MODELS FOR PREDICTING SINGAPORE CONTRACTORS' EXTENT OF INTERNATIONALIZATION

Before a contractor embarks on exporting its services, it needs to know if it is likely to succeed. This research developed two prediction models to help contractors in Singapore predict the number of projects (Y1) and the contract values (Y2) that they are likely to secure from overseas. Detailed characteristics of 60 contractors who export their services (exporters) were obtained from the database of registered contractors in Singapore. Multiple linear regression models were developed and tests showed that Y1 is a robust model. A contractor's chance of winning more overseas projects may be predicted by the number of projects it acted as a subcontractor; the variety of projects it undertakes; the total contract value in the domestic market; and the number of countries it exported its services to. It is recommended that contractors who are planning to export their services be flexible instead of adopt a focused policy of undertaking only one or two project types in a few selected countries.