Search results

The purpose of this paper is to verify the mediating role of commitment between market-oriented organizational culture and international market performance, and to discuss the moderator effect of national institutional environment on this mediating role.

The research design follows a mixed methodology, combining qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. In the first phase, research hypotheses are proposed based on a literature analysis. In the second phase, sample data are collected through interviews and questionnaires sent to domestic contractors in China and South Korea, and a validity analysis of the results is carried out. Correlation and regression analyses are then performed on the valid data to verify hypotheses to prove the existence and influence of mediating effects. Hayes PROCESS Macro is used on the regression results to test the mediating effect of commitment on international project performance and the moderation effect of institutional environment.

The results reveal that the commitment between partners has a mediating effect on the relationship between market culture and international project performance; however, no hierarchy culture is revealed. The mediating effect of commitment is regulated by the institutional environment.

Although the reliability and validity of the questionnaire data in this study are in line with research standards, a larger sample size would improve the reliability of the results. Further, the interviewed samples are mainly from China and South Korea; large representative samples from additional countries, such as Japan, should be considered to gain a fuller understanding and more comprehensive results.

By emphasizing the differences between the two institutional environments of developing and developed countries in East Asia, a theoretical and empirical basis is provided. International construction enterprises in other countries can apply the findings to improve their international market performance in different institutional environments. The findings also provide an empirical reference that international construction enterprises in China and South Korea may use to adjust their organizational cultures and commitments to improve market performance.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of project creativity in international marketing teams. The proposed framework includes both proximal (characteristics that impact the everyday functioning of the team) and distal (characteristics associated with the team's organizations that are relatively remote to the everyday functioning of the team) factors as antecedents of project creativity. Specifically, the authors investigate the influence of three proximal factors, namely, collaboration with foreign counterparts, autonomy, and international experience as well as two distal factors, namely, organizational encouragement and innovative organizational culture.

Data were collected from 156 executives from publicly traded firms in the manufacturing sector in South Korea and tested using hierarchical regression.

Collaboration with foreign counterparts and autonomy exert direct positive influence on project creativity. International experience exerts a curvilinear relationship such that low and high levels of international experience positively influence project creativity, whereas moderate international experience negatively influences project creativity. In addition, whereas the relationship between organizational encouragement and project creativity was supported, the relationship between innovative culture and project creativity was not.

Despite the importance afforded to international marketing teams and creativity in marketing research and practice, little attention has focussed on project creativity in international marketing teams. This study represents an initial effort toward filling the void and identifying certain proximal and distal factors as relevant antecedents of project creativity in international marketing teams. In addition, deviating from extant studies on creativity, this study highlights a curvilinear relationship between international experience and creativity.

A number of previous studies have investigated international construction project risks and have proposed risk mitigation measures without examining their interdependence. The purpose of the current study is to identify the influence of various risk mitigation measures on macro-level risk factors in the international marketplace.

The authors initially identified 26 risk variables and nine risk mitigation measures through a literature review, which were then verified for their pertinence to international projects by three experts. Subsequently, 105 questionnaire survey responses were collected and analysed using factor analysis and structural equation modelling to test the interrelations between the risk variables and mitigation measures.

The findings suggest that joint ventures with local partners is emerged as the most critical risk mitigation measure that influences the international projects, which are exposed to political, project and firm-specific risk factors. Further, it is worth noting that among the recognised risk mitigation measures in international projects, offering more local employment is the least critical mitigation measure in the international projects.

The findings of this study are based on the macro-risk factors encountered by Indian construction firms in international projects, mostly from specific Asian and African regions. Thus, the opinions of construction firms from the developed countries might be different.

The main contribution of this study to existing knowledge is empirical evidence of the interrelationships between risk mitigation measures and risk factors that are portrayed as latent variables of different manifest risk variables. The generated model can assist construction firms in emphasising several risk mitigation methods, in order to reduce risk and enhance performance in international construction projects.

Project risk management (PRM) and human resource management (HRM) are the two critical success factors (CSFs) for international project management. This paper aims to correlate these two CSFs, identify the human resource (HR) barriers, develop a hybrid model for risk management and develop strategies to overcome the HR barriers to effective risk management in international projects.

In total, 20 key HR barriers have been identified through a literature survey and verified by project professionals. These HR barriers are ranked according to their ability to trigger other barriers by analysing their interactions using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. Based on Ulrich’s revised model for HR functions, a hybrid framework for international PRM has been proposed.

DEMATEL analysis categorized nine barriers as cause barriers and 11 as affected barriers. The “PROJECTS” model proposed for HR strategy development suggests eight strategies to overcome these nine cause barriers. The hybrid PRM framework developed includes the effect of the HR dimension.

This paper presents the generalized prioritization of HR barriers to international PRM. For a specific international project, the HR barriers and their prioritization may change slightly. The hybrid framework for PRM and the strategy development model suggested are yet to be validated.

Correlating two CSFs in international project management, i.e. HRM and PRM and ranking the HR barriers using the DEMATEL method is the uniqueness of this research paper. The hybrid framework developed for PRM based on HR functions in Ulrich’s revised model and the proposed new HR strategy development model “PROJECTS” are unique contributions of this paper.

The aim of the paper is to investigate the architectural firm's role in the briefing process on international projects and to identify the strategies of successful firms to overcome barriers.

A model is developed based on a critique of briefing models and international design management theory. The development of a reflexive capability model borrows cultural theory concepts of capital and reflexivity. The model is based on maximizing reflexive capability through the management of social, cultural and intellectual capital. Two case studies of architectural firms identify barriers during the briefing process and strategies to overcome these barriers. Data collection involved 16 interviews with senior management and design team staff.

There are various barriers and strategies used to achieve success in the briefing process. However, the management of a firm's capital is key to successful briefing on international projects and is a characteristic of reflexive practice. Reflexivity is based in a positive interpretation of change, and a continual responsiveness to change by participants in a system. The study provides useful information on management of the design and briefing stages of international projects.

The study is limited by the number of case studies used and the difficulty of generalisability of findings.

The research is that it provides useful information about how to approach constant change during briefing for the architects and clients who work on international projects.

The model is original and has value as it assists in explaining why some firms are more successful than others. The case studies provide new knowledge on international projects and the briefing process. The value of the paper is for the academic community, professionals in the built environment and clients involved in international projects.

International construction projects encompass various risks, and it is essential to evaluate and manage them to achieve project and firms’ success. As approaches to addressing international market risks vary from one country to another, the purpose of this paper is to identify the critical risk factors of embarking on international construction projects according to Indian experiences.

After primarily verifying the identified 26 risk variables, a questionnaire survey was conducted to draw upon the views of experts who possess international project experience. The 105 responses were analyzed using univariate and multivariate techniques. An analysis of variance identified the significant variables that influence overall performance on international construction projects, which were then grouped according to underlying relationships using factor analysis to determine the specific risk factors. Furthermore, considering these risk factors as independent variables and overall project performance as a dependent variable, a stepwise regression analysis was carried out to identify relatively critical risk factors.

The results revealed that of the identified four risk factors, the project-specific risk factor emerged as the foremost critical risk factor, the economic and market-specific risk factor was the second most critical risk factor, the firm-specific risk factor was the third most critical risk factor and the political-specific risk factor was the least critical risk factor. These findings were also validated appropriately.

This study was limited to the data acquired from Indian construction firms, predominantly consultants and contractors. Though the survey respondents possessed adequate familiarity in international construction, commonly perceived limitations in self-reported surveys such as the lack of conscientious responses and reporting bias were not an exception in this research.

The risk factors and their criticality – as identified in this study – can aid the multinational firms and international aspirants to prioritize the critical aspects and develop a suitable risk mitigation strategy to achieve greater project success in international market.

By investigating the various risk factors that influence overall performance of international construction projects, this research considerably contributes to the body of knowledge pertaining to international construction risk management that will enable firms from India and similar developing nations to emphasize on critical risk factors.

International projects very commonly experience failure due to various factors at the global level. Especially, large projects at the international level virtually have no chance of meeting scope, time, cost and quality. This fact has been underlined by most of the international surveys and published literature. Effective risk management plays a vital role in preventing projects from failure by implementing appropriate risk response strategies. The success of risk management will be based on the understanding of various risk categories which specifically affect international projects, analysis of their interdependence, prioritize them according to their importance and develop strategies for risk management based on the prioritization. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

This paper represents typical eight risk categories frequently observed in the international projects through literature survey and feedback from project professionals. Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and Matrice d’Impacts croises-multiplication applique´ an classment (MICMAC) analysis have been used to analyze the interactions among the risk categories and prioritize them. The strategy management tool threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths (TOWS) matrix has been used to develop the strategies for effective project risk management.

The analysis represents political risks, contractual and legal risks, cultural risks, and financial and economic risks as the highest priority risk categories, the mitigation of which should be paid the highest attention. The strengths-threats strategy has been applied to develop the strategies by identifying the various internal strengths of project organization to overcome the various threats caused by the eight risk categories observed in international projects.

This paper tries to represent the prioritization of international project risk categories which are generic in nature. For any specific international project, the risk categories as well as their prioritization may be slightly varying. The tool used for prioritization; Interpretive structural modeling (ISM) is more suitable for few numbers of variables as it becomes complex as the number of variables increases. The strengths and threats considered for developing strategies using TOWS matrix are based on the feedback from project professionals and may vary according to the nature of project.

This paper uses ISM and MICMAC for risk prioritization in international projects and TOWS matrix for developing risk management strategies. This may trigger new opportunities for in-depth research in the risk management strategy development for international projects.

This study aims to explore the challenges and complexities of interaction in international stakeholder networks within the context of projects focused on the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs). In particular, it examines the challenges faced by stakeholders in a network from a developed country during interaction in the context of a developing country.

Using a qualitative approach, this study analyses interview data collected from the key managers of an international consulting company in charge of a water supply and sanitation project in Nepal. The primary data is triangulated with secondary data, such as project reports and related academic articles.

This study illustrates how interaction in international stakeholder networks affects and is interrelated with SDGs, as well as how aiming to achieve one specific goal can stimulate the implementation of other sustainable goals. Further, this research shows how project managers from a developed country had to adapt to the specifics of the developing country context and how their sustainability project influenced the well-being of local communities by improving environmental and social sustainability.

The research suggests that challenges in stakeholder interaction may arise because of differences in process management methods used by the international stakeholders involved in the project and country-context specifics, such as corruption, imperfect national regulations, cultural specifics, effects of climate change, etc.

The paper contributes to the literature on international multi-stakeholder interaction between actors from developed and developing countries. Furthermore, it adds to the literature on stakeholder networking by highlighting the importance of engaging in a dialogue with local communities during the conceptualisation stages of both sustainability and SDG implementation because of diverging worldviews and practices.

Unfamiliar with the Chinese culture and ways of doing business, foreign architects/engineers/contractors (AEC) firms will encounter differences with the local parties. With reference to the characteristics of Chinese culture on disputes, this paper studies the problem areas of dispute and of resolving disputes in international construction projects in China. The objectives are to: examine the fundamentals of Chinese culture and ways of doing business; examine the characteristics of international projects and investigate any differences in the dispute problems arising from China International Projects; identify the most popular dispute resolution mechanism(s) for international projects in China; and recommend possible ways to reduce and resolve disputes of these projects.

After literature review, a questionnaire was designed for face‐to‐face interviews with 40 practitioners to collect their opinions.

The results show that the problem areas giving rise to disputes are mainly related to contractual matters. To reflect the characteristics of international projects in China, cultural and legal matters are also found to be the sources of problem. Arbitration is the most popular method, after negotiation, for resolving disputes in international construction projects in China.

The number of interviewees in this study could be improved and further study could include experts in Mainland China.

There is not much literature on dispute resolution management for international construction projects in China, with particular reference to cultural differences. This paper offers an invaluable reference for those foreign AEC firms interested in joining international projects in China.

Factors affecting bid/no-bid decisions of international projects are more complex than those of domestic projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify and rank decision factors considered by variously sized Chinese international contractors (CICs) and categorize those groups of factors important to experienced practitioners.

The analysis of factors identified by a literature review is conducted based on data derived from questionnaire results received from 119 CIC project and bidding managers. The relative importance of factors is measured by mean value and standard deviation. The discrepancy in rank and importance value perceived by variously sized CICs are explored by ranking disparity analysis, non-parametric test and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient test. Finally, factor analysis is used to categorize the underlying groups of factors considered by CICs.

In sum, 41 factors are identified through the literature review as having an impact on the bid decision. Significant disparities in ranking and importance are found in several factors, which partially affect the consistency of the ranking of factors perceived between large and small-medium CICs. Ultimately, nine major factors are identified as impacting the bidding decision, with “contractor’s capability” and “country risk of the host country,” being the most important.

The weight of a factor considered in a decision varies across contractors as a function of contractor size. Whether using models or subjective judgment in making decisions, it is beneficial to fully understand the main groups of factors influencing the decision. Vulnerability to country risk emerges as the first criterion accessed in the bid decision.

A comprehensive set of factors is established for CICs, including both general factors common to domestic projects, and international factors unique to international projects. All factors are grouped by inferential analysis from the perspective of contractors, which reveals the underlying mechanism of the bid decision-making process. While the data were collected from CICs, the methodology in exploring factors, along with implications, is determined to be applicable internationally.