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The purpose of this paper is to explore the synergies between post-end-of-life of building (PEoLB) concepts and operations to achieve sustainability.

A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted using 65 articles published between 2006 and 2017, and it has been subjected to descriptive and thematic analysis.

The descriptive analysis revealed that the majority of the articles were about (60 per cent) PEoLB operations, followed by (23 per cent) PEoLB concepts. Only 17 per cent of the articles have dealt with PEoLB-related strategic approaches. The thematic analysis elaborated on the literature development; interrelationships between PEoLB concepts and operations; impediments of introducing sustainability on these operations, remedial measures and information-based strategic approaches to achieve sustainability. Based on the findings, a conceptual framework for sustainable PEoLB operations is proposed. Furthermore, four areas of potential future research are discussed.

This study presents a future research agenda including best practices to plan PEoLB operations and the development of optimisation models, risk management and information-based strategic approaches.

The proposed conceptual research framework triggers and nurtures potential pathways to introduce sustainable PEoLB operations under sound information flow. This could create a basis for future empirical studies in filling the identified gaps in literature. The framework could also assist practitioners in mitigating risks associated with transportation, storing and contamination of salvaged materials through enhanced information flow. In addition, the framework provides some managerial guidance to organisations seeking ways of establishing sustainability during reverse logistics (RL) operations.

This paper presents an SLR of an emerging area of research that encapsulates closed-loop supply chain through sustainable RL operations. The study highlights the interrelationships between PEoLB concepts and operations. It develops a robust approach to effectively manage the PEoLB operations underpinned by a sound information flow to facilitate sustainability.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the synergies among reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC), quality management (QM) and information management (IM) concepts to enhance the effectiveness of demolition waste management (DWM) practices.

A systematic literature review was conducted using 70 articles published between the years of 2006 and 2017, which were subjected to descriptive and thematic analysis.

The descriptive analysis established that the RLSC concept was dealt within the majority of the publications (61 per cent), followed by concepts related to quality in RLSC (24 per cent). Only 14 per cent of the articles were based on IM concepts related to RLSC. Quality and information are interrelated in the effective implementation of RLSC. The thematic analysis demonstrated that there is a need for using quality parameters in a regulatory environment in an information-based environment. Based on the findings, future research directions were developed.

The study encourages researchers to identify novel directions by combining these three concepts. The study developed a future research agenda regarding use of building information modelling (BIM) for existing buildings under novel technologies; analysis of secondary market demand and supply; and assessment of cost and safety management with quality in a BIM-enabled environment.

The practical implications include the application of sustainable management principles based on stakeholders and the regulatory environment.

Integration of the three concepts is an emerging area. This integration developed a robust approach to achieve QM in RLSC operations under a sound information flow enabling the optimisation of DWM.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to investigate strategies that external stakeholders can employ to affect construction project outcomes and, second, to identify essential requirements for utilising each strategy.

A new theoretical framework of stakeholder influence strategies was proposed and applied. The research design is a multi-case study, comprising four cases in the construction industry in Vietnam.

Seven specific strategies were found, including inputs withholding, inputs compromising, communication, direct action, coalition building, conflict escalation and credibility building. When possessing project inputs, stakeholders can affect a project directly via a withholding or compromising strategy. Communication is available to those who have basic communicating skills; however, direct action is only employed by groups that include a large number of members. Objectors must have common interests or goals with their potential allies for using coalition building. Conflict escalation is restricted to communities having distinctive characteristics which can be used to create new problems sensibly, while credibility building is used by parties possessing adequate resources and expertise.

This study’s generalisability may be limited by the main source of data and the types of projects in the selected cases.

This study provides directions for project managers to predict stakeholder influence by taking project inputs and utilisation requirements of the strategies into consideration.

This study is one of the first investigations on stakeholder-attributes-related requirements for utilising influence strategies in projects.

The purpose of this paper is to explore sourcing strategies for facilities management services using core-competency theory of outsourcing. The aim is to develop a screening framework for deciding the suitability of outsourcing versus in-house delivery for these services based on three levels of managerial functions prevalent in a typical commercial organization.

A questionnaire survey was administered for facilities managers in Sri Lanka to investigate the relative importance of these managerial functions for facilities management services and obtain their opinions on the best delivery mode. The managerial functions were derived from a literature review and verified using three semi-structured interviews prior to the questionnaire survey design.

The findings showed that facilities management services that are aligned to strategic functions are suitable for in-house delivery, while those that are aligned to tactical and operational functions for outsourcing.

Further studies should be conducted and extended to other types of organizations beyond commercial ones. Secondly, the quantitative study employed a smaller sample (n = 40), and the survey items were based on the review of literature which was verified using a very small number of interviews (n = 3).

The proposed framework can be utilized when choosing the best facilities management approach for commercial organizations in developing countries such as Sri Lanka.

This study contributes to the body of knowledge on the subject of facilities management by exploring the context in Sri Lankan which has not previously been done.

A green lease incorporates sustainability practices to reduce a building’s negative impact on the environment. Facilities managers play an important role in ensuring these best practices are implemented during the operational stage of a building; however, green leasing is an under-researched area in the emerging field of sustainable facilities management (SFM). This paper aims to investigate the common barriers encountered in ensuring environmental performance when a green lease agreement is in operation between a landlord and tenant.

This research was conducted in three stages using the principal-agent problem as the theoretical foundation for data collection. Stages 1 and 2 used semi-structured interviews to collect data with policy/corporate-level professionals, landlord and facilities management representatives who have considerable experience in green leases. Stage 3 used document reviews based on summative content analysis to further evaluate the extent of the contextual use of green leasing concepts as used within the facilities management community.

The study confirmed a strong incentive gap and information asymmetry between the landlord and facilities manager, forming a typical double principal-agent problem when the split incentives between the landlord and tenants are also taken into consideration, which results in agents acting on their own self-interest rather than the interests of the principal. Goal alignment is found to be key for the successful operation and management of a building throughout its life; when present, these goal conflicts can lead to disharmony between the parties to the contract.

The study proposes a few practical measures to close the gaps in incentive and information asymmetry that create the principal-agent problem, while providing recommendations to the facilities management professional community. These recommendations could be included in future revisions of the SFM guidelines or code of practices used by the industry. Although this study exposed a rather neglected area of the facilities manager’s role in green leases, the findings are limited by the relatively small sample size used for the interviews.

This study contributes to the SFM body of knowledge from a green lease perspective, and the theoretical framework in the double principal-agent problem introduced in the study could be used in future research endeavours.

The reverse logistics supply chain (RLSC) for demolition waste management (DWM) is a complex process that inherits significant interdependent risks. However, studies on the RLSC have not explicitly identified the risks of its inter-relationships by disentangling their effects on operational performance. Accordingly, this paper aims to identify and assess the inter-dependencies of the risks in the RLSC to improve quality-related operational performance.

A sequential exploratory mixed-method research approach, consisting of qualitative and quantitative methods, was employed. The qualitative approach involved 25 semi-structured interviews, whereas the 18 subsequent structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders in the entire RLSC as part of the quantitative method. These were used to identify the cause and effect relationships of the identified risks. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, and the Bayesian belief network (BBN) technique was used to develop a conceptual risk model.

In total 20 risks in four RLSC sub-processes, namely, dismantling and on-site process, off-site resource recovery process, marketing of secondary products and residue disposal, emerged. Among cause and effect relationships of identified risk factors, inferior quality of secondary products was found to have the strongest relationship with customer satisfaction. Under-pricing of dismantling job, improper landfill operations and inadequacy of landfill levy are independent risks that initiate other risks down the supply chain. The aggregate effects of these risks affect customer dissatisfaction of the end-product, as well as health and safety risks in on-site, off-site and residue disposal.

This study only identify the cause and effect relationships of the identified risks within the RLSC for DWM operations. It has not targeted a specific construction material or any secondary production, which could be practiced through a case study in future research.

The results encourage the investigation of RLSC process quality by maintaining the relationship between recycler and customer to enable a safe workplace environment. Hence, the role of relevant practitioners and government is inseparable in supporting decision-making. Future research could discuss the impact of those inter-related risks in relation to time- or cost-related operational performance criteria.

This study contributes to the field through presenting the first major study on the identification and assessment of the inter-dependencies of the risks in the RLSC in South Australia. The RLSC process mapping had been identified as a tactical and operational management approach. However, the risk management process is a strategic management approach. Therefore, the integration of both process mapping and the risk management approaches in one platform is germane to construction management research.

Factors influencing management of construction and demolition (C&D) waste within the Iranian context have yet to be investigated. The purpose of this paper is to define and address this knowledge gap, through development of a model to map the associations among the primary factors affecting C&D waste at project, industry and national levels.

A conceptual model is developed based on synthesising the findings of available studies on factors affecting C&D waste with a focus on developing countries. For collecting data, the study drew upon a questionnaire survey of 103 Iranian construction practitioners. The strength and significance of associations among these factors to modify and validate the model were assessed using the structural equation modelling-partial least squares approach.

Major factors affecting C&D waste management and their level of importance were identified at project, industry and national levels. Results clearly showed that the government should review regulations pertaining to C&D waste management and make sure they are implemented properly. The “polluter pays principle” is a useful guide in devising effective policies and regulations for the Iranian context.

This study contributes to the field through presenting the first major study on C&D waste management in Iran. The study provides a picture of C&D waste management status quo in Iran and encapsulates the factors affecting C&D waste management in the Iranian context at different levels within an integrated model. The findings have practical implications for policy makers and construction practitioners in Iran, similar developing economies and foreign firms planning to operate in Iran.

Inferior quality reprocessed products hinder the successful adoption of reverse logistics supply chains (RLSCs) of demolition waste (DW) in the construction industry. Therefore, an information-centric quality assurance system (QAS), including process, people, policy and technology aspects, plays an important role in RLSCs, yet none of the previous studies empirically delved into this. Therefore, this study aims to establish how aspects of the process, people, policy and technology contribute to creating an information-centric QAS for RLSCs.

Initially, an extensive literature review was undertaken. Then, following a qualitative approach, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with internal stakeholders of the RLSCs in the South Australian construction industry. The collected data were analysed using directed content analysis.

This study empirically established how the aspects of process, people, policy and technology contribute to quality assurance (QA) in RLSCs. The process involves practices and approaches for QA. Experienced and knowledgeable people should undertake this process, complying with the policies and using new or available technologies. Each aspect provides useful information that should be shared and communicated with the other aspects to create an integrated QAS for the RLSCs.

The current study made a significant contribution by empirically establishing that an information-centric system of process, people, policy and technology was needed for QA in RLSCs to produce quality outputs. This QAS provides useful insights for industry practitioners, government and policymakers about the aspects they should embrace in enforcing QA in RLSCs.

Many work-related factors particularly affect the mental well-being of young construction workers and subsequently affect their productivity at work. Young construction workers in South Australia are more vulnerable than other workers because they consider the distress arising from work-related factors to be part of adapting to a new work life. Therefore, this study seeks to draw out the work-related factors that affect the mental well-being of young construction workers.

The study employed a sequential mixed method approach including a preliminary qualitative case study and a quantitative survey. Around 20 interviews across two organisations were conducted in the initial case study and content analysis was used to contextualise the factors and identify new factors. Then, the outcome of the case study was fed into a questionnaire survey for further analysis. The survey received 43 valid responses. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the survey outcome to assess and categorise the work-related factors.

The findings indicate ten prominent work-related factors contributing to poor mental well-being of young construction workers related to three main categories of factors, namely “nature of work”, “task-related stress” and “unsupportive behaviour”. The work-related factors that have the greatest impact on mental well-being are the machoism culture of industry, work overload and workplace bullying.

The outcome from this study enhances the understanding of key work-related factors affecting the mental well-being of young construction workers. Research findings would also help inform the development of clear, industry-informed initiatives tailored to protect and support young construction workers.

Offsite construction (OC) is an efficient method to reduce waste in the construction industry from a circular economy perspective. Yet, its uptake is subdued by the ambiguities around its supply chain. Hence, the purpose of this study is twofold: to identify the OC project delivery models, the limitations in their procurement approach to facilitate the resilience of the supply chain and interventions to promote supply chain resilience (SCR) and to identify the gaps in the existing procurement process and propose further research areas that implement strategies to improve SCR.

The study was conducted as a systematic literature review. In total, 41 peer-reviewed research papers published between 2013 and 2023 were shortlisted through the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. A descriptive analysis was conducted, followed by a thematic analysis.

The descriptive analysis reveals that the emphasis on digitising OC has shifted to transforming the business model, procurement and supply chain with a human-centric view. In thematic analysis, the predictability of the SC partners and the probabilities of evaluating the prospects are revealed as arbitrary characteristics in the current procurement strategies. Rewarding collaborative relationships among SC partners and incorporating provisions to postpone the module delivery are some interventions to promote flexibility. Drafting comprehensive and effective contracts that address transparency issues and facilitating the need for continuous development of capabilities through procurement are among the further research avenues proposed.

This study is a precursor demonstrating the potential of the procurement process to implement the decrees of SCR for better goal congruence of the OC supply chain.