No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Planning for Sustainable Stakeholder Engagement Based on the Assessment of Conflicting Interests in Projects
Abstract
The absence or lack of effective stakeholder engagement during project life cycle, especially at the earlier stages of planning and implementation often negatively impacts the expected performance of projects. The coupled consequences of the lack of contextual knowledge from the stakeholders with the lack of their support in the field necessitates effective stakeholder engagement. However, this integration faces challenges such as limitations of project resources and conflicting interests of the stakeholders. In this sense, project resources can be allocated based on the priorities of the fields of conflicts to facilitate stakeholder engagement of the projects. The goal of this paper is to provide a framework to enhance effectiveness of the stakeholder engagement in projects by systematically ranking the potential conflicts while combining the viewpoints of stakeholders and project management team. For this purpose, we draw on stakeholder theory, value-based management, matrix-based dependency modeling, and Total Quality Management to develop a stakeholder engagement framework while considering fuzzy inputs for reflecting the ambiguities at the project life cycle. The proposed approach is then applied to plan stakeholder engagement in case of a green building project in Iran. Practically, application of the proposed framework facilitates stakeholder engagement for project managers in line with sustainable goals through early assessment of the fields of potential conflicts of interests.
... The extensive body of knowledge emphasises that SDGs must be achieved without compromising the rights and autonomy of local communities [6,7]. Many researchers, therefore, insist that the only truly just or fair outcome is the one that is achieved through the engagement of local communities in the decision-making processes [8,9]. While researchers argue that the local communities affected by a development initiative, and who stand to benefit the most, should be recognised as key stakeholders, many recent reports have highlighted the treatment of the affected community as a low-power stakeholder [5,[8][9][10]. ...
... Many researchers, therefore, insist that the only truly just or fair outcome is the one that is achieved through the engagement of local communities in the decision-making processes [8,9]. While researchers argue that the local communities affected by a development initiative, and who stand to benefit the most, should be recognised as key stakeholders, many recent reports have highlighted the treatment of the affected community as a low-power stakeholder [5,[8][9][10]. Low-power stakeholders have also been referred to as 'vulnerable' stakeholders for their low capacity to influence decision-making patterns that often result in their interests' manipulation [7]. ...
... Based on Freeman's [32] seminal work, Mitchell et al.'s [13] stakeholder attribute and salience framework is considered the most substantial contribution to the academic understanding of stakeholder types and salience [9,29,37]. Mitchell and colleagues' [13] stakeholder attribute and salience framework relies on three key assumptions: first, managers should pay attention to the stakeholders that are most salient to the achievement of their objectives; second, stakeholder salience is subjective and dependent upon managerial perception; and third, stakeholders and their salience can be determined through their possession of certain attributes [15,29]. They conceptualised three attributes-power, legitimacy, and urgency-to identify stakeholders and their salience. ...
Stakeholder engagement is a central tenet for understanding and solving sustainability challenges. Given the existing stakeholder knowledge base and the fact that practitioners mostly focus on the engagement of high-power and salience stakeholders, the interests of low-power and vulnerable stakeholders are often manipulated. Therefore, this research is devoted to the engagement of low-power and vulnerable stakeholders. Grounded in the stakeholder theory and the results of two illustrations, we demonstrate how the physical proximity of vulnerable stakeholders influences salience patterns in a multi-stakeholder engagement context. The contribution of the study is the conceptualisation of proximity as a stakeholder attribute, in addition to power, legitimacy, and urgency, to help managers identify and appropriately engage with vulnerable stakeholders. Thus, we extend stakeholder typologies by incorporating proximity into the existing attribute model. The proposed model addresses the paradoxical nature of stakeholder salience and engagement theories and furthers the sustainability agenda.
... Waligo et al. (2013) suggested that stakeholders ought to be active participants of the planning process and not mere recipients of sustainability planning initiatives. Bahadorestani et al. (2020) concluded that prioritising the interest of stakeholders in line with project values is paramount to proper stakeholder engagement (Ogunsanya et al., 2019). Therefore the implementation of stakeholder engagement is critical in balancing the environmental, social and economic conditions of projects (Rondinel-Oviedo and Schreier-Barreto, 2018). ...
... It is difficult to achieve set goal in a situation of conflict. Majority of conflicts in sustainable projects are as a result of high cost and unawareness of stakeholders on the life cycle benefits of these projects (Bahadorestani et al., 2020). Hence it is advisable for management teams to have adequate knowledge of stakeholder values and concerns to resolve conflicts. ...
... Identifying the right stakeholders can be a Hercules task especially in the case where engagement of the wrong stakeholder will negate the benefits of effective stakeholder engagement and harm project goals. It is further suggested that a database of competent and reliable stakeholders is developed for easy contact in future works (Bahadorestani et al., 2020). It has always been tough to balance diverse inputs from stakeholders. ...
Purpose: The absence of effective stakeholder engagement at the early planning and implementation stages impact projects negatively. However, the role of stakeholders in Sustainable Procurement (SP) is not well recognized and as such there is limited involvement of stakeholders in sustainable procurement of public works. This research examines the barriers to stakeholder engagement in sustainable procurement of public works. Design/Methodology/Approach: A survey of 104 respondents from 8 procurement entities of tertiary institutions in Ghana was undertaken and validated with 7 procurement experts. After satisfying all the necessary tests of reliability of the survey instrument and sample size, the data was subjected to the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to determine the critical barriers. Findings: The study’s results indicate that there are three cluster of barriers to stakeholder engagement in sustainable procurement of public works. They are Organisational structures and Knowledge driven factors, Attitudinal and Stakeholder Fatigue, and Relational and information sharing barriers.
Implication: This study offers relevant data for policy makers, organisations and local communities in establishing controls against barriers to stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, this research presents policy makers with recommendations to enhance communication and organisational policies in enhancing stakeholder participation in Sustainable Procurement of Public (SPP) works in Ghana and other developing countries.
Originality/Value: Although studies on sustainable procurement has increased with time, issues such as obstacles to stakeholder engagement in SP remain unexplored. Empirical data presented in this study bridges the gap that exists on the barriers of stakeholder engagement in SPP works in the Ghana Construction Industry.
... Stakeholders with high salience will be given additional attention, and, in the case of conflicting interests between stakeholders, the project values come first [60]. This approach can also be defined as "absolute attention to project values" [61], given that stakeholders are valued according to project contribution, and (2) the management for stakeholders approach, which allows managers to treat stakeholders based on their rights, and not exclusively by the values they contribute to the specific project. Identified also as an approach that gives "absolute attention to stakeholders' values" [61], it allows stakeholders to draw the attention of managers based on the interest they have in the project [62]. ...
... This approach can also be defined as "absolute attention to project values" [61], given that stakeholders are valued according to project contribution, and (2) the management for stakeholders approach, which allows managers to treat stakeholders based on their rights, and not exclusively by the values they contribute to the specific project. Identified also as an approach that gives "absolute attention to stakeholders' values" [61], it allows stakeholders to draw the attention of managers based on the interest they have in the project [62]. The management for stakeholders approach means that managers should welcome all stakeholders and treat them equally, whether they have the potential to harm or help the project [25]. ...
... However, there are examples of when poor stakeholder management leads to "conflicts and controversies about the implementation" of a specific project [6] (p. 321). To avoid negative impacts on the expected performance of a project, project managers should try to recognize stakeholder concerns and resolve any conflicting interests through the use of open dialogue [61]. To ensure the successfulness of a project, engagement with all relevant stakeholders is needed, while agile leaders must be prepared to listen, communicate, and interact [82][83][84]. ...
The aim of this study was to analyze the strategies that external stakeholders apply to influence sustainable projects. In order to investigate this phenomenon, we employed a qualitative case study approach considering the Serbian small hydro power plant project. For the purpose of this research, we developed a theoretical framework consisting of four types of different influence strategies, which were identified and then applied to our case. The results show that external stakeholders utilized all four strategies interchangeably, with the goal to influence the project and decision-makers. The case of the small hydro power plant project revealed certain relationships between influence strategies, as well as the intensity and direction of these relationships. It also revealed that external stakeholders were highly motivated by negative impacts on the environment. Five propositions were derived as a result of our research. This paper contributes not just to the project and stakeholder management literature but also to the practical knowledge of project managers. Understanding stakeholder actions and influence is essential to achieving project goals.
... Although the foregoing may seem theoretically simple, attaining such understanding under practical situations in megaprojects is exigent. Considering the involvement of numerous stakeholders and their multi-dimensional ambitions [7], the implementation of megaprojects is full of conflicting expectations and requisites among project participants [3,8,9]. This situation typically leads to opportunism, delay, cost overrun, and even project failure [10]. ...
... Moreover, the available research papers and references on shared vision for project stakeholders pertaining to megaprojects are limited. The majority of studies relevant to stakeholders in megaprojects focus on resolving conflicts among involved entities [8,11]. However, conflict resolution does not imply that stakeholders can achieve a ...
Shared vision is deemed a crucial success factor in defining complex relationships among various stakeholders and their multidimensional objectives in megaprojects. However, the current research development and literature on shared vision in megaprojects remain unclear. In particular, the prerequisites of shared vision among stakeholders are infrequently investigated. This work demonstrates that the value co-creation process is an essential prerequisite for promoting shared vision between clients and contractors in megaprojects. Furthermore, it aims to explore the influences of the value co-creation process on shared vision in such megaprojects. Two hundred and eighty-two valid questionnaires were collected from respondents involved in megaprojects in China. The responses were analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation model. The results indicate that two of the four interaction aspects of the value co-creation process, namely dialogue and access, can positively improve shared vision in megaprojects, whereas risk assessment and transparency cannot. However, from the individual perspectives of clients and contractors, only dialogue has a positive effect on the shared vision of clients with contractors. In contrast, access is the only variable that exerts a positive influence on the shared vision of contractors with clients. These findings reveal a unique causal relationship between the value co-creation process and shared vision in megaprojects. This affords new insight on improving cooperation between clients and contractors in megaprojects by synchronizing their perceptions and interactions via the value co-creation process.
... Stakeholder theory (McErlane et al., 2016;Bahadorestani et al., 2020); analysis of dynamic social networks based on interest groups (Tang et al., 2020); matrix-based dependency modelling and total quality management (Bahadorestani et al., 2020); stakeholder expectations theory (Hartmann and Hietbrink, 2013;Basten et al., 2016); leadership theories (Wu et al., 2016), models of excellence (Calvo-Mora et al., 2015). Table 8 connects the proposed core functions (PRM, EMP, MIS) with five features of emerging countries. ...
... Stakeholder theory (McErlane et al., 2016;Bahadorestani et al., 2020); analysis of dynamic social networks based on interest groups (Tang et al., 2020); matrix-based dependency modelling and total quality management (Bahadorestani et al., 2020); stakeholder expectations theory (Hartmann and Hietbrink, 2013;Basten et al., 2016); leadership theories (Wu et al., 2016), models of excellence (Calvo-Mora et al., 2015). Table 8 connects the proposed core functions (PRM, EMP, MIS) with five features of emerging countries. ...
... Recent studies have deemed stakeholder engagement crucial for the success of large societal projects [35,36], and stakeholder engagement is becoming an increasingly integral part of many projects, and within water resource management has become increasingly prevalent worldwide [37]. Due to the impact that public projects have on society, stakeholder engagement has been suggested as a required interaction for broadly societal transdisciplinary and multisectoral projects. ...
... Another indication of this is found within the literature on stakeholder engagement and large research projects on the paradox between an enforced academic push to the market rather than a stakeholder or end-user market demand-pull [44][45][46]. Very central to stakeholder engagement in research project literature are the value streams in a project [35,47]. This literature on value streams outlines three dominant approaches to stakeholder engagement, the first one being absolute attention to project values: here the project management team places more resources with the stakeholders, who are providing value to the project. ...
Nitrogen (N) provides the agriculture industry with a wicked problem: it is an essential nutrient for efficient crop production, but N losses from agricultural production can harm both the stability of the environment and the health of humans. To limit this, targeted N regulation at the ID15 (1500 ha) level is slowly becoming a reality for farmers and authorities in Denmark. This paper explores the formulation of value propositions connected to developed technologies and concepts for retention mapping at the field level for more detailed targeted regulation. We explore all this through a comprehensive longitudinal ethnographic case study over a period of three years. We use the value proposition canvas to make sense of the viewpoints of the involved stakeholder groups. Our empirical setting is a large-scale research project in Denmark, a country that has high environmental goals regarding nitrogen loading. The publicly funded project involved a multitude of stakeholders, ranging from industry consultants, regulators, farmers and researchers from several disciplines. Important for our study is the fact that much of Denmark's regulation is based on a consensus-driven approach. Thus, it provides a compelling setting for exploring the creation of value propositions through multisector stakeholder engagement. Our findings indicate that, while there is a general movement towards targeted N regulation due to an advancement of knowledge, the practical side of its implementation is less straightforward. Here, stakeholder-formulated value propositions can facilitate this process, not only being connected to the measurement technology, but also relying on a link to a regulatory transformation.
... Recent studies have deemed stakeholder engagement crucial for the success of large societal projects [35,36], and stakeholder engagement is becoming an increasingly integral part of many projects, and within water resource management has become increasingly prevalent worldwide [37]. Due to the impact that public projects have on society, stakeholder engagement has been suggested as a required interaction for broadly societal transdisciplinary and multisectoral projects. ...
... Another indication of this is found within the literature on stakeholder engagement and large research projects on the paradox between an enforced academic push to the market rather than a stakeholder or end-user market demand-pull [44][45][46]. Very central to stakeholder engagement in research project literature are the value streams in a project [35,47]. This literature on value streams outlines three dominant approaches to stakeholder engagement, the first one being absolute attention to project values: here the project management team places more resources with the stakeholders, who are providing value to the project. ...
Better nitrogen management, technologies, and regulation are required to reduce nitrogen losses in the aquatic environment. New innovative technologies can support farmers in a more targeted planning of fertilizer application and crop management at the field level to increase the effect of measures when reducing nitrogen losses. However, if farmers do not perceive the need for such a concept, the demand (market pull) will be minimal, making the implementation of such a technology difficult. The lack of this market pull could, however, be counterbalanced by a market push from research or requirements from public sector stakeholders (regulators). Within this domain, the main objective of this paper was to study technological change over time and identify and understand the crucial stakeholder involvement using the Functions of Innovation Systems Approach. This article shows how stakeholders’ perceptions and participation evolved over a 10-year period. It examines the interplay between technology readiness and the perceived readiness and acceptance by affected stakeholders. We demonstrate how stakeholder engagement was crucial to ensure the development of the technologies by creating marketable options for their future implementation. A key dynamic that emerged in this process was the transition from a research push to a regulator pull. We demonstrate the fact that without the regulatory requirement linked to changes towards more targeting of measures, the technology would not, on its own, be a business case, although it would provide new knowledge, thus representing a gain for society. The specific findings can be used in countries where new technologies need to be developed, and where a link to the regulation can ensure the active use of the new technology and, therefore, make their implementation worthwhile.
... Two participants indicated that the inclusion of extra project parameters to measure and monitor for green building certification and an increase in project stakeholders e.g., the green building consultant introduces complexity during a project's delivery. [35] concur with this view and suggests appropriate stakeholder engagement to manage the complexity and additional requirements. Other research participants also highlight the increased amount of paperwork required during green building which requires additional skills and resources. ...
... Existen autores que se enfocan en solo un tipo de infraestructura y clasifican en el ciclo de vida de un proyecto los actores de interés como lo es [26]. En cambio, autores como [27,28] solo identifican actores de interés, no hacen alusión a un tipo de infraestructura específico y no los vinculan al ciclo de vida de un proyecto. ...
... The fuzzy approach of QFD has been applied in several fields [40], which perspective allows to cope with uncertainties associated with inputs while translating customer voice into engineering specifications [41]. The fuzzy QFD approach has been utilized, for example, in the enhancement of electric vehicles' market competitiveness [42], in risk assessment on multimodal transport network [43], in sustainable design of consumer electronics products [41], or in planning for sustainable stakeholder engagement based on the assessment of conflicting interests in projects by utilizing cascade of houses approach [44]. Furthermore, a method based on picture fuzzy linguistic sets and evaluation based on distance from average solution has been developed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of QFD in prioritizing engineering characteristics [45]. ...
Quality function deployment (QFD) has been a widely-acknowledged tool for translating customer requirements into quality product characteristics based on which product development strategies and focus areas are identified. However, the QFD method considers the correlation and effect between development parameters, but it is not directly implemented in the importance ranking of development actions. Therefore, the cross-relationships between development parameters and their impact on customer requirement satisfaction are often neglected. The primary objective of this study is to make decision-making more reliable by improving QFD with methods that optimize the selection of development parameters even under capacity or cost constraints and directly implement cross-relationships between development parameters and support the identification of interactions visually. Therefore, QFD is accessed from two approaches that proved efficient in operations research. 1) QFD is formulated as a network flow problem with two objectives: maximizing the benefits of satisfying customer needs using linear optimization or minimizing the total cost of actions while still meeting customer requirements using assignment of minimum cost flow approach. 2) QFD is represented as a hypergraph, which allows efficient representation of the interactions of the relationship and correlation matrix and the determination of essential factors based on centrality metrics. The applicability of the methods is demonstrated through an application study in developing a sustainable design of customer electronic products and highlights the improvements' contribution to different development strategies, such as linear optimization performed the best in maximizing customer requirements' satisfaction, assignment as minimum cost flow approach minimized the total cost, while the hypergraph-based representation identified the indirect interactions of development parameters and customer requirements.
... Two participants indicated that the inclusion of extra project parameters to measure and monitor for green building certification and an increase in project stakeholders e.g., the green building consultant introduces complexity during a project's delivery. [35] concur with this view and suggests appropriate stakeholder engagement to manage the complexity and additional requirements. Other research participants also highlight the increased amount of paperwork required during green building which requires additional skills and resources. ...
The pursuit of sustainable development has resulted in a narrow focus on environmental sustainability in construction. In recent years, the concept of holistic sustainability in the construction sector has gained traction, with green-certified buildings being a major driver. However, studies have shown that green building certification does not necessarily embrace a holistic sustainability approach. Moreover, the misconceptualisation of sustainability has remained a barrier to the full adoption of sustainability principles in the industry. Under this premise, a study was carried out amongst practitioners on green-certified projects to explore their understanding of sustainability in construction. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with construction professionals, who were involved in green building certified projects. Findings reveal that although green building practitioners have a considerable understanding of the concept of sustainability, the certification process limits the operationalisation of the concept. The context of South Africa was used to generate results that are relevant to other contexts with similar settings and green certification tools. The implication of this study includes the need for further research on the operationalisation of social and economic sustainability concepts in green building certification.
... The definition "individuals, groups, or organizations who may affect, be affected by, or perceive themselves to be affected by a decision, activity, or outcome of a project" proposed by PMI (2017a) is frequently cited. Simultaneously, the managerial implications of stakeholder management have also been examined in various studies (Bahadorestani et al., 2020;Klaus-Rosinska and Iwko, 2021;Mitchell and Agle, 1997). The findings have indicated that managing stakeholders and the associated risks could help reduce costs and improve management efficiency, thus playing a crucial role in PP success (Martinsuo and Geraldi, 2020). ...
Purpose
External stakeholder risks (ESRs) caused by unfavorable behaviors hinder the success of project portfolios (PPs). However, due to complex project dependency and numerous risk causality in PPs, assessing ESRs is difficult. This research aims to solve this problem by developing an ESR-PP two-layer fuzzy Bayesian network (FBN) model.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-layer FBN model for evaluating ESRs with risk causality and project dependency is proposed. The directed acyclic graph (DAG) of an ESR-PP network is first constructed, and the conditional probability tables (CPTs) of the two-layer network are further presented. Next, based on the fuzzy Bayesian network, key variables and the impact of ESRs are assessed and analyzed by using GeNIe2.3. Finally, a numerical example is used to demonstrate and verify the application of the proposed model.
Findings
The proposed model is a useable and effective approach for ESR assessment while considering risk causality and project dependency in PPs. The impact of ESRs on PP can be calculated to determine whether to control risk, and the most critical and heavily contributing risks and project(s) in the developed model are identified based on this.
Originality/value
This study extends prior research on PP risk in terms of stakeholders. ESRs that have received limited attention in the past are explored from an interaction perspective in the PP domain. A new two-layer FBN model considering risk causality and project dependency is proposed, which can synthesize different dependencies between projects.
... Several studies have shown that sustainability goals agreed during the first phase of a project are often lost and left behind when information is passed on to the next phases in the project [9][10][11][12]. Knowledge transfer during development processes proves difficult due to the long life cycle of a project, the phased approach from planning to implementation, people involved in the project who leave and new people who come in and the different iterations to plans [13,14]. ...
The development of energy efficient buildings has been identified as a crucial part of the challenge to reach climate targets. Energy performance requirements are one of the most concrete and actionable parts of the sustainability program of urban development processes. However, after construction, there is often a lack of evaluation and follow-up of the energy performance requirements for the buildings, which limits the understanding of the state and progress of sustainable urban development processes and the ability to capture lessons learned related to energy performance. The aim of this paper is to provide insight into how the actual energy performance of buildings relates to the development process of an urban district that has been developed with a high sustainability profile. The urban district of Kvillebäcken (Gothenburg, Sweden) is used as a case study. The results of this paper contribute to a better understanding of the efficiency of the energy performance requirement as a tool during the urban development process, taking the actual energy performance of the buildings as a starting point.
... These tensions may arise as a result of discrepancies with respect to rational, emotional or spiritual knowledge or their associated capacities. The nature of these conflicts cannot be identified not approaches to their resolution cannot be explored without clear communication between the parties (Bahadorestani et al., 2020). ...
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the concept of “practical wisdom” which may be defined as the ability to effectively manage one’s rational knowledge and to read and respond appropriately to the interplay of other people's emotions and one's own and their values. The aims of this study also are (1) to investigate the relationship between the spiritual, emotional and rational capacities which underpin practical wisdom and (2) to analyse the relationship between the practical wisdom co-created in and between individuals through these three capacities.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a case study methodology by considering the experience provided by a group of hikers who organized a trip to cross the island of Gran Canarias and its natural parks.
Findings
This study proposes that the presence of spiritual, emotional or rational capacities can boost individual self-awareness, self-control and empathy, which can help workers in general and knowledge workers, in particular, more effectively tackle difficult situations, remain calm and collectively develop and enact appropriate responses to these situations. Therefore, results show that the concept of practical wisdom allows for the identification of both the nature of the capacities that contribute to the effective handling of difficult situations and them and the balance that needs to be developed between them.
Practical implications
For knowledge workers, the study provides a framework and an explanatory framework to help them understand how rational, spiritual and emotional capacities both interact and are operationalized to tackle difficult problems. Furthermore, it enables them to identify situations where success to consider such interactions, leads to develop and implement appropriate responses to such situations.
Originality/value
A proper balance of emotional, rational and spiritual capacities may enable people to have a more holistic vision of difficult situations, allowing the finding of appropriate solutions to complex problems (i.e. practical wisdom). This study contributes to strengthening knowledge workers' perception and understanding of the links between the knowledge stocks and knowledge flows that relate to a practical perspective of wisdom.
... It is paramount that project developers have a good understanding of these divergent views and the wide range of effects FPV could have on the interests and activities of the local community. This will allow for the development of context and user group-specific measures to mitigate social impacts, which is essential to enhance the short-term and longterm performance of renewable energy projects [47,48]. ...
Floating photovoltaics (FPV) is emerging as a promising renewable energy concept in which solar panels are installed on floating infrastructure to enable the production of renewable energy on water. While the body of knowledge on technical, financial and environmental aspects is expanding steadily, so far the societal implications of FPV remain largely unstudied. Here, we investigate public attitudes to a FPV pilot project at the Oostvoornse lake, the Netherlands. We conducted interviews with stakeholders to explore how the local community with high interest and involvement in the lake perceives the pilot project. Thereupon, we conducted a field survey with recreational users of the lake and carried out a random forest regression analysis to examine what factors shape recreationists' support or opposition. Interview results show that the diversity of stakeholders and their diverging use of the Oostvoornse lake leads to a broad variety of concerns about how the pilot project could affect their activities and interests. Particularly the uncertainty on possible impacts due to the newness of FPV was a reason for stakeholders to take a reluctant stance toward the pilot. In contrast, our quantitative results show that recreationists were highly supportive of the project, mainly due to their positive attitudes toward local authorities and the broader societal benefits the pilot project is perceived to generate. Landscape alteration was identified to be by far the most important objection, which indicates that negative implications from a recreation perspective could be largely accommodated through appropriate siting decisions or other measures that mitigate visibility.
... Moreover, to ensure the success of a project, stakeholder engagement plays a key role in its development and implementation (Richmond et al., 2019;Bahadorestani et al., 2020). Hence, additional efforts should be made to raise the awareness of the associated stakeholders upstream, on the importance of a collaborative approach for the effective management and development of the future MPA of the TNP. ...
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are considered as a cornerstone for the protection of the marine heritage and promotion of the integrated management approach. They are also areas conducive to the development of environmental education, scientific research and tourism activities. Underwater trails (UWTs) as ecotourism activities are very popular in MPAs, combining discovery and environmental education.
The objective of this paper is to highlight and to provide a deeper understanding on how marine ecotourism activity may contribute to the implementation of an integrated management of an MPA by taking as a case study the implementation of UWTs in Taza National Park (TNP) in Algeria. For this purpose, the methodology concerns a mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) based on interviews, survey and document analysis of the implementation process of the UWTs. The main results were grouped into five (5) themes: stakeholders’ engagement, management model of the UWT, capacity building, UWT as a management tool and legal framework.
The obtained results have validated the hypothesis that these UWTs could contribute to the good governance of the future MPA, in particular by delegating their management to diving clubs, contributing to local stakeholders’ capacity building, and improving the communication between them. The evaluation of the participatory process, also, underlines the lack of effective stakeholder engagement and the importance of developing a strategy to assess their commitment throughout the process.
... In his book Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, Freeman stated that "stakeholder refers to all individuals and groups that can influence the realization of organizational aims or be influenced by the process of the realization of organizational aims." Stakeholders participate in and support the operation and development of a business (Gyrd-Jones and Kornum, 2013), which in turn create value for them (Bahadorestani et al., 2020). As eWOM posters write reviews for businesses driven by certain incentives, they have an influence on the development and profitability of the company they are evaluating. ...
Incentives are often used by businesses to motivate customers to post reviews of their products or services online. However, the impact of those incentives on customers who are on the receiving end of such electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) behaviors are rarely examined. This study explores the effects of incentive-driven eWOM on receivers’ trust (customer trust) utilizing norm conflict and stakeholder perspectives. The findings indicate that customers have less trust in incentive-driven eWOM than in organic eWOM, for two reasons. First, the sharing of eWOM follows social norms, whereas incentives fall under market norms. This creates a potential conflict of norms for the receivers of incentivized eWOM. Second, the offer and acceptance of incentives establish interest relevance between businesses and posters. The findings suggest that increasing the quality of eWOM and hiding interest relevance between posters and businesses by changing the incentive source can alleviate the conflict of norms and increase customer trust in those reviews. This study provides a theoretical basis and suggests practical strategies for businesses to actively manage their customers’ incentive-based eWOM behavior.
... Consistent with this thinking, Jones and Wicks (1999) classified stakeholder theory into two broad areas: the social science-based approach (instrumental and descriptive) and the ethics-based approach (normative) to differentiate materiality and value. However, scholars have questioned the practical implementation of stakeholder theory due to stakeholder conflicts, difficulty identifying stakeholders' influence for critical decisions, the incongruence of groups' bargaining power, and demonstrations of potential interests (Bahadorestani et al., 2020). Similarly, stakeholder theory ignores the interrelationships between stakeholders and society, the impact of networks and linkages between various actors and agencies, and the complexities associated with determining common goals (Key, 1999). ...
This study examines the role of market orientation, privacy, and stakeholder theory in enhancing the effectiveness of current sustainability efforts for managing bushfire risks by proposing a novel conceptual framework entitled ‘Stakeholder Repositioning Strategy (SRS).’ Adopting a case study approach, we describe the SRS framework as a driving force behind shifting the Australian Indigenous community’s present position from a marginal (minimal effort) to a dominant position (key player) in bushfire mitigation. We build our framework based on the Johnson and Mendelow matrices and advocate for a sustainable solution utilizing Indigenous cultural burning practices to better manage bushfire crises, Australian ecology, communities, and the economy. The paper supports the need for Indigenous communities to proactively consult with government agencies to incorporate Indigenous knowledge into national bushfire management policies.
... Stanitsas et al. (2020) argued that future research needs to consider stakeholder involvement and participation issues in the project life cycle stages to enhance project sustainability. Bahadorestani et al. (2020) also emphasized the significance of effective stakeholder engagement during the project life cycle, especially at the earlier stages of planning and implementation. Lehtinen et al. (2019) suggested that future research studies need to develop a comprehensive understanding of project stakeholder-specific practices where firms benefit from stakeholder involvement in complex project settings. ...
This paper examines the relationship between sustainable project management (SPM) and project success with the moderating effect of stakeholder engagement and team building on this relationship. A structured survey questionnaire technique was applied for data collection and 323 responses were received from project management professionals in Pakistan. The results revealed that SPM has a positive impact on project success. However, the effects of stakeholder engagement and team building were found insignificant. Accordingly, this paper contributes to SPM literature by demonstrating the relationship between SPM and project success in a developing world context. From a practical viewpoint, firms need to consider SPM from a holistic perspective by embracing and incorporating key sustainability aspects into various project life‐cycle stages. To this end, project managers not only need to promote stakeholder engagement and team‐building strategies, but also scrutinize all important project decisions from a sustainability lens to further enhance SPM outcomes and create a meaningful value proposition for each stakeholder group, which are increasingly recognized as critical issues for project success.
... However, if not done, it can put organisations in moral dilemmas for accountability. The study by Bahadorestani et al. (2020), which provided a link to using a theoretical framework based on stakeholder theory, confirms the significant role of stakeholders in assessing the project performance. However, the performance assessment lacks strategic and sustainable focus means they are more concerned with the short-term as stakeholders are not fully engaged. ...
Non-governmental Organisations are key development partners who receive funds and other support from various stakeholders for supporting human development. Receiving funds and other supports require a well-established accountability framework to which most NGOs do not adhere. The downward and upward accountability phenomena seem overly complicated for NGOs to strike a balance as they have diverse and antagonistic interests. Given that scenario, it was imperative to examine how the existing mechanisms, influence the accountability of NGOs with the bias of ANSAF, UCS and HAWA. The study used Dar es Salaam as the case study employing the case study research design with a sample size of 30. Data were gathered through interviews and semi-structured questionnaires and analysed through content analysis for qualitative data. Quantitative data were analysed through simple descriptive statistics. This study aims to examine the mechanisms selected NGOs employ to instil accountability in Tanzania. The study found that the selected NGOs apply various accountability mechanisms, while the most used one is performance assessment based on a short-term basis, followed by disclosure of funding sources. The study concludes that upward and downward accountabilities are overly complex phenomena in actual practice. Thus, NGOs need a proper dedicated balance between the two.
... "Planning is a value-laden activity" (Forester, 2013) that caters to diverse needs, capacities, and policy preferences (Sandercock, 2017). Each stakeholder involved in the planning process may have diverse policy preferences (sometimes even conflicted policy preferences) with different degrees of importance (Schwartz, 2012;Jahani and El-Gohary, 2012;Bahadorestani et al., 2020). Existing studies showed that stakeholders from IUSs had different priorities and preferences pertaining to urban development, hazard mitigation, social equity, and environmental conservation (Campbell, 1996;Taeby and Zhang, 2019). ...
The objective of this paper was to create and test a methodological framework for examining the extent to which various plans captured diverse stakeholder policy preferences related to resilience planning and management of interdependent urban systems. Policy preferences represent what were important for stakeholders and determine the priorities of stakeholders in resilience planning of urban systems. Stakeholders in different urban sectors may have conflicts of policy preferences in the resilience planning process. A comprehensive understanding of the extent to which plans incorporated and reflected policy preferences of different stakeholders would greatly improve the quality of resilience planning. Hence, we proposed a plan evaluation framework to examine the extent to which various plans captured diverse stakeholder policy preferences in resilience planning of interdependent infrastructure systems. We showed the application of the proposed framework in the evaluation of four plans affecting flood resilience planning in the Houston area. The proposed tool could help identify conflicted stakeholder policy preferences in planning and enable evaluation of policy consistency in networks of plans.
... Another tool to manage the quality of the projects is the 'Quality Function Deployment' (QFD); it is a systematic method to channel the entry of end-users in the development of products (Hernandez and Aspinwall 2007). Its objective is to develop a quality assurance method that integrates customer satisfaction into the design of a product or service before its manufacture (Bahadorestani et al. 2020). QFD generally includes four phases, and each phase is defined by a matrix in which the relationship between the components of the horizontal and vertical domains (rows and columns) is determined. ...
A firm benefits mainly through the success of its projects; therefore, it is important to have the right project management that includes quality management measures. This work aims to examine the relationships between project management and quality management. First, the tools for project management and quality management are studied, and, second, the contents of research on quality management and project management are examined through the database Scopus. Similar features are checked in the quality and project management models. Specific variety is credited in quality research related to project management. Some gaps are found in the literature on quality management related to project management. The most important conclusions are pointed out.
... Bahadorestani, et al., (2020) have applied QFD model to design product requirements for planning and sustainable engagament of stakeholders by way of assessing their conflicts of interets. They have concluded that ultimate goal of designing customer requirements is to ensure sustainable development by creating integration between organizational requirements and stakholders' preferences (Bahadorestani, Naderpajouh, & Sadiq, 2020). It was also supported by (Haregot & Jilcha, 2019). ...
The present study aims to investigate the mediating role of Global Technical Standards (GTS) on Voice of Customers (VOC) and Sustainable Supply Chain (SSP) in halal meat industry of Pakistan.This study used mixed methodology in a two-phase investigation, results of analysis have focused on the Halal Meat Industry. In phase-I, study has generated QFD model through Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA). The participants were fourteen domain experts of Pakistan Halal Meat Industry. In phase-II a total of 250 responses were generated from domain experts of Pakistan’s halal meat industry using a five-point Likert scale for quantitative analysis.The findings show that the top management and domain experts of halal meat industry need to incorporate global quality standards.Itwill surely lead to high productivity and exports.This article serves as a guide to acquiring sufficient knowledge of the global technical standards to make sure sustainable supply chain performance.
... However, the neighborhood-scale project development process is embedded in a multi-stakeholder environment and is far from linear. Although much evidence confirms the efficacy of collaboration in solving societal problems and achieving sustainability and zero-emission goals, collaboration for sustainability can be problematic and highly complex in terms of stakeholder configuration and achieving mutual agreements (Bahadorestani, Naderpajouh, & Sadiq, 2019;Sharma & Kearins, 2010;Yang & Yang, 2015). ...
Sustainable neighborhood (SN) projects are crucial to alleviate the poor performance in energy consumption and carbon emissions of built environments. However, with several additional interests and priorities relating to sustainability, the job of finding common ground in collaboration becomes more complex compared to conventional housing and neighborhood projects. Moreover, the type of stakeholders involved and the issues they are concerned with change as the project develops. This paper offers a comprehensive overview of empirical-based research found in the intersection between stakeholder collaboration and sustainable neighborhood projects. Our comprehensive systematic review of the past 20 years’ extant literature revealed 20 main themes impacting stakeholder collaboration spread over the stages of project development. Building on the various themes, we summarized several factors that support collaboration capacity in SN projects, and that can ultimately lead to different trajectories for sustainability outcomes over time. Furthermore, the review revealed several potential avenues for research, which may help improve our understanding of the mechanics and interaction of stakeholder involvement in SN projects.
... Stakeholders in the green building market comprise internal stakeholders on the demand side (owners) and the supply side (contractors, design firms, and material suppliers), and external stakeholders on the private side (local landowners) and the public side (government regulatory agencies; Li et al. 2018). Bahadorestani et al. (2020) quantitatively developed a stakeholder-engagement plan and applied it in a green building project, demonstrating the effectiveness and flexibility of the developed matrix. Through social-network analysis, Yang et al. (2016) identified critical stakeholders and risks in green building development projects and found that in China, the government as an external stakeholder is the most fundamental driver of green buildings, whereas in Australia, internal stakeholders like building companies play a more critical role with self-motivation toward a better organizational reputation. ...
In the past decade, the architecture, engineering, and construction industry has witnessed increasing growth in the green building market and continues to expect a promising future. Although companies in the industry have played a significant role in developing the green building market, scarce studies have analyzed changes in the market from the perspectives of these corporations. Also, few studies classify green building companies by characteristics. To fill these gaps of knowledge, we explored the characteristics of the US green building market from a corporate perspective, specifically investigating green contractors and design firms. We first collected data of 464 top US green building companies identified by the Engineering News-Record over the past decade and explored the development trend of the green building market, based on the green revenue generated by these companies. We found that the general growth trend in the US green building market in the past decade could be divided into three stages: a rapid-growth stage (2000-2008), a steady-growth stage (2009-2013), and a maturity and transformation stage (2014-2016). We then categorized the 464 organizations into three groups with distinct characteristics by k-means cluster analysis techniques, including mature green building companies, sector-oriented green building companies, and primary-stage green building companies. This study provides the academic and practitioner communities with a holistic understanding of the development of the US green building market from the view of burgeoning companies. Corporate-level management systems and sustainable practices of the three clusters of green building companies also provide guidance for construction companies in the various stages of transformation towards sustainability to adopt different strategies.
... As stakeholder expectations go far beyond the project closure point, project products are expected to be sustainable [52], and in order to meet this expectation, involvement of the stakeholders in project definition (which encompasses project product definition) is absolutely necessary. A close relationship between project stakehholders and sustainability was also emphasized in [53] and in numerous papers referring to case studies or special project types [54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]. ...
The pressure to incorporate sustainability principles and objectives into policies and activities is growing, particularly in project management. A successful project cannot disregard any of the three triple bottom line (TBL) sustainability pillars (economic, social and environmental). Stakeholders representing each of those pillars have to be satisfied to a certain degree in each successful project, even if the way of balancing the three pillars varies depending on project type. Project definition is of primary importance for the proper addressing of stakeholder expectations during the project, and thus for project success. The problem is that project definitions in practice are not written in a way which would guarantee a sufficient degree of project sustainability. However, the hypothesis can be formulated that a systematic analysis and modification of project definition can increase the degree of project sustainability, and thus the degree of project success. That is why we propose here a method of checking and improving existing project definitions in order to improve the chances of project success through increasing the satisfaction of the stakeholders representing the three TBL pillars. The method is based on a careful identification of missing and ambiguous information in a project definition and on correcting it on the basis of TBL stakeholders’ opinions and preferences. These preferences are modelled, wherever possible, by means of fuzzy sets, in order to provide a systematic, formal measurement of sustainability degree in TBL sustainability pillars, represented by project stakeholders. The method’s use and potential advantages are illustrated by means of two real world projects. The initial verification of the method allows us to formulate the hypothesis that analysing and improving project definition may considerably contribute to increasing the sustainability degree of projects, and thus to their success.
... .Derakhshan et al. (2019) reviewed project governance literature to extract roles of stakeholders and relationships inside and outside of the organization(Derakhshan, Turner, & Mancini, 2019).Bahadorestani et al. (2019) provided a framework to elevate effectiveness of the stakeholder engagement in projects by ranking the potential conflicts of stakeholders and project management team (Bahadorestani, Naderpajouh, & Sadiq, Planning for sustainable stakeholder engagement based on the assessment of conflicting interests in projects , 2019).Yu et al. (2019) ...
This research presents the current state of understanding on strategies to update green building rating tools (GBRTs). Based on existing literature, the study determined the GBRT-updating requirements (URs) and their related technical elements (TEs) and integrated them to form a system framework through Functional Quality Development. The framework emphasizes the interaction and balance between expert deliberation and stakeholder participation, and fully considers the complementarity between international experience and local practice. Subsequently, the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process was used to determine the relative importance of URs while the Fuzzy Set Theory was used to quantify the correlation between URs and TEs. Finally, the Green Building Index (GBI) was used as the research sample to apply the proposed model, whose outputs were then analyzed by using the Importance-Performance Analysis method. Then, appropriate technical improvement suggestions for the updating of GBI were derived. The study explores the technical update of GBRT in the form of extensive participation and utilizes the knowledge complementarity among decision-makers. Furthermore, the proposed framework provides practical help to guide the update of GBRTs for developing countries.
The appropriate ecological operation method is suggested in order to create a harmonious human settlement environment and achieve the sustainable development of residential areas. The key to determining whether the model can be successfully implemented is now the stakeholders. Scholars feel that stakeholders in the urban development process should sustain collaboration, and they suggest collaborative measures because they have successfully identified these parties. Nevertheless, there are distinctions between the specialized research of ecological operation stakeholders and the disregard for internal differences of related groups. In order to examine the relationship strength and network density, structural location, and role interaction, this article employs social network analysis to examine the cohesiveness, relevance, reciprocity, transitivity, hierarchy, and agency of the stakeholder relationship network in the ecological operation. Interest disagreements, solutions, and recommendations among participants encourage the effective application of the ecological operating model. The study demonstrates that there are no factions, and that weak links dominate the stakeholder relationship network in ecological operations, exhibiting a “core-periphery” relationship structure. High relevance, high reciprocity, and high transmissibility describe the relationship network. Although the network’s overall power is dispersed, each group’s power is centralized. Residents and social organizations in residential areas are in a poor position, since governments at all levels have strong control over them. In order to optimize relationships and collaborative governance, which is helpful for implementing the ecological operation mode and realizing harmony and oneness between man and nature, the study explored the relationship network structure and features of stakeholders in the ecological operation.
Post-Disaster reconstruction projects often face many challenges, due to inadequacies of community participation. While active community participation directly influences project outcome, factors that restrict or facilitate their involvement are yet to be addressed. Using emic-etic perspectives from two case studies, this paper identifies the factors that act as barriers to community participation. The findings disclosed that it is not only non-community stakeholders who instil barriers to limit community participation – termed as external barriers – but the communities themselves also play a role in restricting their own involvement – termed as internal barriers. The study identified 21 participation barriers and classified them into four external barriers categories – behavioural, regulatory, communication, and integrity – and two internal barriers categories – socio-cultural, and capacity. The articulation of these barriers will help decision-makers address community participation issues and will enable them to achieve reconstruction objectives.
Stakeholders satisfaction, as well as an effective involvement, is of utmost importance for any mega project, when it comes to the public concerning projects this role becomes more essential. In the case of developing countries where the political, economic and administrative settings are challenging, managing all the key stakeholders satisfaction for prosperous projects becomes extremely intricated, no matter even it is about sustainable and renewable energy projects. Studies have been conducted on project governance and shareholder relationships, nevertheless, the role of power‐interest matrix in maximizing stakeholder satisfaction on renewable energy projects has not been fully explored in the literature. This research was attempted to investigate the direct and indirect influencing mechanisms of the stakeholders satisfaction in conjunction with five critical success factors (CSFs) (namely communication factors, team factors, technical factors, organizational factors and environmental factors) in the renewable energy projects. Alongside a direct link of the CSFs in renewable energy projects, an indirect influence of both the internal and external stakeholders satisfaction has been also checked in this research. A quantitative approach was used to collect the questionnaire survey based data from the professionals working in the renewable energy industry of Pakistan. A snowball sampling technique was used to collect a total of 565 valid responses from the professionals working on medium and large scale renewable energy projects. The structural equation modelling (SEM) technique was used to perform the data analysis and provide inferences between the direct impacts of CSFs and indirect influences of internal and external stakeholders satisfaction in the renewable energy projects. The first stage of the SEM analysis depicts the direct impacts of the CSFs on renewable energy projects. However, in the second stage, though the mediating role of internal stakeholders satisfaction was observed in between all the CSFs and project success, external stakeholders satisfaction was found to be significantly mediating only between the communication factors and environmental factors, and renewable energy project success. Though the findings provide useful guidelines for the professionals, policymakers and administrators that in order to have prosperous renewable energy projects the influence of both the internal and external stakeholders satisfaction is important alongside CSFs, however, the role of internal stakeholders satisfaction is more critical to consider for such sustainable projects.
In the latest decades, corporate social responsibilities (CSR) are incrementally noticed in emerging countries regarding to the surge of globalization and the advance of social concerns. However, there exist opposing arguments on how CSR practices influence a firm’s financial performance (CFP), either in theoretical or empirical perspectives, causing many managers’ hesitation in CSR engagement. This study, therefore, examines the impacts of CSR on CFP, considering the individual effect of each CSR endeavor by using the data from listed firms’ financial statements during the period 2015-2019 and panel regression analysis methods. The findings reveal inconstant effects of different CSR activities on CFP. Specifically, a firm’s fulfillment of shareholders’ and customers’ interests contributes to raise its profitability, while its engagement in the benefits of employees and creditors causes a reduction in financial returns. Interestingly, the correlations between firms’ responsibilies towards regulators and suppliers and CFP are statistically insignificant. Furthermore, we make pairwise marginal comparisons to identify the distinctions of CSR-CFP relations across industries. The results only indicate that listed firms in Utilities sector have the lower level of CSR intensity than those in Consumer Discretionary and Consumer Staples sectors. The implications and limitations are also discussed in this study.
Although stakeholder involvement (SI) can improve project performance, integrating these stakeholders into the project development process can be complex. Furthermore, there is limited guidance on when and how to involve these stakeholders. Recognizing this challenge, the goals of this paper are to identify how early SI can impact the directionality of a project and to understand what factors strengthened SI efforts. In this research, a series of exploratory case studies were performed across a number of key stakeholders on a single inland waterway project. These case studies focused on gaining insight into what impacts various engagement efforts had on the project, including how the actual timing of engagement may have changed the project’s trajectory and how stakeholders perceived the project’s outcomes. The case studies showed that SI is best obtained during the feasibility phase and could alter the project’s trajectory. In addition, solid relationships, open communication, and trust were determined to be major factors contributing to the success of the first phase of the project. This paper concludes by proposing future research that would improve subsequent phases and maintenance processes on inland waterways.
The industry is facing severe environmental degradation challenges and complex regulatory systems. A sustainable and innovative business model of green building is regarded as an important strategy for the realization of ecological and economic value. However, from a system perspective, research on the interest boundaries of stakeholders and the decision-making process is still relatively limited. This study addresses the gap by developing a systematic game analysis framework that integrates government, developer and consumer as players. Results indicate that the convergence of the stable strategy system is closely related to the initial strategy selection of each stakeholder. The government's policy cost cannot promote the stability of the system. Compared with economic benefits, consumers' recognition of the ecological value of green buildings is an important factor. Stakeholders' attention to their benefits and costs dominates the market. The government's subsidy strategy depends on the profit and loss of the target, not that the higher the incentive, the more significant the effect can be obtained. This study enhances the body of knowledge by providing a novel framework for research in related disciplines. It also provides insights into the decision-making mechanism of stakeholders in the green building market.
The goals and objectives of a project as well as the needs, requirements and expectations of the project stakeholders may contradict or non-fulfillment of them may have different detrimental and negative consequences for the project. Therefore, project stakeholders should be effectively managed, but it is not possible to satisfy all project stakeholders and meet all of their expectations and requirements. As a result, project team must strike a balance between the project goals and objectives and the needs, requirements and expectations of the project stakeholders in order to complete the project successfully. Despite highlighting the significant importance of project stakeholder management, there exists a notable gap in exerting an effective decision support system to adopt stakeholder engagement strategies particularly in oil and gas construction projects. This study proposes a comprehensive framework for the identification, prioritization and selection of the stakeholder engagement strategies in one of the large size oil and gas construction projects in Iran. In this paper, a hybrid method which is the combination of the SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and threat) analysis and fuzzy Delphi method is first exploited for identifying the appropriate stakeholder engagement strategies. Subsequently, fuzzy SWARA (Step-wise Weight Assessment Ratio Analysis) is employed to weight the crucial criteria, and finally, fuzzy WASPAS (Weighted Aggregated Sum Product Assessment) is utilized to prioritize the identified stakeholder engagement strategies. This research contributes to the body of knowledge on project stakeholder management by presenting a novel framework for identifying, ranking and selecting the suitable strategies for effective stakeholder engagement considering one of the largest oil and gas construction projects in the country. The value of this study is in applicability of the proposed methodology for project managers and practitioners in other oil and gas construction projects.
This study has aimed to investigate the impact of sustainable project management on sustainable project planning and success in manufacturing firms. Data was collected from project management professionals in a manufacturing firm in Malaysia. A total of 231 responses were analyzed using the partial least square (PLS) method. The findings revealed that sustainable project management has a significant impact on sustainable project success and sustainable project planning. Sustainable project planning is positively correlated with sustainable project success. The results also indicated that sustainable project planning mediates the effect of sustainable project management on sustainable project success. The findings have significant insight into the body of knowledge of the project life cycle and indicated that sustainable project planning is a crucial tool attributed to project management towards the project success of the manufacturing firm. The results can be used as a guideline for organizations, providing direction in project management to achieve sustainable development for business.
Our research uses a novel perspective of control balancing and stakeholder orientation to explore an information system (IS) phenomenon called enterprise IS diffusion. Employing a case-based, grounded theory approach, we analyse four large-scale IS implementation projects in a Canadian government organization. Our findings offer a synergistic approach to IS diffusion by integrating a dynamic control configuration perspective with stakeholder engagement, stakeholder sensitivity, and the impact of shifting stakeholder orientations on IS diffusion stages.We draw from control, control balancing, and stakeholder theories. Moreover, we refer to the IS implementation and IS diffusion literature to develop our argument. In doing so, this research develops a new and vital construct—stakeholder orientation—for IS implementation projects. We also identify the existence of four distinct stakeholder orientations, a combination of stakeholder engagement with stakeholder sensitivity in large ISD projects: (a) strategic, (b) responsibility, (c) best interest, and (d) economic cost.Through analysis and synthesis, we establish vital relationships among shifting control configurations, stakeholder engagement, stakeholder sensitivity, and IS diffusion stages, where maintaining an optimal stakeholder orientation, facilitated by appropriate control configuration, leads to a successful IS diffusion outcome. Furthermore, we propose an extension to the existing control balancing theory by identifying missing links and trigger factors.
La ambigüedad se desarrolla en ambientes organizacionales confusos que requiere de líderes y/o gerentes que implementen metodologías, estrategias, competencias y habilidades que promueva buenas relaciones laborales, aumento en la productividad y sostenibilidad en el mercado. Este artículo propone revisar sistemáticamente la literatura sobre la ambiguedad en las organizaciones y su impacto en desarrollo social. Evidenciando, que este entorno se puede desarrollar en cualquier contexto, no tiene técnicas o estrategias establecidas; pero si es necesario, que las personas encargadas tengan liderazgo, tomen decisiones acertadas, gestionen las situaciones ambiguas y sean creativos e innovadores ante las situaciones emergentes. Esta investigación concluye que en contextos caóticos donde se presenta continuamente situaciones de ambigüedad, es vital que los lideres de procesos organizacionales cuenten con habilidades blandas y duras que le permitan afrontar de forma efectiva las condiciones del contexto y mitigar los riesgos psicosociales.
In 2016, Germany received approximately 50% of the 1.2 million asylum applications in the European Union. The applicants represented a population influx of displaced people that were accommodated primarily in urban settings, creating challenges for engineers and managers who needed to meet the new water and wastewater demands of the displaced persons without disrupting services to preexisting residents. To achieve this, local authorities and engineers had to consider temporary or permanent alterations to existing water and wastewater infrastructure—changes that could provoke opposition from a hosting community, depending on their perception of the changes. In this study, a modeling framework is proposed that allows decision makers to account for hosting communities’ perceptions of alternatives for providing water and wastewater infrastructure services to displaced persons. The framework uses an agent-based model that is enabled by publicly available information, a survey deployed to German communities, and interviews with stakeholders involved in the accommodation of displaced persons in Germany. Our results indicate that alternatives used by local authorities did not always align with community-supported alternatives. To minimize such misalignments, we recommend that local authorities, early on in developing infrastructure alternatives, take into account the perceptions of hosting communities. Ultimately, the proposed framework promotes the sustainable provision of water and wastewater infrastructure to displaced persons.
Despite emphasizing the great importance of stakeholder management, there is a gap in applying a decision support system to adopt sustainable strategies for stakeholder engagement and conflict resolution especially in oil and gas projects. This paper presents a new framework for adopting the strategies in one of the largest oil and gas projects in Iran. In this proposed framework, firstly, the hybrid SWOT analysis and fuzzy Delphi method are used to identify and rank the sustainable stakeholder engagement strategies for managing conflicts. Then, a mathematical programming model was proposed to select the optimal strategies to maximize stakeholder engagement. The findings indicate that the results of the hybrid SWOT analysis and fuzzy Delphi method and the mathematical programming model are the same and the high ranked strategies obtained by the hybrid SWOT analysis and fuzzy Delphi method are selected in the proposed mathematical programming model as well. Also, each selected strategy can cover more than one conflict and improve stakeholder engagement.
Our research topic is the monopolist with corporate social responsibility in the presence of product differentiation and environmental R&D. This project lies at the frontier between environmental economics and industrial organization. The model uses a three-stage game-theoretic framework. We model a monopolist with corporate social responsibility, product differentiation, and environmental R&D setting in a three-stage game; in the first stage, the regulator determines the emission tax to maximize welfare; in the second stage, the monopolist determines R&D to maximize its objective function; in the third stage, the monopolist determines outputs to maximize its objective function. This study develops a numerical simulation model and aims to explore the implications for economic, environmental, and social sustainability when the monopolist is characterized by corporate social responsibility (CSR), product differentiation, and environmental R&D. Specifically, we investigate the effects on profit, R&D, environmental damage, consumer surplus, and welfare when the parameters of R&D technology, degree of social responsibility, and product differentiation are changed. We find that: (1) increasing R&D technology parameter enhances welfare in terms of higher consumer surplus and lower damage, while also leading to increases in R&D and decreases in profit; (2) increasing the degree of social responsibility increases R&D and welfare in terms of higher consumer surplus and profit, but also increases the damage; and (3) increasing product differentiation increases profit, R&D, and welfare; it also increases the damage but decreases consumer surplus.
Security of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus has become a global concern, threatened by the rapid urbanization, unsustainable consumption of resources, population growth and climate change that exert pressure on resources to meet the socioeconomic demands. Water-Energy-Food Nexus is central for sustainable development and promoting efficient management of resources. Nevertheless, an efficient and sustainable Water-Energy-Food Nexus design requires the participation of multiple stakeholders in the decision-making process. This work presents a multi-objective optimization model for the design of a Water-Energy-Food system that involves the sustainable production of water, energy and food in areas that share economic activities through the industrial, agriculture and livestock sectors. Additionally, a multi-stakeholder assessment is presented to generate a set of solutions, where different priorities are given to the stakeholders. This approach allows quantifying the level of satisfaction of each of the stakeholders. Integration of resources is addressed according to economic and environmental objectives, such as the minimization of the cost of the system, water abstraction and greenhouse gas emissions. As case study, a region located in Mexico was selected based on its industrial activity and the challenges it currently faces in meeting resource demands due to low water availability. Results show that water reuse is crucial to improve the Water-Energy-Food Nexus sustainability. Also, it was found that the most affected sector for water scarcity is the agricultural sector. This model can be the basis for planning the Water-Energy-Food Nexus at regional level involving different stakeholders and for determining sustainable interactions between resources.
Accounting technologies can be used to help stimulus packages achieve the twin goals of economic stimulus and climate mitigation. Utilizing an institutional logic perspective, we show that despite the massive financial consequences of climate change, the current climate response is dominated by the economising logic that justifies limited action. Further, despite its strong potential, accounting technologies are not extensively used in the design of stimulus packages. We develop a framework to explicitly integrate accounting technologies in the design, delivery and review of stimulus packages, thereby simultaneously enabling economic growth and social equity whilst addressing the climate crisis.
The construction industry is a major consumer of energy and source of environmental pollution throughout the world, and thus there is an urgent need to promote green building practices to facilitate sustainable development. In the context of slow green building development in China, the relationships among stakeholders are varied and not uniform, thereby hindering green building development, so change needs to be driven by the government due to the public welfare nature of green building. In this study, three stages of green building development and evolution were determined, and a game model was established for the three stages based on the correlations between construction units in order to explore a mechanism for selecting construction units in the context of government control. An evolutionary game model was established between the construction units and the buyer by treating government subsidies as the controlling factor to analyze the evolutionary equilibrium strategy for the construction units and buyer in multiple situations. Finally, a game model based on government supervision and construction units was established to explore the factors that influence the green building construction process. The results showed that providing government subsidies to construction units can promote the development of green buildings. In addition, providing subsidies to homebuyers might not yet play a positive role in the selection of green buildings because buyers are passive regarding green buildings, so the government needs to implement measures to stimulate the demand for green buildings among buyers. The green building construction process cannot be separated from government supervision, particularly the government punishments imposed on construction units for not complying with green standards, and the government's own losses and supervision costs when supervision is not strict. Relevant measures and suggestions are proposed.
Public engagement and public consultation are increasingly applied to involve stakeholders in the decision making process of construction projects. However, it is difficult for multiple stakeholders to clearly identify common interests and make decisions about specific issues of construction projects within the current public engagement and consultation processes. Hence, this study aims to investigate the critical factors within decision making processes for public engagement and public consultation, and their impact on the final project outcomes. In order to achieve this, three case studies were conducted on different project types, including public residential housing, urban planning and civil engineering. The study reveals the systematic steps of the decision making process in both public engagement and public consultation over construction projects. Causal relationships between the critical decision steps and the final outcomes have been found, while the results also indicate that the adoption of public engagement is more appropriate for construction projects than public consultation. Therefore, numerous practical recommendations are given for facilitating the whole decision making process of public engagement and improving final outcomes, including the adoption of value management into the decision making process of public engagement. The findings of this study also form the basis for a further longitudinal study.
Construction sustainability performance is indispensable to the attainment of sustainable development. Various techniques and management skills have previously been developed to help improving sustainable performance from implementing construction projects. However, these techniques seem not being effectively implemented due to the fragmentation and poor coordination among various construction participants. There is a lack of consistency and holistic methods to help participants implementing sustainable construction practice at various stages of project realisation. This paper develops a framework of sustainability performance checklist to help understanding the major factors affecting a project sustainability performance across its life cycle. This framework enables all project parties to assess the project sustainability performance in a consistent and holistic way, thus improving the cooperation among all parties to attain satisfactory project sustainability performance.
In Peru, the appearance of the MiVivienda Sostenible Bonus has brought to light the concern for sustainability in social housing, and this issue should be understood with a perspective of the satisfaction of the users’ needs. This research analyzed nine projects of companies interested in acquiring this subsidy between 2015 and 2016, by evaluating the sustainability criteria applied and proposing a list of criteria that can be applied to the social housing projects of the Peruvian coast. The impact of research is positive, allowing students and professionals to work with a local referent and to use it as a basis for future research in the area.
Roll stabilizer systems are studied for different types of ships by many researchers. It is well known that roll motion is caused by external disturbances (wave,wind etc) and large roll motion can cause capsizing easily. In addition, undesirable roll motion effect badly crew performance and passenger comfort. So, roll reduction has an important role for all types of ships. In our study, we proposed a fuzzy AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and ELECTRE (Elemination and Choice Translating Reality English) method for selecting the most effective roll stabilizing system for a trawler type fishing vessel. Alternatives and criteria in relation to the stabilizers are determined by experts’ experiences and literature review. This paper intends to give a comprehensive procedure for determining the most suitable roll motion stabilizing system of trawler for safety and efficiency fishing in the open literature.
Sustainability in project operations such as financial, social and environmental sustainability is one of the most prominent issues of the present times to address. The increased focus on sus-tainable business operations has changed the viewpoint of researchers and corporate community towards the project management. Today sustainability in business operations along with sustain-ability of natural and environmental resources are of paramount significance which has further caused a huge impact on conception, planning, scheduling and execution of the project manage-ment activities. In this paper, a literature review between 1987 and 2018 on different issues af-fecting the sustainability in project management is carried out. The present study also identifies and discusses the future possibilities to apply computational procedures in order to estimate and optimize the sustainability issues in the management of projects, for example the computational evolutionary algorithms can be applied to formulate the multi-objective decision-making problem after considering critical factors of sustainability in the projects and then yielding optimized solu-tions for the formulated problem to achieve sustainability in the projects. A new integrated framework with the inclusion of feedback function for assessment of each decision and actions taken towards the sustainability of the projects is also identified and presented.
Although sustainability is of utmost importance, anecdotal evidence suggests that the concept is not adequately implemented in many developing countries. This paper investigates industry stakeholders' awareness of the current state of, factors driving, and barriers hindering the adoption of sustainable construction (SC) in Cambodia. Using an empirical questionnaire survey targeting local construction professionals, respondents were invited to rate their level of awareness, knowledge and understanding of SC, as well as to rate the level of importance of 31 drivers and 10 barriers identified from the seminal literature. The data set was subjected to the relative importance index method. The results suggest that the industry-wide adoption of SC practices is poor, which is believed to be due to a lack of awareness and knowledge, and reluctance to adopt new sustainable technologies. Furthermore, more efforts must be put into the selection of more durable materials for the extension of buildings' lives and to minimize material consumption, as well as to develop energy-efficient buildings with minimal environmental impact and a healthy indoor environment, so that the ability of future generations to meet their own needs will not be compromised. The outcomes of this study have enriched knowledge about the current state of, drivers of, and barriers to sustainable construction in a typical developing economy. Although the outcomes of this study were a short scoping exercise, it has formed a significant base for future SC work within Cambodia.
Automation and robotics has been regarded as a leading area of innovation in construction, for the betterment of the industry. Research has been spread out for decades, and new automation and robotics technologies continue to be developed for the general manufacturing industry as well as for the construction industry (Bock and Linner 2015a). In the meantime, the building sector has received increasing attention under the worldwide agenda for sustainable development, since buildings account for more than 30% of global greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions and more than 40% of global energy consumptions (Unep 2009). Nevertheless, the development of sustainable buildings (SBs) has experienced problematic implementation on all levels [design, construction, operation, etc. (Pan and Ning 2014)]. Performance gaps, poor operation and management exist to impede the achievement of SBs, requiring advanced technologies and intelligent approaches (Goodier and Pan 2010). Construction automation and robotics has the potential to improve sustainability performance in terms of construction waste reduction, resource saving, workplace safety improvement, intelligent living environment, etc. Recently, the EU, for example, started to initiate and fund projects in which improvements in construction automation and prefabrication shall bring down cost for sustainable, highly energy-efficient components and buildings in order to foster their adoption in Europe in a large scale (BERTIM 2016; ZERO-PLUS 2016). Also, some construction companies already use advanced production technologies to reduce waste and resource consumption (Bock and Linner 2015a), and first approaches are on the way to use automation technology for controlled disassembly of buildings and urban-mining (Lee et al. 2015). However, in general, in the architecture and civil engineering filed, up to date most of the relevant research was focused on the adoption of new approaches and technologies in the operation and maintenance stages (Wood 2011) of buildings (e.g. smart grids, building automation, green building technologies, the use of information technology for maintenance automation, etc.), whilst the potential of automated/robotic technologies to achieve sustainability through the construction stage is a field that needs yet to be analyzed and developed in a comprehensive manner. Activities during the construction stage have significant impacts on SB: (e.g. on various types of pollution, construction waste and resource consumption, work conditions and public welfare, cost efficiency (Akadiri et al. 2012), reusability and flexibility of buildings, etc.) which can be controlled and influenced for better outcomes through automated/robotic technologies. The aim of this paper is to build the basis for the development of a systematic framework and assessment tool for the utilization of automated and robotic construction technologies for achieving SBs. The remainder of the paper is structured as follows. Section 8.2 reviews the state of the art of technology and approaches in construction automation and SB. Based on this, Sect. 8.3 outlines the key dimensions of the framework, and identifies relevant mechanisms and indicators summarized in a framework matrix. Section 8.4 provides a brief outlook on the future work which will detail the indicators, define quantifiable variables, and verify and validate the framework through application in case studies and real world projects.
The high-energy consumption of the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry and associated environmental pollution have become a global challenge, and governments at different levels in China have been dedicated to improving the industry's sustainability. However, although the concept of green building (GB) has been growing rapidly, the primarily emphasis has been on energy-saving design with little attention paid to sustainable post-occupancy operations, which is hindering further development. To address this fundamental issue it is necessary to evaluate the post-occupancy performance of GB and, given China's current circumstances, one that involves the participation of all stakeholders to avoid being dominated by construction professionals. However, such participatory evaluations are currently very limited and perfunctory in the country, usually involving simply informing or placating the stakeholders. In response, this paper develops a comprehensive quantitative method to analyze stakeholder impact during GB post-occupancy evaluation (POE). This enables the various stakeholder groups to be prioritized in terms of their influence levels and hence contributes to maximizing overall stakeholder satisfaction by improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the evaluation. The findings of the paper are expected to help clients and design teams improve their building designs by integrating the views of stakeholders through the POE in order to realize the true spirit of GB development.
Alien species can have major ecological and socioeconomic impacts in their novel ranges and so effective management actions are needed. However, management can be contentious and create conflicts, especially when stakeholders who benefit from alien species are different from those who incur costs. Such conflicts of interests mean that management strategies can often not be implemented. There is, therefore, increasing interest in engaging stakeholders affected by alien species or by their management. Through a facilitated workshop and consultation process including academics and managers working on a variety of organisms and in different areas (urban and rural) and ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic), we developed a framework for engaging stakeholders in the management of alien species. The proposed framework for stakeholder engagement consists of 12 steps: (1) identify stakeholders; (2) select key stakeholders for engagement; (3) explore key stakeholders' perceptions and develop initial aims for management; (4) engage key stakeholders in the development of a draft management strategy; (5) re-explore key stakeholders' perceptions and revise the aims of the strategy; (6) co-design general aims, management objectives and time frames with key stakeholders; (7) co-design a management strategy; (8) facilitate stakeholders' ownership of the strategy and adapt as required; and (9) implement the strategy and monitor management actions to evaluate the need for additional or future actions. In case additional management is needed after these actions take place, some extra steps should be taken: (10) identify any new stakeholders, benefits, and costs; (11) monitor engagement; and (12) revise management strategy. Overall, we believe that our framework provides an effective approach to minimize the impact of conflicts created by alien species management.
Companies are increasingly coming under strong global pressure to incorporate sustainability considerations into their project decision-making process. This is where project managers play a vital role. However, how project managers approach sustainability in their daily work still has to be explored. Therefore, this article seeks to determine whether and to what extent project managers take into account sustainability in project management decision making. Research was carried out in Lithuania, selecting two industries: construction and automotive. The case study revealed that project managers in Lithuania still do not give much regard to sustainability when making their decisions. Only a limited number of sustainability criteria are taken into account by project managers in their decisions. Research also showed that a project manager gives more consideration to sustainability in project management decision making than a project team member. © 2017 by author(s) and VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center.
Sustainable construction projects affect various stakeholders with different social, environmental and economic interests. It is essential that the decision makers maintain effective communication with relevant groups to avoid project failures. Although citizen participation offers a means of better addressing and meeting stakeholder concerns and expectations, the decision/evaluations of contemporary sustainable projects are becoming ever more complicated, with an increasing number of stakeholders involved to actively defend their own interests. In response, this paper provides a thorough and comprehensive analysis of the stakeholders of sustainable construction in China and quantifies their influence in decision/evaluations by semi-structured interviews (in research stage I) and a three-round Delphi survey (in research stage II). Follow-up interviews (in research stage III) are carried out to collect more in-depth views concerning the characteristics and the respective importance of each stakeholder group involved. The findings indicate that the government is the most influential entity and the extent to which its intervention is needed in balancing the interests of other stakeholders presents a major challenge. The high potential influence of end-users is also identified, suggesting the need for a more transparent and inclusive participatory decision/evaluation process in the country. An enhanced future role for NGOs is further identified.
Customer involvement in infrastructure maintenance activities is a complex process due to various decision-making parameters surrounding maintenance. Compared to manufacturing and other disciplines where QFD is widely used, expectations of the infrastructure user as a customer are truly dynamic given the changing economic conditions, technologies, environmental regulations, etc. While such dynamic or changing customer expectations can be addressed by repeated surveys and constant communication, having indicators to predict customer response would be a valuable tool and aid the QFD decision-making process. In this study, a framework that utilizes hidden Markov model (HMM) is proposed for evaluating customer expectation by using probabilities of focus areas that are of interest to the infrastructure user as hidden parameters. The focus areas are based on sustainability parameters and include economic, social, technological, maintenance efficiency, safety and environmental conditions. Probabilities that represent the probability of transition from current state (of the focus area) to next possible state were generated based on expert opinion of the authors. Using the 2005 customer survey by California Transportation, a case study is presented in order to demonstrate the application which concludes that the proposed methodology can be successfully implemented for infrastructure maintenance.
The overarching objective of social housing is to meet housing needs, particularly those of the vulnerable households – low and middle income earners. However, there is evidence to show that social housing is not adequately supported to achieve sustainable goals despite its significance for addressing the housing crisis. The aim of this study is to determine the critical success factors (CSFs) for achieving Sustainable Social Housing (SSH) from economic, environmental and social perspectives for meeting housing needs. The document content analysis approach involving relevant literature resources was used for generating the success factors (SFs) for achieving SSH. Findings from this approach were refined before using them in preparing a questionnaire used to gather data from housing authorities (public) and private non-profit social housing organisations in England and they were asked to rank the criticality level of the identified success factors. The data gathered through the relevant documents and respondents were analysed respectively with NVivo and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). Findings revealed some of the CSFs for achieving SSH for meeting housing needs as: adequate funding and provision, affordability, efficient economic planning, appropriate construction technology, environmental protection, use of environmental friendly materials, effective land use planning, appropriate design, security of lives and property, provision of social services and ensuring social cohesion. The paper recommends the use of efficient sustainable development (SD) strategies and legal and institutional frameworks for monitoring and evaluating the delivery of SSH. The Government must embark on effective housing programmes for ensuring adequate provision of social housing that is sustainable for meeting housing needs in the short and long-run. There is need for the Government to regularly provide financial supports to social housing providers and users for addressing the housing crisis.
The success of the Nigerian construction industry can be aligned with the use of construction project management systems, although, the industry has been maligned by issues such as building collapse, incessant delays, abandonment and cost overrun. It is therefore imperative to examine the challenges confronting construction project management system in Nigeria. In this study the descriptive survey method was adopted and data were obtained by means of inquiries using questionnaires. A sample size of fifty nine (59) construction professionals was used for the study. The study reveals that location of a project majorly influences Project Manager's decision making on project planning. It asserted the crucial importance of Management skills required in practicing construction project management. In conclusion, the result identified that passive participation from Project Manager, lack of client involvement in making decisions, provision of substandard materials, design error, lack of effective communication and poor treatment of workforce are challenges hampering the use of construction project management. The study recommends the institutionalization of construction project management practice, compulsion of adequate training and skill modification programs for construction professionals to aid the sustainability of construction project management systems in Nigeria.
Because research focusing on sustainability in a project context is still nascent and fragmented, we carried out a systematic literature review covering all research published in five leading journals in the fields of project management and sustainable production prior to 2016. Our analysis revealed two distinct perspectives in the project sustainability research; one assumes the perspective of the project organisation delivering the asset while the second assumes the perspective of the host organisation. We identify and describe eight distinct strategies used by either the project organisation, its host, or both in collaboration to support sustainability goals. We complement the findings of our literature review with an illustrative empirical case focusing on the delivery of an innovative seawater-based heating solution in Norway.
When performing social responsibility (SR), international contractors can be embraced by project stakeholders, and thus, a sustainable development of construction projects can be attained. However, construction projects involve multiple stakeholders; thus, balancing the interests of all stakeholders is difficult for construction firms. Therefore, an effective rule for decisions related to SR behaviors is important for strategic management of stakeholders. Scholars perform SR studies from various perspectives, emphasizing on corporate management and developing different evaluation systems accordingly. Nonetheless, most of these studies obtain feedbacks from the perspective of general contractors without incorporating the expectations of various stakeholders, and thus, the interpretation can potentially lead to social desirability bias. This study proposes a development framework considering the expectations of various stakeholders for evaluating SR performance. First, global SR metrics were solicited from standards, codes, and legislations. Second, stakeholders were classified, and the metrics were assigned accordingly. A survey questionnaire was distributed to various stakeholders, and responses regarding construction projects were also provided. Third, metrics were selected using the rough set theory and compared with pre-selected metrics with inputs from general contractors. Fourth, an SR evaluation framework consisting of 37 issues was proposed for construction companies to provide guidance for construction corporations to effectively perform SR at the project level. Lastly, a case study was also performed to validate the effectiveness of this framework.
Along with the recent real estate development in major cities of Australia, sustainable construction is one of the measures being implemented to reduce negative impacts of the construction industry on the environment, society, and economy. However, there is a lack of detailed review of this kind of important studies that is critical to Australian future endeavour.
Mountain farmers face additional structural constraints (e.g., steep slopes, high elevations, fragmented fields) along with the regular risks inherent to agriculture, such as economic fluctuations. We thus hypothesized that simultaneously producing dairy and beef herds (i.e., “mixed cattle systems”) on mountain farms is a good compromise between a farm's expected profits and the variation in these profits. To explore the profit stability of mixed cattle systems in the face of price variations, we used the bioeconomic optimization model Orfee to simulate one farm strategy: adjusting the number of cattle. The model simulated three mixed cattle systems (dairy and beef herds) and two specialized cattle systems (dairy or beef herd) on two farms in southern Auvergne (France) that differed in agronomic potential, field configurations and animal productivity. A local sensitivity analysis of beef, milk and feed price was combined with a global sensitivity analysis based on metamodels. Results indicated that the number of cattle was adjusted as a function of resource availability, farm structure, and product prices on the market. Compared to specialized systems, mixed cattle systems usually seemed an effective strategy to manage economic risk, with good compromise between expected profits and variation in profits.
The rapid urbanization process in China has given rise to a number of sustainability issues, including land shortages, concentrated areas of poverty, inefficient land use, and environmental pollution. Urban redevelopment has been identified as an effective method for addressing these issues and establishing new modes of sustainable urban development. In practice, urban redevelopment projects typically involve a range of stakeholders with competing claims. Managing the conflicting interests of these stakeholders presents a significant challenge to the success of urban redevelopment. In this study, we proposed a model for analyzing stakeholder conflicts in urban redevelopment projects based on the stakeholder salience theory and Pawlak's conflict theory. In this model, the attributes, key concerns, and attitudes of different stakeholders are captured by empirical investigation and salience analysis. Stakeholder conflicts are then quantified using Pawlak's conflict theory with consideration of stakeholder specifics. Finally, an action scheme is generated that mitigates stakeholder conflicts and maximizes project benefits. To evaluate its effectiveness, we applied this model to a real redevelopment project in the Wenzhou Ecological Park. The results indicate that this model can be used to balance the interests of stakeholders and reduce stakeholder conflicts in urban redevelopment projects in China.
Winner of PMI’s 2011 David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award Detailing cutting-edge green techniques and methods, this book teaches project managers how to maximize resources and get the most out of limited budgets. It supplies proven techniques and best practices in green project management, including risk and opportunity assessments. With illustrative case studies and insights from acknowledged leaders in green project management, the text: Explains how to tap into green incentives, including grants, rebates, and tax credits Includes case studies that illustrate how to integrate green techniques and methods to generate cost savings and maximize resources Provides green techniques that take little time to implement, can benefit all types of projects, and can generate immediate savings to your project’s bottom line Praise for: A first-of-its-kind book … a must-read for senior executives as well as project managers. -Harold Kerzner, Ph.D., Senior Executive Director for Project Management at The International Institute for Learning … an impressive piece of work. -Jean Binder, PMP, MBA, award-winning author (David I. Cleland Literature Award, 2008) This important book defines the green field and sets out the steps for those who want to be ahead of the crowd… -Dr. David Hillson, PMP, FAPM, FIRM, MCMI, Director of Risk Doctor & Partners … an incredible call to arms to increase your project greenality for a better world, or a bigger pay check, if you’re still cynical on this topic. -Bas de Baar, ProjectShrink.com … an excellent job of making the reader aware of how much influence a single project manager, let alone an entire discipline, can have on improving our environment. -Professor Schwalbe, Department of Business Administration, Augsburg College.
This study aims to investigate the cost premiums and cost performance of green building projects. After an extensive literature review, relevant data from 242 traditional and 121 green building projects performed by 30 different companies were collected through a survey in Singapore. The results indicate that the green cost premiums range from 5% to 10% and that project type and size are significant factors affecting the cost premiums. Furthermore, the cost performance is mostly over budget, ranging from 4.5% to 7%. Finally, this study proposes some feasible solutions for cost premiums reduction and cost performance improvement.
Environmental challenges and risks associated with climate change face all of our cities, and the construction industry has a major role to play in terms of changed practice. The Singaporean government has, over a period of many decades, made efforts to address environmental challenges including the implementation in recent years of policies and guidance regarding the design of new buildings. These are regarded as vital to ensuring that the city has a sustainable future. The research reported in this paper undertook to review perceptions and awareness of sustainable construction methods and policies within the Singaporean construction industry. An in-depth online questionnaire was completed by respondents drawn from the A1 contractors group, with questions concerning both regulation and industrial perceptions, attitudes and action. With regards to the relative importance of drivers for change, the research indicated that regulatory compliance appeared to be more significant than new practices instigated as a results of changes in attitude and perception alone. A main conclusion of the paper is that government regulatory and incentive programmes may be able to drive positive change effectively and efficiently, but that this needs to happen alongside initiatives to support Client awareness and adoption of sustainable practice.
The construction sector has long recognised the decisive role of the various phases of the building lifecycle in the global environment. The identification of the construction environmental impacts is a significant progress for the development of a sustainable supply chain related to the raw material consumption and the construction and demolition waste (C&DW) generation. In this sense, circular economics' principles have solid potential to address these challenges in all European Union countries and especially in France. Nowadays, input-output (I/O) modelling covers the analysis of waste generation (WIO). As the supply chain of the building construction process is complex and has several related activities, and in a preliminary moment a conceptual model was developed, this approach provided an assessment of the mitigation actions of C&DW generation in France. This evaluation shows some positive waste reduction of several materials in the construction process, especially in concrete, metal, rock/rubble and sand/soil. However, the same study exhibits that even materials that can be recycled in the construction process, e.g., concrete, plastic, and metal, might not have a positive waste reduction during demolition due to the lack of proper waste separation and contamination during the process.
“Building production” technology, i.e. construction automation and robotics (CAR), is on a worldwide level increasingly recognized as stating a key element of the future of construction, although CAR up to date has never experienced large-scale real-world implementation. However, the recent significantly growing demand for sustainability has the potential to serve as the necessitated trigger for CAR's large-scale deployment. In that context, systematic guidance for the construction industry is however missing, and there have been limited attempts to thoroughly investigate the impacts of utilizing CAR with regard to the sustainability performance of construction and buildings. The research presented in this paper makes a first step to fill this research gap by reviewing and investigating the available CAR strategies and technologies and developing for the first time a consistent framework of indicators for assessing the sustainability performance of utilizing CAR for buildings. The overall goal of the research is to develop, through this framework, a robust and reliable assessment method that can be used in the industrial context to assess the sustainability of building construction projects that consider using CAR. Beyond the development of the indicator framework, the research plan adopting the V-Model approach foresees to translate the framework into an assessment method which will then in several iteration cycles be verified and validated in real world.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a collaborative framework for balancing stakeholder power and social responsibilities in construction projects. To resolve the problems of unclear responsibility that is common in construction projects, the framework is designed to help stakeholders identify their roles in various issues and to facilitate collaborative endeavours by elucidating their responsibilities.
Design/methodology/approach
The framework is designed using a scientific approach based on a problem-solution paradigm. It is developed as a model that would provide strategies for responding to various issues and that would also balance stakeholder responsibilities with power. A case study is conducted to validate the framework in an ongoing real estate project in China.
Findings
The effectiveness of the framework is validated from the case study, which found that the engagement of stakeholders is improved by adopting the framework. It is also found that use of the framework led to enhancement of communication and trust, and better collaboration through a collective form of responsibility.
Originality/value
The study provides valuable insights into stakeholder collaboration on social responsibility issues in construction projects. The dynamic nature of stakeholders is addressed, and an easy-to-follow framework is offered for use in construction projects.
This book focuses on the implementation of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) in the construction industry as a tool to help building designers arrive at optimal decisions for external envelope systems with sustainable and buildable design goals. In particular, the book integrates special features into the conventional QFD tool to enhance its performance. These features include a fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making method, fuzzy consensus scheme, and Knowledge Management System (KMS). This integration results in a more robust decision support tool, known as the Knowledge-based Decision Support System QFD (KBDSS-QFD) tool. As an example, the KBDSS-QFD tool is used for the assessment of building envelope materials and designs for high-rise residential buildings in Singapore in the early design stage. The book provides the reader with a conceptual framework for understanding the development of the KBDSS-QFD tool. The framework is presented in a generalized form in order to benefit building professionals, decision makers, analysts, academics and researchers, who can use the findings as guiding principles to achieve optimal solutions and boost efficiency.
The aim of this research is to customize the categories and criteria points of well-known sustainability assessment tools regarding the priorities in sustainability concerns of Iran in order to develop an Iranian sustainability assessment tool suitable for residential buildings. Therefore, common sustainability indicators of LEED, BREEAM, CASBEE and SBTool will be used as benchmarks for the evaluation process by Iranian professional experts to revise the points allocated in Iranian assessment tool. For the revision of the points in accordance with Iranian sustainability needs, FAHP method (Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process) will be conducted. Afterwards, Iranian sustainability assessment tool, consisting of six levels of certification with categories and criteria points, has been designed to promote sustainability in the residential buildings. The reliability of the assessment tool has been confirmed by comparing performance sensitivity with the existing assessment tools in terms of the points given to each category. This will encourage Iranian construction practitioners to be more aware of worldwide sustainability assessment tools and of the way to implement sustainability in their residential building projects. Results can be a basis for further investigations on other indicators which are crucial for sustainability concerns of Iran and would provide a platform for inspiration of further sustainability solutions. Introduction of the priority weights of sustainability fundamentals will be a reference for further developing a more holistic assessment tool, considering more dimensions such as economic and social sustainability issues regarding Iranian residential buildings.
Construction industries have significant impacts on the economy, society and environment. To transform construction industry towards sustainability, construction enterprises' perceptions and performance on sustainability needs to be understood and evaluated, which has not be fully explored by existing studies. This paper holistically examines the Chinese construction enterprises’ attitude towards and performance on various aspects of sustainability (e.g. the economic, social and environmental aspects) in order to identify those aspects the firms perceive to be the most and least important and those aspects the firms perform best and worst on. The associations among the sustainability attitude, sustainability performance, and firm size are also explored. The findings show that quality management and customer service are perceived as the most important as well as the best-performed aspects by the firms while supporting community development is the least important and worst-performed aspect. Sustainability attitude is positively correlated with performance, and larger firms tend to have better sustainability performance than that of small ones. However, larger construction firms do not necessarily perceive sustainability more important. This study provides a useful reference for policy makers and researchers to understand how sustainability is perceived and implemented by the Chinese construction firms.
Purpose
Purpose: While the general trends in Green Building (GB) research are known there is not yet a detailed review of studies on Project Delivery Attributes (PDAs) influencing GB project outcomes. In this study, literature is reviewed to understand the contributions of existing research in this area and to identify the challenges, gaps and lessons for the future research relating GB project delivery.
Design/methodology/approach
Methodology: For the systematic review, specially developed coding based on Boolean operators is used to search for relevant studies in major databases i.e. Web of Science and Scopus. The studies from the initial search (443 nos.) are subjected to two rounds of scrutiny for shortlisting only relevant publications. Using a qualitative review of the shortlisted studies (20 nos.), the research objectives and findings of the studies are synthesized and critically analyzed. The contributions and challenges facing research in this area are identified. Future research directions are proposed.
Findings
Findings: Studies in the area have established association between PDAs and various GB project success criteria. In the literature, some PDAs such as Project Delivery Method (PDM) have been given greater attention than others. Challenges facing PDA research in GB include: the limited number of GB project cases and the complexity of GB project delivery process involving an overwhelmingly large number of variables, thereby limiting scientific rigor and creating some gaps in knowledge. The interaction among PDAs and their cumulative effect on various project performance outcomes/metrics have not been studied, limiting the validity of the existing studies. Scope exists to apply a combination of non-linear, dynamic, probabilistic, explicit and implicit modeling as well as inductive and deductive approaches to research in this area.
Research limitations/implications
Research implications: Existing research findings have limited application in practice. Non-linear, dynamic, probabilistic, deductive and inductive research techniques and approaches can substantially advance knowledge and lead to plausible findings that can be applied in practice.
Originality/value
Value: Considering the critical role of PDAs in the successful delivery of green buildings, the review provides clear directions for future research.
The Green Building (GB) certification process embodies detailed requirements and specifications that lead to additional tasks for project teams, which increases complexity levels of the entire project delivery process. Previous studies show that if the GB certification credits to be fulfilled are selected without considering project team attributes, then elevated levels of time, money, and labor could get wasted while attempting to meet the additional requirements of GB certification. The aim of this study is to develop a multi-attribute decision making (MADM) support tool to be used by GB experts to select the appropriate GB certification credits based on the project team attributes. The developed framework with relative weights assigned via the Delphi method was used to perform the MADM analysis, which employs the hybrid use of the Multi Attribute Utility Technique (MAUT) and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS). This paper presents the developed MADM tool (i.e., GB-CS tool) and the relative weights of the attributes that were determined following expert opinions. To validate the tool, a case study was conducted at a LEED-registered residential project. The results show that the GB-CS Tool was successful in ranking the GB certification credits to be selected. This hybrid MADM tool can be used for preventing disruptions and bottlenecks in GB project delivery processes by assisting the owners/GB consultants in effectively selecting suitable GB certification credits based on the project team attributes. Thus, with the assistance of the GB-CS tool, root causes of waste can be mitigated in the GB project delivery process, decreasing associated hidden costs.
Sustainability is one of the most important challenges of our time. It is recognized that projects play a pivotal role in the realization of more sustainable business practices and a developing theme in project management research is the relationship between projects and sustainability. As the literature on this topic is evolving, this paper discusses the question whether the growing attention for sustainability in project management research represents a new ‘school of thought’ in project management? The study builds upon earlier work on schools of project management research, in which nine schools were identified. The question whether sustainability should be considered a new school of project management is answered by deriving the criteria for recognition as a school and performing a structured literature review on a sample of 71 articles on sustainability in project management, taken from the leading academic journals on this topic. As criteria for recognition as a school of project management, the criteria content, community and impact were found. After a content analysis of the articles in the sample, the conclusion is reached that sustainability qualifies a new, distinct and emerging school of thinking in project management. The defining characteristics of this sustainability school are: considering Projects in a societal perspective, having a Management for stakeholders approach, applying Triple bottom line criteria, and taking a Values based approach to projects and project management.
The paper contributes to the theoretical debate on stakeholder management within project-oriented organizations. Despite acknowled