Palaneeswaran Ekambaram, Peter E.D. Love, Mohan M. Kumaraswamy and Thomas S.T. Ng
Rework is an endemic problem in construction projects and has been identified as being a significant factor contributing cost and schedule overruns. Causal ascription is necessary…
Abstract
Purpose
Rework is an endemic problem in construction projects and has been identified as being a significant factor contributing cost and schedule overruns. Causal ascription is necessary to obtain knowledge about the underlying nature of rework so that appropriate prevention mechanisms can be put in place. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a supervised questionnaire survey and case-study interviews, data from 112 building and engineering projects about the sources and causes of rework in projects were obtained. A multivariate exploration was conducted to examine the underlying relationships between rework variables.
Findings
The analysis revealed that there was a significant difference between rework causes for building and civil engineering projects. The set of associations explored in the analyses will be useful to develop a generic causal model to examine the quantitative impact of rework on project performance so that appropriate prevention strategies can be identified and developed.
Research limitations/implications
The limitations include: small data set (112 projects), which include 75 from building and 37 from civil engineering projects.
Practical implications
Meaningful insights into the rework occurrences in construction projects will pave pathways for rational mitigation and effective management measures.
Originality/value
To date there has been limited empirical research that has sought to determine the causal ascription of rework, particularly in Hong Kong.
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Henrico Plantinga, Hans Voordijk and Andre Doree
The purpose of this paper is to show that for frequently procuring public clients: the reasoning behind the use of procurement instruments is a process in its own right that…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to show that for frequently procuring public clients: the reasoning behind the use of procurement instruments is a process in its own right that requires managerial and scientific attention; modeling this process contributes to making sensible procurement choices; and managing this process is a relevant factor in the client’s development toward strategic procurement.
Design/methodology/approach
A model is developed to conceptualize the reasoning behind procurement instruments. Using this model in a case study, the reasoning behind the evolution of a particular procurement instrument as applied by a public infrastructure management organization is reconstructed.
Findings
The case study results show that an initially explicitly formulated set of main reasons for operating a qualification system can implicitly evolve over time into a different set of reasons. From a managerial point of view, explication of implicit reasons is important to both avoid the risk that the real value of the procurement instrument remains undetected as well as properly assess its strategic alignment with higher level strategies. The conceptual model proves to be a useful tool to support that.
Originality/value
Bringing the reasoning behind the use of procurement instruments to the fore, this study explores an area of construction procurement research that is positioned between the disciplines of purchasing and supply management, knowledge management and strategic management.
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Haruna Sa'idu Lawal, Hassan Adaviriku Ahmadu, Muhammad Abdullahi, Muhammad Aliyu Yamusa and Mustapha Abdulrazaq
This study aims to develop a building renovation duration prediction model incorporating both scope and non-scope factors.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a building renovation duration prediction model incorporating both scope and non-scope factors.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a questionnaire to obtain basic information relating to identified project scope factors as well as information relating to the impact of the non-scope factors on the duration of building renovation projects. The study retrieved 121 completed questionnaires from construction firms on tertiary education trust fund (TETFund) building renovation projects. Artificial neural network was then used to develop the model using 90% of the data, while mean absolute percentage error was used to validate the model using the remaining 10% of the data.
Findings
Two artificial neural network models were developed – a multilayer perceptron (MLP) and a radial basis function (RBF) model. The accuracy of the models was 86% and 80%, respectively. The developed models’ predictions were not statistically different from those of actual duration estimates with less than 20% error margin. Also, the study found that MLP models are more accurate than RBF models.
Research limitations/implications
The developed models are only applicable to projects that suit the characteristics and nature of the data used to develop the models. Hence, models can only predict the duration of building renovation projects.
Practical implications
The developed models are expected to serve as a tool for realistic estimation of the duration of building renovation projects and thus, help construction project managers to effectively plan and manage it.
Social implications
The developed models are expected to serve as a tool for realistic estimation of the duration of building renovation projects and thus, help construction project managers to effectively plan and manage it; it also helps clients to effectively benchmark projects duration and contractors to accurately estimate duration at tendering stage.
Originality/value
The study presents models that combine both scope and non-scope factors in predicting the duration of building renovation projects so as to ensure more realistic predictions.
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Ayse Olcay Costello and Thomas G. Costello
To better understand the relationship between the headquarters and subsidiaries of multinational corporations, we introduce and test a theoretical framework that builds on and…
Abstract
To better understand the relationship between the headquarters and subsidiaries of multinational corporations, we introduce and test a theoretical framework that builds on and extends the positive agency theoretic corporate governance literature. Results indicate that there are three types of subsidiary bundles of corporate governance mechanisms that are used by multinational corporations. In addition, the following factors can help predict what type of subsidiary bundle a multinational corporation will use to align the interests of its headquarters with a particular subsidiary: the multinational corporation’s international strategy, its subsidiary’s importance, environmental uncertainty faced by its subsidiary, and its subsidiary’s age.
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Timothy Kiessling and Michael Harvey
As organizations have expanded globally, control mechanisms utilized in the past may need to be supplemented with a new type of personnel, that of the inpatriate. Expatriates were…
Abstract
As organizations have expanded globally, control mechanisms utilized in the past may need to be supplemented with a new type of personnel, that of the inpatriate. Expatriates were the most widely used staffing for corporate control, but due to various issues, a complementary set of employees to facilitate corporate goals could be utilized. Inpatriation, as a practical and conceptual means to augment expatriation, is discussed, compared with, and contrasted to, expatriation. This research explores the use of inpatriates in facilitating global control.
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Jörn Obermann and Patrick Velte
This systematic literature review analyses the determinants and consequences of executive compensation-related shareholder activism and say-on-pay (SOP) votes. The review covers…
Abstract
This systematic literature review analyses the determinants and consequences of executive compensation-related shareholder activism and say-on-pay (SOP) votes. The review covers 71 empirical articles published between January 1995 and September 2017. The studies are reviewed within an empirical research framework that separates the reasons for shareholder activism and SOP voting dissent as input factor on the one hand and the consequences of shareholder pressure as output factor on the other. This procedure identifies the five most important groups of factors in the literature: the level and structure of executive compensation, firm characteristics, corporate governance mechanisms, shareholder structure and stakeholders. Of these, executive compensation and firm characteristics are the most frequently examined. Further examination reveals that the key assumptions of neoclassical principal agent theory for both managers and shareholders are not always consistent with recent empirical evidence. First, behavioral aspects (such as the perception of fairness) influence compensation activism and SOP votes. Second, non-financial interests significantly moderate shareholder activism. Insofar, we recommend integrating behavioral and non-financial aspects into the existing research. The implications are analyzed, and new directions for further research are discussed by proposing 19 different research questions.
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Sumithira Thavapalan, Robyn Moroney and Roger Simnett
This paper investigates the impact of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) merger in Australia on existing and potential clients of the new merged firm. From prior theory it is…
Abstract
This paper investigates the impact of the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) merger in Australia on existing and potential clients of the new merged firm. From prior theory it is expected that some existing clients may have an incentive to switch away from a newly merged firm as the same larger firm now audits close competitors once audited by separate firms. Prior theory also suggests that another group of potential clients should be attracted to the newly merged firm where the merger enhances or creates industry specializations. The expectation is that in both of these instances there will be increased switching activity associated with the newly merged audit firm. Contrary to expectations, a significantly lower level of switching behaviour was observed for the newly merged firm compared with that of the other Big 5 firms, suggesting that an advantage of enhanced specialization may not be the attraction of new clients but the retention of existing clients. When comparing the nature of the switches, some support was found for the view that the switches to the new firm were likely to be in enhanced areas of specialization, but no evidence was found to suggest that close competitors would switch away from this firm. The greater rate of retention of clients compared with other Big 5 firms was not associated with a more competitive audit pricing policy.
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Thomas Durand and Marie Dubreuil
Technology has always inspired social change, but its scale and complexity have begun to bewilder even the politicians and policymakers. Several recent national foresight studies…
Abstract
Technology has always inspired social change, but its scale and complexity have begun to bewilder even the politicians and policymakers. Several recent national foresight studies point to a need for socio‐organizational or “soft” technologies to help Europe manage change and respond to major new economic opportunities. Research is required in fields such as neuro‐linguistic programming, the psychology of knowledge management and the ergonomics of the man‐machine interface. “Electronic pets” showed that we can learn to love machines – now the challenge is to embed technology in such a way as to marry science with society.