Factors for Gaining Competitive Advantage in International Business

This report examines the factors that contribute to competitive advantage within the international business landscape, specifically focusing on the engineering and construction industry in the United Kingdom. It identifies challenges such as increased competition, questionable performance, and labor shortages, which hinder construction enterprises. The report then outlines key factors for gaining a competitive edge, including access to resources and raw materials, a skilled workforce comprising engineers, architects, and laborers, the incorporation of modern technologies, and the cultivation of a positive reputation. The analysis emphasizes the importance of these factors in enabling construction companies to operate internationally and succeed in the global market, providing a strategic framework for businesses seeking to enhance their competitiveness and achieve sustainable growth. The report concludes by highlighting the need for construction companies to mitigate existing issues and adopt the proposed strategies to gain a competitive advantage.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ORGNISATION MANAGEMENT
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ORGNISATION MANAGEMENT
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Introduction
The engineering and construction industry consists of various companies that are
engaged in construction of civil engineering projects, utility, construction of industrial plans
and commercial buildings (Gunduz and Yahya). The engineering and construction industry is
of huge importance for every country as it highly contributes to the economy of the country
from providing employment to constructing commercial building which is important.
However, it can be seen that the engineering and construction enterprises strive to achieve
competitive advantage in order to make a progress. This paper will focus on the factors that
will help construction enterprises to gain competitive advantage over their competitors in the
market..
Discussion
The engineering and the construction industry are one of the most developed
industries all across the globe because of the high demand by governments and even private
companies which helps the industry to mostly flourish (Ariffin et al.).However, there are
some issues that the industry faces.
Challenges faced by the engineering and construction enterprises in United
Kingdom
The construction industry in the United Kingdom is considered to be valued at around
£ 112.2 billion (Statista). However, in recent times, it can be seen that the engineering and the
construction industry have been facing issues due to the insolvencies in the sector that has
resulted in many investors in a dilemma whether to invest on the construction companies and
are also withdrawing their contracts. The reasons are the following:

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Increase in competition
Offshore competition has become fierce and due to this the profit margins in the
United Kingdom are decreasing. According to reports, the construction enterprises in UK are
finding it tough to reinvest in their employee development due to low cash flows which has
resulted in poor engagement and productivity (Zhao et al.). This can highly hinder the
construction enterprises to expand their business and operate in internationally because of the
poor performance.
Questionable performance
The construction industry in the United Kingdom has a poor reputation for falling
behind and being slow on the project. According to reports, there are many half-finished and
outdated government housings and delayed upgradation in the rail services which has led to
the construction enterprises have a reputation for being slow and sluggish (Chen). With this
kind of reputation it has hard for engineering and construction companies to neither consider
expanding their business nor gain a competitive advantage in the market.
Shortage of labor
The workplace ethics and the expectations of the new generation are highly different
in comparison to the traditional workforce. The senior managers show lack of confidence in
them which has led to many eminent employees leave organisations which has been creating
a dearth for talented and skillful employees. Shortage of high skilled labor is going to become
a huge issue and restrict engineering and construction enterprises to provide high quality
construction which will affect their business and gain them a negative reputation in the
market.

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Factors to gain competitive advantage over competitors
The engineering and construction industry in United Kingdom have been facing
issues which can hinder the productivity of the company and can result in other companies
from overseas take up the projects handled by the construction enterprises in the United
Kingdom. It is important that the engineering and construction enterprises consider the
following factors in order to gain competitive advantage to get an opportunity to operate
internationally.
Access to resources and raw materials
Resources and high quality raw materials are important in the construction industry.
According to scholars, the raw materials and resources are the primary factors to construct a
concrete and a stable building which is of immense importance (Anghelescu et al.). Thus,
having access to high quality resources and raw materials will help in giving the construction
enterprises gain competitive advantage in the market.
High skilled engineers, architectures and labors
High skilled engineers and labors are essential and detrimental to the construction
companies. Engineers are require on job sites to monitor the work and come up with proper
infrastructure plans and ensure the safety of the construction site. Fuentes et al. (2017) states
skilled laborers are considered to be the building blocks of a good quality infrastructure.
Skilled laborers are important for the infrastructure as per the instructions of the design of the
engineers. Architectures are essential in the construction industry as the outlook and the
beautification highly depends on them and it is their responsibility to designing the buildings
in an attractive as well as in a useful way which will help in gaining a competitive advantage
in the market.

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Incorporation of technology
The construction companies in the United Kingdom need to incorporate the latest
technologies that are used in the construction business today. Wang et al. (2017) states
drones, modular building, artificial intelligence, self-healing concrete, automation and many
technologies have been incorporated by construction companies to construct and to monitor
the progress of the work. Construction is considered to be one of the major industries all
across the globe and majority of the country highly focus on making progress in the
construction companies thus using these technologies will give leverage to the companies in
United Kingdom to operate internationally and create a value for themselves.
Positive reputation
The engineering and the construction enterprises in the United Kingdom have created
a reputation for themselves to be sluggish and slow. The construction industry on the other
hand in other countries like Canada is fast paced because of the high focus on this industry
which contributes to their growth and in their economy. It is important for the companies to
first perform ensure they contribute to the development of United Kingdom and make a good
progress and create a positive reputation which will allow them to operate internationally and
also gain a competitive advantage over their competitors in the business.
The engineering and the construction companies of United Kingdom can follow the
above factors in order to gain competitive advantage in the market which will help them in
creating a brand value for themselves and also help them in gaining a competitive advantage
over their competitors.
Conclusion
The engineering and the construction industry in United Kingdom has been essential
however they have been facing issues which has been contributing to technical issues like

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delay in projects, lack of proper organisation and less investors which has resulted the
construction companies to gain a negative reputation in the market. The engineering and the
construction industries in United Kingdom consider to operate internationally because of the
fruitful prospects their and thus to operate in internationally and dominate the global market
the construction companies need to mitigate the issues they are facing and incorporate the
factors that have been presented in the paper to gain competitive advantage which will give
them leverage.

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Reference
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Fuentes, Raul, et al. "Briefing: UK-RAS white paper in robotics and autonomous systems for
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Gunduz, Murat, and Ahmad Mohammed Ali Yahya. "Analysis of project success factors in
construction industry." Technological and Economic Development of Economy 24.1
(2018): 67-80.
Statista. "Gross Value Added By Construction Industry 2006-2017 | Statista". Statista, 2020,
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Wang, Jun, et al. "The outlook of blockchain technology for construction engineering
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