Determinants of efficiency of contractors in Hong Kong and China: Panel data model analysis

This study investigates how firm attributes affect construction contractors' efficiency in Hong Kong and Mainland China, from the period 2004 to 2010. This study finds that the efficiency of Hong Kong contractors is associated with their managerial capability to control business costs and financial capability to manage both short-term and long-term capital liquidity. The efficiency of Mainland China contractors is also associated with their managerial capability to control business and administrative costs but not with their financial capability to maintain capital liquidity. Theoretically, this study shows that managerial and technological abilities are two common factors that transcend different institutions and systems. Hong Kong is the freest economy in the world, whereas the economy of Mainland China is more regulated. Methodologically, data envelopment analysis is adopted to establish the efficiency scores of contractors to be analyzed by panel data regression, which controls individual contractor's return to scale. Few construction competitiveness studies have attempted this methodological process, which can be replicated for future research in other countries, at different stages of their economic development, to ensure equally useful measures for cross-country comparison and to promote the sustainable developments of their construction industries.