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This study aims to review the current trends in early contractor involvement (ECI) in construction project development. The review consist of the following objectives: (1) identifying the benefits of ECI on construction project development; (2) identifying the challenges of ECI in construction project development; and (3) identifying the strategies of ECI in construction project development.

This study systematically reviews the literature on the application of ECI in construction project development. A total of 133 related articles were identified and analyzed using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method.

This review identified “improved team work/collaboration working relationship” as the top benefits of ECI in construction project development. “Cultural barrier” was identified as the top challenge of ECI in construction project development, while “contributing value engineering” and “buildability evaluation input”, were the top two strategies of ECI in construction project development.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to systematically review prior literature on ECI. As a result, the study provides a comprehensive understanding of the current state of the art and fills the literature gap. Researchers and industry professionals can use the study findings to increase the rate and benefits of implementing ECI in construction projects.

The study aims to investigate the nomenclature of structural versus non-structural building adaptation measures taken by occupants of residential properties located in flood-prone areas of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, to verify whether they are adapted or maladapted relative to their level of flood exposure and underscore the role of disaster resilience in property management.

Using the survey research strategy, the uptake of structural and non-structural adaptation measures in spatially distributed areas of Port Harcourt was descriptively analyzed and tested to identify significant variation in the uptake of adaptation measures relative to increasing flooding levels, using a one-way ANOVA.

The study outcome reveals that there are some distinctive features of buildings in Port Harcourt which provide wet-proofing structural adaptation qualities while dry-proofing structural adaptation measures are not adequate. However, although some key structural adaptation measures were adapted relative to the levels of flood exposure, most structural features of the buildings do not vary relative to flooding levels, indicating maladaptation even with increasing flood risk. The uptake of non-structural measures is also inadequate and maladapted relative to changes in the level of flood exposure, despite their non-intrusive and low-cost nature. Overall, the findings imply that maladaptation is more prevalent.

The study provides a descriptive snapshot of the nomenclature of property-level flood risk adaptation in residential buildings, while highlighting the maladaptive tendencies/behavior of property occupants, within a metropolitan setting in the developing world, necessary to inform policy and provide sensitization for fostering disaster resilience in property management.

With emerging technologies rapidly changing work processes, it is important to understand the skills and characteristics project managers (PMs) need to effectively manage projects in the digital era. This study determines the underlying competencies needed for digitalization among PMs in the construction industry. The study also identified the most significant competencies needed by PMs in the era of digitalization.

The methodology adopted for the research study was quantitative. It was founded on a thorough review of pertinent literature, which went through a pilot survey study from six project management experts in the construction industry. Based on the comment and feedback, a questionnaire survey was developed and distributed to participants through a convenience sampling technique. The data retrieved were from 100 professional PMs out of 130 questionnaires distributed in the Ghanaian construction industry. Data collected were analyzed using fuzzy synthetic evaluation (FSE).

Based on FSE, the three competency parameters (knowledge, skills, personal characteristics) generated significant indices indicating that all three competencies are significant among construction PMs in the digitalization era. Under the knowledge competency parameter, six sub-competencies comprising a total of 12 variables were identified. For skills, seven sub-competencies consisting of 23 variables were identified. Regarding personal attributes, six sub-competencies with 17 variables were highlighted. Under knowledge, technical knowledge was found to be the most important with an index of 4.212. For skills, leadership skills were rated highest with an index of 4.240. Regarding personal attributes, social or interpersonal skills were deemed most critical with an index of 4.199.

The results provide guidance to both industry and academic stakeholders. For PMs and their employers, the study highlights priority areas for competency development and training related to the era of digitalization. It also informs educational institutions on how to structure project management curricula to best prepare students for jobs of the future. This study gives more insight into the competencies that need more attention for PMs in the digitalization era. As a result, firms that adopt the identified competency will benefit from implementing digitalization in project delivery.

This study makes an original contribution as one of the first to empirically investigate the competencies required of construction PMs in the construction industry in the digitalization era. By focusing on the developing country context of Ghana, the study extends knowledge to an under-researched region and market. It provides a foundation for future comparative research across diverse global contexts.

Studies highlight that poor labour supervision and inadequate labour training facilities are the primary factors that result in labour skill shortages and productivity-related challenges among construction firms. This study aims to assess the construction supervisors’ abilities in providing work-based training elements and evaluating labour skills in construction.

A construction supervisory training programme was newly designed with a set of labour training exercises using comprehensive approaches. A total of 64 construction supervisors were trained to deliver the labour training components for more than 250 labourers working on 23 construction projects in Sri Lanka. The supervisors’ competencies were assessed using a detailed marking guide developed through expert discussions and literature reviews.

The results show the detailed cross-section of a wide range of competencies of the construction supervisors in providing labour training elements with the levels of standards/descriptions. The generalisability of the study applications and the reliability of the results were ensured using statistical tests and expert reviews. The findings further describe the impacts of the well-improved competencies of construction supervisors on labour working patterns and work outputs.

Though the study findings were limited to the Sri Lankan construction sector, the study applications can have a considerable impact on the current/future practices of the construction sector in developing countries as well as other developing industries.

The study outcomes may contribute to a rapid increase in the number of construction supervisors becoming certified assessors of National Vocational Qualifications up to certain levels. This paper describes the further extensive implications and future scopes of the study elaborately.

The study adds new characteristics and values to construction supervision practices that can be remarkable in achieving higher levels of performance and productivity in labour operations. Importantly, the study contributes to adorning the job role of construction supervisors with the title of “labour training expert”.

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) have become integral in delivering public services and infrastructure, particularly in the context of megaprojects. This paper focuses on the interplay between stakeholder management, challenges, critical success factors (CSFs), and the overall success of PPP-arranged civil infrastructure megaprojects.

Using the PRISMA methodology, we comprehensively analyze challenges and critical success factors (CSFs) influencing stakeholder engagement within PPP megaprojects. A focused search equation identified 595 papers, which were distilled down to 34 relevant papers and case studies. Qualitative analysis of these papers revealed 48 CSFs categorized into 11 challenges from a stakeholder management perspective, which were further delineated across public, private, and combined sectors, and then mapped along the PPP megaproject lifecycle.

Informed by a diverse amalgam of civil and project management literature, this research reveals the intricate dynamics of PPP megaprojects across the globe that emphasize the critical nature of stakeholder engagement, analysis, and management practices. Key findings highlighted conflicting interests between public and private stakeholders, manifesting in challenges like project performance versus profitability. The literature emphasized instances where neglect of local community culture led to adverse social outcomes. A universal conclusion underscored the context-specific nature of challenges and CSFs, stressing the need for a holistic understanding of stakeholders and project dynamics.

The paper acknowledges that it focused on 34 selected papers out of 595 identified. This sample focuses on civil engineering megaprojects which may not fully represent the breadth of research in the field, potentially missing out on valuable insights from excluded studies.

We believe that the compiled list of CSFs, organized according to stakeholder relationships and the project lifecycle, serves as a potent tool for managers and planners. By enabling the identification of complexity from diverse perspectives, this research allows elucidating the challenges faced by the management team in PPP megaproject.

This research identifies several social outcomes related to PPP megaprojects. Critical Success Factors identified as such should allow the project managers to maximize benefits for society and minimize risk and negative externalities.

This study contributes valuable insights for policies and practices by systematically describing challenges and related CSFs throughout the PPP megaproject lifecycle. Additionally, it addresses the nuanced aspects of internal and external stakeholder management, thereby contributing to the overall understanding and best practices required to confront complex megaprojects involving a wide range of stakeholder groups.

In the Global North, affordable housing has evolved and thrived, and it is now gaining traction in the Global South, where governments have been vocal supporters of the concept. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the important criteria for selecting affordable housing units in Ghana.

A quantitative research approach was used, and a survey was administered to the residents. The data was analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The relative importance index technique was used to rank the important criteria, and the EFA technique was used to create a taxonomy system for the criteria.

The hierarchical ranking of the most significant criteria for selecting affordable housing includes community safety, waste management and access to good-quality education. Furthermore, the important criteria for selecting affordable housing are classified into two groups, namely, “sustainability criteria” and “housing demand and supply and social service provision”.

This study has implications for the real estate industry and construction stakeholders, as this will inform decision-making in terms of the design of affordable housing and the suitability of the location for the development.

These findings provide a baseline to support potential homeowners and tenants in their quest to select affordable housing. Furthermore, these findings will aid future longitudinal research into the indicators or criteria for selecting suitable locations for the development of low- and middle-income housing.

The proliferation of lean principles in the construction industry is offset by the enduring uncertainty among industry stakeholders regarding their respective roles in lean implementation. This uncertainty is further compounded by the scarcity of empirical investigations in this area. Consequently, this study undertakes the task of bridging this knowledge gap by identifying the critical roles of lean learners and their indispensable contributions to achieving successful lean implementation.

A qualitative exploratory approach informed by an interpretivism perspective was adopted. The case study strategy was employed to gather data from three contracting organisations that had implemented lean practices. Empirical data was collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with fifteen industry experts and complemented by document reviews. To analyse the data, a code-based content analysis approach was employed using NVivo software, while Power BI software was utilised to develop a comprehensive force-directed graph visualisation.

The research findings substantiated nine lean learners and unveiled a set of seventy-three roles associated with them. The force-directed graph facilitated the identification of lean learners and their connections to the emerged roles. Notably, the graph highlighted the pivotal role played by project managers and internal lean trainers in ensuring the success of lean implementation, surpassing the contributions of other lean learners.

The implications of findings extend to industry professionals seeking to establish a robust lean learning framework to expedite lean implementation within the construction sector. This study not only provides a comprehensive definition of lean learners’ roles but also transcends specific construction types, making it a significant catalyst for global impact.

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021 in Indonesia, the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) of local houses occupied by infected occupants was adversely affected. This paper aims to appraise the IEQ of the affected Banda Aceh houses with insights into enabling them to be resilient against the negative impacts of the pandemic.

Quantitative field measurement in the case study of five concrete houses located in urban areas which are affected by IEQ factors: (1) indoor air quality (IAQ), (2) thermal comfort and (3) visual comfort, compared against the Indonesian National standard (SNI). The case study involved measurement of the first two factors over 24 h, while the third factor was measured during sun hours. Considering the limitations of the measuring tools for logging available data in this research, air quality is measured from 8 am to 10 pm.

Thermal comfort in the affected houses is generally regarded as warm, optimal and cool comfort, indicated by the effective temperatures of between 20.5 and 27.1°C. Frequently closed windows, limited land area and access had caused a lack of air circulation, with air velocity of dominantly 0 m/s in the houses. The illuminance of natural light received in three houses was insufficient – less than 120 lux as compared with the other two. This study found an uptrend of higher air temperature and relative humidity in the affected houses resulting in poorer IAQ; conversely, the higher the air velocity in the houses, the fewer the indoor air pollutants such as formaldehyde (HCHO), total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) and carbon dioxide (CO₂₎.

This study is a pioneer in evaluating IEQ in houses occupied by COVID-19 patients in Indonesia, especially in dwelling cases in Aceh Province. It also encompasses environmental and societal challenges to sustaining resilient buildings in pandemic hit regions.

Are there smart ways to find heuristics? What are the common principles behind heuristics? We propose an integrative definition of heuristics, based on insights that apply to all heuristics, and put forward meta-heuristics for discovering heuristics.

We employ Herbert Simon’s metaphor that human behavior is shaped by the scissors of the mind and its environment. We present heuristics from different domains and multiple sources, including scholarly literature, practitioner-reports and ancient texts.

Heuristics are simple, actionable principles for behavior that can take different forms, including that of computational algorithms and qualitative rules-of-thumb, cast into proverbs or folk-wisdom. We introduce heuristics for tasks ranging from management to writing and warfare. We report 13 meta-heuristics for discovering new heuristics and identify four principles behind them and all other heuristics: Those principles concern the (1) plurality, (2) correspondence, (3) connectedness of heuristics and environments and (4) the interdisciplinary nature of the scissors’ blades with respect to research fields and methodology.

We take a fresh look at Simon’s scissors-metaphor and employ it to derive an integrative perspective that includes a study of meta-heuristics.

Competitiveness is an important personality trait that has been studied in various disciplines and has been shown to predict critical work outcomes at the individual level. Despite this, the role of competitiveness in groups and teams has received scant attention amongst organizational researchers. Aiming to promote future research on the role of competitiveness as both an adaptive and maladaptive trait – particularly in the context of work – the authors review competitiveness and its effects on individual and team stress and Well-Being, giving special attention to the processes of cohesion and conflict and situational moderators. The authors illustrate a dynamic multilevel model of individual and team difference factors, competitive processes, and individual and team outcomes to highlight competitiveness as a consequential occupational stressor. Furthermore, the authors discuss the feedback loops that inform the different factors, highlight important avenues for future research, and offer practical solutions for managers to reduce unhealthy competition.