Search results

This paper covers the development of a multidimensional contract administration performance model (CAPM) for construction projects. The proposed CAPM is intended to be used by the industry stakeholders to measure the construction contract administration (CCA) performance and identify the strengths and weaknesses of the CCA system for running or completed projects.

The research design follows a sequential mixed methodology of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. In the first phase, contract administration indicators were collected from relevant literature. In the second phase, an online questionnaire was prepared, and data were collected and analyzed using the crisp value of fuzzy membership function, and structural equation modeling (SEM). The fuzzy set was chosen for this study due to the presence of uncertainty and fuzziness associated with the importance of several key indicators affecting the CCA performance. Finally, SEM was used to test and analyze interrelationships among constructs of CCA performance.

The data collected from 336 construction professionals worldwide through an online survey was utilized to develop the fuzzy structural equation model. The goodness-of-fit and reliability tests validated the model. The study concluded a significant correlation between CCA performance, CCA operational indicators, and the process groups.

The contribution of this paper to the existing knowledge is the development of a fuzzy structural equation model that serves as a measurement tool for the contract administration performance. This is the first quantitative structural equation model to capture contract administration performance. The model consists of 93 Construction Contract Administration(CCA) performance indicators categorized into 11 project management process groups namely: project governance and start-up; team management; communication and relationship management; quality and acceptance management; performance monitoring and reporting management; document and record management; financial management; changes and control management; claims and dispute resolution management; contract risk management and contract closeout management.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The purpose of this article is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) of information technology (IT) projects using cloud computing. CSFs are variables that can influence the success of projects and therefore need to be identified and managed appropriately.

This is an exploratory qualitative study with 23 experts in cloud computing projects through semi-structured interviews. The data was analyzed using content analysis.

The results present a list of CSFs for projects in a cloud computing environment. The study demonstrated that the CSF with greater relevance to cloud projects is the team’s technical capacity, followed by the support of senior management and the team’s soft skills. In addition, results demonstrated that contract item management is a limiting factor for cloud projects.

The sample comprised only Brazilian experts, so it may not represent the same scenario as in other locations. The CSF ratio for cloud computing projects may vary depending on the company’s maturity in projects of this nature.

The CSF relationship can guide managers in properly conducting cloud computing projects, contributing to minimizing the risks and challenges that may interfere with the project.

The relationship of the CSFs in cloud computing projects proposed fills a gap in studies specifically related to this context and tries to minimize project managers’ stress.

Contract items for the cloud context are added to the CSF literature in IT projects, which have not been addressed so far.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the stability of the cost performance index (CPI) for environmental remediation projects as the topic is not addressed in the literature. CPI is defined as the earned value of work performed divided by the actual cost of the work, and CPI stability represents the point in time in a project after which the CPI varies by less than 20 percent (measured in different ways).

After collecting monthly earned value management (EVM) data for 136 environmental remediation projects from a United States federal agency in fiscal years 2012 and 2013, the authors used the nonparametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test to analyze CPI stability. The authors also used nonparametric statistical comparisons to identify any significant relationships between CPI stability and independent variables representing project and contract characteristics.

The CPI for environmental projects did not stabilize until the projects were 41 percent complete with respect to project duration. The most significant factors contributing to CPI stability were categorized into the following managerial insights: contractor qualifications, communication, stakeholder engagement, contracting strategy, competition, EVM factors, and macro project factors.

As CPI stability for environmental remediation projects has not been reported in the literature, this research provides new insights to help project managers understand when the CPIs of environmental remediation projects stabilize and which factors have the most impact on CPI stability.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a structural relationship model to study the relationship between causes and effects of poor communication and information exchange in construction projects using Smart-PLS.

The first method of this research is to identify the causes and effects factors of poor communication in construction projects from the extant of literature. The data used to develop the model was collected using a questionnaire survey, which targeted construction practitioners in the Malaysian construction industry. A five-point Likert type scale was used to rate the significance of the factors. The factors were classified under their relevant construct/group using exploratory factor analysis. A hypothetical model was developed and then transformed into Smart-PLS in which the hypothetical model suggested that each group of the cause factors has a direct impact on the effect groups. The hypothesis was tested using t-values and p-values. The model was assessed for its inner and outer components and achieved the threshold criterion. Further, the model was verified by engaging 14 construction experts to verify its applicability in the construction project setting.

The study developed a structural equation model to clarify the relationships between causes and effects of poor communication in construction projects. The model explained the degree of relationships among causes and effects of poor communication in construction projects.

The published academic and non-academic literature introduced many studies on the issue of communication including the definitions, importance, barriers to effective communication and means of poor communication. However, these studies ended up only on the general issue of communication lacking an in-depth investigation of the causes and effects of poor communication in the construction industry. The study implemented advanced structural modeling to study the causes and effects. The questionnaire, the data and concluding results fill the identified research gap of this study. The addressed issue is also of interest because communication is considered one of the main knowledge areas in construction management.

This conceptual paper focuses on a common observation in the implementation stage of reward-based crowdfunding (RBC) – entrepreneurs' failures and delays in delivery of rewards to investors, which, in turn, may be perceived as violations of reward delivery obligations.

Drawing on entrepreneurial personality theory and psychological contract theory, this paper develops propositions and identifies factors related to both entrepreneurs (overconfidence and narcissism) and factors related to investors (types of motivators and psychological contracts) that may explain the perceived violations of reward delivery obligations. Implications for theory and practice are also discussed.

The theoretical analysis, by wielding two independently developed literatures, has demonstrated that it is important to investigate factors that are related to both investors and entrepreneurs in understanding issues and challenges at different stages of the RBC model. The authors believe that the current analysis provides an integrated understanding and a solid foundation for researchers to further examine these issues by empirically testing these propositions.

The authors examined two previously understudied psychological factors in the context of RBC – entrepreneurial traits, mainly overconfidence and narcissism, and the type of psychological contracts formed between investors and entrepreneurs, both of which, according to McKenny et al. (2017), need greater attention from researchers studying crowdfunding.

Managing projects is an important part of operations management, but many projects fail. This study focuses on attribution processes of such disruption from the underrepresented perspective of the project manager. The authors consider two types of causes: the more frequently researched environmental uncertainty (i.e. uncontrollable events) and the scarcely researched uncertainty imposed by non-collaborative project sponsors (i.e. other-controllable events).

The authors test conceptual arguments grounded in attribution theory and the notion of psychological contracts in a scenario-based experiment among 325 practicing project managers.

The findings indicate that non-collaborative project sponsors negatively affect project managers' motivation, whereas uncontrollable disruptions leave hope to achieve positive future outcomes. This latter effect is further strengthened when project managers have an internal attribution style. They tend to blame the disruption on themselves and generally feel in control of achieving success even if they are not.

These socio-psychological insights nuance the economic idea that uncertainty reduces motivation per se in the context of project disruption appraisal. The authors contribute to the behavioral project management literature and general attribution theory and help guide the allocation of resources during the recovery of failed projects.

Business process re-engineering (BPR) initiatives are complex endeavours which require many factors to ensure success. However, most studies focus on the organisational processes and improvement within the organisation itself and less on the project team and management dynamics. The study aimed to identify factors that enabled the completion of a BPR, in a technical firm, based on reflections on the project management style.

The study entailed a descriptive and interpretive case study with reflections from project team members. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis.

Findings revealed that critical success factors for BPR in a technical firm include project leadership and sponsorship, organisational culture and attributes, team dynamics and the nature (activities), and duration of the process.

The findings will benefit project managers in improving their competence and project success through reflective practice. The identified factors could be used in future projects of a similar nature and size to improve how organisations execute BPR projects.

The study used reflections to identify success factors for BPR in a technical firm.

The rapid advancement of digital technologies has fundamentally changed the competitive dynamics of the logistics service industry and forced incumbent logistics service providers (LSPs) to digitalize. As many LSPs still struggle in advancing their digital transformation (DT), the purpose of this study is to discover barriers and identify organizational elements and associated leading practices for DT success at LSPs.

This study utilizes a two-stage approach. Stage 1 is devoted to a literature review. Stage 2, based on multiple case studies, analyzes information collected across nine international and global LSPs.

This research derives a practice-based definition of DT in the logistics service industry, and it has identified five barriers, eight success factors and associated leading practices for DT. The main obstacles LSPs struggle with, are the complexity of the logistics network and lack of resources, while the main success factor is a leader having and executing a DT vision, and creating a supportive organizational culture.

The results contribute to the emerging field of DT within the logistics and supply chain management literature and provide insights for practitioners regarding how to effectively implement it in a complex industry.

The authors analyze DT from the perspective of LSPs, traditionally not viewed as innovative companies. This study compares their DT with that of other companies.

There is a large amount of published literature on project management. However, there exists a gap between the existing literature and current practices in the industry for the development and execution of megaprojects. Existing literature generally focuses on individual elements applicable to project management in general. This article aims to provide an overview of the project management system components used in industrial megaprojects and identify the gaps between theory and practice, which can be used as input for further research on the topic.

The topic of megaproject management is reviewed based on available literature sources on megaproject management systems to identify the main gaps in the literature between theory and practice. Based on the findings, an analysis is provided to discuss the improvements required in distinct project management areas and phases.

There are multiple gaps associated with issues, failures, successes and challenges in industrial megaprojects. Improvements are needed in distinct management areas and over the entire project lifetime. Further guidelines are required for achieving improved megaproject management systems. Such concepts could benefit researchers and practitioners in streamlining their research toward the most relevant and critical areas of improvement of megaproject management systems.

This study addresses the literature gaps between theory and practices on megaproject management systems with an overview that provides helpful guidance for industrial applications and future research. A holistic analysis identifies gaps and critical drives in the body of knowledge, revealing avenues for future research focused on quality as the central pillar that affects the entire megaproject management system.