Content area
Abstract
Small Cypriot Architectural and/or Civil Engineering Consultancies (SCACECs) are now reaching an evolutionary turning point demanding their comprehensive restructuring and preparation to meet the needs, demand and prerequisites of an increasingly westernised business world, both internationally and especially domestically. This exploratory research constructs a comprehensive Strategic Marketing Management system that will maximise the competitiveness of the individual firm. It is also the first research to investigate the wider environment of the SCACECs and make proposals towards a practical application of the proposed system. The model produced is a result of principally qualitative methods involving extensive literature searches and reviews, data collections, observation, in-depth and semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions. A cross-validation system of methods has been used to off-set the weaknesses of any one approach, and the source included among others a large number of consultants and professionals holding key positions within, or related to, the Cypriot construction industry. The findings show that the SCACECs' present internal, task, international and competitive environments are characterised by intense competition, high saturation, and inflated bargaining power of clients, a distorted client perception of value, and market immaturity. Management is informal, largely circumstantial, mostly empirical and short term, while lacking system, organisation, direction and the mechanisms and processes that will properly ensure long term success. Environment and management characteristics and conditions display proportionally greater obedience to social and cultural norms, habits and values than they do to business and economic rationale, while partly displaying a mixture of characteristics found in western-style management, small firms, entrepreneurial firms and family firms theory.