Culture is an all-pervading construct of human existence but its conceptualization is contested. As such, it is problematic to define or measure culture as different paradigms adopt radically different approaches. Emic approaches are, essentially, inward-looking and, via a constructivist...

Extensive and increasing specialization in construction has prompted much criticism—that fragmentation leads to poor performance. Such issues are magnified on engineering construction projects due to their size, complexity, financing, duration and execution by many organizations, often from...

The main task of contractors' estimators is to predict the likely costs involved in executing a future project. This is an onerous job as any errors made can undermine project success and ultimately reduce the contractors' profit margins. The inherent uncertainty of most construction work,...

It is difficult to request that all professionals implementing a construction project have intrinsic responsibility for the whole project from planning to construction and maintenance due to the dynamic environment and the intracompany transitions. In an attempt to understand the phenomenon of...

The accuracy of an estimate may directly affect the success or failure of a project. Therefore, it is common for estimators in the construction industry to experience a great deal of stress. An appropriate coping behaviour can help estimators to adjust to stress, thereby optimizing their...

Construction projects involve numerous stakeholders, and their satisfaction could directly influence the performance of subsequent projects. Driven by a desire to improve project success, the critical satisfaction factors pertinent to the construction management process should be identified. In...

Cost estimators play an important role in an organization, as they produce most predictions of probable final construction cost. Since both under- and overestimates can be costly, attention should be paid to the estimating tasks. People involved are therefore likely to experience a considerable...

Procurement selection continues to be topical, and several advanced studies have been reported. One of the key concerns of procurement selection is how to enhance objectivity. A selection method developed using multi-attribute utility technology (MAUT) and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP)...

Value is a subjective term and is manifested in different ways such as attitude, belief, desire, preference, need and criteria. In this paper, a cognitive value management model for construction procurement is developed to examine how value is influenced by previous project outcomes and other...

Construction projects are typified by the involvement of a number of participants. Each project team member has his/own expertise, and would contribute towards the success of the project. However, since their inputs are often interdependent, conflicts may arise in some circumstances. This is...