Dynamics of strategic management in the Chinese construction industry

Purpose – To provide a structured and integrated framework of corporate strategy in order to help practitioners and researchers identify critical issues related to the Chinese construction industry and analyze its dynamics from a holistic viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach – A brief review of the major themes of strategy mostly developed by western researchers is first presented. This is then supplemented by a review of the pertinent characteristics of the construction industry in general, and those related to China's context in specific, which affect management decision‐making. Two case studies are used to illustrate the concepts implied by the proposed framework. Findings – The cases of Guangsha and the Shanghai Construction Group demonstrate that there is no hard and fast rule in developing a coherent strategy. This is even truer considering the fact that China's circumstances are still evolving. Practical implications – The critical elements identified in the proposed framework serve as a good starting point for individual firms to further develop a more detailed execution plan. Originality/value – This paper bridges a management gap that exists between mainstream management researchers, who have few precedence of studying the construction industry, and traditional construction management researchers, who tend to focus on project‐level issues rather than corporate‐level issues.