Pursuing higher education abroad is a golden opportunity for any student’s personal development; however, international students’ cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) can be onerous in a foreign country. The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the roles of perceived lecturer support and host country national (HCN) support in international students’ CCA in three dimensions, i.e. general, academic, and interaction. Adopting the purposive sampling technique, survey data was collected from a sample of 124 first-year international students in a Malaysian university. The results of the partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis showed that both perceived lecturer support and HCN support are influential in international students’ general, academic, and interaction adjustment. These findings suggest that higher education institutions should amplify the role of lecturers and HCNs to help international students adjust to the various cultural aspects in Malaysia. This study contributes to the literature by applying the anxiety and uncertainty management theory to validate the influence of support on CCA in the international student context.

In Sabah, Malaysia, a traditional market known as Tamu (means meeting) acts as a hub for local business activity, especially indigenous people. This paper presents an exploratory study whose goal is to investigate the Covid-19 pandemic financial impact and intention to stay in the current business of Tamu operators. Using purposive and snowballing sampling, survey data were collected from 125 Tamu business operators in Sabah. Among the respondents, 61.6 percent indicated Tamu business as their primary income and main entrepreneurial platform. The Covid-19 pandemic Movement Control Order (MCO) enforcement resulted in the Tamu entrepreneurs experiencing 34.2 percent decrease in weekly sales revenue and a 25.7 percent reduction in weekly gross profit. Furthermore, the overall mean score for the Tamu operators' intention to remain in the Tamu business is high at 4.37 based on 5-point likert scale. Thus, the Sabah Tamu operators are more likely to sustain their Tamu business despite the adverse financial impact of the Covid-19 MCO enforcement. This study outcome may guide the relevant government agencies to mitigate the financial impact by formulating and implementing appropriate policies and support programs specifically targeted for the Tamu business operators, who are mostly informal entrepreneurs.

implementation has affected businesses negatively. Therefore, this study investigates the intention to stay in the Tamu business amongst the Sabah Tamu operators. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data by undertaking purposive and snowballing sampling using a cross-sectional study. Furthermore, the mean difference tests revealed that only the location of the Tamu operators showed a significant mean difference in intention to stay among the respondents. Meanwhile, the post hoc test showed that those in the West Coast of Sabah have a higher statistically significant mean difference than those in other areas such as Kudat, Interior and Tawau division of Sabah. There was no statistically significant mean difference in intention to stay in Tamu business regarding the respondent's age, gender, marital status, education, number of years in Tamu business, and purpose of doing business at Tamu. With a high mean score for intention to stay in Tamu business regardless of the respondent's profile and their responses for more than 60 % indicating Tamu as their primary source of income, the findings implied that most Tamu operators relied on Tamu as their primary business platform. Therefore, it might be difficult for them to leave their current business to venture into a new business that they are not familiar. Therefore, the relevant authorities should provide appropriate supports to these affected Tamu business operators.

This study investigates the tamu business operator’s intention to stay in the current business due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the West Coast of Sabah. Overall, the mean score for the intention to stay in the tamu business was considered high with 3.95 mean scores. Using the ANOVA test, the findings indicated that only the length of years involved in tamu business showed a significant mean difference among the respondents. The post hoc test showed that those in the tamu business for more than six years have a higher statistically significant mean difference than those in the tamu business for 3 – 5 years, and two years and below. There was no statistically significant mean difference between those in the tamu business for two years and below and 3 – 5 years. The findings implied that most tamu operators relied on tamu as their primary business platform, especially those who have been operating their tamu business for a longer period. It might be difficult for them to leave their current business to venture into a new business that they are not familiar with. Therefore, the relevant authorities should provide appropriate supports to these affected tamu business operators.

Logistics service quality (LSQ) is an essential component of operational achievement. Service quality is viewed based on the customer’s evaluation and perception of the logistics service. A good distribution system is required to ensure that product or service can reach customers at the right time and destination. This can attract customers to become loyal to the service provided. Gaining customer loyalty is no doubt amongst the most prioritized concern for the firms. This paper, therefore, will explore previous studies on the relationship between operational logistics service quality (OLSQ) and customer loyalty. This paper uses secondary data to investigate the relationship between OLSQ and customer loyalty. The result of this study is expected to contribute to the existing theories as well as providing knowledge and information to the practitioners in the logistics industry. The critical review suggests that there is a significant relationship between OLSQ and customer loyalty.