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1 – 10 of 12Jenan Abu Qadourah and Saba Alnusairat
This study evaluates the aesthetic perception of photovoltaic (PV) systems situated at various locations on an apartment building facade, comparing them with the original facade…
Abstract
Purpose
This study evaluates the aesthetic perception of photovoltaic (PV) systems situated at various locations on an apartment building facade, comparing them with the original facade. It also aims to understand how aesthetic dimensions influence the perception of PV installations in diverse building locations. Moreover, it aims to create a framework that will guide for installing PV installations considering both their functionality and aesthetics.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a mixed-method approach, including qualitative and quantitative approaches. It includes a literature review and a questionnaire. 418 participants evaluated different PV-embedded facades using a Likert scale across various aesthetic variables.
Findings
The findings indicate that aesthetic perceptions of PV vary by the location of installation. It also shows that all aesthetic dimensions affect PV installation aesthetics, with location-specific preferences. For original elevation, compatibility and simplicity are given precedence over blending and coherence for windows, creativity and harmony for facades, functionality and harmony for balconies, and innovation potential and simplicity for roofs.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on a single building type; further investigation is required to examine other building types. It also examined one PV technology with common visual properties, but future studies can examine others. Additional research is needed to compare the participating groups and the effect of their sociodemographic factors, using on-site surveys and interviews.
Originality/value
Few studies have investigated how PV systems affect apartment building users' architectural aesthetic perception. The results of this study make a valuable contribution to the field of sustainable architecture by providing practical guidance for architects, engineers, stakeholders, and researchers who are interested in integrating aesthetic, user-centric considerations into renewable energy solutions.
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This study aims to explore and analyze the disparities in the distribution of housing types and characteristics among households in Saudi Arabia, taking into consideration the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore and analyze the disparities in the distribution of housing types and characteristics among households in Saudi Arabia, taking into consideration the regional perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses quantitative data obtained from the General Authority for Statistics, specifically from the Saudi 2022 Statistical Census. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (percentages) as well as inferential statistics, including correlation analysis (Pearson correlation) and t-tests.
Findings
The study found a distinct preference among Saudis for villas, with 85.3% choosing this housing type, while only 14.7% of non-Saudis opted for villas. The statistical analysis confirmed the significance of housing type for Saudi citizens (t = 2.561, p = 0.037), while non-Saudis did not show a statistically significant preference (t = 1.703, p = 0.132). The Pearson correlation results revealed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.641, p = 0.009) between regional landmass and the number of houses, and a very strong positive relationship (r = 0.984) between population and the number of houses across the 13 regions. As expected, with increasing population, there was a significant increase in the number of houses (p = 0.001).
Originality/value
This study fills a research gap by investigating regional disparities in housing characteristics in Saudi Arabia. The findings are valuable for policymakers, housing developers and the housing market in understanding these disparities. The insights from this research can inform decision-making to promote equitable access to housing types and foster social inclusivity in the housing sector.
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Yingying Zhang-Zhang and Sylvia Rohlfer
The rapidly changing international business landscape, driven by dynamic factors such as technology, emerging markets, and unpredictable crises, demands that organizations…
Abstract
Purpose
The rapidly changing international business landscape, driven by dynamic factors such as technology, emerging markets, and unpredictable crises, demands that organizations innovate to survive while gaining and sustaining competitive advantages. Culture, an intricate multilevel construct, presents challenges for transnational enterprises and international business as a key “soft” element of organizational strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs a triangulated method combining a systematic literature search, machine learning, and qualitative thematic content analysis to explore the relationship between culture and innovation within the context of international business. The analysis involved scrutinizing 697 journal articles indexed in the Web of Science database.
Findings
Using k-means, which is an unsupervised machine-learning tool in Python, and hypertext preprocessor language scripting, we identified seven topic clusters and 94 keywords. Qualitative thematic content analysis facilitated the recognition of prevailing patterns in researchers' conceptualizations of the interplay between innovation and culture. We identified influential relationships between cultural configurations and innovation.
Research limitations/implications
Our analysis contributes to developing a comprehensive research field map encompassing international business, innovation, and culture.
Originality/value
This study significantly enhances our knowledge of culture and international innovation. Future research that recognizes culture as a dynamic configuration at multiple levels (e.g. national, organizational, professional, and individual) and employs more comprehensive measures of innovation and culture could substantially advance our understanding of the intersection of culture and innovation in international business.
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Adel Alshibani, Youssef Ahmed El Ghazzawi, Awsan Mohammed, Ahmed M. Ghaithan and Mohammad A. Hassanain
This paper aims to propose a novel model that addresses the limitations of current practices, through considering quantitative and qualitative criteria in the decision-making…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to propose a novel model that addresses the limitations of current practices, through considering quantitative and qualitative criteria in the decision-making process for equipment replacement.
Design/methodology/approach
Literature review and consultation with professionals in the heavy construction industry was conducted to identify the criteria influencing the replacement of construction machines. A questionnaire survey using analytic hierarchy process and multi-attribute utility theory was used to rank these criteria and establish their utility scores. Sensitivity analysis was performed to assess how adjustments in the weights of main criteria would impact equipment replacement decisions.
Findings
The identified criteria were classified into three categories: economic, technical and socioenvironmental, encompassing a total of 15 criteria. The findings indicated that salvage value/meeting payback period/maximizing profitability held the highest importance in the replacement process, followed by considerations like high repair and maintenance cost; working condition and economic conditions. Safety and social benefits scored the least among all criteria and categories.
Research limitations/implications
This study focuses on earth-moving equipment and involves experts from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The model introduces a novel methodology to aid decision-makers, particularly contractors and project managers, in determining when to replace heavy construction equipment, which results in resource efficiency and time saving.
Originality/value
The model integrates expertise and knowledge from experts to establish criteria for replacing construction equipment. This research aims to improve the functionality of the decision-making process regarding the acquisition or replacement of equipment throughout its lifespan.
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Jianyao Jia and Ming Wu
Mobile messaging groups (MMGs) have been widely adopted in construction practice, yet, little is known about how to foster knowledge sharing (KS) in MMGs, characterized by…
Abstract
Purpose
Mobile messaging groups (MMGs) have been widely adopted in construction practice, yet, little is known about how to foster knowledge sharing (KS) in MMGs, characterized by communication visibility. This study is thus motivated to investigate mechanisms for KS in this context.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs knowledge governance theory to construct a theoretical model and develop hypotheses. Specifically, psychological safety is identified as a mediator between knowledge governance mechanism (KGM) and KS, and promotion regulatory focus is identified as a moderator between KGM and psychological safety. Data from 208 Chinese construction project team members are collected to test the proposed theoretical model.
Findings
The results suggest that both formal and informal KGM positively affect psychological safety, which in turn improves KS (quantity and quality). Moreover, the mediating role of psychological safety is confirmed, and the moderating role of promotion regulatory focus is validated.
Originality/value
This study explores how to foster KS in MMGs, which are pervasive in today’s digital age. The findings in this study enhance the understanding of KS in digital environments and afford important insights into knowledge management within construction project teams.
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Preeti Kalyan and Punit Moris Ekka
This study aims to explore the motivations of emerging market millennial Muslims to partake in halal tourism, a developing sector of the travel industry that caters to the…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the motivations of emerging market millennial Muslims to partake in halal tourism, a developing sector of the travel industry that caters to the religious practices of Muslim tourists.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is qualitative in nature. In-depth interviews were conducted with millennials aged 25–40 in India to gain an understanding of the factors that influence their decision-making and travel behaviour. Further, thematic analysis was used to analyse the data.
Findings
The findings emphasise the intricate interplay between faith, cultural and social factors in millennial Indians’ motivations for halal travel. The study found that religious motivations, such as the desire to fulfil religious duties and participate in spiritual experiences, were significant factors in halal tourism. Social motivations, such as the desire to interact with other Muslims and strengthen family ties, also played a significant role. The study also highlighted the importance of environmental sustainability and conservation efforts in the decision-making process of Indian millennials when choosing halal travel options.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on halal tourism by exploring the motivations of emerging-market millennial Muslims. The study is original in its focus on the Indian context and the inclusion of sustainability and conservation efforts in the analysis of motivations for halal tourism.
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Neda Kiani Mavi, Kerry Brown, Richard Glenn Fulford and Mark Goh
The global construction industry has a history of poor project success, with evident and frequent overruns in cost and schedule. This industry is a highly interconnected and…
Abstract
Purpose
The global construction industry has a history of poor project success, with evident and frequent overruns in cost and schedule. This industry is a highly interconnected and complex system in which the components, i.e. suppliers, contractors, end-users, and stakeholders, are delicately linked to each other, the community, and the environment. Therefore, defining and measuring project success can be challenging for sponsors, contractors, and the public. To address this issue, this study develops and analyzes a more comprehensive set of success criteria for medium and large construction projects.
Design/methodology/approach
After reviewing the existing literature, this study identified 19 success criteria for medium and large construction projects, which were categorized into five groups. The fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (fuzzy DEMATEL) method was used to gain further insight into the interrelationships between these categories and explain the cause-and-effect relationships among them. Next, this study applied the modified logarithmic least squares method to determine the importance weight of these criteria using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process.
Findings
28 project managers working in the construction industries in Australia and New Zealand participated in this study. Results suggest that “project efficiency” and “impacts on the project team” are cause criteria that affect “business success,” “impacts on stakeholders,” and “impacts on end-users.” Effective risk management emerged as the most crucial criterion in project efficiency, while customer satisfaction and return on investment are top criteria in “impacts on end-users” and “business success.”
Originality/value
Although numerous studies have been conducted on project success criteria, multicriteria analyses of success criteria are rare. This paper presents a comprehensive set of success criteria tailored to medium and large construction projects. The aim is to analyze their interrelationships and prioritize them thoroughly, which will aid practitioners in focusing on the most important criteria for achieving higher success rates.
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Peter Skærbæk, Tim Neerup Themsen and Kjell Tryggestad
This paper shows how Bruno Latour’s novel work and methodological approach can enrich management and organization studies, accounting and science and technology studies on what it…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper shows how Bruno Latour’s novel work and methodological approach can enrich management and organization studies, accounting and science and technology studies on what it takes to redesign sustainable societal infrastructures. Latour’s notions of trials of strength, macro-actor and design as redesign are used in a case study to describe and analyse how the laboratory becomes decisive in negotiating the bridge design and project budget to the benefit of a more sustainable transport infrastructure.
Design/methodology/approach
Latour’s notion of the detective-author is used to research and write a longitudinal qualitative case study that reconstructs the project processes and chain of related events by following the actors/actants.
Findings
The case analysis shows how a project design becomes an emerging powerful macro-actor through the mobilization of laboratory simulations and calculations. The role of the project budget changes; from a strong supporting role as input to a decision option in favour of a cheaper stayed bridge to a weak role as an output from a process of redesign supporting a much larger, costlier and more sustainable suspension bridge.
Originality/value
We use Latour’s methodological approach to engage primarily in detailed process descriptions to go beyond the often-pointless call for further theory development and to rather account for what is at work in specific situations. Latour’s notions of redesign as an outcome from trials of strength, we consider a useful approach to further our understanding since it also takes account of the distributed knowledge production that is integral to the actors’ cognitions and recognitions. Relatedly, the specific Latourian notion of redesign opens up new avenues for researching the more or less powerful role accounting devices such as a project budget can play in valuing, supporting and/or undermining the design of sustainable societal infrastructures.
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Tiantian Gu, Enyang Hao and Lei Zhang
Smart community construction (SCC) and efficiency require resident participation. This paper aims to explore the determinants of residents’ participation intention (RPI) in the…
Abstract
Purpose
Smart community construction (SCC) and efficiency require resident participation. This paper aims to explore the determinants of residents’ participation intention (RPI) in the SCC.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study proposed an extended conceptual model to deeply analyze the RPI in the SCC. The relationship between all constructs was verified by processing and analyzing online survey data using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation model (SEM), and bootstrapping method.
Findings
Participation attitude, perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and perceived usefulness significantly and positively affected the RPI. Furthermore, intermediary effects in the extended conceptual model had been confirmed.
Originality/value
To fill the critical gap in the research on the determinants of the RPI in the SCC context, this study developed a novel conceptual model by extending the TPB to analyze the effects of self-driven and externally-driven factors on the RPI from the perspectives of residents’ psychology and external environment. The findings not only clarify the complex process of forming the RPI in the SCC but also provide a theoretical foundation for studying the RPI in similar community construction projects. Additionally, several strategies have been proposed to encourage residents’ participation in the SCC and promote the development of smart communities, such as clarifying residents’ participation obligations, improving the convenience services of smart communities, and diversifying residents’ participation approaches.
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Xiaoyan Chen, Weina Zhu, Yajiao Chen and Qinghua He
The development and evolution of stakeholder collaborative innovation in megaprojects is impacted by various influencing factors. The effect of influencing factors on…
Abstract
Purpose
The development and evolution of stakeholder collaborative innovation in megaprojects is impacted by various influencing factors. The effect of influencing factors on collaborative innovation performance (CIP) in megaprojects is not a simplistic linear relationship but an iterative and non-linear relationship that requires a dynamic perspective to analyze. Therefore, this paper adopts the system dynamic (SD) approach to investigate the dynamic and interactive relationships between the CIP and the influencing factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The study first develops a research framework with the system boundary of “CIP system – organizational collaboration subsystem – knowledge collaboration subsystem – strategic collaboration subsystem”. Then, the causal relationship model, the stock-flow model, and the mathematical equations were determined based on the literature review and the expert interviews. Finally, five performance improvement scenarios were designed according to the practice context of CIP in megaprojects, and simulations were performed using the Vensim PLE software to investigate the CIP from a dynamic perspective.
Findings
The findings reveal that the effect of different influencing factors on CIP grows non-linearly, with the cumulative effect becoming more pronounced as time advances. The incentive mechanism has the most significant effect, and the combined effect of multiple influencing factors has a highly significant facilitating effect on improving CIP. Strategic collaboration, organizational collaboration and knowledge collaboration are mutually conditional and reinforcing with each other, which ultimately promotes the improvement of CIP.
Originality/value
This study uncovers the inherent pattern and the interactive dynamic mechanism of factors for improving CIP in the context of megaprojects. It enriches the theoretical research in the area of collaborative innovation in megaprojects and provides practical management strategies for improving CIP.
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