Examining the internationalisation of Malaysian housing developers using the eclectic paradigm

The international expansion of housing developers from developing countries is a fairly recent phenomenon. This paper examines the internationalisation of several Malaysian housing developers abroad. It uses the Eclectic Paradigm as the basis for analysis. Understanding foreign market potential was regarded as the most important firm specific ownership advantage whereas house buyer demand in Malaysia was ranked the highest country-specific advantage. Of the locational factors that the surveyed Malaysian developers considered when venturing in foreign markets, availability and cost of land ranked the highest. Protection of the firms' reputation was the strongest motivator to invest abroad directly rather than use the market mechanism e.g. licensing.