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Today the construction industry is the second larger employer of people after agriculture. It contributes about 8% to the GDP of the country. There are numerous problems faced by construction industry. Thus it is necessary to find the challenges faced by human resource management in construction firms, in India. https://journalnx.com/journal-article/20150647

The paper aims to provide a holistic approach to address how construction firms make decisions covering all three domains (location, timing and mode) across country, market, firm and project factors within the Ownership, Locational and Internalisation plus Specialty (OLI+S) paradigm. Questionnaires were administered to 62 project managers based on a sampling frame provided by the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia. The findings provide empirical and theoretical insights on how the OLI+S model addresses firms’ entry decisions to penetrate international markets. It suggests that the ownership-entry decision factors focus on firms’ internal transferable advantages. The locational-entry decision factors emphasise attractiveness of certain locations where firms decided to invest and operate. The internalisation– entry decision factors emphasise the extent to which firms were able to manipulate their internal competitive assets (firm’s resources and capabilities). Finally, the specialty-entry decision factors emphasise on firms’ competency in project management and specialist expertise to handle complex projects based on their previous project experience. An example of construction firms’ unique characteristics, namely, specialty advantages based on the original Dunning’s OLI eclectic paradigm has been adopted. The established OLI+S entry decision model could be investigated to further refine other related internationalisation theory.

Construction project failures in Kenya are evident throughout the country and continue to draw great concern to all stakeholders as a result of consequent economic and social impacts. Supply chain management (SCM) practices have been used successfully in the manufacturing industry and have particularly been recognized as having made most manufacturing companies’ successful. Achievements offered by SCM practices are therefore capable of reducing construction project failures . This study sought to establish the current global supply chain management practices and determine how supply chain management visibility is affecting project performance in the construction industry in Kenya. The research study adopts cross-sectional survey research design to establish the causal relationship among Supply Chain management practices and project performance. The population of the study was 199 construction firms. The study use stratified sampling to select a sample size of 65. On average, 1.54% of the respondents indicated that they implemented the SCM best practices frequently, 81.54% of respondents indicated that they implemented the SCM best practices sometimes while 16.92% of respondents indicated that they never implemented the SCM practices. The study established that there existed a positive relationship between physical flow integration, financial flow integration, information flow integration, trust and Project Performance in construction industry. The study concluded that SCM best practices have a positive contribution on construction project performance and that improved implementation of SCM best practices by Kenyan construction firms can lead to improved construction project performance and reduce construction project failures in the industry. The study recommends that construction firms should focus significantly on improving their degree of SCM best practices implementation to boost project success. This study provides the stakeholders with a point of reference in establishing a value-sequenced transformational roadmap for mitigating actions against construction project failures in Kenya.

Construction firms that employ collaborative procurement approaches develop operating routines through joint learning so as to improve infrastructure project performance. This paper reports a study based on a survey sample of 320 construction practitioners which were involved in collaborative infrastructure delivery in Australia. The study developed valid and reliable scales for measuring collaborative learning capability (CLC), and used the scales to evaluate the CLC of contractor and consultant firms within the sample. The evaluation suggests that whilst these firms explore knowledge from both internal and external sources, transform both explicit and tacit knowledge, and apply and internalise new knowledge, they can improve the extent to which these routines are applied to optimise project performance.

Innovation is the process of creating and implementing new ideas for the community, while competitiveness is the ability of a firm to provide the community standard quality services at competitive costs. Creativity and innovation have always been recognized as the foundation of success of any organization, as is the case for the construction industry worldwide. However, without taking the competitiveness in consideration, the prosperity process would be difficult. Over the past decade, the construction industry has been grown dramatically in Iraq, especially in northern region of the country. To keep the industry firms on the success path by way of making them innovative and competitive, examining factors affecting innovation and competitiveness is crucial. With this aim, this research is conducted so as to identify the factors influencing innovation and competitiveness of the firms. Literature review about innovation and competitiveness was reviewed to identify the factors affecting the innovation and competitiveness of construction projects. Pilot study of the questionnaire was achieved by a scouting sample. A questionnaire survey was conducted and 43 factors were identified, categorized into 7 groups of dimensions: 1) input, 2) driver, 3) barriers, 4) enabler, 5) impact, 6) competitiveness, and 7) firm’s need of innovation. 150 questionnaires were distributed to local construction firms. 85 questionnaires were received (57%). iv Four hypotheses addressing the improvements of firm’s project performance and their competitive advantages have been developed, a conceptual framework explaining the developed hypotheses are designed, ended up with recommendations to improve innovation, competitiveness and performance of construction projects in Northern Iraq. Two theories are presented by the study: 1) project performance and competitive advantages of construction firms increase by activating inputs, drivers, enablers and impacts of the innovation; 2) the firms incapable of overcoming barriers, incapable of improving their project performance and competitiveness. It is recommended for construction industry in the region to improve the factors that affect negatively on innovation and competitiveness through identifying a structured methodology and mechanism to: 1) improve Research and Development (R&D) expenditure and R&D projects; 2) consider the short and long term profitability; 3) increase the number of employees devoting innovation. Keywords: Competitiveness, Construction firms, Innovation, Northern Iraq Construction Industry. ÖZ: İnovasyon, toplum için yeni fikirler yaratma ve uygulama süreci iken rekabet, bir firmanın topluma rekabetçi maliyetlerle kaliteli standartlarda hizmet sağlama yeteneğidir. Yaratıcılık ve inovasyon, her zaman dünya çapında inşaat sektörü için geçerli olduğu gibi, herhangi bir firmanın başarısının temeli olarak kabul edilmiştir. Ancak, rekabeti dikkate almadan, refah süreci zor olacaktır. Geçtiğimiz on yıl içinde, inşaat sektörü özellikle Irak’ın kuzey bölgesinde, dramatik olarak büyümüştür. İnşaat firmalarının başarılarının devamını sağlamak için onları inovatif ve rekabetçi hale getirmek ve inovasyon ve rekabeti etkileyen faktörleri incelemek çok önemlidir. Bu amaçla, firmaların inovasyonunu ve rekabetini etkileyen faktörleri belirlemek için bu araştırma yapılmıştır. İnovasyon ve rekabet ile ilgili yapılan önceki çalışmalar inşaat projelerinin rekabet gücünü etkileyen faktörleri belirlemek amacıyla gözden geçirilmiştir. Anketin pilot çalışması için örnek bir vaka elde edilmiştir. Bir anket çalışması yapılmıştır ve 43 faktör 7 grupta kategorize edilerek tanımlanmışrtır: 1) girdi, 2) itici güç, 3) engel, 4) etken, 5) etki, 6) rekabet ve 7) firmanın inovasyon ihtiyacı. 150 anket yerel inşaat firmalarına dağıtılmıştır. 85 doldurulmuş anket geri dönmüştür (% 57). Firmanın proje performansı ve rekabet avantajlarının iyileştirilmisini işaret eden dört hipotez geliştirilmiş, geliştirilen hipotezleri açıklayan bir kavramsal çerçeve vi tasarlanmış ve Kuzey Irak'taki inşaat projelerinin inovasyonunu, rekabet gücünü ve performansını artırmak için önerileri sunulmuştur. Çalışmada iki teori sunulmuştur: 1) inşaat firmalarının proje performansı ve rekabet avantajları inovasyon girdileri, itici güçleri, etkenleri ve etkilerini aktive ederek artar; 2) engellerin üstesinden gelen firmalar, proje performansı ve rekabet gücünü artırır. Bölgedeki inşaat sektörü için inovasyonu ve rekabeti olumsuz yönde etkileyen faktörlerin iyileştirilmesi yoluyla yapılandırılmış bir metodoloji ve mekanizmanın belirlenmesi tavsiye edilir: 1) Araştırma ve Geliştirme (Ar-Ge) harcamaları ve Ar-Ge projelerinin geliştirilmesi; 2) Kısa ve uzun vadeli karlılığın değerlendirilmesi; 3) kendini inovasyona adayan çalışanların sayısını artırılması. Anahtar Kelimeler: Rekabet, İnşaat firmaları, İnovasyon, Kuzey Irak İnşaat Sektörü. Master of Science in Civil Engineering. Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Engineering, Dept. of Civil Engineering, 2016. Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. İbrahim Yitmen.

The possible connection between sustainability innovations and the market capitalization of construction sector companies is examined. This is the first known study to test statistically the connection between sustainability innovations and the market value of companies in the construction sector. An event study model is used to analyse sustainability innovation announcements and financial information of large construction sector companies in a number of countries. The main finding of the analysis is that a positive and statistically significant association exists between sustainability innovation announcements and the market value of companies in the construction sector. According to the results, sustainability innovation announcements explain an increase of 0.82% in the market capitalization of the studied companies. The findings are in line with earlier studies suggesting that investments of construction sector companies in sustainability can lead to the creation of economic value. The results imply th...

RESUMENExiste una abundante literatura que analiza las prácticas de gestión medioambiental de las empresas, tanto desde una perspectiva multisectorial como unisectorial. Sin embargo, el número de estudios centrados en el sector de la construcción es muy reducido debido, quizá, a las peculiaridades de funcionamiento que éste presenta y que se trasladan a la gestión medioambiental de las empresas constructoras. En este contexto, el objetivo de este trabajo es doble: por una parte, construir un listado amplio de escala de medida de las prácticas de gestión medioambiental en las empresas constructoras y, por otra, analizar el grado de implantación de estas prácticas en las empresas constructoras españolas.ABSTRACTThere is plenty of literature analyzing the environmental management practices of firms, from a multisectorial perspective as well as a sectorial perspective. Nevertheless, very few studies have been carried out in the construction sector, probably because of the peculiarities of the industry and the subsequent singularities of the environmental management in building firms. In this context, this paper has a double aim: on one hand, to design a broad list of environmental management practices of building firms, and on the other hand to analyze the implantation level of these practices in the Spanish building firms.

Los costes de la calidad representan una herramienta de planificación de la calidad, que permite la medición de la mejora continua. Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica y discusión de las publicaciones actuales sobre los modelos genéricos de costes de la calidad. Se observó que el modelo genérico empleado con mayor frecuencia, sigue siendo el enfoque tradicional PEF (prevención, evaluación y fallos). De esta manera, se plantea este modelo en el contexto de las empresas constructoras, como herramienta de gestión de la calidad, destacando la forma en que la gestión eficaz de estos, puede reflejarse en las utilidades y productividad de dicha empresa. De igual manera, se sugiere que los costes de la calidad pueden calcularse y ser expresados en forma contable, proporcionando un parámetro en el que podemos decidir sobre los beneficios que trae su control. El objetivo de un sistema de costes de la calidad es encontrar el nivel de calidad requerido para minimizar los costes de la calidad totales, esto dará la seguridad que dicha empresa constructora esta funcionando de manera óptima con relación a sus procesos y productosThe quality costs are a quality management tool to measure the continual improvement. It was made a bibliographical revision and discussion of present publications on the generic models of quality costs. It was observed that the most frequently used generic model, continues being traditional approach PAF (prevention, appraisal and failures). So, this model was established in a construction firm context as a quality management tool, pointing out the form in that the effective management of these can be reflected in the utilities and productivity of a construction firm. Also, is suggested that quality costs can be calculated and be recorded in a countable form, providing a parameter to decide on the benefits that its control brings. The objective of a quality costs system is to find the level of quality that minimizes total quality costs; this will give the security that the construction firm is working efficiently in relation to its processes and products

[EN] In the last ten years, Ecuador has experienced sustained growth and driven by construction. Therefore, it is necessary to think of the entities involved in these activities such as construction firms. The objective of this work focuses on knowing the use of quality tools in the construction firms of Ecuador, with special emphasis on the city of Guayaquil. Construction firms administer the quality management differently depending on their size, organization, and administration. A common problem with construction firms is that they can ignore the quality to reduce costs and shorten execution times. Also by the lack of knowledge of quality tools and systems that can be applied in the execution of the functions of each person within the company. To determine the level of quality in construction firms, we search articles that mention quality tools and which were the most employed in enterprises or projects. With this collection of information, a survey was generated, and distributed to people related to the construction sector of Guayaquil. The survey consists of 31 statements related to the Organization, Culture of Quality, and tools used in the companies where they work. A sample of 91 people, obtained two important variables that are quality management in administrative, and in construction processes. This work showed that depending on company size, different quality systems are used; and has been able to identify companies that are more gaps in quality management applications. The results of this work can be reviewed by the Managers of companies to identify their mistakes and to perform a quality improvement in their business processes and construction processes., [CA] En els últims deu anys, Ecuador ha tingut un creixement sostingut i impulsat per la construcció. Per tal motiu, és necessari pensar en els ens que participen en estes activitats com ho són les empreses constructores. L'objectiu d'este treball se centra a conéixer l'ocupació de ferramentes de qualitat en les empreses constructores d' Ecuador, amb especial èmfasi en la ciutat de Guayaquil. Les empreses constructores manegen la gestió de la qualitat de diferent manera depenent de la seua dimensió, organització, i gestió administrativa. Un problema comú que tenen les empreses constructores és que poden ignorar la qualitat per reduir costos i per acurtar temps d'execució. També per la falta de coneixements de les ferramentes i sistemes de qualitat que es puguen aplicar en l'execució de les funcions de cada persona dins de l'empresa. Per a determinar el nivell de qualitat que tenen les empreses constructores, es va buscar en articles l'ocupació de qualitat en les empreses i quins eren les més utilitzades. Amb esta recopilació d'informació es va generar una enquesta distribuïda a persones relacionades amb el sector de la construcció de Guayaquil. L'enquesta va consistir en 31 afirmacions relacionades amb l'Organització, Cultura de Qualitat, i Ferramentes empleades dins de l'empresa en què es treballa. Es va obtindre una mostra de 91 persones, amb les quals es va poder analitzar dos variables importants per a la investigació que són el maneig de la qualitat en processos administratius, i el maneig de la qualitat en processos constructius. Amb este treball es va demostrar que depenent de la grandària de l'empresa, s'empren diferents sistemes de qualitat; i s'ha pogut identificar les empreses que tenen més falencias en aplicacions de gestió de qualitat. Els resultats d'este treball poden ser revisats pels Gerents de les empreses per a detectar els seus fallades i poder realitzar una millora de qualitat en els seus processos administratius com en els seus processos constructius., [ES] En los últimos diez años, Ecuador ha tenido un crecimiento sostenido e impulsado por la construcción. Por tal motivo, es necesario pensar en los entes que participan en estas actividades como lo son las empresas constructoras. El objetivo de este trabajo se centra en conocer el empleo de herramientas de calidad en las empresas constructoras de Ecuador, con especial énfasis en la ciudad de Guayaquil. Las empresas constructoras manejan la gestión de la calidad de diferente manera dependiendo de su tamaño, organización, y gestión administrativa. Un problema común que tienen las empresas constructoras es que pueden ignorar la calidad por reducir costos y por acortar tiempos de ejecución. También por la falta de conocimientos de las herramientas y sistemas de calidad que se puedan aplicar en la ejecución de las funciones de cada persona dentro de la empresa. Para determinar el nivel de calidad que tienen las empresas constructoras, se buscó en artículos el empleo de calidad en las empresas y cuáles eran las más utilizadas. Con esta recopilación de información se generó una encuesta distribuida a personas relacionadas con el sector de la construcción de Guayaquil. La encuesta consistió en 31 afirmaciones relacionadas con la Organización, Cultura de Calidad, y Herramientas empleadas dentro de la empresa en la que se trabaja. Se obtuvo una muestra de 91 personas, con las cuales se pudo analizar dos variables importantes para la investigación que son el manejo de la calidad en procesos administrativos, y el manejo de la calidad en procesos constructivos. Con este trabajo se demostró que dependiendo del tamaño de la empresa, se emplean diferentes sistemas de calidad; y se ha podido identificar las empresas que tienen más falencias en aplicaciones de gestión de calidad. Los resultados de este trabajo pueden ser revisados por los Gerentes de las empresas para detectar sus fallos y poder realizar una mejora de calidad en sus procesos administrativos como en sus procesos constructivos.

Knowledge management is rapidly becoming a key organizational capability for creating competitive advantage in the construction industry. The emergence of knowledge management in this capacity poses enormous challenges to executives of construction firms. This paper proposes a model for benchmarking those knowledge management practices of AEC firms that can guide and assist construction business executives in meeting these challenges. The proposed model incorporates benchmarking and knowledge management concepts with importance-performance analysis (IPA) maps. It is a simple visual tool that can provide powerful diagnostic information to executives of AEC firms by evaluating their firm's knowledge management practices, identifying their firm's comparative advantages and disadvantages with regard to each knowledge management practice, and setting priorities for managerial actions related to knowledge management practices that need improvement. A real-world case study is presented to illustrate the implementation and utility of the proposed model.

Knowledge management is rapidly becoming a key organizational capability for creating competitive advantage in the construction industry. The emergence of knowledge management as a key organizational capability for creating competitive advantage poses enormous challenges to executives of construction firms. This paper proposes a model for benchmarking the knowledge management practices of construction firms that can guide and assist construction business executives to meet these challenges. The proposed model incorporates benchmarking and knowledge management concepts with Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) and Comparative Performance Analysis (CPA) maps. The IPA and CPA maps are visual management tools that have been commonly used for continuous improvements in processes and the performance of firms. Yet they have not been used in the construction management literature or for evaluating the knowledge management practices. The proposed model can be used by construction firms as an internal performance measurement tool to evaluate their knowledge management practices. It can provide powerful diagnostic information to construction business executives of construction firms in order to evaluate their firm’s knowledge management practices, identify their firm’s comparative advantages and disadvantages with regard to each knowledge management practice, and set priorities for managerial actions related to knowledge management practices that need improvement. A real-world case study was conducted by administering a survey to 105 construction firms operating in Turkey and is presented to illustrate the implementation and utility of the proposed model.

This study has been conducted on behalf of Vectura Consulting AB with the purpose to examine how different actors perceive the dimensions of sustainability and sustainable construction. The purpose is also to provide an understanding of existing barriers and opportunities for sustainable construction within the industry and exemplify with different directions for the actors in order to develop sustainability. The study has approach the research problem by using systems theory, developed by Checkland, to identify the relevant system. Other systems theories has been used as an theoretical framework in order to identify barriers and opportunities, which in this study are based on Hughes’s theory about reverse salients and salients. Interviews with a selection of different actors in the industry and prior research have in this study served as empirics and the perspective of the systems theory defines the necessary tools to be used. The study shows that no consistency prevails regarding the definition of sustainability among the actors. Although, the environmental aspect of sustainability is prioritized by a majority of the actors oppose to social and economic aspects. Furthermore, for some of the actors economy is governing while for others it is decisive. Sustainable construction is characterized by a long-term parallel process with incentives such as branding, recruiting, and optimized operations. Moreover, the study indicates a willingness among the actors to define the concept of sustainability in order to achieve an industry wide definition. Such a definition would be of benefit for simplifying procurement and developing sustainable construction. The study identified two barriers and two opportunities. The actors agrees on that the procurement regulations of the Swedish infrastructure authority “Trafikverket” in combination with contracts defined by multiple products, and the objectives of Trafikverket, are the two main barriers for holding back the development of sustainability in the industry. However, Trafikverket’s goal to increase the number of contracts based on function is seen as an opportunity as it enables creativity and innovation and a possible side effect of sustainable development. In addition, side bids from different actors are considered as a driver that will accelerate Trafikverket’s work regarding sustainability and especially sustainable construction. Finally, the authors give examples of directions for the industry to enhance sustainable construction and by doing so the authors connect vision with practice.

The Chinese term “Guanxi” literally refers to interpersonal relationships which have aroused growing interests among researchers and business practitioners. Common research interests are mainly centered on theoretical study and model building instead of applying them to business practices while this paper is aimed to investigate how business Guanxi works from a practical view, and in particular how business Guanxi affects the performance of small and medium-sized Chinese construction companies. Three independent managers in different regions are chosen as the initiating point to explore how Guanxi works by tracing back their inter-connectivity as well as interactions among different stakeholders. The empirical findings indicate business Guanxi acts as an important source of information and the efficient way to seek financial and technical support, to increase market shares and reduce risks, has a positive effect on to the performance of small and medium-sized Chinese construction firms. Based on the empirical findings, it is further argued that a good business Guanxi is likely to create competitive advantages in supporting Tsang’s arguments. Finally a managerial implication is provided which tries to remind practitioners that business Guanxi is a necessary factor for the survival of Chinese construction enterprises but it is not sufficient. Managers should not solely rely on Guanxi even if two parties have high quality of connections, and the institutional tools are needed in order to secure the health of Guanxi.

[EN] The purpose of this article is to identify the drivers, success factors, benefits, and barriers to innovation in a medium size construction firm with a standardized innovation management system. The case study method is used to compare theory to reality from different perspectives, building explanations from a Spanish contractor observed over a three year period. Findings suggest that innovation management can be standardized, which leads to an organizational improvement for the company, and at the same time this improvement facilitates organizational problem-solving on a regular basis, increasing technical capabilities, knowledge management, business profit, and client satisfaction. The framework described in this research aims to provide guidance for managers, thus they can innovate in a systematic way; however, this exploratory study has still to be validated by empirical investigations on a larger scale through a significant number of certified companies, which is currently not yet the case in the Spanish construction industry., The research described in this paper was partially funded by Universidad Católica del Maule (project MECESUP-UCM0205), the Spanish Ministry of Infrastructure (grant 2004-36), and the Universitat Politècnica de València (contract UPV-20050921). The authors are most grateful to Ricardo Lacort, Francisco J. Vea, and Manuel Civera for their cooperation throughout the research period. Finally, the valuable commentaries and suggestions of three anonymous reviewers improved the final version of the paper.

Özellikle ülkemizde inşaat sektöründe iletişimin önemi yeterincebilinmemektedir. Bundan dolayı iş süreçlerinde çeşitli aksaklıklar yaşanmaktadır. Buçalışmada, inşaat işletmelerinde iletişimin yeri ve önemi konusunda farkındalıkyaratmak ve iletişim kaynaklı sorunları en aza indirmek için öneriler geliştirilmiştir.Anahtar Kelimeler: İnşaat İşletmeleri, İletişim, İletişim Araçları, Etkinlik. The importance of communication in the construction industry in our countryis not recognised. Therefore, various problems are experienced during businessprocesses. In this study, it is aimed to icrease the aweraness about the importance ofcommunication during construction process and place original proposals to minimizeproblems.Key Words: Construction Firms, Communication, Communication Tools,Efficiency. 92

Existe una abundante literatura que analiza las prácticas de gestión medioambiental de las empresas, tanto desde una perspectiva multisectorial como unisectorial. Sin embargo, el número de estudios centrados en el sector de la construcción es muy reducido debido, quizá, a las peculiaridades de funcionamiento que éste presenta y que se trasladan a la gestión medioambiental de las empresas constructoras. En este contexto, el objetivo de este trabajo es doble: por una parte, construir una escala de medida de las prácticas de gestión medioambiental en las empresas constructoras y, por otra, analizar el grado de implantación de estas prácticas en las empresas constructoras españolas. There is plenty of literature analyzing the environmental management practices of firms, from a multisectorial perspective as well as a sectorial perspective. Nevertheless, very few studies have been carried out in the construction sector, probably because of the peculiarities of the industry and the subsequent singularities of the environmental management in building firms. In this context, this paper has a double aim: on one hand, to design a specific measurement scale on the environmental management practices of building firms, and on the other hand to analyze the implantation level of these practices in the Spanish building firms.

La legislación española obliga que todas las empresas redacten un plan de prevención de riesgos laborales, con la finalidad que sea la herramienta básica con laque se consigue la integración de la prevención. Actualmente, los planes de prevención que disponen las empresas del sector de la construcción, no reúnen las condiciones necesarias para cumplir el requisito de integrar la prevención en la empresa tal y como se obliga en la normativa actual, siendo documentos genéricos e incompletos. Con la creación de un modelo de plan de prevención se pretende establecer los contenidos mínimos que deben disponer las empresas de construcción independiente del tamaño de la misma. Spanish legislation requires that all firms draw up a plan of prevention of occupational risks, as a basic tool with which to manage the integration of prevention. Currently, prevention plans available to the construction industry, being generic and incomplete documents, do not meet the requirement to integrate prevention into the company as required by current regulations. The creation of a model preventionplan will establish the minimum contents that should be available to all construction companies independent of their size. Universidad de Sevilla. Máster Universitario en Seguridad Integral en la Edificación

Construction firms all over the world are increasingly seeking to obtain ISO 14001. The rapid growth in the number of ISO 14001 applications in Turkey and the share from the construction sector in this number, as a leading sector, is rather striking. This paper, using a structured questionnaire survey, investigates whether there is any dependence or relation between construction firms characteristics and having ISO 14001 certification and any difference in the perceptions related to ISO 14001 by considering both firm characteristics and two different groups as certified and non-certified firms. Additionally, it examines the perceived benefits of having ISO 14001 for certified construction firms. According to the results of analysis, although there is not any difference in perceptions on ISO 14001 certification in terms of firm characteristics and being as certified and non-certified and their both positive opinions about ISO 14001 certification. There is a relation between firms characteristics and having ISO 14001 certification. ISO 14001 certification contributes to construction firms not only in terms of environmental benefits but also with corporate management and marketing effects, thus verifying that the ISO 14001 has a positive impact on the Turkish construction sector. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Balıkesir Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, İnşaat Mühendisliği Ana Bilim Dalı, İnşaat firmaları, ürün tabanlı ekonomiden (ü-ekonomi) bilgi tabanlı bir ekonomiye geçiş içerisindedirler. Ürün tabanlı ekonomide rekabetin temeli, mal ve hizmet üretimindeki finansal sermayenin kontrolü etrafında; bilgi ekonomisinde ise, rekabetin temeli mal ve hizmet üretimindeki bilginin yönetilmesi etrafında düzenlenmektedir. Bu yüzden, bilginin yönetilmesi; bilgi ekonomisindeki inşaat yöneticilerini ilgilendiren önemli bir kavramdır. İnşaat sektörü bağlamında bilgi yönetiminin, kavramsal bir model ile araştırılması sunulmuştur. Bu kavramsal model, bilgi yönetim sağlayıcıları, bilgi yönetim süreçleri ve bilgi yönetim stratejilerinden oluşmaktadır. Sunulan kavramsal modelin ana önermesi: "bilgi yönetim sağlayıcıları ve bilgi yönetim stratejileri, doğrudan veya dolaylı olarak inşaat firmalarının performansını etkilemektedir". Kavramsal modelin bu önermesi, 105 inşaat firmasından elde edilen verilerle ampirik olarak test edilmiştir. Araştırma bulguları, bilgi yönetim sağlayıcılarının, bilgi yönetim stratejilerinin bilgi yönetim süreçleri ile arasında pozitif ve anlamlı bir ilişki olduğunu ve bilgi yönetim süreçleri ile inşaat firmalarının performansı arasında pozitif ve anlamlı bir ilişki olduğunu göstermektedir. Ayrıca araştırma bulguları, inşaat firmalarında bilgi yönetimi kavramına ilişkin yapılandırmacı bir yaklaşımın geçerliliğini, ampirik olarak desteklemektedir., Construction business landscape is being transformed from production-based economy (p-economy) into a knowledge-based economy (k-economy). In p-economy, the basis of competition is organized around the control of financial capital (i.e., land, labor, money, machines) in the production of goods and services. In k-economy, the basis of competition is organized around management of knowledge in the production of goods and services. Therefore, managing knowledge is the fundamental challenge facing construction executives in the k-economy. The research presented in this thesis explores the concept of knowledge management in the context of construction industry by proposing a conceptual model. The proposed conceptual model builds on concepts of knowledge management enablers, knowledge management process and knowledge management strategies. The main proposition of the proposed conceptual model is that knowledge management enablers, knowledge management process and knowledge management strategies directly or indirectly influence construction firms' performance. This proposition of the conceptual model was empirically tested by a survey 105 construction firms. The research findings suggest that knowledge management enablers and knowledge management strategies are positively and significantly related to knowledge management processes and knowledge management processes are also positively and significant related to construction firms' performance. Furthermore, research findings also provide empirical support to the validity of the configurationist approach to the concept of knowledge management in the construction firms.

Los costes de la calidad representan una herramienta de planificación de la calidad, que permite la medición de la mejora continua. Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica y discusión de las publicaciones actuales sobre los modelos genéricos de costes de la calidad. Se observó que el modelo genérico empleado con mayor frecuencia, sigue siendo el enfoque tradicional PEF (prevención, evaluación y fallos). De esta manera, se plantea este modelo en el contexto de las empresas constructoras, como herramienta de gestión de la calidad, destacando la forma en que la gestión eficaz de estos, puede reflejarse en las utilidades y productividad de dicha empresa. De igual manera, se sugiere que los costes de la calidad pueden calcularse y ser expresados en forma contable, proporcionando un parámetro en el que podemos decidir sobre los beneficios que trae su control. El objetivo de un sistema de costes de la calidad es encontrar el nivel de calidad requerido para minimizar los costes de la calidad totales, esto dará la seguridad que dicha empresa constructora esta funcionando de manera óptima con relación a sus procesos y productos The quality costs are a quality management tool to measure the continual improvement. It was made a bibliographical revision and discussion of present publications on the generic models of quality costs. It was observed that the most frequently used generic model, continues being traditional approach PAF (prevention, appraisal and failures). So, this model was established in a construction firm context as a quality management tool, pointing out the form in that the effective management of these can be reflected in the utilities and productivity of a construction firm. Also, is suggested that quality costs can be calculated and be recorded in a countable form, providing a parameter to decide on the benefits that its control brings. The objective of a quality costs system is to find the level of quality that minimizes total quality costs; this will give the security that the construction firm is working efficiently in relation to its processes and products

This paper uses both parametric and non-parametric approaches to estimate technical efficiency for 2,298 construction firms in Vietnam in the database of the 2002 Economic Census for Enterprises by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO). It is found that results from both approaches are consistent, and they could help explain the performance efficiency of these firms. Estimates from the non-parametric approach (data envelopment analysis [DEA] model) and the parametric approach (stochastic frontier production function [SFPF] model) indicate that the average pure technical efficiency of these firms was about 60 percent (58.6% and 57.8% for DEA and SFPF, respectively). Models to test the factors influencing efficiency scores in both approaches show relatively similar results that state firms were more efficient than non-state ones, and location in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city did have impacts on efficiency scores. However, exploration of the net capital-labor ratio variable show that it did not influence efficiency scores in the DEA model, while it had clear influence in the SFPF model.

Indoor malaria transmission reduction across sub-Saharan Africa has been attained through implementation of long-lasting insecticidal nets and indoor residual spray interventions with small-scale larval source management. Improvement of house structures in sub-Saharan Africa can lead to zero indoor malaria transmission with evidence from West Africa, East Africa and Middle East countries. Residual malaria transmission cannot be targeted well with LLINs and IRS alone, but with incorporation of house structures modifications it may be possible.