Concrete roads in Poland: The case for selling non-mainstream infrastructure technologies

The paper illustrates, on the grounds of Poland’s case, the concrete roads network development in a jurisdiction dominated by asphalt roads. The author reviews typical drawbacks apparent when promoting concrete roads, and identifies several most arresting phenomena that have led to the current technological stalemate. The goal of the paper is not to replicate the common and yet well-known argumentation in favor of concrete roads, but rather to deal with the investors’ typical opposition to this argumentation, find out how to bypass these concerns, and finally help facilitate a major systemic shift. This paper’s contribution is the attempt to universalize Polish experience, making it relevant and helpful for concrete promoters in other countries. Such a knowledge-sharing exercise should increase the success rate of salesmen based in regions overwhelmed by asphalt tradition, and let them best leverage on the available resources. This is also a source of bibliography for sales teams that plan to take off with concrete roads promotion in their countries.