1. PhD candidate: Puying Li Supervisors: Professor Ali Parsa
24th ERES Annual Conference The international competitiveness of Chinese construction firms
PhD candidate: Puying Li
Supervisors: Professor Ali Parsa
Professor Anil kashyap
Dr. Simon Huston
Centre for Real Estate

2. Contexts Global construction market:
The construction sector plays is an important role in economic development in many country (Crosthwaite 2000).
Key changes in global construction market: tender conditions, project types, emerging markets and corporate management etc (Mahalingam et al. 2005; Han et al. 2010).
Key players have changed, 36 European, 18 American, 16 Japanese and 13 Chinese firms are key players ranked in the top 100 global construction firms in However, 25 European, 8 American, 8 Japanese and 21 Chinese firms ranked in the top 100 in 2015 (Engineering News Record ).
Chinese construction market:
China’s construction industry is rapid transition from a centrally-planned economy to a socialist market economy, the role of the construction industry has been vital to the social-economic development (Lu 2006).
The Chinese government which has been supporting overseas projects since the 1950s is currently strengthening overseas infrastructure construction under the ‘The Silk Road Economic Belt’ policy from (NDRC et al. 2015).
The competitiveness frameworks on firm’s level
The competitiveness frameworks (e.g. Porter1980; Buckley et al. 1988) on secondary literature review which may not always necessarily be applicable in actual operations at the level of individual construction companies.
Competitiveness theory (e.g. Schumpeter, J. 1942; Feurer, R and K. Chaharbaghi 1994) still is a vague concept within the construction industry.
How presentation will benefit audience: Adult learners are more interested in a subject if they know how or why it is important to them.
Presenter’s level of expertise in the subject: Briefly state your credentials in this area, or explain why participants should listen to you.

3. Research Aim
The aim of this research is to investigate key indicators influencing the competitiveness of Chinese Construction Firms (CCFs) in the global market.
Lesson descriptions should be brief.

4. Research Objectives and Questions
Research questions
1. Systematically review theories and concepts of competitiveness, define international competitiveness and how it is achieved.
1. What is competitiveness and how can its dimensions be measured?
2. To identify the key competitiveness indicators (KCIs) of global construction companies.
2. What are the current issues for Chinese construction firms’ in the context of their entry into international markets and what might constitute a comprehensive answer to them?
3. To posit a draft conceptual framework of the key competitiveness indicators.
3. Can the characteristics of successful and unsuccessful global construction firms be identified and measured?
4. To validate of the conceptual framework by comparing the local operational environments in China and the international markets.
4. Can an operational framework for construction firm competitiveness be constructed?
5. To apply the competitiveness framework to the operations of Chinese Construction Firms.
5. How competitive are Chinese construction firms?
Example objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
Save files to the team Web server.
Move files to different locations on the team Web server.
Share files on the team Web server.

5. Research Approaches: Deductive and Inductive
Conceptual phase(chapters 1-4)
Competitiveness theory;
The global and China's construction market;
CCFs' development
KCIs of top construction firms.
Deductive
Exploratory phase (chapters 5-6)
Analysis of CCFs' KCIs by interview data
Inductive
Operational phase (chapters 7-8)
A mathematical methods for calculating competitiveness
framework validation by case study
Reflexive phase (chapter 9)
conclusions and recommendations

6. Research Methodology and Strategy: Mix method and Sequential Explanatory Strategy
Secondary quantitative data collection and analysis
Literature review of top global construction firms rankings over last decade
Secondary qualitative data collection and analysis
Literature review of competitiveness theory and KCIs regarding to top global construction firms' successful operations
Primary quantitative and qualitative data collection
Interviews with the Modified-Delphi method
Primary quantitative data analysis
KCI’s important degree
Integration of both quantitative and qualitative data
1) Primary qualitative data analysis: analysis of respondent’s answers
2) case study
3) conclusion of findings and recommendation

7. Research Sample: Key players in the global construction market
182 firms have ranked in the top 100 over the last decade
155 international (non-Chinese) construction firms
60 international construction (non-Chinese) firms operating in the UK
27 Chinese construction firms

8. Key Competitiveness Indicators (emerging from literature)

9. Organizational Capabilities Financial Capabilities
Conceptual Framework
Construction Firm's Competitiveness Indicators
Corporate Strategies
Quality
Build safety and healthy environment
Social responsibility
High productivity
Risk management
Research and development
Information technology
Organizational Capabilities
Organisation management
Technology management
Corporate experience
Communication and corporation
Corporate culture
Corporate reputation
Employee management
Financial Capabilities
Costs
Value-added for stakeholders
assets
Revenue
Source finance
Liability
Profit

10. Primary Data collection: Interview by Modified-Delphi method
Before interviews
Questionnaire designed by conceptual framework
Interview invitation letter send to Chinese construction firms and industry experts and confirmation of the number of experts agreeing to participate
First round of interviews
Interview with participants
Answers analysed
Restart interview if participants’ consensus not achieved
Second round of interviews
Interview until participants’ consensus achieved
Conclusion of interview finding

11. Selection of Interview Participants
This study selects its sample of Chinese construction industry experts based on the following criteria planned to correctly identify eligible participants for the Delphi interview:
Participants must have rich working experience in the construction industries;
Participants must be currently, recently or directly involved in construction management in international markets;
Participants must have detailed knowledge of the international construction firms’ management options.

12. Samples of Interviewees

13. Questionnaire Design Quantitative analysis:
The rating score of each indicators must achieve these requirements, otherwise, the indicators will be removed from conceptual framework
Median score of ≥4.0
Mean score of ≥3.0
The interquartile range (IQR) ≤1.0
The standard deviation (SD) ≤ 1.0
Interview finishing measure: the Kendall’s W coefficient≥0.5 (a measure of the agreement among several(m) judges who are assessing a given set of (n) objects).
Qualitative analysis: analysis of respondents’ answers
In your view, what are the current issues affecting international and Chinese construction firms’ entry into the overseas market?
In your view, how do you evaluate if a construction firm is successful or unsuccessful in the international market?
In your view, how do top international and Chinese construction firms operate successfully in the changing global market?

14. Analysis of First Round of Interviews: KCIs’ important degree rating
However, Kendall’s W=0.208 indicated that the level of agreement among these interviewees was weak. This required carrying out a second round of interviews to achieve agreement.

15. Analysis of First Round of Interviews: Additional KCIs which participants proposed
1. KCI-22 The ability of information acquisition
17. KCI-38 The training and welfare of expatriate personnel
2. KCI-23 China’s political influence
18. KCI-39 Contract management
3. KCI-24 The relationship between China and other countries
19. KCI-40 Information management
4. KCI-25 Nation’s protectionism
20. KCI-41 Considerations of claims on the project
5. KCI-26 Safety management
21. KCI-42 The knowledge of the project countries’ accounting and tax system
6. KCI-27 The financing methods
22. KCI-43 Employees’ quality
7. KCI-28 Biding price
23. KCI-44 Employee localization
8. KCI-29 Costs control
24. KCI-45 Company’s qualification
9. KCI-30 Project warranty
25. KCI-46 The strategy of bidding and the types of payment
10. KCI-31 The nation’s policy
26. KCI-47 The political environment of project countries
11. KCI-32 The level of internationalization
27. KCI-48 Agility/adaptability/responses
12. KCI-33 The capability of understanding the international construction market
28. KCI-49 Management change
13. KCI-34 The guarantee of project quality
29. KCI-50 Regulation and legal framework
14. KCI-35 The ability of applying advanced technologies
30. KCI-51 Understand local values and idiosyncrasies
15. KCI-36 The guiding of the construction technology to the preliminary construction scheme
31. KCI-52 Corporate knowledge
16. KCI-37 Leadership
32. KCI-53 Brand

16. Analysis of Second Round of Interviews: KCIs’ important degree re-rating
Maximum
Minimum
Mean
Median
IQR SD
Total value
KCI-1. Project quality 5 4
4.938
0.246
158
KCI-3.Build safety and healthy environment
4.901
0.296
157
KCI-4.Social responsibility 1
3.906
0.641
125
KCI-7.Communication and cooperation 3
4.063
0.435
130
KCI-9.Corporate culture
4.031
0.309
129
KCI-10.High productivity
4.250
0.75
0.440
136
KCI-11.Valued-added for stakeholders 2
0.530
KCI-12. Reputation
4.844
0.369
155
KCI-2.Orgarnazation management
4.813
0.397
154
KCI-5. Technology management
4.719
0.523
151
KCI-6. Corporate experience
3.969
127
KCI-14. Employee management
0.538
KCI-16.Risk management
4.094
131
KCI-17.Research and Development
4.156
0.448
133
KCI-21.Information technology
0.400
KCI-8.Costs
4.125
0.421
132
KCI-13.Assets
4.000
128
KCI-15.Revenue
KCI-18.Source of finance
KCI-19. Liability
3.406
0.499
109
KCI-20.Profit
4.219
0.420
135
The Kendall’s W=0.531 > 0.500, so the 21 KCIs’ ratings could be concluded. But, liability’s median score = 3 less than 4, thus, liability must be removed from the key competitiveness indicators list.

17. Comparison of KCIs Rankings in the Literature Cited and in the Interview Results
Secondary literature review results
Interview results 1
KCI-1 Project quality
KCI-1 project quality 2
KCI-2 Organization management
KCI-3 Build safety and healthy environment 3
KCI-12 Reputation 4
KCI-4 Social responsibility
KCI-2.Orgarnazation management 5
KCI-5 Technology management
KCI-5. Technology management 6
KCI-6 Corporate experience
KCI-9 High productivity 7
KCI-7 Communication and cooperation
KCI-20 Profit 8
KCI-8 Costs
KCI-17 Research and Development 9 10
KCI-10 Corporate culture
KCI-16 Risk management 11
KCI-11 Value-added for stakeholders 12
KCI-11 Corporate culture 13
KCI-13 Assets
KCI-15 Revenue 14
KCI-14 Employee management 15 16 17
KCI-17 Research and development
KCI-21 Information technology 18
KCI-18 Source of finance 19
KCI-19 Liability
KCI-11 Valued-added for stakeholders 20 21

18. Analysis of Second Round of Interviews: additional KCIs’ important degree rating
Max
Min
Mean
Median
IQR SD
Total value
KCI-22.The ability of information acquisition 5 4
4.219
0.420
135
KCI-23.China’s political influence 2
4.031
0.595
129
KCI-24. The relationship between China and other countries 3
4.125
0.421
132
KCI-25. Nation’s protectionism
3.281 1
0.581
105
KCI-26.Safety management
4.719
0.75
0.523
151
KCI-27. The financing methods
4.094
0.466
131
KCI-28. Bidding price
4.781
153
KCI-29. Cost control
4.188
0.397
134
KCI-30. Project warranty
0.336
KCI-31. The nation’s policy
4.093
0.296
KCI-32. The level of internationalization
KCI-33. The capability of understanding the international construction market
4.813
154
KCI-34. Quality assurance
KCI-35. The ability of applying advanced technologies
KCI-36. The guiding of the construction technology to the preliminary construction scheme
4.750
0.508
152
KCI-37. Leadership
4.250
136
KCI-38. The training and welfare of expatriate personnel
4.000
128
KCI-39. Contract management
4.875
156
KCI-40. Information management
KCI-41. consideration of claims on the project
3.219
0.608
103
KCI-42. The knowledge of the project countries’ accounting and tax systems
0.440
KCI-43. Employees’ quality
KCI-44. Employee localization
0.360
KCI-45. Company’s qualification
3.250
0.672
104
KCI-46. The strategy of bidding
0.622
KCI-47. The political environment of project countries
3.969
0.474
127
KCI-48.Agility/adaptability/responses
0.538
KCI-49. Management change
0.634
KCI-50. Regulation and legal framework
0.400
KCI-51. Understanding of local values and idiosyncrasies
0.695
KCI-52. Corporate knowledge
4.313
0.471
138
KCI-53. Brand
4.844
0.369
155
The Kendall’s W of additional KCIs=0.509 > 0.500, thus, the additional KCIs rating could be concluded. However, 3 out of 32 KCIs did not achieve consensus, they must be removed from the key competitiveness indicators list

19. KCIs’ Rankings by Their Mean ScoresSD
Total value 1
KCI-1 Project quality
4.938
0.246
158 2
KCI-3 Build safety and healthy environment
4.901
0.296
157 3
KCI-39 Contract management
4.875
0.336
156 4
KCI-12 Reputation
4.844
0.369
155 5
KCI-53 Brand 6
KCI-2 Organizational management
4.813
0.397
154 7
KCI-33 The capability of understanding the international construction market 8
KCI-35 The ability of applying advanced technologies 9
KCI-28 Bidding price
4.781
0.420
153 10
KCI-34 Quality assurance 11
KCI-36 The guiding of the construction technology to the preliminary construction scheme
4.750
0.508
152 12
KCI-46 The strategy of bidding
0.622 13
KCI-5 Technology management
4.719
0.523
151 14
KCI-26 Safety management 15
KCI-49 Management change
0.634 16
KCI-52 Corporate knowledge
4.313
0.471
138 17
KCI-10 High productivity
4.250
0.440
136 18
KCI-37 Leadership 19
KCI-20 Profit
4.219
135 20
KCI-22 The ability of information acquisition 21
KCI-40 Information management 22
KCI-29 Cost control
4.188
134 23
KCI-43 Employees’ quality 24
KCI-17 Research and Development
4.156
0.448
133 25
KCI-30 Project warranty
4.125
132 26
KCI-8 Costs
0.421 27
KCI-24 The relationship between China and other countries 28
KCI-16 Risk management
4.094
131 29
KCI-27 The financing methods
0.466 30
KCI-32 The level of internationalization 31
KCI-31 The nation’s policy
4.093 32
KCI-7 Communication and cooperation
4.063
0.435
130 33
KCI-9 Corporate culture
4.031
0.309
129 34
KCI-15 Revenue
0.400 35
KCI-14 Employee management
0.538 36
KCI-48 Agility/adaptability/responses 37
KCI-23 China’s political influence
0.595 38
KCI-51 Understand local values and idiosyncrasies
0.695 39
KCI-44 Employee localization
4.000
0.360
128 40
KCI-13 Assets 41
KCI-42 The knowledge of the project countries’ accounting and tax system 42
KCI-38 The training and welfare of expatriate personnel 43
KCI-6 Corporate experience
3.969
127 44
KCI-21 Information technology 45
KCI-18 Source of finance 46
KCI-50 Regulation and legal framework 47
KCI-47 The political environment of project countries
0.474 48
KCI-11 Valued-added for stakeholders
3.906
0.530
125 49
KCI-4 Social responsibility
0.641

20. Refining Conceptual Competitiveness Framework

21. Preliminary results
Research objective 1 have been achieve by critical literature reviews in order to understanding competitiveness theory and frameworks. However, these theories are not suitable for improving construction firms’ competitiveness.
Research objective 2 have been achieved by identifying Key Competitiveness Indicators (KCIs) from literature reviews, total 21 KCIs are identified and a conceptual competitiveness framework was established based on these KCIs
Research objective 3 have been achieved by Modified-Delphi interviews, Total 49 KCIs were remained as KCIs and the conceptual competitiveness framework was refined.

22. Next Research steps
A mathematical methods for calculating competitiveness: Weighted Summation (on-going)
Validate competitiveness framework by case study (on-going)
Conclusions of principle findings
Reflections of research limitations

23. Reference
Buckley, P. J., Pass, C. L. and Prescott, K. (1988). Measures of international competitiveness: A critical survey. Journal of Marketing Management. 4(2):
Crosthwaite, D. (2000). The global construction market: a cross-sectional analysis. Construction Management and Economics. 18:
Engineering News Record ( ). The top 250 international contractors.
Feurer, R. and Chaharbaghi, K. (1994). Defining competitiveness: a holistic approach. Management Decision. 32(2):
Han, S., Kim, D. Y., Yang, H. S. and Choi, S. (2010). Strategies for contractors to sustain growth in the global construction market. Habitat International. 34(1): 1-10.
Lu, W. (2006). A system for assessing and communicating contractor's competitiveness. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Mahalingam, A. and Levitt, R. E. (2005). Understanding and mitigating challenges on global projects: the role of the freelance expatriate. The ASCE Construction Research Congress.
The National Development and Reform Commission of China, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, and Ministry of Commerce of China (2015) Vision and Actions on Jointly Building Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road.
Porter, M. (1980). Competitive strategy. The Free Press.
Schumpeter, J. (1942). Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy.

24. Articles and Presentations
Book chapter:
1. Contributing a chapter on construction firms’ competitiveness to a forthcoming Routledge Book on Sustainable Urban Regeneration.
Conference papers:
Li, P., Parsa, A., Huston S., Kashyap, A. and Kempton, J. The international competitiveness of Chinese construction firms: A Delphi study. Conference details: European Real Estate Society 23nd Annual conference, 8-11th June, 2016; Regensburg, Germany
Li, P., Parsa, A., Huston S., and Kashyap, A. The international competitiveness of Chinese construction firms. Conference details: European Real Estate Society 22nd Annual conference, 24-27th June, 2015; Istanbul, Turkey
Presentations:
2016 European Real Estate Society 23rd Annual conference. Topic: The international competitiveness of Chinese construction firms—a modified-Delphi study. 08/06/2016, Regensburg, Germany.
2016 Royal Agricultural University researchers’ seminar. Topic: Research the international competitiveness of Chinese construction firms with Delphi method. 16/01/2016, Cirencester, UK.
2015 European Regional Society Association and European Real Estate Society summer school. Topic: The international competitiveness of Chinese construction firms. Vienna University of Economics and Business. 13/07/2015, Vienna, Austria.
2015 European Real Estate Society 22nd Annual conference. Topic: The international competitiveness of Chinese construction firms. 25/06/2015, Istanbul, Turkey

25. Thank you for your attend Email: puying.li@student.rau.ac.uk
Centre for Real Estate