Comparative case study research: an international analysis of nine home warranty schemes

What is it about?

Construction defects in residential buildings are causing significant impacts both on consumers and the industry. In consequence, several countries have established new home warranty schemes. However, designing a public policy for domestic building warranties can become a difficult task. In fact, many of these programs in the past have failed, collapsed or gone bankrupt. Therefore, the purpose of the current research is to provide a systematic comparative representation of various active programs internationally. In this manuscript, we first defined what is a home warranty scheme. Then, we identified how each country’s warranty policy differs in terms of characteristics and functionalities. Finally, we discerned institutional practices that have been implemented to minimise construction defects in the private residential building industry. As a result, the findings showed that all nine cases are entirely unique in terms of their dispositions, features, and contextual factors. Nevertheless, it was still possible to identify some trends across countries. At the end, this paper proposed an analytical illustration representing the diversification of components adopted by each jurisdiction.

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