Bigger Isnt Necessarily Betterexamines the performance and operation of the US homebuilding sector based on a detailed survey of large home builders conducted by the authors in the period of the great building boom of the 2000s. In contrast to the many books that have focused on the financial side of the housing sector prior to the Great Recession, the book examines the operational side of the industry and what did, and, more importantly, what did not, happen during the period of unprecedented growth. Despite the rise of very large, national homebuilders during the boom years from 1999 to 2005 and the consolidation of the industry that accompanied it, the authors find that major homebuilders often did not adopt innovations in areas ranging from information technology, supply chain practices, and work site management, nor improve their operational performance. Given this, the book discusses what homebuilders can learn from other industries as they face a challenging future.

Frederick Abernathyis Gordon McKay Research Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Abbott and James Lawrence Research Professor of Engineering in Harvard Universitys School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Kermit Baker is a Senior Research Fellow at Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Kent W. Coltonis President of The Colton Housing Group and is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Universitys Joint Center for Housing Studies.

David Weil is Professor of Economics and Everett W. Lord Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Boston University School of Management.

Preface
Chapter 1 Home BuildingIs Bigger Better?
The Home Building Boom
The Seeds of Consolidation
The Growing Dominance of Big Builders
Conventional Wisdom about Scale
The Virtuous Circle Hypothesis
Organization of the Book
Chapter 2 Studying the Home Building Industry
Building the Machine for Living
Focus on Entry-Level Homes
Measuring Local Market Competition
Survey Coverage and Content
Structure of the Survey
Chapter 3 Big Builders at the Corporate Level
Builder Performance during the Boom
Securing Capital for Expansion
Land Assembly Strategies
Corporate Branding and Customer Satisfaction
Conclusion
Chapter 4 Labor and Subcontracting Practices
The Construction Manager Model
Benefits and Costs of Improved Coordination
Coordinating On-Site Activities
Performance at the Construction Site
Conclusion
Chapter 5 Advanced Operational Practices
Emergence of the Third Supply Channel
Shifting Builder Priorities
Implementation of Advanced Practices
The Role of Local Market Conditions
Market Characteristics and Builder Performance
Conclusion
Chapter 6 Information and Communication Technology
ICT Background
Communicating with Customers
Home Builders and Technology Use in the Back Office
Home Builders and Technology Use on the Site
Using Technology to Estimate Costs
Using Technology to Coordinate with Subcontractors and Suppliers
The Importance of Sharing
Factors Discouraging Greater Use of Technology
Conclusion
Chapter 7 Lessons about Builder Scale and Performance
Challenges of Improving Operational Performance
The Importance of Local Markets Revisited
Disentangling the Effects of Size and Location
Can Bigger Get Better?
Chapter 8 Gaining Advantage from Scale
Improve Subcontractor Coordination and Workforce Quality
Increase Standardization and Preassembly of Components
Leverage the Power of Information Technology
Streamline Supply Chain Management and Logistics
Managing Risk in the Twenty-First Century
Appendix A Joint Center Advisory Panel for the Harvard Home Builder Study
Appendix B Survey Responses to ICT Questions
References
Index