Journal of Construction Engineering and Management

This study builds on Adam’s equity theory by examining the moderating effects of equity sensitivity (i.e., a person’s perception of what is equitable or inequitable) on behavior-outcome relationships among negotiators in construction dispute negotiation. First, an equity sensitivity construct is developed. This construct reveals that most construction negotiators are entitleds, also known as “takers,” at the negotiation table. Moderated multiple regression (MMR) is used to test the moderating effects of equity sensitivity. The MMR models affirm that the nature of behavior-outcome relationships varies, depending on the perception of equity. An entitled construction negotiator is found to be a versatile moderator who fosters satisfactory negotiation outcomes. The models show that negotiators are able to predict inequitable responses and to take measures to forestall or deal with different inequitable situations. This study indicates the merit of further study of equity theory in the context of construction dispute negotiation. Future challenges in this area include the examination of the equity restoration responses of negotiators to create an equitable environment.

Gaps between cash outflows and inflows throughout the life cycle of construction projects can create extended periods of low cash availability for a construction contractor, jeopardizing the financial stability of the business. A number of researchers have therefore attempted to model cash availability at a project level. However, at a firm level, financial stability is more thoroughly examined as a function of the cash flows related to multiple projects. This paper proposes a methodology on the basis of fuzzy systems theory to forecast cash requirements of a portfolio of projects for a construction firm, taking into account the effect of changing portfolio composition on portfolio cash-flow risk. Portfolio cash-flow risk is calculated from a variance matrix created by using covariance among cash flows of pairs of projects. Expert opinions of a group of highway construction contractors regarding project selection, project risk assessment and cash control were collected to create a fuzzy proportional derivative (PD) model that predicts portfolio risk for a construction firm. The model was assessed by the same group of contractors for overall logic (if/then rule base), appropriateness of cash-flow calculations (moving weights of cost categories), and practicality through application on a hypothetical test case. The paper concludes that a fuzzy proportional derivative model can be an effective tool to establish trends in cash-flow availability and risk across a portfolio of construction projects.

As the world construction market becomes more globalized, an increasing number of construction companies, including both large companies (LCs) and small and medium-sized companies (SMCs), have extended their business to the global market. During this process, the number of collaborative ventures to mitigate the burden of entry risks has greatly increased. This study aims to investigate the formation of construction firms’ collaborative networks for performing international projects from both the LC and SMC network perspectives. To this end, 389 real cases of overseas projects executed by Korean firms over the last two decades that involved collaboration were analyzed using social network analysis (SNA) approach. The result showed that LCs and SMCs have different perspectives when pursuing collaborative ventures for overseas construction projects; LCs have a tendency to form large and dense networks, whereas SMCs prefer to maintain long-term and targeted relationships. Moreover, this study showed a series of apparent tendencies in the development of collaboration networks to realize better profit performance under risky project conditions. Through analysis based on real cases, this study validated the applicability of SNA in analyzing the collaboration in the construction domain. More importantly, this study is useful as an aid for developing collaboration strategies to achieve better outcomes while considering the relevant network patterns and their different levels of performance under the assorted network attributes.

Leadership may be defined as the ability to collect a group of people around definite objectives and the achievement of said objectives. An architectural design team needs a leader, and in this paper, the owner of the office is the formal leader. Leadership behaviors of employer architects are directly related to the performance of the design team; therefore, effective leadership is key to a successful design process. Data were collected through a questionnaire on leadership behaviors that was distributed to 40 architects from different design offices in Turkey. Leadership behaviors were gathered into two main groups—delegation of authority and managerial orientation. The significant positive correlations are between authoritarian and task-oriented leadership, and between participative, achievement-oriented and employee-oriented leadership. The position of leader-architects and the age and size of offices are directly related to leadership behaviors. The results show that although leaders of project design teams indicated that participation was important, they actually preferred task-oriented leadership.

This paper presents a case study of a bridge constructed under adverse conditions in rural Florida. The major challenges facing the contractor were clearly identified through analysis. The bridge was constructed by an established, experienced bridge contractor that faced many daunting challenges in the construction of the bridge foundation, ranging from overdesign to the project manager managing his first construction project. However, the biggest challenge was unforeseen site conditions; namely, some of the most difficult clay imaginable through which to drive piles. These challenges forced the contractor into several tactical maneuvers. In sharing both the methods adapted by the contractor and the results of the adaptations, this paper quantifies for researchers and practitioners how a good contractor made sound, fundamental decisions to overcome severe challenges, improve productivity rates midproject, and eventually make the project a success. A seeming disaster early on, the project was eventually completed in less than the contract duration and at a sizable profit for the contractor.

Departments of transportation in the United States are under increasing pressure to accelerate projects to meet user-defined constraints and reduce the inconvenience to the traveling public. Although there is information about acceleration projects in other industries, there has been little specifically aimed at highway projects. A domestic scan sponsored by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program was tasked with providing information in this area. The objective of this paper is to synthesize the resulting information into fundamentals that support successful planned accelerated highway project delivery. Case studies of how departments of transportation successfully accelerated the construction of four very different projects in California, Florida, and Texas serve as the basis for identifying these fundamentals. The fundamentals include upfront and detailed planning, designs that facilitate accelerated construction, a collaborative environment for project stakeholders, and incentives and disincentives to motivate construction contractors.

Fluctuating resource prices affect the costs of the materials used in the construction of LNG (liquid natural gas) tanks. In this paper, methods based on the field experience of the writers for the reduction of the cost of LNG tanks in general and in-ground LNG tanks in particular are discussed. Of the various components of the construction cost, the price of steel materials is a significant contributor. Using a newly defined cost impact index, the costs of construction of different types of LNG tanks are compared. Further, by considering actual examples of the construction of in-ground tanks, important issues relating to the use of steel materials are identified and, by using a cost reduction index, recommendations are made for the reduction of the cost risk during fluctuations in resource prices.