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Article
Publication date: 12 April 2024

Rogers Mwesigwa, Gonzaga Basulira, Joseph Mayengo and Jude Thadeo Mugarura

This study aims to examine the association between community engagement, community commitment and sustainability of public–private partnership (PPP) projects in Uganda.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the association between community engagement, community commitment and sustainability of public–private partnership (PPP) projects in Uganda.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopted a cross-sectional and quantitative approach. Data were collected using a questionnaire from 42 PPP projects in Uganda.

Findings

The study found that community engagement and commitment are all positively and significantly associated with the sustainability of PPP projects in Uganda. Results also show that community commitment mediates community engagement and project sustainability.

Research limitations/implications

The study results imply that for sustainability to be achieved, communities must be engaged in project activities such as planning, design and implementation to boost their commitment to project sustainability.

Originality/value

The sustainability of PPP projects is an emerging phenomenon. This paper contributes to scanty literature on ensuring the sustainability of PPP projects from a developing country’s perspective.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 January 2023

Loai Ali Zeenalabden Ali Alsaid and Charles Anyeng Ambilichu

This study aims to explore the potential dynamics between performance measurement at the organisational level and emerging urban development projects at the macro-institutional…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to explore the potential dynamics between performance measurement at the organisational level and emerging urban development projects at the macro-institutional field level of sustainability governance and accountability.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a theoretical triangulation between three theories, namely contingency theory, institutional theory and social cognitive theory, this study investigates not only the macro-micro dynamics, but also the (recursive) micro-macro dynamics between performance measurement and urban development. Using an Egyptian public sector urban development organisation and its sustainable energy project as an empirical example, interviews, documents and observations were collected.

Findings

The dynamics emerged between field urban development projects and the (unintended) organisational implementation of the performance measurement system, the sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) reporting system. Contributing to previous literature, these dynamics have been institutionalised through (three) interrelated levels: the (macro-field) urban development contingencies and pressures for sustainability KPIs reporting, the (organisational) institutionalisation of the urban development performance measurement system and then the (micro-organisational) cognitive role of sustainability KPIs reports in (re)making political urban development decisions.

Research limitations/implications

This study faced some limitations that paved the way for future research axes. For political and security reasons, difficulties were encountered in conducting interviews with government actors in the sustainable energy project under study. Also, due to the practical separation of the environmental sustainability system from the sustainability KPIs reporting system in this case study, environmental sustainability is outside the scope.

Practical implications

Sustainability reports may influence public sector decision-making processes in a specific urban development context. These KPIs reports may also increase public sector management opportunities for urban auditing, transparency, accountability and sustainability governance. These KPIs may also guide public sector management to lower prices in poor villages to increase smart energy consumption and improve community health.

Social implications

Sustainability reports may increase decision-makers' understanding of consumer behaviours and societal changes. This may help in making appropriate political decisions to improve their welfare and regular smart energy consumption. Not only urban citizens, but this social advantage may also extend to urban development employees through employees' promotion, training and access to government-funded academic and professional scholarships.

Originality/value

This study is an attempt to develop current public sector performance measurement analyses in the emerging urban development field using a triadic analytical approach. This study also fed the literature with an extended case study that clarified the (multi-level) and (two-way) dynamics between performance measurement and urban development.

Details

Journal of Accounting in Emerging Economies, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-1168

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 3 February 2023

Malindu Sasanka Sandanayake, Zora Vrcelj, Yanni Bouras, Hing-Wah Chau and Patrick Hastings

The present study aims to inform the requirements for developing a sustainable rating tool for small-scale infrastructure projects (SSIPs) through research findings.

Abstract

Purpose

The present study aims to inform the requirements for developing a sustainable rating tool for small-scale infrastructure projects (SSIPs) through research findings.

Design/methodology/approach

A review-based comparative study of existing infrastructure sustainability (IS) rating tools for assessment of SSIPs is presented. Key stakeholder participants of the existing IS rating tools, are interviewed to identify existing barriers and requirements for sustainability rating. The study further presents possible rating tool options to optimise the sustainable performance evaluation of SSIPs.

Findings

Findings of this study indicated that prevalent IS rating tools are majorly applied to large-scale infrastructure projects and sustainability of SSIPs are seldom assessed. Based on a literature review and series of interviews, it was found that user friendliness, efficient structure, training and technical support, cost effectiveness and stakeholder recognition are the five key requirements of a sustainability rating tool for SSIPs. Additionally, six sustainability assessment options were proposed for SSIPs which range from pathways for existing tools through to new, customisable tools. Upon comparison, a new modified tool with verification process and revised tool with defined grouping of sustainable criteria was more effective for evaluation of SSIPs.

Research limitations/implications

Use of case specific information for validation and framework development may lack generalisation. However, methodology can be used for future decision-making by making necessary adjustments to suit different local regional requirements.

Originality/value

Despite lack of generalisation, the findings can lead to future general studies on sustainability of SSIPs. Findings of the study provide foundation knowledge and awareness for sustainability evaluation of SSIPs.

Details

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-6099

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 January 2023

Xiaobei Liang, Xiaojuan Hu, Eldon Y. Li and Hu Meng

Sustainability-oriented projects are prevalent on crowdfunding platforms nowadays. The relationship between crowdfunding and sustainability has attracted the attention of many…

Abstract

Purpose

Sustainability-oriented projects are prevalent on crowdfunding platforms nowadays. The relationship between crowdfunding and sustainability has attracted the attention of many scholars. This study aims to examine the effects of perceived sustainability orientation on value-co-creation behavior from the perspective of backers and explore the mediation effects of three psychological factors: perceived affective reaction, perceived self-effectiveness and perceived risk.

Design/methodology/approach

The study recruits 455 backers to evaluate 100 projects on a crowdfunding platform. Structural equation modeling based on partial least squares is used to analyze data and test the hypotheses.

Findings

The results show that perceived sustainability orientation influences value-co-creation behavior through perceived affective reaction and self-effectiveness. Furthermore, perceived sustainability orientation impacts participation behavior through perceived risk.

Research limitations/implications

Our study mainly focuses on sustainability-oriented and reward-based crowdfunding projects. Future research can examine other types of projects and other crowdfunding platforms.

Practical implications

These findings can provide implications for project creators to improve the values co-created with backers in future sustainability-oriented projects. Furthermore, the findings can provide implications for backers and help them evaluate crowdfunding projects.

Originality/value

The existing studies are mostly concerned with project creators’ perspectives. This paper is one of the few to investigate how a project’s sustainability orientation influences backers’ psychological factors and value-co-creation behavior.

Article
Publication date: 28 June 2021

Mohammadali Zarjou and Mohammad Khalilzadeh

This study aims to develop a model for project portfolio selection considering organizational goals such as budgets, sustainability cash flow and reinvestment strategy under an…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to develop a model for project portfolio selection considering organizational goals such as budgets, sustainability cash flow and reinvestment strategy under an uncertain environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A multi-objective mathematical programming model is proposed for project selection, which takes the social, environmental and financial aspects into account as the objectives of the project portfolio selection problem. The project evaluation and selection process in one of the large capitals in the Middle East with numerous urban construction projects was considered as a real case study, in which the subjects of environmental and social sustainability are of great importance. Then, the most significant criteria for project evaluation and selection based on sustainability were identified and ranked using the fuzzy best-worst method (BWM).

Findings

The criterion of “defining clear and real objectives” was ranked first, “project investment return period” was ranked second, “minimum changes in the predicted range” was ranked third, and the other ten sustainability indicators were ranked as well. Next, the presented mathematical programming model was solved using the augmented e-constraint method. The sensitivity analysis indicated that increasing the amount of investments in projects would increase their net present value. Also, increased investment had no effect on sustainability, while decreased investment caused sustainability to not being optimal.

Originality/value

This study focuses on the impact of the amount of investments on projects, and the associated costs of sustainable projects. Further to the authors' knowledge, there has been no relevant study taking uncertainty into account. Also, very few studies proposed a mathematical programming model for the project portfolio selection problem. Moreover, this research uses the brainstorming and Delphi method to identify the sustainability indicators influencing the organization and screens the evaluation indicators. Furthermore, the weights of the evaluation indicators are determined using the fuzzy BWM based on the consistency of opinions.

Article
Publication date: 15 April 2022

Quan Phung, Bilge Erdogan and Yasemin Nielsen

The paper aims to identify core components for managing sustainability in construction-building projects and to understand how these components support each other to achieve…

1149

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to identify core components for managing sustainability in construction-building projects and to understand how these components support each other to achieve project success. It proposes a model for sustainable project management (SPM) to achieve sustainable project success (SPS).

Design/methodology/approach

The research utilised structural equation modelling to empirically test the conceptual model and the hypotheses associated to the 35 project-management related success factors and 24 performance criteria identified in literature review. Data was collected through 143 questionnaires carried out with construction professionals who have minimum two years' experience in sustainable building projects across the UK. Mediation analysis was used to identify the inter-relationships between the variables and components in the model.

Findings

The paper developed a model for SPM which consists of five components: (1) sustainability goal definition, (2) project team enhancement toward sustainability, (3) planning for sustainability, (4) sustainability assessment and (5) stakeholder management. Stakeholder management and sustainability goal definition were found to have a significant and direct impact to the achievement of SPS. The other three were found to generate an indirect but important impact on the SPS. The results showed that attention should be paid to all five components to fully support the development of sustainability in projects.

Research limitations/implications

Regarding the research approach, the generalisation of this research's findings is limited to the construction industry in the UK and similar developed countries.

Originality/value

This paper provides a further understanding of the inter-related effects of SPM and their impact on SPS.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. 30 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

Julius Akotia and Alex Opoku

The purpose of this paper is to explore the key practitioners’ level of involvement in the delivery of sustainable regeneration projects in the UK. Practitioners’ level of…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the key practitioners’ level of involvement in the delivery of sustainable regeneration projects in the UK. Practitioners’ level of involvement is a major factor that has and continues to determine the delivery of sustainability outcomes of regeneration projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper adopted a qualitative study that obtained data from 21 key practitioners through semi-structured interviews in exploring practitioners’ level of involvement in the delivery of sustainable regeneration projects in the UK. The semi-structured interviews are conducted with seven practitioners, each from the three construction organisations selected through a purposive sampling approach for the study.

Findings

The findings identify varied levels of involvement of the key practitioners at the three delivery stages – early, construction and post-construction of the projects. The findings further reveal that clients’ representatives, commercial managers and architects are the most frequently involved practitioners during the early stages of the projects. The findings also indicate that practitioners who have sustainability assigned to their roles and their responsibilities, such as sustainability managers, are the least involved in all the three delivery stages of the projects.

Research limitations/implications

The study involves interview with 21 practitioners from three organisations delivering sustainable regeneration projects; hence, this could limit the generalisation of the research findings. However, the findings of this study could serve as a useful source of information for the further study in this area.

Practical implications

The paper is of the view that the level of key practitioners’ involvement in the delivery of the projects will have an impact on their knowledge and will determine how sustainability benefits are promoted and delivered from the projects.

Originality/value

Although some studies have been carried out on practitioners’ engagement in the delivery of “normal” construction projects, none has focussed on practitioners’ levels of involvement in sustainable regeneration projects. Hence, this study has brought to the fore how the key practitioners tasked with the responsibilities of delivering sustainability benefits of regeneration projects have been involved (at various levels of the project life cycle) in the delivery of these projects.

Details

Journal of Facilities Management, vol. 16 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1472-5967

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 July 2020

Amin Khalifeh, Peter Farrell, Mohammad Alrousan, Shaima Alwardat and Masar Faisal

The paper aims to present a conceptual framework that helps in incorporating sustainability into software projects, highlights the importance of project sustainability and…

Abstract

Purpose

The paper aims to present a conceptual framework that helps in incorporating sustainability into software projects, highlights the importance of project sustainability and provides an extensive review of recent relevant contributions across various fields.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors carried out a systematic bibliographic search on relevant published materials to analyse links between the two disciplines (sustainability and software projects). Furthermore, content analysis was applied to the final selected publications to identify and classify relevant triple bottom line (TBL) aspects to develop the framework.

Findings

The inclusion of TBL-related aspects is the most efficient and effective method used to incorporate sustainability into projects. Most of the relevant contributions in the software literature have focussed on either project product or project process or on one or two dimensions of sustainability rather than the three dimensions of the TBL theory. This study contributes by proposing a conceptual framework that encompasses TBL-related aspects for incorporating sustainability into processes and products of software projects.

Research limitations/implications

Validating the proposed framework empirically could be an interesting research issue. In addition, future works may focus on different types of industries, such as information systems, telecommunications and service sectors, which have seldom been studied in the literature.

Practical implications

Software companies – or other relevant organisations – may use the proposed framework as a measurement tool to evaluate the environmental and social impacts of their current products and project management practices. Consequently, these organisations may pay more attention to incorporating sustainability into their project management practices.

Originality/value

The proposed framework may contribute towards a more sustainable orientation by providing a unique combination of TBL-related aspects that gives academics and practitioners a better understanding of how software projects can be managed sustainably.

Details

International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, vol. 13 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8378

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 13 January 2020

Amin Khalifeh, Peter Farrell and Malek Al-edenat

The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question: “does the incorporation of sustainability as a new school of thought in project management support project success?”…

3948

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to answer the research question: “does the incorporation of sustainability as a new school of thought in project management support project success?” The authors carried out a systematic literature review (SLR) on relevant empirical studies before 2018 to answer this question.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors carried out an SLR by selecting, extracting, analysing and critically appraising relevant literature that met pre-specified criteria by using transparent, well-organised and replicable steps. The main sources are publications in peer-reviewed journals regardless of their impact factor because the topic of incorporating sustainability in project management practices is restrained by a lack of research.

Findings

Based on the analysis, it seems that incorporating sustainability into project management may support project success. However, more evidence is required to support this finding as there are too few relevant empirical studies in the literature.

Research limitations/implications

Therefore, considering sustainability as a new school of thought in project management is premature, and there are recommendations for further research at the end of this study. There are several limitations to the studies chosen, which may have significantly affected results, and thus may affect outcomes in this study.

Originality/value

Project success needs to be the main endeavour when incorporating sustainability into project management, and it should be a key criterion when considering sustainability as a new school of thought in managing projects. The most challenging elements of project success that need to be addressed are cost and time. This study contributes to a better understanding of the impact of PSM on project success. It facilitates decision making in considering sustainability as a new school of thought in project management. Furthermore, it defines a need for more research work in this potential paradigm shift in managing projects.

Details

Journal of Management Development, vol. 39 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0262-1711

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 May 2016

Anthony Paul Higham, Chris Fortune and J.C. Boothman

The purpose of this paper is to assess the selection and use, in practice, of appraisal frameworks regarding sustainability evaluation in UK social housing sector projects, which…

2129

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess the selection and use, in practice, of appraisal frameworks regarding sustainability evaluation in UK social housing sector projects, which have been advocated by academics as a means of ensuring that business decisions related to potential built environment projects are driven by best value rather than lowest cost. It also seeks to identity the key features of sustainability as assessed at the project feasibility stage. The research context is housing regeneration projects undertaken by UK social housing providers.

Design/methodology/approach

Using a quantitative approach, a survey was conducted of 481 built environment professionals working within the UK social housing sector, which generated an overall response rate of 24 per cent.

Findings

The survey results revealed that few toolkits and models developed by academe to facilitate the development and evaluation of sustainability-led building projects have so far been adopted. The impact of organisational factors such as size, denomination, and maturity on the frameworks was analysed and, in general, no statistically significant relationship was found between organisational features and the models in use. The principal features of sustainability were found to be related to energy efficiency and asset life expectancy. These findings have implications for the UK construction industry’s commitment to enhancing the built environment’s sustainability and thereby stakeholder prosperity.

Research limitations/implications

The methodological approach adopted failed to uncover fully the reasons why practitioners selected particular types of sustainability appraisal toolkits.

Practical implications

This paper focuses on the current use of sustainability-led project appraisal models and the key features of sustainability whilst also providing directions for further research. It explores the adoption of sustainability-focused project evaluation practices in the UK social housing sector and outlines potential areas for further research, focused on developing a usable, holistic framework for evaluating sustainability during the early stages of project development to help to create a more sustainable built environment.

Originality/value

The paper contributes to the body of knowledge available on the adoption of sustainability-focused project evaluation practice in the UK social housing sector, outlining potential areas for further research, focused on developing a usable, holistic framework for evaluating sustainability during the early stages of project development to help to create a more sustainable built environment.

Details

Structural Survey, vol. 34 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-080X

Keywords

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