PhD Research Intent: Bumiputera SMEs Success and Failure in Malaysia

This PhD research intent explores the factors influencing the success and failure of Bumiputera small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. The study aims to examine the contributions of SMEs to the Malaysian economy, particularly focusing on Bumiputera entrepreneurs. It investigates the challenges faced by these entrepreneurs, including issues of sustainability, funding, and competition in a globalized market. The research will employ a mixed-method approach, combining surveys and interviews with SME employees and managers to gather both quantitative and qualitative data. Statistical analysis and coding will be used to analyze the data and identify critical success factors. The research seeks to develop recommendations and a framework to promote the growth and sustainability of Bumiputera SMEs, contributing to the economic development of Malaysia. The study acknowledges limitations such as its focus on Malaysian indigenous people and offers suggestions for future research.

Running head: PHD RESEARCH INTENT
PhD Research Intent
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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1. Researcher: Student’s Name
2. Research Title:
The Study of Bumiputera SMEs failure and success in Malaysia
Research Area: Managing Business
3. Research Focus:
The research paper proposes to examine the various factors affecting the success and
failure of SMEs in Malaysia. The role of SMEs in making effective contribution to the
growth of an economy is unknown. However, the contribution of SMEs in Malaysia is
incomparable to other countries. The SMEs in Malaysia comprises of 98.5% of the business
enterprises and 65.3% contribution is made to employment (Omar & Azmi, 2015). Moreover,
its contribution to the GDP is 36.3% (Omar & Azmi, 2015). The Government in Malaysia has
always been supportive of developing SMEs by allocating huge budget. However, the failure
rate among SMEs in Malaysia is significantly higher and sustainable growth is overdue.
Bumiputera entrepreneurs are often considered to be left behind in terms of achieving success
within the development of the economy.
Entrepreneurs are considered to be risk takers that are trying to entering the complex
field of business. Successful enterprises are not only the source of income for the
entrepreneurs but also provides job openings and earning opportunities of other countries
(Rahim, Mohtar & Ramli, 2015). This helps in improving the per capita income of the
general population. There are various agencies that helps the Bumiputera entrepreneurs to
start their own business and includes agencies like SME Bank, Majlis Amanah Rakyat,
Tabung Ekonomi Usaha Niaga (TEKUN), Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS), Bank Rakyat,
UDA Holdings Bhd and Bank Pembangunan (Rahim, Mohtar & Ramli, 2015). However,
irrespective of help opportunities for the indigenous people, there is lack of growth among
the Bumiputera people as they have always been marginalised and they are lagging behind
the other groups in respect to participation in SME and economic growth. This makes it
essential for the government to implement strategies to promote the growth of the
Bumiputera people and enterprises.

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The study will shed light on the factors contributing to the success and failures of
Bumiputera enterprises in Malaysia so that suitable recommendations can be made to
improve the current condition of indigenous people. Globalisation has affected the macro
environment for small scale businesses and increase in competition and lack of funding has
made it difficult for all enterprises to manage their sustainability. The study will also
evaluate the Bumiputera SMEs that have attained the highest level of sustainability and
performance to identify the factors contributing to their growth.
Limitations
The study is only limited to the indigenous people in Malaysia and will not take the
overall industry into consideration
The results are limited to Malaysia and will have no contribution to general SME
development in global market
4. Research Purpose/ Objectives/ Questions
To examine the factors affecting the success and failure of SMEs in Malaysia
To critically investigate the high performance Bumiputera SMEs for identifying
critical success factors
To recommend suitable framework for promoting the growth of the SMEs
Research Questions
What are critical factors affecting the success and failure of Bumiputera SMEs in
Malaysia?
What are the critical success factors for success of SMEs in Malaysia?
5. Methodology
Research Sample: Sampling is the process of choosing sample population from the
overall population that will contribute to the findings of the paper. The research will choose
the employees and managers Bumiputera small and medium scale organisations in Malaysia
for gathering relevant data. The analysis of the current market shows that there are 1000
Bumiputera SMEs in Malaysia. The study aims to keep the margin of error to 1% and use a
confidence interval of 99% (Chow et al., 2017). This would require to evaluate 944
Bumiputera SMEs in Malaysia and in case of 95% confidence interval, it would require

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evaluation of 906 Bumiputera SMEs. However, the current study will keep the margin of
error to 5% and use a confidence interval of 99% to use 400 Bumiputera SMEs.
5.1 Data collection
This research will use a mixed method research design where both quantitative and
qualitative data collection techniques will be used (Palinkas et al., 2015). The research will
choose 400 Bumiputera SMEs where both surveys and interviews will be conducted. The
surveys will be conducted with the employees in each organisation and interviews will be
conducted with the managers. The survey questionnaire will be designed on 5 point Likert
scale and the interview will be a semi structured to facilitate change in the order of the
questions. The process of data collection will start with measuring the reliability and validity
of the questionnaires. The reliability of the survey and interview questionnaire will be
examined using a pilot study. The pilot study will assist in understanding the appropriateness
of the questionnaire. Personal interview and surveys will be collected from the managers and
employees. The interviews will be recorded and the survey data will be stored effectively into
the database.
5.2 Data Analysis
The analysis of the data collected will be conducted using statistical analysis of
survey data and coding of the interview data. The statistical analysis will be used to develop
a regression model that will represent the relationship between critical success factors and
sustainability of SMEs (Palinkas et al., 2015). The descriptive statistics and frequency
responses will be evaluated to understand the opinion of the majority of the respondents.
Qualitative data will be analysed using coding. The process of coding is divided into
open coding, axial coding and selective coding. Open coding will be used to identify the
pattern within the data collected and axial coding will be used to link the theories with the
open codes. Selecting coding will be used to develop themes that will be evaluated for
generating in depth analysis of data.
The study will derive conclusions by linking the objectives with the results and will
provide valid recommendations. A framework will be developed which can be implemented
by Bumiputera SMEs to improve the chances of sustainability and avoid failure in Malaysian
market. The limitations and future scope of research will also be discussed for further

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exploration of data. The study is expected to develop suitable results that will be suitable to
the growth of the entrepreneurs and the economy of Malaysia.

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References
Chow, S. C., Shao, J., Wang, H., & Lokhnygina, Y. (2017). Sample size calculations in
clinical research. Chapman and Hall/CRC.
Omar, C. M. Z. C., & Azmi, N. M. N. (2015). Factors affecting the success of Bumiputera
entrepreneurs in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Malaysia. International
Journal of Management Science and Business Administration, 1(9), 40-45.
Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., & Hoagwood, K.
(2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed
method implementation research. Administration and policy in mental health and
mental health services research, 42(5), 533-544.
Rahim, H. L., Mohtar, S., & Ramli, A. (2015). The effect of social entrepreneurial behaviour
towards organizational performance: A study on Bumiputera entrepreneurs in
Malaysia. International Academic Research Journal of Business and
Technology, 1(2), 117-125.

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6. Work Schedule