ORCID Profile
0000-0003-1796-3244
Current Organisations
Murdoch University
,
Hogskolan i Halmstad
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Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 08-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2011
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 24-04-2018
Publisher: Routledge
Date: 10-11-2010
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 09-2016
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 31-07-2014
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 08-2009
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2008
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Date: 2016
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 09-2008
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 16-11-2020
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 11-07-2019
Publisher: Spon Press
Date: 09-02-2009
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 08-02-2023
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 12-2006
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 10-04-2019
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine product innovation as a means of addressing infrastructure shortages in developed economies and to improve the sustainability of infrastructure. The obstacles to product innovation in the road industry are compared between different types of participants in the supply chain to provide guidelines for interventions to improve innovation rates. This exploratory study uses descriptive data from a large scale survey of the Australian road industry. The three top-rated product innovation obstacles for the following four types of participants are examined: contractors, consultants, suppliers and clients. The four groups were found to disagree about the relative importance of the obstacles. Contractors and suppliers ranked “restrictive price-only tender assessment” used by clients as their number one obstacle, while consultants thought there was too much emphasis by the clients on direct costs compared with whole-of-life costs. On the other hand, clients felt suppliers do not do enough thorough testing prior to proposing a new product and disagreed with suppliers about who should carry the risk of new product failure. The conceptual framework was found to yield novel insights with significant policy implications. The construction-specific contextual determinants that were integrated by the authors into a broad innovation diffusion process proved useful in categorising road product innovation obstacles across the four surveyed supply chain groups – without overlap or omission. The new framework also proved useful in ordering the key obstacles across groups for interpretation and discussion. In disaggregating product obstacles according to groups, these contextual determinants were proven to be mutually exclusive and to represent important focal points in promoting the uptake of product innovation in construction. Although the current study has usefully provided quantitative data concerning construction innovation obstacles, there are limitations due to its reliance on descriptive statistics. Future work by the authors is proposed to analyse the relationships between innovation obstacles and supply chain partners using inferential statistics to further develop and validate these early findings. The current study is an interim step in this work and an important contribution in identifying and addressing firm-level barriers seen to be constraining construction product innovation. Results suggest there is a need for government clients to carefully consider the differing perspectives across the supply chain when developing strategies to encourage the adoption of mutually-beneficial innovative products on their construction projects. Inclusive focus groups examining the drivers, configuration and benefits of collaborative procurement systems are recommended to reduce innovation obstacles. Society relies on urban infrastructure for daily living and the current study contributes to stretching infrastructure investment dollars and reducing the environmental impact of infrastructure provision. No previous study has compared the perception of product innovation obstacles across different road industry supply chain partners. This is a significant gap, as differences in opinions across the supply chain need to be understood to develop the shared expectations and the improved relationships required to improve product innovation rates. Product innovation is important because it has been shown to improve efficiency (potentially addressing the road investment gap) and reduce deleterious environmental impacts.
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 02-05-2008
DOI: 10.1108/09699980810867398
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role played by manufacturers of patented products on construction projects. Four projects are reviewed to investigate the research question “How can manufacturers ensure the successful implementation of their product innovations on construction projects?” Using a framework comprising six key innovation determinants, case‐study analysis demonstrates the critical role played by relationships and knowledge‐flows in creating conditions that support project‐based innovation by manufacturers. Such conditions comprise: advanced procurement systems, robust internal firm competencies, performance‐based regulations, effective technical support providers, and project‐imbedded manufacturers. The study was designed to meet industry needs and hence does not emphasise theoretical aspects. Manufacturers can improve the diffusion of their product innovations on construction projects by using relationship networks to promote the above conditions, or to locate contexts where such conditions prevail, or to leverage those conditions that are most favourable. The paper addresses four gaps in the construction management literature: there is very little literature on the role of manufacturers in innovation on construction projects the literature on subcontractors tends to assume easily substitutable supplies there is a focus in the literature on large projects, and the literature is dominated by quantitative studies. By undertaking a qualitative analysis of manufacturers of patented products subcontracting to small projects, this paper addresses the above shortcomings.
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 18-07-2016
DOI: 10.1108/ECAM-06-2015-0084
Abstract: – Collaboration is thought to offer significant benefits over traditional contracts, however there is little existing research concerning how these benefits can be optimized. To address this gap, a survey investigated the impact of client characteristics on the time and cost efficiency of collaborative infrastructure projects. The paper aims to discuss these issues. – The survey of experienced senior practitioners of Australian collaborative infrastructure projects yielded 320 valid responses. Cluster analysis, one-way between group ANOVA tests and independent s le t -tests were used to confirm that three client characteristics are critical to time and cost performance: client sector (public rivate) client experience with asset procurement and client approach to price competition. – Projects procured by experienced private sector clients were found to meet targeted levels of performance, regardless of their approach to team selection. Among projects procured by experienced public sector clients, groups of relatively low and high performing projects could be distinguished, regardless of their approach to team selection. Projects run by teams selected competitively on non-price criteria prior to the pricing stage exhibited significantly better performance than those run by teams that competed on the price of the project to win the work. – This study focussed only on analysis of three client characteristics. Future research may consider a broader range of contextual variables. Results are based on perceptual data rather than objective data. – The findings show collaborative infrastructure clients in the construction sector should be less concerned about inexperience than they might have been, and more interested in single-team selection approaches than they might have been. – The results indicate significant performance differences between client types. In particular, experienced public sector clients had more polarized performance outcomes, compared to the private sector.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 09-2006
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 04-2010
Publisher: IEEE
Date: 2005
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 03-2010
DOI: 10.1002/PMJ.20145
Abstract: Construction clients often use financial incentives to encourage stakeholder motivation and commitment to voluntary higher-order project goals. Despite the increased use of financial incentives, there is little literature addressing means of optimizing outcomes. Using a case-study methodology, the examination of a successful Australian construction project demonstrates the features of a positively geared procurement approach that promotes the effectiveness of financial incentives. The research results show that if the incentive system is perceived to be fair and is applied to reward exceptional performance, and not to manipulate, then contractors are more likely to be positively motivated.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 22-04-2019
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 04-05-2010
DOI: 10.1108/09699981011038051
Abstract: The paper seeks to provide recommendations for construction clients who design and implement financial incentive mechanisms (FIMs) on projects. Four large Australian building projects commissioned by government clients under managing contractor contracts and completed between 2001 and 2005 were examined to explore the “drivers” that promoted motivation toward financial incentive goals. The results were triangulated across data sources, projects and stakeholder types. FIM design should incorporate: flexibility to modify goals and measurement procedures over time multiple goals covering different project areas distribution of rewards across all the key organisations contributing to team performance (e.g. potentially not just the contractor, but the subcontractors and consultants) and a reward amount sufficient to be valued by potential recipients. FIM benefits are maximised through the following complementary procurement initiatives: equitable contract risk allocation early contractor involvement in design value‐driven tender selection relationship workshops and future work opportunities. This paper provides practical recommendations to industry and hence does not emphasise theoretical aspects. The uptake of these recommendations is likely to increase the impact of FIMs on motivation and improve project and industry outcomes. Although the study focuses on government clients of building projects, all the recommendations would seem to apply equally to private‐sector clients and to non‐building projects. In order to improve motivation and reward high performance, clients are increasingly using FIM in their construction contracts. Despite the rising use of financial incentives, there is a lack of comprehensive construction‐specific knowledge available to help clients maximise outcomes. The study addresses this gap in the literature.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-12-2015
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 02-12-2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2016
Publisher: Emerald
Date: 09-2004
DOI: 10.1108/14714170410815060
Abstract: The goal of this paper is to identify the main factors driving or hindering construction innovation. An analysis of the relevant literature indicates there are six primary influences: (1) clients and manufacturers (2) the structure of production (3) relationships between in iduals and firms within the industry and between the industry and external parties (4) procurement systems (5) regulations/standards and (6) the nature and quality of organizational resources. Attention to these factors by businesses and public policy makers would be a key component of effective innovation strategy and policy. Further research is needed, however, to explore the relationships between innovation influences, and between innovation influences and other aspects of business strategy and environment, in the context of broader societal considerations. Further research should also identify quantitative estimates of the impact of innovation on the construction industry.
Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Date: 09-2017
Publisher: University of Technology, Sydney (UTS)
Date: 13-06-2016
Abstract: The housing sector accounts for a majority of newly constructed buildings. Prefabrication, defined as the factory construction of houses or significant components, is widely promoted as a means to improve efficiency. This paper focuses on the research questions: RQ1. What are the attitudes of builders towards prefabrication adoption? RQ2. What types of stakeholders do builders believe influence their adoption decisions? RQ3. What types of contextual influences do builders believe impact their adoption decisions? Current prefabrication research has focused on the advantages and disadvantages of prefabrication, without further unpacking the beliefs of stakeholders that underpin them. This paper addresses this gap and increases the understanding of beliefs that can frame interventions to increase the market penetration of prefabrication. Fourteen interviews with Australian prefabricators were undertaken as a Belief Elicitation Study. This qualitative methodology is framed by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Results show that modern high-quality prefabricated housing has struggled to overcome historical stigma improved construction speed has not and is not likely to translate to reduced totals costs for a majority of firms and prefabrication adoption has been hindered by an almost completely unsupportive industry infrastructure. Recommendations are made to frame arguments in improving short-term outcomes for an industry driven by practical considerations. Future discourse must focus on cost impacts, financial security and risk reduction. Establishing networks of prefabricators that can build a strong, unified voice for the industry should be prioritised.
Start Date: 2011
End Date: 2014
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2009
End Date: 2012
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2012
End Date: 2014
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2011
End Date: 2014
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity