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Introduction
This paper is based on research undertaken to investigate the development and implementation of a process of integrating internal and external customers and technology in the building components industry. The immediate motivation for the research was the need to address problems of quality and delivery performance in the case company, which were being reflected in the number of customer complaints in the case company. It is well known that such problems are not unusual in the construction industry. The other motivation for the research was to evaluate the use and effectiveness of action research (AR) for implementing change in organizations.
For the purpose of the investigation an exploratory case study approach was used. The unit of analysis was the case company, which is based in Singapore and has facilities elsewhere in South East Asia. The company designs, manufactures, delivers and installs structural frames of buildings, including columns, beams, slabs and walls. The research was divided into conceptual and action research stages. The conceptual stage drew on the principal author's past experience in the industry as well as a review of literature on strategy, customer orientation and total quality management. The action research stage used participant observation and an analysis of documentation including cross-functional team minutes, internal company reports and operational data. Action research was also used to implement and evaluate the changes in the company. Surveys and interviews were carried out among company employees and external customers to gather data concerning the effect of these changes on performance and customer satisfaction. The results of the investigations were derived using content and statistical analyses, while triangulation between three data sources was used for validating the data. The introduction of team working, which resulted from using action research for implementation, helped to eliminate customer complaints, lowered internal organisational barriers and created learning opportunities.
The research output included development of an integrated customer orientation (ICO) model. Overall the research made contributions in a number of areas of operations and marketing management as well as organisational development. These are discussed later in relation to the results. It also fulfilled the dual goals of action research by contributing to knowledge and practice. This paper is concerned with construction industry issues, methodological considerations, action research outcomes and main results, and...