The bubble milk tea industry in Malaysia which was thought to have slowed down in the recent years since its first appearance in 2010 has made a comeback. At the point of conducting this research, there are almost 100 brands of bubble milk tea in Malaysia and it is not surprising that some of these shops are selling more than a thousand cups a day. However, there has been limited research conducted on factors influencing brand equity on bubble milk tea brands in Johor Bahru. This study is to investigate whether brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand association influence brand equity on bubble milk tea brands in Johor Bahru through distribution of online questionnaires. This study novelty is at the examining the factors influencing brand equity in the context of bubble milk tea in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Data derived from responses of 400 respondents through sampling were analysed using SPSS v29. Hypotheses testing performed through simple linear regression revealed that brand loyalty, perceived quality, brand awareness and brand association have significant effect on brand equity of bubble milk tea brands in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. It was also demonstrated that perceived quality has the most significance influence on brand equity. Organizations in the bubble milk tea industries are able to benefit from these findings by prioritizing their marketing strategies to gain competitive edge over their competitors. With findings that perceived quality having the most significance influence, marketers with limited resources can narrow down their options and focus on this specific dimension to increase their brand value.
The MDA-MB-231 cell line is derived from triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), representing one of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer. Innovative therapeutic strategies, including s targeted therapies using nanocarriers, hold significant promise, particularly for difficult-to-treat cancers such as TNBC. Nanoparticles have transformed the medical field by serving as advanced drug delivery systems for cancer treatment. They play a critical role in overcoming the drug resistance often associated with cancer therapies. When utilized as drug delivery vehicles, nanoparticles can specifically target cancer cells and effectively reduce or eliminate multidrug resistance. Among them, chitosan-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have been widely explored for the loading and controlled release of various anticancer agents. In this study, we evaluated the effects of dexamethasone-loaded chitosan-coated MNPs on MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to verify the successful loading of dexamethasone onto the nanoparticles. To assess cytotoxicity, empty nanoparticles, free drug, and drug-loaded nanoparticles were tested on the cells. The results indicated that empty nanoparticles exhibited no toxic effects. The IC50 value of the free drug was 123 µg/mL, while the IC50 value of the drug-loaded nanoparticles was significantly lower, at 63 µg/mL. These findings confirmed the successful conjugation of dexamethasone to the chitosan-coated MNPs, demonstrating substantial cytotoxic effects on breast cancer cells. Although dexamethasone has been reported to exhibit both tumor-suppressive and pro-metastatic effects, its specific impact on TNBC warrants further investigation in future studies.
Ticket revenues are crucial for the financial success of sports teams. To maximize these revenues, teams continuously explore effective ticket promotional strategies. One such strategy includes partial season plans, which mirror bundle offers common across various industries. Another widespread promotional strategy across industries is offering discounted credit (i.e., store credit purchased at a lower price than its face value). However, its application in sports (e.g., providing a $500 credit for tickets at $450) remains limited. Therefore, this study explores critical questions such as: “How effective is offering discounted credit compared to partial season plans?” and “What factors influence ticket promotion preferences?” Consequently, the study employed a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental designs, considering three independent variables: promotion type (discounted credit vs. partial season plans), promotion flexibility (predefined vs. customizable), and the consumer’s distance to the venue (near vs. distant). Results indicated that partial season plans generated significantly higher perceived value and purchase intentions while presenting lower perceived risks than discounted credit . Promotion flexibility did not significantly influence the three dependent variables , but the distance to the venue did . Both practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.
In this research, we explore the psychological factors that SMB owners who are micro-entrepreneurs and use SNS for entrepreneurial purposes rely on to make their self-employment decisions. Research-based on a merger of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) deals with how perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived usefulness (PU), attitude, subjective norms (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC), openness to experience (OTE), and dominance contribute to people’s behavioural intention (BI) to use SNS for Data was collected from 342 SMB micro-entrepreneurs in the Delhi/NCR region of India by the means of a standardized questionnaire. Employing PLS-SEM, a partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. The results point out an impact of PU, attitude, and behavioral intention, and unappealing presentations, unacceptance of an explanation, unclear mechanisms, and domination do not make any difference. The research emphasizes how technophobe’s attitude, and the perception of effectiveness would impact micro-entrepreneurs desire to avail SNS for entrepreneurship efforts. Moreover, research shows the psychological understanding based on the SNS adoption by the small business owners, micro-entrepreneurs as well as for the practitioners and policymakers who are working to enhance the capability of the SMB. More investigations should be conducted on the other personality traits and cover more nations as demographic dividends in comparison to acquire more inclusive data.
Innovation management is an organizational iterative process of seeking and selecting new opportunities and ideas, implementing them, and capturing value from the results obtained. In the defense sector, due to the increasing interdependence between military capabilities and technology, countries have adopted innovation management approaches to drive the modernization of their defense industrial bases, promoting the development and integration of advanced technologies. This study presents an original systematic literature review on innovation management approaches applied to defense in developing countries. After the phases of identification and screening, 62 documents both from academic and gray literature were analyzed and categorized into 22 distinct approaches. The advantages, disadvantages, contexts, and potential applications of each approach were discussed. The findings show that the appropriate use of these approaches can strengthen the innovation capacity and technological independence of late-industrializing countries, consolidating their position in the global defense landscape and ensuring their sovereignty and continuous technological progress.
This research aims to test the effect that the implementation of green practices at a major sport tourism event, the Badminton World Championships in Huelva (Spain), has on the future intention of spectators to return to similar sport events. A total of 523 spectators who attended the event were randomly selected and self-administered in the presence of the interviewer. A confirmatory factor analysis of the model and a multi-group analysis were carried out. Sporting events have a great impact on the environment in which they are organised, mainly when they are linked to tourism, whether at an economic, social or environmental level. The results indicated that green practices indirectly influence spectators' future intentions through emotions and satisfaction, direct antecedents. In addition, green practices directly affect both image and trust, and indirectly affect satisfaction. In conclusion, green practices are a variable to be taken into account when planning the organisation of a sporting event that aims to consolidate itself in the tourism and sports services market.
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