IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/conmgt/v31y2013i4p307-321.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Niche comparisons: toward a new approach for analysing competition and organizational performance in the international construction market

Author

Listed:
  • Huan Yang
  • Weisheng Lu

Abstract

Over the past few decades, studies on competition and organizational performance in the international construction market have been prolific. Construction companies are founded, then grow, compete, evolve, and die in the international landscape, a common process from an ecological perspective. However, few studies have considered the international construction market from this perspective. Using niche theory, which was initially populated in the field of natural bio-ecology and then introduced to business management and economics, a NW/O-L (niche width/overlap and location) framework is established in this study. With this framework, the niche evolution of the top 225 international contractors is explored along two dimensions—product and geography. The effects of a proper niche on an international construction company’s performance are also investigated using the cluster analysis method. It was discovered that, despite fluctuations over time, the contractor’s niche is highly related to its performance in the international construction market. The most appropriate niche for international construction contractors is a wide niche width, with a small niche overlap and with its location near to the market centre with comparatively more market resources. However, only a few contractors can survive in this niche, as the majority of contractors are in a narrow niche width, with a comparatively large niche overlap and far from the market centre. Contractors which do not fit either of these two niches have proved to be poor performers in this study.

Suggested Citation

  • Huan Yang & Weisheng Lu, 2013. "Niche comparisons: toward a new approach for analysing competition and organizational performance in the international construction market," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(4), pages 307-321, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:conmgt:v:31:y:2013:i:4:p:307-321
    DOI: 10.1080/01446193.2013.777753
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/01446193.2013.777753
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/01446193.2013.777753?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Masahisa Fujita & Paul Krugman & Anthony J. Venables, 2001. "The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions, and International Trade," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262561476, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Markusen, James R. & Venables, Anthony J., 1999. "Foreign direct investment as a catalyst for industrial development," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 335-356, February.
    2. Kym Anderson, 2005. "On the Virtues of Multilateral Trade Negotiations," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 81(255), pages 414-438, December.
    3. Athukorala, Prema-chandra & Narayanan, Suresh, 2018. "Economic corridors and regional development: The Malaysian experience," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-14.
    4. BOURDEAU-LEPAGE, Lise & HURIOT, Jean-Marie, 2006. "Megacities vs. Global Cities. The institutional hypothesis," LEG - Document de travail - Economie 2006-05, LEG, Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion, CNRS, Université de Bourgogne.
    5. Saka Jimoh Olakunle, 2023. "Digital Technology and Trade Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa," Journal of Applied Economic Research, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University, vol. 22(3), pages 480-496.
    6. Takatoshi Tabuchi & Jacques-François Thisse, 2006. "Regional Specialization, Urban Hierarchy, And Commuting Costs," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 47(4), pages 1295-1317, November.
    7. Paulo B. Brito, 2022. "The dynamics of growth and distribution in a spatially heterogeneous world," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 21(3), pages 311-350, September.
    8. Forslid, Rikard, 1999. "Agglomeration with Human and Physical Capital: an Analytically Solvable Case," CEPR Discussion Papers 2102, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    9. Ertan Oktay & Giray Gozgor, 2013. "Trade And Regional Development In A Developing Country: The Case Of Turkey," Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(3), pages 201-212, November.
    10. Johnson, Noel D. & Koyama, Mark, 2017. "Jewish communities and city growth in preindustrial Europe," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 339-354.
    11. Farrokhi, Farid & Jinkins, David, 2019. "Wage inequality and the location of cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 76-92.
    12. Stephen J. Redding, 2010. "The Empirics Of New Economic Geography," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 297-311, February.
    13. Laura Resmini, 2003. "Economic integration and regional patterns of industry location in transition countries," ERSA conference papers ersa03p399, European Regional Science Association.
    14. Wolfgang Keller, 2002. "Geographic Localization of International Technology Diffusion," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 92(1), pages 120-142, March.
    15. Donald R. Davis & David E. Weinstein, 2008. "A Search For Multiple Equilibria In Urban Industrial Structure," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(1), pages 29-65, February.
    16. Rui Xie & Siling Yao & Feng Han & Jiayu Fang, 2019. "Land Finance, Producer Services Agglomeration, and Green Total Factor Productivity," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 42(5-6), pages 550-579, September.
    17. Daniel C. Monchuk & John A. Miranowski & Dermot J. Hayes & Bruce A. Babcock, 2007. "An Analysis of Regional Economic Growth in the U.S. Midwest," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 29(1), pages 17-39.
    18. Frode Steen, 2002. "Vertical Industry Linkages: Sources of Productivity Gains and Cumulative Causation?," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 21(1), pages 3-20, August.
    19. Kadeřábková Jaroslava & Jetmar Marek, 2010. "Selected issues of the development of small municipalities in the Czech Republic, financing of municipalities," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 2(2), pages 102-117, January.
    20. Jean-Marc Callois & Carl Gaigné, 2010. "Attitudes Towards Foreign Products and Welfare with Capital Mobility," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 21(5), pages 751-770, November.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:conmgt:v:31:y:2013:i:4:p:307-321. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RCME20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.