Cooperation network 'lifecycle-oriented buildings': Potential success and failure factors

In the tense situation of the construction markets in the German-speaking countries and especially in Switzerland, innovative construction companies seek to differentiate themselves from their competitors by new approaches. At the same time, mainly institutional, professional clients claim the paradigm shift in the competition for construction services towards a focus on the costs of a complete life-cycle and away from a focus on the initial investment costs. Within the scope of the development of a new cooperative business model for life-cycle service provisions (LCSP), market success factors for such LCSPs have been deduced, using the hypothetico-deductive research method. On the basis of substantial empirical studies aimed at exploring the potential of energy contracting service provisions and hence extracted so called strategic guiding principles, the market success factors for energy-contracting service provisions were initially identified. Subsequently, the structural analogy between energy-contracting services and LCSPs was shown. Finally, with this legitimation, six market success factors for LCSPs were deduced. The hypothetico-deductively determined market success factors are: information, competence, sustainability, trust, integration and standardization. They are basis for determining the requirements of the cooperative business model and life-cycle service provision and have to be reliabilitated empirically in the further research process.