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Article
Publication date: 6 March 2009

Majd Al‐Homoud, Salem Al‐Oun, Ayat Smadi and Al‐Mutasem Al‐Hindawi

In the housing sector in Jordan, sales advertisings are rarely used, though they, potentially, increase profits and sales and expand development geographically. The purpose of…

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Abstract

Purpose

In the housing sector in Jordan, sales advertisings are rarely used, though they, potentially, increase profits and sales and expand development geographically. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of sales advertising in the emerging housing market in the city of Irbid, Jordan. The aim is to reveal the effect of the use of advertising on sales and production of housing, and the obstacles that developers may face when advertising.

Design/methodology/approach

The study elicited data through long, face‐to‐face interviews using semi‐structured and open‐ended questionnaires with 25 private sector developers. The data collected included companies' profiles; housing annual production; geographical location; sales and prices; and marketing and advertising.

Findings

The major finding of the study is that the use of sales advertising in the housing market in Irbid is low. The major advertising methods include public relations and word of mouth along with a limited use of newspaper and on‐site advertising. The obstacles developers face include lack of conviction, unawareness about advertising effect, lack of advertising professionals, lack of skills in advertisement designs and inability to afford it.

Research limitations/implications

Future research is needed to undertake statistical references through a comprehensive survey of a large sample of developers from different geographical areas around Jordan.

Practical implications

The study recommends finding means to encourage developers to use advertising and to introduce new media such as the internet.

Originality/value

As the first of its kind, the research pinpoints to developers the value of sales advertising, as marketing concepts, to attract buyers, increase sales and profit and to expand geographically around Jordan.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. 2 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2009

Majd Al‐Homoud, Salem Al‐Oun and Al‐Mutasem Al‐Hindawi

The housing sector in Jordan suffers from a lack of balance between supply and demand, in general, and from the inability to meet the demands of low‐income households, in…

1809

Abstract

Purpose

The housing sector in Jordan suffers from a lack of balance between supply and demand, in general, and from the inability to meet the demands of low‐income households, in specific. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potentials and obstacles facing low‐income housing supply. It is shown that there is undersupply in low‐income housing.

Design/methodology/approach

The attributes of the supply–demand model are explored using qualitative and quantitative research methods. The first research step was archival. Findings indicated a presence of major obstacles facing developers and hindering them from supplying low‐income housing. The second research step included face‐to‐face interviews with the local developers in three major cities: Amman, Irbid and Zarqa. They were interviewed using a semi‐structured and open‐ended questionnaire.

Findings

Results indicated that most plausible causality of undersupply of low‐income housing is due to macro‐environment attributes: controllable – management (lack of human resources and capacity building), real estate (lack of marketing skills and sales advertising), technology and construction industry (inaccessible appropriate building technology and affordable construction), land ownership and site selection (limited to the developers geographical area); and uncontrollable – financing (small capital operation and difficulties in bank loans and lending), government policies (lack of incentives, tax exemptions, and rigid laws and regulations), and social and cultural (social needs requires certain spatial arrangements and rejection of borrowing from financial institutions for religious reasons).

Practical implications

The study recommends increasing supply of low‐income housing can be achieved by various means and not by single attribute. Attributes affecting this price reduction and increase homeownership include implementing real estate principles and processes, co‐operation of all key‐players through various forms of public/private partnership, facilitating procedures in commercial banks, increasing the number of units that share services and infrastructure, constructing multi‐use housing projects, defining gradual revenue rates for services and limiting revenue rates for the housing units, developing local construction material, using simple shapes and configurations, and reducing non‐used space like the formal reception and dining areas despite their cultural value.

Research limitations/implications

Statistical inferences will be needed in a future study to complement the present study's investigation of low‐income housing production in Jordan.

Originality/value

As the first of its kind, the research help to identify policy implications for different partners (housing developers, local planning authorities, national housing and planning authorities and government policy makers) in order to increase homeownership for low‐income groups.

Details

International Journal of Housing Markets and Analysis, vol. 2 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8270

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 December 2011

Ali Al Amaireh

From time immemorial until about a generation ago, the UAE desert-roaming Bedouins were living in tents (hair houses) which they themselves had innovated, constructed and…

Abstract

From time immemorial until about a generation ago, the UAE desert-roaming Bedouins were living in tents (hair houses) which they themselves had innovated, constructed and elaborated. They had done this in such a way as to ensure that their practical need for accommodation was met, that the constraints of their physical environment were taken into account, and that their own social and religious obligations could be discharged. Then almost overnight the tents disappeared and with them the way of life they represented.

As a consequence of the UAE government's policy in the early urbanization and resettlement of the country's nomadic population, the previous occupants of the hair houses found themselves residents of the so-called “housing areas” on the outskirts of the UAE cities and towns. The problems arising from this sudden transformation are the focus of this study which aims to demonstrate that while the resettled Bedouins turned to embrace the modern life in their new homes, they were mentally and emotionally drawn to their past lifestyle in which the hair house, more than merely providing accommodation, was an expression of personality and culture.

To this end, this study documents and analyzes the southern version of the hair house (otherwise known as the “winter house”), previously the most common in the UAE desert. The study will consider not only that the hair house was a masterpiece of innovative construction suited to the Bedouin's environment and culture but also, as comparison at different levels shows, the inadequacy of the urban cement house as the Bedouin's current-day accommodation. Consequently, the study recommends that future housing projects targeted at the resettled Bedouins should be designed with a view to harmonizing the needs and requirements of contemporary life with the rich heritage of the Bedouins.

In carrying out this study, the researcher has utilized a combination of research tools, primarily theoretical, descriptive and analytical together with field visits and personal interviews with former residents of the hair houses and the curators of the Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital. In contrast, as the “housing areas” are still in existence, the scope of the study is limited to the hair house which it tries to recover and reconstruct as a point of reference for the thesis of the study.

Details

Open House International, vol. 36 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0168-2601

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 15 November 2022

Milica Čolović and Vladimir Čeda Mitić

The main purpose of this research is to examine the basic motives in making a decision to buy an organic food. The preferences in the type of food – conventional, organic and GMO…

Abstract

Purpose

The main purpose of this research is to examine the basic motives in making a decision to buy an organic food. The preferences in the type of food – conventional, organic and GMO between people from different countries in former Yugoslavia region, as well as the main motives for buying an organic food, are also determined. Differences in the main motives for buying organic food depending on the gender and age of the respondents are also examined.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample consisted of 571 respondents from 6 countries of former Yugoslavia, which makes this paper unique and original. Questionnaire, which was specially constructed for the needs of the main purpose of this research, is to examine the basic motives in making a decision to buy an organic food. The preferences in the type of food – conventional, organic and GMO between people from different countries in former Yugoslavia region, as well as the main motives for buying an organic food, are also determinated. Differences in the main motives for buying organic food depending on the gender and age of the respondents are also examined. The sample consisted of 571 respondents from 6 countries of former Yugoslavia, which makes this paper unique and original. Questionnaire, which was specially constructed for the needs of the research, was applied (Cronbach α = 0.77). The research was conducted online, via the Google Forms questionnaire. Data were processed by the SPSS program. Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to determine the significance of the obtained differences in scores between groups of subjects. The results show that the conventional food is still the most common type of nutrition in people from these areas. The main reason for buying organic food is health, while there are no differences in scores between respondents of different gender, age and country they live in. Mandatory of this paper refers to show relevant information of main motives in purchasing organic food from people, which itself has broader social (raising awareness of the importance and significance an organic nutrition), as well as practical implications, which may be important for organic food producers and traders. The results of the research have a satisfactory level of reliability (Cronbach α = 0.77). The research was conducted online, via the Google Forms questionnaire. Data were processed by the SPSS program. Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to determine the significance of the obtained differences in scores between groups of subjects.

Findings

The results show that the conventional food is still the most common type of nutrition in people from these areas. The main reason for buying organic food is health, while there are no differences in scores between respondents of different gender, age and country they live in.

Research limitations/implications

An unequal number of male and female respondents, as well as respondents from different countries.

Practical implications

Mandatory of this paper refers to show relevant information of main motives in purchasing organic food from people, which may be important for organic food producers and traders.

Social implications

Social implications refers to raise an awareness of the importance and significance an organic nutrition for people health.

Originality/value

The sample consisted of 571 respondents from 6 countries of former Yugoslavia, which makes this paper unique and original.

Details

British Food Journal, vol. 125 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0007-070X

Keywords

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