Martin Morgan Tuuli

Sociotechnical Systems Approach to BIM Implementation in a Multidisciplinary Construction Context

AbstractThe implementation of rapidly evolving building information modeling (BIM) technology is widely seen to increase the level of integration within the construction sector. However, even with the plethora of research and investment in the development and deployment of BIM, its use is not mainstream construction practice and the practicality of the implementation process is not well understood. The purpose of this paper is to explore the implementation of BIM through a sociotechnical systems (STS) perspective, with particular focus on multidisciplinary intraorganizational construction organization. The paper uses a case study approach to analyze the introduction of BIM in a multidisciplinary construction organization that has recently undergone a transition in its BIM implementation process. The STS approach demonstrates how technological implementation and its effects cannot be understood separately from the context of the implementing organization. The analysis shows that, due to the nature of the c...

The role of corporate citizenship values in promoting corporate social performance: towards a conceptual model and a research agenda

Performance of corporations, under the stakeholder approach, is not measured in financial terms only; modern corporations have significant responsibilities beyond those to their shareholders. A value‐laden concept such as sustainable construction, which emerges from a multi‐stakeholder perspective, involves participation of the whole supply chain and incorporates the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR). Creating sustainable habitats has societal as well as economic implications. While the UK government’s Department of Trade and Industry is promoting CSR as a business contribution to sustainable development, many have argued that corporate citizenship takes shape at the point of government failure in the facilitation of citizen’s rights. Recent research demonstrates varying degrees of corporate social performance (CSP) in different sectors and there are differing relationships between CSP and innovation in the real estate and construction sectors. A conceptual model linking corporate citizenship values (CCV) and CSP through corporate behaviour (BCORP) from a CSR and stakeholder theory perspective is developed. The proposed model presents avenues for future research and represents a significant first step towards modelling the important link between CCV and CSP.

Empowering the project team: impact of leadership style and team context

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact of leadership style and team context on structural and psychological empowerment perceptions in project teams.Design/methodology/approach – It was posited that span of control and within team interdependence will positively and significantly influence both structural and psychological empowerment. Person‐orientated leadership style was also expected to positively impact both structural and psychological empowerment while task orientated leadership style was expected to have a negative impact. These hypothesized relationships were examined using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) with data obtained through a parallel quantitative questionnaire survey of construction client, consultant and contractor organizations in Hong Kong.Findings – No significant relationship was found between span of control and any facet of empowerment while team interdependence had a positive and significant relationship with psychological ...

Control modes and mechanisms in construction project teams: drivers and consequences

Control is purposive or goal directed, hence, there are underlying drivers and consequences of the exercise of control modes and mechanisms. In response to recent empirical findings that cast doubts on the empowerment–control incompatibility thesis, the broader question of whether control is predominantly ‘controlling’ or rather supportive in work environments is addressed. Drivers and consequences of control modes and mechanisms in five project teams involved in two ongoing construction projects in Hong Kong are explored. As an interpretive and exploratory study, a qualitative research design and the case study approach in particular was appropriate. Framework, category formation and cross‐case analysis techniques were employed to analyse data collected through documentary analysis, passive observations and semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews. The exercise of control is driven by a range of factors emanating from the individual‐, team‐, organization‐ and project‐level. Control modes and mechanisms also have performance‐related consequences for individuals, teams and organizations and are predominantly attributable to self‐based control mechanisms. Preliminary evidence of the important link between self‐control/empowerment and performance is therefore provided which is instructive for the performance improvement agenda in the construction industry.

Stakeholder perspectives on the value of car parking

Car parking is a routine yet highly complex part of daily life for both drivers and those affected by parking. This paper aims to unravel how key stakeholders value parking, by looking beyond the traditional possibilities associated with supply and demand to help better inform decision makers with their parking related dilemmas, by drawing on a series of in-depth interviews. First, interviews were conducted with eight academics who maintain a research interest in parking, to validate key stakeholders and their parking dilemmas as identified from literature. Second, interviews with 20 representatives spanning an assortment of key stakeholder groups affected by parking were undertaken, to determine their perspectives on the value of parking. The findings indicate that a considerably broader reach of stakeholders are affected by parking than the existing literature suggests, and the process of means by which stakeholders value parking is more sophisticated than previously thought. This new finding dispels traditional beliefs relating to how stakeholders value parking; the article outlines the extent to which such beliefs are mistaken, and provides the foundation for further work to understand the extent of these replacement values.

Role of government funding in fostering collaboration between knowledge-based organizations: Evidence from the solar PV industry in China:

As a knowledge-based industry, the structure of the solar photovoltaic industry is influenced continuously by transformations which originate from technosciences. This paper adopts the notion of the ‘science’ community to include universities and research institutes to examine government funding impact on science–industry collaboration in the Chinese solar photovoltaic industry. The triple helix model of university–industry–government relations for explaining structural developments in knowledge-based economies is often used to depict integration among functions of knowledge creation, business production and governance control at the interfaces in these knowledge-based organizations. Through comparisons between subsidized and nonsubsidised R&D activities, based on 10,366 scientific publications derived from the databases of Web of Science during the period from 2003 to 2013, the impact of government funding on their research collaboration is examined in the solar photovoltaic industry take-off phase and acceleration phase. The findings show that the three helices interact to foster collaboration between the knowledge-based organizations where the government–science link and the government–industry link are fairly strong, but the science–industry link is relatively weak. In consequence, policy-makers should develop more effective mechanisms to foster knowledge diffusion between science and industry.

Social capital in construction projects : an exploration

The concept and phenomenon of social capital has been identified as an organizing logic that can add value to project organizations. In this respect, social capital is conceptualized as both personal and impersonal linkages between individuals in project organization, the quality of these linkages, and the shared representations embedded within these linkages. Social capital provides a means of coordination and collaboration among project participants. However, given the novelty of the concept in construction settings and peculiarities of construction projects, key questions arise as to what represents and are the forms of social capital in project settings? We adopt a mixed methods approach to answer these questions. Data from a survey of 376 respondents and a case project converge into forming a coherent conceptualization of social capital in construction projects. The findings confirm the multi-faceted nature of social capital and reveal the mechanisms by which social capital facilitates project organizing. Social capital appears to be more acutely needed in construction projects. While structural capital provides the platform for information and influence transfer, relational capital provides psychological safety upon which cognitive capital is translated into task performance. We conclude by discussing both the theoretical and practical contributions of the study to the relational governance discourse in project management.

Individual-Level Antecedents of Psychological Empowerment

AbstractThe role of individual factors in organizational behavior has been debated since the 1960s and remains unresolved. Psychological empowerment has been portrayed as holding the key to unleashing individual potential for performance improvement in project settings, yet individuals with values at variance with the principles of empowerment may not be suitable candidates. The relationship between seven factors related to an individual’s cultural values, status, and quality of relationships and psychological empowerment are explored with a sample of project management-level staff in Hong Kong using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM). Results indicate that individual-level factors matter in psychological empowerment experiences in project settings. In particular, culture may be a key boundary condition in making the implementation of empowerment acceptable and effective in different contexts—although the specific influence of cultural values such as power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and collectivism...