FOREIGN MARKET-ENTRY CONSIDERATIONS FOR MALAYSIAN CONTRACTORS

Venturing into foreign countries is highly risky. A study was conducted to examine the internationalisation of Malaysian contractors. Considerations that guide their decisions to enter particular foreign markets were examined. Data was collected using a postal questionnaire survey, interviews and secondary data. It was found that Malaysian contractors examine a whole range of market-entry considerations before entering a particular country. The collected data were analysed to determine the applicability of the premises embedded in certain extant models of firm internationalisation in the context of the subject. It is found that in these models more often than not, market-entry considerations can be termed as 'locational disadvantages' rather than locational advantages. This is because these contractors, by virtue of having to deliver their services on location, are not only marketseeking, but, in the process, also have to be resource-seeking, asset-seeking and efficiency-seeking. The study finds that psychic distance does not have a major influence on country market choice.