Shaping client-driven business management concepts for modern construction markets

The pioneering review has revealed that various authors have designed and published 77 construction-related business management (BM) concepts during the years 1990-2016 (Huovinen, 2017). In turn, the two-fold aim of our paper is to explore the degrees to which these BM concepts have been designed along the client-driven dimension and to suggest the ways to shape future BM concepts to better accommodate client views in modern construction markets. Our focused review found that 49 (57%) authors have designed their BM concepts along the client-driven sub-dimensions, i.e., 7 to high degrees, 14 to medium degrees, and 28 to low degrees. A further scrutiny of the seven highly client-driven BM concepts revealed that the six sub-dimensions may be of particular importance to take into account when shaping future BM concepts to accommodate client perspectives. These sub-dimensions include (i) client needs, (ii) client base, (iii) buyer-seller collaboration, (iv) sellers’ strategies, (v) buyers’ strategies, and (vi) services’ use, professional, and exchange values. It is envisioned that this focus on client-driven BM will trigger a flow of collaborative R&D&I programs.