Anita M. M. Liu

Managing organizational interfaces in engineering construction projects: addressing fragmentation and boundary issues across multiple interfaces

Extensive and increasing specialization in construction has prompted much criticism—that fragmentation leads to poor performance. Such issues are magnified on engineering construction projects due to their size, complexity, financing, duration and execution by many organizations, often from several diverse countries. Theory, research perspectives and findings of boundary management studies are examined in the context of management of engineering construction projects. The objectives are to investigate theory and practices of boundary management; to examine how boundary management operates on engineering construction projects; and to produce a research agenda for studying further, important aspects of boundary management impacting on engineering construction projects. Conclusions are that the emerging theories provide insights but it is the nature of the markets—notably, the diverse objectives of stakeholders and the procedures and their practices in pursuit of self-oriented benefits—which are the main impediments to achieving greater coordination and collaboration. On complex engineering construction projects, many requirements are emergent and project participants co-evolve to yield self-organizing governance as projects progress within an often fixed formal framework. Recognition of performance interdependence among participants is an essential underpinning of commitment and cooperation; development and use of appropriate boundary management through boundary spanning and boundary objects can foster interaction and coordination even with participants’ retention of their individual goals.

Enhancing commitment through work empowerment

Purpose – The research objectives are to investigate the perception of work empowerment of quantity surveyors and to determine whether perceived work empowerment is an antecedent of commitment.Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory study amongst quantity surveyors in four different types of construction industry organisations in Hong Kong is conducted. Data are collected by use of established questionnaires, yielding 136 valid responses.Findings – Organisational commitment comprises dimensions of effectiveness and continuance. It is found that when the perception of work empowerment increases, organisational commitment increases accordingly. Work empowerment is related to affective commitment rather than continuance commitment. Professional qualification and nationality are positively correlated with both dimensions of organisational commitment. Chinese chartered quantity surveyors show more commitment to their organisations. Generally, male QS shows less continuance commitment and the longer the QS...

Is there a relationship between construction conflicts and participants' satisfaction?

Purpose – Construction conflict should not be simply defined as a functional or dysfunctional element in the management process. The second generation conflict management investigates the effect of various conflict types and conflict resolution strategies to project outcomes in detail. The paper aims at investigating the complicated construction conflict management within the goal setting process in construction projects.Design/methodology/approach – In order to collect the generalized data from the construction professionals in the industry, a questionnaire survey was considered suitable for establishing the component elements of research variables. Samples were randomly selected from membership records of various professional institutions in Hong Kong with direct experience in the project management processes involving the client, project manager and other project team members, and they must have experience in a (perceived) successful project. A total of 75 questionnaires were fully completed and return...

Surveyors' perspectives on ethics in organisational culture

This paper investigates perceptions on ethics amongst surveyors working in Hong Kong. Objectives of the study are to develop an organisational ethics model, to examine the dominant and significantly different ethical climate and culture types amongst private‐ and public‐sector organisations that employ surveyors, and to determine any effects of the existence of ethical codes. It is postulated that ethical behaviours have an impact on the final project outcome. The empirical work is of survey design and the data are analysed using principal component factor analysis, correlation and analysis of variance. The results yield a number of factors and the strength of factors present differs between public and private organisations with a large number of respondents indicating uncertainty of the presence of ethical codes.

The power paradigm of project leadership

The concept of leadership inevitably concerns power structuring in which power is distributed unevenly between individuals. Indeed, leadership styles are closely associated with power distribution and its exercise. Power, in its diverse guises, combines inter‐personal and structural elements and may be enhanced through political manoeuvring. This paper develops a model of project leadership from a behaviour–performance–outcome approach to construction projects and concludes by stressing the motivational function of good leadership through managing power gap(s) by means of power‐sharing and power‐amassing.

A framework for assessing organisational culture of Chinese construction enterprises

Purpose – In recent years, China is exerting effort to improve the performance effectiveness of its construction industry. This paper aims to report a preliminary study on organisational culture of five selected construction enterprises from different geographical locations in China and to discuss a framework for developing effectiveness measurement criteria for Chinese construction enterprises.Design/methodology/approach – The research approach focuses on the culture profiles of the selected enterprises which have similar size, number of employees, general reputation (in terms of quality of construction), business type (building works) and tax bracket. The measuring instrument of organisational culture is adopted from previous tested research.Findings – It is found that the hierarchy culture is dominant in four cases; Shantou in the Special Economic Zone is the exception. The Shantou enterprise has a market culture and Shantou was one of the first regions to embark on economic reform. Further analysis is...

Use and misuse of the concept of culture

Culture is an all-pervading construct of human existence but its conceptualization is contested. As such, it is problematic to define or measure culture as different paradigms adopt radically different approaches. Emic approaches are, essentially, inward-looking and, via a constructivist paradigm, assert that a culture can be investigated validly only from that culture’s own perspective (idiographic). Etic approaches are concerned with an outside view, especially for cross-cultural investigations, and so tend to adopt a positivist perspective using surveys, models and dimensions (nomothetic). With increasing acceptance of varying conceptualizations, multiple methodologies and methods of research, founded on alternative philosophical stances, differing approaches to researching culture are pursued. However, several important issues of debate remain and are addressed, especially surrounding the seminal work of Geert Hofstede. Further concerns relate to levels of analyses (notably, the ecological fallacy and its reverse), scales of measurement for data collection and analysis, and their combination into indices. How people adapt to and accommodate different cultures is addressed, including structuring of organizational relationships (alliances, etc.) and the enduring debate over whether culture can be managed and the likely consequences of cultural management endeavours. Thus, the approach of positive criticism is adopted in this review of theory and literature to address the main issues in both the topic of culture and its philosophical underpinnings, and of how research methodologies and methods have been used in researching culture. Aspects of good practice and of less good practice are identified throughout to assist researchers and to stimulate further rigorous research into culture in construction. Primary findings emphasize the imperative of coherent and consistent uses of models and levels of analysis, care and rigour in use of scales and attention to the impacts of language and culture on data from respondents.

Theory and practice in value management: a reply to Ellis et al. (2005)

The constructivist model of ‘soft’ value management (VM) is contrasted with the VM discourse appropriated by cost consultants who operate from within UK quantity surveying (QS) practices. The enactment of VM by cost consultants is shaped by the institutional context within which they operate and is not necessarily representative of VM practice per se. Opportunities to perform VM during the formative stages of design are further constrained by the positivistic rhetoric that such practitioners use to conceptualize and promote their services. The complex interplay between VM theory and practice is highlighted and analysed from a non‐deterministic perspective. Codified models of ‘best practice’ are seen to be socially constructed and legitimized through human interaction in the context of interorganizational networks. Published methodologies are seen to inform practice in only a loose and indirect manner, with extensive scope for localized improvization. New insights into the relationship between VM theory and practice are derived from the dramaturgical metaphor. The social reality of VM is seen to be constituted through scripts and performances, both of which are continuously contested across organizational arenas. It is concluded that VM defies universal definition and is conceptualized and enacted differently across different localized contexts.

Role of Leadership in Fostering an Innovation Climate in Construction Firms

AbstractThe construction industry makes an essential contribution to the environmental and economic development of Hong Kong. However, hindered by various factors, construction has long been recognized as an industry with low innovation. Innovation is essential to the productivity, cost effectiveness, and, more importantly, the sustainable development of any organization and industry. Following rapid globalization, technological advancement, and the trend toward partnering between the public and private sectors, the importance of innovation has increased dramatically for construction firms, particularly for large-size construction firms. However, studies investigating the association between leadership and innovation in the construction context are still rare. Using an innovation climate as a proxy for organizational innovation, this study investigates the effect of leadership on the innovation climate in construction firms. A questionnaire survey was designed and distributed to 300 construction professio...

Procurement innovation for public construction projects: a study of agent-construction system and public-private partnership in China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to attempt to shed light on procurement innovation by examining two state-of-the-art procurement systems in China – an agent-construction system (ACS or in Chinese Dai Jian Zhi) and public-private partnership (PPP), with special consideration given to the systems’ particular political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal (PESTEL) background. Design/methodology/approach – The paper does so by using content analyses, semi-structured interviews, and a “PESTEL-Procurement Innovation” framework. Findings – It is found that PPP has not been as popular as expected, while the ACS, which is little known to the international construction management community, is widespread in China. The study of ACS and PPP further reveals that congruence between a procurement system and its external PESTEL conditions is essential for procurement innovation. Research limitations/implications – The “PESTEL-Procurement Innovation” framework could be a useful tool for devisi...