Soroush Dehghan Salmasi, Mehran Sepehri and Yashar Dadashzadeh
After reading the case and answering the case assignments, students will be able to understand and explain the challenges and opportunities for engineering, procurement and…
Abstract
Learning outcomes
After reading the case and answering the case assignments, students will be able to understand and explain the challenges and opportunities for engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors and their subcontractors; understand and critically analyse the advantages and disadvantages of insourcing and outsourcing of engineering, procurement and construction in EPC projects; determine which situations merit insourcing or outsourcing within each of engineering, procurement and construction in EPC projects; understand and identify the competencies and qualifications that a subcontractor must possess if any EPC activity is outsourced to them; and develop a decision-making framework to determine which EPC activities must be kept in-house or outsourced in EPC projects.
Case overview/synopsis
In mid-March 2021, PetroSahand International Group, a leading EPC contractor specializing in the oil, gas and petrochemicals industries in Iran, encountered significant challenges with its subcontractors in engineering and construction. These issues resulted in widespread repercussions for the company, including project delays and mounting debts. At the peak of these crises, PetroSahand’s senior management embarked on a thorough examination of whether to insource or outsource various aspects of their operations, such as engineering, procurement and construction. Their objective was twofold: to prevent similar setbacks in future projects and to navigate existing projects with minimal disruption to the company’s reputation. To address this critical dilemma, PetroSahand enlisted the expertise of a consulting team from Sharif University of Technology. Comprising esteemed professors, graduates and students from one of Iran’s most respected institutions, this team undertook an exhaustive analysis of the insourcing versus outsourcing debate across EPC domains. Subsequently, they presented their comprehensive findings, thereby confronting PetroSahand’s senior management with a pivotal choice regarding the optimal approach for each activity.
Complexity academic level
The audience of this work is undergraduate and graduate students who are enrolled in project management courses, both fundamentals and advanced. In addition, this case helps senior managers of EPC contractors gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of insourcing or outsourcing different project activities.
Supplementary materials
Teaching notes are available for educators only.
Subject code
CSS 7: Management science.
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Keywords
Mehran Sepehri and Mohsen Qadiri
This study aim to examine the roots of professional resistance of procurement in Iran. Public procurement (PP) contracts, in developing countries, hide the structural problems of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aim to examine the roots of professional resistance of procurement in Iran. Public procurement (PP) contracts, in developing countries, hide the structural problems of governmental management because of the lack of bureaucratic processes.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-phase qualitative study offers contextual and critical understandings on why Iranian PP experts, who are aware of the philosophies behind internationally endorsed principles, prefer to resist against the use of those principles. They help, unexpectedly, their traditionalist companions to resolve the difficulties of the PP contracts by the use of local methods and routines.
Findings
Evidence, from in-depth interviews with procurements professionals in Iran Oil industry, provides four specific themes of “professional disorder,” “anti-internationalism,” “resistance mentality” and “politicized procurement.” A preemptive resistance is characterized to guarantee that the national benefits in Iran are preferred over the international economic interests.
Originality/value
Iran has been in isolation due to political sanctions, for two decades. There are many diverse political and social reasons for resistance against professional public procurement.
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Mehran Salavati, Milad Tuyserkani, Seyyede Anahita Mousavi, Nafiseh Falahi and Farshid Abdi
The principal aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between technological, marketing, organizational and commercialization risk management on new product…
Abstract
Purpose
The principal aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between technological, marketing, organizational and commercialization risk management on new product development (NPD) performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on questionnaire, the data were collected from a sample of general automotive industry in Iran. Based on theoretical considerations, a model was proposed and descriptive statistic and hierarchical regression were used to measure the relationship between risk management factors and NPD performance.
Findings
Data analysis revealed that if organization can amplify their knowledge and information about risk and main factors that affect NPD process, not only can they do their work better but can also increase their ability to predict future happenings that affect performance.
Research limitations/implications
First, due to the relatively small sample size, caution should be exercised when interpreting the results. Second, the data were collected from automotive producer in Iran, which may restrict to some extent generalizability of the findings.
Practical implications
The results suggest that managers should consider more attention to risk management. If managers spread the risk management in all aspects of the NPD project, total performance will be increased and it can develop the probability of NPD success. Also organizations should perform great market research due to best commercialization.
Originality/value
Past researches have presented complete information about NPD process. But identifying and considering the effect of the risk management parameters that are connected to the NPD process were the main thrusts to perform the study. In this paper, based on past research about risk management of NPD, the extra aspect of process that can improve total performance of NPD has been examined.