Search results

For a number of years, the construction industry has seen an ongoing shift from design-bid-build to design-build contracts. This transition in contract type entails changes for both the organizations and the individuals involved. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to investigate how the client manages the transition between the different contract types from an organizational change perspective in a project-led organization.

A multiple case study of six infrastructure projects with DB contracts, all managed by the Swedish Transport Administration, was conducted. The major source of data is semi-structured interviews with respondents from both the client and the contractors.

Results suggest that the transition has resulted in a mix of design-bid-build and design-build as contract type owing to issues when changing in a project-led organization. A change in vision also requires a concomitant change in culture, systems and roles.

The study only includes cases from the Swedish transport infrastructure sector, which limits the generalizability. The findings are also indicative owing to the small number of cases.

The findings further our understanding of managing change in complex projects, which might help practitioners to manage change in a more integrated way.

The findings enrich our understanding of the systemic change that a switch in contract types can have in inter-organizational complex projects such as transport infrastructure projects. Furthermore, it emphasizes the intricate task of change management in project-led organizations and its effects on roles and responsibilities.

Purpose – Evidence suggests that during the 1990s, many US metropolitan areas saw fundamental changes in the spatial distribution of household income. Following two decades of increasing economic segregation, many metropolitan neighborhoods saw declines in economic segregation, particularly those neighborhoods located within central cities and rural areas. This paper adapts the Spatial Ordering Index proposed by Dawkins (2007b) to explore these trends.

Methodology/Approach – Using US Census data, I calculate economic segregation indices for a sample of 205 US metropolitan areas in 1990 and 2000 and decompose changes in the indices into portions attributable to changes in the spatial distribution of households and portions capturing changes in the spatial distribution of aggregate income. I also examine regional variations in the decompositions.

Findings – The results suggest that changes in the spatial distribution of households and of income each influenced metropolitan economic segregation in different ways during the 1990s. Furthermore, the spatial dynamics of income segregation exhibited significant regional heterogeneity.

Originality/Value of paper – This paper presents a new approach to measuring the dynamics of economic segregation.

Purpose: This chapter discusses the need for climate change risk mitigation and why it is not the responsibility of Central Banks to mitigate climate change risk.

Methodology: This chapter uses critical discourse analysis to explain why central banks should not have the responsibility for climate change risk mitigation.

Findings: This chapter argues that the responsibility for managing climate change risk should lie with elected officials, other groups and institutions but not Central Banks. Elected officials, or politicians, should be held responsible to deal with the consequence of climate change events. Also, international organizations and everybody can take responsibility for climate change while the Central Bank can provide assistance – but Central Banks should not lead the climate policy making or mitigation agenda.

Implication: The policy implication is that the responsibility for climate change risk mitigation should be shifted to politicians who are elected officials of the people. Also, international climate change organizations or groups can take responsibility for mitigating the climate change risk of member countries. Finally, citizens in a country or region should have equal responsibility for climate change. Climate information should be provided to every citizen to help them prepare for future climatic conditions.

Originality: This chapter propagates the idea that Central Banks should take a lead role in dealing with the problems of climate change. This chapter is the first chapter to contest a Central Bank-led climate change risk mitigation agenda.

Climate change adaptation strategies are critical for long-term road infrastructure development (RID) because it is expected to put more land and transportation infrastructure at risk from stronger winds, more intense storms, and rising sea levels. Deformation and subsidence could occur if concrete pavements crumbled and asphalt roads softened due to higher temperatures, and changes in the frequency and intensity of precipitation could have far-reaching consequences for the smooth operation of transportation networks. The developed world is primarily responsible for the carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, while less developed countries are insignificant. The African Union sees climate change as a major threat to the continent’s economic development and is working with member states and key organizations to address it. It is critical for developing countries to establish frameworks for detecting climate change risks, developing adaptation strategies, and implementing plans. The sustainable development plan (SRIP) is critical for protecting transportation networks from the effects of climate change. Sustainable development principles are critical for clarifying the proposed project’s relationships with the local and larger society, economy, ecosystems, and various institutions. The ability of a system or structure to recover from disruption while continuing to function and adapt to new circumstances is referred to as resilient infrastructure. Low-carbon infrastructure coexists with resilient infrastructure, and the pursuit of resilient infrastructure necessitates a reduction in the likelihood of failure, a lessening of the negative consequences when failures do occur, and a reduction in the time required to recover due to an increase in the facilities’ capacity to endure, adapt, and change. As part of the implementation process, RID experts must consider how climate change will impact transportation infrastructure. Risk assessment is a systematic method of looking for things that could go wrong, determining how bad they could be, and determining how likely they are to happen. Adaptable designs must include multiple measures to prevent system breakdowns. Climate change’s effects on road infrastructure, as well as rising sea levels, continue to jeopardize low-lying transportation infrastructure. Implementing SRIP necessitates the development of a climate change response mechanism.

Climate change is emerging as an important issue increasing uncertainty in the business circle, and financial institutions through their inaction seem to be unmoved by climate change risk despite the potential for climate change events to affect the financial institutions and the financial system. In this chapter, the effect of climate change on financial institutions and the financial system are highlighted and discussed.