Resident participation in multi-owned housing governance in Macau

Multi-owned housing (MOH) is dominating the private residential sectors in Asian cities like Hong Kong and Taipei and it starts gaining its popularity in other parts of the Asia Pacific region. Although MOH, particularly high-rise apartments and condominiums, can make more efficient use of land, its governance is very challenging. To achieve a better living in MOH, active participation of the residents in the governance process is essential. Nonetheless, the collective-nature of MOH governance often attracts the free-rider problem. Previous studies on resident participation in housing governance in the East place their foci on Hong Kong and Taiwan but similar research in Macau is rare. In this light, we build an analytic model which is founded on the collective interest model in the current. By means of a structured questionnaire survey on private MOH residents in Macau, we empirically explore the factors shaping resident participation behavior in MOH governance in the city. The analysis results suggest that perceived levels of self and group efficacies and grievance towards the outcome of housing governance are strong determinants of resident participation. Residential attachment, social norm and committee membership are also found to have momentous effects on resident participation. These findings have significant practical and policy implications for MOH governance in Macau and other Asian cities.