Evaluating "socially-conscious enterprise hawker centres" in Singapore : a mixed methods study

• Main Authors: Soh, Jonathan Zhi Hui, Chew, Bernice Kar Yue
• Other Authors: Kim Soojin
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Social sciences::Political science::Public administration::Asia::Singapore
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/139468
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The management of the new hawker centres constructed by the Singapore government between 2011 to 2018 are contracted out to social enterprises. While the government intends to continue with this operation model for future hawker centres, existing research lacks in evaluating the performance of these “socially-conscious enterprise hawker centres” (SEHCs) and thus offers no insight on the desirability of the government’s contracting-out decision. Therefore, this paper aims to kickstart research on this topic by identifying the main factors affecting service users’ (consumers’) perceived levels of satisfaction with SEHCs. The results obtained from qualitative field observations at current SEHCs and quantitative surveys of public policy students reveal that while the SEHC operators achieve varying levels of success, they are generally active and effective in pursuing their social goals. Notably, the satisfaction levels of consumers are most influenced by their perceptions of SEHCs’ performance in achieving the goal of food affordability. To enhance consumer satisfaction, this paper recommends giving more support to hawkers, focusing on the key areas most valued by consumers, involving citizens in service delivery, and conducting market research in the planning of hawker centres.