IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/conmgt/v23y2005i5p509-520.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Entry and business strategies used by international architectural, engineering and construction firms in China

Author

Listed:
  • Florence Yean Yng Ling
  • C. William Ibbs
  • Javier Cuervo

Abstract

International architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) firms need to decide on the appropriate market entry mode and business strategies when undertaking projects overseas. The objectives of this research are to investigate the effective market entry modes for penetrating China and the effective business strategies for managing projects in China. The research method is based on a structured questionnaire and data were collected via postal survey. Interviews have been conducted to complement the survey. The results show that establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in China is the most effective entry mode. Foreign AEC firms need to adopt a differentiation strategy by providing niche and superior service. They must also pay great attention to customer satisfaction to gain competitive advantage and clinch and manage projects. To succeed in China, foreign AEC firms need to set up a physical office there, to develop a good understanding of local by-laws, understand client requirements better and therefore provide them with a superior product or service.

Suggested Citation

  • Florence Yean Yng Ling & C. William Ibbs & Javier Cuervo, 2005. "Entry and business strategies used by international architectural, engineering and construction firms in China," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(5), pages 509-520.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:conmgt:v:23:y:2005:i:5:p:509-520
    DOI: 10.1080/01446190500040141
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01446190500040141
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/01446190500040141?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. Tarun Khanna, 1998. "The Scope of Alliances," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 9(3), pages 340-355, June.
    2. S. Q. Wang & Robert Tiong & S. K. Ting & D. Ashley, 2000. "Evaluation and management of foreign exchange and revenue risks in China's BOT projects," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(2), pages 197-207.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. João Vasco Coelho, 2022. "Non‐linear internationalization processes in Portugal: Evidence across retail, construction and software development industries," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 539-559, June.
    2. Scaringella, Laurent & Burtschell, François, 2017. "The challenges of radical innovation in Iran: Knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity highlights — Evidence from a joint venture in the construction sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 151-169.
    3. Maria João Sousa & Susana Costa e Silva, 2008. "THE USE of CONSORTIA for the INTERNATIONALIZATION of FIRMS – MOTA-ENGIL CASE STUDY," Working Papers de Gestão (Management Working Papers) 012008, Católica Porto Business School, Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
    4. M. Ahlbrecht & S. Eckert, 2013. "Venturing Early or Following Late?," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 53(5), pages 635-658, October.
    5. Osabutey, Ellis L.C. & Williams, Karen & Debrah, Yaw A., 2014. "The potential for technology and knowledge transfers between foreign and local firms: A study of the construction industry in Ghana," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 560-571.
    6. Canabal, Anne & White III, George O., 2008. "Entry mode research: Past and future," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(3), pages 267-284, June.
    7. Alicia Lozano-Torró & Tatiana García-Segura & Laura Montalbán-Domingo & Eugenio Pellicer, 2019. "Risk Management as a Success Factor in the International Activity of Spanish Engineering," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-20, February.

    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. Van Wijk, Raymond & Nadolska, Anna, 2020. "Making more of alliance portfolios: The role of alliance portfolio coordination," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 38(3), pages 388-399.
    2. Ariño, Africa & García-Canal, Esteban & Valdes, Ana, 1999. "Longevity of strategic alliances between competitors: A dynamic value creation approach," IESE Research Papers D/404, IESE Business School.
    3. Boeker, Warren & Howard, Michael D. & Basu, Sandip & Sahaym, Arvin, 2021. "Interpersonal relationships, digital technologies, and innovation in entrepreneurial ventures," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 495-507.
    4. John M. de Figueiredo & Brian S. Silverman, 2017. "On the Genesis of Interfirm Relational Contracts," Strategy Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(4), pages 234-245, December.
    5. David G. Sirmon & Michael A. Hitt, 2003. "Managing Resources: Linking Unique Resources, Management, and Wealth Creation in Family Firms," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 27(4), pages 339-358, October.
    6. Wilfred Amaldoss & Richard Staelin, 2010. "Cross-Function and Same-Function Alliances: How Does Alliance Structure Affect the Behavior of Partnering Firms?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(2), pages 302-317, February.
    7. Müller, Jens & Weinrich, Arndt, 2020. "Tax knowledge diffusion via strategic alliances," arqus Discussion Papers in Quantitative Tax Research 253, arqus - Arbeitskreis Quantitative Steuerlehre.
    8. Hong, Jacky F.L. & Snell, Robin Stanley, 2015. "Knowledge development through co-opetition: A case study of a Japanese foreign subsidiary and its local suppliers," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 769-780.
    9. Scaringella, Laurent & Burtschell, François, 2017. "The challenges of radical innovation in Iran: Knowledge transfer and absorptive capacity highlights — Evidence from a joint venture in the construction sector," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 151-169.
    10. Malik, Omar R., 2008. "Adapting to market liberalization: The role of dynamic capabilities, initial resource conditions, and strategic path choices in determining evolutionary fitness of Less Developed Country (LDC) firms," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 217-231, September.
    11. Lee, Ruby P. & Johnson, Jean L. & Grewal, Rajdeep, 2008. "Understanding the antecedents of collateral learning in new product alliances," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 192-200.
    12. Steffen Runge & Christian Schwens & Matthias Schulz, 2022. "The invention performance implications of coopetition: How technological, geographical, and product market overlaps shape learning and competitive tension in R&D alliances," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(2), pages 266-294, February.
    13. Debadutta K. Panda, 2019. "Competitive dynamics in not-for-profit organizations: evidence from India," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(4), pages 1251-1274, December.
    14. Gomes-Casseres, Benjamin & Hagedoorn, John & Jaffe, Adam B., 2006. "Do alliances promote knowledge flows?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(1), pages 5-33, April.
    15. Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Ratzmann, Martin & Kraus, Sascha, 2021. "Anti-aging: How innovation is shaped by firm age and mutual knowledge creation in an alliance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 422-429.
    16. Valérie Moatti & Pierre Dussauge, 2005. "L’influence du mode de développement sur les avantages liés à la taille : une étude empirique dans le secteur de la grande distribution au niveau mondial," Revue Finance Contrôle Stratégie, revues.org, vol. 8(3), pages 145-176, September.
    17. Huo, Baofeng & Fu, Dijia & Zhao, Xiande & Zhu, Jingwen, 2016. "Curbing opportunism in logistics outsourcing relationships: The role of relational norms and contract," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 293-303.
    18. Bouncken, Ricarda B. & Fredrich, Viktor & Kraus, Sascha & Ritala, Paavo, 2020. "Innovation alliances: Balancing value creation dynamics, competitive intensity and market overlap," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 240-247.
    19. Bi-Juan Zhong & Yaping Gong & Oded Shenkar & Yadong Luo & Zhixing Xiao & Shuming Zhao, 2023. "Managing the hearts of boundary spanners: CEO organizational identification and international joint venture performance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 87-119, March.
    20. Sahay, Arvind, 2013. "A Customer Oriented Approach To Identifying Competitive Advantage," IIMA Working Papers WP2013-05-08, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Research and Publication Department.

    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:23:y:2005:i:5:p:509-520. 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.