Roles and functions of stakeholders in implementing energy retrofits in the hotel sector

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 737-751
Author(s):  
M.F.F. Fasna ◽  
Sachie Gunatilake
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Energy Service ◽  
Hotel Sector ◽  
The Right

PurposeThe success of energy retrofits (ER) projects is highly dependent on the involvement of right stakeholders at the right stage. So far, little insight is available from previous literature on the involvement of different stakeholders during various stages of the ER decision-making process, and their roles and functions in the respective stages. This is specifically true in the context of Energy Service Company (ESCO) led ER projects, which is an emerging trend in the current context. Hence, this paper aims to investigate the roles and functions of stakeholders during different stages of an ESCO-led ER project in the hotel sector.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth case study was conducted in a selected hotel building to gain insights into the roles and functions of stakeholders throughout the project stages. To collect the required data, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven selected respondents within the case.FindingsThe study identified nine key stakeholders that were involved during five different project stages along with their functions. Based on these identified functions, four main roles (i.e. decision-maker, performer, monitor/observer, and supporter) emerged that were reflective of the nature of the stakeholders' involvement in different stages of the decision-making process. Owner/client, facilities manager (FM), ESCO and architect attached to ESCO emerged as the key “decision-makers” during project implementation process.Originality/valueThe outcomes of this research would be useful in ensuring the proactive involvement of all the identified stakeholders in respective project stages of ESCO led ER projects in the hotel sector.

The effective outsourcing of building retrofitting: key decisions and motivators

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-384
Author(s):  
M.F.F. Fasna ◽  
Sachie Gunatilake
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Building Energy Efficiency ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
Successful Execution ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Energy Service

Purpose Despite their energy conservation potential, still existing buildings are slow in embracing building energy efficiency retrofits (BEER), mainly because of the absence of a clearly defined process to deliver the BEER projects, and the lack of proactive guidance for project teams. Further, the identification of factors that can facilitate BEER projects is also important to ensure the project success. This is particularly true in energy service company (ESCO)-led projects. Hence, this study aims at investigating the decision-making process, including the motivators for the successful execution of each stage in implementing BEER when projects are outsourced to a third party. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth case study was carried out to investigate the decision-making process and motivators in implementing BEER in a selected hotel building. Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect the required data within the case. Findings Study disclosed the 13 key decisions made and 37 key activities performed in each stage of the project. A total of 19 motivators for the successful execution of the respective stages were also elicited. Ultimately, the research findings are mapped against the five key stages of BEER decision-making process. Originality/value The outcome of this study will provide the industry practitioners a basis for the effective adoption and implementation of BEER in existing hotel buildings when an external contractor is involved.

Involvement of stakeholders in the adoption and implementation of energy retrofits in hotel buildings

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1239-1253
Author(s):  
M.F.F. Fasna ◽  
Sachie Gunatilake
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Computer Software ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Energy Usage ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Project Level

Purpose Existing buildings encompass the largest segment of the built environment and, hence, have become a key target for energy retrofits (ER) to substantially reduce global energy usage. The success of ER projects is closely linked to the effective involvement of various stakeholders within the decision-making process. This paper aims to investigate different stakeholders and their involvement throughout the decision-making process of ER projects. Design/methodology/approach Two successfully implemented ER projects in existing hotel buildings were selected as cases to gain novel insights into the key stakeholders to be involved along with their functions and roles in five different stages of the ER decision-making process. To collect required data, in total 11 semi-structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders involved in different stages of the decision-making process in the respective case studies. Data was analysed using code-based content analysis with the aid of NVivo computer software. Findings Altogether, 18 stakeholders and 7 roles reflective of the nature of their involvement in the respective stages were established. Findings disclosed that the nature of the project, level of knowledge, expertise and commitment of internal staff, type of ownership of the facility and mode of financing have significant influence on involvement of different stakeholders in ER projects. Originality/value The findings of this study are useful in enhancing the successful adoption and implementation of ER through timely and effective involvement and integration of stakeholders.

Constrained purchase decision-making process at the base of the pyramid

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nanda Choudhury ◽  
Srabanti Mukherjee ◽  
Biplab Datta
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Transaction Cost ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Consumer Decision Making ◽  
Base Of The Pyramid ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Consumer Decision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Vulnerability

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors affecting decision-making at the BoP and propose a framework of the consumer decision-making process at the base of the pyramid (BoP). Design/methodology/approach The qualitative research design was adopted to collect primary data. Data collected through the in-depth semi-structured interviews of the 48 BoP consumers in Kolkata and Kharagpur (India) were subjected to grounded theory analysis for theory development. Findings This study reveals that consumer vulnerability affects the decision-making process and the transaction cost at BoP level. It was observed that the consumers at the BoP make constrained choices due to their vulnerability and try to minimise transaction cost while selecting the retails. The constrained retail choice leads to a limited selection of products and brands. Originality/value This study, for the first time, has investigated the decision-making process for BoP consumers in detail. As a pioneering attempt, it sheds light on some new factors including consumer vulnerability and transaction cost that have an impact on the consumer decision-making process.

scholarly journals Outsourcing energy retrofitting of hotel buildings: the decision-making process

2019 ◽  
Vol 266 ◽  
pp. 01016 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.F.F. Fasna ◽  
Sachie Gunatilake
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Energy Performance ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Existing Buildings ◽  
Energy Retrofit ◽  
Energy Efficiency Improvement ◽  
Adoption And Implementation ◽  
Energy Service ◽  
The Right

Poor energy performance of existing buildings worldwide has led to a crucial need to retrofit existing buildings to minimise energy consumption. Among the existing buildings, hotels use as much as 50% of their total expenses on energy and offer significant opportunities for energy efficiency improvement. Yet, comparatively the level of implementation of energy retrofits found to be low, which has attributed to, inter alia, the absence of a clearly defined process for ensuring the delivery of energy retrofit projects and lack of proactive guidance for project teams to ensure that they make the right decisions at the right time to achieve the desired outcomes. Since many energy retrofit projects in existing hotels are carried out with the involvement of an external contractor, or an Energy Service Company (ESCO), this study focuses on investigating the decision-making process in implementing energy retrofits when the project is outsourced to an external party. An in-depth case study is used to obtain insights into the critical decisions to be taken and key activities to be performed throughout the decision-making process. The findings are used to propose a step-by-step decision-making process comprising of three key phases: i.e., pre-retrofit, retrofit implementation and post-retrofit. It is hoped that the decision-making process developed in this study will serve as a roadmap for the effective adoption and implementation of energy retrofits in existing hotel buildings when an external contractor is involved.

Retirement housing for sale and differences in the decision to purchase that are determined by gender or marital status

2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Livette
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Sheltered Housing ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
For Profit ◽  
Not For Profit ◽  
Decision Making Factors ◽  
Retirement Housing

PurposeVarious studies have shown that nearly three‐quarters of older people living within retirement housing are female single persons, leading some researchers to argue that sheltered housing is essentially a gender or health‐related issue, which can be explained demographically. Possible differences in the buyer behaviour of men and women or single people and married couples are ignored. If differences exist, the approaches adopted by not‐for‐profit agencies to improve the decision‐making process may need to differentiate between the sexes and marital states. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to comment on the differences in the process and contrast some of the results of the research.Design/methodology/approachA sample of about 200 respondents was selected from all purchasers of retirement housing in the West Midlands region of England. Semi‐structured interviews were undertaken with 20 respondents.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that differences exist of less than one‐fifth of the decision‐making factors explored in the study.Originality/valueDifferences can limit the number of suitable options for the purchaser. Therefore, not‐ for‐profit agencies, when providing information and offering advice about housing alternatives, need to appreciate differences between the sexes and marital states in terms of the provision of stairs, the garden, loneliness and problems or difficulties associated with bereavement; the number of builders contacted and schemes known; and the awareness and consideration stages of the decision‐making process relating to a number of housing alternatives.

Reducing construction material cost by optimizing buy-in decision that accounts the flexibility of non-critical activities

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 1092-1108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junna Meng ◽  
Jinghong Yan ◽  
Bin Xue ◽  
Jing Fu ◽  
Ning He
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Construction Material ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Material Cost ◽  
Starting Date ◽  
The Right ◽  
Start Dates

Purpose The goal of making buy-in decisions is to purchase materials at the right time with the required quantity and a minimum material cost (MC). To help achieve this goal, the purpose of this paper is to find a way of optimizing the buy-in decision with the consideration of flexible starting date of non-critical activities which makes daily demand adjustable. Design/methodology/approach First, a specific algorithm is developed to calculate a series of demand combinations modeling daily material demand for all the possible start dates. Second, future material prices are predicted by applying artificial neural network. Third, the demand combinations and predicted prices are used to generate an optimal buy-in decision. Findings By comparing MC in situation when non-critical activities always start at the earliest date to that in situations when the starting date is flexible, it is found that making material buy-in decision with the consideration of the flexibility usually helps reduce MC. Originality/value In this paper, a material buy-in decision-making method that accounts non-critical activities’ flexible starting date is proposed. A ternary cycle algorithm is developed to calculate demand combinations. The results that making material buy-in decision considering non-critical activities’ flexible starting date can reduce MC in most times indicates that contractors may consider non-critical activities’ flexibility a part of the buy-in decision-making process, so as to achieve an MC decrease and profit increase.

scholarly journals The identity and role of stakeholders in the medical tourism industry: state of the art

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 559-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Kamassi ◽  
Noor Hazilah Abd Manaf ◽  
Azura Omar
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Medical Tourism ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Stakeholders

Purpose This paper aims to address and identify the major stakeholders in the medical tourism industry, based on their participation in medical tourism activities and their support for medical tourism development. Design/methodology/approach This paper systematically reviews the content of medical tourism studies from literature to identify key stakeholders and address the roles they play in the medical tourism industry. Findings This study shows that the key stakeholders in the medical tourism industry are eight, namely, medical tourists, health-care providers, government agencies, facilitators, accreditation and credentialing bodies, health-care marketers, insurance providers and infrastructure and facilities. These stakeholders strongly influence medical tourists’ decision-making process in seeking medical treatment abroad. Besides, a successful medical tourism development depends greatly on the excellent partnership between all stakeholders. Practical implications This paper sheds light on the crucial role of these stakeholders that can be an important consideration in medical tourists’ decision-making process and industry growth. The study can facilitate policymakers in designing and developing policies to improve medical tourism practices. Originality/value This paper expands the knowledge about medical tourism literature by identifying and explaining the significant role of each stakeholder in the industry. The results of this paper are quite revealing to all practitioners in terms of the potential strategies and medical tourism growth. The study establishes a foundation for future medical tourism research in the rapidly growing industry.

Choosing action plans for strategic manufacturing objectives using AHP

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Chiarini
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Action Plans ◽  
Manufacturing Strategy ◽  
Analytic Hierarchy ◽  
Managerial Style ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Right

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) methodology can help in the decision-making process of choosing action plans linked to manufacturing strategy. The research also analyses the path which some managers followed for defining and selecting the action plans as well as the organisational obstacles and pitfalls the managers encountered. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an exploratory case study in a medium-sized Italian manufacturing company. The authors collected, coded and discussed data from the AHP implementation. Furthermore, during the observation of how the managers dealt with the decision-making path, the authors collected, coded and discussed the qualitative data. Findings Results showed that AHP made the decision-making process of choosing between alternative plans more objective. However, the authors observed obstacles and pitfalls mainly linked to organisational aspects such as creating team and staff’s awareness, involvement and commitment as well as staff’s skills. Other interesting findings are linked to the creation of managers’ consensus and the top manager’s managerial style and how the latter could affect the AHP consistency ratio. Research limitations/implications This research is based on a case study. The findings need to be tested by other scholars and practitioners in different organisations. Moreover, issues such as management consensus and negotiation in manufacturing organisations and managerial style need further research. Practical implications AHP methodology can help practitioners who are dealing with the deployment of strategic manufacturing objectives and who are trying to employ methods for choosing the right action plan. Besides, practitioners are aware of specific organisational obstacles and pitfalls encountered on the strategic deployment path. Originality/value This paper proposes for the first time the use of the AHP methodology for choosing between action plans derived from strategic manufacturing objectives.

Critical success factors for post-disaster infrastructure recovery

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 685-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao Liu ◽  
Eric Scheepbouwer ◽  
Sonia Giovinazzi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Disaster Recovery ◽  
Critical Success Factors ◽  
Success Factors ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Critical Success ◽  
Post Disaster

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to synthesise critical success factors (CSFs) for advancing post-disaster infrastructure recovery and underpinning recovery authorities in decision making when facing future disasters. Design/methodology/approach The seismic recovery after the Canterbury (NZ) earthquake sequence in 2010-2011 was selected as a case study for identifying CSFs for an efficient recovery of infrastructure post-disaster. A combination of research approaches, including archival study, observations and semi-structured interviews were conducted for collecting data and evidences by engaging with participants involved at various tiers in the post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. The CSFs are evaluated and analysed by tracking the decision-making process, examining resultant consequences and foreseeing onwards challenges. Findings Six salient CSFs for strengthening infrastructure recovery management after disasters are identified. Furthermore, the study shows how each of these CSFs have been incorporated into the decision-making process in support of the post-disaster recovery and what difficulties encountered in the recovery process when implementing. Practical implications The proposed CSFs provide a future reference and guidance to be drawn on by decision makers when project-managing post-disaster recovery operations. Originality/value The value of the paper is that it bridges the gap between managerial contexts and technical aspects of post-disaster recovery process in an effort to rapidly and efficiently rebuild municipal infrastructure.

Factors affecting consumers’ online product review use

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 375-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelley A. O’Reilly ◽  
Amy MacMillan ◽  
Alhassan G. Mumuni ◽  
Karen M. Lancendorfer
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Search Process ◽  
Product Reviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Grounded Theory Method

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting the extent of consumers’ use of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), specifically online product reviews (OPRs), during their decision-making process. It also examines their motives for using OPRs.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an exploratory qualitative research methodology involving observation and free-flowing face-to-face interviews with consumers who have previously made a purchase online and who read OPRs during the decision-making process. An adaptation of the grounded theory method is used for collection, coding and data analysis.FindingsFindings confirm previously uncovered motives for consumers’ use of OPRs. In addition, the findings suggest that two previously unidentified factors influence the extent of consumers’ use of OPRs: “decision-making drive” and “decision-making drag”. Decision-making drive is a mental momentum created when one or more factors that enhance decision-making readiness are present. This momentum tends to accelerate the decision-making process and shorten the information search process, leading to a reduction in the extent of OPR use. In contrast, decision-making drag is a mental resistance created when one or more factors that impede decision-making readiness are present. This resistance tends to decelerate the decision-making process and lengthen the information search process, leading to an increase in the extent of OPR use.Originality/valueFocused on the pre-consumption phase of eWOM, between the stages of product need recognition and information search, this study is the first to identify decision-making drive and decision-making drag as additional psychological mechanisms affecting the extent of OPR use by consumers. For marketers, understanding these mechanisms has strategic marketing implications that can provide guidance to brands, websites and online review systems.

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