People's Perceptions and Coping Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Phenomenological-Longitudinal Study in Bangladesh.

By emphasizing the Terror Management Theory, this study investigated the participants' perceptions, psychological experiences, coping strategies, and behavioral changes during the pandemic in Bangladesh in two phases: first, after the pandemic's immediate outbreak, and second, after 3 months of the pandemic (daily infection cases were very high). To perform the research, an empirical-phenomenological method was used. Findings indicate that at the first stage, participants' death phobia was extremely high, and poor medical facilities, religious struggles, imprudent behavior of others, concerns for family members, and a tendency to compare the socioeconomic status with other developed countries affected participants' emotions severely. Later on, participants' perceptions of the disease changed significantly. This study highlights that people's behavior varies depending on whether the thought of death is in the center or on the periphery of their attention. In both stages, religious faith and rituals played a crucial role in coping with the crisis situation.

Does the relationship marketing orientation of an entrepreneur support agency improve performance? Evidence from small- and medium-size enterprises in Malaysia.

Entrepreneur support agencies are highly important in the development of small-and medium-size businesses of entrepreneurs. There are a number of studies on support agencies, but studies on entrepreneurial performance from the perspective of a relationship marketing orientation (RMO) between support agencies and entrepreneurs are lacking. This study aimed to investigate the hypothesized relationships between the RMO of an entrepreneur support agency and the financial and nonfinancial performances of small- and medium-size entrepreneurs (SMEs). A total of 276 valid SMEs survey responses based on purposive sampling were collected and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings indicate that trust and reciprocity are the significant factors to financial performance of SMEs. Meanwhile, trust, communication, empathy, and reciprocity indicate a significant positive relationship with nonfinancial performance of SMEs. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to provide an interesting avenue to understand the relationship between an entrepreneur support agency and entrepreneurs to work on synergistic relationship approaches in order to remain sustainable in the market. This study has also drawn specific implications for SMEs and government agencies for entrepreneur and policy planning to coordinate appropriate entrepreneurship development programs and strengthen the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Exploring food waste during the COVID-19 pandemic among Malaysian consumers: The effect of social media, neuroticism, and impulse buying on food waste.

The amount of food being thrown away despite being in an edible condition has become alarming in countries with populations with medium and high incomes. Changes in consumer behaviour, such as overbuying, are some of the major impetuses of food waste. This study aimed to examine the relationship between food waste and social media usage, neuroticism, and impulse buying. The mediating role of impulse buying and the moderating role of neuroticism on food waste during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were also uncovered in this study. A self-administered online survey was distributed to a total of 274 consumers who had experienced a lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak and were also regular buyers of food. Empirical findings supported the fact that social media usage, neuroticism, and impulse buying were positively related to food waste. Impulse buying mediates the relationship between social media usage and food waste, as well as between neuroticism and food waste. The study results also revealed that neuroticism positively moderates the relationship between social media usage and food waste. This paper offers new insights into efforts for sustainable food consumption to tackle the issue of food waste.

Farmers' attitudes towards GM crops and their predictors.

BACKGROUND: Genetically modified (GM) crops have become a controversial global issue since their commercialization in 1996. However, despite technological advancements, only a few studies have investigated farmers' attitudes towards GM crops in Malaysia. Therefore, this study aims to analyse such attitudes and their determining factors. A validated questionnaire was distributed to farmers in the Cameron Highlands, Pahang (n = 176). SPSS software was used to analyse the descriptive statistics of the farmers' attitudes to GM crops, while SmartPLS software was used to determine the predictors. RESULTS: Descriptive analysis shows that the farmers claimed to have a high level of self-efficacy, and perceived GM crops as possessing high benefits which translate into a highly positive attitude towards GM crops. However, at the same time, they rated GM crops as involving moderate risks and would incur moderate costs to farm, as well as acknowledging a low level of support from the government. The structural equation model (SEM) analysis demonstrates that five factors have been identified as direct predictors of attitude to GM crops: government support (ß = 0.364, P < 0.001), perceived costs (ß = -0.282, P < 0.01), perceived risks (ß = -0.227, P < 0.01), perceived benefits (ß = 0.205, P < 0.01) and perceived self-efficacy (ß = 0.199, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study contributes to the existing knowledge and provides empirical support in explaining the factors that influence farmers' decisions to adopt GM crops and have significant implications for the future development of agro-biotechnology in Malaysia and in other developing countries. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.