The International Competitiveness of Chinese Construction Firms

China’s integration in the global economy and its prominent role as a geo-political and economic powerhouse has transformed the construction landscape in Asia, Africa and Latin America. As part of this long term strategy, China has embarked on major transcontinental infrastructure projects such as the Silk Road Economic Belt. To maximise this opportunity Chinese construction firms have embarked on an aggressive international strategy. For example, China Communication Construction Company Ltd. takeover John Holland, one of Australia's leading engineering contractors. However, in the current dynamic global construction market there are factors which may affect Chinese firms expanding their businesses overseas. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a model to analyse and improve Chinese construction firms’ international competitiveness.The aim of this PhD research is to systemically investigate the performance of Chinese construction firms in the global market in order to identify the reasons for their success in responding to the changing conditions of that global construction market. This paper explores the potential framework to analyse Chinese construction firms’ international competitiveness. Furthermore this will help identify the critical factors that drive strategy. The methodology employed for operationalisation of the research comprises both quantitative and qualitative approaches. This implies a mixed methods approach with a sequential explanatory strategy. Quantitative analysis explores the top global construction firms and the key issues in the global construction market. Qualitative analysis comprises two components. The first reviews the literature to identify Key Competitiveness Indicators (KPIs). The second component employs interviews using a modified Delphi method to investigate the KPIs of a construction firm, in order to refine the proposed framework. The preliminary findings of the research identified the construction firm's KPIs include quality, organization management and social responsibility etc.