The internationalisation of construction professional services: Consulting engineers overseas

Engineering consulting firms are increasingly having to seek work on an international basis. The aim of the present research is to investigate the internationalisation of the engineering consulting industry. The research is based on a longitudinal analysis of the internationalisation of the engineering consulting industry using published data, followed by a cross-sectional analysis of data gathered from a questionnaire survey of senior executives from 66 British engineering consulting firms. In terms of national competitive advantage, the research identifies the leading position of firms from the USA. In addition, British firms were found to exhibit competitive advantage in international engineering design services, however the research highlights the relative decline of British firms in the international market since 1989. From a practical standpoint the research recommends that British firms adopt a more pro-active strategy towards internationalisation and expand the service they offer through increased strategic alliances between contractors and consultants in order to maintain their position in the international market. With regard to specific internationalisation issues, the research identifies a significant difference in the international behaviour of engineering consulting firms in terms of firm size and levels of international experience. More specifically, in the early stages of international development the firm is reactive, follows an incremental path in terms of resource commitment and tends to operate in relatively dose geographic markets. However, as the degree of experience increases this process is superseded by a pro-active strategy, a commitment to wholly owned entry mode options and operation in relatively distant geographic markets. From a theoretical perspective the conclusion is that the research findings lend support to the concept of experiential knowledge in the internationalisation of firms as being a suitable framework for explaining the international behaviour of engineering consulting firms.