Identifying supply chain capabilities of construction firms in industrialized construction

Abstract

The heightened risk exposure of construction supply chains (SCs) calls for greater resilience. Focussing on industrialized construction (IC), this study examines how supply chain resilience (SCR) can be boosted through clear identification of the relevant and appropriate supply chain capabilities (SCC) that construction firms would then need to nurture and/or develop further. This study conducted a systematic review of SCC related literature, followed by an in-depth analysis and consolidation of the findings which enabled the development of a proposed action framework for achieving SCR in IC. The results revealed 58 SCC related to IC and mapped the yearly publication trend, publications by country and methodological approaches followed in previous research. Thematic analysis was conducted to categorize the identified SCC into 12 newly formulated constructs. Further, the findings help to identify a suite of capabilities (SCC) to develop value-enhanced resilient SCs in IC and provide a foundation for further research in SCR in the construction industry.

Keywords:

• Industrialized construction
• supply chain capabilities (SCC)
• supply chain resilience (SCR)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

E. M. A. C. Ekanayake

E. M. A. C. Ekanayake is currently a doctoral researcher at the department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She is a recipient of the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme and holds first-class honors in Quantity Surveying, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. Her research interests include Supply Chain Resilience, Prefabricated Construction, Value Engineering and Lean Construction with a current focus on the ‘Supply Chain Resilience in Industrialized Construction’.

Geoffrey Q. P. Shen

Geoffrey Q. P. Shen is a Chair Professor of Construction Management of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has a proven track record of accomplishment of academic leadership in construction management with a special interest in sustainable construction supported by information and communication technologies. He has led a large number of research projects with total funding of over HK$50 million and has authored 260 papers in peer-reviewed academic journals. He is a member of the Engineering Panel of The Research Grants Council in Hong Kong, serving the editorial boards of several leading journals in the field of construction engineering and management, and has been invited to give keynote presentations in a large number of international conferences.

Mohan M. Kumaraswamy

Mohan M. Kumaraswamy has been working at the University of Hong Kong (HKU) for 21 years. He is now an Honorary Professor at HKU and also at University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka. He has been a Visiting Professor in Singapore, Australia and India. His BSc. Civil Engineering is from Sri Lanka and his M.Sc., Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees are from UK. He has worked in industry and led international consultancies. Mohan is also active in construction industry development and professional bodies. He is a Co-ordinator of CIB Working Commission on ‘Public Private Partnership’; and Editor-in-Chief of ‘Built Environment Project and Asset Management’ journal.