Human Factors Influencing Contractors' Risk Attitudes: A Case Study of the Malaysian Construction Industry

Malaysia is one of the most rapidly developing countries among developing nations. The construction industry has played a major role in Malaysia’s rapid economic growth. Among the major sectors in Malaysia, the importance of the construction industry is unique regardless of the level of the country’s development. However, the attitude of the construction industry in Malaysia towards managing contractors’ risk attitudes is very weak. The introduction of the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1994 by the Malaysian government made all industries in Malaysia to identify risks, conduct risk assessment and control risk. In addition, the Malaysian construction industry simultaneously implemented an integrated system to ensure consistency and better performance of projects. To identify the factors influencing contractors' risk attitudes, relevant literature was reviewed, and a questionnaire survey was conducted. This study focused on the G7 contractors operating in the Malaysian construction industry. One hundred and nineteen copies of a structured questionnaire were analysed with a response rate of 85%. Structural equation modelling was utilized to test the hypotheses developed for the study. Results showed that government policies played a moderating role in enhancing the relationship between human-related factors affecting contractors’ risk attitudes in the construction industry

Contractor’s Technology Acceptance for Firm Sustainability Performance

The construction industry’s contributions to Greenhouse gas emissions have generated several discussions among the construction stakeholders in recent times. Granted that the construction industry has been contributing significantly to the economy as well as employment in most countries for decades, the industry’s resource consumption is, at the same time, damaging to a sustained human environment. This paper empirically explored the organizational technology orientation and perceived organizational usefulness that could improve construction Malaysian construction firm’s sustainability performance. Close-ended structured copies of questionnaire survey were employed to collect data from large Malaysian construction firms, and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling technique was used to analyze the 172 responses. The results indicated that both technology orientation and perceived organizational usefulness are capable of influencing the construction firms’ sustainability performance. The implication is that this study’s model can predict the sustainability performance of the sampled construction firms. Some implications for research and practice, as well as future recommendations, were highlighted

Project Management Performance and Its Influence on Malaysian Building Projects

Working environment and safety behavior are the primary concern in construction projects which in the long run are part of the yardstick in measuring project management performance. Construction safety and performance should be thoroughly investigated empirically by illustrating the current state of accident and performance in construction industries. Entrenched in the Malaysian construction industry experience, three dimensions of the project management performance (resolve cost, schedule, and quality) can buffer the contractor’s and project manager’s performance in building projects. Following organizational control theory, this research investigated the effects project management performance (resolve cost, schedule, and quality) on construction projects among G-7 contractors operating in Kuantan Malaysia construction industries through a personally administered questionnaire. Structural equation modeling (SEM) opined that schedule and quality have positive and significant influence, while resolve cost has a significant negative influence on Malaysia construction projects.   Keywords: project management performance, building project, contractor, projectmanagers, client, constriction industries, PLS-SEM

Where Are We? The Level of Risk Management in Malaysian Construction Industries

Over the decade, the level of risk management has always been lingering in every construction industry sectors. Therefore, this research deeply investigated the level of risk management among Kuantan Malaysian construction industries to better promote effectiveness on risk management implementation within the industry. To address this issues, this study makes use of statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) approach to validate construction risk management (CRM) as a construct from registered Grade-7 contractors operating in Malaysia point of view. With a cross-sectional survey and proportionate stratified random sampling techniques, data were gathered from 87 G-7 contractors through a structured questionnaire. Methodologically, this research perhaps might be the first to determine the level of risk management where Kuantan Malaysian construction industries belong to. Using the five-point Likert scale categories (very low, low, medium, high and very high) of risk management from previous studies, statistical analysis affirmed that the overall level of risk management among Kuantan Malaysian construction industries is at the high level

Developing and validating lean manufacturing constructs: an SEM approach

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide valid and reliable constructs for lean manufacturing (LM) for assessing its implementation level in order to target areas of improvement.Design/methodology/approach: Based on an extensive review on LM literature and content validity assessment from practitioners and academicians, nine LM constructs were identified. Measurement items for each construct were developed to become a complete questionnaire. The questionnaire booklets were distributed to large and discrete manufacturing companies in Indonesia. Out of 1,000 survey questionnaires sent, 236 usable responses were returned giving response rate of 23.60 percent. Subsequently, an empirical assessment on the constructs was done by using structural equation modeling approach.Findings The study identified the valid and reliable LM constructs, consisting of nine LM constructs and 64 measurement items. The study found that all the constructs are complementary and mutually supportive with each other. Indeed, it suggests the holistic implementation of all the LM practices.Research limitations/implications: Owing the time and resource constraint, this study only involved large and discrete process manufacturing industries in Indonesia. Hence, the generalization of the result is slightly limited. More studies in several different contexts are required.Practical implications: This study provided a valuable tool for researchers for gaining deeper understanding regarding the LM and its implementation. For practitioners, it is useful to evaluate the degree of LM employment in their companies, to target area of improvement, as well as to take possible actions in attempting to enhance the organizational performance. More importantly, practitioners should adopt all the LM practices in a holistic manner.Originality/value: This study is the first attempt to develop LM constructs for evaluating the LM implementation in Indonesia

Where are we? the level of risk management in Malaysian construction industries

Over the decade, the level of risk management has always been lingering in every construction industry sectors. Therefore, this research deeply investigated the level of risk management among Kuantan Malaysian construction industries to better promote effectiveness on risk management implementation within the industry. To address this issues, this study makes use of statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) approach to validate construction risk management (CRM) as a construct from registered Grade-7 contractors operating in Malaysia point of view. With a cross-sectional survey and proportionate stratified random sampling techniques, data were gathered from 87 G-7 contractors through a structured questionnaire. Methodologically, this research perhaps might be the first to determine the level of risk management where Kuantan Malaysian construction industries belong to. Using the fivepoint Likert scale categories (very low, low, medium, high and very high) of risk management from previous studies, statistical analysis affirmed that the overall level of risk management among Kuantan Malaysian construction industries is at the high level

Does government policy matter? Factors influencing contractors' risk attitudes in the Malaysian construction industry: A structural equation modelling analysis

One of the critical factors responsible for the successful management of construction projects is individual factors. These factors play a significant role in the decision-makers' attitudes towards risks management. Many previous studies regarding the management of construction projects have focused on the factors contributing to the success of risk management. However, little attention has been given to factors severely affecting the decision-makers' risk attitudes with particular reference to an individual's risk factors in the construction industry. Therefore, this study aims to identify the factors affecting contractors' risk attitudes and then determine its relationship with government policy. Theories of planned behaviour and organisational control were used to develop the theoretical framework that investigated G-7 contractors in the Kuantan Pahang, Malaysian construction industry. A review of relevant literature and questionnaire was employed to identify the factors affecting contractors' risk attitudes (personal factors). 112 copies of a structured questionnaire were analysed with a response rate of 80%. Structural Equation Modelling SEM was utilised to test the hypotheses developed for the study. The results of this study, through SEM, proved that personal factors (working experience, professional competence and physical health) have a significant influence on contractor risk attitudes in the Malaysian construction industry. The findings of this research also confirm that government policy (rules and regulations) plays a moderating role in enhancing the relationship of personal factors affecting contractors’ risk attitudes in construction companies in Malaysia. The findings of the study provide more understanding of the personal factors that affect contractors' risk attitudes to facilitate contractors' decision-making process and serve as a useful reference for further studies in the field of construction project management

Facilitating conditions and Perceived Security as antecedents of trust among E-banking customers in Nigeria

The purpose of this paper is to empirically discuss facilitating conditions and perceived security as major factors that influence trust among e-banking customers in Nigeria.In doing so, final data that were collected from 266 customers were analyzed using PLS-SEM (2.0).The results of the study show that facilitating conditions and perceived security significantly and positively influenced trust among the e-banking users of four major banks in Nigeria. Theoretical and practical implications of the study are presented as a guide for both academics and practitioner

Building sustainability in the construction industry through firm capabilities, technology and business innovativeness: empirical evidence from Malaysia

While the identification of the drivers of social sustainability in construction firms has remained one of the popular topics in the literature, many questions about these drivers remain unanswered, especially in the context of the developing countries. This study empirically determines some organizational internal drivers influencing the social sustainability performance in construction firms. To achieve this, we developed a conceptual model and tested on a sample of registered and active large construction firms from the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board, using partial least-squares structural equation modelling for analysis. The study reveals that organizational internal drivers could trigger social sustainability performance. However, our analysis shows that organizational capabilities – complex tangible and intangible resources that are controlled by a firm through certain organizational practices and which enable it to implement value-creating strategies-partially mediates the relationship between these drivers and social sustainability. While few limitations of this study include the fact that the data used are the subjective opinions of the top officials who responded to the survey, our findings reveal that construction firms with efficient resource capabilities tend to adopt more sustainability in project delivery. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the important factors for social sustainability in construction

Analysis of some factors driving ecological sustainability in construction firms

Construction management scholars, institutional investors, and construction practitioners are strongly emphasizing firms’ needs to respond adequately to the harmful effects of construction on human societies and the environment. This study contributes to the ongoing discussion on the environmental dimension of the triple bottom line of sustainability within the construction industry by considering regulatory framework and a set of organizational capabilities (organizational culture, flexible design, quality orientation, product diversity, and customer loyalty) that have been highlighted to aid firms’ achievement of ecological sustainability. Using survey data of Malaysian large construction firms, structural equation modeling was used to confirm the mediating role of organizational capabilities in the regulatory framework and ecological sustainability relationship. The findings of this study established how proactive firm core competencies can strengthen construction businesses in developing nations to discover new avenues of performing environmentally sound construction businesses. It also demonstrated how a favourable regulation targeted at the unique configuration of large construction firms in Malaysian context could contribute to their environmental sustainability performance. The limitations and future research directions are also discussed