Research and publications
Research projects
Dr Mohan Avvari was invited to be a part of the Delphi study and the International workshop STEM Education in Non-European Countries in a Comparative Perspective - organised by the Interdisciplinary Research Group 'TECHcultures' at Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Berlin.
Book publication
- Title of book: Monetary Economics
- Authors: Rajah Rasiah, Michael Meow-Chung Yap, Santha Chenayah
- Publisher: Oxford University Press
- Year of publication: 2014
- ISBN: 978 983 47 1055 2
Journal articles
Trustworthiness and Trust: Influences and Implications
By Sekhon, H., Ennew. C, Kharouf, H. and Devlin, J.
This paper frames trustworthiness as the key upstream construct of trust and recognises that trust operates at two levels in services relationships, with a number of key drivers that are mediated by trustworthiness. Our findings are supported by survey data from customers of UK financial services, with the data points captured over a number of years which allow for fluctuations in trust level. Empirically we find that trustworthiness impacts both the cognitive and affecting dimensions of trust, with the impact being greatest on cognitive trust. As a result of our findings it is possible for practitioners to implement policies to not only build trust but also deal with issues where there is a need to rebuild it, as in the case of our research setting. From Journal of Marketing Management (30): 3-4, 409-430, 2014
Banking Mergers – An Application of Matching Strategy
By Nafis, A. and Ng, S. L.
ASEAN region has emerged as a major hotspot for banking mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Asia. This paper aims to examine the determinants of acquisitions for 47 acquired banks and 33 acquiring banks in ASEAN from 2003 to 2011 by applying matching strategy. Three binary logistic regressions are estimated in the study to identify the determinants of acquisitions in the ASEAN banking industry. Furthermore, the paper examines the ex-ante bank-specific and country-specific characteristics of acquiring and acquired banks which motivate bank acquisitions. The division of the sample into sub-samples reflects significant changes in the determinants of the likelihood of being acquired over different time periods. In the normal period prior to the financial crises, acquired banks are also found to have greater loan activities. Asset quality and liquidity played important roles in determining the likelihood of being acquired in the period after the onset of the 2007 global financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis. Larger banks with higher growth and greater profitability are more likely to engage in acquisitions as acquiring banks rather than as acquired banks. The study indicates that financial crises bring about a change in the determinants of bank acquisitions. From Review of Accounting and Finance, 13 (1):2-23, 2014
"Technopreneurship Development Programme (TDP) Flagship of Malaysia’s Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Project". Chapter "Technopolis - Best Practices for Science and Technology Cities". (Eds) Oh, Deog-Seong and Phillips, Fred.
By Avvari V. M.
One of the most important trends in the world economy that has led to a strong interest in clustering has been the globalisation of economic and business activity. The notion of clustering or regional development is increasingly being associated with global information resources, creation of new enterprises, and development of advanced skills, continuous innovation, and diffusion of new technologies. These capabilities are considered essential to sustain international competitiveness and build a knowledge-based economy. Numerous cities and countries across the world have started clustering efforts naming themselves Silicon something, e.g. Silicon Island (Taiwan), Silicon Plateau (Bangalore), Silicon Alley (New York), Silicon Hills (Austin Texas), Silicon Fen (Cambridge, U.K.), and attempted to copy the ‘Valley’s’ success story. Malaysia had also initiated the Multimedia Super Corridor project on similar lines to develop the ICT sector. This chapter presents the case Technoprenuer Development Flagship programme, developed under the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) initiative of the Government of Malaysia, as a support system for the development of entrepreneurial and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the ICT sector. It is hoped that the case of the Technopreneur Development programme (TDP) will provide some valuable ideas for developing a support for SMEs, to countries or agencies that are planning to develop such systems for entrepreneurship and SMEs. From Springer 239-262, 2014
Are Consumers Contended with Online Shopping in Malaysia?
By Ramachandran, J., Tyeng, Y., Subramanian, R. and Angusamy, A.
The research article aimed to identify whether online marketing provide consumers’ satisfaction as much as conventional shopping does. The research used questionnaire survey and the finding indicated that consumers are only concerned with price and product variety and to some extent reliability of the web sites. Factors such as convenience, web site design and security were irrelevant to them. This study implies that unless the online sellers/service providers are willing to provide diverse products or services at considerably cheaper prices, the consumers will be unwilling to use online services. This does not seem contributing to the much anticipated move of the Malaysian government on developing technology for the growth of economy. We contribute by stating that the consumers have to be educated on the importance and convenience of technology, which also helps in reducing ancillary costs such as travel cost which can compensate for the higher product price. This will be in line with the Malaysian Government’s effort to promote technology. From La Pensee, 76(3), 2014
Bank Ownership and Efficiency in the Aftermath of Financial Crises: Evidence from Indonesia?
By Parinduri, R. A. and Riyanto, Y. E.
This paper examines the relationship between types of ownership of banks and their efficiency in the aftermath of a financial crisis using Greene's “true” panel data stochastic frontier model, which takes into account unobserved heterogeneity among banks. The Indonesian banking sector is analysed using financial data of 144 banks operating in Indonesia over the period of 2000Q4–2005Q2. In the aftermath of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the cost efficiency of all banks improves over time on average. However, there is some evidence that, as these banks improve their efficiency, state-owned banks are the least efficient banks while joint-venture and foreign-owned banks are the most efficient. From Review of Development Economics, 18 (1), 93-106, 2014
Family Hardship and the Growth of Micro and Small Firms in Indonesia
By Parinduri, R. A.
This paper examines the total assets of micro and small firms in Indonesia when their owners experience hardship such as the death or sickness of family members, crop losses, or natural disasters. Using a representative sample of firm owners, it is found that deaths of family members reduce the assets of such firms, that the adverse effects of these are long-lasting and economically large, and that the smaller the firms the greater the magnitude of these effects. There is no evidence, however, that the sickness of family members, crop losses, or natural disasters reduce firms’ assets. These results suggest that only severe family hardship impedes the growth of micro and small firms. From Bulletin of Indonesian Economic Studies, 50 (1), 53-73, 2014