End-users' personalization potentials and factors towards effective housing occupancy

Abstract

Developing countries commonly incorporate strategies for growth involving smooth transformation agendas, particularly, with respect to housing occupancy. Occupancy issues among low and middle income earners posed challenges to housing development, despite huge investments and regulation by governments in providing quality housing for the citizens. Moreover, there still exist problems of effective housing occupancy with the low and middle income earners. Also, non-occupancy of developed houses in the Malaysian context further compounded these challenges. Therefore, this study investigated end-users‘ personalization potentials and factors contributing to efficient housing occupancy. These factors were sourced through literature review, policy documents along with experts‘ opinions till consensus was reached. Thereafter, an instrument based on Structural Equation Model (SEM) was designed and administered to a total of 247 respondents. Subsequently, the inter-relationships between and within these factors were fully investigated and validated towards developing an effective integrated Housing Occupancy Model (HOM). The five consensus factors are satisfaction, environmental condition, subjective norm to occupancy, attitude towards occupancy and personalization. The Goodness of Fit statistics from the SEM showed that four out of seven investigated inter-relationships were supported, directly and positively related. While one of them, is supported, but negatively related; whereas the remaining three were not supported. The validation of the integrated HOM was similarly achieved through these findings. Furthermore, the findings showed that both satisfaction and attitude towards occupancy were separately and directly related to housing occupancy. Consequently, personalization is directly related to satisfaction. However, personalization is indirectly related to housing occupancy through satisfaction. Additionally, environmental condition and subjective norm to occupancy were separately not related, whereas attitude towards occupancy is also not related to subjective norm to occupancy. The outcome of this HOM will help in effective public housing delivery and occupancy among the income earners. In addition, it would be beneficial to policy makers, academicians and professionals in arriving at sustainable housing decisions relating to occupancy issues in Malaysia. The integrated HOM provides better understanding of these occupancy issues to the stakeholders