Gottlieb, S C and Storgaard, K (2006) Flexible strategic partnerships in Danish construction. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 22nd Annual ARCOM Conference, 4-6 September 2006, Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
During the past 15 years, a series of public policy instruments aimed at improving the low development of productivity in the Danish construction industry have been initiated. Recent years, focus has been put on the concepts of partnering and strategic partnerships as key drivers in the transition towards a competitive and innovative industry. Partnerships are seen as a way of overcoming, what is perceived as being one of the primary reasons for the developmental problems: the lack of inter-firm co-ordination and utilisation of knowledge and learning. The objective of the research reported was to study extents and types of strategic partnerships in the Danish construction industry, examining inter-organisational collaboration. In doing so a variety of different methods were applied for collecting the data including questionnaire surveys and case studies of construction companies conducting strategic partnerships with parties within and outside the construction industry. The research points to the existence of a number of different partnerships with different aims, ranging from process rationalisation to product and concept development. A common element in all of the observed partnerships is the relatively short life span of the partnerships. The study shows that it often is problematic to realise any first mover advantages of a partnership, making it more attractive for companies to adopt existing products and production concepts rather than invest in expensive development activities. Furthermore is it shown that flexibility is seen as the primary competitive advantage in the construction sector, resulting in partnerships being created, dissolved and re-created.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | collaboration; Denmark; flexibility; innovation; strategic partnerships |
| Index terms: | questionnaire, collaboration, construction sector, public policy, construction industry, Denmark, case study, competitive advantage, partnering, survey, construction company, partnership, productivity |
| Subjects: | public policy, data collection methods, organization, industry analysis, partnership management, market analysis, Geography, management |
| Topics: | Stakeholder Management, Governance, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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