Service design for marketing in construction: Tactical implementation in the "business development management"

Purpose: Project execution is dependent upon management support from the firm. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which main contractors and supply chain members design their service provision in order to enhance the service experience. Marketing and service design (SD), theorized in terms of business development management, are examined to assess their effect upon service experience during project execution. Design/methodology/approach: An interpretative methodology was used to identify patterns and significant factors perceived through the lens of business development managers in ten main contractors. Findings: Main contractors provide a systems integration service, yet service provision was found to be limited and was frequently stated as “off the radar.” Clients are realizing sub-optimal value in service experience, and users and other societal stakeholders are realizing sub-optimal value in context during use. Research limitations/implications: There is a need to address marketing and SD research to offer prescriptive guidance to practitioners, in particular using knowledge management as lever for improvement. Social implications: Society is in receipt of sub-optimal facilities and therefore both socially falls short of meeting well-being and policy goals, and economically under-performs. Originality/value: Contributions are made to the marketing and management theory on project markets where selling occurs ahead of provision. Scant support for construction marketing; a lack of the guidance on managing interactions in co-creating value; and the absence of SD among leading main contractors to deliver value had been reported.