Strategies Adopted by International Architectural, Engineering, and Construction Firms in Southeast Asia
Publication: Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 134, Issue 3
Abstract
There are many business opportunities for international architectural, engineering, and construction firms to work in Southeast Asia (SEA) due to its high volume of construction demand and its growing economy. Before entering the region, these industry practitioners need to decide on the appropriate market entry modes and business strategies. The objectives of this research are to investigate the effective market entry modes and business management strategies that industry practitioners can adopt for SEA projects. The research method is based on a structured questionnaire. The study found that the most effective market entry modes are: setting up wholly owned foreign subsidiaries and forming project joint ventures with local firms. The most effective business strategies are: providing a superior product or service and paying great attention to client satisfaction. It is recommended that industry practitioners place emphasis on customer satisfaction by considering all aspects of the client’s requirements and the proposed project’s usage throughout its intended life cycle, to differentiate itself from its competitors.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Dunning, J. H. (1988). Explaining international production, Unwin Hyman, London.
Enderwick, P. (1993). “Multinational contracting.” Transnational corporations in services, K. P. Suavant and P. Mallampally, eds., Vol. 12, The United Nations Library on Transnational Corporations, Routledge, N.Y., 186–203.
Hamel, G., and Prahalad, C. K. (1994). Competing for the future, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.
Han, S. H., and Diekmann, J. E. (2001). “Approaches for making risk-based go/no-go decision for international projects.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 127(4), 300–308.
Hill, C. W. L. and Jones, G. R. (1995). Strategic management theory, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
Inkpen, A. C., and Beamish, P. W. (1997). “Knowledge, bargaining power and the instability of international joint ventures.” Acad. Manage. Rev., 22, 177–202.
Ling, Y. Y., Ibbs, C. W., and Cuervo, J. C. (2005). “Entry and business strategies used by international AEC firms in China.” Constr. Manage. Econom., 23(5), 509–520.
Mahoney, D., Trigg, M., Griffin, R. W., and Pustay, M. W. (1998). International business: A managerial perspective, Addison-Wesley-Longman, South Melbourne, Australia.
Park, S. H., and Ungson, G. R. (1997). “The effect of national culture, organizational complementarity and economic motivation on joint venture dissolution.” Acad. Manage J., 40, 279–307.
Porter, M. E. (1980). Competitive strategy, Free Press, New York.
Sillars, D., and Kangari, R. (1997). “Japanese construction alliances.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 123(2), 146–152.
Soubra, Y. (1993). “International competitiveness and corporate strategies in the construction services sector.” Coalitions and competition: The globalization of professional business services, Y. Aharoni, ed., Routledge, New York, 193–210.
Strassmann, W. P. (1989). “The rise, fall, and transformation of overseas construction contracting.” World Dev., 17(6), 783–794.
Tiong, R., and Yeo, K. T. (1993). “Project financing as a competitive strategy in winning overseas jobs.” Int. J. Proj. Manage., 11(2), 79–86.
United Nations. (1990). Transnational corporations, services and the Uruguay round, Centre on Transnational Corporations, New York.
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. (2004). Prospects for foreign direct investment and the strategies of transnational corporations, 2004–2007. United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.
Wang, S. Q., Tiong, R. L. T., Ting, S. K., and Ashley, D. (2000). “Evaluation and management of foreign exchange and revenue risks in China’s BOT projects.” Constr. Manage. Econom., 18, 197–207.
World Bank. (2005). East Asia update, Washington, D.C., ⟨http://go.worldbank.org/0B8QITE7U0⟩ (Nov. 1, 2005)
Yeung, I. Y. M., and Tung, R. L. (1996). “Achieving business success in Confucian society: The importance of Guanxi (connections).” Organiz. Dyn., 25(2), 54–65.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Professional Issues in Engineering Education and Practice
Volume 134 • Issue 3 • July 2008
Pages: 248 - 256
Copyright
© 2008 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 15, 2005
Accepted: Jun 8, 2006
Published online: Jul 1, 2008
Published in print: Jul 2008
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.