Chiang, Y H and Lok, L K L (2006) Sustainable advantages and corporate strategies: The case of prefabrication in Hong Kong. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 22nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2006, Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
The Hong Kong Government through its Housing Authority (HA) has typically provided more than half of the total new residential units per annum. Being a major client of housing construction, the HA has influential roles to play in driving innovations. Our earlier research has identified a few leading contractors who have been repeatedly gaining major market shares in the public housing construction sector. It suggests that some contractors have responded to the client's demand on prefabrication better than the others. This paper will examine how the leading contractors and the others in the public sector have responded to the mandatory requirement of prefabrication. In particular, we shall investigate (i) whether prefabrication by itself is a sustainable source of competitive advantage, and if not, what could be the sources? (ii) how the leading contractors have formulated and implemented their competitive strategies, and (iii) the constraints or difficulties that other non-leading contractors have had in securing works. The findings of this study will contribute to further understanding of the clients' roles in driving innovations in the construction industry, and the strategic management of contractors in search of their sustainable advantages.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Hong Kong; innovation; prefabrication; strategy; sustainable advantage |
| Index terms: | housing, construction industry, prefabrication, competitive strategy, construction sector, residential construction, public housing, strategic management, public sector, strategy, corporate strategy, Hong Kong, competitive advantage, market share |
| Subjects: | management, construction integration, Geography, market analysis, building construction, administrative law, industry analysis, construction type, business, economic analysis |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Governance, Construction Technology |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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