A field-level examination of the adoption of sustainable procurement in the social housing sector

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a field-level examination of the adoption of sustainable procurement in social housing. It explores the role of regulation and procurement consortia in sustainable procurement. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs a case study of the UK social housing sector and uses an online survey (n=116) of UK Housing Associations. Factor analysis identifies three parsimonious dimensions of sustainable procurement. Attitudinal data are analysed to explore the field-level adoption of sustainable procurement and the role of consortia. Findings – The results delineate sustainable procurement activities into three factors; direction setting, supplier-centric assurance and local socially oriented supply. High yet sup-optimal levels of sustainable procurement activity are revealed. Prevailing attitudes identify positive commitments to sustainable procurement at individual, organisational and sector levels. The value of network collaboration is identified. Tenants as critical stakeholders do not prioritise sustainable procurement creating challenge for inclusivity. Regulators are seen to a have low level of sustainable procurement knowledge and procurement consortia a high perceived knowledge. Research limitations/implications – Results provide insight into the effect of sustainable procurement policy, the role of regulators and network structures and consortia, raising issues around legitimacy, coopetition, stakeholder engagement, performance measurement, and functional/sectoral maturity. Social implications – The identification of the potential exclusion of tenants in sustainability debates is particularly significant to deliver social value. Originality/value – The relative newness of the social housing sector and its quasi-public sector status provides an original contribution to the consortia and sustainable procurement literatures

Measuring Performance to Engage the Extended Project Team in Construction

In construction, stakeholders of extended project team play a key role in the overall project performance. Successful integration of stakeholders demands for good management practices at strategic, operational and project levels. Targets and measures to improve the stakeholder performance encourage the creativity and willingness of stakeholders of extended project team to develop the better ways to achieve the project objectives. This paper presents a generic descriptive method, showing how stakeholder's ability and influence impacts on project performance in the construction sector. The findings of a series of interviews with key informants are presented and the following main conclusion is drawn: improving project performance through stakeholder's contribution and measuring their performance can strengthen the project performance. This innovative approach which redefines the process of improving the project performance in construction projects will be of interest to those who intend to manage the projects in practice as well as to those who interested in advancing theory

Maturity and maturity models in lean construction

In recent years there has been an increasing interest in maturity models in management-related disciplines; which reflects a growing recognition that becoming more mature and having a model to guide the route to maturity can help organisations in managing major transformational change. Lean Construction (LC) is an increasingly important improvement approach that organisations seek to embed. This study explores how to apply the maturity models to LC. Hence the attitudes, opinions and experiences of key industry informants with high levels of knowledge of LC were investigated. To achieve this, a review of maturity models was conducted, and data for the analysis was collected through a sequential process involving three methods. First a group interview with seven key informants. Second a follow up discussion with the same individuals to investigate some of the issues raised in more depth. Third an online discussion held via LinkedIn in which members shared their views on some of the results. Overall, we found that there is a lack of common understanding as to what maturity means in LC, though there is general agreement that the concept of maturity is a suitable one to reflect the path of evolution for LC within organisations

Resolving agency issues in client-contractor relationships to deliver project success

In our research we seek to explain why some relationships between project client and contractors are managed in such a way that leads to success and others are not. In doing so, we analyze how the relational risk that exists when a client sources a project from an external organization is managed. We view the topic through a lens of agency theory and we use a multiple case study research design, analyzing projects from the construction and clinical research business sectors that had varying degrees of success. We extend knowledge of managing relational risk by developing a framework for resolving agency-related issues to deliver project success. The framework encompasses mechanisms to managing relational risk which we classify in five broad areas: contract, understanding, resources, education and delegation – the CURED framework. These areas reflect both formal and informal mechanisms as described in existing literature

Three dimensional stakeholder analysis - 3dSA: adding the risk dimension for stakeholder analysis

There is a need for better integration of stakeholder analysis and risk management, because there are risks which can arise from the actions of stakeholders which can impact on the project aims and objectives. To meet this need the authors propose that stakeholders need to be analysed in three dimensions. This gives higher transparency to a stakeholder’s characteristics and creates a stronger link to risk management. In addition to a stakeholder’s power and interest a third dimension of “attitude” is developed. Hence a Power-Interest-Attitude Matrix is generated and applied to a real case construction project in Germany. This application to a real project scenario demonstrates how stakeholder analysis can be enhanced over the commonly used two dimensional matrices, to better integrate stakeholder analysis with risk management

Introducing AgiLean to Construction Project Management

The complexity of construction projects is the main reason, why the construction industry is searching better ways of managing construction projects. Recently, the industry tries to get benefit from the adoption of two management methodologies. On the one hand there is Lean construction, which works well for stable and predictable project environments. On the other hand, there is Agile project management [PM], which works well for dynamic and uncertain project environments. Construction projects, however, are exposed to predictable and paradoxically uncertain environments at the same time. Hence there is a need for a methodology which merges Lean and Agile to a holistic unit. The objective of this contribution is to introduce such a methodology. Such a methodology does not exist so far and is different from the “Leagile” approach, which uses Lean and Agile methods in the execution phase sequentially. Through undertaking a comprehensive literature review and through conducting 22 interviews with practitioners in the field of construction PM, Lean, Agile a new methodology is introduced, which is conceptualised as “AgiLean PM”. Keywords: Agile, AgiLean, Leagile, Lean, Qualitative Research

The Role of Real Estate in Sustainable Development in Developing Countries: The Case of the Kingdom of Bahrain

The construction of real estate has the potential to advance sustainability in terms of meeting economic and social criteria—the Business Case and the Societal Case. This is a crucial aspect in the stated visions and plans in many developing countries. Hence, it is important to understand how real estate can best contribute. Semi-structured interviews with a number of decision-makers involved in the real estate sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain were undertaken to explore perceptions of how the sector could best contribute to sustainable development. The decision-makers came from government bodies, investment banks, real estate developers, investors, constructors, project consultants and auditors. The interviews highlight the importance of having a stated vision and strategy which is highly visible and shared by all stakeholders. In the case of Bahrain this is Vision 2030 and the National Economic Strategy. It is important to ensure that any plans that are put in place to achieve the vision/strategy are adaptable to reflect changes in the external environment. The decision-makers identified three areas of focus in terms of the content of policy in order to meet the economic and social-related sustainability criteria as set out in Vision 2030 and the National Economic Strategy. These are: infrastructure, affordable housing and tourism/leisure. Within these three areas, that of infrastructure is also the key enabler for developments in the other two areas to be realized. In terms of a method of governance, the use of public-private-partnerships (PPPs) was identified as being highly appropriate. Such partnerships are not only useful to leverage private sector investment into specific development projects but also to ensure that such development harnesses innovative and efficient methods

Complexity Factors In Mega Projects: A Literature Review

Evaluation of complexity is of considerable importance for project managers in mega projects. Project managers faced with complexities that have not worked so far and are new to their kind. While as for the complexity of project, there is still a lack of complete understanding of the complexity concept among practitioners in the industry as well as in project management body of knowledge. In this regard, the traditional project management principles and practices are not capable of controlling emerging complexities in mega projects. Undoubtedly one of the key factors for success in mega projects is knowledge of project managers about overall complexities and contributing factors on complexities. As the main approach of this paper is overview the factors of complexity in mega projects, a systematic literature review analysis on complexity features in mega projects achieved by examining over one hundred and fifty published research papers during the period of 2012–2019. As a result of this exploration, the research highlighted three (3) dimensions (Environmental, Technological, and Organizational) and over seventy-three factors of complexity in mega projects from the extent literature. The research findings help scholars and practitioners in the project management field developing the perception of complexities in managing mega projects effectively