PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide construction companies with an analytic model, namely a four‐level analytic network process (ANP) model, to assist them in prioritising and thereby selecting marketing activities which offer maximum return on investment, for which they should primarily allocate their limited resources.Design/methodology/approachThe research methodology of this study mainly involves: reviewing the literature on marketing and construction marketing in order to identify the marketing activity selection criteria and their constituent sub‐criteria; determining the marketing activity alternatives in which construction companies may consider to invest; constructing an analytic model, namely a four‐level ANP model – to assist them in selecting the most viable marketing activities for which they should primarily allocate their limited resources; and conducting two case studies, one in a bidding contractor and the other in a developer, in order to illustrate how the model works.FindingsThis paper illustrates how to empirically prioritise marketing activities by using a four‐level marketing activity selection model. Two case studies are also demonstrated in order to illustrate how the model works. The case studies indicate that the rankings of the marketing activities for these companies are rather different due to the type of the construction company (i.e. bidding contractors or building developers) and its client profile (i.e. public or private owners). The findings of the case studies concurred with the expected direction in these companies.Originality/valueThis model is of benefit to construction companies and researchers. The proposed ANP model offers an efficient, convenient and simple tool that allows construction companies to select the marketing activities for which they should primarily allocate their limited resources. It also allows researchers to see the potential use of ANP in the marketing activity selection problem.
Abstract. Globalization, the restructuring of the world economy, changes experienced in project financing and delivery systems, the pervasive utilization of information and communication technologies (ICT), and the intensity of the competition prevailing in the market compel contractors to rethink the competitive forces and client expectations, which in turn necessitate a well planned marketing orientation for business planning. The Turkish construction industry is not different from the global construction industry in the context of intense competitiveness as Turkish contractors do not only undertake projects in the domestic market but also in foreign markets including the Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, Middle East, Europe, Asia, etc. They also often face intense competition from local and foreign companies such as U.S., Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, U.K., and Korean contractors. Given the intense competition, effective marketing of their services is imperative for Turkish contractors in achieving competitive advantage. This study explores the marketing management functions of Turkish construction companies and the extent to which they carry out traditional marketing practices via a questionnaire survey of 71 Turkish contractors. The survey results revealed that Turkish contractors made use of marketing management functions to some extent, yet responding contractors did not attach adequate importance to differentiating their products/services from the products/services offered by their competitors. Since achieving client satisfaction by means of product and/or service differentiation is the ultimate goal, Turkish contractors should carry out all of the traditional marketing practices in order to differentiate themselves in the market, and thereby create competitive advantage.
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