Construction Market Research Articles

Methodology of establishing communications with corporate consumers in the construction materials market

Modern world dictates its own conditions, and every entrepreneur must master the art of sales strategy, not only master it but also win the battle for profits and market share. Today, strategy is a long-term action plan aimed at achieving an enterprise’s global goals. Prior to forming a detailed by-element sales strategy, special attention must be paid to personnel policy because a large part of the success depends on a manager`s individual professional qualities, expertise, communication skills, knowledge, and practice in implementing sales techniques, etc. The authors explore the influence of various channels on the organization's sales volume and suggest basic tasks to form a “direct” selling strategy. The significance of a manager’s individual qualities as a mandatory prerequisite for the creation of a successful sales strategy has been established. Special attention is paid to the most effective sources of gathering information about construction objects of various types, which, in turn, allows constant monitoring of the sequence of works, acquisition of proper paperwork from the developer, determining constructional features of a building, and figure out construction technologies used on the object. Such an approach allows for reducing significantly the time spent on the preliminary stage of the sales – search, collection, and structuring information about the potential clients. An analysis of the received data on the implemented strategy was carried out, including all the mentioned components, which allowed, firstly, to cover the entire ground without losing the opportunity of the “touch” with every potential client and, secondly, to be fully prepared for the meeting with the client, which will be a solid foundation for sales techniques. On the basis of the received data, the effectiveness of the considered strategy and the sales department as a whole is evaluated. As a result, the most effective algorithm for materials sales in the construction market is suggested.

Effects of termal treatment on the physical properties of Buchenavia sp. (branquilho) wood

Abstract This work aimed to evaluate the effect of heat treatment on the physical properties of wood from Buchenavia sp. The heat treatments were carried out at temperatures of 180 °C and 200 °C for 2 h. Apparent density (AD), basic density (BD), porosity (Ф), mass loss, longitudinal (LS), radial (RS), tangential (TS) and volumetric (VS) shrinkages and anisotropic factor (AF) were determined. The lowest values of basic density (0.67 g cm-3), apparent density (0.77 gcm-3), and porosity (43.3%) were observed for the wood treated at a temperature of 200 °C. Mass losses increased with increasing temperature and the highest values were observed under the condition of 200 °C (9.3%). The LS and AF was not affected by heat treatments. The mean values for RS (3.1%), TS (5.1%), and VS (9.1%) were reduced after the performance of heat treatments at temperatures of 180°C and 200°C, which did not differ from each other. The thermal treatments were able to reduce the dimensional instability of Buchenavia sp. Thermal treatments enhance the use of less prestigious Amazonian woods in the civil construction market.

A User Profile of Tendering and Bidding Corruption in the Construction Industry Based on SOM Clustering: A Case Study of China

Tendering and bidding is considered the stage most vulnerable to corruption in the construction industry. The prevalence of collusive tendering and bidding induces frequent accidents and even sabotages the fairness of the construction market. Although a large number of tendering and bidding corruption cases are investigated in China every year, this information has not been fully exploited. The profile of the different corruptors remains vague. Therefore, this study uses the user profile method to establish a corruptor characteristic model based on the human paradigm, where 1737 tendering and bidding collusion cases were collected from China to extract the features. Four types of specific corruption groups are detected based on self-organizing feature map (SOM) cluster analysis, comprising low-age corruptors, grassroots mild corruptors, middle-level collapsing corruptors, and top leader corruptors. Furthermore, the profiles of different cluster corruptors are described in detail from four dimensions. This study reveals the law of tendering and bidding corruption from the perspective of the user profile and suggests that a user profile system for corruption in bidding should be developed in the process of the precise control of corruption, which promotes the transformation from strike after corruption to prevention beforehand. It is conducive to forming the resultant force of big data for precise anti-corruption.

Problems of financing reconstruction of buildings and constructions after the war in Ukraine

The need for extensive reconstruction of buildings and structures will become one of the most important social problems after the war. Existing traditional financing mechanisms will not be able to solve it in the near future. Therefore, the issue of financing the reproduction of buildings and structures on the territory of Ukraine needs an immediate solution, taking into account all possibilities and modern trends in the development of the financial and public sectors. In view of the above, the study reveals the main trends in the development of the construction market during the crisis and during the war, and defines the main prospects and directions of development. Among them, the reproduction of buildings and structures after the war is recognized as key. Since the beginning of the military invasion, there has been a great need for major repairs of existing residential buildings. The indicated issue is critical for certain segments of the population and carries a certain social threat. Financing problems cannot be overcome at the expense of construction companies today. The construction market turned out to be quite sensitive to various crises and disasters. Currently, the market has low rates of profitability, which excludes capital investments with a long payback period. Therefore, there is a need to create an adapted financing mechanism for the reproduction of buildings and structures, which will allow balancing time gaps. It will create an opportunity to attract additional financing at the beginning of investments by construction companies of Ukraine. The following recommendations can be made to improve the efficiency of the repair policy: the introduction of population fees for capital repairs, budget financing of targeted programs for housing repair, sponsorship, use of crowdfunding and international and national fundraising platforms, joint investment institutes, credit unions, etc. The proposed approaches will make it possible to reproduce buildings and structures, and eliminate the acute social need of the population.

Barriers to the Adoption of Reverse Logistics in the Construction Industry: A Combined ISM and MICMAC Approach

With growing environmental concerns, reverse logistics (RL) assumes a significant role in the sustainability of the construction industry to the extent that it can contribute to mitigating some of the negative environmental impacts related to its activity. However, despite the benefits that can be attributed to RL, its implementation level in the construction industry is still very low. This research determines the root barriers to adopting RL in construction (ARLC) using the case of the Portuguese construction market. The methodology involved focus groups and a combined Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and Matrices d’Impacts cross-multiplication appliqúe a classmate (MICMAC) approach. The root barriers that have been identified by the application of the methodology to the ARLC are: lack of financial incentives to incorporate recycled materials, lack of knowledge about RL, lack of technical support, standard codes and regulations in favor of using recycled materials, lack of information sharing, cooperation and coordination among entities of the supply chain, current buildings have not been designed for deconstruction, and lack of construction and demolition waste (CDW) management and recycling infrastructures and markets for the materials resulting from CDW. The highest hierarchical level includes barrier B10 (lack of financial incentives to incorporate recycled materials into the construction); this barrier influences all the other barriers and, as such, it is considered the key barrier to the ARLC in Portugal. The research has also identified 17 different mitigation measures to tackle these barriers, with different natures: fiscal, regulatory, financial, etc.

Contractor Recommendation Model Using Credit Networking and Collaborative Filtering

The credit of contractors in the construction market directly affects the cooperative intentions of owners. Although previous scholars have attempted to use credit to select appropriate contractors, they have rarely considered the trust relationship between decision-making and former owners. This work introduces and verifies a credit network recommendation model based on a collaborative filtering algorithm. The contractor’s credit established based on this model serves as a viable method for owners to select efficient contractors. The application of the model includes relevant information collection, neighbor set formation, contractor’s credit evaluation, and recommendation list formation, among which the neighbor set of the owner is used to calculate the comprehensive trust degree of the decision-making owner to the former owner. A time decay function is adopted to correct the difference in the trust relationship between an owner and a contractor introduced over time. To verify the feasibility of this model, an actual scenario was simulated, and the results obtained via simulations were compared and found to be consistent. Thus, a contractor with a high credit can be recommended to the decision-making owner. This approach is crucial for promoting contractors’ credit and conducive to the healthy development of the construction market.

Strategic aspects of improving the marketing support of the promotion of innovative products of construction enterprises

This work substantiates the essence of the process of marketing promotion of an innovative product, the development of practical measures aimed at improving the toolkit of marketing support for the promotion of an innovative product by construction enterprises.
 In the range of key elements of the innovative activity of the enterprise, one should not forget about the importance of marketing, because it is marketing that is often considered a panacea for all problems. The state of the company's external environment is rather unstable, which is affected by completely new conditions for the development of market relations, globalization and internationalization, and crisis phenomena in the economy. A number of the listed factors force the enterprise to analyze its internal capabilities and adapt to the requirements dictated by the market. The active involvement of effective marketing measures will solve this kind of problem, and a successfully created innovative product needs marketing promotion to the construction market.
 Adaptation to the conditions of operation on domestic and international markets forces enterprises to be flexible and skillfully adapt to the dynamics of changes. Therefore, it is important to focus on innovative activity, which includes the creation, distribution and use of innovative products. In order to achieve sustainable commercial success, enterprises need to create products or services that can attract the attention of consumers, despite the existence of their analogues on the market. Thanks to innovations, you can increase your business income and take a leading place among competitors
 Marketing support for the promotion of an innovative product by construction enterprises on the market is a set of actions aimed at communicating with the target audience to encourage them to buy, which contribute to the sale of the product on the market. It is important for the buyer to see the product in its various presentations. Therefore, it is worth considering marketing promotion as a set of tools. Each enterprise separates for itself a set of measures aimed at product promotion. The promotion structure is not about one thing, it is a combination of different types of promotion (radio advertising, personal selling, creating your own website, article in a print publication, developing a page on a social network) - it is a single system.
 Thus, it was established that in order for an innovative product produced by an enterprise to reach specific consumers, an effective set of marketing measures is necessary for its promotion, therefore, the application of innovation marketing is successful. Innovation marketing as a type of activity is related to the development and market promotion of new products, equipment, services, and the latest technologies.

SWOT Analysis of Offsite Manufacturers of Prefabricated Building Components in Singapore

Despite government’s push for the use of prefabrication in Singapore, the problem is that offsite manufacturers of prefabricated building components (hereinafter referred to as manufactures) appear to be unable to harness their inherent strengths, overcome their weaknesses and external threats to take advantage of the available opportunities in the construction market. The aim of this study is to do a SWOT analysis on Singapore’s manufacturers and develop strategies to enable them to thrive. A structured questionnaire was designed based on extant literature of offsite manufacturing. Quantitative data were collected from 46 project stakeholders via an industry wide survey. It was found that manufacturers’ strengths are their high quality prefabricated products and high productivity. Their weaknesses are the high capital and production costs. Their biggest opportunities are the limited supply of manual site labor and tender evaluation criteria that favour productivity and quality. The threats include lack of control over factors of production, shrinking construction demand, stiff competition and complex designs. The implication is that manufacturers should improve and re-examine their internal operations to overcome their weaknesses and the challenges in their external environment. Production should be streamlined, and partnerships with suppliers and transportation firms should be developed to guard against price fluctuations and inaccurate deliveries. Other recommendations are also offered to help manufacturers harness their strengths and opportunities while minimizing their weaknesses and threats.…

Business sustenance strategies in the competitive construction industry: Emerging contractor’s perspective

Emerging construction companies often liquidate due to the stiff competition among their rank in the construction market. This study investigated the skills and strategies adopted by emerging contractors to make their businesses sustainable within the highly competitive construction markets. A qualitative research approach was used to solicit information from Grade one to four emerging contractors in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis to identify the main themes. The study’s findings indicate that emerging contractors face stiff competition among their ranks due to lack of work, significantly impacting their ability to remain in the construction business. Thus for an emerging contractor to stay competitive and sustainable in the construction industry, various skills and strategies need to be applied, including; improving the quality of work, delivering projects on time, willingness to adapt, keeping updated on the happenings in the construction industry, building good relationships with more prominent companies, reducing waste in the value chain to minimise cost, improving business cash flow, exploring joint ventures strategies, better investment decisions, among others. This study gives insight to emerging contractors on the strategies to adopt for business sustenance in the highly competitive construction market.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FUTURE CONSTRUCTION CAPACITY AND COMPANY WORKLOAD

The construction sector in New Zealand is overloaded and does not have the construction capacity to deliver the projects that are in the pipeline. This problem will only be exacerbated in the future since the Government has planned to increase the expenditure on infrastructure over the next 25 years. Often it is argued that if companies are busy, they will expand. This hypothesis that a high workload for a company will add profit, which will drive investment in staff (education, jobs) and equipment to grow, resulting in them securing a larger workload and profit in the future will be investigated. To investigate the hypothesis, the company profitability, investment in staff, recruitment and investment into equipment must be examined. Additionally, this research will investigate and describe circumstances under which construction companies are willing to expand. Ten semi-structured interviews with senior construction management personnel were carried out to evaluate these critical factors at various workloads. It was found that a company’s decision to expand is dependent on confidence in the future market irrespective of their current workload. It is suggested that future research should investigate the value for the client against current and future workload certainty in the construction market.

The impact of regulations on construction and demolition waste market creation and stimulation: Australian stakeholders’ perception

The use of recycled products largely depends on the existence of viable end markets. In Australia, state regulations have a pivotal role in creating and stimulating the market for recycled construction and demolition (C&D) waste products. Hence, this study aims to identify regulatory barriers and enablers affecting C&D waste end markets. This study employed a qualitative research approach to understand the effectiveness of the current C&D waste regulations. The data collection concerned a series of interviews with C&D waste experts across five Australian states (i.e., Victoria, New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia). Overall, 27 interviewees were recruited from various stakeholder groups (e.g., recycling, government, construction, consultation & manufacturing). The findings provide an insight into the primary factors affecting market development for recycled C&D waste materials. A series of reforms are proposed to improve the current regulatory framework. They aim to address issues around recycled C&D waste uptake in construction projects. The research contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of built environment and design by providing first-hand information about regulatory mechanisms involved in utilising recycled products. Policymakers and authorities can use the results to devise advanced regulations that provide a level playing field for all parties involved in C&D waste management in Australia and other countries with similar contextual conditions.

Comparative study of the cost and behavior of RC special moment frame buildings with drop and hidden beams subjected to seismic loads

This study presents a comparative analysis between two structural design ideas in the Ecuadorian construction market: hidden vs. drop beams. Due to its location in a high seismic zone, structural design considerations in Ecuador must be made with care. Therefore, to offer improved strength to seismic forces, special moment frames are the most common structural system used. However, hidden beams are popular in low story buildings because of a notion of a cheaper system, despite evidence of collapse during earthquake events. In this study we look at special moment frames using hidden type and drop type beams, in terms of cost, structural, and seismic performance. A total of 32 structural models are analyzed, out of which 16 are models of buildings containing hidden beams and another 16 are drop beams. Linear and nonlinear static analysis, nonlinear local analysis, and moment curvature analysis of the modeled structures are performed to compare their seismic behavior. The structural design is carried out based on linear static analysis to obtain the total cost of all models. Additionally, a nonlinear static pushover analysis was conducted to assess roof displacement. The evidence shows that when using hidden beams, roof displacement is 20%–55% higher than when using drop beams, despite the nearly negligible differences in terms of cost. The evidence also shows that structures with drop beams, have a 22%–28% higher nominal flexural moment than structures with hidden beams, while achieving a 27%–31% higher curvature ductility. This research shows evidence on how structures with drop beams have a better behavior in high seismic risk zones when compared to structures with hidden beams, whose use although allowed, should be limited.

Development of a framework for quality assurance of off-site manufactured building components: A case study of the New Zealand housing sector

A shortage of housing is a prominent issue across the globe. Traditional on-site construction methods seem too inefficient to meet the increasing housing demand. As a solution, many countries, including the United States, Germany, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Australia, have introduced off-site manufacturing methods to increase the housing supply. Different from the traditional way of on-site construction, off-site manufacturing is a technique that involves manufacturing building components in a controlled environment. Despite strong government support and industry attempts to increase off-site manufacturing, the current building consenting and inspection processes in New Zealand have significant quality-related issues. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the gaps in current quality assurance processes used in off-site manufacturing and recommend a framework in order to gain credibility and the acceptance of the construction market. The study collected qualitative data from industry experts (e.g., developers, architects, engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors, head contractors and council officers) who had significant experience in current quality assurance regimes in New Zealand prefabrication construction. The key themes for designing the proposed framework were generated using content analysis of the primary data collected from semi-structured interviews with industry experts. The study has found that standardisation in off-shore products regarding the New Zealand Building Code remains the biggest challenge in the consenting process. Quality assurance and inspection test plans are the developer’s responsibility and are typically provided by third-party inspectors. In this post-Covid-19 world-building, consent authorities rely heavily on third-party inspection companies that apply more rigorous auditing. Essentially, the most important parts of quality assurance are to have an experienced team and to adopt a holistic approach by engaging stakeholders early in the design stage. The stakeholders should consider recommendations for mandatory after-service insurance to ensure end-customer interests are protected. The findings of this study can contribute to the early engagement of different stakeholders to ensure overseas manufacturing of building components meets New Zealand quality standards. It is expected that the new quality assurance framework would help to promote off-site manufacturing for the New Zealand housing sector.

Incentive Regulation of Construction Waste Resource Recycling: Subsidy and Tax Incentive

Construction waste destroys the sustainability of environment and economy. In the study of game theory at present, the construction waste resource-based products supply chain only considers that there is only one type of enterprise producing renewable building materials or new building materials in the market, but in the construction market, there is no single type of enterprise. It isvery important for government to protect the environment and promote the resource utilization and development of construction waste. Therefore, this study establishes a game theory model between traditional building materials enterprise and construction waste recycling enterprise, which considers the decision-making behavior of enterprise under no regulation, subsidy incentive regulation, or tax incentive regulation. The findings are listed as follows: (1) both subsidies and tax incentives can effectively improve the economic benefits and production initiative of construction waste recycling enterprise. (2) The impact coefficient of unit new building materials on the environment and the tax rate of unit new building materials are the key factors that affect government decision-making. (3) Resource utilization cost coefficient and builder’s preference for renewable building materials have a great impact on the profits of construction waste recycling enterprise. These results will provide reference for the government to formulate incentive regulations and promote the development of construction waste resources.

Analysis of Design Change Mechanism in Apartment Housing Projects Using Association Rule Mining (ARM) Model

Apartment housing occupies the highest proportion of the domestic construction market and significantly influences the flow of the real estate market. Frequent design changes and reconstruction in new apartment housing projects lead to an increase in construction cost and schedule, and a decline in design and construction quality, which is an important issue affecting the quality of use for occupants. The causal relationship of design changes and error in new apartment building projects has not been previously identified. Accordingly, design changes management activities in the construction phase using reactive manner are a critical risk that causes the productivity of the project to deteriorate. In this study, a complex and non-linear causal relationship between the design change factors was investigated using the association rule mining technique (ARM), a type of data mining technique. In particular, the associated relationship between design change factors that can be changed according to conditions that significantly affect the productivity and performance of projects, such as a contractor’s ranking in the field, contract price which means the project size, and contractor selection methods, was identified. The association rule between the design changes at the construction phase derived in this research can be used as a guide to identify and minimize the risk of design changes in advance.

Classifying AEC enterprises in the South Transdanubia region, Hungary

Abstract This paper classifies the architecture, engineering, and construction enterprises in the South Transdanubia Region, Hungary, according to the size and function of the firms. It is a primary step for later investigation about the implementation of building information modeling in small and medium-sized enterprises within the region. It introduces digital construction in the sector, includes most construction firms based in the region, and systematically gathers data. It analyzes the data to introduce a new sorting method based on the local construction market, unlike the international classification, which leans on the global perspective.

Log Construction Practices and Future Outlook: Perspectives of Finnish Experts

This paper analyzed practices and future outlooks of log construction from the perspective of Finnish experts through interviews. Key findings highlighted that: (1) interviewed experts emphasized the environmental benefits of log construction; (2) moving log buildings from one place to another was considered a natural way to reuse logs, but several challenges regarding wet areas and incompatibility of different producer profiles were reported; (3) single-material construction of log was stated to have many advantages such as ease of application during erection and relatively long service life; (4) log structures were mostly associated with health, safety, coziness, beauty, and warmth; (5) increasing trend in the use of log construction in large-scale public projects was reported; (6) experts stated that the use of logs in high-rise buildings in Finland is underdeveloped, but hybrid applications using engineered wood products can provide a solution to this issue; (7) modern log cities can be designed with proper solutions, paying attention to several issues e.g., large glass-faced facades; (8) cost competitiveness, familiarity, fire safety, and facade cladding were assessed among the biggest challenges of log construction; (9) issues such as increasing number of contractors specializing in log buildings, robotics in production automation, digitization of manufacturing control were on the future agenda of log construction. It is thought that this study will support the use of logs by contributing to log structures that will be diversified and developed in the Finnish construction market.

Strategic orientation, business model innovation and corporate performance-Evidence from construction industry.

In the highly competitive Chinese construction market, developing a strategic orientation alone fails to maintain the sustainable competitive advantage of firms. In this paper, the mechanism of strategic orientation and business model innovation on corporate performance in a dynamic environment is investigated. Based on a sample of 356 Chinese construction firms, the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was adopted to test the hypotheses. It is found that entrepreneurial orientation and market orientation affect corporate performance differently. Unlike market orientation, which directly affects corporate performance, entrepreneurial orientation through business model innovation exerts influence instead of direct affection. Business model innovation plays a fully mediating role between entrepreneurial orientation and corporate performance and partially between market orientation and corporate performance. Meanwhile, environmental dynamism can positively moderate the relationship between business model innovation and corporate performance. This paper deepens the research on strategic orientation, business model innovation and corporate performance. The findings can provide a reference for construction firm managers to develop strategies and conduct business model innovation, which can finally help seek sustainable development in a dynamic environment.

Validating and Applying the Mathematical Models for Predicting Corporate Social Responsibility Behavior in Construction Firms: A Roadmap

The prevalence of the sophisticated doctrine of corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasing, given the perennial environmental concerns and social demands in the construction industry worldwide. Firms’ CSR implementation has been influenced by a broad spectrum of external impetuses and internal motives, yet fragmented assessments of such influences make the prediction and implementation of CSR in construction problematic. This study aimed to validate and apply mathematical models for predicting CSR practices in construction firms. Mobilizing integrated institutional theory, stakeholder theory, and self-determination theory, a questionnaire survey within the top-tier construction contractors was undertaken. Eight mathematical models were developed to predict the key dimensions of CSR practices, such as “government commitment” and “environmental preservation”, and validated by five subjective matter expert interviews. The results demonstrated the comprehensiveness, practicality, and robustness of the CSR prediction models in the construction industry. The results also highlighted the perceived importance of CSR practices; external coercive and normative forces, together with internal organizational culture, were the most influential factors directly enhancing construction firms’ CSR implementation. Conceptually, the findings refined CSR practice prediction in a construction management context. The proposed CSR assessment checklists can help practitioners improve the often-tenuous overall CSR performance and spur competitiveness in the construction market.

네트워크 이론을 이용한 한국과 베트남의 관심어 차이 분석

In order to support new construction engineering companies with weak information power to successfully advance into the overseas construction market, this study tried to analyze what are the keywords of interest in the overseas construction market and how they differ from Korea. For this purpose, we recently collected 2,473 news article titles and major articles targeting smart cities that are of high interest in Korea and Vietnam. Through network configuration and topic modeling, we examined the connection relationship between the word of interest and the word of interest. In addition, the influence of the word of interest in the network was measured using PageRank centrality. Through this analysis, it was found that there is a high interest in smart city-related construction, cities, and digital in both countries, and the difference in terms of interest between Korea and Vietnam was inferred. Finally, the limitations of this study and additional research directions to complement them are presented.