Research papers by three academics from Faculty of Business and Finance, namely Assoc Prof Dr Lee Voon Hsien, Dr Leong Lai Ying and Hew Jun Jie, were recently awarded the “Hot Paper” and “Highly Cited Paper” awards for May/June 2020 by Clarivate Analytics.
The paper titled “Time to seize the digital evolution: Adoption of blockchain in operations and supply chain management among Malaysian SMEs” was awarded the “Hot Paper” and “Highly Cited Paper” awards. It was co-authored by Dr Leong and Hew, with UCSI academics Dr Garry Tan Wei Han and Prof Ooi Keng Boon, and Xiamen University Malaysia academic Dr Wong Lai Wan.
This paper was published in the International Journal of Information Management. It was cited for 14 times in total according to the Web of Science database. Getting the “Hot Paper” award indicates that this paper has earned enough citations in the most recent bimonthly period to place it in the top 0.1% when compared to papers in the same field (i.e., Social Sciences, general) and added to the database in the same period.
“This research can assist industry players to discover factors that drive the intention of Malaysian Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to adopt Blockchain, and subsequently to be able to increase business efficiency in operations and supply chain management. SMEs often lack resources for technological investments but face the same requirements for streamlining business processes to optimise returns. As such, Blockchain presents a viable option for SMEs’ sustainability due to its features of immutability, transparency, and security that have the potential to revolutionise businesses. Hence, in order for SMEs to ride the waves of digital transformation in managing operations and supply chain, it is vital for them to have insights that will help them navigate the ever-changing technological scene,” explained Dr Leong and Hew.
Meanwhile, the paper titled “Mobile social tourism shopping: A dual-stage analysis of a multi-mediation model” was awarded the “Highly Cited Paper” award. It was co-authored by Dr Lee, Dr Leong, and Hew, with Prof Ooi and Dr Tan.
Published in the Tourism Management, the paper received 39 citations in total according to the Web of Science database, qualifying it to be placed in the top 1% of the academic field of “Social Sciences, general” based on a highly cited threshold for the field and publication year, as well.
“This paper examined the use of mobile social networks in shopping for tourism products and services among Malaysian domestic tourists. Shopping for tourism products and services (i.e., mobile social tourism shopping) is regarded as the next revolution in the tourism industry and a trendy way to purchase tourism products and services. As such, we seek to benefit policymakers and Malaysian practitioners in the tourism industry. Mobile app developers and government policymakers in the tourism industry will be able to make more informed decisions and derive better strategic plans for fostering mobile social tourism shopping. Given the enormous spending power of tourists, it is believed that countless business opportunities would be available for practitioners,” explained the FBF academics.
They also added, “Both papers share similar and simple motivations. We hoped to make contributions to the existing body of knowledge, on top of benefiting the practitioners, policymakers, and society as a whole. Of course, these motivations are crucial elements that the editors and reviewers are looking for when making an editorial decision as to whether a paper should be accepted for publication. As such, a paper that is written with these motivations in mind would stand a higher chance for acceptance and publication.”
The FBF academics also mentioned that the awards received are a testament to their researches and careers because the recognition reflects the contribution of their work in the academic world. “Both awards are very significant to our papers as the awards suggest that our papers were able to garner high amount of citations quickly after publication and, therefore, are “performing” well in terms of the number of citations received when compared to other papers published in the same field. Hot Papers are papers published in the last two years that are receiving citations quickly after publication, whereas Highly Cited Papers are papers that received enough citations to place them in the top 1% when compared to other papers published in the same field and in the same year,” they explained.
They also said, “As an academician, these awards suggest that our researches have gained a considerable level of recognition among the fellow researchers. This is also good for the university as academic peer review is a crucial criterion in the QS World University Rankings. Under this criterion, active academicians across the world will be asked about the top universities in their specialist fields. Through our researches, we hope that UTAR’s name will cross the minds of these academicians’ when they answer the survey. Overall, we hope that this will ultimately boost the University’s ranking.”
When asked of any advice they could offer to inspire young researchers, the FBF academics said “Being persistent is the key. Getting a paper published tend to be time consuming and rejections are part and parcel of the process. There will be good and bad times. Sometimes a paper is accepted after a few rounds of revision which takes up to several months in the journal of your first choice, but sometimes a paper could get desk-rejected for a few times at different journals before you can find a right “home” for it. In good times, stay cheerful knowing that you are working towards your goal of becoming a recognised researcher. In bad times, remember why you started this journey to be a researcher and use it as the fuel to keep you going. It is also crucial to look for a topic that is of great interest not only to scholars but industrial players as well. This will assist in developing greater contributions in both the industry and academic fields. Equally important is to ensure that the topic addresses a pertinent issue or problem and the findings can provide effective solutions in resolving the issue or problem.”
Earlier this year, the FBF academics were also awarded the “ HYPERLINK “https://news.utar.edu.my/awards/2020/July/01/01.html” Most Downloaded Article” award by Expert Systems with Applications (ESWA), Elsevier, USA, for their research titled “ HYPERLINK “https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0957417420303018” Wearable payment: A deep learning-based dual-stage SEM-ANN analysis”. It was selected based on the numbers of downloads in the last 90 days. The research was co-authored with UCSI University Malaysia’s academics, Dr Garry Tan and Prof Ooi.
International Journal of Information Management and Tourism Management are currently indexed with Clarivate Analytics, under the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), and carries the impact factor of 8.210 and 7.432 respectively (in JCR-2019). Both papers are published by Elsevier and downloadable from ScienceDirect.
Read/view the papers here:
Time to seize the digital evolution: Adoption of blockchain in operations and supply chain management among Malaysian SMEs:
HYPERLINK “https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0268401219304347
HYPERLINK “https://news.utar.edu.my/awards/2020/Oct/26/01/Time%20To%20Seize%20Web%20of%20Science%20Core.pdf
HYPERLINK “https://news.utar.edu.my/awards/2020/Oct/26/01/Time%20to%20Seize%20Web%20of%20Science.pdf
Mobile social tourism shopping: A dual-stage analysis of a multi-mediation model:
HYPERLINK “https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S026151771730224890
HYPERLINK ” https://news.utar.edu.my/awards/2020/Oct/26/01/Mobile%20Social%20Tourism%20Web%20of%20Science.pdf
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