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In construction projects, engineering variations are very common and create breeding grounds for opportunistic claims. This study investigates the complementary effect between an inspection mechanism and a reputation system in deterring opportunistic claims, considering an employer with limited inspection accuracy and a contractor, which can be either reputation-concerned or opportunistic.

This paper applies a signaling game to investigate the complementary effect between the employer's inspection and a reputation system in deterring the contractor's possible opportunistic claim, considering the information-flow influence of claiming prices.

This study finds that in the exogenous-inspection-accuracy case, the employer does not always inspect the claim. A more stringent reputation system complements a less accurate inspection only when the inspection cost is lower than a threshold, but may decline the employer's surplus or social welfare. In the optimal-inspection-accuracy case, the employer always inspects the claim. However, only a sufficiently stringent reputation system can guarantee the effectiveness of an optimal inspection in curbing opportunistic claims. A more stringent reputation system has a value-stepping effect on the employer's surplus but may unexpectedly impair social welfare, whereas a higher inspection cost efficiency always reduces social welfare.

This article contributes to the project management literature by combing the signaling game theory with the reputation theory and thus embeds the problem of inspection mechanism design into a broader socio-economic framework.

Change orders are a typical occurrence in building projects. Change orders indirectly affect labor productivity, resulting in a significant delay in the completion of a building project. Change orders cause labor productivity losses that are difficult to describe, establish and account for contractors and subcontractors. This study aimed to look at the influence of change orders on labor productivity and develop methods to mitigate their adverse effects.

To assess the change orders' impact on productivity levels a system dynamic model was developed and devise ways were developed to counteract these negative impacts in this research. The impact of change orders on labor productivity and project time was then controlled using techniques established. Finally, a case study of KUET's hall extension was chosen, and the model and principles developed were implemented.

This study established that if the project delivery date is set and change orders are occurring often, labor productivity will be impacted. With adequate monitoring and supplemental management techniques, it can be reduced by prolonging the project.

The developed policies aid to mitigate the effect of change orders on labor productivity.

The study examines the relationship between the interaction of indigenous–foreign cultures and public employee performance (PEP) in the Ghanaian public sector due to the perceived unproductive cultures in the public sector.

The study employs a quantitative approach, where cross-sectional survey design is used to collect the data from Ghanaian public employees. The analysis is done using correlation and hierarchical regression techniques.

The results reveal that both indigenous and foreign cultures are pervasive in the Ghanaian public sector, with high power distance and individualism being dominant cultures. Furthermore, while the indigenous cultures have negative significant relationship with PEP, the foreign cultures have positive significant relationship with PEP. The foreign cultures effectively control the relationship between the indigenous cultures and PEP but insignificantly moderate such relationship.

The findings imply that deliberate attempts should be made to encourage the foreign cultures with attractive reward packages to induce workers. This will indirectly control the practice of the inimical cultures and ultimately reduce their negative effect on PEP.

The study contributes significantly to the extant literature by providing empirical evidence of the indigenous–foreign culture fit and PEP from a developing country, Ghana.

The construction industry is facing worker shortages, and the resulting competition for skilled workers has increased employee turnover in the sector. Consequently, construction and engineering firms are struggling to attract and retain employees to meet current demands for construction projects. The regular inflow of new employees, who likely need training, may affect organizational and project performance. Construction firms can boost performance by assessing and then honing workers’ skills, including soft skills.

One way to assess individuals’ soft skills is to use personality assessments. This study used three personality assessments— – the HEXACO Personality Inventory, Emotional Intelligence Diagnostic and Q-DiSC 101 Behavioral Assessment – to identify the traits of general contractor project managers; sheet metal and air conditioning field leaders (specialty field leaders) and sheet metal, air conditioning and electrical project managers (specialty project managers) in the United States for job role transition purposes. The groups’ mean scores for each assessment component were analyzed using ANOVA and independent t-test to identify statistically significant differences in the personality traits of the three groups – specifically between specialty field leaders and general contractor project managers as well as between specialty field leaders and specialty project managers.

This study found that the personality characteristics of workers in these job roles varied. One-way ANOVA revealed that there were significant differences in mean personality factor scores among specialty field leaders, specialty project managers and general contractor project managers. Independent t-tests showed significant differences in patience, forgiveness, fearfulness, etc. identifying the differences between specialty field leaders and general contractor project managers. Similarly, results highlighted significant differences in modesty, inquisitiveness and sociability, among others, for specialty field leaders and specialty project managers.

Understanding the personality traits associated with skills needed for leadership across construction roles empowers companies to refine human resource strategies. Personality assessments can complement recruitment, identifying strong candidates for leadership positions. Additionally, these insights can optimize leadership development programs and facilitate career transitions for specialty field leaders by pinpointing suitable candidates and tailoring training programs for successful role changes.

This study contributes to the field in two ways. First, it focuses on personality traits within the specific context of construction leadership, providing valuable insights for companies seeking to optimize their leadership teams. Second, by exploring the personality differences between these roles, the study goes beyond individual job requirements and examines the potential challenges and opportunities for career transitions within construction. This information can be used to inform training programs and career development pathways for construction professionals.

The factors contributing to skilled labor shortages in the construction industry are investigated based on relevant global literature. The potential factors are collected, organized and subjected to expert evaluation to determine their inter-relationships. The identified factors are integrated to determine both direct and indirect impacts, clarifying their relative importance.

Apart from literature reviews, the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method was employed to elucidate influential relationships among the factors. Intuitive assessments and DEMATEL with and without the shortage factors were used to compare the impact of various factors on skilled labor shortages.

Significant differences were observed between considering only direct effects and both direct and indirect effects. Factors identified through comprehensive evaluation were prioritized; poor overall wages, poor overall welfare and lack of retirement income security and unclear career path owing to lack of prospects and talent plans were the three important factors identified.

The disparity between construction companies and key stakeholders, such as government agencies, public sector clients, pre-project planners, designers and consulting engineers, stems from differing priorities concerning skilled labor in the construction industry. In this study, evaluations of most experts from construction companies and the gap ratio for data reliability were implemented for the analysis. In the future, more experts from government agencies, and other groups should be included while focusing on the shortage in individual trades of skilled workers. In addition, the proposed measures require further evaluation for interactive influence and effectiveness.

The interactive relationship among the factors influencing skilled labor shortages is explored to determine measures to alleviate their influence. This can aid policymakers in identifying effective solutions.

Low back disorder is one of the most prevalent and costly injuries in the construction industry. Back-support exoskeletons are increasingly perceived as promising solutions. However, the intended benefits of exoskeletons may not be realized if intention-to-use the device is low. Social influence could increase intention-to-use exoskeletons. This study aims to evaluate the impact of social influence on construction workers' intention-to-use back-support exoskeletons.

A field study involving 37 construction workers was conducted, with workers who used exoskeleton for one week, and their peers and supervisors. Data were collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, and analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, respectively.

The workers felt that the exoskeleton is easy to use and the functions are well integrated. Workers' intention-to-use exoskeleton was mainly influenced by employers providing and requiring the use of the device. The attitude of the workers and the perception of peers and supervisors did not have a significant impact on workers' intention-to-use exoskeleton, whereas the subjective norm of construction workers had a positive impact on the intention-to-use exoskeletons.

The study involved only 37 workers, including 15 workers who used the exoskeleton, and 14 peers and 8 supervisors of the workers.

This study contributes to existing knowledge on the influence of social influence on intention-to-use exoskeletons. The study also highlights how exoskeleton designs and the construction workplace can influence behavioral intention-to-use exoskeletons.

Knowledge loss (KL) is still an unfortunate fact, causing many challenges, including poor organisational performance, despite prior efforts to investigate knowledge retention methods. Therefore, this study identifies early approaches to combat KL and poor organisational performance, shifting focus on employee personality traits.

Grounded on the social exchange theory (SET) cross-section data from 400 Chinese construction knowledge employees were used to investigate the role of internal work locus of control (IWLC) on job rotation (JR), KL and organisational performance. The data were analysed through IBM SPSS Statistics 25 and SmartPLS 4 software.

The results demonstrated that IWLC minimises KL and positively influences JR. Then, JR negatively influences KL and decreases in organisational performance. The negative mediating effect of JR in the relationship between IWLC, KL and decreased organisational performance were also found. Finally, KL proved to positively influence a decrease in organisational performance.

This study contributes to the new understanding of individual behaviour and its influence on organisational outcome variables. Specifically, for ultimate KL prevention and organisational performance improvement, an organisation should understand its employees' behaviours to establish progressive collective learning and knowledge sharing.

This study contributes to the new understanding of individual behaviour and its influence on organisational outcome variables. Specifically, for ultimate KL prevention and organisational performance improvement, an organisation should understand its employees’ behaviours to establish progressive collective learning and knowledge sharing.

This study is the first attempt to explore the influence of personality traits in the early minimisation of KL, particularly the role of IWLC and JR in combating KL and improving organisational performance.

This paper aims to evaluate the available research to identify the factors contributing to the delays in road construction projects. The primary goals of this study are to determine the critical elements that cause delays in road projects, and to investigate the appropriate corrective actions suggested to lessen the delays in road projects. The study also assesses the theoretical background, methodology, limitations and future research prospects suggested in relevant research works related to causes for delays in road construction.

This study adopted systematic literature review in three steps: collecting relevant literature, descriptive analysis and content analysis. This study used keyword analysis and thematic content analysis on some relevant selected studies. NVivo 12 was used for thematic content analysis utilising description-focused coding, the text was thematically analysed, three other software: MS Excel, VOSviewer and Mendeley were also used for analysis in this study.

The findings revealed that road projects around the world experienced delays and the reasons for delays are many. After the analysis of literature, number of factors causing delays in road projects were identified, which were then divided into seven broad groups using thematic content analysis. The investigation shows that variations in design and inefficient management of project by contractor including inadequate planning and scheduling are the top two factors of delay. The most frequent suggested corrective measure to reduce delay was employing technically competent employees and contractor should conduct thorough survey on his part, rather than just accepting the survey report at face value.

This review paper is addressing the issues related to delays in road construction projects and suggests remedial measure to reduce them. The paper will be useful for researchers, industry professionals, academician and policy makers concerned with the road construction projects. The study conducted the review of selected relevant articles related to causes of delay in road construction projects for qualitative analysis. The research articles using quantitative methods and studies conducted on other types of infrastructure projects were not included; however, findings from this study may be applicable to other construction projects as well.

The findings of this paper are useful in the fields of economy, industry, academia and public policies. The paper thoroughly examined the factors causing delays in highway projects, offering insights for practitioners to identify best practices and mitigation strategies. These findings can guide investment and policy decisions for highway infrastructure projects, promoting a holistic approach to development. Additionally, this paper can help enhance research methods in studies about delays in road infrastructure projects.

The literature review in the paper used a qualitative method. The causes of road project delays, remedial action, context, methodology and theoretical foundation were all examined in this paper.

The application of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology in construction projects is of increasing interest to researchers and construction practitioners. Although the application of 3D printing technology at various stages of the project lifecycle has been explored, few studies have identified the relative importance of critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. To address this research gap, this study aims to explore the academics (i.e. researchers) and construction practitioners’ perspectives on CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects.

To do this, a questionnaire was administered to participants (i.e. academics and construction practitioners) with knowledge and expertise in 3D printing technology in construction projects. The collected data were analysed using mean score ranking, normalization and rank agreement analysis to identify CSFs and determine the consistency of the ranking of CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the relationships and underlying constructs of the measured CSFs.

Through a rank agreement analysis of the collected data, 11 CSFs for implementing 3D printing technology were retrieved (i.e. 17% agreement), indicating a diverse agreement in the ranking of the CSFs between academics and construction practitioners. In addition, the results show three key components of CSFs including “production demand enabling CSFs”, “optimize the construction process enabling CSFs” and “optimized design enabling CSFs”.

This study highlights the feasibility of implementing the identified CSFs for 3D printing technology in construction projects, which not only serves as a reference for other researchers but also increases construction practitioners’ awareness of the practical benefits of implementing 3D printing technology in construction projects. Specifically, it would optimize the construction lifecycle processes, enhance digital transformation and promote sustainable construction projects.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant societal changes and altered how much of the construction industry operates. This study investigates the impacts of pandemic-related changes, how these changes may apply to different companies, and which changes should continue post-pandemic.

We aim to identify pandemic-driven changes that have affected the construction workplace and the advantages and challenges associated with them. We then make recommendations for what could and should endure through the pandemic and beyond, and under what circumstances. To achieve this objective, we conducted both qualitative and quantitative analyses of 40 semi-structured interviews with US-based construction professionals.

Identified through these interviews were 21 pandemic-driven changes across six categories: management and planning, technology, workforce, health and safety, supply chain, and contracts. This study noted both positive and negative impacts of the changes on cost, schedule, productivity, collaboration, employee retention, flexibility, quality, and risk mitigation. Participants indicated that some changes should remain after the pandemic and others (e.g. select safety measures, schedule adjustments) should be temporary.

By incorporating these lessons learned into recommendations, the findings of this study will help businesses identify and implement the most appropriate improvements for their organizations. The findings also provide policymakers with valuable insights on how to promote innovation in the construction industry and potentially enact more effective policies during crises to drive long-term improvements.