Ye, K; Zhu, W; Shan, Y and Li, S (2015) Effects of market competition on the sustainability performance of the construction industry: China case. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 141(9): 4015025, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Achieving sustainability through the market has been a research topic in the field of sustainable development. Nevertheless, the ways in which sustainability in construction is influenced by the construction market have not been explored explicitly. In the research reported in this paper, hypotheses on the effects of market competition on the sustainability performance of the construction industry were proposed. A structural equation modeling approach was adopted and data from 30 provincial construction sectors in China were collected to test the proposed hypotheses. The results show that market competition can influence industrial sustainability in three ways, namely (1) positive effects on the economic dimension, (2) negative effects on the environmental dimension, and (3) positive effects on the social dimension. The research reported in this paper contributes to the body of knowledge by addressing the role of market competition in institutional drivers of sustainable construction. It is implied that the construction industry has the importance of placing business competition on the tenets of sustainable development. Governmental authorities are thus recommended to include the triple bottom line of sustainability as a benchmark for measuring the efficiency of industrial competition policies. Clients are also suggested to stipulate sustainable construction as a contractor selection criterion in bid documents to improve sustainability in construction.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction competitiveness; market competition; structural equation model; sustainable construction |
| Index terms: | efficiency, contractor selection, sustainability performance, competitiveness, structural equation model, placing, construction market, construction industry, dimension, sustainable construction, business competition, sustainable development, structural equation modelling, documents, competition, body of knowledge, China, construction sector |
| Subjects: | knowledge management, health monitoring assessment and metrics, market analysis, industry analysis, statistical analysis, concrete and cementitious materials, sustainability assessment, tendering, performance management, economics, Geography, health safety and environment, professional development, sustainable construction |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Construction Materials, Information Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Sustainability, Procurement |
| 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