If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation.Abstract This paper examined the sources of occupational stress among Malaysian managers working in multinational companies (MNCs). A total of 440 managers participated in this survey. Data is collected through a questionnaire distributed to managers in 34 multinational companies operating in Malaysia. It was found that workloads, working conditions and relationship at work were the main concern of the managers that lead to stress at the work place. The results also indicated that certain demographic variables do influence the level of stress among managers.

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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the perceived importance and actual level of implementation of five preliminary success factors, four knowledge management (KM) strategies and three KM processes towards the performance of the Malaysian telecommunication industry.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted on telecommunication companies based on a convenience sampling technique. Data were analyzed using paired t‐tests and multiple regression analyses.FindingsThe results show that Malaysian telecommunication organizations view all the KM preliminary success factors, strategies and process as important and critical but fall short of implementation. K Audit, K Map, leadership, measurement, construction and embodiment are the variables that have the largest gap between perceived importance and actual implementation. For perceived importance, culture is the only important variable associated with organizational performance whereas for actual implementation, both business strategy and construction process are found to be significantly associated with organizational performance.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper was conducted in only one industry in Malaysia. Furthermore, it focuses on KM implementation rather than on learning and knowledge utilization. This paper provides a framework for developing an instrument for assessing the use of preliminary elements in the Malaysian telecommunication industry. Telecommunication organizations have to overcome problems identified and enhance their implementation level in order to achieve better organizational performance.Originality/valueThis paper has extended knowledge in KM, especially concerning implementation issues at the beginning stage of KM. Moreover, it is among the first empirical work to specifically examine preliminary success factors, processes and strategies that affect the preliminary implementation of KM.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to study the knowledge-sharing patterns of undergraduate students in public and private universities. Design/methodology/approach -A questionnaire survey was conducted on students of both the types of universities in Malaysia. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Findings -Seven important areas have been the focus of this study: the general attitude towards knowledge sharing; preferred sources for study-related tasks; perceived frequency of knowledge sharing for study-related tasks; types of information and knowledge shared; preferred channels for knowledge sharing; factors limiting knowledge sharing; and knowledge sharing motivators. The data collected from 423 undergraduate students suggest that there are differences between the students in the public and private universities when it comes to knowledge sharing patterns.Research limitations/implications -The paper serves more as a descriptive study on the knowledge sharing patterns rather than a correlational study to find the relationship among variables. Practical implications -The findings suggest that group activities should be structured in all curricula in order to encourage sharing among students. Academics are expected to play an important role to encourage their students to share by means of putting emphasis on collaborative learning to reduce competition among students. The management of universities can promote knowledge sharing by understanding the barriers and motivators of knowledge sharing. Originality/value -The paper is among the first to compare the knowledge sharing patterns among private and public undergraduate students in Malaysia.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effects of service quality and perceived price (monetary and behavioural price) on the revisit intention of patients to hospitals, as well as the mediating role of perceived price on the relationship between service quality and revisit intention. Design/methodology/approach This paper distributes questionnaires to outpatients in three major cities in Malaysia, namely, Penang, Melaka and Johor. Patients who were in the foyer, dispensary area and waiting area were intercepted where their responses were sought. The responses obtained from 400 patients were analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. Besides analysing the path coefficients, this study has examined the common method variance, bias and indirect effects of the relationships. Findings The results suggest that patients pay more attention to certain values in their search for the best health-care service and subsequently move on to new values. Pricing is an effective strategy to promote favourable behavioural intentions amongst patients. Better service quality is reflected in the reasonableness of monetary costs incurred by patients in acquiring health-care services. Patients who received poor services will be more likely to compare such services to the medical costs incurred to ascertain the worthiness of the amount paid. In addition, service quality also influences how patients perceive spending their time and efforts (waiting for nurses and physicians, as well as queueing in hospitals) as worthy and vice-versa. Their revisit intention will also be affected by the extent of which they invest their time, energy and efforts to search for relevant information. Practical implications The hospitals which desire to charge additional fees should enhance their service quality to reflect price equity. This is imperative in view of the pricing structure which can be relatively complex in subsequent follow-up treatments that may affect the decision of patients on the sources of health-care services. Originality/value Given the inevitable increase in medical fees, the perceived price can be a key determinant to the overall judgement patients had in terms of the health-care services received and the time and efforts sacrificed. However, the importance of monetary price and the behavioural price is still relatively unstudied, particularly their influence on revisit intention in the health-care setting.

PurposeThis research attempts to comprehensively examine the criteria for measuring knowledge management (KM) performance outcomes in organisations. To date, no studies have provided a set of widely accepted measurement criteria associated with KM efforts. This paper, therefore, aims to fill the gap.Design/methodology/approachThis study was carried out by systematically reviewing the literature on KM performance outcomes. Case studies were carried out in two organisations identified to have a KM programme in place.FindingsA review of the literature indicates that there are 38 outcomes from KM implementation which have garnered impressive theoretical and empirical support. Based on this, a comprehensive set of performance outcomes is proposed and grouped into five key dimensions. The findings from the case studies indicate that this proposition is relevant.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of case studies limits the generalisability of the findings, but it opens up new questions to be explored by further researching into the relationships between KM efforts and performance outcomes.Practical implicationsSuch significant findings will have important implications to organisations on how their KM efforts can be systematically measured for business success. To the academics, this paper provides insights into the relationship between KM efforts and organisational performance.Originality/valueThis study is probably one of the first to comprehensively explain the criteria for measuring KM efforts in organisations. It is hoped that the findings of this study will encourage organisations to practise KM from the right perspective in order to reap the outcomes from KM initiatives.

This paper examines the extent of end-user satisfaction on the service delivery process by the Royal Malaysian Customs (RMC) as the agency moves toward implementing electronic government (e-government) initiatives. The RMC has in fact been identi¯ed as one of the prominent and technology-pioneering government agencies in the country and therefore suitable for delivering electronic public services. Data were collected in mid-2009 from two types of customers, i.e., internal (Customs o±cers) and external (forwarding agents, importers, and bonded warehouse licensees) who use the Customs Information Systems (CIS) C8 form for transshipment of goods. Overall, the¯ndings suggest that both types of customers are either indecisive and/or doubtful with the performance of the CIS. These¯ndings are then extended to the broader context of information technology. It is of paramount importance that the RMC takes appropriate measures to satisfy both its internal and external customers by provision of improving its service delivery process through its CIS to produce desirable results.

PurposeThis paper aims assess to the perceived importance (PI) and actual implementation (AI) of five preliminary knowledge management (KM) success factors, i.e. business strategy, organizational structure, knowledge team, knowledge audit, and knowledge map in the Malaysian telecommunication industry.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted on telecommunication organizations located in the capital of Malaysia. Data were analyzed using indices and parametric statistics.FindingsThe results show that the organizations are aware of the importance of all the KM factors but fall short of implementation. The implemented factors consist of business strategy, organizational structure, and knowledge team. Knowledge audit and knowledge map are perceived as important but are the least implemented factors.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was conducted in only one industry in Malaysia. Furthermore, it focuses on the preliminary success factors of KM implementation rather than on learning and knowledge utilization.Practical implicationsTelecommunication organizations have to overcome resources problems and enhance implementation level in order to narrow the gaps for effective, full scale KM implementation in the later stage. Such viable practice will significantly help the industry not only to compete more effectively within Malaysia, but also to position itself as a global player in the world.Originality/valueThis study is perhaps one of the first to address the preliminary steps to be dealt with prior to KM implementation. Moreover, it attempts to compare the PI and AI of the five proposed success factors, which has received very little attention to date.