Vejen til balanceret vækst: En undersøgelse af mellemstore danske entreprenørvirksomheder

Abstract

Det foreliggende kandidatspeciale undersøger hvilke indsatsområder som de mellemstore danske entreprenørvirksomheder, skal forbedre for at opnå Balanceret vækst samt i hvilken rækkefølge indsatsområderne skal prioriteres. Baggrunden for undersøgelsen ”Vejen til Balanceret vækst” er at byggeaktiviteten i den danske bygge- og anlægsbranche er stigende og at virksomhederne i større grad skal have fokus på Balanceret vækst og ikke blot fokusere på omsætningsvækst, således at der bliver flere store virksomheder som kan give tilbud på store byggeprojekter. Dette er blevet synliggjort gennem en økonomisk analyse, hvor virksomhedernes økonomiske nøgletal er blevet analyseret for at undersøge om virksomhederne er økonomisk rustet til vækst. For yderligere at undersøge emnet har specialegruppen gjort brug af både kvalitative og kvantitative undersøgelser. Den kvantitative dataundersøgelse udmøntede sig i en spørgeskemaundersøgelse som dannede grundlaget for rapportens oplysninger, hvorimod den kvalitative del blev udført som interviews med eksperter inden for området, som vurderede resultaterne fra spørgeskemaundersøgelsen. Resultaterne førte efterfølgende til en statistisk undersøgelse af indsatsområderne for at kunne be- eller afkræfte hypoteserne samt at undersøge forskellen mellem de mellemstore entreprenørvirksomheders præstationer. På baggrund af ovenstående oplysninger er der fremsat en problemformulering, som definerer specialerapportens undersøgelse med henblik på at udarbejde en vejledning i løsningsforslaget, som de mellemstore entreprenørvirksomheder skal tage udgangspunkt i, for at opnå Balanceret vækst. Afslutningsvis i rapporten er der inkluderet en dybdegående diskussion, samt en perspektivering, som synliggør mulige emner til fremtidige studier.

This project called “The way to balanced growth” is the final thesis in Master of Science and Technology, Management in the Building Industry at Aalborg University. The project describes and evaluates the growth of medium-sized construction companies. In Denmark medium-sized contracting companies has a big growth potential. This project examines how the medium-sized contracting companies achieve Balanced growth in order to compete for bigger constructing projects. “Balanced growth” is a term which we introduce in this project. The expression means that companies are advised to focus on more than just economy. Based on an initial literature survey two research projects were found to cover the issues on growth. These two projects are the American research project What Really Works and the Danish research project Fokus på Lønsom vækst i praksis. They point out that growth concerns occur when companies’ revenue increase, but their profits do not. Additional issues occur if the companies’ economic growth is too strong so they lose management and control on the company. These issues are problematic to the companies, since it can lead to loss of money and in worst case it can lead to bankruptcy. Therefore the thesis has provided ten focus areas on how companies achieve Balanced growth. These focus areas include both internal and external activities. For medium-sized contracting companies to achieve a balanced growth extensive studies of the companies are required. These studies examine issues based on ten focus areas, as well as the companies’ economic accomplishments. These studies have been conducted on the basis of hypothesizes, which the group has made from the ten focus areas. The hypothesis are either confirmed or denied based on the group’s questionnaire survey. Based on the empirical data and the theoretical foundation the project formulate its question as: Which initiatives should the medium-sized contracting companies institute to secure Balanced growth? In the suggested solution the focus areas are divided in primary and secondary focus areas. The reason for this is to show which focus areas have the biggest potential to create a balanced growth in the companies. The suggested solution works as a guidance to achieve balanced growth, where the medium-sized contracting companies have to consider which of the secondary focus areas have the biggest potential in relation to their own company. On the basis on this research study, the companies are suggested to work with four primary focuses areas: strategy, leadership, organizational structure and company culture. The secondary focus areas are: labor force, execution, risk management, economic conditions, customer relations, as well as merger and partnerships. To ensure that the medium-sized contracting companies follow these recommendations, there are to each of the focus areas, presented specific guidelines, which should be considered to ensure a balanced growth in the medium-sized contracting company.

A master thesis from Aalborg University

Vejen til balanceret vækst: En undersøgelse af mellemstore danske entreprenørvirksomheder

[The way to balanced growth: A study of medium-sized Danish construction companies]