Effects of institutional practices on delays in construction – views of Finnish homebuilder families

For many consumers, buying a home is the most important purchasing decision they will ever make. Although consumer needs are well met in the detached house business, particularly compared to the multi-story house business, deficiencies still exist. These deficiencies are caused not only by companies’ strategies, but also by institutional factors discouraging the development and launch of innovative business solutions. The purpose of this study is to provide information on the role of institutional practices in the housing markets and construction sector that cause delays in detached house building processes. The analysis employed qualitative data gathered from homebuilder families by phone interviews in January 2015. According to the results, institutional practices pose many challenges in building projects (e.g. acquiring of building permits and financing). In the future, the project planning phase in particular should be developed (e.g. area construction business models and administrative services) to decrease delays caused by purchasers’ lack of decision-making power and administrative skills.