Abstract
The sudden change in environmental munificence level in the construction sector
during the period 2007 – 2015 provides a natural experiment to investigate strategic
and operating actions of firms, particularly during an environmental jolt. Statistics on
business failures corroborate that neither academics nor practitioners have succeeded
in guiding strategic action during periods of environmental jolt. Despite the recent
increase of turnaround research in the general management domain, its use in the
construction management realm remains underexplored. To address this research
gap, five exploratory case studies of an ongoing PhD study were used to examine the
turnaround strategies of construction contractors during a period of economic
contraction and growth. The findings show that, although retrenchment is often
considered to be a short-term strategy, this is clearly not the case; with the majority of
contractors maintaining the strategy for 6-7 years. During the same period,
internationalization became critical, with the turnaround process shifting towards
strategic reorientation that altered the firms' market domain. The case studies further
suggest that strategic and operational actions resonate quite well with contemporary
practice-based approaches to strategy making. The findings provide valuable
assistance for construction contractors in dealing with organisational decline and in
developing a successful turnaround response.
during the period 2007 – 2015 provides a natural experiment to investigate strategic
and operating actions of firms, particularly during an environmental jolt. Statistics on
business failures corroborate that neither academics nor practitioners have succeeded
in guiding strategic action during periods of environmental jolt. Despite the recent
increase of turnaround research in the general management domain, its use in the
construction management realm remains underexplored. To address this research
gap, five exploratory case studies of an ongoing PhD study were used to examine the
turnaround strategies of construction contractors during a period of economic
contraction and growth. The findings show that, although retrenchment is often
considered to be a short-term strategy, this is clearly not the case; with the majority of
contractors maintaining the strategy for 6-7 years. During the same period,
internationalization became critical, with the turnaround process shifting towards
strategic reorientation that altered the firms' market domain. The case studies further
suggest that strategic and operational actions resonate quite well with contemporary
practice-based approaches to strategy making. The findings provide valuable
assistance for construction contractors in dealing with organisational decline and in
developing a successful turnaround response.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 32nd ARCOM Annual Conference, 2016 |
| Publisher | Association of Researchers in Construction Management |
| Pages | 269-278 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-0-9955463-0-1 |
| Publication status | Published - 07 Sept 2016 |
| Event | 32nd ARCOM Annual Conference, 2016 - Manchester, United Kingdom Duration: 05 Sept 2016 → 07 Sept 2016 http://www.arcom.ac.uk/conf-intro.php |
Conference
| Conference | 32nd ARCOM Annual Conference, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | United Kingdom |
| City | Manchester |
| Period | 05/09/2016 → 07/09/2016 |
| Internet address |
Keywords
- contemporary strategy
- internationalization,
- organisational decline
- retrenchment,
- turnaround strategies