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Publications (96)
Within the last decades, safety statistics in the UK construction industry have reached a plateau and cultural changes are required for further improvement of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) management systems. The aim of this research is to understand how the UK construction industry can improve safety reporting systems to learn from failures...
Within the last decades the incidence of workspace injuries and fatalities in the UK construction industry has declined markedly following the developments in occupational health and safety (OHS) management systems. However, safety statistics have reached a plateau and actions for further improvement of OHS management systems are called for. OHS is...
Knowledge sharing is a well‐trodden concept in theory and practice across the construction industry. This chapter considers how procurement from leading clients can be dynamic and incentivise improvements and break down silos. Dynamic procurement practices can drive forward internal improvements and supplier competition, and stimulate engagement wi...
Within the last decades the incidence of workspace injuries and fatalities in the UK construction industry has declined significantly. However, the labour market is changing and to retain experts and attract new talent, the organisations need to cultivate healthier, safer and happier working environments. This can be achieved by cultivating positiv...
Organisational culture is affected by the regional, national and social contexts, which in turn affect Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing (OHSW) policies and practices. Health and Safety (H&S) outcomes vary between different countries. Less is known as to how contractors operating in international markets respond to and manage OHSW. This pap...
Health and safety (H&S) statistics have plateaued in developed countries. H&S is frequently loosely coupled with project management. The challenge is to induce greater commitment to improve the role of contractors and subcontractors as systems integrators and providers respectively. Awareness creation and information sharing about H&S initiatives,...
Client organisations, as financiers, owners, and users, face the challenge of generating and delivering value outcomes for a wide range of stakeholders. However, research has demonstrated that projects constantly fall short of providing valuable outcomes in the medium-and long-term. The value outcomes start to appear in the latter stages of a proje...
While the temporal nature of value cocreation (i.e., the interdependencies between/among past, present, and future value cocreation) is acknowledged in the literature, the processes and mechanisms through which these interdependencies are deliberately managed (i.e., multiplex value cocreation) are not examined. Our study aims to unravel the “black...
Purpose
Project execution is dependent upon management support from the firm. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which main contractors and supply chain members design their service provision in order to enhance the service experience. Marketing and service design (SD), theorized in terms of business development management, are...
Abstract
Purpose – The focus of this research is the extent to which service design is addressed by the client and its supply chain at a programme level into one functional capability, knowledge management, to share knowledge across projects and organizational actors.
Design/methodology/approach – The interpretative methodology employing two metho...
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address hierarchies in a large program of projects. It explores cultivation of communities of practice (CoP) within a hierarchical client organization that manages multi-billion-euro infrastructure programs and projects.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper is based on an exploratory longitudinal case...
Hierarchical structures and processes in organisations that manage large infrastructure programmes are designed to better control their implementation. Bureaucratic rigidities of the organisations do not allow them to deal with increasing complexity as they lack environments that encourage the knowledge flow, risk taking and flexibility on which ad...
The research analyses decisions as evaluative outcomes regarding project value. The UK-French Hinkley Point C Nuclear Power Station provides the case study. Value is traditionally assessed as inputs and outputs. Here, value is conceptualized as a co-created value proposition at the front-end with implications for realization post-completion. Servic...
Purpose
Examine the extent of integration in delivering value from design and construction (DC) activities for total asset management (TAM) and operations post-completion. DC and operations and management (OM) are both addressed. The problem owners are those in roles and organisations responsible for integrating DC with OM. The purpose of this pap...
Construction businesses balance market and project risks in resourcing innovation and value creation. Technical, technological and management innovation are considered using the marketing lens of the service-dominant logic. The co-creation of value is a primary concept, which is largely unexplored in construction, especially related to innovation....
Research is needed to understand how value co-creation could improve project outcomes and benefits. Many studies have shown projects do not meet mandatory objectives. Further, few projects configure and design value propositions to deliver a service experience and value beyond the minimum requirements. A solution to these problems may lie in a shif...
Research is needed to understand how value co-creation could improve project outcomes and benefits. Many studies have shown projects do not meet mandatory objectives. Further, few projects configure and design value propositions to deliver a service experience and value beyond the minimum requirements. A solution to these problems may lie in a shif...
The sales function, called business development management in construction, is located at the front of the front-end of the project. The work of the business development manager is twofold: to secure sales opportunities and to align client needs with firm capabilities through value propositions. The balance between sales role and value related work...
Despite being one of the most important means to obtain commissions, to explore in design terms and to develop design quality, architectural competitions are an extremely controversial procedure, in both research and in practice. Competitions present contradictory features and competing demands. Nevertheless, they are increasingly used within the E...
This paper focuses on a single real project delivered successfully using principles of public–private partnership (PPP). The case uses detailed accounts from both the winning and losing bidder of an infrastructure project delivered in the UK. The research enquiry focuses specifically on the bidding phase of the project and gains a unique perspectiv...
Contemporary scholars define value creation as the process of extracting value from the use of resources by a customer (Grönroos and Voima 2013). Value co-creation is a unique form of value creation where two or more actors such as a customer and a provider create value in a direct interaction and through a joint process (Grönroos and Voima 2013)....
This paper is part of a programme of research work. A lack of cross-functional integration has been reported in four major international contracting organisations both vertically in the management hierarchy and horizontally along project lifecycles. One of the main aspects previously reported was the low level of management coordination and hence i...
A look at the role that trust and emotional intelligence has on relationships within the project delivery actors.
Despite the growing interest in the usage and application of Agile Project Management Methodologies (PMMs), there is only scant research examining how and why organisations select agile approaches for managing and delivering Information Technology /Information Systems (IT/IS) projects. This paper reports on the findings of such research conducted w...
Supply-side systems integration is an important part of developing integrated solutions. Applying a marketing lens, integration commences at the front of the frontend with business development and cross-functional coordination to generate value propositions. Value propositions reflect the capability to develop and deliver integrated solutions, whic...
Market Management and Project Business Development is a guide to the theory of marketing and selling projects in business, demonstrating how to secure and deliver value, and improve performance in profitable ways. By providing a set of key principles and guidelines to business-to-business (B2B) marketing, construction project management expert Hedl...
Relationship Management and the Management of Projects is a guide to successfully building and managing relationships as a project manager and in the project business. Relationship management is a core skill for any project business to develop capabilities and manage the interface with projects, providing guidance to project managers as they negoti...
Trait emotional intelligence (EI) was measured and self-estimated in a UK sample of 128 managers (52.3% female), recruited at a professional services firm. Participants’ measured scores were compared to standardization sample data and gender differences in measured and estimated scores, as well as in estimation bias and accuracy were examined. As h...
Assessing the value of marketing to a business remains a thorny issue in theory and practice. Decision-making at the finance–marketing interface is under-researched, particularly for project businesses. Confronted by demands of accountability concerning the allocation of resources to meet competitive pressures, the paper examines the quality and ex...
Despite being one of the most important means to obtain commissions, explore in design terms and develop design quality, architectural competitions are an extremely controversial practice. Nevertheless, they are increasingly adopted within the European procurement law, to the point that exploring and understanding their debated issues is essential...
The focus on improving construction performance has been narrow in many nations using partnering,
leanness and supply chain management. This paper asks three practical construction related questions
concerning reinventing the wheel across projects, blame culture and continuity of service. In addressing
these practical issues, three theories are eng...
Firm performance is a crucial concept in business domains. However, an implicit understanding of firm performance may undermine the knowledge derived from quantitative organizational studies because the construct of firm performance is usually operationalized with low reliability and validity. Furthermore, managing professionals, such as senior man...
Despite being one of the most important means to obtain commissions, explore in design terms and develop design quality, architectural competitions are an extremely controversial practice. Nevertheless, they are increasingly adopted within the European procurement law, to the point that exploring and understanding their debated issues is essential...
In management literature, a fundamental research question is why some companies succeed while others fail. The contingency-based approach proposes that organizational performance is a consequence of the fit between a set of contingencies, e.g.,structure, people, technology, strategy, and culture. This approach has been adopted implicitly and increa...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how the more tacit dimension of knowledge is shared in projects in a construction contracting organisation and whether explicit organisational knowledge management initiatives can help resolve and better manage project‐based challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a single in‐de...
Performance measurement has received significant research interests in the construction industry, but the literature in construction mainly focuses on developing a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) or a conceptual framework (e.g. balanced scorecard). However, little is known about how these KPIs or performance measurement system (PMS) in a m...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between health and safety (H&S) and organisational culture in project business, in particular to explore the validity of current cognitive emphases of linear organisational maturity towards a “safety culture”, and normative models and prescriptions.
Design/methodology/approach
An int...
Performance measurement system (PMS) is a fast evolving and diverse research field attracting many researchers and practitioners from the fields of strategy, accounting, operations, human resource, and marketing. The characteristics of the construction industry that influence the research and directions adopted in practice significantly contribute...
In architecture competitions are fascinating. Over the years, they have increasingly become a popular mechanism for architects in acquiring work and clients in looking for designers. Still they are a debated topic presenting several controversial issues. In fact, competitions, as architecture in general, are a fertile ground for contradictions and...
The core business of architects is design. Design supports brand strategy in most other types of firms. Where design is the core business, brand follows design. The brand originates from design quality and the service reputation of the firm. Brand and marketing are underdeveloped areas in architecture firms, and brand is underdeveloped in theory an...
Residential remodelling contractors operate in a highly fragmented, disaggregated market. Competition and consolidation arise from other market actors, thus remodellers have diminished bargaining power and higher market risk since they traditionally service geographically specific markets. Franchising theories may provide a competitive business str...
An overview of client managementBackground in theory and for practiceClient identificationClient identification in design-led firmsScoping and understanding customer identificationCreative managementConclusions and recommendationsReferences
The challenges facing firms during growthCase companyTowards implementing growth strategiesEpilogue to the case studyConclusions and areas for further researchAcknowledgementReferences
IntroductionMarkets and managementStructures and managementRelationships and managementSummary and conclusionReferences
With the improved efficiency of heating, cooling and lighting in buildings crucial to the low carbon targets of all current governments, Building Science: Concepts and Applications provides a timely and much-needed addition to the existing literature on architectural and environmental design education. Taking a logical and didactic approach, the au...
The majority of discussions on the subject of architects' marketing strategies evolve around the architects' lack of awareness or even appreciation of marketing's importance. However, the fact that architectural practices/businesses attract work provides evidence that architects do perform successful marketing activities at explicit and implicit le...
In recent years, a considerable interest in and literature regarding relational contracting and trust have emerged in the project management field. Though there are distinct and important differences in the nature of these two phenomena, their central premises underscore an important movement in re-evaluating inter-organizational relationships (par...
Purpose
The purpose this paper is to examine a prevailing assumption that the culture of organisations is homogenous. It explores the culture of one project organisation with multiple offices.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative questionnaire and qualitative research method of cultural immersion was used. The ethnographic Douglas grid‐group...
Purpose
Organisational trust is analysed through observation of operations or strategic prescription. The management and project management literature is largely prescriptive. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role and potential of strategic trust development and management to improve operations in the project business and enhance client...
There has been a range of initiatives across many countries over the last 10 to 15 years to introduce reform to the construction process in order to improve performance. The so-called UK 'Continuous Improvement' programme is evaluated as a case study through an analysis of demonstration projects. These projects symbolically represent best practice...
The paper works towards establishing value for trust in project business, particularly the financial value of trust to project business. Concepts of trust are revisited. Rational explanations of trust are shown wanting, calculations of trust and danger being misrepresentations of how the willingness to trust is formed. The paper argues for the need...
Since project based organizations are a typical configuration in the architecture industry, two streams of research are relevant for architecture practices. (1) Team management, as architecture design and production originate from collaborative networks among multiple actors, but results from empirical studies have been inconsistent regarding which...
Relationship marketing has become more prevalent in construction over recent years through both strategic intent and informal tactics. This research is part of a two-year programme examining the application of relationship marketing and management within a major contractor. The paper reports the findings on the relationships between the contractor...
This paper examines the relationships between a retail construction client, their long-term external project managers and quantity surveyors. The relationship focus is upon levels of trust. The examination of trust concerns market relationships that are inter-organisational (client-consultant) and one internal relationship to a consultant organisat...
Towards Controlling the Supply ChainConceptualising FranchisingConclusion
Marketing-led enterprise change management initiated by a major UK contractor is explored in this paper as a contrast to procurement-led changes to projects driven by clients. Procurement-led initiatives try to induce changes to behaviour through market governance. Relationship marketing and management proactively change organizational behaviour, t...
The latest research is presented here on both contractual and conceptual collaborative practices in construction. The editors identify common problems faced by the industry and draw out practical implications. Construction projects are increasingly run in ways that challenge the traditional boundary of the firm - and sometimes also the definition o...
Project group structures are a typical configuration in the architecture industry, used as a way to cope with a dilemma typical of architectural firms, caught between artistic and efficiency drivers. Moreover teams are the mechanism these organisations often rely on to be more effective. Nonetheless, the role of team composition for project perform...
Barriers to franchise initiation for general contractors in US remodelling industry: a non-franchisor perspective. As the US homebuilding industry moves toward greater consolidation and concentration, residential remodelers remain highly fragmented and becoming increasingly more disaggregated into specialty trades and sectors. The result is remodel...
Following ownership change of a major contracting organisation and the integration of two distinct subsidiaries involved with infrastructure provision, a major re-evaluation of the marketing strategy and business development processes were undertaken. Part of the re-evaluation required in-depth, semi-structured interviews with business development...
The paper investigates relationship marketing in construction. The conceptual starting point is provided by the IMP Group's six markets model: customer, supplier, recruitment, internal, influence and referral markets. This paper focuses upon influence and referral markets in a major contractor. A number of relationship marketing principles are intr...
The predominant utilitarian conceptualization of stakeholder management within construction is reviewed. Utilitarianism will be contrasted with an ethics of nurture and care perspective. A credibility gap is identified in the utilitarian approach whereby individual parties in positions of power are unable to maximize net well-being. The relationshi...
2008) Identifying organizational competencies in project oriented companies: an evolutionary approach. Building on the work of Prahalad and Hamel (1990), many methodologies have been proposed in the strategic management literature for the identification of organizational level core competencies (Bakker et al., 1994; Tampoe, 1994; Gallon et al., 199...
This paper explores the linkage between three important areas in the management of project delivery organisations: (i) the exploration of relationship strength in social networks of clients, (ii) the application of social network analysis as a research method to this area, (iii) operationalising the research to produce practical and theoretical out...
Recent work on pricing has shown that neoclassical microeconomic theory (NCMT) is preferred to tendering theory and that implied by absorption, or full-cost, pricing of construction work because of its explicit treatment of market conditions, competitor behaviour and firm capacity levels. Applying NCMT in practice, however, requires the considerati...
A unified theory of the management of projects does not exist. Projects are context-specific and located in open-systems. While this is now widely acknowledged, research methodologies often continue to overlook this. This paper addresses methodological issues that have yet to be fully resolved in research in projects and their management and evalua...
Private Public Partnerships and the Public Finance Initiative engage private organisations in providing public services through long-term concessions. The paper examines management of these projects concerning the relationships between the primary parties: Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) and constituent members, and the relationship of the SPV with t...
This paper makes a contribution to the understanding of continuous improvement. The paper focuses upon the demonstration projects of the Egan and post-Egan agendas in the UK programme of continuous improvement. Demonstration projects are considered exemplars and models for others to apply in practice. They constitute the case studies in this resear...
Relationship management theoretically arises from relationship marketing, which includes key account management (KAM) as a concept. Relationship management is distinct from relational contracting, which induces behaviour derived from changes in market structure, whereas relationship management is behaviourally proactive. The main relationship marke...
Knowledge management has largely been considered from the perspective of internal generation. It is posed that external provision will increase due to the diversity of problems and scarce resources, the arising issues being explored through a case study. The aim is to explore this process for construction projects. It will be shown that the success...
The paper examines the nature of personal identity individuals in the design team are perceived to have, derived from behavioural evidence provided by other members of the team. Personal identity is conceived to comprise of acceptance, security and significance. The evidence for this study comprises of behaviours related to personal significance. T...
Knowledge management has largely been considered from the perspective of internal generation. It is posed that external provision will increase due to the diversity of problems and scarce resources, the arising issues being explored through a case study. The aim is to explore this process for construction projects. It will be shown that the success...
The paper explores the extent to which effective relationships and legal factors are used to determine performance outcomes in public–private-partnership (PPP) procurement in the United Kingdom. The purpose is to demonstrate means for service improvement on PPP projects. PPP was formerly the public finance initiative for the construction and operat...
The objective of this paper is to make a conceptual contribution to the analysis of projects through an exploration of the moral economy and trust. The moral economy is defined and trust is then explored in relation to the moral concepts of dignity and respect. An evaluation is made of the importance of understanding the moral economy as an additio...
This paper makes a theoretical contribution to the understanding of management and of projects. The paper adopts an analysis of the moral economy, which poses a conceptual challenge to the way in which management generally, and specifically concerning projects, is understood. The paper also poses an indirect methodological challenge, particularly t...
Knowledge management (KM) is typically internally generated and managed. Information services (IS) have a long history of external provision. Strategic and resource considerations are barriers to continual internal KM development, therefore inducing a potential market for external KM. This paper analyses conceptual issues, especially asymmetry, for...
• The agenda for supply management practices on construction projects originated from clients. It is largely procurement driven, the dominant strategy of contractors being to emulate the client approach, and hence push the procurement model along the chain.
• This procurement push along the supply chain translates the intrinsic client interest in v...
The aim of the paper is to establish the extent to which design teams are co-operative in practice. The objective is to explore the extent to which co-operation, measured through the competence trust, is present within the design team, and between the client and design team. Trust is explored through a framework of trust, a survey proving data base...
The paper examines the nature of personal identity individuals in the design team are perceived to have, derived from behavioural evidence provided by other members of the team. Personal identity is conceived to comprise of acceptance, security and significance. The evidence for this study comprises of behaviours related to personal significance. T...
Partnering has become an important way in which contractors sell and clients procure construction services. Partnering has been approached tactically, such as project partnering, and as a strategy to increase repeat business. This paper conceptualises the economics of partnering. It analyses from the perspective of the contractor the theoretical ro...
A unified theory of the management of projects does not exist. Projects are context-specific and located in open systems. While this is now widely acknowledged, research methodologies often continue to overlook this. This paper addresses methodological issues that have yet to be resolved in research in the management of projects and evaluates how t...
This exploratory paper will draw on case-based data from one of the most complex areas of the application of Private Public Partnerships (PPPs) in the UK. The value of the paper is that it accesses guarded data on live contractual relationships in ongoing complex PPP type contracts. This data captures the perceptions of private sector consortium pl...
Projects
Projects (4)
The research builds upon prior independently conducted consultancy-led research by the HKU and UCL teams. The overarching aims are to:
1. Conduct pilot research to generate academic explanation and applied output;
2. Compare practices between HK and UK in a changing environment of HK as a Special Administrative Region and the UK as it looks forward to the post-Brexit era;
3. Provide a basis to develop a full joint research proposal and seek further funding.
The specific aims are to:
a) Examine the inter-relationships between well-being, occupational health and safety,
b) Produce outputs to address cultural and demographic factors affecting international approaches to H&S among the organisations involved and the labour market composition,
c) Examine national contexts in an increasingly global market in business and for wellbeing.
An interdisciplinary research drawing upon cultural studies of organisational behaviour, the project-firm interface, governance and behavioural programmes will provide the detailed
grain of analysis, combined with a focus upon capability development to transfer Occupational Health and Safety and Well-being practices across projects, embed the knowledge in firms.
