The Effectiveness of Public Advisory Services: What are the Important Factors?

During the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), the development of the SMEs has been prioritized by the government. Various initiatives were provided in order to strengthen the SMEs, especially the new start-up and micro-size firm. The initiatives provided were in the form of financial and non-financial. Among the initiatives provided are advisory services. The objective of this study is to examine what are the factors that may influence the effectiveness of advisory services offered by public institutions towards the SMEs clients. The primary data was collected from 103 small-scale food processors operating in the State of Selangor, Malaysia. The data was gathered through face to face interview using structured questionnaires. Both descriptive and exploratory factor analysis had been used to analyze the data gathered. The result of the analysis showed that there are four factors that will influence the effectiveness of public advisory services, namely prompt service, communication skills, technology and facility. In order to be effective, it is possible for the public institution to take a look on the delivery system practiced and if necessary make some improvement towards the certain elements being identified.