Management Case

Vision

Eastern Housing Limited: Marketing 21(1) 86–92

© 2017 MDI

Strategies of a Real Estate Company

SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/0972262916686630
in Bangladesh http://vision.sagepub.com

Jashim Uddin Ahmed1

Hafiza Sultana2
Anisur R. Faroque3

Abstract
The case study investigates the key competitive advantages, marketing strategies, opportunities and challenges of Eastern Housing
Limited (EHL), the oldest and largest company in the real estate industry of Bangladesh. EHL was created in 1964 as a private limited
company to reduce the housing problems of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Over the last 50 years, EHL has successfully completed many large
land and flat projects and gradually became the pioneer in the private housing industry of the country. The company strives for continu-
ous improvement by focusing on marketing strategies, such as shifting its product line and target market, offering flexible pricing and
becoming more customer oriented by building long-term customer relationship. However, in recent years, the company has encoun-
tered fierce competition from other players in the market and lost monopoly leadership. The study highlights how EHL is focusing
on its marketing strategies to increase its market share and carefully planning to be more aggressive in addressing the challenges lying
ahead.

Key Words
Bangladesh, Eastern Housing Limited, Real estate industry, Urban housing, Marketing strategies

The right to private property meant at the same time the right
and duty to be personally concerned about your own well-
being, to be personally concerned about your family’s income,
to be personally concerned about your future. (Mikhail B.
Khodorkovsky)
Introduction
Bangladesh is a developing country located between India
and Myanmar and in the northeastern Asia with a land area
of 147,570 sq. km. Its huge population, 156.18 million,
with a growth rate of 1.05 per cent (The World Fact Book,
2016), and the density of population, 1,222 people per sq.
km (The World Bank, 2014), five times than that of any
other mega country (>100 million), are both a challenge
and opportunity for the real estate1 industry of the country.
Apart from meeting the housing needs, the real estate
industry contributes to the government exchequer through
registration fees, value added tax (VAT), advance income
tax (AIT), stamp duty, property handover tax, etc. (Real
Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh [REHAB],
2012). The approximate turnover of the industry has been
BDT 20 billion, which contributes around BDT 2 billion
revenue to the government per year. Among the 21 subsec-
tors under the housing industry, steel (29 per cent),
workforce labour (20 per cent) and cement (11 per cent) are
the highest contributing subsectors. The industry and its
subsectors now employ about 2.5 million people, which
consist of architects, engineers, management officials,
direct and indirect labours, etc. Approximate investment
in this industry is BDT 250 billion (The Prothom Alo,
2015).

1 Professor, Department of Management, School of Business & Economics North South University, Bashundhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
2 Research Associate, InterResearch, Bashundhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
3 Teacher and Researcher, LUT School of Business and Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), Lappeenranta, Finland.

Corresponding author:
Jashim Uddin Ahmed, Professor, Department of Management, School of Business & Economics, North South University, Bashundhara, Dhaka-1229,
Bangladesh.
E-mails: jashim.ahmed@northsouth.edu; jashimahmed@hotmail.com
Ahmed et al. 87
Real Estate Industry in Bangladesh:
An Overview
The rate of urbanisation is very high in Bangladesh and
aggravated by the high population growth rate and rapid
rural–urban migration (The Daily Star, 2016). The trend of
urban growth is about 3.55 per cent per annum. Urban
population represents 34.3 per cent of total population and
population in major urban areas are: Dhaka 17.598 million;
Chittagong 4.539 million; Khulna 1.022 million; Rajshahi
844,000 (2015 estimate, The World Fact Book, 2016). This
rapid urbanisation requires more accommodation and
housing supply, which can create a huge market for the real
estate industry. The current value of real estate, renting and
business services sector2 in Bangladesh is BDT 562,968
million, with contribution to GDP 6.37 per cent and growth
rate 4.47 per cent (as shown in Table 1).
The real estate market in Bangladesh offers three key
products, such as commercial units, residential units and a
combination of the two. Commercial units include shop-
ping malls, shops and office buildings, which are used for
commercial purposes. Residential units include two seg-
ments—plot units and flat units. Plots are segment of a
land area with a certain boundary where the land is devel-
oped by the real estate developers. Flats are buildings with
flats of different sizes to live in. Combination units include
buildings which are used for both living and commercial
purposes. Generally, the lower floors of a project are rented
for commercial purpose leaving the upper floors to sell as
flats. In recent times, the real estate companies have intro-
duced new and diversified products. Model towns are built
with the structure of a small town and include all facilities
for people, such as shopping mall, school, swimming pool,
gymnasium, bank, power plant, etc. (The Daily Star, 2015).
Demand for Housing
The conspicuously acute demand for housing in urban
areas, particularly in the metropolitan cities, is driven pri-
marily by constant migration to these destinations for
economic reasons, access to health service as well as
higher education, social identity and tourism attraction.
As Dhaka city remains heavily centralized as the hub of
Table 1. Value of Real Estate Industry, its GDP Contribution and Growth Rate
Real Estate, Renting
GDP at Constant Prices and Business Services
Year (Million BDT) (Percentage of GDP)
2015–2016 8,835,389 6.37
2014–2015 8,248,624 6.81
2013–2014 7,741,361 6.95
2012–2013 7,298,965 7.07
2011–2012 6,884,932 7.22
2010–2011 6,463,423 7.41
Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), 2015–2016.
administration, employment, culture, urban amenities and
splendour, people of all income segments and social status
like to live here. This results in an unmanageable influx of
population into the city and consequent high demand for
housing (The Daily Star, 2016).
There are other socio-economic reasons behind the
strong demand for flats, the most important of which is the
change in family structure. Though extended or joint fami-
lies were the norm in the past, in the last two decades,
nuclear families consisting of parents and one or two chil-
dren have become more prevalent. Such families find it
convenient to live in flats with two or three bed rooms. In
addition, the services and security offered in flats are
usually better than those of other housing types. Most of
the flat complexes and high-rises provide centres for com-
munity activities, open space with garden, prayer halls,
etc., within the premises. Moreover, the flat owners are
obliged to have a management responsible for the overall
building maintenance. In addition to the local customers,
the expatriates are a potential customer segment and remit-
tances have been a major source of capital for flat purchase
(The Daily Star, 2016).
The World Urbanisation Prospects report from 2014
predicts that, Dhaka will become the world’s sixth most
crowded city by 2030, with a population just above 27
million (The Daily Star, 2016). There is an estimated short-
age of about 5 million houses in Bangladesh, with as many
as 500,000 houses added in urban areas and 3.5 million
added in rural regions annually. Statistics show that
Bangladesh will need to construct approximately 4 million
new houses annually to meet the future demand of housing
in the next 20 years (REHAB, 2012).
Bangladeshi consumers can be divided into five basic
income brackets on the basis of their monthly income. Two
particular income segments, established (US$401 to
US$650) and affluent (more than US$650), comprise the
middle and affluent customers (MAC) population because
they have attained the purchasing power to buy goods and
services that offer convenience and luxury in addition to
basic necessities (BCG Perspectives, 2015). They are also
confident with an expectation of increasing income in
coming years.
Real Estate, Renting and Real Estate, Renting and
Business Services (Million Business Services Growth
BDT) (%)
562,968 4.47
538,880 4.40
516,147 4.24
495,089 4.04
475,864 3.92
457,896 –
88
Supply of Housing
Real estate business took off in Dhaka city in 1970s with
only five registered companies. By 1988, there were 42
developers in the market which further increased to 250
and further to 500 during 2003 and 2004 respectively
(REHAB, 2012). Housing was declared as an industry in
1991 and to strengthen the role of real estate industry,
REHAB3 was formed in the same year. REHAB members
supplied 436 flats in 1993, 5,090 flats in 2004 (The Prothom
Alo, 2014a) and 15,000 flats in 2015, which indicates
almost three times growth between 2004 and 2015. While
the role of the private real estate developers cannot be
rejected in reducing the existing demand-supply gap, the
major portion of the demand is supplied by independent
developers, customers themselves or remain unfulfilled.
The growth of the real estate industry was sluggish in
the first decade, moderate since 2006 and exponential
during 2008–2010 (REHAB, 2012). The golden era of
growth has ended due to obstacles, such as inadequate gas
and electricity supply,4 scarce and expensive land,5 increas-
ing price of construction materials, squeezing of bank
loans,6 a bearish stock market and intermittent political
instability7 (REHAB Newsletters, 2011–2015; The Daily
Star, 2016b; The Prothom Alo, 2015). However, riding on
relative political stability, reduced interest rate and revised
price, the confidence of people should make a recovery and
the market is expected to pull through from 2016 (The
Daily Star, 2016b).
At present, around 2,800 companies are active in the
real estate industry. Even though initially real estate busi-
ness was limited to Dhaka city, now the market has
expanded to the surrounding districts and other divisional
cities.
Eastern Housing Limited: An
Overview
Eastern Housing Limited (hereinafter referred to as EHL),
a concern of Islam Group of Industries, is the oldest and
largest company in the real estate industry of Bangladesh.
It was created in 1964 as a private limited company to
reduce the housing problems in Dhaka. The slogan of EHL
is Apan Thhikana Gore Dey, which can be translated to
Creates Your Own Home. The company began its opera-
tions with simple trade of land and afterwards has become
engaged in purchasing land, developing the same for urban
housing and selling to the people of different income
groups. It was one of the first companies to provide low-
cost housing to the residents of Bangladesh by implement-
ing a project of building 700 houses on 910 acres (3.68 sq.
km) of land in a prime location in Dhaka. It has gradually
become the pioneer in the private housing industry by
undertaking projects, such as the first flat concept
in 1981, the first high-rise flat in 1986 and the first
Vision 21(1)
centrally air-conditioned shopping complex in 1988 in
Dhaka city (EHL).
It was incorporated as a public limited company and
listed in the stock exchanges of Bangladesh; at present, it is
the only publicly listed real estate company in the country.
It has completed more than 200 projects: around 45 land
projects and over 150 flat projects residential, commercial
and combined units are usually considered as flat projects
over the years. The company now functions with two offices
at the heart of Dhaka city. In addition to the multiple site
offices in Dhaka, it has three site offices in other metropoli-
tan cities of Bangladesh. It operates with eight major depart-
ments: construction, sales and marketing, accounts and
finance, human resource management, supply chain, land
development, business development and legal. There
are eight employees in its marketing team, one senior exec-
utive director, one in-charge, one manager, one senior
executive and four executives, among whom all except the
executive director manage customers directly.
The vision of EHL is to be a world-class real estate
developer through maximum value creation by providing
quality homes and business, whereas its mission is to build
and develop environment friendly flats, commercial build-
ings and land projects using the highest standard of safety,
architecture, engineering and technology. It is operating
with the objectives to regain leadership position in the real
estate industry of Bangladesh, to provide customers with
superior value in terms of product and service, to build
long-term customer relationship in the competitive market
by guiding them to their dream homes, to develop its
human capital so that its employees can reach their full
potential, to adapt new ideas and technologies in order to
reduce carbon footprint and to provide timely and fair
financial and non-financial reporting to stakeholders. The
major guiding principles of the company are integrity,
accountability and transparency.
Challenges in a Competitive
Market
The journey of EHL between 1990s and mid-2000s was
praiseworthy; its customer-oriented marketing strategies
were rewarded with market leadership and prestigious
brand image. Nevertheless, there have been significant
changes in the market structure and industry in recent years
and the good days of its monopoly leadership has come to
an end.
Decreasing Market Share
The real estate industry in Bangladesh is in early maturity
stage, which is likely to continue till 2020. According to the
industry experts, the life cycle can be segregated as introduc-
tion (1971–1980), growth (1981–2010) and early maturity
(2011–2020). The major players in the industry control
Ahmed et al. 89
almost 65 per cent share of the market on the basis of their
sales value and they trade both land and flat projects.
The most important input for real estate construction is
land. As there is scarcity of land in the urban areas of
Bangladesh, the landowners can ask for incredibly high
price for land in prime locations.8 Other inputs in a con-
struction project are brick, rod, cement, sand, paint, glass,
aluminium panel, steel strips, mosaic, tiles, bathroom–
toilet–kitchen fittings, electrical accessories, door, window,
etc. There are many suppliers in the real estate industry but
the number of well-reputed suppliers is limited. So the
large real estate companies, such as EHL, are more
concerned about quality than price to ensure the reliability
of their products.
There has been a significant shift in customer demogra-
phics in recent years. During 1980–1990s, people who
could not afford to buy land and build their own houses
were inclined to buy flats and so middle class was the most
potential customer segment. Nonetheless, flat concept has
also become popular in higher income segments since the
late 1990s. After serving the middle-income segment
customers successfully, EHL management has decided to
shift its focus to upper- and upper-middle-income groups
with high-end products in 2009 (as shown in Table 2).
According to the company, both upper and upper-middle-
class customers are more lucrative than middle-class
customers due to the higher profit margin of high-end
products and second-time purchasing opportunity of the
customers.
Likewise, identifying a greater profit margin in flat pro-
jects, EHL has shifted its focus from land to flat sales in
recent years. Its current product portfolio includes flats,
office space, superstores, shops, stores and studio flats. It is
planning to add resorts in its portfolio soon. Although
renting of super store space is a common practice in real
estate market, the company prefers sales to rent to ensure
higher profit margin at lesser risk. It also decided not to
construct shopping complexes in 2008.
There is no specific pricing strategy followed by the real
estate companies in Bangladesh. The overall objective of
EHL pricing strategy is to increase market share. Its pricing
strategy depends on the cost of land, construction cost,
market condition, location, size, etc. The company fol-
lowed fixed price strategy till 2011. Then to match with its
competitors, it introduced price negotiation, especially for
flats, from February 2012. Real estate buyers prefer to pay
Table 2. Generic Customer Segments of EHL9
Between 1980s and Middle class 90%
1990s
Upper and upper-middle class 10%
After 1990s Upper class 5%
Upper-middle class 70%
Middle class 25%
Source: Primary data, EHL.
in instalments during the life span of a project. To speed up
collection, EHL offers seasonal discounts during trade fairs
and discounts maximum 5 per cent for flat projects with
life span less than 2 years during regular sales. If the life
span of a flat project is 2 years or more, maximum 10 per
cent discount is offered. The company is a bit rigid in offer-
ing discounts as some of its competitors are offering dis-
counts around 18–20 per cent.
EHL uses no intermediaries and depends primarily on
personal selling of its marketing team. The company fixes
2.5 per cent of its project investment for promotional activ-
ities and uses promotional tools such as: participation in
REHAB trade fairs, billboards for brand advertisement at
prime locations of Dhaka city, site boards, catalogues,
brochures and fliers and gifts (key rings, mugs, tee shirts,
notepads, etc.). An attractive website includes highlights
about the company, its completed, current and upcoming
projects, and financial information. However, options for
referrals and complaints can be added to it to increase
interaction with the existing customers. Its public relation
activities include sponsoring events such as concert and
professional conference, arranging iftar gathering with the
stakeholders during Ramadan, tree plantation, and so on.
Next, EHL gives newspaper advertisement (print) but
with low frequency and regularity. Although some of its
competitors are using online advertisement, an opportunity
derived from the increasing popularity of e-commerce in
Bangladesh in recent years, EHL is yet to do so. EHL man-
agement does not prefer television advertisement because
it thinks television advertisements are less communicative
despite being more expensive, but in reality television is
the most popular mass medium. Nevertheless, following
the trend in real estate market in Bangladesh,10 the company
prefers doing business successfully without mass recogni-
tion. Its top management believes that its past reputation
will generate sales rather than the promotional efforts.
Old customers serve as valuable referrals for real estate
products since recommendation from friends, family and
peer group is a major determinant for selecting a company.
During the late 2000, EHL depended on its old customers
only and believed in positive ‘word-of-mouth’ marketing.
Appreciating the importance of creating new customers, it
has altered its strategy since 2008 and began adding data of
potential customers into its data bank from its site register,
visitors’ book, general customer query, etc.
Due to its customer-oriented marketing strategies, EHL
has created a loyal customer base. A few of its customer-
friendly strategies are as follows:
1. Unlike many other developers, EHL measures its
flat size excluding the community space, such as
mosque, garage, garden, etc.
2. After purchasing the flats, if the customers face any
maintenance problems, for example an out of order
lift, EHL provides complimentary service such as
free supervision for it.
90
3. If any customer fails to pay an instalment for
continuous 4 months, by law the company can claim
15 per cent interest on the due amount but EHL does
not do so.
The effort of the company to develop a long-term customer
relationship based on trust and reliability was rewarded
through its robust growth from early 1990s to mid-2000s.
It enjoyed market leadership with 35 per cent share for
nearly 40 years and then has witnessed a downfall. The
industry experts estimate that with 20 per cent share now it
is the second largest player in the real estate industry of
Bangladesh. East West Property Development (Pvt.) Ltd. is
the market leader with 30 per cent share; Navana Real
Estate Ltd., Dom-Inno Developments Ltd., Shanta Hold-
ings Ltd., Structural Engineers Ltd., Concord Real Estate
Ltd. and Jamuna Builders Ltd. are the other major players
in the industry with 25 per cent share collectively, while
the rest of the small companies constitute 25 per cent
market share.
In addition to this, EHL could not achieve the expected
steady positive growth in its revenue. Net turnover (in
million BDT) demonstrates many fluctuations over the
recent years. Besides the company has experienced volatile
growth even during the most prosperous period of the real
estate industry (2006–2009) (as shown in Table 3).
There are no effective substitutes of buying a flat from
real estate companies because of the tendency of the
customers to avoid the hassles of self-construction of
houses and the trend of increasing house rent in Bangladesh.
The customers usually purchase one flat in their lifetime
and turn to the well-known developers to avoid frauds. So
the companies with prestigious brand image and goodwill
have achieved competitive advantage. However, newcom-
ers have created their position in the market rather quicker
than EHL management anticipated. Besides, the high-end
customers are less likely to consider EHL flats while
making buying decisions because the company has no
iconic construction, which is in its product portfolio com-
pared to the world-class shopping complexes, international
convention halls, hospitals and model towns developed by
its competitors.
Heightening Competition
In its initial stage, the demand and growth prospects of the
real estate market lured many investors but a few of them
have sustained in the long run. The new companies
Table 3. Net Turnover (in BDT Million) and Its Growth Rate (per cent)
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011
2,679 2,631 2,333 2,029 1,830 2,234
1.82% 12.77% 14.98% 10.87% –18.08% 40.06%
Source: EHL Annual Reports (2009–2016).
Vision 21(1)
struggled with requirement of high capital, no access to
economies of scale, difficulties in getting new utility
connection or in obtaining approval from Rajdani Unnayan
Kartripakka (RAJUK)11 for a new project, and lack of
customer interest without any brand image or reputation.
Some newcomers adopted illegal and unethical practices to
survive and their activities have hindered fair play in the
market. Therefore, people cannot trust all the real estate
companies equally (The Daily Star, 2016).
In addition to this, many new entrants took up expen-
sive projects, a lot of which were even sold. However, the
bubble surpassed its sustainable limit, which led to its
inevitable burst in 2012. As a result, sales have dropped by
between 30 and 50 per cent in the last 3 years and a large
number of flats have remained unsold. According to
REHAB, the number of unsold flats multiplied by four
times from 3,018 units in 2010 to 12,185 units in 2014. The
number of unsold flats stands at about 10,000 at present
(The Daily Star, 2016b).
Consequently, real estate market in Bangladesh has
become very competitive and the companies are moving
very aggressively to achieve their target as well as to
increase market share (The Daily Star, 2015). Compared to
the land price increase of the earlier decade, the percentage
price increase in this decade has almost doubled, and in
some areas of Dhaka it is more than three to ten times
higher than the earlier prices. Hence, the real estate devel-
opers were bound to increase their price to cover the cost of
a project (The Daily Star, 2015). Besides, it is difficult for
the companies to differentiate their products within same
price range from that of the competitors although they can
bring some variation to design.
On the other hand, the customers are quite price sensitive
and have easy access to the selling price of different real
estate companies, cost of raw materials and cost of
construction, which is facilitated by the growing Internet
usage in Bangladesh. They are also very selective about the
company and flat they purchase because of the limited
secondary market for property. There are limited switching
options for the dissatisfied customers. They can either sell
the flats in the secondary market, which is burdensome for
them, or return to the real estate company. In case of
returns, the company will refund after deducting 10 per
cent of the total payment. In such situation, the company is
not losing as the price of the property has increased over
time but the customers hardly receive any benefits.
The real estate industry has also confronted challenges
from its external environment. One of the prerequisites to
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
1,595 875 1,069 1,235 1,246
82.29% –18.15% –13.44% –0.88% 26.50%
Ahmed et al. 91
real estate business is necessary infrastructure (transport,
sewerage facility, and utility: gas, water supply, electricity,
etc.) but the development of infrastructure in Bangladesh
cannot keep pace with the growth of urbanisation.
Moreover, before starting a new project, every developer
has to take approval of 16 different government agencies
(The Prothom Alo, 2014b). The companies need to tolerate
handsome amount of unseen or illicit costs for this time-
consuming bureaucratic process. In the national housing
policy, emphasis has been given on ‘low-cost housing’—
which means housing at low cost for all sections of the
population. So, government should have appropriate land
policies and legislations to ensure proper and balanced
acquisition of land. A firm political commitment to social
development is necessary to ensure that the required
resources are channelled for the benefit of the
underprivileged and the community as a whole (The Daily
Star, 2015a). Proper development of the real estate industry
requires pragmatic planning covering the next 30 years,
steady and reliable source of finance, simplification of
registration formalities and strong regulation policies
(The Daily Star, 2016c).
Going Forward
Bangladesh economy has more to grow, which can be
fostered by continuous increase in the share and growth of
real estate industry. The country has huge potential to
attract foreign investment because the global investors are
looking for emerging economies like Bangladesh for
tapping opportunities, especially, in the real estate market
(Rahman & Hasan, 2015). To fulfil the customers’ diversi-
fied demand, real estate companies are introducing new
products, such as studio flats, resorts, model towns, etc., in
addition to the traditional products.
Keeping the opportunities in mind, EHL is trying for
continuous improvement in its products, service and
marketing strategies. However, there will be some una-
voidable consequences when the company tries to increase
its revenue and market share. If it grabs away significant
number of customers from its competitors, they are
expected to defend with counter strategies, which is
expected to further intensify the existing competitive pres-
sure. Therefore, the company needs to watch the competi-
tors’ moves very carefully, and become proactive as well as
aggressive with sufficient strategies.
Acknowledgement
The authors gratefully acknowledge the scholarship from the
InterResearch, Bangladesh to carry out the study.
Notes
  1. Real estate consists of land and anything fixed, immovable or
permanently attached to it, such as appurtenances, building,
fences, fixtures, improvements, roads, shrubs and tree (but
not growing crops), sewers, structures, utility systems and
walls.
  2. Though the sector also includes civil construction, such as
bridges, culverts, roads, etc., according to the Bangladesh
Bureau of Statistics (BBS), almost half of this value comes
from real estate industry.
  3. REHAB is an organization for private real estate develop-
ers (with 1,138 members in 2015) that undertakes initiatives
for protecting the interests of its members and for a steady
growth of the real estate industry.
 4. The government banned connections of new pipeline gas
a few times since 2009 which drastically affected the real
estate industry. The condition for solar panel implementation
to get new electricity connection has also been proved costly
for real estate developers (The Prothom Alo, 2014a).
  5. Only 30 per cent of the population in Dhaka has occupied
more than 80 per cent of residential areas with human settle-
ments and supportive infrastructure (The Daily Star, 2016).
  6. Interest rate on home loan, both by banks and private financ-
ing organizations, is very high in Bangladesh. Recently, the
rate has been reduced to single digit (9 per cent), which is
likely to help the potential buyers.
  7. Due to the political instability during 2013, the sales of flats
have decreased by 50 per cent, whereas the prices have fallen
by 30 per cent. According to a survey by REHAB, 212 real
estate developers had 12,185 flats unsold worth BDT 88.11
billion in 2014. Handing over of the flats to the customers has
delayed by 2 years after the political instability in 2015 (The
Prothom Alo, 2015).
  8. In a construction project, around 45–55 per cent of the total
cost comes from land purchasing. So instead of buying land,
developers are interested to make mutual agreement with the
landowners to construct buildings and provide them with
pre-decided amount of flats in exchange.
  9. EHL defines its target customer segments on the basis of their
income: upper class (monthly income with BDT 10 million
and above), upper-middle class (monthly income between
BDT 1.5 and 1 million), and middle class (monthly income
between BDT 75,000 and 1 million).
10. The established real estate companies in Bangladesh believe
that a superior quality and well-designed project in prime
location is itself an advertisement to attract potential cus-
tomers and brand recognition has drawbacks like unwanted
political influence.
11. RAJUK is the government agency in Bangladesh, which is
responsible for directing urban development of the capital,
Dhaka. It approves construction, building planning, and
plot allotment to both public and private sectors.
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92
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Vision 21(1)
Authors’ bio-sketch
Jashim Uddin Ahmed (jashim.ahmed@northsouth.edu;
jashimahmed@hotmail.com), Ph.D. is a Professor and
former Chairman of the Department of Management,
School of Business & Economics, North South University,
Bangladesh. He is the founder of InterResearch, Dhaka,
Bangladesh. He has been awarded his PhD in Management
Sciences from the University of Manchester Institute of
Science and Technology (UMIST, currently known as The
University of Manchester), UK. He has achieved Master
degrees both in Marketing and Management from the
University of Northumbria, UK. He also studied in the
University of Reading and the University of Lincolnshire
and Humberside, UK. His research interests lie broadly
within strategic management and contemporary issues in
marketing and management. He has published over 80
research articles and case studies in reputed journals. An
expert on Asian and Emerging Markets business case
writing, Prof. Ahmed’s extensive cases exceed forty in
number and cover diversifies industries and sectors.
Hafiza Sultana (sultana.hafiza@yahoo.com) is a current
student of North South University, Bangladesh. She is
studying MBA majoring in Marketing with a CGPA of
4.0/4.0. She completed her BBA from American Interna-
tional University-Bangladesh (AIUB), Bangladesh with a
CGPA 3.99/4.0. She has more than 5 years of professional
experience in customer service and marketing in Dhaka,
Bangladesh and London, Great Britain. At present, she is
working as a Research Associate with InterResearch, Dhaka,
Bangladesh.
Anisur R. Faroque (anisur.faroque@lut.fi), Ph.D. is a
teaching and research staff at Lappeenranta University of
Technology (LUT), Finland. He did his PhD in International
Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of
Canterbury, New Zealand. He did MSc in Development
Economics at Hiroshima University, Japan. His research
interests include, inter alia, opportunity-related and
market-oriented activities in research fields like international
business, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial marketing, and
strategic marketing. He is particularly interested in
low-tech born globals from developing economies. He
has publications in Journal of Business and Industrial
Marketing, Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and
Logistics, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and
Small Business and Journal of International Marketing
Strategy.