Abstract
In 1986, contract sales by Japanese construction firms in the U.S. exceeded 3 billion dollars, six times the amount in 1983 (Journal of Commerce. 1987). The Japanese attained a greater percentage increase in their construction contract sales in the U.S. than any other foreign country between the years of 1980 and 1986 (U.S. Congress, 1987). This trend posed important implications for the participants in the U.S. construction industry. To explain this trend, previous studies and theories pointed to the shrinking of other national markets (McLeister, 1988), technological advances of the Japanese construction industry (Sherman, 1988), and the stability of the American economy (ENR. 1988a). But there has been little research into the marketing strategies of the firms that are participants in this increasingly significant phenomenon. Marketing strategy is acknowledged to play an important role in the success of a construction company in this highly competitive industry (Bessom, 1975). Also, marketing strategy may be even more central to the success of Japanese firms since virtually no Japanese labor or materials are used by these firms which, in essence, sell construction management services. Despite this, very little is known about the strategies of Japanese firms which have successfully entered the U.S. construction market.
Tillotson, James Gregory (1989). The marketing strategies of several large Japanese construction companies for penetrating U.S. construction markets: a case study. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /ETD -TAMU -1989 -THESIS -T578.