Adrian Bridge

The determinants of the vertical boundaries of the construction firm

In the last few years, transaction cost economics has become a popular theory within the construction research community. This approach has been singularly applied as a means to explain and predict phenomena concerning the construction firm, including its vertical boundaries. However, this is at a time when the chief proponents of transaction costs are urging researchers to take a pluralistic stance in relation to the theory of the firm. The aim of this paper is to develop a pluralistic approach to the vertical boundaries of the construction firm. In order to achieve this, an integrative framework is described, based on the development of the efficient boundaries problem and the capabilities approach to vertical integration. Specifically, this framework draws on the complementary strengths of transaction cost economics and the resource‐based view. It is concluded that the potential relative merits of theoretical pluralism, in terms of the vertical boundaries of the construction firm, are sufficient grounds to motivate empirical testing of the predictions associated with the integrative framework of vertical integration presented.

The use of function analysis as the basis of value management in the Australian construction industry

Function analysis (FA) is considered to be at the core of value management (VM). However, research in the construction industry in the United States and Hong Kong indicates that this fundamental process is sometimes abbreviated or omitted from the VM process. In examining this situation in the Australian construction industry context, the research described in this paper aimed to gather a cross‐sectional view of the role of FA in VM in the Australian construction industry by means of a postal questionnaire survey. The results confirm that FA is not always used in the VM process in Australia. Moreover, the functional hierarchy is preferred to the function analysis systems techniques (FAST) diagram when FA is implemented. It is also found that the greater the knowledge the participants have of FA, the more likely FA would be used in the VM process; while the greater the difficulty in implementing FA, the lesser is the commitment to use FA. In addition it is found that, in many ways, the use of FA and VM in general in Australia mirrors that of its operation (difficulty in applying FA, lack of expert facilitators, etc.) in other countries around the world. Exceptions to this include the length of time VM has been used in Australia and the duration of the VM workshops, both of which are shorter than in most countries.

Empirical Investigation of Factors Contributing to the Psychological Safety Climate on Construction Sites

Employees’ safety climate perceptions dictate their safety behavior because individuals act based on their perceptions of reality. Extensive empirical research in applied psychology has confirmed this relationship. However, rare efforts have been made to investigate the factors contributing to a favorable safety climate in construction research. As an initial effort to address the knowledge gap, this paper examines factors contributing to a psychological safety climate, an operationalization of a safety climate at the individual level, and, hence, the basic element of a safety climate at higher levels. A multiperspective framework of contributors to a psychological safety climate is estimated by a structural equation modeling technique using individual questionnaire responses from a random sample of construction project personnel. The results inform management of three routes to psychological safety climate: a client’s proactive involvement in safety management, a workforce-friendly workplace created by the project team, and transformational supervisors’ communication about safety matters with the workforce. This paper contributes to the field of construction engineering and management by highlighting a broader contextual influence in a systematic formation of psychological safety climate perceptions.

An analysis of construction productivity in Malaysia

The construction industry is an industry of major strategic importance. Its level of productivity has a significant effect on national economic growth. Productivity indicators are examined. The indicators consist of labour productivity, capital productivity, labour competitiveness, capital intensity and added value content of data, which are obtained from the published census/biannual surveys of the construction industry between the years 1999 and 2011 from the Department of Statistics of Malaysia. The results indicated that there is an improvement in the labour productivity, but the value-added content is declining. The civil engineering and special trades subsectors are more productive than the residential and non-residential subsectors in terms of labour productivity because machine-for-labour substitution is a more important process in those subsectors. The capital-intensive characteristics of civil engineering and special trade works enable these subsectors to achieve higher added value per labour cost but not the capital productivity. The added value per labour cost is lower in larger organizations despite higher capital productivity. However, the capital intensity is lower and unit labour cost is higher in the larger organizations.

The Impact of Transformational Leadership on Safety Climate and Individual Safety Behavior on Construction Sites

Unsafe acts contribute dominantly to construction accidents, and increasing safety behavior is essential to reduce accidents. Previous research conceptualized safety behavior as an interaction between proximal individual differences (safety knowledge and safety motivation) and distal contextual factors (leadership and safety climate). However, relatively little empirical research has examined this conceptualization in the construction sector. Given the cultural background of the sample, this study makes a slight modification to the conceptualization and views transformational leadership as an antecedent of safety climate. Accordingly, this study establishes a multiple mediator model showing the mechanisms through which transformational leadership translates into safety behavior. The multiple mediator model is estimated by the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique, using individual questionnaire responses from a random sample of construction personnel based in Hong Kong. As hypothesized, transformational leadership has a significant impact on safety climate which is mediated by safety-specific leader–member exchange (LMX), and safety climate in turn impacts safety behavior through safety knowledge. The results suggest that future safety climate interventions should be more effective if supervisors exhibit transformational leadership, encourage construction personnel to voice safety concerns without fear of retaliation, and repeatedly remind them about safety on the job.

Education for sustainability in construction management curricula

In response to the call for sustainability education in construction courses, higher education institutions have started to incorporate sustainability components into their construction courses to some extent. This research aims to investigate sustainability embedded in construction management (CM) courses using the Queensland University of Technology as a case study. A content analysis of its CM course structure, unit aims, learning objectives and lecture materials is conducted to examine the sustainability elements incorporated into the CM curriculum. The results show that the course incorporates sustainability components into the existing course structure mainly through horizontal integration, embedding sustainability into general units rather than as an add-on subject. Additionally, the sustainability topics embedded in the course cover a comparatively broad and balanced range of sustainability categories, i.e. background knowledge, policies and regulations, environmental issues, social issues and economic issues as well as technology and innovation, although social sustainability aspects need to be further strengthened. This research addresses the need for urgency in the development of an effective sustainability education framework for construction courses. It is expected that the findings from this study will facilitate the improvement of sustainability education in construction courses generally.

Impact of Design Risk on the Performance of Design-Build Projects

Design risk can greatly affect the success or otherwise of design-build projects. This study presents the identification of design risk factors in design-build projects and an analysis of their impact on project performance. A total of 23 design risk factors were identified, comprising 17 factors obtained from an exhaustive literature review and six factors arising from in-depth interviews with five experienced construction practitioners. These design risk factors formed the focus of a questionnaire survey of 500 construction practitioners, which used a five-point Likert scale as the response format. This yielded 150 valid responses for data analysis. Exploratory Factor Analysis showed that these factors can be categorized into six groupings, namely, risk of improper design-team, risk of designer’s lack of responsibility, risk of designer’s lack of experience, risk of inaccuracy or delay of third-party information, risk of improper design scheme, and risk of design change and employer review. Confirmative Factor Analysis revealed that the risk of an improper design scheme is significantly associated with the risk of designers’ lack of responsibility and experience, as well as inaccuracy and delay of third-party information, which has a significant and negative impact on project performance. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge in design-build risk analysis and, more fundamentally, the findings enhance design-build contractors’ understanding of how to achieve better project results through improved design risk management.

The determinants of the vertical boundaries of the construction firm: response

Chang seems to suggest that developing closer relations between Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) and the Resource‐Based View (RBV) is not yet needed. However, we are unmoved in our belief that this development is compelling and remain committed to our approach to pluralism. We disagree with Changs critiques of our approach. We clarify that a synthesis of TCE and RBV along the lines of theoretical monism is not attempted. On this basis, two of the three questions raised, labelled ‘ontological dissonance’ and ‘variable multicollinearity’, are not applicable. With regard to the other question that relates to refutability, Barney has shown that the variables are refutable and Barney also makes reference to empirical work pertaining to RBV. We agree with Chang that TCE is weak on differential production and believe that an acceptance of the coexistence of TCE and RBV is likely to make both theories more successful on the issue of vertical integration. In the end, pluralism appeals as much to us as it does to the chief proponents of TCE and RBV, as a means of making progress in the near term.

Never Let a Good Crisis Go to Waste: Exploring the Effects of Psychological Distance of Project Failure on Learning Intention

Project failure is unfortunate but common in the construction sector. However, as the Chinese proverb says, ‘failure is the mother of success’. In other words, learning from failure can be considered an effective way to prevent the occurrence of failure in future projects. Surprisingly, the learning effect from failed projects is under-examined both theoretically and empirically in construction activity. This research aims to explore the effects of psychological distance of project failure on learning intention by deploying construal level theory (CLT). Primary data is collected by a questionnaire survey of construction practitioners and analyzed using regression analysis. It is discovered that experience of project failure does influence practitioners in their learning intention via psychological distance. That is, the psychological distance of project failure plays a mediating role in the relationship between the experience of project failure and learning intention. Employing CLT, the study contributes to the body of knowledge pertaining to the domain of learning – by revealing the impact of psychological distance of project failure. Reducing the psychological distance of project failure is recommended to promote employees’ learning intention and advance the prosperity of construction enterprises.

Improving sustainability literacy of future quantity surveyors

Purpose The increasing need for sustainability-literate construction professionals has prompted higher education institutions to incorporate a sustainability agenda education into their construction courses. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the sustainability knowledge embedded into a quantity surveying (QS) undergraduate course. Design/methodology/approach Using the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) as a case study, analysis of sustainability knowledge embedded into the QS course is conducted by examining the content of QS course structure, unit aims, learning outcomes, assessment framework and weekly lecture and tutorial materials. Findings The results show that the “incorporation approach”, i.e. the practice of incorporating the sustainability themes into existing relevant subjects, is mainly used in delivering the sustainability knowledge to the QS students. Additionally, it is found that in its QS course, QUT has covered all aspects of sustainability comprehensively from an environmental viewpoint and with regard, to economic, social and governance aspects. Practical implications This research also proposes recommendations for further improvement of the sustainability education in the QUT QS course and beyond. Originality/value This study revealed the current practices and approaches of incorporating sustainability knowledge into QS education programme and addressed the knowledge requirements of future sustainability literate QS professionals.