Despite the fact that small and medium companies fail at an alarmingly high rate of 60% in their first five years, there are some promising small medium enterprises (SMEs) that survive.

1. DRB-HICOM UNIVERSITY OF AUTOMOTIVE
MALAYSIA
TITLE: EXPLORING BUSINESS SURVIVAL FACTORS
OF MALAYSIAN OIL AND GAS SERVICES AND
EQUIPMENT (OGSE) SMES: A PERSPECTIVE ON
ENTREPRENEURIAL MARKETING
RUS SUMARIYANTI HAJI SURIN
RUS SUMARIYANTI HAJI SURIN
Thesis submitted in fulfillment of the requirement
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Management

2. ii
PERMISSION TO USE
In presenting this thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree
from the DRB-HICOM University of Automotive Malaysia, I agree that the Library
of this university may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that
permission for copying this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly
purposes may be granted by my supervisor(s) or in their absence, by the Dean of
Postgraduate Centre where I did my thesis. It is understood that any copying or
publication or use of this thesis or parts of it for financial gain shall not be allowed
without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given
to me and to the DRB-HICOM University of Automotive Malaysia in any scholarly
use which may be made of any material in my thesis.
Request for permission to copy or to make other use of materials in this thesis in whole
or in part should be addressed to:
Dean of Postgraduate Centre
DRB-HICOM University of Automotive Malaysia
DRB-HICOM Automotive Complex
Lot 1449 PT 2204 Peramu Jaya Industrial Area
26607 Pekan, Pahang Darul Makmur

3. iii
ABSTRACT
Despite the fact that small and medium companies fail at an alarmingly high rate of
60% in their first five years, there are some promising small medium enterprises
(SMEs) that survive. Previous research has concentrated on the factors that cause
SMEs to fail, but little attention has been paid to the factors that help SMEs succeed
from the standpoint of survival. As a result, the aim of this study is to look into the
factors that help Malaysian Oil and Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE) SMEs
survive. These Malaysian OGSE SMEs have managed to survive and develop their
businesses despite the usual business macro environment pressures and the peculiar
challenge of the oil and gas (O&G) industry's price collapse. In order to create a
holistic business survival concept that SMEs can use to help them survive, the OGSE
SMEs business survival factors will be measured against entrepreneurial marketing
(EM) dimensions. This research used a qualitative research methodology in the context
with a case study of exploratory and explanatory research design to achieve the goals.
For data collection, seven OGSE SMEs and their informants were interviewed, and the
data was analysed with qualitative content analysis using the ATLAS.ti 9 software
assistant. The findings of this study suggest that spiritual focuses are a new factor that
appears to be a strength business survival factor for OGSE SMEs. Others, such as
comprehensive on business aim and goals, business strategy strengths, skills and
competencies, competitive advantage, technology driven and networking strengths,
have some parallels with EM dimensions for business survival. The study's theoretical
implications include the development of a business survival principle focused on the
business survival factors of Malaysian OGSE SMEs and EM dimensions. Whereas the
study's practical implications are on the 7 elements of business survival factors, which
can be used by other SMEs, entrepreneurs, and society in general to ensure their
business' survival as well as generate short and long-term business goals.
Keywords: Business survival, OGSE, SMEs, EM dimensions.

4. iv
ABSTRAK
Kebanyakan Perniagaan Kecil dan Sederhana (PKS) gagal dengan kadar yang sangat
tinggi iaitu sebanyak 60 peratus (%) dalam jangka masa lima tahun pertama.
Walaubagaimanapun masih terdapat PKS yang berjaya dan masih kekal beroperasi.
Sebelum ini, penyelidikan hanya tertumpu kepada faktor-faktor yang menyebabkan
kegagalan PKS dan hanya sedikit perhatian diberikan kepada faktor-faktor yang
meraih kejayaan kelangsungan PKS dari sudut pandangan PKS yang berjaya. Oleh
itu, tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk melihat faktor-faktor yang membantu PKS
Perkhidmatan dan Peralatan Minyak dan Gas Malaysia (OGSE) yang mampu
bertahan dan kekal lebih dari 10 tahun dalam perniagaan masing-masing. PKS OGSE
Malaysia ini berjaya bertahan dan mengembangkan perniagaan mereka walaupun
terdapat tekanan perniagaan dari persekitaran makro dan juga cabaran kejatuhan
harga industri minyak dan gas (O&G). Faktor kelangsungan perniagaan PKS OGSE
juga dinilai berdasarkan dimensi pemasaran keusahawanan (EM) untuk mewujudkan
satu konsep kelangsungan perniagaan holistik yang dapat digunakan oleh PKS bagi
membantu mereka bertahan dalam perniagaan mereka. Bagi mencapai tujuan
tersebut, kajian ini menggunakan metodologi penyelidikan kualitatif dalam konteks
reka bentuk kajian kes, penyelidikan eksploratif dan penjelasan. Tujuh PKS OGSE dan
informan yang merupakan pemilik syarikat telah ditemu ramah bagi pengumpulan
data, dan data dianalisis dengan analisis kualitatif menggunakan bantuan dari
perisian ATLAS.ti 9. Hasilnya, kajian ini menemui satu faktor baru sebagai faktor
kekuatan kelangusngan perniagaan PKS OGSE iaitu penekanan spiritual. Faktor ini
tidak mempunyai persamaan dengan dimensi EM yang lain seperti faktor pengukuhan
tujuan perniagaan komprehensif; kekuatan strategi perniagaan; kemahiran dan
kecekapan; kelebihan daya saing; faktor teknologi; dan kekuatan rangkaian. Implikasi
kajian untuk aspek teori adalah pengembangan konsep kelangsungan perniagaan
berdasarkan faktor kelangsungan perniagaan PKS OGSE dan dimensi EM. Manakala
implikasi praktikal daripada kajian ini adalah 7 elemen konsep kelangsungan
perniagaan yang boleh dipraktikkan oleh PKS lain, terrmasuk usahawan dan
masyarakat untuk mencapai sasaran jangka pendek dan panjang dalam perniagaan
mereka.
Kata kunci: Kelangsungan perniagaan, OGSE, PKS, Dimensi EM

5. v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PERMISSION TO USE ii
DECLARATION OF THESIS Error! Bookmark not defined.
STATUS OF THESIS Error! Bookmark not defined.
ABSTRACT iii
ABSTRAK iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Error! Bookmark not defined.
TABLE OF CONTENTS v
LIST OF TABLES viii
LIST OF FIGURES xi
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 272
1.1 Preamble Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2 Background of Research 2
1.3 Problem Statement Error! Bookmark not defined.8
1.4 Research Objectives Error! Bookmark not defined.4
1.5 Research Questions Error! Bookmark not defined.4
1.6 Scope of Research Error! Bookmark not defined.5
1.7 Significance of Research Error! Bookmark not defined.6
1.8 Definition of Key Terms 19
1.9 Organization of the Study 22
1.10 Chapter Summary 24
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 25
2.1 Introduction 25
2.2 The overview of SMEs 26
2.3 The Business Survival 30
2.3.2 The SMEs Business Survival and Their Successful And Failure Factors 32
2.4 The EM Dimensions Development 44
2.4.1 Driven Oppoertunity 49
2.4.2 Pro-activeness Innovation 49

6. vi
2.4.3 Foundation Innovation 50
2.4.4 Customer Trust 52
2.4.5 Risk Management 55
2.4.6 Resources Leveraging 56
2.4.7 Value Creation 58
2.4.8 Willingness to Change 60
2.5 EM Dimension on Business Performence 60
2.5.1 EM on Business Survival 73
2.6 The OGSE SMEs Overview 77
2.6.1 The Study Of Oil And Gas SMEs Performance And EM 80
2.7 Conceptual Framework 84
2.8 Chapter Summary 87
CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 91
3.1 Introduction 91
3.2 The Research Design 91
3.3 Data Collection Methods 99
3.3.1 Primary Data Collection 99
3.3.2 Semi-Structured Interview 100
3.3.3 Selection of Company and Expert Informants 105
3.4 Data Analysis Procedure 115
3.5 Chapter Summary 117
CHAPTER 4 FINDING AND DATA ANALYSIS 118
4.1 Introduction 118
4.2 7 Business Survival Factors practices of OGSE SMEs 119
4.3 Business Survival Factors Practices of OGSE SMEs that ensure the survival of
Malaysian OSGE SMEs. 121
4.3.1 Comprehensive Business Aims and Goals 122
4.3.2 Business Strategy Strengths 130
4.3.3 Skills and Competencies 141
4.3.4 Competitive Advantage 166
4.3.5 Technology Driven 181

7. vii
4.3.6 Networking Strength 187
4.3.7 Spiritual Emphasizes 194
4.4 Analysis on Distinguish Between Business Survival of Malaysia OGSE SMEs
and EM Dimensions. 201
4.4.1 Similarity Between Business Survival Factors of OGSE SMEs and EM
Dimensions 202
4.4.2 Dissimilarity Between Business Survival Factor OGSE SMEs with EM
Dimensions 225
4.4.3 The Summary of similarity and dissimilarity of Business Survival of OGSE
SMEs based on EM Dimensions 252
4.5 The Holistic Business Survival Concept Development Based on the Business
Survival Factors of OGSE SMEs and EM Dimensions 253
4.6 Chapter Summary Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONError! Bookmark not
defined.58
5.1 Introduction Error! Bookmark not defined.58
5.2 Discussion on Main Finding Error! Bookmark not defined.58
5.3 Implication of the Study Error! Bookmark not defined.66
5.3.1 Theoretical Implication Error! Bookmark not defined.66
5.3.2 Practical Implication Error! Bookmark not defined.68
5.4 Limitation of the Study Error! Bookmark not defined.70
5.4.1 Research Subject Limitation: Error! Bookmark not defined.71
5.4.2 Research Location Limitation: Error! Bookmark not defined.71
5.4.3 Limitations of the Study Method Error! Bookmark not defined.71
5.5 Recommendations for Future Study Error! Bookmark not defined.73
5.5.1 Scope of the Study Error! Bookmark not defined.73
5.5.2 Study Subjects Error! Bookmark not defined.73
5.5.3 Research Methods Error! Bookmark not defined.74
5.6 Chapter Summary 274
REFERENCES 276
APPENDIXES Error! Bookmark not defined.18

8. viii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
Table 4
Table 5
Table 6
Table 7
Table 8
Table 9
Table 10
Table 11
Table 12
Table 13
Table 14
Table 15
Table 16
Table 17
Table 18
The Relation of Research Objectives and Research
Questions.
Table 2 Show The Summary Of Previous Study On EM
Dimension On Business Performance.
Table 3 The Company Detail and Informant’s 1 Designation
The Company Detail and Informant’s 2 Designation
The Company Detail and Informant’s 3 Designation
The Company Detail and Informant’s 4 Designation
The Company Detail and Informant’s 5 Designation
The Company Detail and Informant’s 6 Designation
The Company Detail and Informant’s 7 Designation
Interview Guide Design.
Research Questions and Research Objectives
Research Question 1 and Research Objective (i)
The Summary of Research Questions 1, Research
Objectives i, and Research Findings
Research Question 2 and Research Objective (ii)
The Summary of The Study Research Questions2, Research
Objectives ii, and Research Findings on Business Aim and
Goals Factors
The Summary of The Study Research Questions2, Research
Objectives ii, and Research Findings on Business Strategic
Strength Factor
The Summary of The Study Research Questions2, Research
Objectives ii, and Research Findings on Skills and
Competencies Factor
14
61
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
115
119
119
121
121
130
140
162
180

9. ix
Table 19
Table 20
Table 21
Table 22
Table 23
Table 24
Table 25
Table 26
Table 27
Table 28
Table 29
Table 30
Table 31
Table 32
The Summary of The Study Research Questions2, Research
Objectives ii, and Research Findings on Competitive
Advantages Factor
The Summary of The Study Research Questions2, Research
Objectives ii, and Research Findings on Technology Driven
Factor
The Summary of The Study Research Questions2, Research
Objectives ii, and Research Findings on Networking
Strengths Factor
The Summary of The Study Research Questions2, Research
Objectives ii, and Research Findings on Spiritual
Emphasizes Factor
Research Question 3 and Research Objective (iii)
Eight EM Dimensions
The Similarity Between Similarity Between Business
Survival Factor (Networking Strength) with EM Dimension
(Driven Opportunity)
Similarity Between Business Survival Factor (Successful
Service Provider) with EM Dimension (Proactive
Innovation)
Similarity Between Business Survival Factor (Competitive
Advantages and technology driven) with EM Dimension
(Innovation Focus)
Similarity Between Business Survival Factor (Competitive
Advantages and Business Strategy Strength) with EM
Dimension (Customer Intensity)
Similarity Between Business Survival Factor (Skill and
Competencies and Technology Driven) with EM Dimension
(Risk Management)
Similarity Between Business Survival Factor (Business
Strategy Strengths & Competitive Advantage) with EM
Dimension (Resources Leveraging)
Similarity Between Business Survival Factor
(Comprehensive Business Aim and Goals) with EM
Dimension (Value Driven)
The Similarity Between Business Survival Factor (Skills
and Competencies) with EM Dimension (Willingness to
Change)
187
194
200
201
202
203
204
206
210
212
218
220
222
224

10. x
Table 33
Table 34
Table 35
Table 36
Table 37
Table 38
Table 39
The Similarity Between Business Survival Factors and EM
Dimensions
Dissimilarity between business survival factor OGSE
SMEs: Comprehensive Business Aim and Goals Sub-
Elements with EM Dimension
Dissimilarity Between Business Survival Factor OGSE
SMEs: Business Strategic Strengths Sub-Elements with EM
Dimension.
Dissimilarity Between Business Survival Factor OGSE
SMEs: Skill and Competencies Sub-Elements with EM
Dimension
Dissimilarity Between Business Survival Factor OGSE
SMEs: Competitive Advantage Sub-Elements with EM
Dimension
Dissimilarity Between Business Survival Factor OGSE
SMEs: Networking Strategy Strengths Sub-Elements with
EM Dimension
Dissimilarity Between Business Survival Factor OGSE
SMEs: Spiritual Emphasizes Sub-Elements with EM
Dimension
Research Question 4 and Research Objective (iv)
225
226
232
243
247
249
253

11. xi
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13
Figure 14
Description of SMEs in Malaysia by Malaysia SME Corp
GDP by Kind of Economic Activity by First Quarter of
2019
Percentage of SMEs By State (%)
Research Conceptual Framework
Business Survival Dimensions of OGSE SMEs
Comprehensive on Business Aim and Goals
The Business Strategy Strength
The Internal and External Factors of Business Strategy
Strength
The Competitive Advantage Factor
The Technology Driven Factor
The Networking Strength
The Spiritual Emphasize Factor
The Sub Element Religion of Spiritual Emphasize Factor
The Development of Holistic Business Survival Concepts
Based on The Business Survival Factors of OGSE SMEs
and EM Dimensions.
27
28
29
98
120
122
128
131
141
181
188
195
196
256

12. xii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
BSF Business Survival Factors
CSR Corporate Social Responsibility
EMD Entrepreneurial Marketing Dimensions
EM Entrepreneurial Marketing
EO Entrepreneurial Orientation
EP Entrepreneurial Proclivity
GDP Gross Domestic Products
ISCOGI International Service Companies in The Oil and Gas Industry
MO Marketing Orientation
NSDC National SME Development Council
OC Job of Hierarchical Culture
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
O&G Oil and Gas
OGSE Oil and Gas Services and Equipment
PESTEL Politic, Economy, Social, Technology, Legal and Environment
ROI Return of Investment
SCM Supply Chain Management
SMEs Small Medium Enterprises

13. 272
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Preamble
Survival in the business landscape is a formidable challenge faced by Small and
Medium Enterprises (SMEs) worldwide. Statistics from various sources, including the
Small Business Association (SBA) and Eurostat, underscore the harsh reality of
business failure within the initial years of operation, with only a fraction enduring
beyond a decade (SBA, 1994–2013; Mackiewicz & Kurczewska, 2020). While
entrepreneurial entry garners significant attention, the intricacies of company survival
present a more complex and daunting scenario (Strotmann, 2007).
This study delves into the realm of business survival, with a specific focus on
Malaysian Oil and Gas Services and Equipment (OGSE) SMEs. Despite navigating
through tumultuous periods marked by oil price collapses and economic crises
stemming from various macro-environmental factors, OGSE SMEs in Malaysia have
exhibited resilience, continually enhancing their capabilities and expanding their
global presence (The Edge, 2017a).
The selection of OGSE SMEs as the research focal point stems from their status as a
longstanding industry in Malaysia, characterized by their ability to weather
challenging circumstances. Despite facing macro-environmental challenges
encompassing political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental

14. 273
(PESTLE) factors, these entities have not only persevered but have also thrived in
global business landscapes (The Edge, 2017a).
While marketing and financial strategies are often cited as critical determinants of
SME survival, the significance of marketing innovations and capabilities, particularly
within the framework of Entrepreneurial Marketing (EM), warrants exploration. EM
activities, integral to marketing strategies and globalization endeavors, are identified
as essential for SME survival, highlighting the need to delineate the parallels and
distinctions between survival factors of Malaysian OGSE SMEs and EM dimensions.
This chapter serves to provide the background context for the research, elucidating the
rationale behind its pursuit. The subsequent sections illuminate the problem statement,
research questions, and objectives, providing a roadmap for the study's endeavors.
Additionally, the scope and significance of the research are delineated, followed by
definitions of key terms essential for conceptual clarity. Finally, the organizational
structure of the study is outlined, offering insights into the subsequent chapters' content
and flow.