Capabilities to withstand vulnerabilities and boost resilience in industrialized construction supply chains: a Hong Kong study
Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management
ISSN: 0969-9988
Article publication date: 30 August 2021
Issue publication date: 7 December 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Given the heightened imperatives for boosting supply chain resilience (SCR) in industrialized construction (IC), it is essential to explore the correlational impacts of supply chain vulnerabilities (SCV) and supply chain capabilities (SCC) which are the measures of SCR, specifically in Hong Kong where policymakers actively promote IC. Therefore, this study aims to develop a model to explore the correlational impacts of vulnerabilities and capabilities targeting SCR in IC.
Design/methodology/approach
After drawing on the general literature on SCR, empirical research using an expert opinion survey was conducted following the methodological framework of this study. The gathered data were then subjected to the partial least squares structural equation modeling process. Thereby, four hypotheses were formulated and tested for 20 capability–vulnerability relationships.
Findings
Seven of the 20 statistical relationships tested were identified to be significant. Accordingly, production-based SCV were identified as the most critical disruptions. “Resourcefulness” could substantially withstand production-based SCV, receiving the highest path significance. An “enablers-results framework” for achieving SCR of IC was also developed based on these findings to help industry practitioners with SCR implementation.
Originality/value
To the authors' knowledge, this is the first structured evaluation model that measures the correlational impacts of SCC and SCV targeting SCR in the construction domain. Further, this study adds substantially to the existing SCR and construction “body of knowledge” by proposing a model explaining how various SCV and SCC influence SCR in IC. These findings also inform the industry where and how to deploy critical SCC at appropriate levels, targeting critical SCV, to contain or extirpate them.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to gratefully acknowledge the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme, the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, and Research Institute for Sustainable Urban Development of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University for the funding support to the research, which contributed to the preparation of this paper. Also, the authors acknowledge the anonymous reviewers gratefully for their significant contribution to improve this paper.
Citation
Ekanayake, E.M.A.C., Shen, G., Kumaraswamy, M., Owusu, E.K. and Xue, J. (2022), "Capabilities to withstand vulnerabilities and boost resilience in industrialized construction supply chains: a Hong Kong study", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. 29 No. 10, pp. 3809-3829. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-05-2021-0399
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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