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This paper provides new evidence on the effect of school construction projects on home prices, academic achievement, and public school enrollment. Taking advantage of the staggered implementation of a comprehensive school construction project in a poor urban district, we find that, by six years after building occupancy, $10,000 of per-student investment in school construction raised reading scores for elementary and middle school students by 0.027 standard deviations. For a student receiving the average treatment intensity this corresponds to a 0.21 standard deviation increase. School construction also raised home prices and public school enrollment in zoned neighborhoods.

The Danish construction industry commonly addresses supply chain issues at the project level by focusing on practical problems on site. In consequence, the industry dedicates considerable resources on fighting day-to-day issues instead of embracing a more cross-organizational approach of Construction Supply Chain Management (CSCM). In this paper, we examine the attempts of one of Scandinavia's major contractor groups to achieve CSCM integration and align cross-organizational practices of the supply chain. We present a case study of two subsidiaries in the group using data from observations, surveys and interviews. Drawing on Neoinstitutional theory with emphasis on the concepts of coupling and decoupling, we examine the interplay between institutional pressure and organizational responses. In our discussion, we argue that the coordination of the supply chain is decoupled from the strategic level through its constricted focus on the performance of specific projects. We then go on to illustrate how the company's efforts centre on assuming a role as CSCM integrator by involving key stakeholders of the supply chain to recouple weak links between decision-making and organizational practices. In conclusion, we argue that the company attempts to achieve CSCM integration by generating market-legitimacy. However, the constant creation of new project organizations, the existence of decentralized supply networks as well as informal authority of project managers to select or deselect procurement policies leads to various types of organizational decoupling. Accordingly, there exists a competing environment of conflicting demands and divergent incentive structures, which is an on-going challenge for the necessary alignment of cross-organizational CSCM integration.

Life cycle costing (LCC) has been proved to be a valuable decision-making tool for strategic facility management considering life cycle perspective of buildings. However, its application by the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry is limited due to lack of available and reliable information. In order to overcome this challenge, researchers have proposed transferring information from operation of existing buildings to the design of new buildings. By using structured analysis methods and specifically, data flow diagram techniques, this study aims to explore how can data from existing social housing building projects with regard to cost drivers of LCC inform the design of new projects. To support the analysis, a social housing project in a Danish architecture firm is used as the case study, and data are gathered through physical artefacts and five semi-structured interviews in both the architect and building client organisation. The results indicate the availability of operational data in several of the processes in the data flow diagram of the case project. The discussion focusses on different ways that O&M data from existing buildings that are provided to the design team through a requirements' report when a new project is published, can be effectively used to identify cost drivers of LCC and inform the design of new projects. The consideration of cost drivers of LCC in early design stages will contribute to designing more economically sustainable constructions that are easy and affordable to operate and maintain. Life cycle costing (LCC) has been proved to be a valuable decision-making tool for strategic facility management considering life cycle perspective of buildings. However, its application by the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry is limited due to lack of available and reliable information. In order to overcome this challenge, researchers have proposed transferring information from operation of existing buildings to the design of new buildings. By using structured analysis methods and specifically, data flow diagram techniques, this study aims to explore how can data from existing social housing building projects with regard to cost drivers of LCC inform the design of new projects. To support the analysis, a social housing project in a Danish architecture firm is used as the case study, and data are gathered through physical artefacts and five semi-structured interviews in both the architect and building client organisation. The results indicate the availability of operational data in several of the processes in the data flow diagram of the case project. The discussion focusses on different ways that O&M data from existing buildings that are provided to the design team through a requirements' report when a new project is published, can be effectively used to identify cost drivers of LCC and inform the design of new projects. The consideration of cost drivers of LCC in early design stages will contribute to designing more economically sustainable constructions that are easy and affordable to operate and maintain.

The use of ethnographic methods in construction management is increasing. Impression management challenges the ethnographic researcher, who follows one actor on a building site. Shadowing allows a researcher to follow particular participants to observe their bodily movements and use of artefacts. Impression management happens when the observee acts in a different way than he/she would routinely, due to the presence of an audience. In the case of shadowing, the researcher can become an audience, as will the readers of the findings from the investigation. A study into contract managers' practices on-site uses shadowing as its primary method for data collection. A contract manager is being observed to gain an insight into the practices in which he participates. However, impression management presents a very noticeable challenge from the beginning of the study. We show how the researcher is perceived as an audience and how this prompts the observed contract manager to reflect on the practices on-site in dialogue with the researcher. On this basis, we raise the question, whether the continued performance of impression management by practitioners due to prolonged fieldwork can lead the observed practice to shift. In conclusion, we argue that the use of shadowing on a building site allows for insights into the complicated practices on site, but it may also influence and displace these practices. The use of ethnographic methods in construction management is increasing. Impression management challenges the ethnographic researcher, who follows one actor on a building site. Shadowing allows a researcher to follow particular participants to observe their bodily movements and use of artefacts. Impression management happens when the observee acts in a different way than he/she would routinely, due to the presence of an audience. In the case of shadowing, the researcher can become an audience, as will the readers of the findings from the investigation. A study into contract managers' practices on-site uses shadowing as its primary method for data collection. A contract manager is being observed to gain an insight into the practices in which he participates. However, impression management presents a very noticeable challenge from the beginning of the study. We show how the researcher is perceived as an audience and how this prompts the observed contract manager to reflect on the practices on-site in dialogue with the researcher. On this basis, we raise the question, whether the continued performance of impression management by practitioners due to prolonged fieldwork can lead the observed practice to shift. In conclusion, we argue that the use of shadowing on a building site allows for insights into the complicated practices on site, but it may also influence and displace these practices.