Zhou, S; Mosca, L and Whyte, J (2023) How the reliability of external competences shapes the modularization strategies of industrialized construction firms. Construction Management and Economics, 41(7), pp. 608-619. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Firms modularize as they move into industrialized construction. Prior research highlights the importance of their modularization strategies, arguing that firms can either build the competence for modularization internally or can source them externally. To understand what shapes a firm’s choice to use external competences in its modularization strategy, we studied three leading construction firms. In this multiple case study, Alpha, Beta and Gamma are leaders in Asian markets, using reinforced concrete solutions in high-rise industrialized construction. Where external competences are available, our analyses show the work firms do to make them reliable and that their choice to use external competences is shaped by their reliability. Alpha modularized in a context with little available external competences, so it built new competences in-house; Beta chose to use the externally available manufacturing and assembly competences, using standards, remote monitoring and control of product architectures to make them reliable for their use in modularization; Gamma had available competences in the external context and initially sought to use them, but reliability concerns led to it modularizing by acquiring the firms to bring these competences in-house. Our contribution is to show how ensuring the reliability of external competences shapes modularization strategies. Further, we have identified actions that firms can adopt to make external competences reliable through: (1) use of international standards, (2) quality control procedures, (3) control of product architectures, and 4) acquisition of external competences. We provide implications for practitioners and policy makers seeking to transition to industrialized construction; and discuss new areas for research.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | competence; competences; construction companies; industrialized building; industrialized construction; modularization |
| Index terms: | modularization, product architecture, case study, reinforced concrete, construction company, markets, industrialized building, construction firm, competence, quality control, strategy, practitioner, industrialized construction, acquisition, remote monitoring |
| Subjects: | business, design methods, building construction, project delivery, monitoring and control systems, management, economic analysis, organization, construction type, data collection methods, building materials, personnel development, practitioner |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Quality Management, Human Resources, Design Practice, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Governance, Construction Materials |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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