International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through whic... more International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through which a firm expands its operation from domestic to the international domain. Hence, entry timing choices require the needs to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry into a new market. Questionnaire surveys administered to 115 Malaysian construction firms operating in 51 countries worldwide have resulted in 39.1 percent response rate. Factor analysis was used to determine the most significant factors affecting entry timing choices of the firms to penetrate the international market. A logistic regression analysis used to examine the firms' entry timing choices, indicates that the model has correctly classified 89.5 per cent of cases as late movers. The findings reveal that the most significant factor influencing the construction firms' choices as late movers was the firm factor related to the firm's international experience...
Market expansion into foreign markets has become increasingly important for construction business... more Market expansion into foreign markets has become increasingly important for construction businesses including Malaysian contractors. Hence, it is imperative that these firms are able to sustain performance in international markets. This paper aims to determine the significant factors influencing the Malaysian contractors’ performance in international markets. This research adopts a mixed method adopting questionnaire surveys that were sent to 115 construction firms as a sampling frame. The quantitative findings were further validated through in-depth interviews with five firms currently operating at international level. It was found that the firms’ profit targets based on return on investment and revenues supported by the firms’ competitive advantages due to employees’ capabilities and competencies have significantly influenced the firms’ performance. However, further insights disclosed that having strong and stable human relationships were very important to enhance the firms’ perfo...
This paper proposes a model for entry location (EL) and entry timing (ET) decisions to guide cons... more This paper proposes a model for entry location (EL) and entry timing (ET) decisions to guide construction firms in accessing targeted international markets. Neglecting to properly choose the right combination of the entry location and entry timing (ELET) decisions can
lead to poor performance of the firms’ international ventures. The sampling frame was from
the Malaysian construction firms that have undertaken and completed projects abroad.
Survey questionnaires sent to 115 firms registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, operating in more than 50 countries, achieved a 39.1 per cent response rate. Based on a comprehensive statistical analysis of survey data it was found
that the mutually inclusive significant factors that influenced the firms’ ELET decisions were:
the firm’s ability to assess market signals and opportunities, international experience,
financial capacity, competencies and capabilities (project management, specialist expertise and technology), resources (level of knowledge based on research and development), experience in similar works, financial support from the home country banks, technical
complexities of projects and availability of funds for projects. Hence, the present research builds on and extends the literature on the ELET decisions in a more integrated way.
Neglecting to properly choose the right combination of entry mode and entry timing strategies can... more Neglecting to properly choose the right combination of entry mode and entry timing strategies can lead to poor performance in international business ventures. The paper focuses on the linking of entry timing (ET) and entry mode (EM) decisions and the factors influencing both decisions. By consolidating the findings for both entry decisions, an ETEM model to guide the construction firms to access the targeted markets will be developed. The questionnaire surveys were sent to 115 Malaysian construction firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia with 39.1 percent response rate. The logistic regression (LR) model revealed that the majority of construction firms have chosen to be the late movers (LMs). Factor analysis carried out shows that the factors significantly influenced the firms’ entry timing decision as LMs are the firm’s international experience, level of knowledge, research and development intensity, competencies in project management, specialist expertise and technology and financing capacity. While the multinomial logistic regression (MLR) model has shown that majority of construction firms preferred both equity (EQ) and non-equity (NEQ) entry modes. Factor analysis revealed that the factors significantly influenced the firms’ entry mode decisions to choose both types of entry mode are the firm’s management of quality and risk attitudes, strong resources, experience in similar works, ability to assess market signals and opportunities, superior management and organizational dynamic capabilities, availability of partner/alliance” and existence of strict time limitations. The consolidation of findings shows that the majority of the Malaysian construction firms were the late movers and they preferred both EQ and NEQ entry modes. Hence, this study contributes to an improved understanding of particular relationships that exist between the entry timing and entry mode decisions made by firms into international market.
"International market entry strategy involves three major decisions: which market to enter (entry... more "International market entry strategy involves three major decisions: which market to enter (entry location), when to enter the selected location (entry timing) and how to enter (entry mode). Neglecting to choose a suitable entry mode can lead to poor performance of firms in their international business ventures. Thus, this research seeks to identify the entry modes preferred by the Malaysian construction firms, whether they choose equity (EQ) modes, non-equity (NEQ) modes or both modes (BOTH) for their international projects. This study also seeks to determine the most significant factors affecting the firms’ entry mode choices. The questionnaire surveys were sent to 115 target respondents from the construction firms listed under CIDB Malaysia (2012) resulting in 39.1 percent response rate. A frequency analysis used to determine the preferred entry modes revealed that 44.4 per cent of the respondents have chosen EQ modes, 4.4 per cent have chosen NEQ modes, and 51.2 per cent have chosen BOTH modes. The principal axis factoring (PAF) analysis has grouped the 14 factors into three major components based on the highly loaded factors namely; firm, market and performance dynamic factors which have significantly affected the entry mode choices by the firms. In conclusion, it is hoped that the findings from this research would offer valuable information to any construction firms in Malaysia in developing the entry mode strategies in their international market expansion."
Market entry strategy is used to make the firm’s entering new foreign market possible to expand t... more Market entry strategy is used to make the firm’s entering new foreign market possible to expand their businesses in terms of
services, products, technology, human and other resources. It requires the firm to decide which market to enter (market selection
decision), how to enter (entry mode decision), and when to enter (entry timing decision). Hence, focusing on the market selection
decision is one of the important dimensions in the process of internationalization and is crucial in order to ease the complexity and difficulty of global market expansion. The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors that are of critical significance influencing market selection decisions by Malaysian construction firms into international market. Questionnaires were sent to one
hundred nine (109) firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia giving twenty one percent
response rate. Factor analysis was used to group the twenty-seven factors into four specific-factors namely; firm, country, industry
and project. The findings from regression analysis carried out revealed that the project-specific factors have contributed
significantly to the firms’ market selection decision to penetrate international market. These factors which are loaded highest in
order of significance were the “intensity of competition”, “existence of strict quality requirements”, “proximity to competitors”, “proximity to host country” and “firm international competitiveness”. This study illustrates the determination of the specific-factors influencing the firms’ decision related to market selection into international domain. It is hope that the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.
2014 International Symposium on Technology Management and Emerging Technologies (ISTMET 2014), May 27, 2014
"Market entry timing decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand inte... more "Market entry timing decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationally. In a dynamic and competitive international environment, the entry timing decision involves the need to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry. This study proposes a theoretical framework to investigate the influence of advantages and disadvantages [dis (advantages)] on
entry timing decisions of Malaysian construction firms in their
international market expansion. Survey questionnaires were sent
to 115 Malaysian construction firms listed under the
Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB)
with 44.7 percent response rate. A total of twenty four (24) (dis)
advantages were identified and confirmed using SMART PLSSEM
(partial least square structural equation modeling) to test the model and finally established the findings. The results with β
coefficient of 0.538 and t-value of 2.805 indicate that the early
mover disadvantages have significantly influenced the entry
timing decision of the Malaysian construction firms into
international market. Hence, this study illustrates the firms’
acquirement of the (dis) advantages based on their late timing of
entry into international market. It is hoped that the findings
would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction
firms with the intention to internationalize either as the early or
late movers."
Annual Conference for Civil Engineering and Engineering (ACCEE2014), Mar 16, 2014
Market entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationa... more Market entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationally. In a dynamic and competitive international environment, entry timing decision involves the need to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry. This study investigates the advantages and disadvantages [dis (advantages)] related to the early and late entry of Malaysian construction firms into international market. Survey questionnaires were sent to 115 Malaysian construction firms listed under the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) with 39.1 percent response rate. A total of twenty four (24) dis (advantages) were identified and analyzed using factor analysis to establish the findings. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) method has reduced the factors to fifteen items grouped under 3 major components of the dis (advantages) known as the early mover advantages (EMAs), the late mover advantages (LMAs) and the early mover disadvantages (EMDs). These components consist of the most significant factors influencing the entry timing of the construction firms into international market. Hence, this study illustrates the firms’ acquirement of the dis (advantages) based on their timing of entry into international market. It is hoped that the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with the intention to internationalize either as the early or late movers.
Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Research Methodology for Built Environment and Engineering Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 17-18 December 2013
International market expansion involves a strategic process of entry decision through which a fir... more International market expansion involves a strategic process of entry decision through which a firm expands its operation from domestic to international domain. The importance of determining the motives to expand into international market has been widely researched. However, this study focuses on the construction industry which has strongly gained the interest of both practitioners and academic researchers in recent years. Nonetheless, only few quantitative methods are available for the construction firms to objectively evaluate the motives behind the expansion. The objective of this study is to determine the significant motives for international market expansion by the Malaysian construction firms. Questionnaire surveys were sent to the construction firms registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. The motives in relation to the risk and return factors for market expansion were studied and compared with the literature reviews for the construction and other general industry characteristics. The data were analyzed using mean ranking and correlation analysis to establish the findings. The three highest ranked risk factors are the political, financial and economic risks and for the return factors agreed by the respondents to balance the risks are the firms’ motivation to gain the competitive advantages, to achieve the return of investment and assets and to get the recognition and reputation. The correlation analysis revealed a medium strength positive correlation between the return and the risk factors. The study offers valuable information to construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses together with possibilities for in-depth studies on the motives for market expansion.
International Science Index 84, 2013 waset.org/publications/9996902, Dec 31, 2013
International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through whic... more International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through which a firm expands its operation from domestic to the international domain. Hence, entry timing choices require the needs to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry into a new market. Questionnaire surveys administered to 115 Malaysian
construction firms operating in 51 countries worldwide have resulted in 39.1 percent response rate. Factor analysis was used to determine the most significant factors affecting entry timing choices of the firms to penetrate the international market. A logistic regression analysis used to examine the firms’ entry timing choices, indicates that the model has correctly classified 89.5 per cent of cases as late movers. The findings reveal that the most significant factor influencing the construction firms’ choices as late movers was the firm factor related to the firm’s international experience, resources, competencies and financing capacity. The study also offers valuable information to construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.
International Post Graduate Seminar2013 - Conference Proceedings, Jun 25, 2013
International market expansion is inevitable in the borderless and globalized world. Market expa... more International market expansion is inevitable in the borderless and globalized world. Market expansion involved a process where firm moves from operating in its domestic domain to international market. Hence, the selection of a suitable and profitable country or market location is one of the important decisions to be made by the firms interested to engage in international trade. However, much is unknown about the geography, social, culture and economics of the host countries or other foreign markets for international construction market. Thus, the decisions to enter the international market domain are critically depends on various factors which requires proper planning and management. This study explores on the factors contributing to the international market entry location decision by Malaysian construction firms. Questionnaire surveys were sent to the firms registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia with international experience operating in more than 50 countries. Out of 89 target respondents, 43 have responded which gives a response rate of 48 per cent. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20) was used where descriptive analysis using mean ranking and frequency were carried to establish the findings. It was found that the respondents have chosen ASEAN region (31 percent), Middle East region (27 percent), South Asia Continent (17 percent), Eastern Asian (8 percent), African region (4 percent) and other regions (13 percent) as their preferred international business locations. Mean ranking analysis reveals that the first five factors that were ranked the highest contributing to their entry location decision are 1) Strong financing capacity, 2)Attitude and intervention of host government, 3)Firm’s experience in similar works, 4)Availability of funds for projects and 5)Host government control on licensing, restrictions and other FDI requirements. These findings have contributed to the body of knowledge related to factors affecting market entry location decision in the international construction business.
Competitive and saturated construction markets has led many domestic firms to expand internationa... more Competitive and saturated construction markets has led many domestic firms to expand internationally. Hence, the firms must adopt a superior and an effective strategy in order to endure the increasing dynamics and uncertainties in the foreign markets. In the early stage of strategic planning, one of the basic but important steps is to identify the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) attributes of the firms before they expand internationally. This process is very crucial to help the firms to manage and ease the inherent complexities and difficulties within international market domain. In this study, survey questionnaires were sent to 109 Malaysian construction firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) with 21 percent response rate. Relative importance index (RII) was used to rank the SWOT attributes. The findings revealed the following ranked attributes: Strengths - project management skill, financial strength and specialist expertise; Weaknesses - shortage of financial resources, shortage of labor and material resources and lack of research and development; Opportunities –increased in profitability, opening up new market and accessibility to new service areas; Threats - inflation and currency fluctuations, policy, law and regulations of host country and increase of interest rate. This study illustrates the identification of the most important SWOTs that exist in international construction operations. Hence, the findings would offer valuable information and practical guidance to construction firms in their preparatory works to internationalize.
Market entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationa... more Market entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationally. In a dynamic and competitive international environment, entry timing decision involves the need to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry. This study investigates the late mover advantages (LMAs) acquired by Malaysian construction firms being as late entrants in international market. Survey questionnaires were sent to 109 Malaysian construction firms listed under the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) with twenty one percent (21%) response rate. The finding indicates that the majority of the firms has entered late into international market. A total of 16 LMAs was identified and ranked based on the opinions of the construction firms operating internationally. The LMAs that ranked the highest in order of significance influencing late mover’s decisions were the “risk reduction through ‘wait-and-see’ strategy to assess market opportunities”, “gaining market knowledge from consumers already being familiar with their products/services”, and “scope of economies that arise from the experience of early movers”. In addition, the findings revealed that the early movers faced the “risk of advances in technology and uncertainty about further market development”, and “bears foreigner liability with low probability of survival” during their early entry. However, there exist advantages signifying the early mover strategy which are the “ability to gain higher market shares and profitability” and “attainment of benefits in terms of recognition and reputation”. Hence, this study illustrates the firms’ acquirement of advantages based on their late entry into international market. It is hoped that the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with the intention to internationalize as late movers.
International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through whic... more International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through which a firm expands its operation from domestic to the international domain. Hence, entry timing choices require the needs to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry into a new market. Questionnaire surveys administered to 115 Malaysian construction firms operating in 51 countries worldwide have resulted in 39.1 percent response rate. Factor analysis was used to determine the most significant factors affecting entry timing choices of the firms to penetrate the international market. A logistic regression analysis used to examine the firms' entry timing choices, indicates that the model has correctly classified 89.5 per cent of cases as late movers. The findings reveal that the most significant factor influencing the construction firms' choices as late movers was the firm factor related to the firm's international experience...
Market expansion into foreign markets has become increasingly important for construction business... more Market expansion into foreign markets has become increasingly important for construction businesses including Malaysian contractors. Hence, it is imperative that these firms are able to sustain performance in international markets. This paper aims to determine the significant factors influencing the Malaysian contractors’ performance in international markets. This research adopts a mixed method adopting questionnaire surveys that were sent to 115 construction firms as a sampling frame. The quantitative findings were further validated through in-depth interviews with five firms currently operating at international level. It was found that the firms’ profit targets based on return on investment and revenues supported by the firms’ competitive advantages due to employees’ capabilities and competencies have significantly influenced the firms’ performance. However, further insights disclosed that having strong and stable human relationships were very important to enhance the firms’ perfo...
This paper proposes a model for entry location (EL) and entry timing (ET) decisions to guide cons... more This paper proposes a model for entry location (EL) and entry timing (ET) decisions to guide construction firms in accessing targeted international markets. Neglecting to properly choose the right combination of the entry location and entry timing (ELET) decisions can
lead to poor performance of the firms’ international ventures. The sampling frame was from
the Malaysian construction firms that have undertaken and completed projects abroad.
Survey questionnaires sent to 115 firms registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, operating in more than 50 countries, achieved a 39.1 per cent response rate. Based on a comprehensive statistical analysis of survey data it was found
that the mutually inclusive significant factors that influenced the firms’ ELET decisions were:
the firm’s ability to assess market signals and opportunities, international experience,
financial capacity, competencies and capabilities (project management, specialist expertise and technology), resources (level of knowledge based on research and development), experience in similar works, financial support from the home country banks, technical
complexities of projects and availability of funds for projects. Hence, the present research builds on and extends the literature on the ELET decisions in a more integrated way.
Neglecting to properly choose the right combination of entry mode and entry timing strategies can... more Neglecting to properly choose the right combination of entry mode and entry timing strategies can lead to poor performance in international business ventures. The paper focuses on the linking of entry timing (ET) and entry mode (EM) decisions and the factors influencing both decisions. By consolidating the findings for both entry decisions, an ETEM model to guide the construction firms to access the targeted markets will be developed. The questionnaire surveys were sent to 115 Malaysian construction firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia with 39.1 percent response rate. The logistic regression (LR) model revealed that the majority of construction firms have chosen to be the late movers (LMs). Factor analysis carried out shows that the factors significantly influenced the firms’ entry timing decision as LMs are the firm’s international experience, level of knowledge, research and development intensity, competencies in project management, specialist expertise and technology and financing capacity. While the multinomial logistic regression (MLR) model has shown that majority of construction firms preferred both equity (EQ) and non-equity (NEQ) entry modes. Factor analysis revealed that the factors significantly influenced the firms’ entry mode decisions to choose both types of entry mode are the firm’s management of quality and risk attitudes, strong resources, experience in similar works, ability to assess market signals and opportunities, superior management and organizational dynamic capabilities, availability of partner/alliance” and existence of strict time limitations. The consolidation of findings shows that the majority of the Malaysian construction firms were the late movers and they preferred both EQ and NEQ entry modes. Hence, this study contributes to an improved understanding of particular relationships that exist between the entry timing and entry mode decisions made by firms into international market.
"International market entry strategy involves three major decisions: which market to enter (entry... more "International market entry strategy involves three major decisions: which market to enter (entry location), when to enter the selected location (entry timing) and how to enter (entry mode). Neglecting to choose a suitable entry mode can lead to poor performance of firms in their international business ventures. Thus, this research seeks to identify the entry modes preferred by the Malaysian construction firms, whether they choose equity (EQ) modes, non-equity (NEQ) modes or both modes (BOTH) for their international projects. This study also seeks to determine the most significant factors affecting the firms’ entry mode choices. The questionnaire surveys were sent to 115 target respondents from the construction firms listed under CIDB Malaysia (2012) resulting in 39.1 percent response rate. A frequency analysis used to determine the preferred entry modes revealed that 44.4 per cent of the respondents have chosen EQ modes, 4.4 per cent have chosen NEQ modes, and 51.2 per cent have chosen BOTH modes. The principal axis factoring (PAF) analysis has grouped the 14 factors into three major components based on the highly loaded factors namely; firm, market and performance dynamic factors which have significantly affected the entry mode choices by the firms. In conclusion, it is hoped that the findings from this research would offer valuable information to any construction firms in Malaysia in developing the entry mode strategies in their international market expansion."
Market entry strategy is used to make the firm’s entering new foreign market possible to expand t... more Market entry strategy is used to make the firm’s entering new foreign market possible to expand their businesses in terms of
services, products, technology, human and other resources. It requires the firm to decide which market to enter (market selection
decision), how to enter (entry mode decision), and when to enter (entry timing decision). Hence, focusing on the market selection
decision is one of the important dimensions in the process of internationalization and is crucial in order to ease the complexity and difficulty of global market expansion. The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors that are of critical significance influencing market selection decisions by Malaysian construction firms into international market. Questionnaires were sent to one
hundred nine (109) firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia giving twenty one percent
response rate. Factor analysis was used to group the twenty-seven factors into four specific-factors namely; firm, country, industry
and project. The findings from regression analysis carried out revealed that the project-specific factors have contributed
significantly to the firms’ market selection decision to penetrate international market. These factors which are loaded highest in
order of significance were the “intensity of competition”, “existence of strict quality requirements”, “proximity to competitors”, “proximity to host country” and “firm international competitiveness”. This study illustrates the determination of the specific-factors influencing the firms’ decision related to market selection into international domain. It is hope that the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.
2014 International Symposium on Technology Management and Emerging Technologies (ISTMET 2014), May 27, 2014
"Market entry timing decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand inte... more "Market entry timing decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationally. In a dynamic and competitive international environment, the entry timing decision involves the need to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry. This study proposes a theoretical framework to investigate the influence of advantages and disadvantages [dis (advantages)] on
entry timing decisions of Malaysian construction firms in their
international market expansion. Survey questionnaires were sent
to 115 Malaysian construction firms listed under the
Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB)
with 44.7 percent response rate. A total of twenty four (24) (dis)
advantages were identified and confirmed using SMART PLSSEM
(partial least square structural equation modeling) to test the model and finally established the findings. The results with β
coefficient of 0.538 and t-value of 2.805 indicate that the early
mover disadvantages have significantly influenced the entry
timing decision of the Malaysian construction firms into
international market. Hence, this study illustrates the firms’
acquirement of the (dis) advantages based on their late timing of
entry into international market. It is hoped that the findings
would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction
firms with the intention to internationalize either as the early or
late movers."
Annual Conference for Civil Engineering and Engineering (ACCEE2014), Mar 16, 2014
Market entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationa... more Market entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationally. In a dynamic and competitive international environment, entry timing decision involves the need to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry. This study investigates the advantages and disadvantages [dis (advantages)] related to the early and late entry of Malaysian construction firms into international market. Survey questionnaires were sent to 115 Malaysian construction firms listed under the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) with 39.1 percent response rate. A total of twenty four (24) dis (advantages) were identified and analyzed using factor analysis to establish the findings. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using Principal Axis Factoring (PAF) method has reduced the factors to fifteen items grouped under 3 major components of the dis (advantages) known as the early mover advantages (EMAs), the late mover advantages (LMAs) and the early mover disadvantages (EMDs). These components consist of the most significant factors influencing the entry timing of the construction firms into international market. Hence, this study illustrates the firms’ acquirement of the dis (advantages) based on their timing of entry into international market. It is hoped that the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with the intention to internationalize either as the early or late movers.
Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Research Methodology for Built Environment and Engineering Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 17-18 December 2013
International market expansion involves a strategic process of entry decision through which a fir... more International market expansion involves a strategic process of entry decision through which a firm expands its operation from domestic to international domain. The importance of determining the motives to expand into international market has been widely researched. However, this study focuses on the construction industry which has strongly gained the interest of both practitioners and academic researchers in recent years. Nonetheless, only few quantitative methods are available for the construction firms to objectively evaluate the motives behind the expansion. The objective of this study is to determine the significant motives for international market expansion by the Malaysian construction firms. Questionnaire surveys were sent to the construction firms registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. The motives in relation to the risk and return factors for market expansion were studied and compared with the literature reviews for the construction and other general industry characteristics. The data were analyzed using mean ranking and correlation analysis to establish the findings. The three highest ranked risk factors are the political, financial and economic risks and for the return factors agreed by the respondents to balance the risks are the firms’ motivation to gain the competitive advantages, to achieve the return of investment and assets and to get the recognition and reputation. The correlation analysis revealed a medium strength positive correlation between the return and the risk factors. The study offers valuable information to construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses together with possibilities for in-depth studies on the motives for market expansion.
International Science Index 84, 2013 waset.org/publications/9996902, Dec 31, 2013
International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through whic... more International market expansion involves a strategic process of market entry decision through which a firm expands its operation from domestic to the international domain. Hence, entry timing choices require the needs to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry into a new market. Questionnaire surveys administered to 115 Malaysian
construction firms operating in 51 countries worldwide have resulted in 39.1 percent response rate. Factor analysis was used to determine the most significant factors affecting entry timing choices of the firms to penetrate the international market. A logistic regression analysis used to examine the firms’ entry timing choices, indicates that the model has correctly classified 89.5 per cent of cases as late movers. The findings reveal that the most significant factor influencing the construction firms’ choices as late movers was the firm factor related to the firm’s international experience, resources, competencies and financing capacity. The study also offers valuable information to construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.
International Post Graduate Seminar2013 - Conference Proceedings, Jun 25, 2013
International market expansion is inevitable in the borderless and globalized world. Market expa... more International market expansion is inevitable in the borderless and globalized world. Market expansion involved a process where firm moves from operating in its domestic domain to international market. Hence, the selection of a suitable and profitable country or market location is one of the important decisions to be made by the firms interested to engage in international trade. However, much is unknown about the geography, social, culture and economics of the host countries or other foreign markets for international construction market. Thus, the decisions to enter the international market domain are critically depends on various factors which requires proper planning and management. This study explores on the factors contributing to the international market entry location decision by Malaysian construction firms. Questionnaire surveys were sent to the firms registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia with international experience operating in more than 50 countries. Out of 89 target respondents, 43 have responded which gives a response rate of 48 per cent. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20) was used where descriptive analysis using mean ranking and frequency were carried to establish the findings. It was found that the respondents have chosen ASEAN region (31 percent), Middle East region (27 percent), South Asia Continent (17 percent), Eastern Asian (8 percent), African region (4 percent) and other regions (13 percent) as their preferred international business locations. Mean ranking analysis reveals that the first five factors that were ranked the highest contributing to their entry location decision are 1) Strong financing capacity, 2)Attitude and intervention of host government, 3)Firm’s experience in similar works, 4)Availability of funds for projects and 5)Host government control on licensing, restrictions and other FDI requirements. These findings have contributed to the body of knowledge related to factors affecting market entry location decision in the international construction business.
Competitive and saturated construction markets has led many domestic firms to expand internationa... more Competitive and saturated construction markets has led many domestic firms to expand internationally. Hence, the firms must adopt a superior and an effective strategy in order to endure the increasing dynamics and uncertainties in the foreign markets. In the early stage of strategic planning, one of the basic but important steps is to identify the strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) attributes of the firms before they expand internationally. This process is very crucial to help the firms to manage and ease the inherent complexities and difficulties within international market domain. In this study, survey questionnaires were sent to 109 Malaysian construction firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia (CIDB) with 21 percent response rate. Relative importance index (RII) was used to rank the SWOT attributes. The findings revealed the following ranked attributes: Strengths - project management skill, financial strength and specialist expertise; Weaknesses - shortage of financial resources, shortage of labor and material resources and lack of research and development; Opportunities –increased in profitability, opening up new market and accessibility to new service areas; Threats - inflation and currency fluctuations, policy, law and regulations of host country and increase of interest rate. This study illustrates the identification of the most important SWOTs that exist in international construction operations. Hence, the findings would offer valuable information and practical guidance to construction firms in their preparatory works to internationalize.
Market entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationa... more Market entry decision is among the most critical strategies made by a firm to expand internationally. In a dynamic and competitive international environment, entry timing decision involves the need to balance the early entry risks and the problems in losing opportunities as a result of late entry. This study investigates the late mover advantages (LMAs) acquired by Malaysian construction firms being as late entrants in international market. Survey questionnaires were sent to 109 Malaysian construction firms listed under the Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB) with twenty one percent (21%) response rate. The finding indicates that the majority of the firms has entered late into international market. A total of 16 LMAs was identified and ranked based on the opinions of the construction firms operating internationally. The LMAs that ranked the highest in order of significance influencing late mover’s decisions were the “risk reduction through ‘wait-and-see’ strategy to assess market opportunities”, “gaining market knowledge from consumers already being familiar with their products/services”, and “scope of economies that arise from the experience of early movers”. In addition, the findings revealed that the early movers faced the “risk of advances in technology and uncertainty about further market development”, and “bears foreigner liability with low probability of survival” during their early entry. However, there exist advantages signifying the early mover strategy which are the “ability to gain higher market shares and profitability” and “attainment of benefits in terms of recognition and reputation”. Hence, this study illustrates the firms’ acquirement of advantages based on their late entry into international market. It is hoped that the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with the intention to internationalize as late movers.
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lead to poor performance of the firms’ international ventures. The sampling frame was from
the Malaysian construction firms that have undertaken and completed projects abroad.
Survey questionnaires sent to 115 firms registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, operating in more than 50 countries, achieved a 39.1 per cent response rate. Based on a comprehensive statistical analysis of survey data it was found
that the mutually inclusive significant factors that influenced the firms’ ELET decisions were:
the firm’s ability to assess market signals and opportunities, international experience,
financial capacity, competencies and capabilities (project management, specialist expertise and technology), resources (level of knowledge based on research and development), experience in similar works, financial support from the home country banks, technical
complexities of projects and availability of funds for projects. Hence, the present research builds on and extends the literature on the ELET decisions in a more integrated way.
services, products, technology, human and other resources. It requires the firm to decide which market to enter (market selection
decision), how to enter (entry mode decision), and when to enter (entry timing decision). Hence, focusing on the market selection
decision is one of the important dimensions in the process of internationalization and is crucial in order to ease the complexity and difficulty of global market expansion. The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors that are of critical significance influencing market selection decisions by Malaysian construction firms into international market. Questionnaires were sent to one
hundred nine (109) firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia giving twenty one percent
response rate. Factor analysis was used to group the twenty-seven factors into four specific-factors namely; firm, country, industry
and project. The findings from regression analysis carried out revealed that the project-specific factors have contributed
significantly to the firms’ market selection decision to penetrate international market. These factors which are loaded highest in
order of significance were the “intensity of competition”, “existence of strict quality requirements”, “proximity to competitors”, “proximity to host country” and “firm international competitiveness”. This study illustrates the determination of the specific-factors influencing the firms’ decision related to market selection into international domain. It is hope that the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.
entry timing decisions of Malaysian construction firms in their
international market expansion. Survey questionnaires were sent
to 115 Malaysian construction firms listed under the
Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB)
with 44.7 percent response rate. A total of twenty four (24) (dis)
advantages were identified and confirmed using SMART PLSSEM
(partial least square structural equation modeling) to test the model and finally established the findings. The results with β
coefficient of 0.538 and t-value of 2.805 indicate that the early
mover disadvantages have significantly influenced the entry
timing decision of the Malaysian construction firms into
international market. Hence, this study illustrates the firms’
acquirement of the (dis) advantages based on their late timing of
entry into international market. It is hoped that the findings
would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction
firms with the intention to internationalize either as the early or
late movers."
construction firms operating in 51 countries worldwide have resulted in 39.1 percent response rate. Factor analysis was used to determine the most significant factors affecting entry timing choices of the firms to penetrate the international market. A logistic regression analysis used to examine the firms’ entry timing choices, indicates that the model has correctly classified 89.5 per cent of cases as late movers. The findings reveal that the most significant factor influencing the construction firms’ choices as late movers was the firm factor related to the firm’s international experience, resources, competencies and financing capacity. The study also offers valuable information to construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.
lead to poor performance of the firms’ international ventures. The sampling frame was from
the Malaysian construction firms that have undertaken and completed projects abroad.
Survey questionnaires sent to 115 firms registered with Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia, operating in more than 50 countries, achieved a 39.1 per cent response rate. Based on a comprehensive statistical analysis of survey data it was found
that the mutually inclusive significant factors that influenced the firms’ ELET decisions were:
the firm’s ability to assess market signals and opportunities, international experience,
financial capacity, competencies and capabilities (project management, specialist expertise and technology), resources (level of knowledge based on research and development), experience in similar works, financial support from the home country banks, technical
complexities of projects and availability of funds for projects. Hence, the present research builds on and extends the literature on the ELET decisions in a more integrated way.
services, products, technology, human and other resources. It requires the firm to decide which market to enter (market selection
decision), how to enter (entry mode decision), and when to enter (entry timing decision). Hence, focusing on the market selection
decision is one of the important dimensions in the process of internationalization and is crucial in order to ease the complexity and difficulty of global market expansion. The main objective of this study is to investigate the factors that are of critical significance influencing market selection decisions by Malaysian construction firms into international market. Questionnaires were sent to one
hundred nine (109) firms listed under Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia giving twenty one percent
response rate. Factor analysis was used to group the twenty-seven factors into four specific-factors namely; firm, country, industry
and project. The findings from regression analysis carried out revealed that the project-specific factors have contributed
significantly to the firms’ market selection decision to penetrate international market. These factors which are loaded highest in
order of significance were the “intensity of competition”, “existence of strict quality requirements”, “proximity to competitors”, “proximity to host country” and “firm international competitiveness”. This study illustrates the determination of the specific-factors influencing the firms’ decision related to market selection into international domain. It is hope that the findings would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.
entry timing decisions of Malaysian construction firms in their
international market expansion. Survey questionnaires were sent
to 115 Malaysian construction firms listed under the
Construction Industry Development Board of Malaysia (CIDB)
with 44.7 percent response rate. A total of twenty four (24) (dis)
advantages were identified and confirmed using SMART PLSSEM
(partial least square structural equation modeling) to test the model and finally established the findings. The results with β
coefficient of 0.538 and t-value of 2.805 indicate that the early
mover disadvantages have significantly influenced the entry
timing decision of the Malaysian construction firms into
international market. Hence, this study illustrates the firms’
acquirement of the (dis) advantages based on their late timing of
entry into international market. It is hoped that the findings
would offer valuable information to Malaysian construction
firms with the intention to internationalize either as the early or
late movers."
construction firms operating in 51 countries worldwide have resulted in 39.1 percent response rate. Factor analysis was used to determine the most significant factors affecting entry timing choices of the firms to penetrate the international market. A logistic regression analysis used to examine the firms’ entry timing choices, indicates that the model has correctly classified 89.5 per cent of cases as late movers. The findings reveal that the most significant factor influencing the construction firms’ choices as late movers was the firm factor related to the firm’s international experience, resources, competencies and financing capacity. The study also offers valuable information to construction firms with intention to internationalize their businesses.