The myth behind integration in the UK construction industry

Adekunle Sabitu Oyegoke, Peter McDermott and Michael Dickinson

International Journal of Procurement Management, 2010, vol. 3, issue 3, 247-264

Abstract: The overall aim of this study is to ascertain the structure of the UK construction industry, especially the level and form of integration in the UK construction industry. This study utilises theoretical analysis of the concepts and measures of fragmentation, social and economic notions of integration, and trending analysis of the UK construction statistics data which is used to positively correlate the distribution of different sizes of firms, different type of trades and their value of work done between 1995 to 2005 to determine the structure of the industry. The result indicates that: the UK construction industry is not economically integrated because, a) the number and value of work done by the specialist trade firms is increasing in higher proportion than the main trade; b) the strong performance of the medium size firms (MSFs) category support the fact that the industry utilises social integrative devices, for example, collaborative arrangement, framework arrangement, partnering, etc. instead of actual integration (economic) process. The study can serve as learning opportunity for the construction stakeholders by placing stronger emphasise on management system rather than point of performance responsibility.

Keywords: fragmentation; UK; United Kingdom; management systems; construction industry; economic integration; statistical trends; statistics; data; correlation; distribution; industry structure; firm size; building trades; value of work done; specialist firms; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; social integrative devices; collaborative arrangements; framework arrangements; partnering; stakeholders; performance responsibility. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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