Procedimientos

Several aspects of globalization, such as the opening of international markets and the development of communication technology, have facilitated these firms’ access to international markets. However, competition among firms and the need to sustain their international position and global image constitute major challenges (Korkmaz and Messner 2008). ‘Going global’ is part of a strategy, a brand and a vision, and to a large extent the office networks of international firms mirror the network of global cities (Knox and Taylor 2005).

In order to access Dubai market, international (and all non-local) firms have to be issued a permit from the administration of the country concerned, and these impose several conditions. One of these conditions is having a local partner; another is a specified number of local employees. The interviewees agreed that these conditions are not always easy to fulfill. However, they recognized that having a local partner is useful since the latter knows the local cultural context better, and also to a certain extent the local network of professionals in the construction market.

We have identified several methods by which the surveyed firms have accessed the GCC market:

- By invitations, sent by client to a restricted number of firms

- Through competitions, following the classical competition procedure

- Through partnerships with local or foreign consultants who are locally established:

partnerships are temporary in this case, lasting only the project duration

- Through processes of merger, a process through which large firms acquire smaller firms. Sometimes the latters substitute as sub-entities and most often they merge completely

AECOM is the most telling example of the last case, since it is in a continuous state of

‘acquisition’. Smaller offices and companies are merged within the larger structure of AECOM, like IDAW, Cansult & Maunsell and others. Mergers allow new markets to be

accessed through already established structures that can contribute both expertise and clients.

It is to be noted that the law that requires from foreign firms to employ locals according to a certain quota – that is called emiratization - contributes at creating a milieu of interaction between local and foreign experts. However, most of our interviewees have noticed the relative un-efficiency and lack of competencies of local employees, making truncated the learning process.

3.2.1.2 Enrolment)of)Dubai)in)world)cities’)competition)through)records)and) spectacle,)in)the)absence)of)local)expertise)

Main GCC cities are enrolled in a policy that searches for records and fascination, needing hence international expertise.

Recent to Dubai and the GCC region, urban megaprojects mobilize a technical prowess that needs special expertise. Even if few local engineering offices do exist, the tasks entrusted to them are only secondary ones.

In this context, ICFUP are aware of the role that they are expected to fulfill as transfer professionals of the most innovative ideas and models. In their discourse there is a focus on their fundamental role in bringing knowledge and technologies to a context that they consider as ‘immature’ and lacking expertise in the urban domain. These arguments are consolidated by a specific reality in GCC, related to the professionals in the domain of architecture and urban planning. In Dubai, for instance, there is a clear absence of professionals, training and experience.

Moreover, architecture and design related specialties are not privileged in Dubai’s universities. Most of the urban related fields do not constitute a major domain within the academic milieu. Very few local universities include such specialties in their programs, and it seems to be a major lack in terms of professionals, training and experience.

In an interview with architecture department heads in an Abu Dhabi university, they expressed determination to found an urban planning department, but admitted feeling discouraged by the difficulties their future graduates are likely to face when seeking

opportunities in the market; ‘the market, including public and private sector, prefers to have international experts’. Elsheshtawy (2008) considers that GCC officials are turning towards Western architects and planners to plan, design, form and shape their cities. He also suggests that academics and scholars are absent from any discussion pertaining to urban theory.

Although it can be concluded that, given the absence of local experts and expertise, the situation could be described as a one-way transfer of knowledge, however, it should be noticed that experts in ICFUP are as well from other Arab and Mediterranean countries, such as Lebanese, Palestinians, Egyptians and others. These ‘local agents’ are the ones who contribute to a local-international interaction, mainly because they constitute the part of ICFUP that knows the local language and the local culture and manners. We underline that many ICFUPs have emphasised the role of these ‘local’ experts in bringing more context knowledge to the rest of the teams.

3.2.1.3 Market)instability)

GCC is considered by the majority of the interviewees as an unstable market. It is frequently compared to the building market in the Far East cities where the ICFUP have larger offices’ networks and more solid presence. In Dubai, projects may undergo an ‘on hold’ phase, or alternatively an accelerated production phase. This has a direct impact on the structure of firms that shrink and expand according to the market. The selection of disciplines and professionals, as well as the functioning mode, is adapted to the current market situation.

In Dubai, the majority of international firms have shrunk their office size, some to half and some to a quarter of what it was before the 2008 crisis.

At the end of 2012, the time when the interviews were conducted, the market was previewing a ‘stressful optimism’, and many firms were slowly restructuring and recruiting again. Facing this instability, ICFUP try to insure a continuous presence even with small teams. This flexibility leads as well to a certain logic of mobility in which key experts travel a lot and are only present on site when needed.

Since not all the expertise can be present in the same regional office, several types of communication are mobilized: some experts may work at a distance while communicating with regional offices through phone meetings, emails, or other technological tools.

‘Mobility is important but given the facts of what electronics can do now, the necessity of mobility is becoming less and less; I can sit here and have a teleconference with a colleague in Washington or in London. We invested heavily in terms of our IT... It has paid off, because previously we had to go to the airport, wait and fly from country to another, while usually your biggest enemy while doing a project is time. Nothing is like face to face meetings, but you still can do a lot of coordination, and this has been very important for our company, and how it develops at a global level’ (HOK 1). ‘We share a lot of resources online; we have the skill network online within the company, so we always share things. We have a lot of experts who go to conferences and work on interesting projects. So when they come back, they share everything with the rest of the company’. (Arup1)

Key experts may be relatively more mobile than the other professionals. They may travel to establish new units, to train junior professionals, to meet with site working teams, or even to meet with the clients. They are often based in principal offices or the firm’s headquarters.