Rights awareness and COVID-19 tourism job losses: perspectives from Malaysia

This qualitative study applies the labour market segmentation theory to examine tourism job losses through the indirect causes of pay cuts, unpaid leave and the take-up of side hustle–accepted by the employees partly from loyalty, camaraderie and empathy. Where the prolonged hardship from these measures leads to resignations, employers gain from the avoidance of termination benefits mandated by a retrenchment exercise. The losses occasioned to the worker include the non-eligibility for state-funded wage subsidy and foregone termination benefits. Through a legal analysis of COVID-19 job losses, the study posits that tourism workers' lack of rights awareness contributed to the voluntary acceptance of these lawful but detrimental strategies. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Consumer risk perception of online food delivery during the COVID-19 movement control order (MCO) in Malaysia. (Special Issue: The impact of the covid-19 pandemic and the foodservice industries.)

Malaysia's online food delivery (OFD) has developed into a vibrant scene. Urban dwellers are slowly getting used to the idea of OFD services as the new normal for eating out at the times of COVID-19. During the movement control order (MCO), government initiatives and movement restrictions propelled OFD services into the limelight, allowing locals the opportunity to support their favorite local businesses. Using model goal-directed behavior (MGB), this study investigated the effect of consumers' perceived risk (e.g., performance risk, privacy risk, financial risk, physical risk, and COVID-19 risk) on their use of OFD services. The results of the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analysis of 339 responses indicates that perceived risk negatively affects consumers' desire to use OFD services, while perceived physical risk and COVID-19 risk negatively affect their intention to use OFD services. Further, the study uncovers the moderating role of perceived risk in the relationship between desire and intention. This study offers insights to OFD service providers in formulating new business strategies and propositions for business growth and consumer retention in the post-pandemic world.

The US-China trade war and the volatility linkages between energy and agricultural commodities

Any disruptive changes in the competitive environment, such as the U.S.-China trade war, may influence the price volatility of crude oil and agricultural commodities. This study examines the volatility linkage between crude oil and agricultural commodity markets in the context of the U.S.-China trade war and compares the impact of the trade war with that of other exogenous shocks. The results show that the volatility of soybeans exhibits the highest level of responsiveness to the U.S.-China trade war - which is not surprising given that the U.S. agribusiness trade to China is dominated by soybeans - followed by coffee and cotton. The sizes and dynamics of the impacts of shocks are largely commodity-specific. Notably, the trade war impacts most agricultural commodities more extensively than other exogenous shocks, including the global financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic and associated recession. These findings matter not only for the decision-making of investors and portfolio managers but also for commodity-exporting and importing countries because changes in the volatility dynamics of crude oil and agricultural commodities often impact export revenues and import expenditures and consequently feed through exports to the global supply chain under exogenous shocks such as the U.S.-China trade war. © 2023 The Authors

Understanding Students’ Cyberslacking Behaviour in e-Learning Environments: Is Student Engagement the Key?

Many universities have slowly moved to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Without the physical presence of instructors, students can easily engage in cyberslacking behaviour during online classes. Hence, the purpose of this research is to examine the association of student engagement with students’ cyberslacking behaviour during online classes. Both student engagement and cyberslacking are multidimensional constructs. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyse data from 194 university students using a survey method. The results reveal that psychological motivation, cognitive problem-solving, and interactions with instructors do not have a significant association with cyberslacking behaviour. On the other hand, peer collaboration, community support, and learning management are found to have different associations with different dimensions of cyberslacking behaviour. Learning management is identified as the most robust predictor of cyberslacking behaviour. This research fills the research gaps by investigating the associations of various dimensions of student engagement with different dimensions of students’ cyberslacking behaviour in the context of e-learning environments. © 2022 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Students' cyberslacking behaviour in e-learning environments: the role of the Big Five personality traits and situational factors

Purpose - Online learning has become more popular than ever in higher education owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this has also intensified students' propensity to engage in cyberslacking behaviour during online classes without the physical presence of instructors to monitor their behaviour. Hence, this research aims to investigate the association of the Big Five personality traits and situational factors with students' cyberslacking behaviour during online classes. Design/methodology/approach - A self-administered survey questionnaire was distributed to current university students undertaking online modules this semester. In all, 194 completed surveys were obtained for further analysis. Findings - The results reveal that extraversion, conscientiousness, neuroticism and apathy towards course material have a significant association with at least one of the cyberslacking dimensions (sharing, shopping, real-time updating, accessing online content and gaming/gambling). However, agreeableness, intellect/ imagination and class engagement are found to have no significant association with all the dimensions of students' cyberslacking behaviour during online classes. Originality/value - This study fills the research gaps by empirically testing the association of the Big Five personality traits and situational factors with students' cyberslacking behaviour in e-learning environments. Several limitations and future research are also discussed.

The rise of online food delivery culture during the COVID-19 pandemic: an analysis of intention and its associated risk

Purpose: This study aims to understand consumer behaviour in the context of online food delivery (OFD), especially given the mandatory lockdown imposed in some countries that have modified the behaviour of consumers. Using model goal-directed behaviour (MGB), this study was conducted to investigate consumer perceived risk on the use of OFD services. Design/methodology/approach: Responses of food delivery services users were collected online throughout April 2020 to understand their risk profile and behaviour. A total of 339 responses were collected and subsequently analysed using partial least square (PLS). Both measurement and structural model were evaluated to ensure that the structural equation modelling (SEM) is valid. Findings: The results revealed that attitude (ATT), subjective norm (SN), positive anticipated emotion (PAE) and negative anticipated emotion (NAE) and perceived behavioural control (PBC) significantly influenced users' desire. It was also found that PBC significantly influenced users' intention. The empirical result suggests that performance, privacy, financial, physical and the risk of contracting COVID-19 negatively influenced users' desire. In contrast, only physical and the risk of contracting COVID-19 negatively influenced users' intention to use OFD services. Practical implications: These findings provide OFD service providers and scholars with significant insights into what compels urbanites to adopt OFD services amid a health pandemic. It also allows OFD companies to realign their operation in addressing these concerns and changes in consumer behaviour. Originality/value: Against the backdrop of the pandemic, this study provides insights for OFD providers in developing new strategies and approaches for business development and consumer retention in a post-pandemic world. © 2022, Wai Chuen Poon and Serene En Hui Tung.