This study aims to investigate the factors that influence the performance of the firms funded by equity crowdfunding after the campaign ended successfully. The factors investigated are the top management team (TMT), social networks and the platform provider (PP). Not many studies discuss on the related variables on ECF ecosystem in Malaysia. As such, this study adopts conceptual research approach by examining and analysing previous literatures on the topic. This study will answer the following questions; i) How TMT, social networks and platform provider influence the performance of the ECF funded firm. The findings indicate that under crowdfunding ecosystem, the characteristics of the founder and TMT play an important roles to attract the investors' attention. They form a strategic human assets in the firm. This implicitly signals the firm's values and reduce the asymmetry information. The values upsurge with the social traits among their networks. The networks can be among other those with more funding capability to inject more money when requested by the entrepreneur. Investors in crowfunding scenario invest based on closeness and trustworthiness. Thus, ECF funded firm with promising human capital, networks capital generated internally and externally as well as well known platform provider plus the workable business plan able to attract financial capital from investors when needed. The emergence of ECF fund and other new emergence financing instruments have evolved the entrepreneurial landscape worldwide. Moreover, these funding are unique as they can be tailored according to the firm funding objective. Nowadays, these type of funding have been widely used in real estate, agricultural and health industries too. The revolution in financial industry known as fintech is a plus to crowdfunding ecosystem. Despite of disrupting the traditional banking and financial institutions, crowdfunding provides opportunities to potential ventures with scarce capital resources. The uniqueness of this research is that previous studies yet to discuss how PP moderates the effect of founder, TMT and networks towards the ECF funded firm performance.

The research follows the quantitative method in which data was collected using the survey instruments distributed among the key informants in an organization. The key informant refers to the decision-maker of the firms that successfully secure funding via equity crowdfunding from the year 2016-2019. The key informants include the founder, co-founder, director, chief executive officer (CEO), chief financial officer (CFO), and chief operating officer (COO). Also, they include other designated posts which hold the responsibility as a decisionmaker of the firm with the appropriate knowledge to respond to the survey questions. The study's purpose is to increase the number of survey responders. 231 surveys were distributed to 77 MSMEs. Due to the pandemic, the government come out with the movement control order (MCO) where work from home (WFH) has been introduced. As such, the approach to distributing the survey questionnaires also changes. Instead of using the hardcopy and face to face approach, the google form has been used. In order to ensure that the survey reached the respondents, this study used "authority of sender" (AOS) representing the ECF platforms and "plea for help" (PLEA) approaches. The response rate increased from 0.02% (5 respondents) to 43.72% (101 respondents). Since the study examines the firm performance, out of 101 respondents, only 92 met the required criteria. The data answers the research questions and addresses the objectives to investigate the Equity crowdfunding (ECF) funded firms in Malaysia. Researchers in Malaysia should use the AOS and PLEA, especially in the area where the existence of AOS and PLEA would increase the respondents' participation and completion of the distributed surveys.

Background: Malaysia, like the majority of other countries, has a system in place to ensure that SMEs do not continue to suffer as a result of the proliferation of Covid-19. Among the measures implemented is the assistance of crowdfunding sites to guarantee that SMEs have alternative financing channels even in the event of a calamity. Furthermore, the entrepreneur must work to solve the challenges that occur as a result of the pandemic. Objectives: To investigate the ECF as an alternate source of capital throughout the Covid-19 choas. Methodology:The content on the Pitch Platforms Sdn Bhd's website from March 18, 2020, to April 5, 2021, as well as the relevant literature on the prospects of crowdfunding in assisting entrepreneurs in acquiring money amid the Covid-19 issue, were observed. Findings/ Implications: The study focuses on the usage of online funding via equity-based platforms in Malaysia during the outbreak. The ECF has a significant impact on Malaysian entrepreneurial finance. ECF encourages the development of crisis-resistant business models and raises entrepreneurs' understanding of digitization, technology, and web financing for expansion plans, particularly in potential business concepts. This analysis also indicates some intriguing research directions.

Crowdfunding has altered the entrepreneurial funding landscape in Malaysia. Statistics generated by Securities Commission of Malaysia indicates that a number of small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have benefitted from the equity (ECF) and peer-to -peer (P2P) lending in the crowdfunding markets. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has badly affected many economic sectors, especially SMEs. They are thus forced to adapt to the "new normal" in order to sustain continued growth and create shared value. The objective of this study is to explore the significance of costly signals, which attempts to explain instances of public generosity in which individuals incur costs without any immediate benefits or entrepreneurial bricolage, creating something from nothing by making do and applying combinations of resources at hand to new problems and opportunities to aid SMEs in obtaining financial assistance from the online investors. This is a conceptual study that refers to previous literature on costly signals and entrepreneurial bricolage. This study also used a content analysis technique where the equity crowdfunding platform's website during movement control order (MCO) from 18 th March, 2020 to 18 th November, 2020 was examined to gather the information. The contents related to ECF campaigns on the platform's website was extracted and used in the analysis. However, due to limited available literature on ECF and P2P on the available platforms, this study focused solely on the ECF campaigns hosted on the PitchIn Platform Sdn Bhd's website. Prompt and innovative decisions are crucial especially during the pandemic. Entrepreneurs need to be able to highlight vital information for stakeholders and potential investors. ECF platforms also need to be able to present and highlight their information as this could reduce the asymmetry of information. In this manner, both the platform and the entrepreneur will benefit from the growth of the crowdfunding market in Malaysia. As the sustainability of the crowdfunding ecosystem in Malaysia depends on the sustainability of the entrepreneurs and the platform providers policy measures by the government should not be restricted merely to eliminating cash flow burdens, but should also include the wider entrepreneurial landscape to improve its efficiency. The government needs to have real-time information so that any uncertainty facing the entrepreneurs can be handled accordingly. This study also suggests future research to further investigate the importance of costly signals under crowdfunding umbrella.

Lifelong learning has emerged as a global priority in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015 - 2025 for addressing many challenges of sustainable development. Meanwhile, in an online setting, learners have fewer possibilities to interact with higher education institutions. There have been several studies related to interaction, flow, and student satisfaction. Nevertheless, it is relevant to western countries and traditional students. This study intended to assess how different kinds of interaction (between learners, course materials, instructors, and other learners) influenced student satisfaction among Malaysian distance learners. Moore’s Transactional Distance Theory (1989), which explains how people interact, is a key part of the research framework for this study. The current research involved 270 respondents that conform to the inclusion criteria, and SPSS was used to analyze the hypotheses. Organization and instructor may use the results in embracing a user-friendly educational experience with versatile virtual professional assistance, which is crucial for rigorous online courses. For that reason, this study will provide an overview and opportunities to communicate, cooperate, and gain input for social reinforcement.