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Construction Business Opportunities in Selected Central and Eastern European Countries
Vacek, Jiří ; Černohlávková, Eva (advisor) ; Přikrylová, Jana (referee) ; Horňák, Pavol (referee)
The Ph.D. thesis deals with the construction research methodology and performed research, and the analysis of business opportunities in the construction industry of the selected Central and Eastern European countries. The thesis is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on the description and specification of the main categories -- general market research methodology, the description and statistical methodology used by the Czech Statistical Office, and their comparison with our research methods (advantages, disadvantages, and benefits). This part also mentions specific features of construction industry which need to be taken into account when performing the research and evaluating the results for the purposes of the development of business opportunities in the construction industry. The second part of the thesis analyses the particular results of the construction industry research carried out in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary in 2006--2012 (with more than 2,500 research interviews). It brings a comparison of the Eurostat/statistical offices published data vs. the analysed developments in particular years predicted by the construction company top management (both the biggest and middle/small construction companies) throughout the analysed regions, and the impact of their predictions on the company behaviour in the selected spheres of the entrepreneur environment. The analyses bring the comparison of the methods by means of which the companies acquire new business orders, the extent of transparency and/or corruption in particular countries, changes during the economic crisis, the extent of company risk and key priorities on particular markets, as well as the comparison of the key limitations that have the main impact on the economic results of the construction company. Using the originally developed methodology and the model of research implementation, the thesis provides the analyses of considerably reliable information about the operation and behaviour of the construction companies on the market in the neighbouring countries, as well as the necessary insight which can facilitate the expansion of the Czech companies into the selected countries. At the same time, the construction research model has been verified in practice by regular construction research studies which assist construction companies in their decision making and orientation on the changeable construction markets both in the Czech Republic and in other selected countries. The outcomes and results of particular research studies have been presented and discussed during the regular 'Encounters of Czech, Slovak, and Polish Construction Leaders' by the construction company top management as well as by the representatives of the government of particular countries. The thesis outcomes prove that the originally developed methodology applied in the follow-up research can facilitate and provide relevant and high-quality predictions about the developments in construction industry, which can be successfully used by the top management in their decisions on the future prospects of their company business opportunities in Central and Eastern European countries. Currently, more than 4,700 users in the Czech Republic make use of the particular research studies on the developments in construction in the Czech Republic and in other selected countries. As results from the carried out research, it is possible for the Czech construction companies to make use of business opportunities and to expand to neighbouring countries, especially to Slovakia and Poland, and, with regard to geographical closeness of the researched markets and considerable similarity of construction works/applied technologies, thus compensate for a plunge in domestic orders by the export of construction works. Specialized construction companies with higher business value-added will have the biggest potential.
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