The concept of innovation in the Malaysian housing industry
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Date
2011-04
Authors
Lai, Kong Seng
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Abstract
In the past few years, innovation has been recognized as the key driver to sustain competitive
advantages. Previous studies also show that implementation of innovation still remains slow
in the housing industry and it is unwise to adopt any innovation perceived from other
industries. The present study aims to gain better knowledge on the concept of innovation
from the perspective of housing developers. There are 3 objectives that have been drawn to
achieve the aim; first is to identifY the meaning of innovation from the perspective of
housing developers; second is to identifY types of innovation implemented by the housing
developers and the third is to identifY the advantages of innovation. A total of 181 housing
developers were randomly selected from the list of housing developers registered with the
Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (REHDA) in Penang and Selangor.
Questionnaires were distributed to these developers through fax and face-to-face distribution.
33 responded, contributing to the response rate of 18.23%. The data was analyzed using the
reliability test and descriptive analysis. Follow-up interviews were carried out to 3 other
developers to gain in-depth information on issues arisen in the survey results. Interview data
had been transcribed, organized and coded. The findings show that the concept of innovation
defined by housing developers constitute of 5 keywords; "applicable", "useful", "solve
problem", "new" and "improvement", denoting the complex nature and the multiple parties
involved in the housing industry. Market innovation and product innovation have also been
implemented by the housing developers. Through to the end of this present study, there are 4
advantages that the developers gain from being innovative; sustaining competitive
advantages, rejuvenating a mature business, strengthening the organization and increasing
the profit or sales.
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Keywords
Implementation of innovation still remains slow , in the housing industry