Developing business responsibility and transparency in the construction sector : from limited business opportunities to fair competition
Sierla, Mikko (2017)
Tampereen ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
Creative Commons Attribution 1.0 Suomi
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017053010961
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017053010961
Tiivistelmä
This thesis concerns measures to fight grey economy and to harmonize the prevailing practices regarding responsible procurement processes in the construction industry. The purpose is to examine how people in the Baltic Sea region currently perceive grey economy, responsibility and transparency issues and how Suomen Tilaajavastuu Oy (Tilaajavastuu Ltd) could expand its business in the Scandinavian and Baltic countries.
Since preventing grey economy is an agenda that concerns the whole EU it is beneficial to study how the measures taken in the Finnish market could be exported into other countries. Gathering information to understand how much resistance towards change exists is one aim for this study. Another is to find out if the market economy could create proactive solutions leading to a situation where the extensive creation of laws and regulations could become unnecessary.
The study was implemented by doing a participatory observation work and interviews with a semi-structured expert-driven method. The current situation and prospects were surveyed through 24 authority, organization and company interviews. A constructive approach and PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) structure was used to build a frame of reference. Document analysis and previous research were used to ensure a reliable knowledge base.
It was found that political tradition and bureaucracy are still a rather difficult area to study and a major issue since people in the Baltic states do not have the same working culture as in the Nordic countries. EU legislation and free movement of workers help the development of the construction sector and are a good base to develop business and cooperation internationally. From a technological perspective, collaborative economies and platform economies enable faster development and adaptation of innovative solutions.
The findings indicate that the main factors affecting the reliability of the construction business are legal acts created to fight grey economy, health and safety regulations and corporate social responsibility. When goals related to these factors can be promoted by proactive solutions, an ecosystem can be created where added value is present and extra cost accepted. In this context, transparency is a prerequisite for fair competition, and in the long run, benefits all parties and helps to develop the construction business in a sustainable way.
Since preventing grey economy is an agenda that concerns the whole EU it is beneficial to study how the measures taken in the Finnish market could be exported into other countries. Gathering information to understand how much resistance towards change exists is one aim for this study. Another is to find out if the market economy could create proactive solutions leading to a situation where the extensive creation of laws and regulations could become unnecessary.
The study was implemented by doing a participatory observation work and interviews with a semi-structured expert-driven method. The current situation and prospects were surveyed through 24 authority, organization and company interviews. A constructive approach and PEST analysis (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) structure was used to build a frame of reference. Document analysis and previous research were used to ensure a reliable knowledge base.
It was found that political tradition and bureaucracy are still a rather difficult area to study and a major issue since people in the Baltic states do not have the same working culture as in the Nordic countries. EU legislation and free movement of workers help the development of the construction sector and are a good base to develop business and cooperation internationally. From a technological perspective, collaborative economies and platform economies enable faster development and adaptation of innovative solutions.
The findings indicate that the main factors affecting the reliability of the construction business are legal acts created to fight grey economy, health and safety regulations and corporate social responsibility. When goals related to these factors can be promoted by proactive solutions, an ecosystem can be created where added value is present and extra cost accepted. In this context, transparency is a prerequisite for fair competition, and in the long run, benefits all parties and helps to develop the construction business in a sustainable way.