Roy, R and Cochrane, S P (1999) Development of a customer focused strategy in speculative house building. Construction Management and Economics, 17(6), pp. 777-787. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
The UK housing industry has been slow to adopt new working practices which have brought improvements in product quality and customer focused operations to many sectors of manufacturing industry. Instead, the dominant business driver has been land and house price inflation, with the market characterized by pronounced boom-and-bust cycles. Reports on the sector often have highlighted the need for research and action aimed at bringing about fundamental changes in its operations, both to satisfy social needs and benefit the companies in the industry. This paper examines the drivers needed for implementing new customer focused business processes in the sector. Of particular importance is the development of a product strategy based on an understanding and analysis of the market. Results are presented from a large market survey that was carried out, and their implications for the industry are discussed.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | house building; market research; mass customization; product development; strategy |
| Index terms: | house price, land, mass customization, working practice, product quality, inflation, product development, housing, market research, strategy, manufacturing industry, survey |
| Subjects: | economic analysis, real estate economics, innovation studies, construction type, data collection methods, industry analysis, quality assurance, market analysis, management, manufacturing engineering |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Business Strategy, Construction Technology, Quality Management, Urban Studies, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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