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1 – 10 of over 4000Kirsi Aaltonen and Virpi Turkulainen
In this study, we develop further understanding of how institutional change is created within a mature and local industry. In this pursuit, we examine how a collaborative large…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, we develop further understanding of how institutional change is created within a mature and local industry. In this pursuit, we examine how a collaborative large project governance model was institutionalized at an industrial sector-level through both industry-level activities and “institutional projects”.
Design/methodology/approach
This study builds on the foundations of institutional fields and institutional change, suggesting that projects are not only shaped by their contexts but also produce institutional change themselves. We conducted extensive fieldwork on the institutionalization of a collaborative project governance model in Finland.
Findings
The findings illustrate how institutional change in governance of large and complex inter-organizational projects is created at the institutional field level. The institutionalized collaborative project governance model includes aspects of both relational and contractual governance. The change was facilitated by temporal links between the institutional projects as well as vertical links between the institutional projects and the field-level development programs.
Originality/value
This is one of the first studies to address how a collaborative large project governance model becomes the norm at the institutional field level beyond the boundaries of an individual project or organization.
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Laura Saukko, Kirsi Aaltonen and Harri Haapasalo
The purpose of this paper is to define the integration capability dimensions and create a model for self-assessing the integration capability in inter-organizational projects.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to define the integration capability dimensions and create a model for self-assessing the integration capability in inter-organizational projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A theoretical construct of, referred in this study as integration capability framework is elaborated following a systematic literature review. Thereafter, an integration capability self-assessment model, based on maturity thinking, is derived from the theoretical framework. The self-assessment model is further developed and tested for validity within five inter-organizational project networks in cooperation with industry practitioners, representing construction, industrial engineering, and mining sectors.
Findings
The results show that inter-organizational projects can use the developed model in self-assessing the maturity levels of various integration mechanisms, thus the state of integration capability at any point in time during inter-organizational projects.
Originality/value
This study is an attempt to identify how the integration capability dimensions can be self-assessed in inter-organizational projects, through the maturity levels of various integration mechanisms. The results offer insights for both academics and project management practitioners.
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Anne Klitgaard and Stefan Christoffer Gottlieb
The study aims to investigate the concept of strategy-as-practice in construction management literature has been investigated. The focus is on the link between strategizing…
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to investigate the concept of strategy-as-practice in construction management literature has been investigated. The focus is on the link between strategizing practices and project management.
Design/Methodology/Approach
An exploratory literature review is carried out based on fifteen journal articles on strategizing practices in the construction industry.
Findings
The analysis shows how strategy-as-practice questions and contradicts project management practices as depicted in the dominant deterministic perspective. Strategy-as-practice has a focus on reacting and adapting to a chaotic and changing environment, while project management is concerned with creating and maintaining a stable working environment. The findings point to the necessity of considering the organizational and institutional context of project management practices, and hence the values the strategy-as-practice lens, when considering new avenues for improving the industry.
Research Limitations/Implications
As the study is based on an exploratory literature review of only 15 articles, generalizations should be made with caution. The identified literature is restricted by search words and choice of database.
Practical Implications
The differences between strategizing and project management practices are very clear, and a focus on both may offer insights into how the construction industry could improve its productivity by developing more robust management practices.
Originality/Value
The paper illustrates the benefit of applying a strategizing perspective, which hitherto has been under-investigated in construction management research.
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Jelle Koolwijk, Clarine van Oel and Mirjam Bel
To explore how and why the social structures of strategic partnerships are shaped by actors and how these interrelate with a team's interpersonal relationships over time. Grasping…
Abstract
Purpose
To explore how and why the social structures of strategic partnerships are shaped by actors and how these interrelate with a team's interpersonal relationships over time. Grasping the complexity of this interplay is essential if we want to comprehend what actually goes on in these partnerships and understand why actors often disengage from them.
Design/methodology/approach
In three cases, 14 in-depth interviews were held with knowledgeable actors about important events and activities that influenced the relationships between partners. Interview data were triangulated with journals kept by the lead author, who participated as an engaged scholar in the three cases. Because this study took an interdisciplinary approach, new insights could evolve from the multi-level analysis.
Findings
Trust has a moderating effect on the relation between open-book accounting and the degree of control a dominant party wants to exercise. When the level of control is raised, this can signal distrust to the other partners, which can harm the relationship. When partners feel more dependent on each other's capabilities to reach their long-term goals, the parties seem to be less likely to put the blame on one of the partners in the case of undesirable events.
Practical implications
Managers should be aware of their power position and acknowledge the effects of power on their relationships. If long-term and close collaboration does not emerge in their partnership, it may be due to how they use their power position.
Originality/value
Thanks to the interdisciplinary approach, this is the first study that shows the significance of trust and power in maintaining strategic partnerships in the construction industry, and how trust can affect the financial rules of actors.
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In Korea and abroad, this paper investigates the use of blockchains in the financial sector. This study aims to examine how blockchains are applied to the financial sector and how…
Abstract
Purpose
In Korea and abroad, this paper investigates the use of blockchains in the financial sector. This study aims to examine how blockchains are applied to the financial sector and how to respond to the Korean conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper investigates the movements of the financial sector and related services using the blockchain in the current market.
Findings
First, as a result of examining domestic and foreign cases, it can be seen that the areas where blockchains are most actively applied in the financial sector are expanding into settlement, remittance, securities and smart contracts. Also, in Korea, many of the authentication procedures based on the equipment possessed by the consumers are used so that introduction of the blockchain in the authentication part is prominent. Second, the move to introduce a closed (private) distributed ledger that does not go through the central bank is accelerating in payments between banks. Third, domestic financial institutions also need joint action by financial institutions through a blockchain consortium to apply blockchain technology to the financial sector. Fourth, consumer needs and technological developments are changing. At the same time, as the opportunity to infringe on the information held by individuals has expanded, the need for blockchain technology is strongly emerging because of the efforts of the organizations to defend it.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to understanding the changes in the financial sector using the blockchain.
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Eloise Grove, Andrew Dainty, Derek Thomson and Tony Thorpe
The intra-organisational relationships of through-life support services providers are complex, especially given the multifaceted nature of the provision required. For example…
Abstract
Purpose
The intra-organisational relationships of through-life support services providers are complex, especially given the multifaceted nature of the provision required. For example, capabilities within the UK highways maintenance arena must support engineering design, routine maintenance and the on-going management of the network. While collaboration in construction projects has formed a major research focus in recent years, there is a paucity of work examining collaboration in-flight.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a micro-practices approach, two contracts delivering highway infrastructure maintenance and renewal services are examined to explore the intra-organisational relationships that determine the quality of service delivered.
Findings
Despite the rhetoric of collaboration and integrated working that pervades the contemporary project discourse, there was a clear focus on addressing immediate technical and commercial concerns, rather than on creating the conditions for integrated working to flourish. On the occasions where the collaborative environment was prioritised, a more integrated service was delivered.
Originality/value
In contrast to other accounts of the ways collaborative working shapes performance, this research reveals an acute need for a sustained collaborative effort; as soon as “collaborative working” was normalised, the level of integration and seamlessness of service was diminished. This questions normative notions of what defines collaborative working in projects and suggests a need for re-framing it as an on-going accomplishment of actors involved. Such a perspective resonates with notions of “organizational becoming”, particularly in that attempts to foster collaboration are themselves constitutive of the unfolding and shifting nature of intra-organisational relationships that emerge in complex contractual arrangements.
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Tommi Pauna, Jere Lehtinen, Jaakko Kujala and Kirsi Aaltonen
The aim of this research was to understand how governmental stakeholder engagement facilitates the sustainability of industrial engineering (IE) projects. A model for governmental…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this research was to understand how governmental stakeholder engagement facilitates the sustainability of industrial engineering (IE) projects. A model for governmental stakeholder engagement activities is presented.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors relied on a single-case study of a mining project in Northern Europe, where a novel collaboration and engagement approach with governmental stakeholders was piloted in the project's front-end phase. The analysis focused on the collaborative practices through which the IE project investor engaged governmental stakeholders during the project's front-end phase and how the engagement contributed to solving challenges in the early planning and permitting process and achieving project plans that balanced economic, social and environmental aspects.
Findings
The findings show how four collaborative engagement practices reduced uncertainty and equivocality related to the legal sustainability requirements, enabled the development of sustainable design solutions and overall accelerated the permitting process without compromising the quality of final project plans.
Practical implications
The findings can be used to plan governmental stakeholder engagement and understand related challenges that need to be overcome. The study highlights the need to develop established practices and guidelines for governmental stakeholder engagement.
Originality/value
This study complements prior research on stakeholder engagement and project sustainability by developing an understanding of how governmental stakeholder engagement can be a key mechanism enabling the sustainability of IE project's end product. This research contributes to stakeholder theory by elaborating on a new stakeholder role, intermediary stakeholder.
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Sina Moradi and Kalle Kähkönen
The emergence of collaborative delivery models and working practices in construction industry has created a potential area for project success research. Previous studies have…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of collaborative delivery models and working practices in construction industry has created a potential area for project success research. Previous studies have addressed success factors of various collaborative delivery models (e.g. alliance and partnering). However, there is currently very limited research-based knowledge concerning core success factors for different collaborative delivery models, exploring the commonalities. Thus, this study aims to conceptualize a success model for collaborative construction projects by identifying and structuring their core success factors through the lens of project delivery elements.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted, and thematic as well as content analysis of the relevant studies led to the identification of mentioned success factors in the literature for different collaborative delivery models. Then, those common success factors were structured in a model based on factors' relation to project delivery elements.
Findings
The obtained results present eight core success factors (e.g. equality, mutual trust and commitment to win–win philosophy) for collaborative construction projects, structured in a model based on their contribution toward project organization, contractual relationships, and operational system in construction project delivery. Moreover, the differences between success factors for traditional and collaborative construction projects are discussed.
Originality/value
This study's findings provide insightful theoretical contributions on collaborative construction project success and providing a departure point for future studies based on the discussed differences between success factors of collaborative and traditional construction projects. The findings can be also practically insightful for the project professionals in collaborative construction projects to succeed in managing project organization, contractual relationships, and operational system.
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John Connaughton and William Collinge
This paper aims to report on a new form of project insurance in the UK construction designed to improve collaborative working among project participants. It aims to examine the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to report on a new form of project insurance in the UK construction designed to improve collaborative working among project participants. It aims to examine the interprofessional collaborative endeavour under the new insurance arrangements, drawing on a structuration model of interdisciplinary collaboration developed in the field of healthcare studies.
Design/Methodology/Approach
The research employed a longitudinal, action research approach with participant observation. A novel element included a project facilitator as part of the action research team. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with close scrutiny of the documented project record.
Findings
Project structure emerges as a more important element in the collaboration process than is typically recognised in practice-based studies; the analysis revealing the interplay of structure, the socialising processes of participants and how facilitation helps develop interdependence among project participants. The analysis provides a basis for understanding collaboration on the trial project.
Research Limitations/Implications
The project provides a unique context for the examination of collaboration under the new project insurance arrangements. The results have implications for the study of collaboration in highlighting the important relationship between project structure, collaboration and facilitation.
Practical Implications
Understanding how interdependency is developed through structure, the socialising processes of collaborators and facilitation has important implications for those concerned with designing project arrangements and managing collaborative processes.
Originality/Value
The paper reports on the first full trial of new project insurance arrangements in the UK. It highlights the significance of project structure, and the interplay between collaborators’ emerging practices and facilitation.
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Maryam R. Nezami, Mark L.C. de Bruijne, Marcel J.C.M. Hertogh and Hans L.M. Bakker
Societies depend on interconnected infrastructures that are becoming more complex over the years. Multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills are essential to develop modern…
Abstract
Purpose
Societies depend on interconnected infrastructures that are becoming more complex over the years. Multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills are essential to develop modern infrastructures, requiring close collaboration of various infrastructure owners. To effectively manage and improve inter-organizational collaboration (IOC) in infrastructure construction projects, collaboration status should be assessed continually. This study identifies the assessment criteria, forming the foundation of a tool for assessing the status of IOC in interconnected infrastructure projects.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature study and in-depth semi-structured interviews with practitioners in interconnected infrastructure construction projects in the Netherlands are performed to identify the criteria for assessing the status of IOC in infrastructure construction projects, based on which an assessment tool is developed.
Findings
The identified assessment criteria through the literature and the practitioner’s perspectives results in the designing and development of a collaboration assessment tool. The assessment tool consists of 12 criteria and 36 sub-criteria from three different categories of collaborative capacity: individual, relational, and organizational.
Originality/value
The assessment tool enables practitioners to monitor the status of IOC between infrastructure owners and assists them in making informed decisions to enhance collaboration. The assessment tool provides the opportunity to assess and analyze the status of collaboration based on three categories (i.e., individual, relational, and organizational).
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