Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

Goel, Ashish; Ganesh, L.S.; Kaur, Arshinder

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-06-2019-0319

Past research recommends integration of social sustainability (SS) considerations in construction project feasibility study for benefitting a larger group of project stakeholders. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence to this effect, especially from the developing economies. The purpose of this study is to address this knowledge gap through a SS-centric analysis of feasibility study reports using a stakeholder salience perspective.Design/methodology/approachFeasibility study reports for 61 projects were obtained from various government organizations in India. The SS considerations were identified in the reports using a combination of quantitative and qualitative assessments. The former was based on content analysis and the latter was conducted using “VOSviewer” text analysis software.FindingsSS considerations related to occupational health and safety, workers' employment practices and proactive involvement of communities and end-users were found to be inadequately addressed in the reports. Based on occurrences of the SS considerations, project-affected community was found to be the most salient stakeholder, followed by the end-users and the construction workers. Statistical analysis revealed significant relationship between the SS considerations and the type of project as well as the type of project delivery system.Originality/valueThis study contributes to better understanding of integrating SS considerations in feasibility study of construction projects. Its results provide useful inputs to decision-makers for orienting construction projects, right from the early phases, towards benefitting the disadvantaged and weaker stakeholders irrespective of their salience attributes. In developing economies, such interventions may improve quality of lives of a large number of project stakeholders and also cultivate a positive societal image of the construction industry as a respectful, ethical and employee friendly industry.

Wang, Guangbin; Xia, Chen; Cao, Dongping

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-06-2019-0336

Due to the lack of industrywide data, now there is only perceptual knowledge, through survey data, that construction firms may face great challenges in geographical diversification. The article aims to provide an objective description on the state of interregional market entry practices in the Chinese construction industry. How these practices are influenced by related set of regional and industry-related factors is further studied.Design/methodology/approachDescription analysis of the practices is first performed based on a first-hand industrial data set including 1,020 projects and 404 construction firms. Combining provincial panel data in the National Bureau of Statistics of China, related regional and industry-related factors on these practices are further analyzed through hierarchical regression models.Findings(1) Interregional market entry practices are not quite prevalent during the past two decades, only involving 271 projects and 111 firms which accounts for 26.57% and 27.47% of the analyzed subjects respectively; (2) Large, state-owned and experienced firms are more frequently involved in the practices; (3) A number of regional factors such as local market protection and industry scale also significantly impact the practices.Research limitations/implicationsThe empirical analysis of this study was conducted using the specific dataset from the National Quality Award Projects where firms tend to be national, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to the whole industry contexts.Originality/valueWhile most of the research on market entry practices in the project-based construction industry is undertaken at project or firm level based on survey data, this research represents an exploratory effort of using objective data to provide a macro overview of the practices at the industry level. The findings could contribute to a deepened understanding of how these practices are impacted by related regional- and industry-level factors.

Yap, Jeffrey Boon Hui; Leong, Wen Jie; Skitmore, Martin

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-10-2019-0581

Teamwork in the construction industry has attracted much attention from both academic and industrial circles. Most importantly, improving team effectiveness will increase the likelihood of successful project delivery. Recognising the factors influencing team dynamics is important for enhanced team performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on a detailed literature review, a survey questionnaire containing 10 aspects and 25 attributes of teamwork relevant to construction is used to collect feedback from Malaysian construction practitioners from client, consultant and contractor organisations to prioritise these hypothesised variables. The data are then subjected to reliability analysis, descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations, and frequencies), a one-sample t-test, the Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA and exploratory factor analysis.FindingsThe significance of these aspects and attributes is then presented. The three most crucial aspects are “project performance”, “decision-making capability” and “problem-solving ability”. The most influential attributes are “effective communication between project team members”, “efficient team leadership”, “well-defined team responsibilities and roles”, “clear team goals and objectives” and “good collaboration between all project leaders”. The Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA reveals five attributes having statistically significant differences with respect to company size, namely “clear team goals and objectives”, “commitment to the project”, “adequate resources”, “team or task processes” and “creativity and innovation”. Six underlying dimensions are found, comprising (1) participative engagement and task commitment; (2) team responsibility structure and accountability; (3) culture of trust and respect; (4) leader's skills and abilities; (5) top management support; and (6) synergic working environment.Practical implicationsThe identification of these dimensions for team effectiveness provides rigorous basis for formulating useful team-building strategies for integrating a collaborative environment among project stakeholders and consequently improving project performance.Originality/valueThis paper bridges the identified knowledge gap concerning the dimensionality of teamwork attributes in construction-based setting and adds to existing knowledge of how team effectiveness can be leveraged to improve project performance in the construction management literature.

Xue, Jin; Shen, Geoffrey Qiping; Yang, Rebecca Jing; Zafar, Irfan; Ekanayake, E.M.A.C.; Lin, Xue; Darko, Amos

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-07-2019-0353

The purpose of this research is to seek better relational strategies between formal and informal stakeholder relationships to improve megaproject performance.Design/methodology/approachThe conceptual model was developed with twenty hypotheses based on the literature review. Then a questionnaire survey was conducted, and the collected data were analyzed by Partial Least squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) for validating the proposed model. Finally, the findings were discussed by a comparative study to explain the different effects of the formal and informal relationship on megaproject performance, and the managerial implications are presented for the stakeholders to implement the relationship management in the megaprojects.FindingsThe research finding reveals that formal relationship plays a dominating role in cost, quality, and labor protection; meanwhile, it is still more reliable in improving coordination, safety and environmental protection. Both formal and informal relationship is equally important towards collaboration and scheduling while the informal relationship is more effective in communication and project transparency.Originality/valueThe study extends the knowledge of relationship management in the domain of the megaproject performance. It provides a comprehensive and systematic understanding of the impact of formal and informal stakeholder relationships on ten aspects of the megaproject performance by the proposed conceptual model and PLS-SEM results. The research findings contribute to the theory of relationship management on how the different influences between formal and informal stakeholder relationships lead to better megaproject performance from inter-organizational level to project and societal level.

Yuan, Fanning; Tang, Miaohan; Hong, Jingke

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-10-2019-0564

The objective of this study is to evaluate the overall technical efficiency, labor efficiency, capital efficiency and equipment efficiency of 30 Chinese construction sectors to foster sustainable economic growth in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed the super-efficiency data envelopment analysis (SE-DEA) and artificial neural network model (ANN) to evaluate the industrial performance and improvement potential of the Chinese regional construction sectors from 2000 to 2017.FindingsResults showed that the overall technical and capital efficiencies displayed relatively stable patterns. Equipment efficiency presented a relatively huge fluctuation during the sample period. Meanwhile, labor, capital and equipment efficiencies could potentially improve in the next five years. A spatial examination of efficiencies implied that the economic level was still a major factor in determining the efficiency performance of the regional construction industry. Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang were consistently the leading regions with the best performance in all efficiencies. Shandong and Hubei were critical regions with respect to their large reduction potential of labor, capital and equipment.Research limitations/implicationsThe study focused on the regional efficiency performance of the construction industry; however, it failed to further deeply discover the mechanism that captured the regional inefficiency. In addition, sample datasets used to predict might induce the accuracy of prediction results. Qualitative policy implications failed to regress the efficiency performance of the industrial policy variables. These limitations will be discussed in our further researches.Practical implicationsEnhancing the overall performance of the Chinese construction industry should focus on regions located in the western areas. In comparison with labor and capital efficiencies, equipment efficiency should be given priority by eliminating outdated equipment and developing high technology in the construction industry. In addition, the setting of the national reduction responsibility system should be stratified to account for regional variations.Originality/valueThe findings of this study can provide a systematic understanding for the current and future industry performance of the Chinese construction industry, which would help decision makers to customize appropriate strategies to improve the overall industrial performance with the consideration of regional differences.

Pablo, Zelinna; London, Kerry Anne

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-07-2019-0346

The study analyses collaborative practice in offsite manufacturing (OSM) housing supply chains, focusing specifically on supply chains driven by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study’s analysis builds on previous work where we argued that collaboration in OSM housing construction comprises nine elements. In this study, the authors demonstrate empirically that SMEs enact these collaborative practice elements in distinct ways, foregrounding key elements over others. One core model and two sub-models of collaboration emerge from our two case studies.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyses two SME-driven supply chains using qualitative case study techniques. Data were gathered through 12 semi-structured interviews conducted in two housing construction supply chains: one in South Australia, Australia, and another in Tasmania, Australia.FindingsA comparative case study of SMEs shows that collaboration in OSM supply chains has a number of common elements, including a champion for innovation, investment in long-term relationships, resourceful use of limited assets and physical co-location. However, SMEs can also enact these elements through a range of diverging collaborative strategies that can be distilled into different models: stable relationality and dynamic innovation.Originality/valueFindings provide a compelling empirical basis for arguing that SMEs can successfully lead OSM supply chains if key collaborative practice elements are strategically mobilised in ways that are suited to their strengths and limitations. The study therefore interrogates the widely held and often limiting assumption that OSM can only be driven by large organisations with access to capital assets, capacity to invest and undisputed bargaining power.

Karami, Hamidreza; Olatunji, Oluwole Alfred

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-09-2019-0477

Delay causations in infrastructure projects are well reported in normative literature. However, very little is known regarding the environment-related causations which can assist in developing mitigation strategies. This study aims to examine critical causations of overruns in marine construction projects.Design/methodology/approachA total of 73 delay factors, grouped into 16 themes, were identified from literature. Data relating to the significance of each factor were collected through a questionnaire survey administered to 151 respondents. A total number of 126 valid responses were retrieved. Reductionist methodology was used to identify the statistical significance of each delay causation.FindingsAll 73 variables analysed in the study are significant, including communication issues amongst stakeholders, inadequate planning, safety issues, deficient technical instructions and inappropriate management approaches. Others include design and construction issues, issues with project organisational structures, political and cultural factors, environmental uncertainties and complexity in resource management. The study also found estimation errors, owner's attitude, financial issues, delay in approval processes, construction strategies and unavailability of appropriate technologies for the work as influencing factors. These findings are consistent with earlier studies on other forms of projects, but they further confirm that they are very relevant to marine projects.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the diversity of marine projects, overrun factors are likely to manifest in different ways in varying project circumstances. In addition, economics, technologies and local legislation often influence project situations differently.Practical implicationsThe implications of these findings will assist in growing the practicality of scheduling and contract administration theories in marine projects. Although delay causations that have been reported in normative literature are relevant to marine construction, however, some of the causations are more severe in marine projects. It is important that planners and project stakeholders are mindful of this such that they can develop their expectations to tolerate variability rather than trade impracticable blames.Originality/valueDetermining delay factors specific to marine construction projects assists stakeholders and project management community in developing dedicated strategies applicable in scheduling to prevent and correct obstructions caused by overruns. Since projects are different in types and sizes, delay observations cannot be generalised.

Rostamnezhad, Mozhdeh; Nasirzadeh, Farnad; Khanzadi, Mostafa; Jarban, Mohammad Jafar; Ghayoumian, Masoud

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-01-2018-0031

This research aims to model the social dimension of sustainability in construction projects. A new hybrid system dynamic (SD)–fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is proposed to analyze the various factors affecting social aspect of sustainability taking into account their complex interactions.Design/methodology/approachThe various factors affecting the social dimension of sustainable development are identified based on the opinions of 12 experts with an extensive experience in highway construction projects and a thorough knowledge and/or professional experience in the sustainability area. The qualitative model of social sustainability is constructed using SD approach and the complex inter-related structure of the various influencing factors are modeled using cause and effect feedback loops. Fuzzy set theory is applied to model the uncertainty of human judgments. The importance of various influencing factors is then determined quantitatively taking account of their complex interactions using the proposed SD-fuzzy DEMATEL method. The most significant influencing factors are finally determined.FindingsTo evaluate the performance of the proposed method, it is implemented on a real highway project and the importance of various factors affecting the social sustainability is determined. A set of complex interrelated factors affecting social sustainability are divided into cause and effect groups, and the root causes affecting the social sustainability performance of the project are determined. Therefore, the required managerial actions can be taken to improve the social sustainability.Research limitations/implicationsWell-qualified experts with a well-developed mental model of social sustainability are necessary to provide required input data for modeling social sustainability using the proposed approach. The absence of such experts could be a limitation for the implementation of the proposed model on a new project.Practical implicationsThe proposed Hybrid SD-fuzzy DEMATEL method provides a practical and robust tool to analyze the various factors affecting social sustainability taking into account their complex interactions.Originality/valueThe proposed method offers a more precise and accurate analysis of various factors affecting social sustainability of construction projects since the complex inter-related structure of influencing factors as well as the vague and imprecise nature of experts' judgment is taken into account efficiently.

Li, Guanghua; Chen, Chuan; Zhang, Guomin; Martek, Igor

2020 Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management

doi: 10.1108/ecam-11-2018-0526

Factors affecting bid/no-bid decisions of international projects are more complex than those of domestic projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify and rank decision factors considered by variously sized Chinese international contractors (CICs) and categorize those groups of factors important to experienced practitioners.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis of factors identified by a literature review is conducted based on data derived from questionnaire results received from 119 CIC project and bidding managers. The relative importance of factors is measured by mean value and standard deviation. The discrepancy in rank and importance value perceived by variously sized CICs are explored by ranking disparity analysis, non-parametric test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test. Finally, factor analysis is used to categorize the underlying groups of factors considered by CICs.FindingsIn sum, 41 factors are identified through the literature review as having an impact on the bid decision. Significant disparities in ranking and importance are found in several factors, which partially affect the consistency of the ranking of factors perceived between large and small-medium CICs. Ultimately, nine major factors are identified as impacting the bidding decision, with “contractor’s capability” and “country risk of the host country,” being the most important.Research limitations/implicationsThe weight of a factor considered in a decision varies across contractors as a function of contractor size. Whether using models or subjective judgment in making decisions, it is beneficial to fully understand the main groups of factors influencing the decision. Vulnerability to country risk emerges as the first criterion accessed in the bid decision.Originality/valueA comprehensive set of factors is established for CICs, including both general factors common to domestic projects, and international factors unique to international projects. All factors are grouped by inferential analysis from the perspective of contractors, which reveals the underlying mechanism of the bid decision-making process. While the data were collected from CICs, the methodology in exploring factors, along with implications, is determined to be applicable internationally.