Lopes, J (2002) Characteristics of the main institutional actors in the Portuguese construction industry. In: Greenwood, D (ed.) Proceedings of 18th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2002, Northumbria, UK.
Abstract
Since the early 1990s, it has been witnessed some positive developments in the operating environment of the construction industry in Portugal. These positive changes have been inter alia the diversification of the construction services particularly for the part of the major national construction companies, increasing demand for quality housing, fall in interest rates derived from competition between financial institutions and the country’s participation in the Economic and Monetary Union, and development of major infrastructures. However, national construction enterprises face enormous challenges due to increased competition, globalization of the construction market and the expected reduction in European Union structural funds from 2006. Recent studies (INOFOR, 1999; E and T, 2000; AECOPS, 2000) have emphasized the lack of an adequate policy that promotes the modernization of the sector despite some encouraging initiatives with respect to the regulatory framework pertaining to the construction industry and economically-related sectors, and measures directed at quality, health and safety, and environmental concerns. These writers and those concerned with the construction industry activity call for an integrated programme of action that enhances the capability of the industry. This paper presents the framework conditions of the Portuguese construction sector. Secondly, it characterizes the main actors of the construction industry using a modified version of the industry competition model. It draws on previous works on the subject, using, additionally, the analytical framework of the “construction sector system”. Thirdly, it attempts to present a scenario for the construction industry in the near future.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | competition; construction industry; construction sector system; institutional actors; Portugal |
| Index terms: | interest rate, competition, face, globalization, construction market, construction sector, construction company, construction industry, European Union, analytical framework, positive development, programme, environmental concern, housing, health and safety, Portugal, diversification |
| Subjects: | economic factors, Geography, environmental issues, economic analysis, psychology, urban design, project controls, industry analysis, organization, health safety and environment, market analysis, data analysis and analytics, physical geography and landforms, construction type |
| Topics: | Time Control, Research Practice, International Construction, Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Urban Studies, Health and Safety, Construction Technology, Sustainability |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here