-

Abstract

The competitiveness of the construction industry steadily increases. Turkish contractors have gained considerable success in the international markets especially over the last ten years. In this study, the international competitiveness of Turkish contracting services is investigated based on the experiences gained in the international markets over the last forty years. Following an extensive literature survey, in-depth interviews have been conducted with medium-to-large contractors operating in overseas markets, all of which are the members of the Turkish Contractors Association. Factors that create competitive advantage are analyzed based on Porter’s Diamond Framework. Within this context, the strengths and weaknesses of the sector as well as opportunities and threats that the sector has been exposed to are examined. In the light of the findings of the study, various strategies are developed for the Turkish contractors to sustain their competitive advantage in international markets

Keywords

• International construction, competitiveness analysis, SWOT analysis, strategic planning

Analysis of International Competitiveness of the Turkish Contracting Services

Abstract

Keywords

• -

References

1. Günhan, S., Arditi, D., International expansion decision for construction companies, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 131, 8, 928-937, 2005.
2. Paek, J., Kim, J., Analyzing competitive position in the construction market of Eastern Europe, Journal of Management in Engineering, 9, 1, 38–51, 1993.
3. Engineering News Record (ENR), The Top 225 International Contractors, ENR, New York, 2012.
4. Ofori, G., Frameworks for analyzing international construction, Construction Management and Economics, 21, 4, 379-391, 2003.
5. Günhan, S., Arditi, D., Factors affecting international construction. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 131, 3, 273-282, 2005.
6. Özorhon, B., Dikmen, I., Birgönül, M.T., Case-based reasoning model for international market selection. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 132, 9, 940-948, 2006.
7. Korkmaz, S. and Messner, J. I., Competitive Positioning and Continuity of Construction Firms in International Markets, Journal of Management in Engineering, 24,4, 207-216, 2008.
8. Momaya, K., Selby, K., International competitiveness of the Canadian construction industry: a comparison with Japan and the United States, Canadian Journal of Civil Engineering, 25,4, 640-652, 1998.

9. Flanagan, R., Jewell, C., Ericsson, S., Henricsson, J.P.E., Measuring Construction Competitiveness in Selected Countries. http://wap.rdg.ac.uk/web/FILES/innovativeconstructionresearchcentre/icrc-25-d- Final_report.pdf, 2005.
10. Öz, Ö., Sources of competitive advantage of Turkish construction companies in international markets, Construction Management and Economics, 19,2, 135-144, 2001.
11. Zhao, Z., Shen, L., Zuo, J., Performance and Strategy of Chinese Contractors in the International Market, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 135, 2, 108-118, 2009.
12. Porter, M.E., The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Free Press, MacMillan, New York, 1990.
13. Ryan, R., A grand disunity. National Review, 9, 46–47, 1990.
14. Thain, D.H., The war without bullets, Business Quarterly, 55(1) 13–19, 1990.
15. Turkish Contractors Association (TCA), International Contracting Services, http://www.tmb.org.tr/genel.php?ID=2, 2012.
16. Thomas, H. R., 2000 peurifoy lecture: Construction practices in developing countries. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 128, 1, 1–7, 2000.
17. Ostler, C.H., Country analysis, its role in the international construction industry’s strategic planning procedure: In: Peerce C, editor. Proceedings of First International Construction Marketing Conference, Construction Management Group, School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK, 1998.
18. Chan, E., and Tse, R., Cultural considerations in international construction contracts. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 129, 4, 375–381, 2003.
19. Birgönül, M.T., Dikmen, I., Özorhon, B., The impact of reverse knowledge transfer on competitiveness: The Case of Turkish Contractors in Economics for the Modern Built Environment., Les Ruddock (ed.), Taylor and Francis: London, UK, 2009.
20. Zhao, Z., Zuo, J., Zillante, G., Zhao, J.X., Foreign architectural and engineering design firms’ competitiveness and strategies in China: A diamond model study, Habitat International, 36, 3612-370, 2012.
21. Orr, R. J., and Kennedy, J.R., Highlights of Recent Trends in Global Infrastructure: New Players and Revised Game Rules, Transnational Corporations, 17, 1, 95-130, 2008.
22. Han, S. H., Kim, D. Y., Jang, H. S., and Choi, S., Strategies for contractors to sustain growth in the global construction market. Habitat International, 34, 1, 1-10, 2008.
23. Özorhon, B., Arditi, D., Dikmen, I., Birgönül, M.T., The performance of international joint ventures in construction. Journal of Management in Engineering, 26, 4, 209-222, 2010.
24. Flanagan, R., Lu,W., Shen, L. Y. and Jewell, C., Competitiveness in construction: a critical review of research. Construction Management and Economics, 25, 9, 989- 1000, 2007.
25. Undersecretary of Foreign Trade (UFT), International Contracting Services, http://www.economy.gov.tr/index.cfm?sayfa=6FCC7802-FE1C-7ECF- E9C975B8EE928372, 2012.
26. Turkish Contractors Association (TCA), Turkish Construction Industry– Vision 2023, http://www.tmb.org.tr/arastirma_yayinlar/TMB_insaat_sektoru_2023_vizyonu.pdf , 2011.
27. Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Oslo Manual, 3rd edition, OECD Eurostat, Paris, Luxembourg, 2005.
28. Taylor J., Levitt R., Innovation Alignment and Project Network Dynamics: An Integrative Model for Change, Project Management Journal, 38, 3, 22-35, 2007.
29. Mathews, J.A., Dragon multinationals: New players in 21st century globalization. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 23, 1, 5-27, 2006.
30. Nissen, M. E., Harnessing knowledge dynamics: Principled organizational knowing and learning, IRM Press, Hershey, PA, 2006.
31. Ministry of Economy, Construction Materials Sector, http://www.ibp.gov.tr/pg/sektorpdf/sanayi/insaat_malzemeleri_2012.pdf , 2012.
32. Han, S., Diekmann, J.E., Approaches for making risk-based go/no-go decision for international projects, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 127, 4, 300-308, 2001.
33. Chamber of Civil Engineers, IMO Istanbul General Board, http://imoistanbul.org/imoarsiv/ist-bulten/SAYI74/YetkinMuhYonTaslak.doc, 2004.