McCloughan, P (2004) Construction sector concentration: Evidence from Britain. Construction Management and Economics, 22(9), pp. 979-990. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
For the first time, empirical estimates of concentration in the British construction sector are provided. The research adds value to published DETR/DTI data on the structure of British construction by applying a novel technique for estimating the concentration ratio proposed by McCloughan and Abounoori (MA) (2003). The MA method is applied because the data are grouped and simple summing of the largest market shares is not possible in this case. Results are provided on the trends in aggregate concentration (1971-99), concentration by main trades (1980-98) and concentration by specialist trades (1980-99). The first main finding is that aggregate concentration is low in British construction. This confirms the popular view, namely that construction is a fragmented sector, with the vast majority of private contractors operating at a small scale. The second main result is that concentration among main trades is also low. However, the same cannot be said of concentration among specialist trades - the third main result. The analysis shows that certain specialist trades (scaffolding specialists, asphalt and tar sprayers, constructional engineers, insulation specialists and demolition specialists) are relatively concentrated, even in the context of a national geographic market. These specialist trades experienced sharp rises in concentration in the latter half of the 1990s. The results suggest that the British construction sector is dynamic and comprises many diverse markets in terms of their levels and trends in concentration.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | aggregate; construction; market concentration |
| Index terms: | scaffolding, evidence, estimating, construction sector, market share, engineer, aggregate, small scale, insulation, estimate, markets |
| Subjects: | materials science, evaluation and assessment methods, profession, financial and cost management, economic analysis, operations management, building materials, production management, industry analysis, market analysis |
| Topics: | Site Management, Design Practice, Roles and Professions, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Project Management, Research Practice, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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