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Insufficient productivity development in the global and Finnish infrastructure sectors indicates that there are challenges in genuinely achieving the goals of resource efficiency and digitalization. This study adapts the approach of capability maturity model integration (CMMI) for examining the capabilities for productivity development that reveal the enablers of improving productivity in the infrastructure sector.

Civil engineering in Finland was selected as the study area, and a qualitative research approach was adopted. A novel maturity model was constructed deductively through a three-step analytical process. Previous research literature was adapted to form a framework with maturity levels and key process areas (KPAs). KPA attributes and their maturity criteria were formed through a thematic analysis of interview data from 12 semi-structured group interviews. Finally, validation and refinement of the model were performed with an expert panel.

This paper provides a novel maturity model for examining and enhancing the infrastructure sector’s maturity in productivity development. The model brings into discussion the current business logics, relevance of lifecycle-thinking, binding targets and outcomes of limited activities in the surrounding infrastructure system.

This paper provides a new approach for pursuing productivity development in the infrastructure sector by constructing a maturity model that adapts the concepts of CMMI and change management. The model and findings benefit all actors in the sector and provide an understanding of the required elements and means to achieve a more sustainable built environment and effective operations.

The purpose of this research is to assess the current level of systems literacy of air force logisticians in Nigeria.

This research undertook an assessment of the knowledge of air force logistics officers on systems thinking with the aid of a qualitative questionnaire. The questionnaire featured questions on the level of literacy and application of systems thinking by air force logisticians in Nigeria.

The research finds that the majority of the air force logistics officers have very low levels of knowledge and training in systems thinking.

The research is a unique effort to ascertain the level of systems thinking literacy and training in air force logistics in Nigeria. The study presents a baseline and justification for intervention through an improvement of the logistics curricula used in air force training institutions in Nigeria.

In addressing the housing deficits for the less privileged citizens, the South African government began constructing social housing after coming to power in 1994. However, the construction of these houses is bedevilled with many issues; prominent among them are poor quality of the constructed houses. This study seeks to develop a quality management framework for achieving quality and efficiency in public-sector housing construction, a hallmark of the country's procurement goals.

Telephone interviews were conducted with construction professionals involved in constructing government social houses across South Africa, chosen randomly. The data gathered were analysed using the content analysis method.

The study found that the most significant cause of poor quality government-constructed social housing is multifaceted, categorised into project management-related, procurement-related, contractor-related, corruption-related and political-related.

Failure to develop and implement a quality management framework on government-constructed social housing leads to poor quality social housing.

The study has identified quality-related issues and has developed a Quality Management (QM) framework for the stakeholders involved in the construction of the houses to guide them in the project implementation process to ensure project success and quality standards.

The purpose of this study is to explore and highlight the issues and challenges teachers face while supervising thesis and projects in distance/online learning mode.

This is a cross-sectional qualitative study. Grounded theory approach using Gioia methodology has been applied. Semi-structured interviews of 16 research supervisors have been conducted to explore the issues and challenges faced by the supervisors in guiding research students. Purposive sampling is used to select the subjects for data collection.

Results of the study reveal that the time constraints, official restrictions, irregular contacts and technology are the main issues faced by supervisors. Whereas student–supervisor interaction, diversity, perceptions, virtual communities and academic collaboration are the biggest challenges for the supervisors in distance learning. Lastly, it is found that students' attitude and supervisors' mindset are the key success factors in distance research supervision.

Findings of this paper will help institutions particularly in Asia, to strategically review their research programs to make these programs more effective. Effectiveness will encompass two things, timely completion and novel research. If these two things are addressed efficiently, comparison of distance learning with conventional learning will be more favorable for distance learning.

This study will be helpful for the top management of distance/online learning institutes to better equip their teachers and students to complete their research endeavors accordingly. This is an empirical research based on primary data collected from the research supervisors currently supervising thesis/projects at Virtual University of Pakistan.

Covid-19 pandemic have raised serious health concerns, work disruptions and job loss. Thus, Nigeria’s Covid-19 challenges can hinder project performance in the construction sector. By integrating the principle of sustainable construction, it can minimise the environmental and socio-economic impact of Covid-19. This research therefore aims at developing strategies to achieve sustainable project performance in the post-Covid era in Nigeria.

A qualitative research method was used. Data was collected from 13 stakeholders in the built environment. Percentages and thematic analysis were used to analyse data from the interviews.

The study reveals that stakeholders are encountering operational and financial challenges: Increased price of materials, labour and material shortage and project delays were key operational challenges. The financial challenges were related to increased construction cost, reduced profit and payment delays. To address these challenges, the study developed managerial, contractual and governmental strategies: Market survey and bulk purchase, remote working and adherence to Covid-19 protocols were among the key managerial strategies. For the contractual strategies: contracts reviews, smart contracts, working overtime and night shift were developed, while governmental strategies included provision of funds, loans and incentives for workers.

The study deduced that while environmental sustainability was employed to address the Covid-19 challenges, the economic and social aspects were found to be under-utilized. Therefore, the study concluded that a holistic application of environmental, economic and social sustainability themes while incorporating managerial, contractual and governmental strategies is significant for achieving sustainable project performance in the post-Covid era in Nigeria.

This study attempts to examine the factors that influence user intention to adopt e-procurement in the Nigerian public sector.

A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 278 procurement and information technology (IT) departments’ officials of key federal government ministries and agencies. The technology acceptance model (TAM) model was adopted and extended with security-related factors, namely perceived trust and perceived security. A partial least squares-structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was used to test and validate the model.

The results indicated that perceived usefulness is the best predictor of users’ intention to adopt e-procurement, followed by perceived security and perceived trust. In contrast, however, perceived ease of use was found to have a significant negative effect on the intention to adopt e-procurement.

This study is among the first in the Nigerian public sector context to evaluate users’ perceptions on e-procurement adoption with the use of a distinctive research model (TAM). The study's findings contribute to a better understanding of the factors influencing the adoption of e-procurement in the Nigerian public sector.

As one of the five concrete actions recommended for implementing sustainable development at universities (internal operations, institutional framework, research, education and capacity building), capacity building has received the least research attention. Although capacity building can be a tangible implementation of outreach that offers empowerment to universities, it is currently unclear how capacity building can be operationalised in concrete activities and which parties represent the university and the community. The purpose of this study is to provide the idea that capacity building can be organised through student training projects.

To provide support for our suggestion that student training projects can act as an implementation method for capacity building, an illustrative case study is presented. The case study concerns an academic consultancy training project for students in the domain of sustainable development.

The case study analysis reveals that, as an implementation method, student training projects can provide benefits for both universities and communities. It appears that student training projects do not depend on individual engagement, on individual university staff members or on research grants and that they provide community members with access to resources, expertise and experiences of academics. Moreover, student training projects overcome the major challenges of both power distance and continuity.

To summarise, student training projects may provide a new, promising avenue as an implementation method for capacity building that provides substantial benefits and overcomes the challenges of other methods mentioned in the existing literature.

The aim of this chapter is to describe a four-type model of organisational structures and to discuss two cases, Embrapa and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, as well as additional cases at SAM-Research and the centre for shared medical support services established at the University of Bologna.

These cases should help readers understand the importance of designing distinctive, tailored-made support services while keeping these structures flexible for further adaptation under unforeseen changes.

The chapter concludes by stressing the role of institutions to steadily invest in the design of these tailored support structures and in personalised training for their support staff.