Anita M. M. Liu’s research while affiliated with The University of Hong Kong and other places

Emerging disciplines, such as Construction Management/Economics, inevitably borrow theory and methods from other, more mature disciplines. In doing so, both the content of the borrowed theory and the contexts in which it has been used as well as the new context in which it will be used are fundamental concerns. Contexts have determined the content of theories and impact their applications – including validities and reliability of results and findings. Through a review of leading literature on theory borrowing, this Note discusses the major issues involved and suggests considerations and precautions to ensure good research practice when borrowing theory – content, context, and methods.

Supply networks operate in two primary contexts. Firstly, as horizontal arrays of organisations from which particular organisations may be selected to participate in the realisation of a project, depending on factors such as expertise, resources, workload, and price. Secondly, the selected participants then form a vertically orientated network of organisations with their integration aimed at realising the project effectively. This chapter addresses the nature of culture, both national and organisational, together with derivatives of organisational climate and the concerns of behaviour modification, organisational citizenship, and corporate social responsibility. It discusses organisational citizenship behaviour, the rhetoric of teams and teamwork, and ethics which impact on human behaviour. Relational issues of team formation and functioning, and alliances between businesses are examined as human and organisational contexts through which supply chain participants operate and projects are realised.

Early stage decisions have the greatest impact on construction projects and so, attention at conception and realization of projects is imperative. Decisions are influenced by actors’ interdependencies, thus, it is important to understand how actors determine meanings of their situations and actions. Meaning is derived from situational cues that are contextually bounded and, through actions, determines decisions’ outcomes via sensemaking. The objectives of this critical essay are to examine the impact of motivated reasoning on sensemaking and, thus, decision-making through scrutinising how actors make sense of projects and contexts to yield meanings. The focus of the discussion is on the human interactional aspects of decisions to examine potential bias, effected through the vague goals held by the actors, and the assumption of rationality, extending to bounded rationality, and how that leads to traps/pitfalls in decision-making. The discussion encompasses the concepts of sensemaking and of motivated reasoning in construction decisions from the perspectives of the dominant logic and the dynamic states of flux in the construction environment – in particular, the aspects of open-mindedness and directional bias, over-optimism, and attitudinal predispositions which impact on motivated reasoning of decision-makers in construction projects. This essay concludes that motivated reasoning, as a bias vector, operates to influence how actors arrive at understandings, reach decisions and behave to generate outcomes. The motivated reasoning perspective gives insight into the nature of decision-making in many project processes and the outcomes achieved.

The influences of indoor environment quality on occupant health have long been one of the main focuses in built environment and public health research. However, evidence to this effect has been inconsistent. Furthermore, previous urban studies have indicated the interaction between urban morphology and indoor environment. This study thus goes beyond indoor environment to investigate: i) the effects of neighborhood environment on occupant health; and ii) the mediating roles of indoor environment on the neighborhood environment and occupant health relationships. To achieve this aim, buildings located in different neighborhood environment in Hong Kong are selected. Data are collected by post-occupancy evaluation (occupant health), indoor environment assessment (thermal comfort, indoor air quality, ventilation, visual comfort, and acoustic comfort) and neighborhood environment assessment (neighborhood building density, building height, cleanliness and greenspace) through questionnaire survey. Through correlation analysis, regression modelling and Sobel test, it is found that: i) occupant health is significantly affected by neighborhood building height, building density and cleanliness; ii) the relationships between neighborhood environment and occupant health are significantly mediated by indoor environment, in terms of visual and acoustic comfort; and iii) neighborhood greenspace affects occupant health indirectly through influencing indoor air quality. To cross validate the results of the survey study, which is conducted using subjective data, objective measurements and analyses are further conducted. The objective study, echoing the survey study results, indicates that buildings with lower neighborhood building density and height, and cleaner neighborhood environment have better visual (higher illuminance level) and acoustic (lower noise level) performances.

This study explores the dynamics of a government sponsored collaboration network concerning the development of solar photovoltaics (PV) technologies in China, and investigates the effect of network evolution on the subsequent innovation performance of network actors. Network structure characteristics and attribute proximity variables are jointly examined through a bibliometric methodology based on scientific publication and patent data. In addressing the evolution of the government sponsored collaboration network, this study has identified that actors are more likely to engage in collaboration with prior partners, partners of direct & indirect partners, and partners with similar attributes. These collaboration patterns, in turn, negatively impact direct ties and network efficiency, and increase the attribute proximity of an actor's network. On the other hand, the estimation results indicate that direct ties have an inverted U-shaped effect on innovation performance, while indirect ties are found to be positively related to innovation performance. As expected, a positive effect of network efficiency is found on innovation performance. The results of attribute proximity variables suggest geographical proximity is negatively related to innovation performance. Taken together, the collaboration patterns in the government sponsored network might have a negative impact on innovation performance of network actors. The empirical findings extend the network literature that collaboration network matters differently in different research contexts, and it is no longer appropriate to simply assume that collaboration is purely a good thing. As such, special attention should be paid to the network structure and composition in further policy design.

Commonly adopted green building standards, such as LEED and BEAM PLUS, tend to focus on the sustainable performance of buildings. There is a lack of comprehensive consideration on the associations between building environment and health of occupants, let alone the impact of neighborhood environment on the occupants. This study thus aims to investigate the impact and interplay of indoor and neighborhood environment on health of green building occupants. To achieve this aim, two green buildings, which locate in contrasting neighborhood environment in Hong Kong, are selected for case study. Based on the data collected by post-occupancy evaluation (occupant health), indoor environment assessment (thermal comfort, indoor air quality, ventilation, visual comfort, and acoustic comfort) and neighborhood environment assessment (neighborhood building density, neighborhood building height, neighborhood green area, and neighborhood cleanliness) through questionnaire survey, the results reveal that the relationship between indoor environment and occupant health is significantly moderated by neighborhood building height. The results lay foundation on how the green building standards can be further developed to enhance occupant health by taking neighborhood environment into account.

Information and communication technology (ICT) has been identified as key to enhancing information processing in construction. However, the use of ICT is not always effective due to individuals’ resistance to use the ICT. Effective technology use is the interaction of three elements: the competencies and motivations of users, the nature and purpose of technology, and the characteristics of tasks. This research positions task requirements at the center of person-task-technology interaction. Both individuals’ capability and technology’s functionality need to fit task requirements. The aim of this research is to explore the influence of task-technology fit and person-task fit on individuals’ ICT adoption behavior. This research extends the traditional task-technology fit model by combing it with the construct of person-task fit from person-environment fit theory. The research model proposes that both individuals’ capability and technology’s functionality to carry out the task are crucial in ICT adoption. ICT managers should not overlook human factors during ICT implementation.

Information and communication technology (ICT) in construction facilitates integrated work processes, but low user acceptance of the technology can be a hindrance to its implementation. This paper examines individual’s ICT adoption from the person-environment (P-E) perspective with respect to person-culture fit and person-task fit. An exploratory study with a questionnaire was conducted primarily in the Hong Kong construction industry with 113 valid responses to examine if person-culture fit and person-task fit are contributory to an individual’s intention to adopt ICT, how person-task fit relates to organizational and personal variables, and which ICT type has the best person-task fit. It was found that person-task fit predicts an individual’s ICT adoption but person-culture fit does not. Person-task fit is related to the person’s age, employment level and the ICT adoption period (especially within the first five years) in the company. Person-task fit does not differ significantly amongst the different construction participant groups (contractors, consultants, and owners). The person-task fit of building information modeling ranks the lowest and is significantly lower than the procurement information packages with the highest person-task fit. It is suggested that the person-task-technology interaction models be taken into account in future research to refine the investigation of the role of the ‘person’ in ICT adoption.