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Modular construction is an innovative method that enhances the performance of building construction projects. However, the performance of steel modular construction has not been systematically understood, and the existing measurement methods exhibit limitations in effectively addressing the features of steel modular building construction. Therefore, this study aims to develop a new performance measurement framework for systematically examining the performance of steel modular construction in building projects.

This study was conducted through a mixed-method research design that combines a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art practices of construction performance measurement and a case study with a 17-story steel modular apartment building project in Hong Kong. The case project was measured with data collected from the project teams and other reliable channels, and the measurement practices and findings were referenced to establish a systematic performance measurement framework for steel modular construction.

Considering steel modular construction as a complex socio-technical system, a systematic performance measurement framework was developed, which considers the features of steel modular construction, focuses on the construction stage, incorporates the views of various stakeholders, integrates generic and specific key performance indicators and provides a benchmarking process. Multifaceted benefits of adopting steel modular construction were demonstrated with case study, including improved economic efficiency (e.g. nearly 10% cost savings), improved environmental friendliness (e.g. approximately 90% waste reduction) and enhanced social welfare (e.g. over 60% delivery trips reduction).

This paper extends the existing performance measurement methods with a new framework proposed and offers experience for future steel modular construction. The measured performance of the case project also contributes in-depth understanding on steel modular construction with benefits demonstrated. The study is expected to accelerate an effective uptake of steel modular construction in building projects.

This study aimed to collect data on the perception of top executive women in the Aruban hotel sector regarding implicit gender bias.

A qualitative study on the metacognitive processes of awareness, evaluation and autocorrection was utilized. Through purposive sampling women in the top two leadership levels in Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association (AHATA) member-hotels were selected.

Results showed that a third of the top female executives experienced implicit gender bias career barriers. Different types of bias were identified such as: judgments regarding pregnancy, unequal pay and obstructions by the male general manager. How the women dealt with this bias depended on the type of bias and their personality. The identification of bias and its effects on the career trajectory were also influenced by characteristics of the work setting such as the size of the hotel and functional area.

The research limitations include the chosen scope, the impediment of the generalizability of the findings due to the nature of the study, self-perceived data and possible researcher and respondent bias.

This study added to the existing body of leadership development literature with a focus on the effects of implicit bias on female leadership advancement. Some specific theoretical concepts that were combined in this study are organizational leadership, metacognition and the unconscious mind. The important role of personality was also confirmed in this study however one element that stood out in the current study was the effect of resilience in overcoming perceived barriers and attaining personal career goals. Suggestions and directions for future research are provided.

Despite the fact that gender bias was not observed in an explicit form, participants advised to be aware of the existence and effects of the implicit form and to seek education and guidance from female mentors and to remain goal oriented when confronted with this bias. Since female under-representation in senior leadership positions in other economic sectors is not observed this advice serves as a significant practical implication for the development of female leadership in this important sector in Aruba.

Disasters can affect the important sector of tourism across the world. This study aims to combine qualitative findings from 13 publications to enhance disaster management plans for the security and resilience of the tourist industry.

The authors used Noblit and Hare’s seven-step meta-ethnography method, identifying 13 qualitative studies on tourism disaster management through extensive searches in key databases (WoS, Scopus and Google Scholar), meeting inclusion criteria. NVivo 12 aided in coding, translation and comprehension of related ideas.

Five interrelated and third-ordered conceptual categories were identified: extreme natural and malevolent events, lack of risk management and emerg+ency response, sustainable tourism, tourism resilience factors, disaster awareness and preparedness. Effective strategies demand collaboration, resource allocation and local engagement.

This study offers a novel synthesis of qualitative research in tourism disaster management, enhancing understanding of resilience in the industry. It provides unique insights on cross-cultural dynamics, stakeholder engagement and integrated strategies while showcasing the utility of meta-ethnography in business and management research.

This study aims to help understand individual donors’ preferences over different designs of humanitarian–business partnerships in managing humanitarian operations and to help understand if donors’ preferences align with their actual donation behavior.

Choice-based conjoint analysis was used to understand donation preferences for partnership designs, and a donation experiment was performed using real money to understand the alignment of donors’ preferences with actual donation behavior.

The results show that partnering with the business sector can be a valuable asset for humanitarian organizations in attracting individual donors if these partnerships are managed well in terms of partnership strategy, partnership history and partnership report and disclosure. In particular, the study finds that the donation of services and products from businesses corporations to humanitarian organizations are preferable to individual donors, rather than cash. Furthermore, donors’ preferences are not necessarily aligned with actual donation behavior.

The results highlight the importance of presenting objective data on projects to individual donors. The results also show that donors value the provision of services and products by business corporations to humanitarian operations.

Partnerships between humanitarian organizations and business corporations are important for the success of humanitarian operations. However, little is known about which partnership designs are most preferable to individual donors and have the biggest chance of being supported financially.

Using critical disaster studies and state theory, we assess the disaster aid platform named Lebanon Reconstruction, Reform and Recovery Framework (3RF) that was put in place by international donors in the aftermath of the Beirut Port Blast in August 2020, in order to examine the effectiveness of its inclusive decision-making architecture, as well as its institutional building and legislative reform efforts.

The paper uses the case study approaach and relies on two original data sets compiled by authors, using desk reviews of academic literature and secondary data, in addition to 24 semi-structured expert interviews and participant observation for two years.

The aid platform appears innovative, participatory and effectively functioning toward recovery and reform. However, in practice, the government dismisses CSOs, undermines reforms and dodges state building, whereas the 3RF is structured in incoherent ways and operates according to conflicting logics, generating inertia and pitfalls that hinder effective participatory governance, prevent institutional building, and delay the making of projects.

The research contributes to critical scholarship as it addresses an important research gap concerning disaster aid platforms’ institutional design and governance that are under-studied in critical disaster studies and political studies. It also highlights the need for critical disaster studies to engage with state theory and vice-versa.

The research contributes to evaluations of disaster recovery processes and outcomes. It highlights the limits of disaster aid platforms’ claims for participatory decision-making, institutional-building and reforms.

The paper amplifies critical disaster studies, through the reflexive analysis of a case-study of an aid platform.

Floods have been identified as the most frequent and threatening disaster in Sri Lanka amidst an increasing trend of natural and man-made disasters in the world. Subject experts state that disaster risk management should be based on the results of risk assessments, but flood risk management in Sri Lanka is seemingly not based on community-level flood risk assessments. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to introduce a community-level flood risk assessment method to the local context of Sri Lanka.

The sample (n = 425) for the study was selected using the stratified random sampling method, and the Deduru Oya basin was selected as the study area. The risk assessment model introduced by Bollin et al. (2003) was used for the current study, but with some modifications. Accordingly, 16 variables were selected for the risk assessment. Descriptive data analysis methods were used in the study.

Community-level flood risk assessment method was introduced. Variable index, flood risk index and flood risk map were developed for the study area. The Grama Niladari Divisions (GNDs) were grouped into five categories from very high risk to very low risk. The GNDs named Wirakumandaluwa, Thimbilla, Deduru Oya, Bangadeniya and Elivitiya were ranked as the most flood-risk GNDs, respectively.

This paper produces a flood risk assessment method for the local context. Flood risk in the study area was assessed based on people’s perceptions. Accordingly, the flood risk index and flood risk map for the study area were developed based on the empirical data. GNDs were ranked based on the flood risk index.

This paper is part of the ERASMUS+-funded Strengthening University Enterprise Collaboration for Resilient Communities in Asia (SECRA) project. This study aims to map collaborative architecture between partner universities and the public/private sectors to provide a contextualised collaboration framework for disaster resilience (DR) in South-East Asia.

Documentary reviews were conducted in partner countries to establish the current context of university enterprise collaborations (UEC) in South-East Asia. A concept-centric approach permitted the synthesis of concepts from each country review, allowing for comparisons between collaborative practices that impact the success of DR collaborations.

The review identified that funding, continuity, long-term strategic plans and practical implementation are lacking in partner countries. However, each country demonstrated good practices and identified enablers and barriers that impact DR collaborations.

The synthesis revealed a lack of a practical understanding of real-world barriers. Further research is needed to understand real-world experiences in DR collaborations and to provide insights into barriers, enablers and good practices in DR collaborations. Gaining an “on-the-ground” perspective will provide detailed insights and the feasibility of implementation.

The findings provide the foundations for developing a heuristic UEC framework that can inform policies and practices for DR in partner countries.

The findings can inform various stakeholder policies and practices and promote the exchange of ideas between stakeholders to enhance DR in South-East Asia.

The results are relevant within the South-East Asian, as governments have intensified the adoption of measures to encourage UEC for DR.

This study aims to determine barriers to innovation and to develop a quantitative model for the barrier to innovation in Vietnamese construction organizations of different sizes.

A literature review and discussions with experienced practitioners were implemented to determine barriers to innovation in construction organizations. The rank-based non-parametric test analyzed collected data from a questionnaire survey to examine if there were significant differences between the three groups of organizations, including small, medium and large construction organizations. The fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) technique was employed to develop barrier indexes (BIs) for organizations of different sizes in Vietnam.

The findings showed 17 barriers to innovation which were categorized into four groups, including organizational, human resources, economic and market barriers. Statistical analysis revealed significant differences regarding barriers to innovation between small, medium and large construction organizations in Vietnam. The post hoc test highlighted barriers to innovation differently separated into two groups: SMEs and large construction organizations. The FSE analysis integrated the identified barriers into the comprehensive BIs for SMEs and large construction organizations. The FSE analysis illustrated that the organizational barrier is the most critical barrier for SMEs. On the other hand, the market barrier received the most significant attention in large construction organizations.

This research is one of the first integrated barriers to innovation into a comprehensive formulation. The indexes provide the decision-makers with a practical and reliable tool to evaluate barriers to innovation in construction organizations of different sizes.

This research aims to identify the climate for innovation variables and to propose an innovative tool to quantitatively assess the degree of climate for innovation of construction firms.

14 climate-for-innovation variables were identified from a literature review and discussion with experienced practitioners. After that, a questionnaire survey was developed to collect data. Factor analysis was used to analyze data gathered from 157 completed responses. Then, fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE) was employed to assess the degree of climate for innovation in Vietnamese construction firms.

Climate-for-innovation variables were categorized into four factors by factor analysis. The FSE analysis shows leadership is the most critical category of four factors, followed by working culture, organization and employee commitment. The calculation also illustrates that the climate for innovation in Vietnamese construction firms is at a moderate level.

This research is one of the first integrated climate for innovation of construction firms in a comprehensive formulation. The formulation provides the decision-makers with a reliable tool to evaluate the degree of climate for innovation, thus having appropriate strategies to develop sustainable innovation performance within their organizations.

Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Management (WM) poses significant challenges in Sri Lanka, contributing to environmental degradation and resource depletion. To address these issues, this study explores the application of Circular Economy (CE) strategies in minimising waste generation and optimising resource utilisation in Sri Lankan construction industry. The research focuses on the construction and building renovation and use and operate stages of the building project life cycle, recognising their significance in waste generation and resource consumption.

The research employed a qualitative approach, utilising the Delphi technique through three rounds of expert interviews. Seventeen experts were involved in the first round, followed by fifteen in the second round, and twelve in the final round. The collected data was analysed using manual content analysis methods.

The research findings revealed fifteen C&D WM issues in the construction and building renovation stage in Sri Lanka, along with suitable strategies to overcome each of them. Similarly, eight C&D WM issues were identified for the use and operate stage of the building, and corresponding strategies were provided to address each issue. By adopting CE strategies such as modular design and material reuse, construction projects can optimise the project's timeline, cost, and quality factors. These strategies enable efficient resource allocation, reduce waste generation, and contribute to the overall sustainability of the project. The impact of CE strategies on mitigating these issues within the project management iron triangle was also discussed.

This paper entails delving into how construction, building renovation, and operation stages of a building's life cycle intersect with CE strategies, which profoundly influence operational efficiency and long-term sustainability. By incorporating principles such as energy efficiency, water conservation, and circular product design, the paper illuminates how these strategies facilitate decreased energy usage, enhanced resource management, and diminished waste production throughout the building's lifespan.