Two-dimensional globalizing index and Globalizing Self-Assessment Tool for engineering and construction companies

Increasing globalization is creating both challenges and opportunities for engineering and construction companies. Many researchers have examined the drivers and key success factors for globalizing engineering and construction firms to become truly global. Comparatively little research has focused on how engineering and construction firms integrate their globally dispersed business activities as they globalize. This paper presents the research efforts of a Construction Industry Institute (CII) research team that developed a model by which firms can assess their globalizing performance in two dimensions; global reach and global integration. We developed an excel based electronic survey and tool called the Globalizing Self-Assessment Tool (G-SAT) which enables the calculation of a two-dimensional globalizing performance score for engineering and construction firms. We collected data from 36 companies to validate the benchmarking functionality of the G-SAT. In order to further validate the ability of the G-SAT to track globalizing performance across business periods, we also collected and plotted the 15 year globalizing history in 5 year increments for eight companies. This research contributes an index and associated tool to measure engineering and construction firms' globalizing performance.