Yankah, J E (2018) An integrated framework of marketing in construction contracting enterprises in the Ghanaian construction industry. PhD thesis, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.
Abstract
The current understanding of marketing in construction encapsulates strategic planning and human factor elements in response to the calls for a tailor-made construction marketing model. Yet extant construction marketing models are a mere replica and reminiscence of strategic management process/planning models due to their reliance on general and mainstream marketing models which are not specific to construction. This approach renders such frameworks deficient in scope, and therefore fails to address the human factor dimension required to breathe life into the strategic planning processes factors that provide foundation for such model/frameworks. The limited studies on marketing in construction coupled with the paucity, sparse and intermittent characteristics associated with research relating to human factor issues of marketing in construction has been remarked on by several construction marketing researchers. This study, therefore, sought to develop a framework that encapsulates strategic planning process and human factor issues as complementary to each other in an integrated fashion to ensure successful outcomes. The framework developed will serve as a viable option against which the effectiveness of marketing as management function in construction businesses can be validated. It will also assist construction business managers towards effective marketing practices in the construction industry. By adopting the current theory of marketing in construction, together with strategic planning models and marketing in construction models, in addition to the Technology Acceptance Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, human factors and strategic planning factors were identified as two main causal loci influencing the outcomes of marketing in construction. The development and adoption of theoretical concepts and frameworks which draw on these frameworks/models resulted in the establishment of the conceptual model for the study. A mixed-method research design comprising a Delphi study as a qualitative method to validate the measurement and quantitative method of a questionnaire survey was adopted in this study. A sample of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) businesses in construction was selected from the construction industry of Ghana. The outcome of the literature review and the Delphi survey were used to develop the integrated marketing in construction conceptual framework which was validated through a questionnaire survey of construction SMEs in the Ghanaian construction industry. The responses received were subsequently analysed using SPSS version 25 and Structural Equation Modelling using EQS version 6. The results revealed that Construction Marketing Acceptance, Construction Marketing Behaviour, Business Environment Analysis, Planning for Marketing Activities, Specific Marketing Activities, Implementation of Marketing Activities, and Evaluation of Marketing Performance jointly predict successful outcomes of marketing in construction among SME contractors in Ghana. These findings have empirically affirmed that marketing in construction is influenced by a conglomerate of human and strategic planning factors which are complementary and indispensable towards achieving successful outcomes. A chronological catalogue of existing literature on marketing in construction SME reveals no prior research in this domain. This study therefore sheds light on the dynamics of the human factor attributes that influence construction business marketing performance. It expands construction management studies into the realm of construction marketing and its operations in construction SMEs with particular focus on the least researched area of construction marketing, namely human factors. Results of this study will assist managers of construction SME firms to understand how human factors affect marketing in construction and that will help them to develop more effective strategies to harness that potential to achieve business success.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Thwala, W D; Aigbavboa, C O and Pretorius, J H M |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | effectiveness; market; measurement; strategic management; SMEs; marketing; strategic management; strategic planning; Ghana; structural equation modelling; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | strategic management, quantitative method, questionnaire, conceptual framework, human factor, manager, literature review, structural equation modelling, strategy, survey, qualitative method, strategic planning, dynamics, marketing, effectiveness, dimension, construction industry, implementation, technology acceptance model, planned behaviour, option, Delphi method, Delphi survey, research design, Ghana, business marketing, construction marketing |
| Subjects: | research design and methodology, business, data collection methods, health monitoring assessment and metrics, data analysis and analytics, performance management, management, statistical analysis, systems engineering, industry analysis, decision analysis, occupational health and safety management, practitioner, contractual arrangements, acoustic properties, Geography, theoretical framing, behavioral psychology |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Risk Management, Procurement, Quality Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Roles and Professions |
| 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