Internationalization: The repositioning of the Japanese construction industry

Positioning is of great strategic importance to large construction firms operating in major international markets. Many global companies have revised their strategies in order to increase their international revenues. Japanese construction firms, while generating large total turnover, do not appear to have followed this trend and whereas they dominate their large domestic market, they appear to be under-represented, relative to their size, in international markets. This paper aims firstly, to consider relevant theory of internationalization applied to construction, in particular two models devised by Seymour (1987), based on Dunning (1974,1977) and Sugimoto (1990) on the globalization of construction. Secondly, the paper seeks to establish the current extent of internationalization of Japanese construction firms. Here, the study will refer to work by Siehler (1999), who developed a global index for UK contractors, and make appropriate comparisons for the Japanese industry. Finally, the paper considers Japanese contractors position, relative to international competitors and domestic economics, and posits strategies which may increase their global activities.