Tripartite efficacy beliefs and homeowner participation in multi-owned housing governance

Abstract

Homeowners' collective actions are essential for effective governance of multi-owned housing (MOH) and a city's sustainable development. Yet, not all homeowners keenly participate in MOH governance. Unpacking why homeowners decide to participate is thus insightful. So far, little work has been done on how perceived efficacies of property management agents (PMAs) shape collective actions in MOH governance. Founding upon the social cognitive theory and collective interest model, a theoretical model is built to empirically examine how proxy efficacy belief influences participation behaviors of homeowners. Drawing on the findings of a survey of 2035 homeowners in Hong Kong and Macau, this study reveals that participation level correlates positively with self and group efficacy beliefs but negatively with perceived proxy efficacy. Poor performance or incapacity of the PMAs triggers a higher degree of homeowner participation. The research findings have significant policy implications for promoting a better MOH upkeep culture.