Performance and Strategy of Chinese Contractors in the International Market
Publication: Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135, Issue 2
Abstract
The past decade has witnessed the steady growth of Chinese international contractors (CICs), who have become important and influential players in the international market. The enormous development demands worldwide, especially in developing countries, attract CICs to engage in the market. Similarly, the strong support from the Chinese government plays an important role for the expansion of Chinese contractors globally. Some leading CICs perform very well in certain fields and countries. This brings the competitiveness of CICs to the attention of the international community. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) approach was adopted in order to analyze CICs’ strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in international construction markets. Literature from various sources was reviewed in the first instance, which is followed by an interview survey with 42 CICs employees. A SWOT strategy matrix is used to establish a framework that can help CICs to select suitable business development strategies in overseas markets. The applicability of the strategy framework was tested through the case study of two CICs. The strategies to reinforce their positions in the international market were studied based on the SWOT analysis. The results indicate that CICs are on their way to becoming major competitors to other overseas contractors. In essence, the research results offer a valuable reference of practices that construction firms need to master in order to survive and grow in the international market.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management
Volume 135 • Issue 2 • February 2009
Pages: 108 - 118
Copyright
© 2009 ASCE.
History
Received: Apr 24, 2006
Accepted: Jul 29, 2008
Published online: Feb 1, 2009
Published in print: Feb 2009
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