The influence of media exposure on the willingness of homeowners to participate in property management

Abstract

High quality of living and stable property value for private residential building is important among homeowners due to the sky-high property price in Hong Kong. Various research also proved that properties with proper management and a better condition would maintain a higher property value and improve the living environment (Martin et.al., 1987; Loo, 1991; Evans et. al., 2001; Newcombe et al., 2005; Hastings et. al., 2006; Yau, 2011). However, residents and homeowners in Hong Kong may fail to notice the importance of proper management and unwilling to participate in the relevant meetings and events. Voluntary nature of participation, lack of incentives, knowledge and awareness in property management and maintenance issues, and problems of collective action may be some of the reasons behind the low level of participation for residents and homeowners in Hong Kong. Media exposure, including the headlines in newspapers, broadcast in television programs and posts or videos on YouTube and Facebook, would raise public concerns and awareness towards property management. There are several studies in different subjects showing the linkage between media attention or exposure and impacts on awareness and willingness of participation. The models and theories suggested could furnish valuable insights in analysing and understanding participation behaviours of homeowners. The level of media exposure and influence on willingness of participation for the residents and homeowners in Hong Kong had not been discussed and evaluated in any previous studies. This paper examines and evaluates the influence of media exposure on the willingness to participate in property management of homeowners in Hong Kong and identify the reasons why and to what extent the media exposure would affect and influence the willingness of homeowners to participate in property management. This paper investigates the positive and negative influences of media exposure to the homeowners and their willingness to participate in property management through qualitative research method. Interviews with homeowners, members of Owners’ Cooperation, property managers, member of concern groups and representatives of owners in multi-storey private residential property in Hong Kong have been conducted. Six important themes have been identified and analysed through the interview results, and the results demonstrate the nature of media exposure in property management and maintenance issue in Hong Kong. It influences the knowledge, awareness, and eventually affects willingness to participate in property management among homeowners. The response by participants shows that media exposure affects the willingness of participation in individual, interpersonal and organizational from. This study also discovers that the influence of media exposure only awareness in property management and maintenance issues among inactive homeowners, while it affects the quality of participation among active owners. In fact, the influence of media exposure toward the willingness of participation is not harmonized among different individuals even if they are exposed to the same information. The data in this study also suggests there are positive and negative influences of willingness to participate by media exposure. Research result and findings in this paper would provide a better insight on how to enhance the willingness of homeowners in Hong Kong to participate in property management. The measure on how to enhance the participation rate or level of participation is useful and meaningful for the policy maker and practitioner.