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This paper aims to present an off-site construction (OSC) readiness maturity model for assessing the readiness of offsite construction companies in the Indian construction sector.

The research was conducted in three stages. The first stage consisted of a detailed literature review to document 17 different variables affecting the OSC adoption in India. In Stage 2, 15 semi-structured interviews were carried out where the participants were asked to refine those variables for the Indian context and define what would be different levels of attainment. In the third stage, another set of 5 semi-structure interviews was performed to validate the maturity levels and definitions.

A three-level OSC readiness maturity model is presented for discussion. This describes 17 variables at different levels of maturity.

The proposed OSC readiness maturity model guides construction practitioners in India through a structured process to enable them to assess their OSC readiness in the market. This assessment enables them to evaluate and benchmark their processes through the strategic and operational phases. The maturity model also identifies the areas of concern and the scope for further development or change to secure the optimal advantage of OSC methods.

The research produced a model to assess the readiness of OSC adoption in the Indian construction sector. Although the model has been applied to the Indian construction sector, it can easily be modified to accommodate other OSM contexts.

This paper presents a bespoke model for understanding off-site construction (OSC) readiness among Indian construction organisations. This model presents 17 variables for discussion, the results from which help support OSC strategic decision-making.

Factor analysis was used to investigate the relationship between variables to group them into factors. After identifying 26 different variables, these were reduced to 17 using factor analysis and categorised into four groups. Descriptive statistical analysis and factor analysis using SPSS was used to develop a hierarchy of factors that affect OSC readiness in India. These findings were reinforced by five domain experts to support the results.

Minimising on-site duration, ensuring cost and time certainty and transportation issues were identified as the three most important factors, whereas lack of guidance and scepticism were among the lowest factors affecting the Indian OSC sector.

This research is specifically focused on OSC within the Indian construction sector. As such, data collection, propagation and analysis should be constrained to the population context regarding inference, generalisability and repeatability.

The proffered OSC readiness model offers OSC practitioners an ability to assess the OSC readiness of construction organisations in India. This includes the evaluation and benchmarking of processes in both strategic and operational phases, including highlighting areas of concern and scope for further development (to achieve optimal advantage of OSC methods).

Originality rests with the use of factor analysis and descriptive statistical analysis to study the influence of different construction-related factors and variables on the OSC sector in India. This impact readiness model is context-specific to the Indian OSC sector – providing a unique insight into the causal factors and dependencies that can affect the adoption and uptake of modern methods of construction in India.

Circular economy (CE) and offsite construction (OSC) are two innovations for improving the construction industry's overall performance against a myriad of sustainability-driven agenda/initiatives. There is a real opportunity to conjoin OSC and CE to provide new insight and opportunities to deliver more evidence-based sustainable systems. This study analyses extant literature in CE and OSC (between 2000 and 2021) through a bibliometric review to tease out critical measures for their integration and transformation.

This study adopts a science mapping quantitative literature review approach employing bibliometric and visualisation techniques to systematically investigate data. The Web of Science (WoS) database was used to collect data, and the VOSviewer software to analyse the data collected to determine strengths, weights, clusters and research trends in OSC and CE.

Important findings emerging from the study include extensive focus on sustainability, waste, life cycle assessment and building information modelling (BIM), which currently serve as strong interlinks to integrate OSC and CE. Circular business models, deconstruction and supply chain management are emerging areas, with strong links for integrating CE and OSC. These emerging areas influence organisational and operational decisions towards sustainable value creation, hence requiring more future empirical investigations.

This study is a novel research using bibliometric analysis to unpick underpinning conduits for integrating CE and OSC, providing a blueprint for circular OSC future research and practice. It provides the needed awareness to develop viable strategies for integrating CE in OSC, creating opportunities to transition to more sustainable systems in the construction sector.

The paper aims to investigate the employee–stakeholder engagement on business performance. A psychosocial approach was used to evaluate employees’ perception and role engagement on organisational performance, cognisant of: strategy development; leadership; fiscal acuity; employees’ skills, empowerment; supply chain relationships; external stakeholders and wider societal beneficiaries.

This research is context-bound to the Turkish construction industry. Findings generated from literature established a set of evidenced-based priorities for further investigation. A case study approach was conducted with three large architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) organisations to define psychosocial diffusion indicators and priorities for future uptake.

Initial findings on psychosocial diffusion indicators and their impact on business performance are presented through a psychosocial diffusion model. Three interconnected facets are proffered for future uptake: capability (responsiveness), capability (flexibility) and capability (competence).

Findings are exclusively bound to the sample frame in question. No attempt has been made to undertake detailed cross-analysis/correlation to support internal/external consistency, validity or reliability.

Organisations are able to reflect on their core business strategy to appreciate how psychosocial diffusion can be operationalised.

This work impinges on social factors embedded within (and across) organisational boundaries, including the AEC supply chain. It also relates to employer/employee relationships, psychological functioning and employee well-being.

Originality rests with the identification of construction-related psychosocial indicators. It contributes to the wider body of knowledge on embedding psychosocial indicators into organisational systems and processes, adding further insight into systems thinking and business transformation.

A growing recognition that human capital is a more critical factor than physical capital in wealth creation has led to the drive for individuals, organisations, industries and societies to become knowledge producing entities. Africa’s growing population, high rate of urbanisation and demand for sustainable infrastructure development have highlighted the need for human capacity development (HCD). However, studies indicate that the supply systems for learning which African construction organisations rely on are weak and immature generating wide spread reports of skills shortages, skills mismatches, skill deficiencies and concomitant high unemployment. This paper forms the prologue in a wider research aimed at developing a workforce capability optimising model for construction firms and the purpose of this paper is to review literature relating to HCD to highlight needs and to explore the applicability of emerging workforce development (WD) approaches in project-based construction workplaces.

Literature review, limited to peer reviewed academic publications in English from 2000 to 2016.

Much of the literature reviewed focus on educational aspects and consequently basic entry skills into the construction workforce. Workplace learning (WL), though acknowledged, is not given much attention. However, life-long learning, WL and self-directed learning have taken on greater significance because of the transient nature of knowledge in the Knowledge Age. WD practices of construction firms in Africa range from non-existent to average particularly at intermediate skills levels.

The paper makes a case for improved WD systems applicable to the African construction workplace and introduces elements of a proposed capability optimising framework that supports sustained effective learning environments and learners. Significantly, the model will incorporate HCD for intermediate skills and learning at the project level of the organisation.

The purpose of this paper is to examine green building legislation requirements and practices in the construction project execution stage within the context of the South African construction industry. The rationale for this examination rests with the perception that the implementation of green practices (per se) has been recognised as being “behind” the legislation enacted to control the design and construction of green buildings.

The research process consisted of a literature review to identify existing green building legislation and practices applicable to the project execution phase. This was supported by a sequential mixed-method research approach, which involved a survey of contracting companies based in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. Purposive sampling was used to undertake focused interviews with management staff and site operatives.

Research findings established a number of issues, not least: a gap between green building practices and legislation requirements; a high degree of unawareness of green building legislation/practices by construction company stakeholders; selective implementation of health and safety legislative requirements; that management staff had a more “positive” attitude to green building practices than site-based staff who tended to be less motivated and open to such practices.

Results from this study are considered generalisable with the sample frame only. Research inference and projections should therefore only be made within this set, and not to the wider population of South African contractors (as this study was limited to the Western Cape Province).

Implications from this research are applicable to construction company stakeholders within the population set. Practical considerations include the need to acknowledge a formal commitment to developing a sustainable built environment – especially cognisant of the gap between practices on site and green building legislation requirements. Moreover, this lack of awareness in respect of green building practices and legislation requirements impinges upon several wider areas, not least: construction company stakeholders’ positioning, health and safety practices; managerial and operational staff perceptions, and stakeholders’ willingness and motivation to proactively address these gaps.

Government bodies and allied professionals in charge of construction industry development are encouraged to consider the implementation of green building legislation requirements on construction sites. This reflection should encourage engagement through formative legislative provision and transparent awareness campaigns.

This work is original insofar as it directly addresses the alignment of legislation to current practices within the context of the South African construction industry. However, similar exercises have been undertaken on green building legislation in other countries such as USA, UK and Australia.

Perceptions drawn from the construction management research (CMR) community regarding research impact (RI) and its relationship to theory generation (TG) are examined. Investigative emphasis is on RI and TG enablers and challenges (within an academic context). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Qualitative narrative data accrued from open-ended questions within a structured questionnaire survey are analysed using frequency, quantitative content analysis, and graphical methods. A model of the RI/TG interface is presented and discussed.

Principal RI enablers are “facilitation” (industry engagement, time); while principal constraints include “internal factors” (the academic, the university) and “external factors” (collaboration, funding). Respective TG enablers are “resources” (competence, time, funding) and corresponding challenges include “external factors” (market forces, compliance). RI is considered a minor challenge to TG.

The study adds empirical evidence to the ongoing RI debate within the UK generally and with regard to the CMR discipline more specifically.

RI research is relatively sparse, while the findings in regard to CMR are entirely novel.

Knowledge management literature predominant comes from a western perspective. The purpose of this paper is to report on an empirical study to find out if the organisations acting in less business environment such as Libyan organisations (banking in particular) will be able to implement a knowledge management system (KMS) and how they can benefit from it.

The study is built mainly around “what” question related to information processes within organisations within a social context. This study uses a case study approach using an interpretive perspective (a qualitative method) to map and describe relationships. This approach enables a greater degree of granularity to be captured.

The benefit of KMS is an essential step in defining critical areas in implementing a KMS and determining strategy in this research. The results show that KMS could be of most significance for enhancing the organisations' performance and led them to better position in today's competitive environment. These benefits are fundamental issues related to different encouragements in KMS implementation such as better decision‐making, improving the customer relationship and management, create new value through new services (innovations), and creating additional businesses.

The banking and financial sectors are fundamental drivers of innovation. In this context, their contribution to KM concept and applications are of specific value, especially concerning the leverage of intellectual capital. Knowledge intensive organisations like these are increasingly implementing KMS to drive forward their strategies and improve performance. This paper therefore, focuses specially on presenting a framework tailored to meet the banking and financial sector's needs.

The contribution of lean construction techniques in sustainable construction cannot be over emphasised, as sustainable development is now enshrined in government policy. In addition, lean construction is now faced with the challenges of sustainable development, continuous improvement, waste elimination, a stronger user focus, increased value for money along with high quality management of projects and supply chains, and improved communications. This paper presents an exploratory study from extant literature and the results of the use of questionnaire survey among construction participants to explore the contribution of implementing lean construction techniques in sustainable construction.

Surveys of UK-based construction professional were conducted. The data collected were analysed with SPSS 19.0 version software using the percentile method, Cronbach ' s α reliability test, Kruskal Wallis test, Kendall ' s coefficient of concordance and one sample t-test.

Results from this study indicate that there are several benefits associated with implementation of lean construction and sustainable construction. The overall perspective of professionals within the construction industry, according to questionnaire survey, shows that benefits such as improved corporate image and sustainable competitive advantage, improved process flow and productivity, improvement in environmental quality and increased compliance with customer ' s expectations are realised following integration of principles of lean construction and sustainable construction within construction industry. Just-in-time, visualisation tool, value analysis, daily huddle meetings and value stream mapping are the most common lean tools/techniques for enabling sustainability. This study also identified several areas of linkage between lean and sustainability such as waste reduction, environmental management, value maximisation, and health and safety improvement among others.

The originality of this paper lies in its consideration of lean construction principles to better understand its impact on sustainable construction. This research contributes to the awareness of the benefits that can be derived from the implementation of lean construction in sustainable construction within the construction industry.