Yun Le

Investigating the causal relationships between causes of and vulnerabilities to corruption in the Chinese Public Construction Sector

AbstractUnderstanding relationships between causes of and vulnerabilities to corruption are essential in corruption research in construction because it addresses the fundamental issues of the widespread corruption in the public construction sector. Through an empirical survey, this study aims to investigate effects of the two causes of corruption, the flawed regulation systems and lack of a positive industrial climate, on five various kinds of corrupt vulnerabilities in China. The data were collected from officials, practitioners, and academics involved in the Chinese public construction sector, and then analyzed by factor analysis and partial least-squares structural equation modeling. The analysis results suggest that the flawed regulation systems have a higher influence on corruption vulnerabilities than the lack of a positive industrial climate. The results also indicate that the most influential item on the flawed regulation systems is negative leader roles, followed by inadequate sanctions, lack of ...

From Construction Megaproject Management to Complex Project Management: Bibliographic Analysis

AbstractThe rapid growth of construction megaprojects worldwide has triggered a growing number of papers published in this area in the past two decades, suggesting that construction megaproject management has become an emerging area in the field of construction engineering and management (CEM). This study aims to investigate the status and the trends in megaproject research by conducting a structured literature review. A total of 85 relevant articles identified from eight peer-reviewed CEM journals between 2000 and 2010 were analyzed based on the number of articles published annually, institutional and regional contributions, citations, and categorization of research interests and methodologies. Analysis results indicated that developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Australia, have enjoyed significant advantages in megaproject research because of their greater experience, while megaproject research in developing countries, such as Russia, India, Turkey, and Vietnam, remains...

Investigating the Effectiveness of Response Strategies for Vulnerabilities to Corruption in the Chinese Public Construction Sector

Abstract Response strategy is a key for preventing widespread corruption vulnerabilities in the public construction sector. Although several studies have been devoted to this area, the effectiveness of response strategies has seldom been evaluated in China. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the effectiveness of response strategies for corruption vulnerabilities through a survey in the Chinese public construction sector. Survey data obtained from selected experts involved in the Chinese public construction sector were analyzed by factor analysis and partial least squares-structural equation modeling. Analysis results showed that four response strategies of leadership, rules and regulations, training, and sanctions, only achieved an acceptable level in preventing corruption vulnerabilities in the Chinese public construction sector. This study contributes to knowledge by improving the understanding of the effectiveness of response strategies for corruption vulnerabilities in the public construction sector of developing countries.

Measuring corruption in public construction projects in China

AbstractCorruption has been identified as the greatest obstacle to economic and social development. Public construction projects, in particular, face high corruption risk as public construction sector has been consecutively deemed as the most corrupt one. Despite considerable efforts have been undertaken to measure corruption at a nation level, few researchers focus on the measurement of corruption in construction projects. This paper develops a fuzzy measurement model for the potential corruption in public construction projects in China. Through semistructured interviews with 14 experts, and then a questionnaire survey with 188 respondents, 24 measurement items of corruption were identified and further categorized into five constructs. The fuzzy set theory was then adopted to quantify each measurement item, construct, and the overall corruption level. This model can facilitate in evaluating, revealing, and monitoring corruption in public construction projects. Although this paper focuses on measuring cor...

Understanding Collusive Practices in Chinese Construction Projects

Collusion is of critical concern to the construction sector as it undermines free competition in the construction market. Given that previous research on collusive practices concentrates mainly on the bidding phase, this study extended the research focus to the entire construction period and aimed to investigate specific collusive practices in Chinese construction projects. A total of 22 specific collusive practices in Chinese construction projects were first identified based on a comprehensive literature review and a Delphi survey with 15 industry experts. Then, a questionnaire survey was conducted to prioritize the identified collusive practices in terms of their probability and severity. The survey results indicate that the primary collusive practices in Chinese construction projects are misrepresentation of qualification certificates, loose site supervision, misusing prequalification requirements, fake tendering, approval of the unnecessary change orders, collective collusive tendering by helping one another, the nomination of a particular supplier, issuing certified works falsely, and inflating tender price. The findings of the study not only provide a clearer picture of collusive practices in construction projects in China but also provide a better understanding of collusive practices in other emerging economies.

Developing a Program Organization Performance Index for Delivering Construction Megaprojects in China: Fuzzy Synthetic Evaluation Analysis

AbstractThe emergence of construction megaprojects has become a global phenomenon over the last two decades as a result of rapid urbanization. Program management has been increasingly promoted as a vital approach for ensuring megaproject success through the coordinated management of the dispensed execution of a program at the organizational level. Nevertheless, practicing this method in construction megaprojects is a continual improvement process that requires relevant guidelines and tools. This study proposes an innovative tool to evaluate a structured program organization in conjunction with the fuzzy synthetic evaluation method. Based on determinants of program organization identified from a Delphi survey previously conducted by authors regarding the Shanghai Expo construction, combined with results of further Delphi surveys for the same project, the use of this new evaluation approach in the case project is illustrated step-by-step. With this tool, clients can better utilize the program management app...

Causes of Business-to-Government Corruption in the Tendering Process in China

AbstractBusiness-to-government (B2G) corruption is thought to be a common phenomenon in the Chinese construction sector, especially in public construction projects, inducing many accidents and loss...

Improving Megasite Management Performance through Incentives: Lessons Learned from the Shanghai Expo Construction

As the biggest expo site in history, construction of the Shanghai Expo site faced a lot of challenges, including involvement of lots of investors, megaconstruction scale, concurrent construction mode, involvement of more than 40,000 migrant workers, and extremely tight completion deadlines, among others. Consequently, these challenges imposed great obstacles on accomplishing the safety, quality, and environmental goals. Through a case study of the Shanghai Expo construction, this paper paper presents the design and implementation of multicriteria incentives in megaprojects to accomplish the safety, quality, and environmental goals. Both quantitative and qualitative findings were triangulated to demonstrate the outcome of the incentives. Six critical success factors (CSFs) for the incentives, rule design, process orientation, top management support, training and promotion, communication in process, and process learning and improvement are identified and validated through case study data and content analysis. It is believed that the findings of this paper can enhance understanding of multicriteria incentive schemes in general and provide insights in implementing these incentive schemes in future megaprojects, particularly in the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Investigating the Underlying Factors of Corruption in the Public Construction Sector: Evidence from China

Over recent years, the issue of corruption in the public construction sector has attracted increasing attention from both practitioners and researchers worldwide. However, limited efforts are available for investigating the underlying factors of corruption in this sector. Thus, this study attempted to bridge this knowledge gap by exploring the underlying factors of corruption in the public construction sector of China. To achieve this goal, a total of 14 structured interviews were first carried out, and a questionnaire survey was then administered to 188 professionals in China. Two iterations of multivariate analysis approaches, namely, stepwise multiple regression analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling were successively utilized to analyze the collected data. In addition, a case study was also conducted to triangulate the findings obtained from the statistical analysis. The results generated from these three research methods achieve the same conclusion: the most influential underlying factor leading to corruption was immorality, followed by opacity, unfairness, procedural violation, and contractual violation. This study has contributed to the body of knowledge by exploring the properties of corruption in the public construction sector. The findings from this study are also valuable to the construction authorities as they can assist in developing more effective anti-corruption strategies.

Improving the Outcomes of Public Drainage Projects through NEC3-Based Relational Contracting: Hong Kong Case Study

AbstractSince its publication in 2005, the New Engineering Contract Version 3 (NEC3) [ICE (2013). New Engineering Contract 3] has increasingly been promoted as a relational contracting instrument for establishing mutual trust and for facilitating interorganizational collaboration. However, only a few empirical studies have documented the use of this contract in practice. Therefore, the current research investigates the initiation, execution, benefits, and critical factors in the implementation of NEC3-based relational practices. The lessons learned from this implementation are compared with those derived from the application of the integrated project delivery (IPD) approach in the United States. This study also analyzes the NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract (ECC) [ICE (2005). NEC3 Engineering and Construction Contract] through a case study of the first pilot project in Hong Kong to adopt this new contract. Study findings not only reinforce the usefulness of well-established relational components ...