Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between women on board and the financial performance of Malaysian listed companies. Design/methodology/approach Panel generalised method of moments (GMM) analysis was used over 928 public-listed companies listed on the Malaysian Stock Exchange from 2010 to 2016. GMM overcomes the problem of endogeneity and simultaneity bias. The dependent variable was firm performance, measured by Tobin’s Q. The explanatory variable was gender diversity, proxied by the percentage of women on board, the presence of women and gender heterogeneity indices, Blau and Shannon indices. Findings More gender diversification leads to declining firm performance possibly due to issues of tokenism and gender stereotypes. Research limitations/implications Further studies should look into the impact of various types of ownership structures on firm value and also by sectors. Practical implications As women represent half the population in Malaysia, more positive affirmative policies must be introduced to enhance their contributions to society. Social implications As women progress in society, their contributions towards nation building will be significant. Women not only play a nurturing role, but also can shape the destiny of a country. Originality/value Studies on the relationship between board gender diversity and financial performance have been conducted in the context of a few developed economies. This study contributes to the literature by examining such an issue in a developing economy that has a different environment from that of developed economies.

Purpose – The aim of this study is to build upon Jain et al.'s (2007) work by investigating the knowledge-sharing barriers and strategies of academic staff in public and private universities in Malaysia which have received relatively little research attention to date. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 502 questionnaires was collected on both public and private universities in Malaysia. Data were analysed using SPSS. Findings – The overall findings show that private universities are more effective and are more willing to share knowledge. Linking knowledge sharing with non-monetary rewards and fair performance appraisals are strongly recommended in private universities, while monetary rewards, recognitions, publication of knowledge on websites and newsletters and the use of appropriate technology tools and systems are strongly recommended in public universities. Practical implications – Top management in Malaysian public and private universities must play their role and put in more effort to ensure academics have the proper platform and support to share their knowledge. Originality/value – This study is perhaps one of the first to address the comparison between knowledge sharing among lecturers in private and public universities in Malaysia.

Weak marketing strategies of emphasizing the same Internet banking features in different countries have failed to accurately suit the local demands. As one percent increase in the retention of Internet banking acceptance will typically bring 18 percent reduction in operating cost (Bhattacherjee, 2001), indifference towards consumers' adoption of Internet banking services may result in a big loss to the financial institutions. Therefore, this study is conducted to help banks mitigate the key cause of profit reduction in Internet banking industry which is an insufficient understanding of customer behaviour and preference by recommending effective strategies to help banks retain existing Internet banking customers. A questionnaire was developed based on the theoretical framework, tested in a pilot study, and finally distributed to a sample of 1,200 Internet banking users from major cities in the United States and Malaysia. Malaysian females have significantly higher behavioural intention to use Internet banking services compared to their counterparts in the United States. Young adults in the United States are more likely to be influenced by their social environment when using Internet banking services while middle-aged adults from Malaysia rank significantly higher on behavioural intention to use Internet banking services, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating conditions and attitude towards using Internet banking. The study is also the among the very few available research that attempts to discuss cultural differences of Internet banking acceptance of the United States and Malaysia by applying a combination of Hofstede (2001) and Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (1998)'s cultural dimensions.

Small medium enterprises (SMEs) hold 98.5% of businesses and serve as economy backbone in Malaysia. However, the global competitiveness of Malaysia in innovation has been declined recently. The declining innovation index has been reflected a low level of innovation in SMEs. This study serves as one of the pioneer studies conducted to foster the achievement of Malaysia Master Plan (2012-2020), focusing on a fresh approach to bring SMEs to the next level through innovation. The study aims to examine which innovation factors affect innovation performance, as there are relatively little empirical evidences in previous researches and very little innovative activities in SMEs Malaysia. This study uses quantitative research methodology, 300 sample sets have been collected from Malaysia SMEs and the data was analyzed by using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). All proposed factors in this study (absorptive capacity, internal R&D collaboration and knowledge sharing) are significantly affect innovation performance, except technology transfer. The findings of this study provide theoretical contribution and practical contribution for small medium enterprise, stakeholder, academic institution, policy makers as well as a reference for government to help SME achieve higher innovation.

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