Sources of competitive advantage of Turkish construction companies in international markets

Abstract

Michael Porter's diamond framework, a relatively recent attempt to improve our existing knowledge on the sources of competitive advantage, is applied to the Turkish construction industry. The results of this undertaking challenge a common approach that attributes Turkish contractors' success in international markets to labour cost advantages and geographic and cultural proximity to several promising markets. In the light of the diamond framework, Turkish contractors' advantages are found not to be limited to these ‘factor conditions’ and ‘chance’ events. There are other important advantages behind their success, such as the existence of a dynamic home market, favourable entrepreneurial variables, and pressures to upgrade stemming from intense domestic rivalry. The analysis also points to the areas in which they face troubles, including problems induced by the government, financing difficulties and the weak international position of the Turkish design engineering and consultancy services industry.

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