The recent exchange of Letters in the pages of this journal regarding the theory and practice of value management is brought to close in this issue with a further rejoinder from Green and Liu and final closing word from the authors of the original paper, Wood and Keel. This has been an interesting an stimulating exchange of ideas, and we hope to see more like this unfolding in the pages of this journal.
Chang, Lin, and Tserng use an ‘After the Issue Review’ (AIR) approach to investigate and codify the experience of engineers involved in construction projects, and effectively enhance experience sharing through a web‐based platform. Using a web‐based experience management system, they develop a user‐friendly interface of experience‐sharing platform, through which engineers learn valuable tacit experience derived from previous projects. The utility of proposed approach is examined through its application to a tunnel construction project in Taiwan. They argue that the web‐based experience management system presents a user‐friendly interface of experience‐sharing platform, through which engineers learn valuable tacit experience derived from previous projects.
The competitiveness of contractors in international markets is a vital concern. Zhao and Shen investigate the business performance of Chinese contractors in international construction markets. They identify the Chinese contractors' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Their results show that Chinese contractors' weaknesses are their poor English skill, narrow business coverage, lack of finance channels, shortage of well trained human resources, and disadvantages in competing for large scale projects in international markets. However, Chinese contractors are becoming increasingly competitive, with lower construction costs, good working experiences particularly in developing countries, advanced technologies in certain areas, and support from the Chinese government.
Koh and Low investigate the relationships between the cultural orientations of Singapore construction firms and the implementation of their total quality management (TQM) practices. Arising from a questionnaire survey, four organizational cultural profiles were identified among the sampled construction firms. Each of these profiles was found to be associated with specific TQM practices. They suggest that to fully realize the benefits derived from both the organizational culture and TQM implementation, firms should aim at cultivating a balanced culture which emphasizes simultaneous internal/external and flexible/controlled orientations. They present a strategy for achieving this goal.
It is well recognized that sub‐contractor performance contributes directly to the success of a construction project. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that every sub‐contractor fulfils its responsibilities satisfactorily throughout a project. Driven by a desire to improve the rigorousness of sub‐contractor appraisal, Ng and Tang identify a set of criteria for sub‐contractor appraisal that is acceptable to both main contractors and sub‐contractors. They carried out a questionnaire survey in Hong Kong with these two groups of stakeholders. Using an independent samples t‐test, the perceptual difference between the main contractor and sub‐contractor groups was examined. The effect caused by difference sub‐contractor sizes was also investigated through a one‐way ANOVA test. The authors confirm that the views of these two groups of stakeholders are very consistent, and the effect of different sizes of sub‐contractors is minimal. A factor analysis delineated the predominant sub‐contractor performance appraisal criteria and their latent relationships. Three key factors, namely “team interaction”, “accomplishment of project goals” and “track record” were established, which form a more uniform and transparent basis for the appraisal of construction sub‐contractors.
Sustainability is increasingly a desired feature in the products and projects of the construction industry. Matar, Georgy and Ibrahim introduce a new way of restructuring sustainability and construction practices in an integrated operational framework. The life cycle phases of a construction project, its executing entities, and different parameters defining sustainability are represented in a tri‐axial configuration that encloses a virtual space resembling the operational context of a project. Within such space, any sustainability practice can be linked to a specific entity at a specific timing; thus realising proper definition and responsibility association. The authors discuss different issues and concepts related to the creation of the framework, and an illustrative example on waste management is provided. Construction industry professionals and academics are expected to benefit from using the framework, both for realizing sustainability in real life projects and enhancing the way in which newer practices of sustainability might be integrated with construction practices in a seamless manner.
Yeung, Chan and Chan have developed a Partnering Performance Index (PPI) for construction projects in Hong Kong. The PPI, which is a composite score of the seven most important weighted Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), helps develop a mechanism for benchmarking the partnering performance of construction projects. However, it is likely that different evaluators will have their own semantic interpretations on each KPI. To avoid these potential discrepancies, the authors have established suitable quantitative indicators (QIs) and identified quantitative ranges (QRs) for each of the KPIs to enable objective evaluation. These measures can be used to assess and compare different partnering projects objectively, thus assisting in benchmarking the performance of partnering projects in Hong Kong. Senior and project managers can therefore apply the measures to evaluate and improve the performance of their partnering projects.
To survive and grow in the international construction arena, contractors cannot afford poor decisions in choosing entry modes for overseas markets. The choice between permanent and mobile entry modes is influenced by some factors that are related to the host country. Chen examines the impacts of these factors. He shows that factors such as trade link, investment risk, and host market attractiveness tend not to determine contractors' entry mode. But they are more likely to use permanent entry than mobile entry when cultural distance and competitive intensity are significant, or colonial link, language proximity and entry restriction are insignificant. He also shows that international contractors appear to be adventurous risk‐takers.
Poor project management performance and sub‐optimized practices on construction projects have long been of concern to academics and practitioners, with some comparing them unfavourably to certain other types of project, such as engineering. By surveying 238 UK organizations representing different business sectors and different types of project Bryde compared perceptions of performance and practice between the construction business sector/project environment and others. His results provide an insight into how construction project practitioners perceive their levels of performance and the maturity of their practices compare to practitioners from other sectors and projects. Project practitioners in the construction sector perceived their own project management performance as significantly better than did those in other sectors. Specific practices in which construction sector projects compared favourably against other sectors were programme management and organizational support for project management. While their benefit management and sponsorships practices were no more developed than other sectors. These findings will be of practical use for those working on construction projects in identifying practices where improvements could be targeted at (i.e. benefits management and sponsorship) and for those working on projects from other sectors who might learn lessons from construction sector practices (i.e. programme management and organizational support for project management). For academics the results will be of interest in providing impetus for further research into how project participants' perceptions of performance influence actual behaviour and project performance.