Benchmarking construction technology transfer in Thailand

Abstract

PurposeIn an attempt to better diagnose the health of international construction technology transfer (TT) ventures and ultimately improve rates of TT, this paper promotes benchmarking as a tool for measuring baseline and future performance across a wide range of TT perspectives.Design/methodology/approachUtilizing the results from a questionnaire survey of 162 construction industry professionals from Thailand, a TT performance measurement framework, consisting of eight diverse perspectives was formulated through exploratory factor analysis.FindingsThe developed framework included eight perspectives which represent the enablers and outcomes of the TT process, namely: technology characteristics; government influence; relationship building; transferor characteristics; transferee characteristics; economic advancement; knowledge advancement; and project performance. This framework was utilized to provide a baseline benchmark index of TT performance in Thailand. A benchmark score of 70 per cent was determined, implying that up to 2005, construction TT ventures in Thailand have been operating moderately to highly effectively/successfully. Moreover, the TT performance of individual transferor nationalities operating in Thailand was compared. The study provides some evidence that Japanese construction firms are not only the leading exporter of construction services to Thailand but also perform slightly higher across TT performance perspectives influenced by the transferor.Research limitations/implicationsQuestionnaire items which attempted to explain the impact of cultural differences between the transferor and transferee were statistically problematic and subsequently removed from the conceptual framework. Cultural factors undoubtedly play a part in the international TT process on construction projects.Practical implicationsThe developed TT benchmarking method could be used by international funding agencies, governments of developing and newly industrialized countries and construction firms to more effectively evaluate the TT process and the outcomes it derives for the host construction sector.Originality/valueThe paper provides a robust method for benchmarking the TT process and its derived outcomes in a construction context.