Leentje VolkerUniversity of Twente | UT · Program of Civil Engineering and Management (CEM)
Leentje Volker
Professor
About
162
Publications
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Introduction
Leentje Volker is a Professor of Integrated Project Delivery at the Faculty of Engineering Technology of the University of Twente, The Netherlands. She focuses on the realisation and maintenance of infrastructure assets in networks or (eco)systems. This includes procurement, contracting, project organising, construction process management, collaboration between public and private partners and strategic asset management decisions at multiple organizational levels.
Additional affiliations
January 2019 - present
University of Twente
Position
- Professor (Full)
September 2016 - present
January 2005 - December 2018
Education
March 2005 - August 2010
September 1996 - November 2002
Publications
Publications (162)
In times of restructuring governmental policies and resources, the need for strategic asset management is growing. Maturity models offer organisations a structure to assist them in improving their asset management performance. We present the results of a repeated maturity measurement based on the infrastructure management maturity matrix (IM³) in R...
Variations are inevitable in public–private partnerships (PPP), due to the extensive duration of these contracts and the dynamic environment in which PPPs are usually implemented. Changes may lead to variations in the contract and consequently adverse reactions by partners. For the social and financial viability of the project, it is important to h...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to address the barriers that Dutch housing associations encounter in implementing new procurement strategies.
Design/methodology/approach
Several aspects of purchasing, portfolio management, project delivery and supply management are discussed in relation to the changing role of housing associations as semi-pub...
With the announcement to tender a project, several strategic decisions are made that have significant impact on the innovation and efficiency potential of a project. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare how different types of integrative and collaborative procurement strategies may enhance the opportunities for improved efficienc...
Project-based firms have to capture value from the projects in which they engage. This can be challenging as firms need to reconcile project goals and organizational goals while attempting to avoid the slippage of value to other actors. Drawing on interviews with architects and clients, this research reveals how architectural firms used the strateg...
Interoperability promotes data-driven practices by enabling the aggregation and sharing of data from distributed information systems. It thus offers potential benefits to organizations for delivering more efficient and sustainable services. Despite its potentials, achieving interoperability remains a significant challenge. In this paper, we shed li...
Purpose
The aim of this research is to explore how a programmatic multi-project context influences project-based firms (PBFs) in organizing their relations with other PBFs and suppliers in a project-based industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study research is conducted. Data are collected from two case studies in the construction...
Today's constructions need to meet a growing list of performance demands with often contradicting objectives. Sustainability-related objectives typically need to be balanced against other objectives, such as structural safety or costs. These interdependencies lead to complex decision spaces with a diversity of potential optimal solutions. Novel mul...
The concept of the circular economy (CE) has gained popularity in addressing concerns related to environmental sustainability. However, difficulties arose in scaling up and integrating CE solutions into the infrastructure sector. This paper argues that the institutional logics underlying the current infrastructure sector are incompatible with the l...
To reach a circular built environment, the changes and solutions of such mission need to align with the challenges a Circular Economy (CE) aims to solve. Despite the rather uniform policies on the goals and challenges of circular construc
tion, the understanding of CE among practitioners appears divergent. Using the con
cept of problem space and so...
Implementing new value systems in municipal organizations to add societal value is extremely challenging. Value tensions emerge inside public organizations when the traditional (TPA) and market (NPM) value systems are confronted with new collaborative value systems (NPG). A multi-level case study, based on interviews, observations and documents, wa...
This chapter summarizes the topics discussed in this public procurement book. It subsequently discusses developments and the ways in which public procurement is moving forward and has increasingly become a strategic asset for societal change. The move toward more value-driven, smart, life cycle-oriented, and relational ecosystem procurement process...
This chapter introduces the topics tendering and supplier selection in more detail. It explains that in a procurement context, a tender procedure initiates a process in which decision-makers start to make sense of the potential match between supply and demand. A specific difficulty for supplier selection in public tenders is that the supplier selec...
This chapter introduces the concept of public procurement and explains what it is and is not and how it is distinct from private purchasing. To do so it describes the public-private continuum and explains what publicness is. Subsequently, the public procurement process is described using the circular 3P (Prepare, Purchase, and Perform) model. This...
Current societal challenges demand enduring engagement and the implementation of innovations. Unfortunately, the project-based nature of the construction industry fails to offer suitable conditions for innovation and change in terms of building long-term relationships and aligning incentives beyond the project scope. In this paper, we explore the p...
Due to the large use of resources and waste generation, the transition to a circular economy (CE) has become a major sustainability-related topic in construction. Intentions to achieve circularity are shared widely, but developments are slow in practice. This study identifies systemic barriers to the circularity transition from a social-technical s...
Complex project networks confront project actors, with value pluralism originating from a plethora of competing organizational and institutional systems related to the project environment. Using a single urban redevelopment case study, we present a dynamic understanding of the emergence and nature of conflicts in different conflict arenas of collab...
Collaboration can bring multiple benefits to projects. Real collaboration appears, however, complex to implement. So far, there is no scientific agreement on the importance of the formal and relational (behavioural) sides of project collaboration. Through a qualitative study of two collaborating teams in large engineering and construction projects...
The increasing popularity of the Circular Economy (CE) concept in construction has come with a myriad of publications and solutions that aim to contribute to the transition. However, CE is still debated and the interpretations and framings in practice seem to be equivocal. In this study we developed two models: one to map the societal challenges th...
Improving the climate resilience of urban areas critically depends on the integration of climate adaptation measures, i.e. mainstreaming, into regular construction practices. As research has largely focused on public sector adaptation, the mainstreaming of adaptation into private sector projects remains poorly understood. The aims of this study are...
Despite the widespread attention for the private financing of infrastructure projects, actual empirical work on financing public-private partnerships remains limited. Especially the topics of return on equity and lenders’ cash flow control in relation to uncertainty are under-researched. The aim of this paper is to investigate and discuss the mecha...
Steering towards a path of sustainability and resilience in urban environments depends greatly on effective institutions, governance and strategic planning. National governments are increasingly expanding municipal institutions’ mandates by delegating decision making on land-use planning and urban development to local and regional levels. This tren...
National and international governments have set ambitious targets to become circular in 2050. The aim is to reduce both the use of virgin resources and the generation of waste. To become circular, not only new technologies are needed in the resource-intensive infrastructure sector, but change is also needed in social and institutional aspects. This...
The construction industry is increasingly facing societal challenges, such as climate change, resource scarcity, and digitalization. Traditional ways of organizing construction appear to be unsuitable for coping with these challenges. This calls for more systemic solutions in construction that reach beyond single projects or sectors to transform to...
Model links are provided as follows:
1. <https://cloud.anylogic.com/model/c816fa20-3f98-481b-a72d-48988907e563?mode=SETTINGS>;
2. <https://cloud.anylogic.com/model/c37e083f-d196-48b6-a8c9-8b882708dde5?mode=SETTINGS>
The next step in the use of innovative, dynamic and performance-based contracts for service delivery by contractors could be use of monetary incentives to stimulate self-regulation of the network. Because it is currently unclear how performance-based payments in network tenders can effectively encourage network members to coordinate their own opera...
A project's autonomy, the degree to which a project can evolve without constant interference from the parent organization, is a key feature of innovation projects. The literature treats autonomy as a passive phenomenon and underestimates how projects as temporary organizations interact with more permanent forms of organizations. A dynamic and conte...
Inaugural lecture Chair of Integrated Project Delivery with the Construction Management & Engineering Group at the University of Twente
Project Value Modelling helps to discuss how values in design projects can be created and captured. For a particular project, value-related questions are answered that, step by step, generate an overview of important relationships, tensions, and opportunities. This allows you to make well-informed decisions on project selection, contract negotiatio...
For financial and strategic reasons, public and semi-public construction clients increasingly depend on private parties to carry out public service delivery. They subcontract operational responsibilities to private parties while remaining socio-politically responsible for ensuring public values. Public administration literature mainly addresses the...
In reaction to the recent call for critical debate in the field of construction management research, I argue that we should embrace the richness of adjacent fields of study in order to dynamically develop our own and face the plethora of contemporary societal challenges that exist in our industry. I introduce the concepts of other-than-rational thi...
Project-based firms have to capture value from the projects in which they engage. This can be a challenging process, as firms need to reconcile project goals and organizational goals while attempting to avoid value slippage. Drawing on case-based interviews with architects and clients, this research reveals how architectural firms used the strategi...
Creative professional service firms experience difficulties in establishing healthy and sustainable business models, as they must reconcile the often competing value systems upon which the models are based. They continuously negotiate between professional values and beliefs and the firm’s commercial goals, resulting in struggles between identity an...
Architectural firms often have difficulty generating profit from their services as they pursue not only commercial but also professional goals. These goals frequently conflict and have to be balanced during the process of value creation and value capture. So far, literature has focused on the interaction between the perceived use value for the cust...
‘Future Roles for Architects’ describes the core insights from a research project into new role structures in the Dutch architectural sector, conducted as part of the futurA project on “future value chains of architectural services”. For four years a joint team from Delft University of Technology and Radboud University in Nijmegen, working in close...
Deze toolkit helpt architecten en architectenbureaus om op een financieel en professioneel verantwoorde manier business modellen voor projecten te ontwerpen. De kracht van de toolkit ligt in het blootleggen, visualiseren en afwegen van conflicten tussen het creeren en toe-eigenen van waarde in de dagelijkse ontwerppraktijk. Het brengt discussie tew...
This toolkit helps architects and architectural firms to design business models for projects in a financially and professionally responsible manner. The core feature of the toolkit is that it facilitates uncovering, visualizing and reconciling conflicts between creating value and capturing value in daily design work. It sparks discussion, makes it...
‘De toekomstige rol van de architect’ beschrijft de essentie van onze wetenschappelijke verkenning naar nieuwe rolstructuren in de Nederlandse architectenbranche. Deze verkenning is uitgevoerd in het kader van het futurA project, dat verwijst naar future value chains of architectural services. Vier jaar lang hebben we vanuit de Technische Universit...
The Netherlands has often been portrayed as a fertile ground for young architects, giving rise to internationally acclaimed firms such as MVRDV, OMA, Mecanoo and UN Studio. Competitions play a pivotal role in the development of young firms, but are also key to the continuity of established practices. Until recently, Dutch architects experience diff...
Architectural firms experience difficulties to establish healthy and sustainable business models as they have to reconcile the often-competing value systems that they are based upon. Organizational members continuously negotiate professional values and beliefs with the firm's commercial goals, resulting in identity-strategy struggles. This study ad...
How do organizational members handle tensions between identity and strategy in their strategizing processes? Identity-strategy struggles are particularly salient in creative professional service firms as these firms have to reconcile the often-competing value systems that they are based upon. Creative professionals continuously negotiate the values...
Despite their business relevance, creative professional service firms are under-researched, in particular with regard to how they compete for work. Competing for work is key to survival, but also extremely challenging due to the complexity of the services offered. In this paper we use a paradox framework to investigate the opposing demands that cre...
Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) cover a range of possible relationships between public and private parties. PPP contracts are typically used in contexts of great uncertainty, such as large construction and infrastructure projects that are realized over a longer period of time. Hence, a major challenge in PPPs is to keep construction progress cos...
The construction sector is changing, and commissioning organisations have to rethink the
way they approach the market. This is especially important for client organisations
operating in the public domain, because of their role as change agent in the sector and
their social responsibilities. The ‘Public Commissioning Maturity Model’ (PCMM), first
pr...
In an environment with large interdependencies like the construction industry, projectbased
public construction organisations are challenged to seek for 'new' ways to safeguard
public values and project outcomes. Public bodies increasingly depend on private parties
to achieve public values. Hence, due to the character of their tasks, they remain so...
Architectural firms need business models that are able to deal with the diversity and uncertainty of their work to run a successful business over time. Little is known about the business models that are used in architectural service delivery and how they enable or constrain firms to create and capture value in their projects. In this research, a th...
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...
Architectural firms deliver services for various, unique projects that are all characterized by a high level of uncertainty. To successfully propose, create and capture value, they need business models that are able to deal with this variety and uncertainty. So far, little is known about the different business models that are used in architectural...
Architectural firms often have difficulty generating profit from their services as they pursue not only commercial but also professional goals. These goals frequently conflict and have to be balanced during the process of value creation and value capture. So far, literature has focused on the interaction between the perceived use value for the cust...
Architectural service delivery involves a complex system of economic and quality related value dimensions, which are mutually dependent and prioritized differently by actors. Responding to professional logics as well as organizational logics, value creation goals of architects and clients are multidimensional, resulting in tensions within and acros...
Purpose
– The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the Netherlands is increasing. Studies show that BIM is mainly used in the lifecycle stages of initiation, development and realisation. Owners and operators are presumably yet to discover the added value of BIM for maintenance and information management within their organisations. The pur...
Two years of DNRG has passed. The second year has seen a lot of activities of the DNRG made possible with all the participants and supporters. In her column, Beverly Pasian will celebrate the second birthday. Coming soon is the project parade, which will host a DNRG stream as well, again promoting the dialogue between research and practice.
Purpose
– The use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in the Netherlands is increasing. Studies show that BIM is mainly used in the lifecycle stages of initiation, development and realisation. Owners and operators are presumably yet to discover the added value of BIM for maintenance and information management within their organisations. The pur...
Because public construction clients form the majority of construction clients and procure over 40% of the construction output in most countries, they are important actors in the construction industry. Yet, the field of research on clients is still underdeveloped. In order to identify the research gaps in this field, a graphical network analysis of...
Being a public organization with construction needs, whether they are housing, building or infrastructure related, implies close cooperation and interaction with the supply chain. Substantial research exists that focuses on project related aspects of commissioning and on the role of the construction client in general. Only limited research has been...
Due to a shift towards market driven concepts, a risk allocation from the demand side to the supply side and the increasing competition with other skilled actors in the value chain, architectural firms have to adapt quickly to stay competitive. They need to innovate not only their products and services, but also make more fundamental changes in the...
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...
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...
increasing competition with other skilled actors in the value chain, architectural firms have to adapt quickly to stay competitive. They need to innovate not only their products and services, but also make more fundamental changes in the way they create and appropriate value, thereby innovating their business strategy.
This research addresses the d...
We address efficient planning of maintenance activities in infrastructural networks, inspired by the real-world problem of servicing a highway network. A road authority is responsible for the quality, throughput and maintenance costs of the network, while the actual maintenance is performed by autonomous, third-party contractors. From a (multi-agen...
In maintenance of (public) infrastructures, such as the national highway network, an asset manager is responsible for high network quality and throughput, while limiting expenses to a minimum. The maintenance activities, however, are often performed by commercial contractors, mainly driven by profit. Using a network-based payment mechanism we align...
Although several strategy scholars have pleaded for a pluralistic approach, not many have empirically shown the actual implementation of pluralism in strategic real estate decisions. In this article we demonstrate the value of implementing pluralism for the design of a real estate strategy of a Dutch university campus. Three strategic projects – an...
We address efficient planning of maintenance activities in infrastructural networks, inspired by the real-world problem of servicing a highway network. A road authority is responsible for the quality, throughput and maintenance costs of the network, while the actual maintenance is performed by autonomous, third-party contractors. From a (multi-agen...