Developing a supplier’s third-party relationships and cooperation in project networks

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miia Martinsuo ◽  
Rami Sariola
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Project Networks ◽  
Structural Engineers ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to increase understanding on the emergence of mutually beneficial relationships between component suppliers and third parties in projects, and their interaction practices in the project and potential new services. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative, exploratory research strategy is employed in the context of construction projects, with construction component manufacturers as the focal component suppliers. In total 22 interviews were conducted with structural engineers and architects as relevant third parties, to discover the specifics of component suppliers’ third-party relationship development in construction projects. Findings – The results show the crucial role of third parties in the constructor’s and customer’s decision-making process, and various ways for component suppliers to develop the relationship toward the third parties. The results offer important knowledge about the cooperation between construction component suppliers and third parties and means to increase the centrality of component suppliers in the project network. Research limitations/implications – The research was delimited to structural engineers and architects as third parties in construction projects in one country. Further research is encouraged on third-party cooperation in other kinds of project networks, other kinds of third parties, and the various forms of triadic cooperation in project networks. Practical implications – The results encourage component suppliers to take a proactive approach in developing relationships with third parties, when strengthening their network position. The paper introduces practical ways in which component suppliers may take action toward generating powerful main contractor-supplier-third-party triads. Originality/value – Limited research attention has been directed at third parties and triadic cooperation in project networks. This paper offers important knowledge about the relationship between component suppliers and third parties, particularly in terms of third parties’ expectations and practical initiatives to enhance the relationships.

Framework for enhanced third-party relationships in project networks

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 457-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rami Sariola ◽  
Miia Maarit Martinsuo
Keyword(s):  
Third Parties ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Dyadic Relationship ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relationship Strength ◽  
Project Networks ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – This paper investigates third-party relationships in project networks in the construction industry and seeks increased understanding on how such relationships can be strengthened. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework and propositions on enhanced relationship strength between component suppliers and designers as third parties. Design/methodology/approach – A conceptual approach is used in this paper. Previous empirical research on business relationships, project networks and relationship strength is reviewed systematically, to identify factors required for strengthening the relationship in project networks. Findings – Cooperative practices needed for strengthening the relationships in project networks were identified. The framework on how such practices are associated with relationship strength between supplier and designers was developed. Propositions on strengthening the relationship between component suppliers and designers were stated. These propositions can be developed further and tested in a hypothetic-deductive study. Research limitations/implications – The research was delimited by the choice of designers as third parties. The authors used some excerpts from the earlier interview study with over 20 designers, to illustrate the issues. Empirical analysis was not included in this paper which causes an evident limitation to validity. Additional research is proposed on analyzing the contractors’ and suppliers’ viewpoints to third-party relationships. Practical implications – The paper suggests cooperative practices for construction component suppliers to enhance their relationship strength with third parties in project networks. Originality/value – Limited research attention has been directed at the third-party relationships of suppliers in project networks. This paper offers important knowledge about these less salient relationships in project networks, beyond a simple dyadic relationship in the direct supply chain.

Utilizing the innovation potential of suppliers in construction projects

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rami Sariola
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Potential ◽  
Project Level ◽  
Supplier Relationship

Purpose The manufacturers of construction components and materials are the suppliers in construction projects, and represent a significant portion of their value. However, their knowledge is not used sufficiently when it comes to construction innovation. This research paper focuses on the suppliers’ innovation potential in construction projects. The purpose of this paper is to identify practices for enhancing the contractor–supplier relationship and using the suppliers’ innovation potential in construction projects. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative exploratory research strategy is used in the context of construction projects. In total, 18 interviews were conducted with contractors to discover the experiences and practices related to the contractor–supplier relationship and construction innovation. Findings The contractors perceive that the suppliers have innovation potential, and that they are often a source of construction innovation. The findings reveal business- and project-level practices for enhancing the contractor–supplier relationship and for overcoming barriers that hinder the suppliers’ innovation potential. Research limitations/implications The research conducted for this paper is limited to the contractors’ perspectives based on construction projects in one country. Further research is encouraged to verify the success of identified practices and cover the perspectives of the suppliers, clients and designers. Originality/value Limited research and attention is directed toward the role of the suppliers in projects within the construction industry. This paper offers important information about the part that both the suppliers and the contractors play in construction innovation and its facilitation.

Exploring the effects of studentification on neighbourhoods in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluseyi Adebowale ◽  
Fredrick Simpeh
Keyword(s):  
Research Area ◽  
Student Housing ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
The Body ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Analysis Technique

Purpose The increase in enrolment into higher education and the inadequate student housing in educational institutions has led to the growth of off-campus private student housing in Nigeria. Studentification as a research area has received attention in most countries in the global North, whereas there is dearth of studies on studentification in Nigeria. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the effects of studentification on the residents of selected Nigerian communities. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted an exploratory research strategy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather qualitative data from respondents, who were landlords and indigenous tenants of the host communities of two tertiary institutions. The data collected were analysed by means of the thematic analysis technique. Findings It became evident that studentification has some effects on the communities. Significant positive effects are business patronage and liveliness, while socio-economic-related factors, which include indecent clothing and theft, were noted as the most significant negative factors. Practical implications Implementing the outcomes of this study will contribute to promoting societal ethical values and economic prosperity of the communities. Originality/value The paper contributes to building the body of knowledge on the effect of studentification in the Nigerian context.

Consumer evaluation of ingredient branding strategy

2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 768-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Deniz Dalman ◽  
Kartikeya Puranam
Keyword(s):  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
High Involvement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
Ingredient Branding ◽  
Decision Variables ◽  
Marketing Activities ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Prior research in ingredient branding (IB) has identified several important decision variables consumers use when evaluating IB alliances. This exploratory research aims to investigate the relationship between these variables and consumers’ buying likelihood of the IB alliance and the relative importance of these variables for low- vs high-involvement product categories. Design/methodology/approach A study with the participation of 458 mTurkers was conducted and the data were analyzed using random forests. Findings Findings reveal relative importance of different variables for an IB alliance and that these differ for low- vs high-involvement categories. Research limitations/implications Being exploratory in nature, this research has several limitations, such as using only one high- and one low-involvement categories. Practical implications Results of this research will help brand managers as they make decisions entering an IB alliance as well as with investing their budget on different aspects of their brand, and tailoring their marketing activities for low- vs high-involvement product categories. Originality/value To the best of authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to discuss the relative importance of different decision variables in an IB context empirically.

Corporate political connections, agency costs and audit quality

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 357-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arifur Khan ◽  
Dessalegn Getie Mihret ◽  
Mohammad Badrul Muttakin
Keyword(s):  
Agency Costs ◽  
Audit Quality ◽  
Agency Cost ◽  
Political Connections ◽  
Political Connection ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose The effect of political connections of agency costs has attracted considerable research attention due to the increasing recognition of the fact that political connection influences corporate decisions and outcomes. This paper aims to explore the association between corporate political connections and agency cost and examine whether audit quality moderates this association. Design/methodology/approach A data set of Bangladeshi listed non-financial companies is used. A usable sample of 968 firm-year observations was drawn for the period from 2005 to 2013. Asset utilisation ratio, the interaction of Tobin’s Q and free cash flow and expense ratio are used as alternative proxies for agency costs; membership to Big 4 audit firms or local associates of Big 4 firms is used as a proxy for audit quality. Findings Results show that politically connected firms exhibit higher agency costs than their unconnected counterparts, and audit quality moderates the relationship between political connection and agency costs. The results of this paper suggest the importance of audit quality to mitigate agency problem in an emerging economic setting. Research limitations/implications The findings of this paper could be of interest to regulators wishing to focus regulatory effort on significant issues influencing stock market efficiency. The findings could also inform auditors in directing audit effort through a more complete assessment of risk and determining reasonable levels of audit fees. Finally, results could inform financial statement users to direct investments to firms with lower agency costs. Originality/value To the knowledge of the authors, this study is one of the first to explore the relationship between political connection and agency costs, and the moderating effect of audit quality of this relationship.

Third-Party Actors and the Intentional Targeting of Civilians in War

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 1453-1474 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Appel ◽  
Alyssa K. Prorok
Keyword(s):  
Third Parties ◽  
Third Party ◽  
High Likelihood ◽  
International Treaties ◽  
Trade Networks ◽  
Interstate War ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines the relationship between third-party actors and the intentional targeting of non-combatants in interstate war. It argues that war participants kill fewer civilians in war when their expectation of third-party punishment is high. Combatants will anticipate a high likelihood of third-party sanctions when their alliance and trade networks are dominated by third parties that have ratified international treaties prohibiting the intentional targeting of non-combatants. The study hypothesizes that war combatants kill fewer civilians in war as the strength of ratifiers within their alliance and trade networks increases. Quantitative tests on a dataset of all interstate wars from 1900–2003 provide strong statistical and substantive support for this hypothesis.

Forecasting the schedule performance resulting from the adoption of social distancing in construction projects

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Omatule Onubi ◽  
Nor'Aini Yusof ◽  
Ahmad Sanusi Hassan ◽  
Ali Ahmed Salem Bahdad
Keyword(s):  
Construction Projects ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Schedule Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Positive Effect

PurposeThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had major impacts on the performance of construction projects that have adopted social distancing measures. This study examines the effect of social distancing measures on project schedule performance through job reorganization on construction project sites.Design/methodology/approachResponses were obtained through a survey of 154 construction projects and analysed using the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique.FindingsThe findings established that social distancing has a negative effect on schedule performance, social distancing has a positive effect on job re-organization and job re-organization has a positive effect on schedule performance. Additionally, the results indicate that job re-organization partially mediates the relationship between social distancing and schedule performance, while social distancing moderates the relationship between job re-organization and schedule performance with low social distancing having the stronger positive effect.Originality/valueThis study contributes theoretically to a greater understanding of the impact of adopting COVID-19 safety measures such as social distancing on the schedule performance of construction projects. The study also shows how social distancing could lead to schedule performance through job reorganization.

The effect of CSR commitment on firms’ level of internationalization

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 1415-1432
Author(s):  
Morteza Khojastehpour ◽  
Md Abu Saleh
Keyword(s):  
Host Country ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Content Type ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Regulatory Quality ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has received considerable research attention globally over the past decade. Although a growing number of prior studies have investigated the various dimensions of CSR in general terms, few studies have investigated the critical role that CSR can play in the internationalization process of firms. Design/methodology/approach Using S&P 500 companies during 2004-2014, the authors found that the level of CSR commitment raises the level of reliability of firm and allows further international penetration. Moreover, better regulatory quality of host country is at actual support of internationalization only when considering the short term. Findings Better regulatory quality of host country is at actual support of internationalization only when considering the short term. Originality/value The authors build on internationalization theory and CSR and examine the relationship between firms’ level of internationalization and CSR commitment.

Consequences of “greenwashing”

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 1054-1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Rahman ◽  
Jeongdoo Park ◽  
Christina Geng-qing Chi
Keyword(s):  
Third Party ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Skepticism ◽  
Ulterior Motive ◽  
Intention To Participate ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Positive Direct ◽  
Ecological Concern ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Intention To Revisit

Purpose – This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate, drawing upon influential discounting behavior theory and cognition – affect – behavior (C-A-B) paradigm, consumers’ reactions to the phenomenon of “greenwashing” in the lodging industry. More specifically, this paper proposed and tested a theoretical model that examined whether recognizing the ulterior motive caused consumer skepticism about hotels’ environmental claims, which in turn influenced consumers’ intention to participate in linen reuse program and intention to revisit the hotel. Additionally, the moderating effects of ecological concern on the relationship between skepticism and intention to participate and between skepticism and intention to revisit were examined. Design/methodology/approach – A quasi-experimental design was used with two conditions (control vs ulterior motive) employing staff members of a US public university as study participants. In total, 638 useful responses were received. Findings – The results of this study revealed that an ulterior motive of hotels’ environmental claims evoked consumer skepticism, which, in turn, negatively influenced consumers’ intention to participate in the linen reuse program and intention to revisit the hotel. Skepticism was found to partially mediate the relationships between ulterior motive and intention to participate and between ulterior motive and intention to revisit. Consumers’ ecological concern was not found to moderate the relationship between skepticism and intention to participate in the linen reuse program and skepticism and intention to revisit the hotel. In addition, a significant positive direct effect between ecological concern and intention to participate and a non-significant effect between ecological concern and revisit intention were revealed. Research limitations/implications – Focus on consumers’ response to the ulterior motive of environmental claims advances an understanding of consumers’ attitudes and perceptions about hotels’ green practices. Practical implications – Findings suggest that hotels need to be watchful so that consumers do not become skeptical. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that managers do everything possible to give customers no room for doubt. Hoteliers need to spend more effort in installing comprehensive green programs and make true green claims by keeping the potential consequences of greenwashing in mind. Hoteliers also need to seek out third-party certifications that require the hotel to meet certain standards, which will help ensure credibility in the eyes of consumers. Originality/value – Hospitality literature has seldom explored this gray area of green marketing, and, in this regard, this study serves as a guide to hoteliers and researchers alike. The authors thereby anticipate that this study would encourage more research in this often overlooked but highly important area.

Structural modelling of internal risk factors for oil and gas construction projects

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 975-1000
Author(s):  
Mukhtar A. Kassem ◽  
Muhamad Azry Khoiry ◽  
Noraini Hamzah
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Project Success ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Oil Field ◽  
Path Coefficient ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Oil Companies ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose Project failure is the result of one or a combination of several causes of risk factors that are very important to identify for effective performance. This study aims to focus on studying the fundamental relationship between internal risk factors and the negative effect on oil and gas project success in Yemen using the partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) method. Design/methodology/approach Data collection was carried out using a formal questionnaire survey of the oil field sector in Yemen by companies involved in mega-oil and gas construction projects. A hierarchical model for determining causative internal risk factors and their effects was developed and evaluated using SEM method by SmartPLS3 software technology. Findings The findings of analyzing model indicate that all categories have a significant effect on project success, while the most significant affected categories in the internal risk factors are project management factors, feasibility study-design and resources-material supply with a path coefficient value of 0.213, 0.197 and 0.186, respectively. Moreover, for the hypotheses test, the positive relationship means that all experimental hypotheses are accepted according to path coefficient value analysis. In addition, the internal risk factors research model shows the ranking of effects on project success starting with project stoppage (loading factor 0.841), cost overruns (loading factor 0.818), time overruns (loading factor 0.726) and project target failure with loading factor 0.539. Research limitations/implications The research was limited to the oil and gas construction projects in Yemen. Practical implications Interpreting the relationship between internal risk factors and their impact on the success of construction projects in the oil and gas sector will assist project team and oil companies in developing risk response strategies and developing appropriate plans to mitigate the effects of risks, which is presented in this paper. Originality/value The paper explains the relationship between cause and effect of internal risk factors in oil and gas projects in Yemen, and is expected to be a guideline for the oil companies and future academic research in the risk management area.

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