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1 – 10 of over 1000
Article
Publication date: 21 November 2016

Jasmine Leby Lau, Ahmad Hariza Hashim, Asnarulkhadi Abu Samah and Azizah Salim Syed Salim

The purpose of this paper is to examine the dimensionality of the environmental concern scale (NEP) and to understand the environmental worldviews of Malaysian project managers.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the dimensionality of the environmental concern scale (NEP) and to understand the environmental worldviews of Malaysian project managers.

Design/methodology/approach

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among developer organisations registered with Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association Malaysia in Klang Valley. Response was obtained from project managers and the final sample collected was 87 cases, representing a response rate of 24.5 per cent. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was conducted to investigate the underlying structure of the NEP items while frequency distribution for the data set was used to gauge the environmental worldviews of the respondents. In addition, face-to-face interviews were carried out to gather more information to complements the findings of quantitative analyses.

Findings

Five factors were extracted but due to heavy cross-loadings, two items from the original scale were dropped, reducing it to be a 13-item scale. The four factors retained explained 61.6 per cent of the variance and were duly named Human over nature, ecocrisis, rights of nature and limits of growth. High scores on both pro-NEP and pro-dominant social paradigm items revealed the co-existence of both ecological and utilitarian view of the environment among project managers. Similar outcome was obtained from interviews with project managers where they indicated efforts in finding compatibility between protecting the environment and exploiting natural resources for development.

Research limitations/implications

The sample was restricted to housing developers in Klang Valley, thus the findings cannot be generalised to all developer organisations or other construction occupational groups.

Practical implications

This research supported the multidimensionality claim of the environmental scale (NEP) where four distinctive dimensions were identified. The usage of individual subscales in understanding environmental beliefs may reveal interesting patterns in that each dimension could have positive and negative connotations on human behaviours. In addition, the co-existence of both an ecological and a utilitarian view of the environment revealed that these worldviews align well with sustainable development principles.

Originality/value

This study is one of the few local studies that attempt to understand the environmental worldviews of project managers.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 September 2019

Syed Putra Syed Abu Bakar, Mastura Jaafar and Masitah Muhibudin

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of entrepreneurial learning on the performance of Malaysian private housing developers. Although the extant literature on…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impacts of entrepreneurial learning on the performance of Malaysian private housing developers. Although the extant literature on learning epistemology is quite voluminous, the focus within the housing entrepreneurship remains limited. With this lacuna, the investigation on the perceptions of learning propensity among residential developers is deemed timely.

Design/methodology/approach

Using snowball sampling, interviews were conducted with ten perceived successful private housing developers in Malaysia to understand the antecedents and consequences of entrepreneurial learning in steering their business toward excellence.

Findings

The research outcomes revealed that all the interviewed respondents concurred with the importance of entrepreneurial learning within the organization to strive for business success. The interviewed housing developers highlighted the significance of learning interest in their daily works to achieve business competitiveness and gain competitive edge against rivals. Through continuous learning, positive ideas and ethos could be instilled within the uncertain business environment.

Research limitations/implications

From an empirical standpoint, the sample was limited to private housing developers in one country. This limits the scope of generalization. Further studies, comparing between public and private developers in multiple contexts should be undertaken. Besides that, the research is based on a relatively small sample of ten respondents and the use of snowball sampling may have meant that the respondents would only tend to present a particular view of the industry.

Practical implications

The results raise interesting impacts on business success for scholars and entrepreneurs to ponder upon. The research contributes new knowledge about the effects of entrepreneurial learning toward the competitiveness of housing developers, by looking at the whole aspects of development process. A better understanding on how business knowledge could be retrieved from the perspectives of Malaysian housing developers is posited to be pragmatically employed.

Originality/value

Concomitantly with the above proposition, the study offers a novel insight into learning capabilities of Malaysian private housing developers that may be useful for global references. Understanding firm’s resources and capabilities is emergent that warrants further clarifications on entrepreneurial learning within housing development firms. The paper successfully illuminates comprehensive issues that have responded to this shortfall.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology , vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2013

Sharon Yam

The purpose of this research is to assess the implementation of sustainable practice by Malaysian property developers, particularly on social and environmental perspectives.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research is to assess the implementation of sustainable practice by Malaysian property developers, particularly on social and environmental perspectives.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a qualitative research where content analysis is used to analyse leading property companies’ websites, annual reports, corporate responsibility and sustainability reports, and carbon disclosure reports.

Findings

Findings from this research indicate that the majority of the developers have their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in place and there are variations in their approaches and reporting process. Of all, philanthropic activities are the mostly widely reported followed by human resource initiatives. Even though the majority of property companies reported their environmental practices, only the top few developers had their projects certified by sustainability rating agencies.

Research limitations/implications

As this project was restricted to the top ten Malaysian developers, the results do not reflect how other companies, particularly the smaller ones, adopt CSR in their business. However, this project revealed valuable findings regarding the magnitude of CSR initiatives, particularly on social and environmental perspective, adopted by the top ten Malaysian property developers; this is useful for the Malaysian government authorities in formulating CSR‐related policies particularly on environmental sustainability. As well, the findings of this project can be a useful reference to other property companies which are keen to contribute to sustainable development, particularly on social and environmental perspectives.

Originality/value

There has been limited literature on CSR in the Malaysian property industry thus far. Previous research papers are mainly about environmental sustainability of property companies, sustainable practice by Malaysian real estate investment trusts, and CSR perception of house buyers and developers. Therefore, to fill the gap in the literature, this research is designed to assess the implementation of sustainable practice by Malaysian property developers, particularly on the social and environmental perspectives.

Details

Property Management, vol. 31 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2021

Ann Marie Sidhu and Jane Gibbon

The purpose of this study is to examine how accounting for sustainable development (SD) in Malaysian organisations decouples economic growth from ecological consequences. The…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine how accounting for sustainable development (SD) in Malaysian organisations decouples economic growth from ecological consequences. The research analyses the empirical evidence of organisational responses and actions that purport to support SD in a developing country.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses a discursive model of institutional theory to examine the relationship between texts, discourse and action within Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) organisations. This study uses both qualitative content and interpretive textual analysis of Malaysian organisations project design documents (PDDs) and interview transcripts to interpret and determine the “conceptions” of SD.

Findings

Documentation and interviews with Malaysian CDM organisations show that SD conceptions range from “business as usual” to weak ecological modernisation. The key narratives are both economic and technocratic but have little to do with SD concerns about ecological limitations and social equity.

Originality/value

The empirical evidence provides insights into the motivations and challenges of a developing country's commitment to SD. We perform the study in an accountability space other than corporate financial reporting. Unlike external corporate reports, PDDs are closer to the underlying organisational reality as they are internal project documents made publicly accessible through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, allowing for a more transparent evaluation. The evidence shows how the organisational approach to SD is institutionalised through the mediating role of discourse and texts used by the actors within the CDM.

Details

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3574

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 27 July 2018

Syed Putra Syed Abu Bakar and Mastura Jaafar

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of land banking strategy and market analysis towards the performance of Malaysian housing developers.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of land banking strategy and market analysis towards the performance of Malaysian housing developers.

Design/methodology/approach

Through in-depth interviews, participants shared their opinions on success factors of housing development firms with a focus on land banking and market study. Content analysis was performed on the data, identifying the connection between both strategies and their superior performance.

Findings

The study presents interesting findings in that it lends support to the existing literature as such land banking and market analysis do affect the business competitiveness of housing developers. Albeit subjective in nature, the comments received from respondents are revelatory and have implications for the level of performance perceived by the organisations, as well as the experience of housing entrepreneurs in assembling the land bank and gauging the housing market.

Practical implications

Though not a substitute for quantitative problem solving, this piece of work serves as a corroborative evidence to improve the satisfaction of homebuyers, industry players and policymakers. The paper ends by recommending that the study be repeated in Malaysia, this time with the involvement of other stakeholders, to enrich the findings.

Originality/value

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first research performed in the Malaysian context in which the strategies of private housing developers comprising land banking and market analysis were explored in relation to business success. Hence, the present study not only contributes to the existing property literature, but also makes an important contribution to the business performance and firm competitiveness in the lens of Malaysian entrepreneurs.

Details

Property Management, vol. 36 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 7 October 2015

Azizah Ahmad

The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive…

Abstract

The strategic management literature emphasizes the concept of business intelligence (BI) as an essential competitive tool. Yet the sustainability of the firms’ competitive advantage provided by BI capability is not well researched. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for successful BI deployment and empirically examines the association between BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage. Taking the telecommunications industry in Malaysia as a case example, the research particularly focuses on the influencing perceptions held by telecommunications decision makers and executives on factors that impact successful BI deployment. The research further investigates the relationship between successful BI deployment and sustainable competitive advantage of the telecommunications organizations. Another important aim of this study is to determine the effect of moderating factors such as organization culture, business strategy, and use of BI tools on BI deployment and the sustainability of firm’s competitive advantage.

This research uses combination of resource-based theory and diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory to examine BI success and its relationship with firm’s sustainability. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and a two-phase sequential mixed method consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches are employed. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. The chapter presents a qualitative field study to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. The study includes a survey study with sample of business analysts and decision makers in telecommunications firms and is analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling.

The findings reveal that some internal resources of the organizations such as BI governance and the perceptions of BI’s characteristics influence the successful deployment of BI. Organizations that practice good BI governance with strong moral and financial support from upper management have an opportunity to realize the dream of having successful BI initiatives in place. The scope of BI governance includes providing sufficient support and commitment in BI funding and implementation, laying out proper BI infrastructure and staffing and establishing a corporate-wide policy and procedures regarding BI. The perceptions about the characteristics of BI such as its relative advantage, complexity, compatibility, and observability are also significant in ensuring BI success. The most important results of this study indicated that with BI successfully deployed, executives would use the knowledge provided for their necessary actions in sustaining the organizations’ competitive advantage in terms of economics, social, and environmental issues.

This study contributes significantly to the existing literature that will assist future BI researchers especially in achieving sustainable competitive advantage. In particular, the model will help practitioners to consider the resources that they are likely to consider when deploying BI. Finally, the applications of this study can be extended through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

Details

Sustaining Competitive Advantage Via Business Intelligence, Knowledge Management, and System Dynamics
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-764-2

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2006

Abdul Rashid Abdul Aziz, Ho Shiew Yi and Mastura Jaafar

The resource‐based view (RBV) has been used on various industry studies. To examine the resources required to thrive in the private housing development sector in Malaysia, the RBV…

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Abstract

The resource‐based view (RBV) has been used on various industry studies. To examine the resources required to thrive in the private housing development sector in Malaysia, the RBV was similarly utilised. Using a combination of mailed questionnaires and face‐to‐face interviews, the study identified and ranked fourteen resources by virtue of their ability to exploit opportunities and/or neutralise threats, or in short, value. While the ranking of some of the resources echoe similar past industry studies, others interestingly did not, perhaps due to the unique characteristics of the industry, or even country. New players to the industry can take stock of the findings to maximise their chances of success. The paper ends by recommending that the study be repeated in Malaysia, this time with many more respondent, to confirm the findings. It also proposes that similar studies be conducted in other countries to enable cross‐country comparisons to be made.

Details

Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, vol. 4 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1726-0531

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 April 2019

Jeffrey Boon Hui Yap, Chin Weng Tan, Siaw Chuing Loo and Wah Peng Lee

The purpose of this paper is to determine the significance of branding management by property developers in the Malaysian housing market and to examine the pivotal brand identity…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to determine the significance of branding management by property developers in the Malaysian housing market and to examine the pivotal brand identity traits of property developers.

Design/methodology/approach

An explanatory sequential mixed-methods research approach was adopted. The quantitative data from the questionnaire survey were subjected to descriptive statistics, and the ranking with category of significance of the hypothesised branding traits was determined using relative importance index technique. The findings were further validated through semi-structured interviews with five experienced industry practitioners.

Findings

Results showed that the extremely significant (ES) branding identities are value for future investment and location, while the very significant (VS) traits are quality assurance, near to supporting infrastructure, reliability, professionalism, experience, warranties and technical ability. Industry experts affirmed the prospect of exploiting branding in enticing property buyers.

Research limitations/implications

It is reasonable to infer that good branding positively stimulates buyer’s decision-making on purchasing residential property. This study attempts to discover the critical brand identity traits for property developers apt in the context of Malaysian housing market.

Practical implications

Apart from the archetypal locational and financial factors, the findings suggested that top developers should emphasise innovative family-oriented design with an acceptable level of quality score for brand differentiation to further enhance the future value of their end products.

Originality/value

The efficacy of brand management in the housing market has not yet been fully explored in research. This paper is expected to offer more profound insights into the strategic brand management towards “branded” property developers in the context of Malaysia and perhaps other countries with comparable backgrounds.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. 12 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 June 2008

Mohamad Noorman Masrek, Norhayati Hussin and Norashimawati Tarmuchi

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the status of systems development methodologies (SDM) usage for developing web‐based application in Malaysian organizations. In…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the status of systems development methodologies (SDM) usage for developing web‐based application in Malaysian organizations. In addition, it also seeks to investigate the use of techniques and tools for web‐based application development.

Design/methodology/approach

The study employed the use of a cross‐sectional survey method with 200 questionnaires sent to information systems managers. A total of 66 usable questionnaires were returned.

Findings

The use of SDM that are meant for web‐based applications is still very low among Malaysian organizations. The majority of respondents indicated that the SDM being used were adapted on a project basis. Malaysian systems developers were more inclined to use techniques that were much suited for traditional applications. Nevertheless, the use of systems development tools was quite overwhelming. Despite acknowledging the merits of using SDM, respondents also indicated problems associated with their usage.

Research limitations/implications

The number of respondents participated in the study was low and furthermore data were collected employing a cross‐sectional design instead of longitudinal design.

Originality/value

The paper provides empirical evidence regarding the use of SDM, techniques and tools for developing web‐based applications.

Details

Information Management & Computer Security, vol. 16 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-5227

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 June 2019

Chee Wei Cheah

This study examines the institutional setting and decision-making structures among key industry actors in the Malaysian housing industry, using the IMP network approach and…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines the institutional setting and decision-making structures among key industry actors in the Malaysian housing industry, using the IMP network approach and institutional theory as theoretical lenses. The purpose of this study is to uncover the role of NGOs, housing developers and the government at a collective level within a highly regulated housing market. This study uses “relationships” as the unit of analysis, focusing on triadic interactions of NGOs, housing developers and the government.

Design/methodology/approach

This study applies the qualitative case-study-research approach, using 20 in-depth interviews from the purposefully selected industry actors within the housing market, online observations and documents.

Findings

The findings suggest that NGOs play an influential role in housing-industry interactions and outcomes. In particular, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association can influence the members’ decisions through supportive and disruptive actions.

Originality/value

This study contributes to our understanding of how NGOs interact with their regulator and housing developers and how these three parties co-evolve and respond to institutional demands in a housing market that is bound by a highly restricted housing policy. By understanding how actors interact within a network and how it affects each other’s decision, it may assist policymakers in formulating policies that can improve market efficiency. It also aids businesses in formulating their collective strategies.

Details

Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing, vol. 34 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0885-8624

Keywords

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