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The aim of this research is to answer whether or not wholesale interest rates, such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), can be used as an effective policy instrument to influence construction output. Developers and contractors borrow to finance construction and are charged retail interest rates, determined by the lending bank. The study investigated the relationship between LIBOR and construction industry output.

The study identified two time series, LIBOR and annual construction output and a number of regressions were run using the first differences to observe whether a change in LIBOR alone had a significant influence on construction output lagged by one to four years.

No significant relationship was found between changes in LIBOR and the annual change in construction output, regardless of the number of years lagged.

The policy implication of this research shows that control of demand for construction by government using wholesale interest rates is unlikely to succeed. Banks' lending to developers depends on other factors, such as retail interest rates, risk management and expectations.

The value of this research is that it supports the view that government policy needs to focus on stimulating construction demand, using real projects rather than monetary policies, such as interest rate manipulation.

To establish the best approaches that companies operating within a cyclical economic environment should adopt when marketing their products.

A structural equation modelling procedure is applied to the examination of the influences on corporate performance of certain policies pursued during cyclical downturns. The degrees to which these policies are implemented are hypothesised to depend on factors such as a firm's age and managerial experience of cyclical fluctuations, marketing orientation, and whether business cycles are explicitly taken into account when formulating corporate strategies. In total, 119 businesses in the UK construction industry participated in the investigation.

The relative effects of a number of explanatory variables on performance and its assumed antecedents are reported. Firms adopting “long‐term” approaches to marketing management across cycles tended to attain superior performance. However, short‐term approaches to marketing were commonplace.

Self‐declared information on company performance was utilised. Also the study only considered a single industry (construction), so the results might not be generalisable to other sectors.

The outcomes offer practical advice to managers in the construction industry regarding their staff recruitment, retention and development policies during cyclical downturns, their employment of relationship marketing, and appropriate corporate strategies and budgeting methods for use in cyclical environments.

This is the first published study to explore construction companies' marketing responses to cyclical conditions.

We develop a framework for measuring and monitoring business cycles in real time. Following a long tradition in macroeconometrics, inference is based on a variety of indicators of economic activity, treated as imperfect measures of an underlying index of business cycle conditions. We extend existing approaches by permitting for heterogenous lead–lag patterns of the various indicators along the business cycles. The framework is well suited for high-frequency monitoring of current economic conditions in real time – nowcasting – since inference can be conducted in the presence of mixed frequency data and irregular patterns of data availability. Our assessment of the underlying index of business cycle conditions is accurate and more timely than popular alternatives, including the Chicago Fed National Activity Index (CFNAI). A formal real-time forecasting evaluation shows that the framework produces well-calibrated probability nowcasts that resemble the consensus assessment of the Survey of Professional Forecasters.

The apparent lag between macro-economic behavior and financial implications in the construction industry is yet to be examined. The purpose of this paper is to understand the nature of the lag and the relationship between economic changes from year-to-year and the impact on the financial status of construction companies.

Correlation was made between US economic growth and construction industry financial indicators over a 28-year period. Cumulative per cent growth in US GDP was considered an independent variable, while nine financial ratios were calculated and considered dependent variables in this study.

The results of this study found that correlation improved when considering lag of two, three or sometimes four years after the economic event. Some financial ratios proved more sensitive than others, supporting the hypothesis of this study.

The practical application of this study for construction companies is to understand how the construction industry lag impacts financial behavior. It therefore informs managerial decisions related to solvency, liquidity, equity structure and managerial practices; all of which are measured by financial ratios.

This study was intended to advance the research in this area and also to serve to strengthen industry members in their financial management of construction companies. Economic dynamics have long-lasting implications, which can be addressed through an increased focus on managing financial health.

Though the lag is intuitively known and has been studied from market perspectives, there is a lack of empirical study evaluating the impact of lag on financial key performance indicators.

This paper combines the objective information of six mixed-frequency partial-activity indicators with assumptions or beliefs (called priors) regarding the distribution of the parameters that approximate the state of the construction activity cycle. Thus, this paper uses Bayesian inference with Gibbs simulations and the Kalman filter to estimate the parameters of the state-space model, used to design the Imacon.

Unlike other economic sectors of similar importance in aggregate gross domestic product, such as mining and industry, the construction sector lacked a short-term measure that helps to identify its most recent performance.

Indeed, because these priors are susceptible to changes, they provide flexibility to the original Imacon model, allowing for the assessment of risk scenarios and adaption to the greater relative volatility that characterizes the sector's activity.

The classic maximum likelihood method of estimating the monthly construction activity index (Imacon) is rigid to the incorporation of new measures of uncertainty, expectations or different volatility (risks) levels in the state of construction activity. In this context, this paper uses Bayesian inference with 10,000 Gibbs simulations and the Kalman filter to estimate the parameters of the state-space model, used to design the Imacon, inspired by the original works of Mariano and Murasawa (2003) and Kim and Nelson (1998). Thus, this paper consists of a natural extension of the classic method used by Tejada (2006) in the estimation of the old Imacon.

This paper aims to present the effect of innovation on implementing competitive strategies (CSs) and to find their relationships on the survival of construction-related small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in macroeconomic crises.

Data were compiled from construction SMEs in Turkey. The research used structural equation modeling to investigate the relationships between innovation, CSs and firm survival (FS).

Innovative construction SMEs may implement differentiation and focus strategies and survive without CSs, whereas innovation may be obtained through cost leadership strategy. Also, differentiation and focus strategies may play a role to survive. However, the cost leadership strategy may be implemented after survival. Finally, differentiation strategy may be triggered by innovation and focus strategies.

The model may be applied on other construction organizations. Future studies may also examine the difference in findings concerning other industries and regions. Moreover, different factors may be added to the model. However, a larger group of samples could cause different results.

This study may be a roadmap for practitioners to plan their firms’ strategies, considering innovation, CSs and FS. In this context, they may pay attention to innovative production processes to survive.

Survived SMEs may sustain their works through the prevention of crisis-based unemployment. Hence, this benefit may bring a wealthier society.

This research is first to propose a model connecting innovation and CSs for SMEs’ survival in macroeconomic crises. This is convenient for rivalry of SMEs planning to be long-lasting enterprises.

The aim of this paper is to use stochastic frontier regression to measure the effect of the introduction and expansion of prevailing wage requirements on the cost efficiency of public school construction in British Columbia. The results provide evidence from a specific sector and location that contributes to the accumulated evidence on the topic.

Stochastic frontier regression is used to measure the effect of the introduction and expansion of prevailing wage requirements on the cost efficiency of public school construction in British Columbia. The results of a likelihood ratio test indicate that stochastic frontier regression is preferred to OLS cost estimation because of the presence of statistically different cost inefficiencies across a sample of covered and uncovered projects.

Specifically, projects covered by the introductory stage of the wage requirements are significantly less cost efficient compared to other public school projects. However, by the time of the expansion of the wage policy 17 months later, covered projects were no more cost inefficient than other projects. The results indicate that if prevailing wage laws are associated with changes in the cost efficiency of construction, stochastic frontier regression is the preferred estimation technique.

This is the first study of its kind with results specific to school construction in British Columbia. Further research based on data from other projects may/may not confirm the existence of differences in construction cost inefficiencies for projects covered by construction wage policies.

By implication, the results suggest that if the cost inefficiency of prevailing wage laws is short‐lived, the impact on the total cost of construction may similarly be ephemeral. The results imply that prevailing wage regulations do not contribute to long‐run construction cost inefficiency.

This is the first study to use stochastic frontier regression to examine the cost inefficiencies associated with prevailing wage laws. Previous studies that examine the effect of the wage policy on construction costs are based on OLS estimation.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how much particular variables influence the cost differences between order values and final accounts for certain trade subcontractors.

The methodology consists of a literature survey and a case study. A sample of 33 projects, undertaken by a contracting organisation, are analysed as a basis for testing their significance.

For highly asset specific transactions the research suggests that the level of variables which can affect their performance is greatest, suggesting integration within the contracting firm to mitigate the threat of opportunistic behaviour. Procurement route utilised on a project was strongly linked to outturn cost performance, as is inclusion in the tender bid, suggesting earlier subcontractor involvement through design and build and partnering arrangements is significantly better at managing subcontractor cost performance than traditional routes.

The market volatility of the construction industry has meant the procurement of subcontractors has long been established as an important part of the project coalition. Transaction cost economic theory has recently become popular within the construction research industry. Much of this research has examined the vertical boundaries to which a construction firm is subjected when considering integration of trades or continued use of subcontractors. Empirical data on the cost performance of subcontractors within a project environment are not widely available. For this reason, this research aids practitioners and researchers by identifying why particular variables influence the cost differences between order values and final accounts for certain trade subcontractors.

In today’s digital era, talent recruitment can help address the growing shortage of skilled labor in the construction industry and promote sustainable growth. While existing research has explored the association between talent acquisition and local labor productivity or economic progress, the impact on construction growth deserves further study. This study aims to (1) explore the influence of talent recruitment on the growth of the construction industry and (2) analyze whether different regional characteristics shape the differential impact of talent acquisition on construction growth.

This research employs a quantitative approach, focusing on 35 major cities in China. A panel data regression model is utilized to analyze annual data from 2013 to 2018, considering variables like the construction talent recruitment index, value added in construction, gross regional product per capita and others. The study also examines regional heterogeneity and conducts robustness tests to validate the findings.

The results reveal a positive and significant correlation between talent recruitment and construction industry growth. This correlation is more pronounced in economically advanced and infrastructure-rich regions. The study also finds that factors like capital investment, educational attainment and housing prices significantly contribute to industry growth. Talent recruitment not only transforms local labor market dynamics but also drives demand for construction services, promoting industry growth through economies of scale.

This research constructs a new measurement for talent recruitment and provides new insights into the pivotal role of talent recruitment in the sustainable growth of the construction industry. It underscores the need for construction firms to tailor talent acquisition policies to their specific circumstances and regional developmental conditions. The findings offer practical guidance for driving regional growth within the sector, emphasizing the importance of talent recruitment as a key yet previously underappreciated factor in industry development.

The purpose of this paper is to report a study investigating the success stories of six entrepreneurs in the Hong Kong construction and property field.

Through in‐depth interviews, participants shared their experiences and the factors they perceived as contributing to their success.

Evidence obtained from the interviews suggests what scholars mean by the Chinese entrepreneurial ethic is best understood as a combination of cultural values and strategizing behaviours.

Data collected in this study were restricted to the construction and property industry. However, the same combination of values and strategies would be an essential factor contributing to success in other industries, and therefore further exploration of this is encouraged.

This paper explores the factors which successful Hong Kong construction and property entrepreneurs regarded as contributing to their success, it adds knowledge to the discussion of whether success can sensibly be explained.