Introduction
Strategic management methods have been widely applied in the commercial and manufacturing sectors, but there is not much empirical evidence regarding its adoption in the construction sector especially in professional service firms (PSF). This research project reports results of a survey of the construction professional service firms in Ireland, assessing how strategic management methods and practices are being implemented within and across these organizations in achieving competitive advantage.
The Irish construction industry has undergone substantial change from its peak of 19% of GDP recorded in 2006 and its subsequent deep, lengthy period of recession which saw construction output reduce to around 6% in 2012 (DKM report, 2012). The current economic recovery necessitates concentration and investigation of the strategic management process within firms operating in the construction sector to ensure survival through future economic cycles. The improving future outlook for the construction sector has prompted renewed interests into investigating the mechanisms by which the industry operates and the strategic management process of firms operating therein.
Strategic management in the manufacturing sector is predominant in academic literature, with comparatively less emphasis on professional service firms (PSF`s) and lesser still in the area of the construction industry. This deficit has prompted research into the extent, type, cope and characteristics of the strategic management implementation process in and across PSF`s in the construction sector.
PhD Importance and Key Contribution
An academic inquiry into the strategic management implementation process in and across professions within the construction industry (including architects, engineer, quantity surveyors etc.) will be carried out to ascertain the structure of the strategic management process within them. This investigation and comparative analysis will identify the current strategic management processes in Irish construction PSF`s, outline the lapses in the strategic management process, as benchmarked against existing knowledge in other sector(s) and highlight possible mechanisms/model for optimizing the strategic management implementation process within PSF`s in construction. The result of this which not only serves to bridge the apparent gap in existing knowledge within the field, but also provides valuable insight for construction professionals about strategic management implementation for gaining competitive advantage.
Theoretical Base
Strategic management in professional service firms is a relatively young academic discipline. Since the mid-1990s there has been an expanding academic literature on strategic management in the professional services firms (Aharoni, Y. (Ed.) 1993; Løwendahl, 2005; Maister, D.H 1993, Raelin, J. A. 1995). There had earlier been strong emphasis on conceptual studies adapting strategy theories and techniques to the manufacturing sector context and there has been considerable number of empirical studies carried out into the management of professional services firms. Many of these studies have focused largely on manufacturing firms (Sonntag, 2003; Papke-Shields, Malhotra and Grover, 2006) or in the public sector (for example, Hendrick, 2003; and Poister and Streib, 2005). Despite these level of research into PSFs in different sectors, we still know little empirically about how construction professional service firms in construction use strategic management techniques in practice. There are few studies that have focused on construction (Hildebrandt and Cannon, 1994; Green et al., 2008; Murphy, 2011). It is therefore interesting to study how strategic management practice in professional service firms in construction reflects strategic management practices and thinking after decades of extensive focus on formal planning in the manufacturing, business and public sectors respectively. The contribution of this paper is the positioning of professional service firms in construction strategic management practices–especially in Ireland- in relation to theories of strategy and how they can be optimized. Understanding this will lead to further insights on how construction PSFs can optimize their business process and achieve competitive advantage in the increasingly volatile and complex construction market environment.
Research Questions
“How does the structure of the organized (-or unorganized) systems in the strategic management implementation process differ within and across professions in construction professional service firms in Ireland, and how can they be optimized to ensure sustained competitive advantage?”
Strategic management, Professional service firms, competitive advantage, Construction
