Strategic planning in construction professional service firms: a study of Irish QS practices

Abstract

The role and usefulness of strategic planning has been documented over several decades of strategic management research. Despite the significant body of existing knowledge in the field of strategic planning, there remains limited empirical investigation of the construction sector, specifically professional service firms operating within it. The construction sector is hugely important to the Irish economy, yet until now, no empirical investigation has been undertaken to determine the strategic planning process in construction professional practices in Ireland.A two-phase mixed methods study was undertaken to ascertain the extent of strategic planning within Quantity Surveying practices in Ireland. Characteristics of the strategic planning process differ between practices to such a degree that three groups of practices are apparent. Groups are differentiated along dimensions of size and ownership structure, which influence the generic strategies and competitive positioning of practices. Strategic planning process formality and the existence of a written plan are positively associated with large practices that form part of a global organisation. Informal strategic planning is undertaken in practices without a written strategic plan but tends to be tactical (project-based) rather than strategic in nature.The realisation of the need for systematic strategic planning in QS practices is, however, beginning to emerge, given the turbulent environment within which the firms are competing.While, the conclusions drawn are specific to the QS profession, the research has been designed such that it has potential to be applied to other professional practices.

The impact of environmental turbulence on the strategic decision-making process in Irish quantity surveying (QS) professional service firms (PSFs)

“…For construction contractor firms, process formality is correlated to firm size (Price et al 2003) and ownership structure (Dansoh 2005), in addition to an organizational type. Limited evidence exists within a construction context of organizational types about QS practices save for the earlier study (Murphy 2013) and as noted, the external environment facing these firms has changed significantly since the earlier study was undertaken.…”

“…They found that the strategic management process varied systematically with the degree of "rational" and "adaptive" planning characteristics concluding that firms have different strategic decision-making profiles. Using similar process features, the earlier study of Irish QS practices (Murphy 2013) ascertained these characteristics, and the existence of clusters of QS practices, akin to strategic groups, were identified based on not only process characteristics, but also the resulting strategic choices made.…”

“…Evidence suggests that following the economic recession in Ireland (2008Ireland ( -2013, the majority of QS practices were beginning to adopt a more systematic approach to their strategic planning process (Murphy 2013), which should bode well for the more recent economic turbulence being witnessed in the industry. However, in the face of recent events, such as BREXIT, it is important to garner up-to-date insights on how these firms approach strategic planning and their overall decision-making process.…”

“…Previous research identified for the first time, the type, scope, and extent of strategic planning in addition to the strategic choices made within Quantity Surveying (QS) practices in Ireland (Murphy 2013). Since the original investigation, the business environment in Ireland has undergone monumental change due to a confluence of economic, systemic, sectoral, systemic, and international events.…”

The role of supplier information availability for construction supply chain performance

“…Khan, Flanagan, and Lu (2016) describe how different interdependencies between activities at the construction site and in the CSC affects the performance of both the supply chain and the construction process. Such dependence stems from the suppliers' need to adapt delivery schedules, components and quantities in accordance with the progress of production and changes in the process (Shin et al 2011), as well as what on-site conditions may affect delivery options (Murphy 2013). Doloi (2009) notes that information sharing between the construction process and the actors in the CSC leading to a better chance of the building object being delivered on time and at the right quality to developer.…”