Ownership advantages/disadvantages of Singapore transnational construction corporations

Cuervo, J C and Pheng, L S (2003) Ownership advantages/disadvantages of Singapore transnational construction corporations. Construction Management and Economics, 21(1), pp. 81-94. ISSN 01446193

Abstract

Expanding beyond Singapore's boundaries has been a source of increased business for Singapore transnational construction corporations (STCCs). This paper analyses the significance of ownership advantage and disadvantage factors of STCCs in pursuing their international construction business, relative to other ASEAN contractors and contractors from developed countries. Moreover, this study examines if these ownership factors do vary significantly according to firm specific contextual variables in the STCCs such as size, international age, multinationality and extent of specialization/diversification. Based on responses from 22 STCCs, this study has found that the most important ownership advantage factors of STCCs were identified as coming from: (1) information, knowledge, technology and R&D capability; (2) the firm's name and reputation; and (3) management and organizational capability. Relative to established international contractors STCCs have a significant size disadvantage with reference to certain project types.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: international construction; ownership advantages and disadvantages; Singapore transnational construction corporation
Index terms: Singapore, diversification, organizational capability, developed country, specialization, ownership, international construction, boundaries
Subjects: business, market analysis, property law, sociology, strategic management, Geography, economics, development economics
Topics: Organizational Design, International Construction, Research Practice, Legal Issues, Business Strategy, Geographical Context
Descriptive scope: 2 PC

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