Supply Chain Integration in the Swedish construction industry: A case study of the rental segment

Abstract: The abstract aims to give a comprehensive overview of the entire thesis in order to provide the readers with an insight regarding the rationale behind the problem, methods used, findings and implications. Background: Due to insufficient performance in terms of efficiency and productivity the construction industry has suffered from poor performance in comparison to peer industries. Previous researchers have explained the situation by deficient SCI (Supply Chain Integration) among entities in the value chains. The findings have concluded that SCI is a factor with significant influence over the outcome of firm performance. However, there is no coherent suggestion of methods that can provide solutions to the issues and thereby improve the situation. Purpose: SCI in the construction industry has been a recurrent topic and the unison opinion is that SCI is a key success factor to achieve a higher level of overall performance. Although the mind-set of researchers are similar regarding the subject, no real suggestions towards improvement have been presented. The purpose with this study is first to confirm or reject that insufficient SCI is a reason to poor performance among supply chain actors in the construction industry. Second, by formulating hypothesis the objective is to enhance the understanding regarding the impact of different aspects that is expected to influence the outcome of SCI in the construction industry. Hypothesis: The research question relates to SCI’s impact on performance and in order to further investigate the influence of different factors three hypothesis have been formulated: H1 Insufficient SCI in the construction industry is a result of its project-based nature H2 Insufficient SCI in the construction industry is a result of the supply chain complexity H3 Insufficient SCI in the construction industry is a result of the unwillingness to acknowledge the need of change Method: In order to test the hypothesis a qualitative study has been conducted. The study is of an abductive nature and performed in an exploratory manner. Eleven respondents from three different entities in the value chain are subjects to the empirical study and interviewed according to a predetermined interview guide. The study has been restricted to the rental segment and the possibilities to apply the findings to other segments and industries have been discussed in order to determine the transferability of the results. Findings: The findings support that construction supply chain complexity and unwillingness to acknowledge change affects the outcome of SCI in the Swedish construction industry. Contradictory, the project-based nature is found to be an insignificant factor in the context. Discussion: The findings can be used to guide future researchers against more relevant studies. By rejecting one hypothesis resources can be allocated more efficiently and focused towards finding the factors that is most determinant to the outcome of SCI.