Seda Tan and Gulden Gumusburun Ayalp
Despite several advantages of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology, BIM has not been adopted and implemented extensively in developing countries. Consequently BIM…
Abstract
Purpose
Despite several advantages of Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology, BIM has not been adopted and implemented extensively in developing countries. Consequently BIM remains at a beginner level in developing countries. To increase the level of BIM implementation, first, knowing the root factors that resist BIM implementation is necessary to know. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify the factors that limit BIM implementation in developing countries, specifically in the Turkish Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was designed with 46 influencing causes (ICs) identified through a systematic literature review. In total, 141 survey results were returned from architects and engineers, and reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted. Furthermore, a structural equation model (SEM) was developed to identify the root factors of BIM implementation.
Findings
Eight root factors affecting the prevalent use of BIM technology in the Turkish construction industry were determined and grouped into three categories based on BIM implementation level. Problems with the BIM transition process and a lack of management support are the most influential root factors limiting BIM implementation. Lack of incentives, lack of BIM education, bias regarding BIM technology and BIM-based software problems form the second group of root factors that have a significant effect. Awareness and lack of communication amongst stakeholders were identified as root factors that had a moderate effect.
Research limitations/implications
This study contributes to the knowledge body by revealing eight root factors limiting BIM implementation in the Turkish AEC industry which can be generalised to most developing countries. Therefore, the outcomes of this study may be used as a practical reference for future research aimed at improving BIM adoption in developing countries through governmental, educational, and managerial solutions.
Originality/value
Several studies have identified the challenges and barriers of BIM implementation in the construction industry using qualitative and quantitative analyses and projected the current state. Unlike previous studies, this study comprehensively and quantitatively determined the root factors that constrain the use of BIM in Turkey using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modelling to present a structural model.
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Hsuying C. Ward, Ming-Tsan P. Lu, Brendan H. O'Connor and Terry Overton
The purpose of this paper is to outline findings from practitioner research with a university faculty learning community (FLC) that organized itself to effect bottom-up change…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to outline findings from practitioner research with a university faculty learning community (FLC) that organized itself to effect bottom-up change. The study explores beliefs about the efficacy of collaboration among members of the FLC and serves as a best case of grassroots faculty collaboration during a period of institutional change.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a case study using semi-structured interviews with FLC members and document review of short-term learning data from students who participated in workshops offered by the FLC.
Findings
Creative faculty responses to challenges posed by large-scale institutional transformation improved the teaching and learning environment for faculty and students. This case study highlights four characteristics that were crucial to the success of this FLC and which could provide a helpful starting point for faculty collaboration at other institutions.
Research limitations/implications
This is a preliminary, self-reflective study with a small number of participants working at a unique institution. Findings are presented not as strictly generalizable truths about faculty collaboration in higher education, but as “lessons learned” that may be valuable to other faculty seeking to take a more proactive role in contexts of institutional change.
Practical implications
This case study highlights four characteristics that were crucial to the success of this FLC and which could provide a helpful starting point for faculty collaboration at other institutions.
Social implications
This study illustrates how bottom-up, faculty-led collaboration can address institutional problems in a university setting. Creative faculty responses to challenges posed by large-scale institutional transformation can improve the teaching and learning environment for faculty and students.
Originality/value
This study documents one FLC’s innovative responses to institutional challenges and shifts the conversation about university-based teaching and learning away from bureaucratic mandates related to faculty interactions and productivity and toward faculty’s organic responses to changing institutional conditions.
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Today’s organizations try to keep their employees loyalty but employees may still feel unsatisfied and adopt negative attitudes. Cynicism, as a negative attitude of employees…
Abstract
Purpose
Today’s organizations try to keep their employees loyalty but employees may still feel unsatisfied and adopt negative attitudes. Cynicism, as a negative attitude of employees toward their organization, leads to unwanted outputs such as lower performance or lower loyalties that can appear in every kind of sector. Accordingly, the purpose of this paper is to determine the effects of personality traits on organizational cynicism in the education sector.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used the survey method to collect data and survey forms were distributed to teachers from various private schools in Istanbul, Turkey. With the e-mail survey method, the authors received 254 healthy survey forms from teachers. For personality traits, the five-factor model of personality traits that was developed by McCrae and Costa (1987) was preferred and the organizational cynicism model was evaluated with three basic dimensions as based on Brandes’s (1997) model.
Findings
Based on data from 254 teachers of various private schools in Istanbul, interrelationships amongst personality traits and organizational cynicism were tested. On the basis of the partial least-squares method, the authors found that agreeableness had a negative effect on cognitive cynicism and affective cynicism, conscientiousness had a negative effect on cognitive cynicism and affective cynicism, neuroticism had a negative effect on cognitive cynicism and behavior cynicism, and openness to experience had a positive effect on cognitive cynicism and affective cynicism. Thus, it can be said that personality traits of teachers had a significant effect on organizational cynicism as a result of this study.
Research limitations/implications
This study used two main scales: the scale of McCrae and Costa (1987) for personality traits and the scale of Brandes (1997) for organizational cynicism. The authors adapted both the scales for Turkish culture and the education sector that the results can be considered valid for only this study.
Originality/value
This study shows a significant effect of personality traits on cynicism in the education sector and thus can be considered to be useful for future studies.
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Seda Özcan, Bengü Sevil Oflaç, Sinem Tokcaer and Özgür Özpeynirci
The criticality of late deliveries in transportation lies in the threat of considerable multi-level supply chain costs. This study aims to reveal the dynamic capabilities playing…
Abstract
Purpose
The criticality of late deliveries in transportation lies in the threat of considerable multi-level supply chain costs. This study aims to reveal the dynamic capabilities playing a facilitating role in preventing delay, thus providing timely delivery, as well as developing an understanding of how and when those capabilities are activated within the supply chain network.
Design/methodology/approach
An exploratory study was conducted involving 16 semi-structured expert interviews with the representatives of logistics service providers and shippers. Following an interpretive phenomenology framework, the prevention phenomenon was explained.
Findings
Findings revealed two preventive capability categories in delay prevention: (1) proactive capabilities, referring to the enabling actions planned before departure, and (2) reactive capabilities, referring to actions planned after departure. Findings pinpoint that, in addition to the proactive capabilities, reactive capabilities enabled by innovative problem-solving actions are crucial for adapting to a dynamically changing environment in prevention. Moreover, this study shows that prevention capabilities are characterized by tangible and intangible resources and integration of resources with external links which constitute a delay prevention network within a wider service ecosystem.
Originality/value
This study stands out with its specific focus on delay prevention capabilities and enabling actions from the perspectives of logistics service providers and shippers. The premises of the resource-based view are combined with dynamic capabilities theory, leading to a proposed time-based taxonomy of proactive and reactive capabilities in supply chains, aimed at creating value and strengthening resilience.
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Zahoor Ahmed Soomro, Javed Ahmed, Mahmood Hussain Shah and Khalil Khoumbati
Identity fraud is a growing issue for online retail organisations. The literature on this issue is scattered, and none of the studies presents a holistic view of identity fraud…
Abstract
Purpose
Identity fraud is a growing issue for online retail organisations. The literature on this issue is scattered, and none of the studies presents a holistic view of identity fraud management practices in the online retail context. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the identity fraud management practices and present a comprehensive set of practices for e-tail sector.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review approach was adopted, and the articles were selected through pre-set inclusion criteria. The authors synthesised existing literature to investigate identity fraud management in e-tail sector.
Findings
The research finds that literature on practices for identity fraud management is scattered. The findings also reveal that firms assume identity fraud issues as a technological challenge, which is one of the major reasons for a gap in effective management of identity frauds. This research suggests e-tailers to deal this issue as a management challenge and counter strategies should be developed in technological, human and organisational aspects.
Research limitations/implications
This study is limited to the published sources of data. Studies, based on empirical data, will be helpful to support the argument of this study; additionally, future studies are recommended to include a wide number of databases.
Practical implications
This research will help e-tail organisations to understand the whole of identity fraud management and help them develop and implement a comprehensive set of practices at each stage, for effective management identity frauds.
Originality/value
This research makes unique contributions by synthesising existing literature at each stage of fraud management and encompasses social, organisational and technological aspects. It will also help academicians understanding a holistic view of available research and opens new lines for future research.
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Russell Foote and Eglantina Hysa
In this chapter, the authors present several current issues that are representative of chinks’ in the armor of university administration today. This study brings into attention…
Abstract
In this chapter, the authors present several current issues that are representative of chinks’ in the armor of university administration today. This study brings into attention the importance of philosophy, society, development and education that serve to strengthen the operational–development nexus in higher education institutions. The objectives are (i) to draw the attention of administrators to these “chinks” in the armor of university operations; (ii) to indicate how their resolution can strengthen the operations–development nexus; and (iii) to encourage continuous reflection on the background of better understandings of a philosophy of management, society, development and education.
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Nozibele Gcora, Pardon Blessings Maoneke and Naomi Isabirye
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in the production of natural essential oils can reduce market accessibility challenges by trading through electronic marketplaces…
Abstract
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) involved in the production of natural essential oils can reduce market accessibility challenges by trading through electronic marketplaces (e-marketplaces). However, trust is a barrier that SMEs should overcome in order to successfully trade in e-marketplaces. The agricultural sector presents a unique challenge to the subject of trust and e-marketplaces. It is difficult for SMEs in the agricultural sector to provide the level of assurance of product quality that their buyers expect. Trust between buyers and sellers during the earliest stages of e-marketplace interaction can pave the way for future trust in a seller on an e-marketplace. Thus, this study uses the uncertainty reduction theory (URT) to investigate factors that could influence the initial trust and pave the way for future trust in a seller on e-marketplaces. This study assumes a qualitative research methodology in which a multiple-case study approach is adopted. The study focuses on SMEs that produce natural essential oils in South Africa. Open-ended interviews were conducted with companies involved in buying or selling natural essential oils in South Africa to determine the factors that influence their decision to buy or sell in an e-marketplace. Findings from data were used to inform the development of a model of trust in sellers of natural essential oils in e-marketplaces. The proposed model recommends trust factors that should be considered during the entry, personal, and exit phases of the URT. The model identifies common and unique trust factors that relate specifically to businesses trading natural essential oils on e-marketplaces. The study found that some SMEs face challenges in coming up with an effective model for selling agricultural produce on e-marketplaces. Hence, they often resort to face-to-face interaction when it comes to product inspection, especially when dealing with first-time buyers. However, this study presented measures put in place by other SMEs suggesting how such challenges could be addressed. Nevertheless, a lack of trust in technology remains a cause for concern to some SMEs selling natural essential oils.
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This paper aims to address improvements in household preparedness against earthquake risks.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address improvements in household preparedness against earthquake risks.
Design/methodology/approach
Two surveys were conducted in 2008 and 2013 to reveal prevention and preparedness measures which Istanbul’s inhabitants had taken in their households.
Findings
The findings of surveys show the progress in taking risk reduction measures which have been propagating from higher socio-economic status through all segments of the community in a five-year period. This shift is also evidence of the efficiency of community awareness programs conducted by governmental and non-governmental bodies in Istanbul.
Originality/value
The evaluation of the impacts of community awareness programs which leads the progress in risk reduction activities in Istanbul is a valuable example for large cities which are facing natural threats. The findings of this paper can be considered as a facilitator in understanding the tendency of different socio-economic groups against earthquake risk.