Malaysian Government-linked Companies Research Articles

Facilitating Hotdesking in a Hybrid Office Environment: Lessons from the Hotdesking Experiences of Workers in a Malaysian GLC

In recent years, the dynamic evolution of work arrangements has prompted organisations to adopt hybrid office environments, where remote work and on-site presence harmonise. Within this context, hotdesking has emerged as a flexible solution for optimising workspace utilisation and fostering collaboration. This research explores the experiences of workers within a prominent Malaysian Government-Linked Company (GLC). The qualitative research presented herein aligns with three pivotal research objectives, collectively contributing to a comprehensive understanding of the hotdesking landscape within the Malaysian GLC context. This research captures the essence of how workers navigate different types of non-territorial activities that are associated with hotdesking. Through illuminating direct and participant observation as well as semi-structured walking interviews that were conducted between July and August of 2023, the study unveiled three types of work activities and six types of non-territorial work settings within the organisation. The aims revolves around an exploration of the underlying themes that define the hotdesking experiences of workers at the study site. This thematic analysis provides insides into how different underlying themes are shaping up based on the evolving spatial and social dynamics of the hybrid office. The findings demonstrate the crucial role of the physical workspace, the adaptive strategies employed by workers, and the multifarious factors contributing to their satisfaction levels. These insights provide valuable guidance to organisations seeking to cultivate effective and satisfying hybrid office environments. This research provides a holistic view of the intricate world of hotdesking, anchored in the experiences of workers within a Malaysian GLC. By addressing the research aims, it extends the understanding of hotdesking dynamics, contributing empirically derived insights that enrich the discourse on modern workspace strategies.

The Mediating Effect of Emotional Intelligence on the Relationship between Talent Management Practices and Leadership Skills in Malaysian GLCs

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between talent management practices and leadership skills, as well as the potential mediating role of emotional intelligence. This study accomplished its aim through a conceptual analysis by utilizing the lenses of talent management for leadership outcomes, talent-based theory, social cognitive theory, and extant literature. The study indicated that good talent management practice implementation was not adequate to develop and produce talented leadership skills in Malaysian Government-linked Companies (GLCs). The hypothesized partial mediating models were supported by talent-based theory and social cognitive theory, signifying that talent management practices with emotional intelligence will develop leadership skills. This study enhanced the use of mediatory roles of emotional intelligence to better understand the mechanism of talent management practices within the framework.

Social Impact of Sustainable Development Goals and Corporate Governance on Malaysian Government-Linked Companies – The Malaysian Perspective

ABSTRACT Purpose: To determine the public perception of the social impact of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Corporate Governance (CG) on public sector companies focussing on government-linked companies (GLCs) in Malaysia. Design/Methodology/Approach: To ascertain the social impact of SDGs and CG, a mixed-method approach of quantitative survey and qualitative interviews were employed. In this descriptive study, a purposive sampling technique was used to distribute a self-administered questionnaire to 400 respondents throughout the nation while 15 participants were interviewed. Findings: The majority of the respondents in the primary survey are aware of SDGs and have some knowledge about SDGs implemented by GLCs. However, it is interesting to note that when it comes to Corporate Governance, the major concern noted is that many programmes and projects by the GLCs are good but do not have the far-reaching effects that were expected. Originality/Value: The results of this study contribute to policymakers, regulators and practitioners by presenting the public perception on the SDGs and CG practices being implemented by the GLCs in Malaysia. The results will assist the Malaysian government in understanding the gaps between what the GLCs set out to do and how the public perceive the initiatives carried out. Improved and widespread education of the younger generation as to their legitimate rights and the benefits accruing from SDGs will enable them to articulate their needs and vocalise precise expectations from their leaders to improve decent work and economic growth in an era which is increasingly becoming competitive and combative, both locally and internationally. Keywords: SDG, CG, social impact, Malaysians.

Benchmarking Malaysian Government-Linked Companies’ Corporate Governance and Sustainable Development Goals Performance with Public Companies of Developed Countries

Purpose: This study examines the impact of Corporate Governance (CG) and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) practices on the financial market and company performances of public sector companies in Malaysia, benchmarking against the public listed countries in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore. The benchmarking is done between a developing country against four developed countries. Design/Methodology/Approach: Panel data regression is adopted for methodology, and the research timeframe is 2017 to 2021. Eight-panel data models, which are stock return, volatility, investor sentiment, profitability, liquidity, solvency, financial efficiency and repayment capacity models are selected. Findings: The result shows that board responsibilities, remuneration, audit committee, risk management and internal control, engagement with stakeholders and conduct of general meetings are the CG variables to affect the financial market and company performance. SDG 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 16 and 17 are significant to the financial market and company performance. Originality/Value: The result of this study contributes to policymakers, regulators and practitioners in identifying the best CG and SDG practices that can help the Malaysian GLCs to gain better financial performance. The results assist the Malaysian government in understanding the gap between CG and SDG practices compared to developed countries and advocate the Malaysian companies to adopt better practices. Keywords: Corporate governance, sustainability, financial market, performance, GLC.

The Audit Committees, Internal Audit and External Audit Quality Effects on Earnings Management: An Analysis of Malaysian Government-Linked Companies

The role of audit governance mechanisms as part of the corporate governance architecture has been promoted to ensure the integrity of the financial reporting process. In order to get insights on their effectiveness, this study investigates the effects of the audit governance mechanism, specifically audit committee, internal audit function and external audit quality on earnings management in Malaysian government-linked companies. Using a cross-sectional variation of the modified Jones Model (1995) to estimate discretionary accruals, this study examined 38 GLCs from 2009–2018, which consisted of 340 firm-year pair observations. Panel data regression analysis was carried out using the generalised least square method to analyse the effect of audit governance mechanisms on earnings management. The findings suggest that lower likelihood of earnings management is associated with the internal audit function. Further analysis on the proxy of internal audit measures suggests that in-house internal audit function is negatively associated with earnings management. This research would provide insights for regulators and management to strengthen in-house internal audit function in order to mitigate earnings management in Malaysian government-linked companies. Keywords: Earnings management; audit committee; internal audit function; government-linked companies; external auditor ABSTRAK Peranan mekanisme tadbir urus audit sebagai sebahagian daripada seni bina tadbir urus korporat digalakkan untuk memastikan integriti proses pelaporan kewangan. Untuk mengetahui keberkesanannya, kajian ini menyiasat kesan mekanisme tadbir urus audit khususnya jawatankuasa audit, fungsi audit dalaman dan audit luaran terhadap pengurusan perolehan dalam syarikat berkaitan kerajaan Malaysia. Kajian ini menggunakan variasi keratan rentas Model Jones yang diubah suai (1995) untuk menganggarkan akruan mengikut budi bicara, dengan mengkaji 38 GLC dari 2009–2018, yang terdiri daripada 340 pemerhatian tahun-syarikat. Analisis regresi data panel telah dijalankan menggunakan kaedah rawak persegi terkecil (GLS) untuk menganalisis kesan mekanisme tadbir urus audit ke atas pengurusan perolehan. Penemuan mencadangkan kemungkinan pengurusan perolehan yang lebih rendah dikaitkan dengan audit dalaman. Analisis lanjut mencadangkan audit dalaman sendiri dikaitkan secara negatif dengan pengurusan perolehan. Penyelidikan ini akan memberikan pandangan kepada pengawal selia dan pengurusan syarikat untuk mengukuhkan aspek fungsi audit dalaman sendiri bagi mengurangkan pengurusan perolehan dalam syarikat berkaitan kerajaan Malaysia. Kata kunci: Pengurusan pendapatan; jawatankuasa audit; fungsi audit dalaman; syarikat berkaitan kerajaan; audit luaran

The Mediating Role of Interpersonal Trust in the Relationship between Formality of Performance Evaluation and Managerial Performance: Empirical Evidence from Malaysia

A Performance Measurement System (PMS) for performance evaluation is used primarily for motivation and evaluating employee performance. The mixed findings on behavioural consequences of performance evaluation from previous research suggest further research to examine its effect on individual performance. This research examined the role of interpersonal trust in the design and function of a control system, specifically the formality of a performance evaluation system in emerging economies. Data was gathered using survey questionnaires that were distributed to higher-level executives and managers of Malaysian Government-Linked Companies (GLCs). The research proposed that subordinates’ interpersonal trust may influence the relationship between the formality of a performance evaluationsystem and managerial performance. Using regression analysis, the research revealed that the use of PMS for performance evaluation may influence individual behaviour. The findings confirm the researchers’ expectation that the formality of performance evaluation has a significant influence on interpersonal trust, leading to enhanced managerial performance. There is also evidence of interpersonal trust having a mediating effect between the formality of performance evaluation and managerial performance when tested using the Sobel Test. These findings provide evidence that PMS as a formal performance evaluation may enhance trust, which is significant for improving individual performance. Keywords: formality of performance evaluation, interpersonal trust, managerial performance

Gender and Ethnic Diversity, and Economic Value Added: Evidence from Government-Linked Companies

Board diversity was further emphasized in the revised Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG) 2017, as this can allow for more board effectiveness in constructive debates and better decisions. With this recommended deliverable, the code believes that companies should perform and will be more equipped to face the ever-changing business environment and challenges. This study examines the influence of boardroom diversity on corporate performance using Government-Linked Companies (GLCs) in Malaysia as units of analysis. The study used secondary data of publicly listed GLCs in Malaysia for seven years (2012 to 2018). We used gender and ethnicity to proxy for boardroom diversity while economic value added (EVA) represents the company’s performance. We also used panel data multiple regression to analyze the data. After controlling for firm size and firm age, the empirical results revealed that board ethnicity is negatively and significantly related to firms’ economic performance. Board gender, however, provides insignificant results. We also find the firm size to be significant and positively related to EVA. This preliminary result on board composition requires further research on how Malaysian GLCs can address the MCCG’s recommended governance compliance, particularly on the monitoring roles of the board on firm performance.

The Predictors of Employee Mindset towards Employee Innovativeness: A Comparative Study between Two Government-Linked Companies in Malaysia

This pilot study was conducted to identify the predictors of employee mindset towards employee innovativeness at two government-linked companies in Malaysia which were Tabung Haji and Felda Berhad. The main purpose is to investigate the effects of employee mindset on employee innovativeness. In addition, it also seeks to have a deeper understanding on one of the main issues of GLCs performance in Malaysia which is the deficiency in innovativeness among their employees. The study found that all seven dimensions of employee mindset which were cosmopolitanism, cognitive complexity, creative thinking, work culture, entrepreneurial mindset, boundary spanning and adaptability were related to employee innovativeness, while four of these variables were the predictors towards employee innovativeness. Two sub-variables were found to be the positive predictors (cosmopolitanism and work culture) while two others (entrepreneurial mindset and work culture) were found to be the negative predictors towards employee innovativeness. It was also found that Tabung Haji employees were significantly influenced by cosmopolitism and work culture traits while entrepreneurial mindset trait had negative influenced toward their employee innovativeness. Meanwhile for Felda Berhad’s employees, only cosmopolitanism attribute had significantly influenced innovativeness while creative thinking and work culture traits had negative influence toward employee innovation. Employee innovativeness is critical for GLCs’ success; cosmopolitanism and work culture appeared to be the important orientation for management and employees to foster. To assist managers to deliver superior products and services, they must be courageous enough to enhance cosmopolitanism and work culture attributes to their employees as a means to increase profits for the GLCs.

Corporate Governance Codes and Intellectual Capital: Evaluating the Performance Impacts among Government-Linked Companies in Malaysia and Singapore – A Panel Data Analysis

The objective of this study was to examine and compare the effects of corporate governance (CG) and intellectual capital (IC) between Malaysia Government-Linked Companies’ (M-GLCs) and Singapore Government-Linked Companies’ (S-GLCs) firm performance (FP). Panel data analysis was employed to analyse the impact of CG’s variables and IC’s variables on FP. FP was measured by Return on Total Assets (ROA), Tobin’s Q and Earnings Per Share (EPS). Data was gathered from the website of Bursa Malaysia and the Stock Exchange of Singapore from 2005 to 2018. The sample size of this research was 60 GLCs which comprised of 34 M-GLCs and 26 S-GLCs. There were a total 840 firm year observations. Results indicated that CGs of S-GLCs have greater impact on FP when compared to M-GLCs while the findings of the IC of M-GLCs have greater impact on FP compared to S-GLCs. This research was helpful in offering further insights of CG practices and IC efficiency to the Government, Board of Directors, policy makers, shareholders and stakeholders.

Determinants of Share Price Movement on Government-linked Companies in Malaysia

The role of government-linked companies (GLCs) in Malaysia is vital for the growth of the economy in Malaysia. Nonetheless, the perception from the public at large towards GLCs in Malaysia was unpleasant because of the performance not as it should be as GLCs. Using 17 GLCs listed on the Bursa Malaysia, this study aims to investigate the factors that determine the share prices for the GLCs in Malaysia over the period from 2013 until 2017. The influence of the independent variables, namely return on asset, return on equity, dividend per share, price-earnings ratio, current ratio and acid test ratio on the share prices were tested using multiple regression analysis. The result of this study shows that those variables account for 69.6% of GLCs share price movements. Additionally, dividend per share, price-earnings ratio and acid test ratio are significantly positively related to share prices. These findings imply that for managers to create value for their shareholders, they should increase the dividend paid to shareholders, improve the company's earnings and have more liquid assets.

Job Crafting, Psychological Capital and Work Engagement: An Empirical Evidence of a Sustainable High-Performance GLC

Malaysian government linked companies (GLCs) are expected to not only sustain their performance but also to contribute more on the long term business and societal value. Thus, in moving towards this direction, organization needs employees that are energetic and have strong positive connection to their job. The aims of this study are to determine job and individual related factors that influence an individual work engagement. Specifically, this study aims at determining the (1) relationship between job crafting and work engagement; (2) relationship between psychological capital and work engagement. Data were collected from 201 executives level employees of a high performance GLC in Malaysia. The findings revealed that employees need to have self efficacy and optimism in order to be engaged in their work. Additionally, social job resources such as feedback and support is also found to be crucial to create high work engagement workforce. This study is significant to the top management, human resource practitioners, managers and supervisors in understanding job and individual factors that would lead to work engagement. This input is also beneficial in designing jobs and creating programs that would lead to high work engagement among employees

Comments on “Economic Reforms in the Aftermath of Regime Change in Malaysia”

Comments on “Economic Reforms in the Aftermath of Regime Change in Malaysia”

Impacts of Accountability, Integrity, and Internal Control on Organizational Value Creation: Evidence from Malaysian Government Linked Companies

Credible and well-functioning governance is crucial for the value creation of firms. Recently, private sectors have undergone substantial changes by focusing on good governance as a tool to enhance value, reputation, and image. The primary features of firms with good governance include greater emphasis on accountability practices, proper implementation of a corporate integrity system, and sound internal controls in place to avoid risk and to ensure policy and procedures that are complied. Government linked companies (GLCs) as the backbone of the Malaysian Government have been harshly criticised for not being able to create value(s) despite receiving high priority in the process of getting government projects. Therefore, this study aims to examine the role of good governance systems, which are reflected through accountability systems, corporate integrity systems, and internal control systems towards value creation of Malaysian GLCs. This study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire survey among 100 GLCs in Malaysia. Based on the regression analysis, this study found that corporate integrity systems and internal control systems were vital elements in ensuring value creation in GLCs.

Knowledge-Based Malaysian GLC: Are They More Innovative and Performing Much Better?

In the Knowledge-Age, knowledge and innovation is becoming the main driver of competitive advantage, especially for large organisations to create value and achieve prosperity. Subsequent to this, a quantitative study was conducted whereby data were collected using a mail survey sent to employees of listed Government-Linked Companies (GLCs). A total of 690 questionnaires were mailed out and 273 were returned and usable, representing a response rate of 39.5%. Using a disproportionately stratified sampling, the data collected was subject to structural equation modelling analysis. The objective was to develop and test a model of knowledge management initiatives, innovation, and performance for Malaysian GLCs. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to examine the validity of the measurement model and the structural model was also analysed to test the associations hypothesised in the research model. The actual findings showed that the proposed model fits the data well. Employees perceived knowledge management initiatives as important antecedents of innovation, and innovation in turn, result in better organisational performance.

Corporate Entrepreneurship Performance: Findings From Government-Linked Companies in Malaysia

A nation’s economic growth has been associated with the role of entrepreneurship. While recognising the work of entrepreneurship on the mindset and behaviour of individual entrepreneurs, research into an organisational perspective of entrepreneurship continues to emerge due to unprecedented developments occurring around the world over the last two decades. Notably, past studies have postulated that entrepreneurial organisations tend to perform better than conservative organisations. In this vein, the Malaysian government has set up Government-linked companies (GLCs) to enable these entities to become more effective, efficient, and competitive, which can assist the government in strengthening its economy. On the other hand, despite considerable improvements, the overall performance of GLCs has been unsatisfactory. Given the hostility and dynamism of the business environment, GLCs have no other option but to improve and perform better. Recognising this, the purpose of the study is to determine the underlying forces forcing GLCs to improve and to identify forms of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) pursued by GLCs. Building on the outcomes of semi-structured interviews with senior managers in GLCs, the need for CE is fostered by competition and market pressure, technological changes, and increases in operation costs. Finally, future studies of CE in Malaysia may consider other aspects of CE, including issues and challenges in pursuing CE effectively within GLCs business environment.

Quality of Work Life and Psychological Empowerment among Employees: Malaysian Government-Linked Company

Psychological empowerment may provide more satisfaction towards a job and better productivity towards employees’ work and life. The aim of this study is to investigate the link between psychological empowerment and the quality of work life [QWL] in a government-linked company in Malaysia. Employing a cross-sectional survey research design, 182 employees from a financial sector company were recruited using simple random sampling method. The Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire [Spreitzer, 1995] and Quality of Work Life Questionnaire [Walton, 1980] were used to measure psychological empowerment and the quality of work life [QWL]. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science [SPSS]. Results showed that, the overall level of psychological empowerment is at a high level, while the level of quality of work life [QWL] is at a moderate level. The findings also showed that the relationship between psychological empowerment and the quality of work life has a very weak relationship. It can be concluded that, psychological empowerment is associated to quality of work life among the employees in a Malaysian government-linked company

A Proposed Framework of Corporate Entrepreneurship in Government-linked Companies

The growth of public enterprises or government-linked companies (GLCs) has been phenomenal over the years. However, the performance of GLCs remains a major concern. On the other hand, past studies have postulated that there is a strong relationship between corporate entrepreneurship (CE), entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and firm performance. Despite this, viewing GLCs’ performance in the context of CE or EO has received minimal attention among strategic management and entrepreneurship scholars. This paper highlights and discusses the performance of GLCs within the context of CE. Given the role of EO as a direct predictor while proposing CE internal and external factors as moderators of the EO-CE performance relationship in GLCs, a proposed framework of CE within the context of GLCs in Malaysia is proposed.

Institutional Investor Stewardship in the UK and Malaysia: Functionally Similar, Contextually Challenged

AbstractInstitutional investors are acknowledged as an influential force in markets worldwide. As a result of increased focus on the impact from the investing and shareholding practices of institutional investors, stewardship codes were first introduced in the UK, followed by Malaysia. This article evaluates the theory and practice of institutional investor stewardship in Malaysia through functional and contextual lenses, as juxtaposed against the more established position of stewardship in the UK. Notwithstanding an analogous legal framework for shareholder rights and the textual similarities of the UK Stewardship Code and Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors, the dominance of government-linked investment companies and government-linked companies in Malaysia results in a distinct set of issues in relation to institutional investor stewardship. This article then argues that the stewardship codes are in themselves insufficient in increasing the quality and scope of institutional investor engagement as they fail to address the underlying agency conflicts between the institutional investors and ultimate beneficiaries or clients. In learning from the UK's experience, it is important that Malaysian policymakers pay attention to the overarching structural factors and incentives driving institutional investor engagement alongside the development and take-up of the stewardship code.

Tax Avoidance Detection Based on Machine Learning of Malaysian Government-Linked Companies

Machine learning has been widely used in solving the problem of prediction and classification. It is also beneficial in the problem of tax avoidance detection. This study presents the utilization of machine learning classification approach for detecting tax avoidance of Malaysian government-linked companies (GLCs). There were nine machine learnings algorithms have been used on the real dataset collected from datastream and companies annual reports. The performance of these algorithms have been observed based on different training approaches and different features selection. The findings have revealed that the accuracy of results from each machine learnings were divergent according to the training approaches and features selection.

Factors Influencing the Effective Leadership Succession Planning: Study on A Malaysian GLC

Factors influencing effective Leadership Succession Planning (LSP) of one main Malaysian Government Linked Companies (GLC) becomes the focal scope of this research paper. The need to understand external factors, among others, on Malaysian economic policy itself, has a great influence on LSP program. It is not sufficient for the leaders in GLCs to only master their business operations knowhow. With the great interest to discover the actual practice of a successful GLC, researcher took this subject as this qualitative research is aimed to study the current factors and the gap that is influencing the effectiveness of current LSP initiatives by a service-oriented of GLC, and to highlight some key critical factors as proposed in the literature. Factors influencing the effectiveness of LSP are also subject on the ability of the leaders to adopt to external changes particularly in the era of a borderless economic and faster rate of technology changes, and there are some differences among the industries and organizations, subject to the nature of the business and their stakeholders. Nevertheless, some important concept in LSP can be used as guidelines and practices be it from the primary data or the research literature. In view of this, the researcher is determined to conduct a qualitative study in meeting the research objectives and to answer the research questions. An interview with the Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of one GLC, who is the subject matter expert. The recording from the interview was transcribed and further analyzed using ATLAS.ti software. The findings evidence that there is the current practice of leadership succession planning in the company, anyhow there is a gap between the aspirations of the Group CEO and the availability of C-level replacement from within, and between the reality and the theories. Results of the findings identify the outcomes that need to be taken into action for a more effective LSP program. In the future, similar research approach can be conducted to other GLCs in order to analyze the similarities and complementary aspirations with regards to LSP.