Purpose: Despite the growth of social networking websites as hybrid promotional tools, the empirical research that is currently available in explaining the consequences of gastronomy online reviews on ethnic food behavioural intention is limited. The purpose of this paper is to adopt a novel approach to explore Gen-Y tourists’ behavioural intention by proposing “involvement” as a mediator in improvising Wanget al.’s model. In other words, the more tourists enjoy reading gastronomy online reviews and gain benefits like inspiring taste desire, forming taste awareness and facilitating interpersonal interaction, the more they will become actively involved in searching gastronomy online reviews for ethnic food, subsequently manifesting in higher behavioural intention.Design/methodology/approach: To test the research model, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to Gen-Y tourists in Malaysia using the purposive sampling technique. Partial least squares–structural equation modelling was applied to analyse the data collected from a sample of 748 responses.Findings: This study provides empirical findings based on the direct relationship between gastronomy online review dimensions and the behavioural intention towards ethnic food. In addition, the indirect influence of the constructs for behavioural intention through involvement and the moderating effect of variety seeking were found. Indeed, when involvement increases as a result of reading online reviews, behavioural intention is enhanced. In fact, if the individual is a variety seeker, the behavioural intention could likewise be enhanced.Practical implications: This paper provides suggestions and valuable insight for tourism authorities and ethnic food eateries in using gastronomy online reviews for promoting ethnic food and gastronomy tourism. For example, food eateries can motivate reviewers to include attractive and useful content by facilitating how the gastronomy reviewer retrieves information (e.g. ingredients, price, and food health value and food tradition) concerning the eatery. Additionally, rewards and incentives such as offering vouchers to reviewers in order to gain attractive and interesting reviews could be considered. Finally, the variety-seeking goal of tourists can be attained by relocating ethnic food restaurants or stalls at centralised or designated areas, where a variety of ethnic foods are conveniently accessible to tourists.Originality/value: This paper systematically discusses how gastronomy online reviews influence the behavioural intention of tourists to taste ethnic food in the context of Malaysia. The inclusion of the mediator (involvement) and moderator (variety seeking) added a significant increment to the total variance explained in behavioural intention.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of Lean Six Sigma (LSS) practices in explaining the relationship between quality management practices (QMPs) and quality performance.Design/methodology/approach: Partial least square-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to empirically examine the moderating effect of LSS practices on QMPs and quality performance in Malaysian medical device manufacturing companies.Findings: Findings revealed that both QMPs and LSS practices have a significant and positive effect on quality performance. Furthermore, LSS practices served as a substitute for moderating the positive relationship between QMPs and quality performance in such a way that the relationship becomes weaker as LSS practices increase.Originality/value: LSS is acknowledged as the most well-known hybrid methodology; however, due to its relative newness, it has not been studied in great detail. Unlike previous studies, this paper argued that Lean and Six Sigma practices are distinct from its predecessor TQM practices; moreover, both Lean and Six Sigma practices do not need to substitute QM/TQM practices instead of complimenting the QMPs. In addition, this study adds to the growing body of QM literature by empirically examine the effect of LSS practices in moderating the relationship between QMPs and quality performance.

This paper examines the relationship between social and environmental sustainability and workers’ well-being as well as the mediation role of affective organizational commitment for those relationships through social exchange and stakeholder theories. A questionnaire was used to collect data from 112 workers employed in palm oil plantations in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling was then applied to examine the hypotheses. Findings show that social and environmental sustainability positively relates to workers’ well-being. We also found that affective commitment positively mediates social and environmental sustainability relationships with workers’ well-being. Our research findings have practical implications for various stakeholders, such as investors, policymakers, and managers in the palm oil industry. Our results highlight the importance of addressing the well-being of workers and the sustainability factors in palm oil plantations. This study suggests a widened perspective on sustainability factors and well-being which allows professionals to evaluate and enhance sustainability across their operations in a more comprehensive manner.

Fostering organizational commitment among employees continues to be a major challenge among employers, as the level of commitment is generally linked to the level of satisfaction an employee has with their job. The objectives of the present study are to examine the relationship between job stress and the organizational commitment of employees and to determine the moderating influence of job satisfaction on the relationship between job stress and organizational commitment. An empirical quantitative approach using a survey method was utilized, involving 112 employees who work at various palm oil plantations in Malaysia. The sampling method used is convenience sampling, which is based on respondents’ ease of access, geographical proximity, availability and willingness to participate. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling approach. The result showed that job stress is negatively related to organizational commitment, while job satisfaction does not moderate the relationship between job stress and organizational commitment. These research results provide practical guidelines for management practices in the palm oil industry. The current study promotes the management of palm estate states or smallholder plantations to employ strategies that reduce job stress among the employees, which, in turn, will boost the organizational commitment of the employees to the organization. Suggestions for future research are also elaborated on.

While tourists are drawn to eco-destinations for their scenic landscapes, recreational opportunities, and close interaction with nature, visitor-related environmental degradation has become increasingly unavoidable. Environmentally responsible behavior thus becomes essential for preserving these sites. This study proposes that visitors are more likely to engage in environmentally responsible behavior when they believe their actions will be positively reinforced through increased environmental knowledge or visible demonstrations of social responsibility at the destination. In this study, environmental knowledge is hypothesized to influence environmentally responsible behavior and destination social responsibility mediates this relationship. A total of 432 valid responses were collected from survey questionnaires, and SmartPLS was used to test the proposed hypothesis. The findings from this study revealed that environmental knowledge has a positive influence on destination social responsibility and environmental responsibility behavior. Destination social responsibility positively influences environmental responsibility behavior and mediates the relationship between environmental knowledge and environmental responsibility behavior. The results implied that awareness programs can cultivate a broader sense of ecological responsibility. It is expected that eco-destinations committed to sustainability initiatives encourage better visitor adherence to environmental norms while preserving the destination's ecological integrity.