scholarly journals Digitalization as a Strategic Means of Achieving Sustainable Efficiencies in Construction Management: A Critical Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5040
Author(s):  
Bahareh Nikmehr ◽  
M. Reza Hosseini ◽  
Igor Martek ◽  
Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas ◽  
Jurgita Antucheviciene
Keyword(s):  
Capital Investment ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Complex Activity ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Business Results ◽  
Management Protocol ◽  
Construction Firm ◽  
Construction Activity ◽  
Multiple Skills

Construction is a complex activity, characterized by high levels of capital investment, relatively long delivery durations, multitudinous risks and uncertainties, as well as requiring the integration of multiple skills delivering a huge volume of tasks and processes. All of these must be coordinated carefully if time, cost, and quality constraints are to be met. At the same time, construction is renowned for performing poorly regarding sustainability metrics. Construction activity generates high volumes of waste, requires vast amounts of resources and materials, while consuming a significant proportion of total energy generated. Digitalization of the construction workplace and construction activities has the potential of improving construction performance both in terms of business results as well as sustainability outcomes. This is because, to put it simply, reduced energy usage, for example, impacts economic and “green” performance, simultaneously. Firms tinkering with digitalization, however, do not always achieve the hoped-for outcomes. The challenge faced is that a digital transition of construction firms must be carried out at a strategic level—requiring a comprehensive change management protocol. What then does a digital strategy entail? This study puts forward an argument for the combined economic and sustainability dividends to be had from digitizing construction firm activities. It outlines the requirements for achieving digitalization. The elements of a comprehensive digitalization strategy are cataloged, while the various approaches to developing a digitalization strategy are discussed. This study offers practitioners a useful framework by which to consider their own firm-level efforts at digitalization transition.

scholarly journals n analysis of social media marketing of indigenous construction firms in Nigeria: A tool for sustainable growth

2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 60-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Afolabi Adedeji ◽  
◽  
Raphael Ojelabi ◽  
Opeyemi Oyeyipo ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Social Media Marketing ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Construction Firm ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Marketing Tool ◽  
Use Of Social Media

ndigenous construction firms in Nigeria operate in one of the harshest economic climates while competing with their foreign counterparts. ICFs require strategic and innovative marketing skills in selling their products and services to current and prospective clients. The paper examined the use of social media marketing strategies by indigenous construction firms in Nigeria; a tool for sustainable growth. The study used quantitative data through a questionnaire survey instrument at company-level. A total ofseventy-nine (79) questionnaires at firm level were utilised. The data collected were presented using stacked bars, radar charts and matrix correlation. The study identified the social media platforms mostly utilisedby ICFs and the major barriers resisting the adoption of the innovative marketing strategy in Nigeria. The perceived benefits accrued to ICFs in the use of social media as a marketing tool differs across the type of social media platforms in use by the ICFs. ICFs need to be concerned about image and trust building through a concerted effort in client engagement on social media platforms to improve their brand and reputation. Social media marketing strategies should be integrated with the traditional marketing plans of construction firm.

scholarly journals Corporate Governance, Economic Entrenchment, and Growth

2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 655-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall Morck ◽  
Daniel Wolfenzon ◽  
Bernard Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Corporate Control ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Institutional Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Control Structures ◽  
Resource Misallocation ◽  
Property Rights Protection

Outside the United States and the United Kingdom, large corporations usually have controlling owners, who are usually very wealthy families. Pyramidal control structures, cross shareholding, and super-voting rights let such families control corporations without making a commensurate capital investment. In many countries, a few such families end up controlling considerable proportions of their countries' economies. Three points emerge. First, at the firm level, these ownership structures, because they vest dominant control rights with families who often have little real capital invested, permit a range of agency problems and hence resource misallocation. If a few families control large swaths of an economy, such corporate governance problems can attain macroeconomic importance—affecting rates of innovation, economywide resource allocation, and economic growth. If political influence depends on what one controls, rather than what one owns, the controlling owners of pyramids have greatly amplified political influence relative to their actual wealth. This influence can distort public policy regarding property rights protection, capital markets, and other institutions. We denote this phenomenon economic entrenchment, and posit a relationship between the distribution of corporate control and institutional development that generates and preserves economic entrenchment as one possible equilibrium. The literature suggests key determinants of economic entrenchment, but has many gaps where further work exploring the political economy importance of the distribution of corporate control is needed.

scholarly journals The Intensity of Knowledge Capital Investment in Kenya: Evidence from Manufacturing and Service Sectors

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Simon Ndicu ◽  
Lucy Wacuka
Keyword(s):  
Capital Investment ◽  
New Product ◽  
Knowledge Capital ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Product Innovativeness ◽  
Service Sectors ◽  
Innovation Output ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Product Output ◽  
Combined Data

The study investigates the extent to which firms in Kenya manufacturing and service sectors invest in knowledge capital leading to innovations. 534 firms were included in the analysis. This was the combined data from the first Kenya innovation survey data of 2012, which covered 158 firms, (2008-2011) and the second Kenya innovation survey of 2015 which covered 376 firms (2012-2014). The Crépon, Duguet, and Mairessec (CDM) (1998) model, which considers a system of four equations: innovation propensity, innovation investment, innovation output and performance equations, was used as the estimation technique. The results revealed that, a firm’s decision to spend on R&D was significantly influenced by firm ownership, financial turnover and product innovativeness. A firm’s R&D intensity was significantly determined by its financial turnover and ownership. A firm’s activity and financial turnover were also significant in determining whether it introduced a new product in the market or not. The results of this paper suggest that a firm’s financial turnover was significant in R&D decisions but R&D intensity did not significantly matter to a firm’s product innovativeness. Further, a firm’s level of innovativeness was a significant determinant of its productivity. In addition, the results suggest that, innovations among the Kenyan firms in the manufacturing and service sectors were heavily reliant on financial capital and were struggling to convert knowledge inputs into product output. This study thus recommends a policy that incorporates the academia and firm level innovation with national innovation systems to enhance knowledge and skill intensive innovations that are new to the world.

scholarly journals Ownership concentration and investment sensitivity to market valuation

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1228-1240
Author(s):  
Ghada Tayem
Keyword(s):  
Stock Market ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Ownership Concentration ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Stock Market Development ◽  
Concentrated Ownership ◽  
Market Signals ◽  
The Impact ◽  
A Company ◽  
Institutional Feature

During the past decade, Jordan has undertaken substantial reforms aiming at restructuring its stock market in order to strengthen its role in promoting investment and allocating capital efficiently. This paper empirically investigates the impact of stock market development on capital investment at the firm level by assessing the investment-q sensitivity. In addition, this paper examines the impact of concentrated ownership, a salient institutional feature of listed Jordanian companies, on the investment-q sensitivity. The findings of this study indicate that investments by Jordanian firms respond significantly and positively to market signals. Furthermore, the results show that a company responds more efficiently to market signals as ownership concentration increases, which suggests that large ownership stakes align the interests of large shareholders with those of the firm.

Failure factors–a comparative study of private and government construction firms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yogeshwar V. Navandar ◽  
Chintaman Bari ◽  
P. G. Gaikwad
Keyword(s):  
Critical Factor ◽  
Private Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Construction Company ◽  
Construction Firm ◽  
Project Failures ◽  
Managerial Experience ◽  
Government Construction ◽  
Failure Factors

PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to examine the failure factors for the construction firms in a developing nation. Furthermore, the comparison of failure factors for private and government firms are evaluated.Design/methodology/approachIn the present study, comparison between private and government construction firms is done in the context of a construction firm failure. About 60 construction firms were selected in and around the Nashik region for the investigation, where a simple multi-attribute rating technique (SMART) is used for analysis purpose.FindingsIt is found that for private firms (private contractors and builders) lack of experience is the major factor for failure of the business as against lack of managerial experience is a critical factor in case of a government contractor.Practical implicationsThe outcome of the present study will be used to guide the policymakers during the implementation of governmental and private projects in order to lessen the construction project failures.Originality/valueConstruction company failure is an important aspect in developing countries like India. The limited studies were available in literature which shows failure factors for government and private firms and distinguished them. Hence, the present study extends the construction company failure literature by focusing on government and private firms. Also, the study provides some theoretical guidelines for management to avoid construction company failure in India.

scholarly journals Product diversification and large construction firm productivity: the effect of institutional environments in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Azrai Azman ◽  
Carol K.H. Hon ◽  
Bo Xia ◽  
Boon L. Lee ◽  
Martin Skitmore
Keyword(s):  
Firm Performance ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Product Diversification ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Unrelated Diversification ◽  
Construction Firm ◽  
Related Diversification ◽  
Generalised Method Of Moments ◽  
The Impact

PurposeMany large construction firms (LCFs) adopt product diversification (PD) to counter downturns and spread risks. However, no detailed information is available concerning the type of PD that improves their performance. In addition, it is still uncertain how much changes in institutional dimensions influence the effectiveness of PD. Therefore, the aim is to resolve this issue by establishing a model that shows the extent of this influence.Design/methodology/approachThe generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator is used to model the PD strategies of 86 LCFs in Malaysia over 14 years (2003–2016) and its impact on productivity and profitability performance.FindingsUnrelated diversification (UD) decreased firm performance in 2003–2016, while related diversification (RD) had a positive impact during the more liberal 2010–2016 phase. The models show that the impact of PD is highly dependent on changes in institutional dimensions.Practical implicationsFirstly, managers may adjust the type of PD and its level of diversification to improve firm performance. Secondly, they may devise PD strategies based on changes in institutional dimensions to maximise their effectiveness.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature by determining the optimal amount of PD (including RD and UD) and its impact on performance. Secondly, the study is the first to investigate the moderating relationship of the institutional dimensions of economic and regulatory institutions on PD-firm performance. Thirdly, the study is the first to explore the components of technical-scale-scope economies (movement towards and around the production frontier), this being crucial to the strategy that was only conjectured in previous studies.

A Benefits Realization Approach to IT Investments

2002 ◽  
pp. 75-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Thorp
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
It Investments ◽  
Rural Agriculture ◽  
Business Results ◽  
Benefits Realization ◽  
Marketing Service ◽  
Long Term Impact

Information technology is today transforming all aspects of our lives — how we work, shop, play and learn. It is transforming our economic infrastructure — revolutionizing methods of supply, production, distribution, marketing, service, and management. This represents nothing less than a fundamental redesign of the entire supply chains of most industries and indeed a fundamental restructuring of many industries themselves. The potential long-term impact of information technology represents an economic and social transition as fundamental as the shift from rural agriculture to urban industry 200 years ago, during the first Industrial Revolution. Yet today we have a problem — a big problem! Chief information officers (CIOs) are finding themselves increasingly under fire for the perceived lack of value from ever-growing investments in information technology (IT) — investments that in the U.S. now represent close to 50% of companies’ new capital investment and a significant portion of their operating expense. Our investments in technology are not being consistently translated into business value. The link to business results is not clear. It is hard to demonstrate how investments in IT, or in producing information translate into economic value.

Assessing the Value of Information Technology Investment to Firm Performance

2002 ◽  
pp. 257-278
Author(s):  
Qing Hu ◽  
Robert T. Plant
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Firm Performance ◽  
Financial Performance ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Performance Data ◽  
It Investment ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
It Investments ◽  
And Performance

The promise of increased competitive advantage has been the driving force behind the large-scale investment in information technology (IT) over the last three decades. There is a continuing debate among executives and academics as to the measurable benefits of this investment. The return on investment (ROI) and other performance measures reported in the academic literature indicate conflicting empirical findings. Many previous studies have based their conclusions on the statistical correlation between IT capital investment and firm performance data of the same time period. In this study we argue that the causal relationship between IT investment and firm performance could not be reliably established through concurrent IT and performance data. We further submit that it would be more convincing to infer causality if the IT investments in the preceding years are significantly correlated with the performance of a firm in the subsequent year. Using the Granger causality models and three samples of firm-level financial data, we found no statistical evidence that IT investments have caused the improvement of financial performance of the firms in the samples. On the contrary, the causal models suggest that improved financial performance over consecutive years may have contributed to the increase of IT investment in the subsequent year. Implications of these findings as well as directions for future studies are discussed.

scholarly journals Venture Capital Investment and the Post-IPO Performance of Entrepreneurial Firms: Evidence from the People's Republic of China

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Guo ◽  
Kun Jiang ◽  
Xiaoting Mai
Keyword(s):  
Venture Capital ◽  
Initial Public Offering ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Panel Data Analysis ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Entrepreneurial Firms ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Firm Level ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Ipo Performance

We examine the effects of venture capital (VC) investment on the performance (measured by return on assets, return on equity, and Tobin's Q) and growth (measured by growth of total sales and total number of employees) of entrepreneurial firms in the People's Republic of China (PRC) after an initial public offering (IPO). Firm-level panel data analysis shows that VC investment contributes to the long-term performance and growth of entrepreneurial firms after an IPO. Meanwhile, we observe a significant and positive relationship between corporate governance of firms and VC investment. However, we do not find that experience or specialization of VC firms influences the effects of venture investment on post-IPO performance or growth of entrepreneurial firms in the PRC.

scholarly journals Studying the methods for determining and maintaining sustainability of a construction firm

2018 ◽  
Vol 251 ◽  
pp. 05017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Azariy Lapidus ◽  
Ivan Abramov
Keyword(s):  
Construction Industry ◽  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Construction Projects ◽  
Construction Operations ◽  
Resource Potential ◽  
Efficient Organization ◽  
Scientific Problem ◽  
Construction Firms ◽  
Construction Firm ◽  
The Government

Against the backdrop of the economic crisis and the complicated international situation, the government pays great attention to reforming the construction industry, creating the conditions for adapting construction firms to the existing situation and associated entrepreneurial and production risks. Concurrently, as the ever-increasing competition places higher requirements on potential participants in construction projects under state-financed and municipal contracts, new laws and regulations are being developed and improved, and bidding rules are systemized and optimized to help select the most reliable contractors resistant to various impacts. The purpose of this paper is to describe the term “sustainability of a construction firm” and to set the tasks of research into the ways of increasing sustainability of construction firms based on efficient organization of construction operations and up-to-date production and labor technology. The scientific problem suggested for review lies in ensuring guaranteed sustainability of construction firms amid uncertainties of construction operations. This paper focuses on research into and the methods for determining a correlation between sustainability of a construction firm and its resource potential that depends on a number of diverse factors.

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