The increase in customer complaints on the reliability of 3PL services among online sellers has become prominent in the industry, as confirmed by 3PL service providers in Malaysia. The increase in customer complaints increases the tendency to switch to other 3PL service providers. As Asian markets lead the growth of e-commerce, covering approximately 50% of the global e-commerce market, whether the customer will continue to shop online or not is no longer the issue. Although having the proper logistics provider to support online sellers’ business is crucial, most studies have focused on the online shopper’s perspective and employ the service quality theory. Observably, the satisfaction and reuse intention of the 3PL from the online retailer’s perspective is largely neglected. This study identified the factors influencing the satisfaction and reuse intention of 3PL services among online sellers in Malaysia by employing and expanding the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) theory. A purposive sampling method was employed, and the data were gathered via an online survey among online sellers. Additionally, smart partial least squares (SmartPLS) was applied to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that reliability had a positive effect on satisfaction, and satisfaction had a positive relationship with the reuse intention of certain 3PL services. Moreover, satisfaction mediated the relationship between reliability and reuse intention, whereas price fairness strengthened the positive relationship between satisfaction and reuse intention. The findings enhance studies that employed the SOR theory, particularly relating to online sellers’ behaviour on 3PL services. The findings also benefit online sellers and 3PL service providers to create attractive marketing strategies for business sustainability.

Purpose: The term competitive has always been used as a comparison to provide a distinction between two or more things. Southeast Asia handles billions of tonnes of global seaborne trade annually. Thus, there is a necessity to look in detail at the performance indicators of port competitiveness on the basis of port performance.Design/methodology/approach: This study has categorized 18 Malaysian bulk terminals into two different classes based on various performance indicators. The distinctions used a hierarchical cluster analysis by arranging the performance indicators. The technique is among the most popular techniques used to form homogeneous groups of entities or objects.Findings: In this study, it was found that two classes were classified as being competitive from the homogeneous groups created. Based on the performance metrics chosen, Group 1 had the lowest score and Group 2 had the highest score. It was found that the Westport and Northport of Klang Port had the best performance of all.Research limitations/implications: A major challenge for the study is the lack of variables relevant to other port competitiveness requirements, and a detailed research study is needed to gather information on the satisfaction of terminal customers, the paperwork involved, the accuracy and consistency of tariffs paid, the level of safety at sea and on land and environmental protection around the facility site.Originality/value: The study on ports has been given less attention among researchers in this particular area. Therefore, this paper focuses on the port terminals in Malaysia and compares port performance metrics between ports to determine their competitiveness.

Dive sites which are home to various forms of marine life, unique structures and corals have become the main attraction for scuba divers. Divers normally choose the most attractive diving sites by visiting dive centers or getting referrals from other divers. However, there is problem in conventional subjective judgments where no standard measures have been considered. As a result, the judgments on dive site attractiveness may satisfy some divers but not others. To avoid these uncertainties, this research innovatively developed the world’s first index model for the attractiveness a dive site. Eight factors have been carefully selected, namely visibility, current stability, uniqueness of underwater scenery, coral health, the immensity of the coral reef, diversity and density of marine life. Then, these identified factors were ranked and assessed by using an Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Evidential Reasoning (ER). Finally, all dive sites are indexed so it can be compared with others for better decision-making. To test the applicability of this proposed model, 22 dive sites in Perhentian Island were successfully assessed, indexed, and mapped. Terumbu Tiga (T3), Sail Rock and Tokong Laut were indexed as the top three dive sites in Perhentian Islands. The results also showed that the most profound factor that determined the attractiveness of a dive site was the diversity of its marine life followed by the diversity of its coral species, and the uniqueness of its underwater scenery. Practically, this model can be applied and widely used for indexing all dive sites in the world based on decision-makers’ preferences. It is expected that this index model will benefit divers, dive centers, marine parks, and related agencies by providing a new information that can be used in marine tourism.

This research paper provides for the identification of dry bulk terminal efficiencies on the basis of 10 key performance factors in Malaysian ports. Data were collected from 18 dry bulk ports in Malaysia in 2017 through an online questionnaire and distributed via e-mail. The dispersion of the respondents corresponds approximately to the structure of the Malaysian maritime terminal in dry bulk. The data provides port management perceptions towards 10 variables that have been surveyed. Each perception assessed the level of efficiency factors based on a percentage rate of 100%. Efficiency factors in dry bulk terminals have been identified with varying characteristics based on a descriptive analysis table. The dataset presented consists of a brief analysis of all 10 variables involved, including the minimum, maximum, mean, interquartile median and standard deviation. In addition to the descriptive analysis, the normality test and histogram were also performed. Data can be used to measure ports-efficiency factors in another research.

Human error is the primary cause of most accidents, leading to various issues and shipping delays. Previous research has identified three key causes that culminate in human error in the Malaysian shipping industry: poor communication, fatigue, and lack of experience. However, there is limited discussion on effective strategies to mitigate these errors. Therefore, this study aims to propose optimal solutions to reduce human error. Through this study, quantitative research methods were used to obtain important data involving the main objectives of this study. For the quantitative analysis, data was collected through multiple rounds of questionnaires distributed to 25 experts using the Delphi method and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). The study stresses the critical factors influencing human error in the industry, with findings identifying fatigue as the primary contributor to accidents. Addressing this issue would help the shipping industry to reduce human errors and accidents, thereby ensuring smoother operations.