analisis dokumen, merangkumi laporan rasmi, artikel akademik dan sumber berkaitan media sosial serta keusahawanan digital. Dapatan yang dijangka ialah penggunaan TikTok bukan sahaja dapat meningkatkan kemahiran keusahawanan digital dalam kalangan pelajar asnaf di UiTM Perlis, malah turut membina keyakinan diri, jaringan sosial serta daya saing mereka di pasaran. Secara keseluruhan, kertas konsep ini menekankan potensi media sosial tersebut sebagai medium strategik dalam melahirkan generasi usahawan muda berdaya saing dan berdaya tahan dalam ekonomi digital semasa.

Digital transformation has opened new avenues in entrepreneurship, particularly through the use of social media platforms such as TikTok. Asnaf students (underprivileged students eligible for zakat) at UiTM Perlis possess significant potential to leverage this medium as a source of economic generation and as an initial step toward the digitalization of young entrepreneurs. This concept paper discusses the role of this platform as an economic catalyst for asnaf students at UiTM Perlis, focusing on the opportunities, challenges and strategies that can be employed to enhance their engagement within the digital ecosystem. This study utilizes a qualitative approach based on document analysis, encompassing official reports, academic articles and sources related to social media and digital entrepreneurship. The expected findings suggest that the use of TikTok not only enhances digital entrepreneurship skills among asnaf students at UiTM Perlis but also builds self-confidence, social networks, and market competitiveness. Overall, this concept paper emphasizes the potential of media social as a strategic medium in producing a generation of young entrepreneurs who are competitive and resilient in the current digital economy.

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE IN ASIA AND AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING ADOPTION BY SMES IN MALAYSIA AND NIGERIA

Sun, 28 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Information and communication technology (ICT), such as social media, has an important position in today’s business ecosystem. The emergence of Web 2.0 and faster, better internet connectivity has created a paradigm shift in business-client relationships. Consumers not only use social media to stay in touch but have also begun to share their experiences, such as their purchasing habits. This phenomenon is an opportunity for SMEs to adopt social media marketing to enhance their reach to prospective and existing customers cost-effectively. This study investigated the combined relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness on the adoption of social media marketing adoption among SMEs and the moderating influence of facilitating conditions on these relationships in both Kedah, Malaysia, and Kaduna, Nigeria. This study sampled SMEs in these two regions and found that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness have a significant effect on the adoption of social media marketing adoption among SMEs in both Kedah, Malaysia (R2=.558, F(2,133) = 84.09, p<.05) and Kaduna, Nigeria (R2=.466, F(2,116) = 50.62, p<.05). This relationship is further strengthened by the existence of facilitating conditions as a moderator for both Kedah, Malaysia (R2 change = 0.096, F change (1,132) = 36.57, p<.05) and Kaduna, Nigeria (R2 change = 0.179, F change (1,115) = 58.2, p<.05).

STRATEGIC SOCIAL MEDIA UTILISATION AND CONSUMER PURCHASE INTENTION IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE INDUSTRY: A TECHNOLOGY-DRIVEN PERSPECTIVE

Siti Radziah Mahfob, Zulaffendi Jamalludin, Noreen Noor Abd Aziz — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The shift to digitalisation and the rapid expansion of social media platforms have fundamentally transformed marketing practices in the food and beverage (F&B) industry from traditional communication models into technology-driven, interactive ecosystems that influence consumer decision-making. Despite rapid advancements in digital marketing, limited integrative evidence exists regarding how strategic social media utilisation collectively shapes consumer purchase intention. This study addresses this gap by examining the relationship between social media strategies and consumer purchase intention from a technology-driven perspective. A systematic literature review methodology was employed using the Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases, resulting in 543 initial publications. Following systematic screening based on predefined inclusion criteria, including language, publication period, publication type, and subject area, 27 peer-reviewed articles were retained for thematic analysis. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify recurring patterns across the selected studies. The thematic synthesis identified four overarching thematic dimensions: social media marketing strategies and purchasing behaviour, influencer marketing and content engagement, digitalisation and technology adoption in consumer experience, and branding, sustainability, and market positioning through social media. The synthesis indicates that purchase intention emerges from an interconnected system involving informational quality, trust development, psychological alignment, and technological engagement. Influencer credibility, personalised content, digital exposure, and sustainability-oriented branding collectively strengthen consumer behavioural intention. Overall, the findings demonstrate that strategic social media utilisation in the F&B sector operates as a multidimensional technological ecosystem in which marketing, digitalisation and consumer psychology converge to shape consumer purchase intention. This review contributes to the growing body of knowledge by advancing an integrated technology-driven framework that explains how social media strategies collectively influence consumer purchase intention in the F&B industry.

FACTORS INFLUENCING YOUTHS’ ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION: A CASE STUDY IN THE MEKONG DELTA

Truong Thi Kim, Nguyen Tri Khiem — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

Youth entrepreneurship is particularly important in the Mekong Delta, where young people are expected to contribute to local employment, innovation, and the region’s green and digital transformation. However, existing studies on entrepreneurial intention (EI) in Vietnam have mainly focused on major urban areas or single-university samples, while evidence from the Mekong Delta remains limited. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors influencing EI among youth in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam. A mixed-methods research design was adopted, integrating both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Survey data were collected from 188 young individuals who are either currently engaged in or preparing for entrepreneurial activities, using a 5-point Likert scale for measurement. The analysis was conducted using PLS-SEM in SmartPLS, following two stages: assessment of the measurement model and the structural model. The results confirm the reliability of the measurement scales. The model explains 96.1% of the variance in EI (R² = 0.961). All hypotheses were supported at the p < 0.001 level with positive path coefficients: entrepreneurial motivation (EM) (β = 0.298), AT (β = 0.267), entrepreneurship support policies (SP) (β = 0.261), creativity and innovation (CI) (β = 0.245), and perceived behavioral control (PB) (β = 0.234). These findings underscore the prominent role of motivation, along with the importance of attitude, creative capacity, perceived control, and policy effectiveness in shaping EI among youth in the Mekong Delta. Managerial implications suggest prioritizing interventions that nurture motivation, enhance self-efficacy, foster innovation, and improve policy implementation to effectively convert intention into entrepreneurial action.

BRIDGING THE SCHISM: A NEED ANALYSIS FOR A TERTIARY AND EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS MODULE

Sara Asmawati Shariffuddin, Ismi Safia Adila Ibrahim — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 00:00:00 +0800

The integration of university and career-specific skills development has become a focus in curriculum design, particularly in response to the demands of contemporary tertiary challenges and a globalized and skill-driven workforce. As such, a tailored curriculum requires a needs analysis to ensure that the course materials meet tertiary and industry expectations, and consequently, to ascertain students’ successful professional futures. Hence, a needs analysis was conducted to identify the skills required by SPM school leavers before embarking on a university education path or a career journey after tertiary education. However, this study focuses only on a portion of a larger needs analysis: the educators’ perceptions of the types of skills particularly English language skills that students require in their studies and in the workplace. Three teachers and three lecturers were interviewed. The findings highlighted five main structures that need to be integrated in the material development process: reading and writing, speaking and listening, grammar and vocabulary, technology and digital literacy and assessment and engagement. The study offers implications for module developers seeking to design comprehensive modules that polish the skills essential for success in tertiary education and future employment.