Global players in the world’s construction market

Abstract

Global players need global markets. Companies that understand themselves as global players use a geocentric perspective for their business. They standardize their products or performances, they use worldwide branding, and strife for economies of scale. There is seemingly no way to associate the construction industry with such a market behavior. Typically, construction markets are characterized as local, not global markets and still there are companies that do business in many countries around the world. To bring order to this confusion we can distinguish between six different markets (regional, national, international, multinational, global, and transnational). On all of these markets specific products (or performances) are demanded by specific clients from specific construction companies. By looking at archival data of national and international construction activities it is possible to establish an allocation of companies to one of the six market strategies. From interview data collected on two types of mega-projects it is also possible to determine what characterizes a global player in construction.