Interrelationships of factors causing delays in the relocation of utilities

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aneetha Vilventhan ◽  
Satyanarayana N. Kalidindi
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Mapping Technique ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Underground Utilities ◽  
The Impact

Purpose – Relocation of utilities is a major source of delay in Indian infrastructure projects. This delay is particularly critical in road and bridge construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify the various factors and also the interrelationships between the factors which influence the delays in the relocation of utilities. Design/methodology/approach – Case studies were conducted on 11 road and bridge projects in India with varying levels of complexity and size. Factors causing relocation delays were identified using computer aided qualitative analysis methodology. Cognitive mapping technique was used to map the interrelationships between the factors and to identify the critical delay factors. Findings – Factors affecting delays were identified across two groups, namely, technical and organizational factors. The study offers insights into the kinds of interactions of factors that can lead to delays in a project. The critical factors causing delays were identified as slow response from utility agencies, difficulty in identification of underground utilities, lack of information on underground utilities and conflict between agencies. Research limitations/implications – The limitations of the study are that the interview respondents are not evenly distributed among the type of organizations which may have induced some bias in responses. The impact of the utility relocation delays on the overall project delay has to be detailed further. Practical implications – The interrelationships between factors has the potential to help the officials of highway department, contractors, utility agencies and others understand how various interactions/linkages of factors contributes to delays in utility relocations. Recommendations are provided for the practical use and to reduce the impact of delays. Originality/value – Utility relocation has received very little attention in the extant literature and this paper seeks to contribute to knowledge in this area by identifying the linkages between factors and the critical factors of utility relocation delays in India.

Critical factors affecting the performance of large construction projects in developing countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 531-556
Author(s):  
Djoen San Santoso ◽  
Polwatta Gallage Madusha Piumal Gallage
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Qualitative Methods ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Critical Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Methods

Purpose This paper aims to analyse the factors affecting the performance of large construction projects in Sri Lanka. The causes, impacts and mitigations in association with the critical factors are explored and discussed. Design/methodology/approach The research focuses on the evaluation and perspectives of clients and contractors of large projects in Sri Lanka. Combined quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in this research. Initially, a questionnaire survey was conducted with clients and contractors involved in large projects to evaluate the factors affecting the performance of projects and to identify the ten most critical factors. Interviews with the clients and contractors of three large projects were conducted to examine the causes and impacts of the critical factors and the approaches used to mitigate them. Findings Significant differences in the factors were observed for more than 40 per cent of the total factors under study, the contractors assigning more weight to most of the factors than the clients. The study identified nine internal factors and one external factor as the critical factors. Of these, seven were related to the contractors, which suggested that the contractors have greater roles in defining performance. Lack of management and technical skills of the parties involved, human capacity, lack of understanding and knowledge of the local context, changes in government policies and political interference were identified as significant causes of the critical factors. Originality/value The study analysed the factors affecting the performance of large projects in Sri Lanka, which, at the time of research, had just ended a 26-year-long civil war and was pushing the construction of large projects to be competitive. The challenges faced in this effort were explored as lessons learnt that might improve the efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure development in Sri Lanka. The combined quantitative and qualitative methods applied in this study are expected to provide new insights in the project performance research, especially the interviews of the critical factors to gain an understanding on how the factors occurred and manifested themselves in real projects. The findings are, however, expected to be applicable to other developing countries that are currently aggressively developing their large infrastructure.

Configurations of factors affecting triage decision-making

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (10) ◽  
pp. 2148-2171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Ponsiglione ◽  
Adelaide Ippolito ◽  
Simonetta Primario ◽  
Giuseppe Zollo
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Fuzzy Set ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Triage Decision ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the configuration of factors affecting the accuracy of triage decision-making. The contribution of the work is twofold: first, it develops a protocol for applying a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) in the context of triage decision-making, and second, it studies, through two pilot cases, the interplay between individual and organizational factors in determining the emergence of errors in different decisional situations. Design/methodology/approach The methodology adopted in this paper is the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). The fuzzy-set variant of QCA (fsQCA) is implemented. The data set has been collected during field research carried out in the Emergency Departments (EDs) of two Italian public hospitals. Findings The results of this study show that the interplay between individual and contextual/organizational factors determines the emergence of errors in triage assessment. Furthermore, there are some regularities in the patterns discovered in each of the investigated organizational contexts. These findings suggest that we should avoid isolating individual factors from the context in which nurses make their decisions. Originality/value Previous research on triage has mainly explored the impact of homogeneous groups of factors on the accuracy of the triage process, without considering the complexity of the phenomenon under investigation. This study outlines the need to consider the not-linear relationships among different factors in the study of triage’s decision-making. The definition and implementation of a protocol to apply fsQCA to the triage process in EDs further contributes to the originality of the research.

Marketing geographical indication products in the digital age: a holistic perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Bartoli ◽  
Enrico Bonetti ◽  
Alberto Mattiacci
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Mapping ◽  
Virtual Space ◽  
Mapping Technique ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Agriculture Sector ◽  
Stress Changes ◽  
Key Concepts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis paper analyses the impact of digitalization in the marketing of geographic indication (GI) products. Specifically, the objective is to provide a systemic and comprehensive view of marketing issues and challenges arising from evolving digitalization in the agriculture sector.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed an explorative cognitive mapping technique on a sample of key informants among Italian companies and a consortium of registered food, spirits and wine products.FindingsThis study describes the key concepts dominant in the discourse of informants concerning digitalization and its influence on the GI market. Three clusters and two loops were also identified to explain the relationship among key concepts, which stress changes regarding the relationship with the consumer, product experience and innovation, and the integration between physical and virtual space.Research limitations/implicationsThis is the first attempt to apply cognitive maps to GIs. However, the study does have limitations: it was conducted on a small number of producers and was restricted to only Italy. Another limitation is that interviews were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic.Practical implicationsThe results suggest important practical implications that stress the need for learning and increased digital competences for the efficient embedding of digital technologies in all business areas, increase product value and innovation, and the need for governance in support of digital transformation.Originality/valueThis work creates the new and valuable literature on food marketing and, specifically, on a changing market environment resulting from digitalization, by providing a holistic overview of digitalization in reference to the marketing of GIs.

scholarly journals Understanding consumer loyalty to technology-based self-services with credence qualities

2015 ◽  
Vol 29 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 522-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Schuster ◽  
Judy Proudfoot ◽  
Judy Drennan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Services ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Responses ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Behavioral Loyalty ◽  
Behavioral Domain ◽  
Continued Use ◽  
Self Service ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

Purpose – This paper aims to use the Model of Goal-Directed Behavior (MGB) to examine the factors affecting consumers’ continued use of emerging technology-based self-services (TBSSs) with credence qualities. Professional services, which traditionally require specialized knowledge and high levels of interpersonal interaction to produce owing to their credence qualities, are increasingly delivered via self-service technologies. Health services delivered via mobile devices, for example, facilitate self-care without direct involvement from health professionals. Design/methodology/approach – A mental health service delivered via the Internet and mobile phone, myCompass, was selected as the research context. Twenty interviews were conducted with users of myCompass and the data were thematically analyzed. Findings – The findings of the study showcase the unique determinants of consumers’ continued use of TBSSs with credence qualities relative to the more routine services which have been the focus of extant research. The findings further provide support for the utility of the MGB in explaining service continuance, although the importance of distinguishing between extrinsic and intrinsic motivational components of behavioral desire and capturing the impact of social influence beyond subjective norms is also highlighted. Originality/value – This study contributes to recent research examining differences in consumer responses across TBSSs and behavioral loyalty to these services. It also provides empirical evidence for broadening and deepening the MGB within this behavioral domain.

Increasing revenue and attendance in Canadian Baptist churches

2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 1071-1089
Author(s):  
Alan Chan ◽  
Bruce G. Fawcett ◽  
Shu-Kam Lee
Keyword(s):  
Church Health ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Baptist Churches ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Simulation Exercises

Purpose – Church giving and attendance are two important indicators of church health and performance. In the literature, they are usually understood to be simultaneously determined. The purpose of this paper is to estimate if there a sustainable church congregation size using Wintrobe’s (1998) dictatorship model. The authors want to examine the impact of youth and adult ministry as well. Design/methodology/approach – Using the data collected from among Canadian Baptist churches in Eastern Canada, this study investigates the factors affecting the level of the two indicators by the panel-instrumental variable technique. Applying Wintrobe’s (1998) political economy model on dictatorship, the equilibrium level of worship attendance and giving is predicted. Findings – Through various simulation exercises, the actual church congregation sizes is approximately 50 percent of the predicted value, implying inefficiency and misallocation of church resources. The paper concludes with insights on effective ways church leaders can allocate scarce resources to promote growth within churches. Originality/value – The authors are the only researchers getting the permission from the Atlantic Canada Baptist Convention to use their mega data set on church giving and congregation sizes as per the authors’ knowledge. The authors are also applying a theoretical model on dictatorship to religious/not for profits organizations.

Policy and institutions facilitating entrepreneurial spin-offs: USA, Asia and Europe

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Caiazza ◽  
David Audretsch ◽  
Tiziana Volpe ◽  
Julie Debra Singer
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Policy Debate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Institutional Settings ◽  
The Usa ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
National Analysis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Cross National

Purpose – Existing work documents the role that institutional setting plays in the process of spin-off creation. However, despite decades of studies, scholars have not clearly explained why some regions are more involved in spin-off activity than others. Drawing from institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to compare different institutional settings identifying factors affecting the general environment capability to support spin-off activity of a specific region. Design/methodology/approach – The authors utilize a cross-national analysis of American, Asian, and European areas identifying factors affecting their different rate of spin-off activity. This study contributes to the policy debate concerning entrepreneurship and how best to spur spin-off activities. Findings – In this paper, the authors identify the general and specific factors that explain the cross-national diversity in spin-off creation. The authors then perform an analysis of the impact of these factors in various regions of the USA, Asia, and Europe, providing evidence for the necessity of specific combinations of these factors. Originality/value – The paper offers a new perspective on the causes of spin-offs through a cross-national analysis of many areas around the world.

Quantitative analysis of the impact of craft worker availability on construction project safety performance

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hossein Karimi ◽  
Timothy R.B. Taylor ◽  
Paul M. Goodrum ◽  
Cidambi Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Poisson Regression ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Safety Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Poisson Regression Analysis ◽  
Incident Cases ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Craft Worker

Purpose This paper aims to quantify the impact of craft worker shortage on construction project safety performance. Design/methodology/approach A database of 50 North American construction projects completed between 2001 and 2014 was compiled by taking information from a research project survey and the Construction Industry Institute Benchmarking and Metrics Database. The t-test and Mann-Whitney test were used to determine whether there was a significant difference in construction project safety performance on projects with craft worker recruiting difficulty. Poisson regression analysis was then used to examine the relationship between craft worker recruiting difficulty and Occupational Safety and Health Administration Total Number of Recordable Incident Cases per 200,000 Actual Direct Work Hours (TRIR) on construction projects. Findings The result showed that the TRIR distribution of a group of projects that reported craft worker recruiting difficulty tended to be higher than the TRIR distribution of a group of projects with no craft worker recruiting difficulty (p-value = 0.004). Moreover, the average TRIR of the projects that reported craft worker recruiting difficulty was more than two times the average TRIR of projects that experienced no craft recruiting difficulty (p-value = 0.035). Furthermore, the Poisson regression analysis demonstrated that there was a positive exponential relationship between craft worker recruiting difficulty and TRIR in construction projects (p-value = 0.004). Research limitations/implications The projects used to construct the database are heavily weighted towards industrial construction. Practical implications There have been significant long-term gains in construction safety within the USA. However, if recent craft shortages continue, the quantitative analyses presented herein indicate a strong possibility that more safety incidents will occur unless the shortages are reversed. Innovative construction means and methods should be developed and adopted to work in a safe manner with a less qualified workforce. Originality/value The Poisson regression model is the first model that quantifiably links project craft worker availability to construction project safety performance.

Factors affecting the delivery of optimum health and safety on construction projects during the covid-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benviolent Chigara ◽  
Tirivavi Moyo
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Project Managers ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Related Risk ◽  
Monitoring And Enforcement

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of construction professionals relative to factors that affect the delivery of optimum health and safety (H&S) on construction projects during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative design which entailed the distribution of a web-based questionnaire among construction professionals, namely, architects, construction/project managers, engineers, H&S managers and quantity surveyors working for contractors and construction consultants in Zimbabwe. The data were analysed with descriptive and inferential statistics. Factor analysis was used to reveal interrelated significant sets of factors affecting the delivery of optimum H&S. Findings Factor analysis revealed nine components/factors: change and innovation-related, monitoring and enforcement-related, production-related, access to information and health service-related, on-site facilities and welfare-related, risk assessment and mitigation-related, job security and funding-related, cost-related and COVID-19 risk perception-related factors as the significant factors affecting the delivery of optimum H&S during the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe. Research limitations/implications The results highlighted the need for social dialogue among construction stakeholders to support initiatives that will enhance the delivery of H&S on construction projects. Construction stakeholders may find the results useful in highlighting the areas that need improvement to protect workers’ H&S during the pandemic. However, the small sample limits the generalisability of the results to construction sectors in other regions. Originality/value The study investigated factors affecting the delivery of optimum H&S during the COVID-19 to inform interventions to enhance H&S.

Exploring sectoral diversity in the timing of organizational blockchain adoption

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cigdem Turhan ◽  
Ibrahim Akman
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Management Support ◽  
Perceived Ease Of Use ◽  
Organizational Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Blockchain Technology

PurposeBlockchain is a relatively new technology. Although it has a high potential to influence organizational strategies for adoption into respective operations, it has not been widely explored yet. This study aims to assess the sectoral diversity in the timing of organizational adoption of blockchain through selected organizational factors.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted based on a sample of 208 IT professionals. The data was collected using an instrument containing 17 questions. The existence of sector diversity was statistically analyzed using the Least Square Regression method.FindingsThe results indicate that, except for management support and perceived ease of use, all the other factors in the analysis significantly influence sector diversity in terms of blockchain adoption timing.Originality/valueAlthough blockchain has received attention from researchers, to the best of the authors' knowledge, there is no published work in the literature that explores the organizational factors influencing sectoral differences in the timing of blockchain technology adoption. Therefore, our work is unique in the related literature since we present analyses for the diversity between public and private sectors by modeling the factors affecting the intentions for the timing of blockchain adoption as part of the organizations' IT infrastructure.

scholarly journals Formation of integrated structural units using the systematic and integrated method when implementing high-rise construction projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 03075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Abramov
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Structural Unit ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
Research Priorities ◽  
Structural Units ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Reliability Criterion ◽  
Integrated Method ◽  
Destabilizing Factors ◽  
The Impact

Development of design documentation for a future construction project gives rise to a number of issues with the main one being selection of manpower for structural units of the project’s overall implementation system. Well planned and competently staffed integrated structural construction units will help achieve a high level of reliability and labor productivity and avoid negative (extraordinary) situations during the construction period eventually ensuring improved project performance. Research priorities include the development of theoretical recommendations for enhancing reliability of a structural unit staffed as an integrated construction crew. The author focuses on identification of destabilizing factors affecting formation of an integrated construction crew; assessment of these destabilizing factors; based on the developed mathematical model, highlighting the impact of these factors on the integration criterion with subsequent identification of an efficiency and reliability criterion for the structural unit in general. The purpose of this article is to develop theoretical recommendations and scientific and methodological provisions of an organizational and technological nature in order to identify a reliability criterion for a structural unit based on manpower integration and productivity criteria. With this purpose in mind, complex scientific tasks have been defined requiring special research, development of corresponding provisions and recommendations based on the system analysis findings presented herein.

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