Business Challenges Confronting Aged Care Centres’ Entrepreneurs in Malaysia

Approximately 72% of the global ageing population lives in
developing countries. In Malaysia, 15% of the local community is estimated
to be older adults by 2030. The estimate projects a radical change in the
demographics of developed and developing countries. This conundrum
requires relevant government bodies to investigate and address the
challenges resulting from the ageing population. On a global scale, aged
care centres are responsible for providing living support for elderly people
with chronic illnesses (dementia, hypertension, Alzheimer’s, and
Parkinson’s disease) when their families fail to provide the necessary care.
Local aged care centres are run by public, private, and non-government
organisations and religious centres. More than 365 registered and
unregistered aged care centres exist in Malaysia. Considered the hub of aged
care centres, the state of Selangor is home to 86 operating centres run by
male and female entrepreneurs. Regardless, only 25% of women work as
entrepreneurs in aged care services compared to other business ventures.
This qualitative study focuses on the business issues encountered by the
entrepreneurs of Malaysian aged care centres. A semi-structured interview was conducted to gather empirical data. The sample size comprised 10
entrepreneurs from aged care centres nationwide. Based on the study
outcomes, entrepreneurs need to improve the marketing mix, management
and HR-related strategies based on product, price, promotion, and place of
distribution (4Ps) while initiating service promotion, networking and
clustering, technology use, visual presentation, print media advertisement,
and diverse services. The research implications are derived from the overall
obstacles of the aged care centres business. A model was proposed for aged
care centres to minimise marketing, management, and HR challenges and
justify the relationships between the key components and strategies.