Malaysia had committed to be an automotive-producing country through the establishment of Proton in the year 1983. Since then, Proton has been quite a significant contributor to the Malaysian economy. People are influenced to purchase cars due to a number of factors; and these factors are studied in this research. This paper aims to identify the relationship between the macroeconomic indicators and the sales volume of cars in Malaysia. In achieving the objective, the study used secondary data gathered from Internet search, journals, and government agencies, which were then analyzed using descriptive statistic, correlation analysis, and multiple regression statistic. The result of the study shows that inflation and unemployment contribute significantly to the volume of car sales for Proton. On the other hand, gross domestic product (GDP) and interest rate do not have significant impact on the sales volume. These findings will provide Proton with valuable insights about which factors are the most influential, so they could strategize accordingly.

Internationalization provides various strategic benefits to the SMEs. It might increase the firm’s sales and revenue and be able to sustain in the economy for a longer period. However, the lack of information may become a challenge to the business, thus it is not easy to carry out the internationalization successfully due to limited resources and capabilities. On the other hand, influential factors on SMEs internalization have been discussed in developed countries, yet some developing countries are still struggling for empirical evidence. Some SMEs are facing difficulties in entering the global market as they have zero or less information on it while some of them successfully entered the market and can compete internationally. This indicates that every SMEs has the opportunity to internationalize their goods or services with proper understanding and better information about the global market. Prior studies have been carried out on factors influencing internationalization of SMEs however this study has been done specifically on internationalization of the SMEs in Malaysia. The determinants of internationalization investigated are internal factors, external factors, and networking, using partial least square method. The outcome of this study indicated that external factors, internal factors, and networking do not have any significant relationship with SMEs decision to internationalize.

Gone were the days where groceries were marketed in boring, old-school grocery stores. In Malaysia, grocery store scene is embracing the emergence of artisanal foods, foreign and locally produced, with and without halal certification as part of the marketplace and has been driven by demand among consumers for authentic, gourmet and specialized groceries. Artisanal grocery stores play a critical role in providing visitors destinations with unique groceries and in growing the food tourism industry by elevating groceries to a whole new level in which line of products available at the stores appear to be distinctive and classy. This study aimed to explore purchase intention of halal groceries by Muslim customers at artisanal grocery stores. Tested variables were Halal Awareness, Halal Certification, Promotions of Halal Products, Attitude and Religious Beliefs. Findings were derived from 100 self-administered questionnaires at two leading artisanal grocers in Malaysia located in Klang Valley. Evidently, Attitude has the most influence on Muslim customers’ intention to purchase halal groceries at these stores.

Abstract-The concept of market orientation has received attention because of its conceptual and practical values. In general, market orientation focus on customer orientation, competitor orientation, and inter-functional coordination to achieve organizational success. Thus, it is assumed the practices of market orientation will lead the organization into market-driven and consequently lead to superior organizational performance. Failure to develop market orientation may adversely affect business performance. However, the context in which the concept is been applied need to be considered. This study examines the aptness of market orientation on business performance among project contractors in a northern state of Malaysia. The focus is on the level of market orientation practice by the contractors, relationship between market orientation and business performance, and the difference between contractor's demographic factors toward market orientation. The results show that larger project contractors tend to practice more market orientation compared with smaller project contractors. Nevertheless, there was no difference in market orientation practice between contractors' categories and contractors' (company) age. However, this study found that market orientation has significant negative correlation with work value received. Therefore, this study would be useful for the contractors to evaluate their practices of market orientation.

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