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This paper aims to develop a framework for optimising building performance through the integration between risk management (RM) and building information modelling (BIM) during the design process.

To achieve this aim, a research strategy consisting of literature review, case studies and survey questionnaire is designed to accomplish four objectives. First, to examine the concepts of design process, building performance, RM and BIM; second, to present three case studies to explain the role of using RM and BIM capabilities towards optimising building performance; third, to investigate the perception and application of architectural design firms in Egypt towards the role of RM and BIM for enhancing building performance during the design process; and finally, to develop a framework integrating RM and BIM during the design process as an approach for optimising building performance.

Through literature review, the research identified 18 risks that hamper optimising building performance during the design process. In addition, 11 building performance values and 20 BIM technologies were defined. Results of data analysis showed that “Design budget overrun”, “Lack of considering life cycle cost” and “Inefficient use of the design time” were ranked the highest risks that affect the optimisation of building performance. Respondents ranked “Risk avoid” or “Risk transfer” as the most risk responses adopted in the Egyptian context. In addition, “BIM As Built” was ranked the highest BIM technology used for overcoming risks during the design process. These findings necessitated taking action towards developing a framework to optimising building performance.

The research identified the risks that affect optimising building performance during the design process. It focuses on improving the design process through using the capabilities of BIM technologies towards overcoming these risks during the design process. The proposed framework which integrates RM and BIM represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred.

In spite of the active role of continuous learning on improving organisational performance, the construction industry generally and architectural design firms (ADFs) in particular are criticised for their inability to use organisational knowledge to foster learning culture towards enhancing their performance. This paper aims to develop a framework based on knowledge management (KM) to enhance the learning culture in ADFs in developing countries.

To achieve the abovementioned aim, a research methodology consisted of data collection, data analysis and action required is designed to achieve four objectives. First, to examine the nature of the construction industry in developing countries, learning culture in ADFs, as well as knowledge and KM; second, to present three case studies to investigate the effectiveness of KM in enhancing the learning culture in ADFs; third, to investigate the perception and application of KM towards enhancing the learning culture in ADFs in Egypt, finally to develop a KM based framework to enhance the learning culture in ADFs in developing countries.

Through literature review, the research highlighted the fragmented nature of the architectural design process, which led to the loss of valuable information and made the process of capturing and sharing knowledge a hard task. In addition, it identified the barriers of implementing KM and the building blocks of learning culture in ADFs. Results of data analysis showed that “lack of organisational culture” and “low involvement of top management” were ranked the highest barriers for implementing KM in ADFs. Moreover, respondents mentioned that they do not share openly their information with other employees to maintain their uniqueness and that the strict working environment of their ADFs is not encouraging creativity or enhancing learning culture. Furthermore, “continuous learning and enhancement” and “experimentation, feedback and reflection” were ranked by respondents as the highest building blocks of a learning organisation.

This research focussed on ADFs in developing countries.

Implementing KM strategies will facilitate the enhancement of learning culture within ADFs in developing countries. This will impact positively on improving the performance and increasing the competitiveness and market share of ADFS.

The research identified the barriers of KM implementation in ADFs and the building blocks of creating a learning organisations. It focusses on improving the performance of ADFs through using the capabilities of KM towards building learning culture in ADFs. The proposed framework which was designed to facilitate the implementation of KM for enhancing the learning culture in ADFs in developing countries represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred.

This research aims to develop and validate a framework for eradicating women’s discrimination in architectural design firms (ADFs) in Egypt and propose strategies for prospective adoption in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to increase the transformational impact of women on the architectural and urban developments of the Gulf region.

A combined qualitative and quantitative research approach was designed to accomplish four objectives. Firstly, to investigate the nature of business in ADFs, women’s discrimination and policies for gender equity (PGE) in architecture. Secondly, to analyse three case studies to validate the identified causes and impacts of women’s discrimination and examine the role of PGE towards eradicating women’s discrimination in ADFs. Thirdly, to conduct a survey questionnaire with a representative sample of ADFs to investigate their perception of women’s discrimination and the correlation between PGE towards eradicating women’s discrimination in ADFs. Based on the above, the research developed and validated a framework to eradicate women’s discrimination in ADFs in Egypt and suggested strategies for potential application in the GCC countries to increase the transformational role of women in the architectural and urban developments of the Gulf region.

Through literature review and case studies, the research identified and validated the causes and impacts of women’s discrimination as well as PGE in Architecture. The findings of data analysis showed that the highest-ranked causes of women discrimination in ADFs were “customs and beliefs” followed by “Underestimating women’s work” and “Recruiting males more than females”. Moreover, the highest-ranked impacts of women’s discrimination were “career shift and leaving the profession” followed by “decrease in creativity and innovation” and “decrease in economic growth”. Furthermore, the Spearman correlation test showed that while some PGE were correlated, others were not. These findings helped in the development of the proposed framework and proposed strategies.

This research presents a practical framework to eliminate women’s discrimination in ADFs in Egypt based on the findings of literature review, case studies and survey questionnaire. The framework explained in a workable way the objectives of the framework functions; activities; tools and techniques; involved personnel and needed resources as well as enforcing mechanisms. It was validated by a representative sample of ADFs in Egypt to ensure its practicability and viability and suggested strategies for implementation in the GCC countries to increase women’s role in architectural and urban development.

The research identified and validated the causes and impacts of women’s discrimination as well as PGE in Architecture. Moreover, the research investigated the perception of women’s discrimination and the correlation between PGE through conducting a survey questionnaire with a representative of ADFs in Egypt. The research tackled a topic that received scant attention in construction literature, especially in Egypt and the GCC countries. The research developed and validated a framework to eradicate women’s discrimination in ADFs in Egypt. It represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred. The research suggested several strategies for the prospective implementation of the framework in the GCC countries as an approach to enhancing the transformational role of women in the architectural and urban developments of the Gulf region.

This paper aims to develop a framework based on corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a novel approach for marketing architectural design firms (ADFs) in developing countries.

To achieve this aim, a research strategy consists of literature review and survey questionnaire is designed to accomplish four objectives: first, to examine the concepts of marketing and CSR in construction; second, to investigate the perception and application of CSR as a marketing tool for ADFs in developing countries; third, to develop a framework based on CSR as an approach for marketing ADFs in developing countries; and finally, to outline research conclusions and recommendations useful to government, ADFs and future research.

The research highlighted the inefficiency of current marketing strategies in developing countries due to lack of considering community needs, using incomprehensible technical language in communication with clients and misrepresenting the calibers of ADFs. ADFs believe that CSR can play a role in increasing their marketability. This requires governmental involvement and overcoming the barriers of adopting CSR.

This paper proposed a framework based on CSR as a novel approach for marketing ADFs in developing countries. This ideology has received scant attention in construction literature. The proposed framework represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the original body of knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred.

The purpose of this research is to expand a better understanding of how corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives affect climate for innovation and opportunism within architectural design firms (ADFs).

The literature review and discussions with industry practitioners identified an initial list of variables. A questionnaire survey was developed, validated and delivered to employees working in ADFs. 226 valid responses were collected. Then, the structural equation modeling (SEM) method was employed to empirically investigate the relationships between CSR performance, climate for innovation and opportunism in a single integrative model.

The results empirically support that CSR performance has a positive effect on climate for innovation and a negative effect on opportunism. In addition, climate for innovation shows a negative effect on opportunism.

This research highlights that CSR performance is essential for ADFs to better achieve sustainable development. By doing CSR activities, climate for innovation in ADFs is expected to be improved, and a sense of opportunism is mitigated. The findings of this paper are explicitly delivered in the context of Vietnamese ADFs and could not be straightforwardly generalized or translated to the construction industry or other sectors in different research contexts.

The findings show that a climate for innovation is crucial in ADFs. Business managers are encouraged to employ CSR initiatives to foster an innovation climate and reduce a sense of opportunism within ADFs.

This study is one of the first attempts to investigate the relationships between CSR performance, climate for innovation, and opportunism within ADFs. While the findings highlight the critical role of CSR performance, the study argues that CSR should be carefully implemented because there are no “one-size-fits-all” CSR strategies for different business contexts.

Despite the active role of continuous learning on improving organizational performance, the construction industry generally and architectural design firms (ADFs) in particular are criticized for their inability to properly use learning to improve their performance. This paper aims to develop a business improvement framework based on post occupancy evaluation (POE) as a learning tool for improving the performance of ADFs.

To achieve the above-mentioned aim, a twofold research strategy, namely, theoretical and practical, is used to achieve four objectives. The theoretical approach is used to conduct thorough literature review to investigate three main topics: building performance, organizational performance and learning organization. The practical approach is used to present and synthesize two relevant field studies to examine the role of POE toward improving the performance of ADFs and evaluate the perception and application of ADFs in Egypt toward improving their performance through POE. Based on the results gleaned from the objectives, the research developed a framework to facilitate the adoption and application of POE as a learning tool for improving the performance of ADFs. Finally, research conclusions and recommendations useful to ADFs and future research are outlined.

The construction industry is a fragmented business that is characterized by low performance compared to other industries. This is because the separation between design, construction and end-users results in missing the opportunity to provide designers with learned lessons, feedback and suggestions for design improvement that ultimately obstructs the performance of ADFs. POE is an effective tool adopted to measure building performance and provide learning environment to improve the performance of new projects and ADFs. The research realized that there is a need to fill the gap in construction literature concerning improving ADFs’ performance through POE and to develop a framework to facilitate the adoption and application of POE as a learning tool for improving the performance of ADFs.

The research focused on improving the performance of ADFs only.

The framework developed by this research establishes organized procedures to enable AFDs to implement POE and use its benefits toward improving their performance.

This paper presents a business improvement framework integrating POE as learning tool for improving the performance of ADFs. This ideology has received scant attention in construction literature. The developed framework represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of partnership in integrating the corporate social responsibility (CSR) of project stakeholders towards better housing affordability.

A research methodology, consisted of literature review and field studies, is designed to accomplish four objectives. First, to provide a comprehensive literature review of the concepts of affordable housing, project stakeholders, CSR and partnership; second, to present and synthesis the results of relevant field studies examined the experiences of CSR and partnership among selected construction firms and the Government of South Africa (SA) in affordable housing projects; third, to develop a CSR‐partnership model (and its action plan) that integrates the CSR of project stakeholders to achieve greater housing affordability; finally, to draw some conclusions and recommendations to improve the practice of CSR and partnership among government authorities and construction professionals.

Affordable housing is one of the greatest challenges that face countries around the globe, especially developing countries. The complexity of the problem hinders governments, alone, from achieving their plans for sustainable development. Project stakeholders must have social responsibilities towards supporting government initiatives for affordable housing development. The five‐domain CSR‐partnership model developed by the authors will help integrating the CSR of project stakeholders as an approach for developing affordable housing project.

Because of the conceptual nature of the proposed model, it has to be tested and validated to ensure its capability to integrate the CSR of project stakeholders as an innovative approach for overcoming the difficulties facing governments in providing housing for the poor.

The conducted review provides better understanding of the issue related to the practice of social responsibilities and partnership of project stakeholders, both worldwide and in SA. Through its five domains (government, society, economy, law, and technology), the proposed CSR‐partnership model and its action plan are expected to serve as a foundation for optimising the partnership of project stakeholders with government authorities towards better housing affordability. This ideology has received scant attention in construction literature. The developed model represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred.

This paper aims to investigate the role of lean talent management (LTM) as a novel approach for optimising creativity in architectural design firms (ADFs) towards achieving divergent heritage sustainability (DHS).

To achieve the abovementioned aim, a mixed qualitative and quantitative methodology is designed to accomplish three objectives. First, investigating the relationship between heritage and urban development; types of heritage and the role of LTM in enhancing creativity in ADFs. Second, presenting and analysing six heritage-related case studies to assess the need for creative solutions based on extent of deterioration in three different places in Egypt. Third, outlining the results of a survey questionnaire conducted with a representative sample of ADFs in Egypt to investigate the role of LTM towards optimising creativity in ADFs for achieving DHS.

The extent of deterioration increased for modern heritage than old heritage. Conventional approaches adopted by ADFs failed to develop built environments that can bridge the gap between the diverse identities. Creativity was not optimised when talent management (TM) was integrated solely and architects failed to develop appropriate solutions. LTM use architects to allow expression of arts towards heritage sustainability through the built environment, in which they feel associated with physical heritage. Consequently, individuals’ intangible heritage is preserved in which they will less deteriorate the physical heritage. Hence, LTM is a paradigm shift that has a great potential for DHS.

The survey questionnaire and case studies focused on the Egyptian context because the region is in critical need for effective creative solutions and for such research that is unprecedented in investigating this gap. However, findings are absolute and could be used at any country sharing the Egyptian context and wishing to achieve a DHS approach.

The research work presented in this paper is novel in approach as it integrates two divergent fields and highlights the concept of DHS with its threefold approach. In addition, the concept of LTM is proposed as a novel paradigm shift in which it has received scant attention especially relating to heritage sustainability. The proposed ideas represent a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds to the existing body of knowledge for future research in LTM and DHS.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the influence of value management (VM) critical success factors (CSFs) on the implementation of VM activities in building projects with a view to promoting sustainability of construction industry in Egypt.

The VM CSFs and implementation activities were recognized from earlier studies; questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data from relevant stakeholders, and the collected data was subjected to exploratory factor analysis. Consequently, the influence of VM CSFs on VM implementation was generated via partial least square structural equation modelling. In addition, through relative importance ranking analysis, the significance VM CSFs were examined.

The findings from the proposed model revealed a strong relationship between VM implementation activities and its CSFs; the relationship is at a moderate level with an effect of 22.0%. This indicates that, VM CSFs would be useful to implement VM in the Egyptian building industry.

Although these studies have been confined to Egypt’s VM studies; they may apply to other developing countries that have not carried out these studies. It is therefore vital, in those countries where the exercise has been entirely undertaken, to analyze the various measures to promote the application of the method.

This research would be of benefit to stakeholders in building industries to be aware of VM phases and its CSFs that demand utmost consideration. Also, the identified CSFs are expected to enhance the success and value of building projects by adopting VM.

The novelty of this research work will be a benchmark or board for decision-makers to eliminate the unwanted cost and enhance quality by adopting VM in Egypt’s building projects to achieve their sustainable projects.

The aim of this paper is to develop a framework to enhance building maintainability through facilitating early suppliers’ involvement (ESI) in the design process.

A research methodology consisting of literature review, case studies and survey questionnaire was designed to achieve the above-mentioned aim. Firstly, literature review was used to examine the concepts of building maintenance, maintainability, the design process and ESI. Secondly, three case studies were presented and analysed to investigate the role of ESI towards enhancing building maintainability during the design process. Thirdly, a survey questionnaire was carried out with a representative sample of architectural design firms (ADFs) in Egypt to investigate their perception and application of ESI towards enhancing building maintainability during the design process. Finally, the research developed a framework to facilitate ESI in the design process in ADFs in Egypt.

Through literature review, the research highlighted the relationship between ESI and enhancing building maintainability and identified the roles, benefits, challenges and that encounter ESI in ADFs, factors for suppliers selection and levels of involvement. Results of the data analysis showed that “Difficulty of trusting external parties and sharing information with transparency” was ranked the highest challenge of ESI in ADFs in Egypt, followed by “Legal competitive advantage restrictions”. Moreover, “Better estimation for operation and maintenance costs” was ranked the highest contributions of ESI towards enhancing building maintainability, followed by “Reduce the number of operation and maintenance problems or reworks”. Finally, respondents stated that “Innovation, technical expertise, and competence” was ranked the highest supplier’s selection criteria, while “paying consultation fees for offering advice and recommendations to the design team” was ranked the highest form of supplier’s remuneration.

The proposed framework contributes to the body of knowledge through proposing five functions that aimed to facilitate ESI in the design process, a research area that received scant attention in construction research. In addition, because of the conceptual nature of the framework, it has to be validated to ensure its capability to overcome the challenges of ESI as an approach for enhancing building maintainability during the design process.

This research presents a practical solution that bridges the gap between theory and practice through overcoming the challenges that obstruct suppliers from being involved in the design process as an approach for enhancing building maintainability.

This research discussed the relationship between ESI and enhancing building maintainability as well as the roles, benefits and challenges that encounter ESI in ADFs. In addition, the research investigated the levels of suppliers’ involvement, selection criteria and forms of payment. Moreover, it investigated the perception and application of ESI in ADFs in Egypt towards improving building maintainability. The research proposed a framework to facilitate the integration of suppliers in the early stages of the project life cycle. It represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously occurred.