Dr. Bo Xia is an Associate Professor in School of Civil Engineering and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology. His research interests are in design-build, project delivery systems, construction management, and sustainable buildings. His research findings have been published in internationally-recognized journals and presented at important conferences. Currently, Dr Xia acts as the member of Editorial Board for the ASCE Journal of Management in Engineering. Phone: 61731384373 Address: S838, 2 George Street, QUT Garden Point campus, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 4001
Engineering Construction and Architectural Management, 2019
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for implementing lean construction an... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for implementing lean construction and consequently to improve performance levels in the construction industry in the context of Saudi Arabia. There is currently no framework for implementing lean construction specifically tailored to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) construction industry. Existing lean construction frameworks are focussed on other countries and are less applicable in the KSA due to differences in socio-cultural and operational contexts. Design/methodology/approach-This study employs the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique for data collection and analysis. First, following a survey of 282 construction professionals, 12 critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing lean construction in the KSA construction industry were identified by Sarhan et al. (2016). Second, 16 of these professionals who have 15 years or more experience were exclusively selected to examine the contextual relationship among the 12 CSFs. A row and column questionnaire was used for a pairwise comparison of the CSFs. A matrix of cross-impact multiplications (MICMAC) was applied to analyse the questionnaire data to develop an ISM model that can serve as a framework for implementing lean construction. Third, the framework was subjected to further validation by interviewing five experts to check for conceptual inconsistencies and to confirm the applicability of the framework in the context of the KSA construction industry. Findings-The findings reveal that the CSFs are divided into four clusters: autonomous, linkage, dependent and driving clusters. Additionally, the findings reveal seven hierarchies of interrelationships among the CSFs. The order of practical application of the CSFs descends from the seventh hierarchy to the first hierarchy. Originality/value-The new framework is a significant advancement over existing lean construction frameworks as it employs an ISM technique to specify the hierarchical relationships among the different factors that contribute to the successful implementation of lean construction. The primary value of this study is the development of a new framework that reflects the socio-cultural and operational contexts in the KSA construction industry and can guide the successful implementation of lean construction. Therefore, construction industry operators such as contractors, consultants, government departments and professionals can rely on the framework to implement lean construction more effectively and successfully.
The delivery of green building projects is often more difficult than that for of non–green buildi... more The delivery of green building projects is often more difficult than that for of non–green building projects, thereby resulting in low project performance. To overcome the difficulties and improve the delivery performance of green building projects, there is a need to explore the perceived relationship between motivation and owner commitment (OC) based on the self-determination theory (SDT) of motivation. However, no previous research has empirically tested this relationship in the context of the performance of green building delivery. Therefore, the current study evaluated this relationship using survey data from 150 project owners of green building projects in the Australian building sector. The data obtained were analyzed using both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis of eight hypotheses (H1–H8). The SEM results reveal that OC had a direct positive relationship with traditional delivery performance (TDP). Additionally, only the internal motivation (INT) of project owners was found to have a direct positive relationship with sustainability delivery performance (SDP), and this relationship was partially mediated by OC. External motivation (EXT) had no direct positive relationship with OC, TDP, or SDP. The study concludes that OC helps to improve the TDP of green building projects, but the INT of project owners is required to increase their commitment to improving the SDP of green building projects. In addition, the EXT of project owners is not effective in increasing their commitment, and it does not contribute to improving TDP and SDP of green building projects. Theoretically, the application of SDT of motivation helps to contribute to the knowledge of how to improve the delivery performance of green building projects in the field of construction management and engineering. Practically, this study will help project owners to contribute to improving the delivery performance of green building projects. This study also provides the direction that policies for encouraging the development of green building projects and associated practices should take in both Australia and the United States henceforth.
Adopting green building requires a lot of motivation due to the litany of challenges involved. Co... more Adopting green building requires a lot of motivation due to the litany of challenges involved. Consequently, many previous studies have investigated the motivation for adopting green building. Insights from motivation theories from the field of psychology such as goal-setting theory and expectancy theory suggest that the previous studies emphasized only on the goal or intention of motivation. While this is correct, the motivation for adopting green building also encompasses ‘levels of motivation’ based on another theory from the field of psychology – the selfdetermination theory (SDT) of motivation. Hence, what are the levels of motivation for adopting green building? What is the implication of the levels of motivation for the design of policy for motivating the adoption of green building? Through extensive literature review, this study uses insights from the SDT of motivation to answer these questions. By doing so, this study helps to form a newer understanding of the motivation for adopting green building. Specifically, this study provides the knowledge of the levels of motivation for adopting green building to individual and organizational level building stakeholders in the building sector, and how the public authorities can design policies to influence the respective levels of motivation.
abstract Office buildings constitute a significant proportion of the non-residential building sto... more abstract Office buildings constitute a significant proportion of the non-residential building stock. In recent years, various rating tools have been developed to foster green office building development. The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has developed the Green Star-Office rating tools for this purpose. There are an increasing number of stakeholders adopting these tools to showcase their efforts in sustainable development. This research focuses on the challenges and barriers in obtaining GBCA ratings in Australian Office buildings. To accomplish this, the scoring sheets from the rating of 264 certified office buildings were collected and critically analysed. The findings indicated that credits related to the attributes of innovation, ecology and energy are comparatively difficult to achieve. It was also found in this study that a large number of projects did not apply for the specific credits of refrig-erant global warming potential, re-use of façade, topsoil and fill removal from site, and individual comfort control. This study provides a useful reference to both the property developer and the Green Building Council of Australia for green building developments in the future. In particular, the findings provide useful inputs to the development of the next generation of green building rating tools.
Design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated as an effective delivery method and been widely us... more Design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated as an effective delivery method and been widely used overseas. However it does not receive the same popularity in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This paper first conducts a literature review on advantages and disadvantages of DB in general; then it gives an overview of the PRC construction industry. There are ample evidences that the DB system will theoretically bring benefits to the PRC construction industry. After a thorough investigation of the current DB market, it can be concluded that the development of the DB system is still at its infancy stage. The barriers to entry have been finally identified, which relate to the legal restraints, negative owner attitude, and high requirement of DB projects. These barriers constitute obstacles to the development of DB system in the PRC. However, with rapid growth of construction industry, new requirements in modern construction projects, and strong promotion from governments, it is believed that the domestic DB market will have great potential in the near future.
Design-builders play a vital role in the success of DB projects. In the construction market of th... more Design-builders play a vital role in the success of DB projects. In the construction market of the People’s Republic of China, most of the design-builders, however, lack adequate competences to conduct the DB projects successfully. The objective of this study is, therefore, to identify the key competences that designbuilders should possess to not only ensure the success of DB projects but also acquire the competitive advantages in the DB market. Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews and two rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted to identify the key competences of design-builders. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance. Six ranked key competences of design-builders have been identified, namely: (1) experience with similar DB projects; (2) capability of corporate management; (3) combination of building techniques and design expertise; (4) financial capability for DB projects; (5) enterprise qualification and scale; and (6) credit records and reputation in the industry. The design-builders can make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence. These research findings will also be useful to clients during the selection of design-builders.
Purpose – Design-build (DB) clients play a vital role in the delivery of DB system and the client... more Purpose – Design-build (DB) clients play a vital role in the delivery of DB system and the clients' competences are critical to the success of DB projects. Most of the DB clients, however, remain inexperienced with the DB system. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key competences that DB clients should possess to ensure the success of DB projects in the construction market of China. Design/methodology/approach – Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews and two rounds Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted in the construction market of China to identify the key competences of DB clients. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance. Findings – Six ranked key competences of DB clients have been identified, which are, namely: the ability to clearly define project scope and objectives; financial capacity for the projects; capacity in contract management; adequate staff or consulting team; effective coordination with DB contractors; and experience with similar DB projects. Calculation of Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) indicates a statistically significant consensus of panel experts on these top six key competences. Practical implications – Clients should clearly understand the competence requirements in DB projects and should assess their DB capability before going for the DB option. Originality/value – The examination of DB client's key competences will help the client deepen the understanding of the DB system. DB clients can also make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence.
Purpose – The paper aims to explore the key competitiveness indicators (KCIs) that provide the gu... more Purpose – The paper aims to explore the key competitiveness indicators (KCIs) that provide the guidelines for helping new real estate developers (REDs) achieve competitiveness during their inception stage in which the organisations start their business. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted using a combination of various methods. A literature review was undertaken to provide a proper theoretical understanding of organisational competitiveness within RED's activities and developed a framework of competitiveness indicators (CIs) for REDs. The Delphi forecasting method is employed to investigate a group of 20 experts' perception on the relative importance between CIs. Findings – The results show that the KCIs of new REDs are capital operation capability, entrepreneurship, land reserve capability, high sales revenue from the first real estate development project, and innovation capability. Originality/value – The five KCIs of new REDs are new. In practical terms, the examination of these KCIs would help the business managers of new REDs to effectively plan their business by focusing their efforts on these key indicators. The KCIs can also help REDs provide theoretical constructs of the knowledge base on organisational competitiveness from a dynamic perspective, and assist in providing valuable experiences and in formulating feasible strategies for survival and growth.
Many academic researchers have conducted studies on the selection of a design-build (DB) delivery... more Many academic researchers have conducted studies on the selection of a design-build (DB) delivery method; however, there are few studies on the selection of DB operational variations, which pose challenges to many clients. The selection of a DB operational variation is a multicriteria decision-making process that requires clients to objectively evaluate the performance of each DB operational variation with reference to the selection criteria. This evaluation process is often characterized by subjectivity and uncertainty. To resolve this deficiency, the current investigation aimed to establish a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making (FMCDM) model for selecting the most suitable DB operational variation. A three-round Delphi questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the selection criteria and their relative importance. A fuzzy set theory approach, namely, the modified horizontal approach with the bisector error method, was applied to establish the fuzzy membership functions, which enables clients to perform quantitative calculations on the performance of each DB operational variation. The FMCDM was developed using the weighted-mean method to aggregate the overall performance of DB operational variations with regard to the selection criteria. The proposed FMCDM model enables clients to perform quantitative calculations in a fuzzy decision-making environment and provides a useful tool to cope with different project attributes.
Purpose – The aim of this study is to identify complexity measures for building projects in the P... more Purpose – The aim of this study is to identify complexity measures for building projects in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Design/methodology/approach – A three-round of Delphi questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the key parameters that measure the degree of project complexity. A complexity index (CI) was developed based on the identified measures and their relative importance. Findings – Six key measures of project complexity have been identified, namely: building structure & function; construction method; the urgency of the project schedule; project size/scale; geological condition; and neighboring environment. Practical implications – These complexity measures help stakeholders assess degrees of project complexity and better manage the potential risks that might be induced to different levels of project complexity. Originality/value – The findings provide insightful perspectives to define and understand project complexity. For stakeholders, understanding and addressing the complexity help to improve project planning and implementation.
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Abstract. T... more Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Abstract. The design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated as an effective delivery method and has gained popularity worldwide. However it is observed that a number of operational variations of DB system have emerged since the last decade to cater for different client's requirements. After the client decides to procure his project through the DB system, he still has to choose an appropriate configuration to deliver their projects optimally. However, there is little research on the selection of DB operational variations. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of evaluation criteria for determining the appropriateness of each operational variation. To obtain such criteria, a three-round Delphi survey has been conducted with 20 construction experts in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Seven top selection criteria were identified. These are: (1) availability of competent design-builders; (2) client's capabilities; (3) project complexity; (4) client's control of project; (5) early commencement & short duration; (6) reduced responsibility or involvement; and (7) clearly defined end user's requirements. These selection criteria were found to have a statistically significant agreement. These findings may furnish various stakeholders, DB clients in particular, with better insight to understand and compare the different operational variations of the DB system.
Under pressure from both the ever increasing level of market competition and the global financial... more Under pressure from both the ever increasing level of market competition and the global financial crisis, clients in consumer electronics (CE) industry are keen to understand how to choose the most appropriate procurement method and hence to improve their competitiveness. Four rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted with 12 experts in order to identify the most appropriate procurement method in the Hong Kong CE industry. Five key selection criteria in the CE industry are highlighted, including product quality, capability, price competition, flexibility and speed.
Although the design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated to be an effective delivery method an... more Although the design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated to be an effective delivery method and has gained popularity worldwide, it has not gained the same popularity in the construction market of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The objective of this study was to investigate the barriers to entry in the DB market. A total of 22 entry barriers were first identified through an open-ended questionnaire survey with 15 top construction professionals in the construction market of China. A broad questionnaire survey was further conducted to prioritize these entry barriers. Statistical analysis of responses shows that the most dominant barriers to entry into the DB market are lack of design expertise, lack of interest from owners, lack of suitable organization structure, lack of DB specialists, and lack of credit record system. Analysis of variance indicates that there is no difference of opinions among the respondent groups of academia, government departments, state-owned companies, and private companies, at the 5% significance level, on most of the barriers to entry. Finally, the underlying dimensions of barriers to entry in the DB market were investigated through factor analysis. The results indicate that there are six major underlying dimensions of entry barriers in DB market, including the competence of design-builders, difficulty in project procurement, characteristics of DB projects, lack of support from public sectors, the competence of DB owners, and the immaturity of DB market. These findings are useful for both potential and incumbent design-builders to understand and analyze the DB market in China.
The two-phase best-value process has been widely used by public agencies for Design and Build (DB... more The two-phase best-value process has been widely used by public agencies for Design and Build (DB) procurement, with a key issue in the first phase of prequalification the determination of evaluation criteria. This study identified a set of general qualification criteria for design-builders and compares their relative importance by a thorough content analysis of 97 Requests for Qualification (RFQ) for public DB projects advertised between 2000 and 2011 in various regions of the United States. The thirty-nine qualification criteria found are summarized and classified into eight categories comprising: experience; project understanding, and approach; organizational structure and capacity; past performance record; professional qualifications; responsiveness to RFQs, office location, and familiarity with local environment ; and legal status in descending order of their relative importance. A comparative analysis of different types of projects shows that the relative weightings of the qualification criteria vary according to different characteristics of the DB projects involved.
Design-build (DB) is a generic form of construction procurement, and, rather than simply represen... more Design-build (DB) is a generic form of construction procurement, and, rather than simply representing a single system, it has evolved in practice into a variety of forms, each of which is similar to, and yet different from each other. Although the importance of selecting an appropriate DB variant has been widely accepted, difficulties occur in practice due to the multiplicity of terms and concepts used. What is needed is some kind of taxonomy or framework within which the individual variants can be placed and their relative attributes identified and understood. Through a comprehensive literature review and content analysis, this paper establishes a systematic classification framework for DB variants based on their operational attributes. In addition to providing much needed support for decision-making, this classification framework provides client/owners with perspectives to understand and examine different categories of DB variants from an operational perspective.
There is a growing demand for sustainable retirement villages in Australia due to an increasing n... more There is a growing demand for sustainable retirement villages in Australia due to an increasing number of ageing population and public acceptance of sustainable development. This research aims to gain a better understanding of retirees' understanding about sustainable retirement living and their attitudes towards sustainable developments via a questionnaire survey approach. The results showed that the current residents of retirement villages are generally very conscious of unsustainable resource consumption and would like their residences and community to be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The cost of energy supply is a concern to majority of respondents. However there is a certain level of concerns from residents too on the extra cost of going green in their residence. Education is required to residents about recycling household waste and how to use available facilities. A better understanding of retirees' awareness and attitudes towards sustainability issues helps to improve the sustainable developments of retirement villages in the future.
The request for proposal (RFP) with the design-build (DB) procurement arrangement is a document i... more The request for proposal (RFP) with the design-build (DB) procurement arrangement is a document in which an owner develops his requirements and conveys the project scope to DB contractors. Owners should provide an appropriate level of design in DB RFPs to adequately describe their requirements without compromising the prospects for innovation. This paper examines and compares the different levels of owner-provided design in DB RFPs by the content analysis of 84 requests for RFPs for public DB projects advertised between 2000 and 2010 with an aggregate contract value of over $5.4 billion. A statistical analysis was also conducted to explore the relationship between the proportion of owner-provided design and other project information, including project type, advertisement time, project size, contractor selection method, procurement process, and contract type. The results show that the majority (64.8%) of the RFPs provides less than 10% of the owner-provided design. The owner-provided design proportion has a significant association with project type, project size, contractor selection method, and contract type. In addition, owners are generally providing less design in recent years than previously. The research findings also provide owners with perspectives to determine the appropriate level of owner-provided design in DB RFPs.
Selecting an appropriate design-builder is critical to the success of design-build (DB) projects.... more Selecting an appropriate design-builder is critical to the success of design-build (DB) projects. The objective of this study is to identify selection criteria for design-builders and compare their relative importance by means of a robust content analysis of 94 requests for proposal (RFPs) for public DB projects. These DB projects had an aggregate contract value of over US$3.5 billion and were advertised between 2000 and 2010. This study summarized twenty-six selection criteria and classified them into ten categories, i.e., price, experience, technical approach, management approach, qualification, schedule, past performance, financial capability, responsiveness to the RFP, and legal status, in descending order of their relative importance. The results showed that although price still remains the most important selection category, its relative importance has declined significantly in the last decade. The categories of qualification, experience, and past performance , by contrast, have become more important to DB owners for selecting design-builders. Finally, it is found that the importance weight-ing of price in large projects is significantly higher than that in small projects. This study provides a useful reference for owners in selecting their preferred design-builders.
Engineering Construction and Architectural Management, 2019
Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for implementing lean construction an... more Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for implementing lean construction and consequently to improve performance levels in the construction industry in the context of Saudi Arabia. There is currently no framework for implementing lean construction specifically tailored to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) construction industry. Existing lean construction frameworks are focussed on other countries and are less applicable in the KSA due to differences in socio-cultural and operational contexts. Design/methodology/approach-This study employs the interpretive structural modelling (ISM) technique for data collection and analysis. First, following a survey of 282 construction professionals, 12 critical success factors (CSFs) for implementing lean construction in the KSA construction industry were identified by Sarhan et al. (2016). Second, 16 of these professionals who have 15 years or more experience were exclusively selected to examine the contextual relationship among the 12 CSFs. A row and column questionnaire was used for a pairwise comparison of the CSFs. A matrix of cross-impact multiplications (MICMAC) was applied to analyse the questionnaire data to develop an ISM model that can serve as a framework for implementing lean construction. Third, the framework was subjected to further validation by interviewing five experts to check for conceptual inconsistencies and to confirm the applicability of the framework in the context of the KSA construction industry. Findings-The findings reveal that the CSFs are divided into four clusters: autonomous, linkage, dependent and driving clusters. Additionally, the findings reveal seven hierarchies of interrelationships among the CSFs. The order of practical application of the CSFs descends from the seventh hierarchy to the first hierarchy. Originality/value-The new framework is a significant advancement over existing lean construction frameworks as it employs an ISM technique to specify the hierarchical relationships among the different factors that contribute to the successful implementation of lean construction. The primary value of this study is the development of a new framework that reflects the socio-cultural and operational contexts in the KSA construction industry and can guide the successful implementation of lean construction. Therefore, construction industry operators such as contractors, consultants, government departments and professionals can rely on the framework to implement lean construction more effectively and successfully.
The delivery of green building projects is often more difficult than that for of non–green buildi... more The delivery of green building projects is often more difficult than that for of non–green building projects, thereby resulting in low project performance. To overcome the difficulties and improve the delivery performance of green building projects, there is a need to explore the perceived relationship between motivation and owner commitment (OC) based on the self-determination theory (SDT) of motivation. However, no previous research has empirically tested this relationship in the context of the performance of green building delivery. Therefore, the current study evaluated this relationship using survey data from 150 project owners of green building projects in the Australian building sector. The data obtained were analyzed using both confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis of eight hypotheses (H1–H8). The SEM results reveal that OC had a direct positive relationship with traditional delivery performance (TDP). Additionally, only the internal motivation (INT) of project owners was found to have a direct positive relationship with sustainability delivery performance (SDP), and this relationship was partially mediated by OC. External motivation (EXT) had no direct positive relationship with OC, TDP, or SDP. The study concludes that OC helps to improve the TDP of green building projects, but the INT of project owners is required to increase their commitment to improving the SDP of green building projects. In addition, the EXT of project owners is not effective in increasing their commitment, and it does not contribute to improving TDP and SDP of green building projects. Theoretically, the application of SDT of motivation helps to contribute to the knowledge of how to improve the delivery performance of green building projects in the field of construction management and engineering. Practically, this study will help project owners to contribute to improving the delivery performance of green building projects. This study also provides the direction that policies for encouraging the development of green building projects and associated practices should take in both Australia and the United States henceforth.
Adopting green building requires a lot of motivation due to the litany of challenges involved. Co... more Adopting green building requires a lot of motivation due to the litany of challenges involved. Consequently, many previous studies have investigated the motivation for adopting green building. Insights from motivation theories from the field of psychology such as goal-setting theory and expectancy theory suggest that the previous studies emphasized only on the goal or intention of motivation. While this is correct, the motivation for adopting green building also encompasses ‘levels of motivation’ based on another theory from the field of psychology – the selfdetermination theory (SDT) of motivation. Hence, what are the levels of motivation for adopting green building? What is the implication of the levels of motivation for the design of policy for motivating the adoption of green building? Through extensive literature review, this study uses insights from the SDT of motivation to answer these questions. By doing so, this study helps to form a newer understanding of the motivation for adopting green building. Specifically, this study provides the knowledge of the levels of motivation for adopting green building to individual and organizational level building stakeholders in the building sector, and how the public authorities can design policies to influence the respective levels of motivation.
abstract Office buildings constitute a significant proportion of the non-residential building sto... more abstract Office buildings constitute a significant proportion of the non-residential building stock. In recent years, various rating tools have been developed to foster green office building development. The Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) has developed the Green Star-Office rating tools for this purpose. There are an increasing number of stakeholders adopting these tools to showcase their efforts in sustainable development. This research focuses on the challenges and barriers in obtaining GBCA ratings in Australian Office buildings. To accomplish this, the scoring sheets from the rating of 264 certified office buildings were collected and critically analysed. The findings indicated that credits related to the attributes of innovation, ecology and energy are comparatively difficult to achieve. It was also found in this study that a large number of projects did not apply for the specific credits of refrig-erant global warming potential, re-use of façade, topsoil and fill removal from site, and individual comfort control. This study provides a useful reference to both the property developer and the Green Building Council of Australia for green building developments in the future. In particular, the findings provide useful inputs to the development of the next generation of green building rating tools.
Design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated as an effective delivery method and been widely us... more Design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated as an effective delivery method and been widely used overseas. However it does not receive the same popularity in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This paper first conducts a literature review on advantages and disadvantages of DB in general; then it gives an overview of the PRC construction industry. There are ample evidences that the DB system will theoretically bring benefits to the PRC construction industry. After a thorough investigation of the current DB market, it can be concluded that the development of the DB system is still at its infancy stage. The barriers to entry have been finally identified, which relate to the legal restraints, negative owner attitude, and high requirement of DB projects. These barriers constitute obstacles to the development of DB system in the PRC. However, with rapid growth of construction industry, new requirements in modern construction projects, and strong promotion from governments, it is believed that the domestic DB market will have great potential in the near future.
Design-builders play a vital role in the success of DB projects. In the construction market of th... more Design-builders play a vital role in the success of DB projects. In the construction market of the People’s Republic of China, most of the design-builders, however, lack adequate competences to conduct the DB projects successfully. The objective of this study is, therefore, to identify the key competences that designbuilders should possess to not only ensure the success of DB projects but also acquire the competitive advantages in the DB market. Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews and two rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted to identify the key competences of design-builders. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance. Six ranked key competences of design-builders have been identified, namely: (1) experience with similar DB projects; (2) capability of corporate management; (3) combination of building techniques and design expertise; (4) financial capability for DB projects; (5) enterprise qualification and scale; and (6) credit records and reputation in the industry. The design-builders can make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence. These research findings will also be useful to clients during the selection of design-builders.
Purpose – Design-build (DB) clients play a vital role in the delivery of DB system and the client... more Purpose – Design-build (DB) clients play a vital role in the delivery of DB system and the clients' competences are critical to the success of DB projects. Most of the DB clients, however, remain inexperienced with the DB system. The purpose of this paper is to identify the key competences that DB clients should possess to ensure the success of DB projects in the construction market of China. Design/methodology/approach – Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews and two rounds Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted in the construction market of China to identify the key competences of DB clients. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance. Findings – Six ranked key competences of DB clients have been identified, which are, namely: the ability to clearly define project scope and objectives; financial capacity for the projects; capacity in contract management; adequate staff or consulting team; effective coordination with DB contractors; and experience with similar DB projects. Calculation of Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) indicates a statistically significant consensus of panel experts on these top six key competences. Practical implications – Clients should clearly understand the competence requirements in DB projects and should assess their DB capability before going for the DB option. Originality/value – The examination of DB client's key competences will help the client deepen the understanding of the DB system. DB clients can also make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence.
Purpose – The paper aims to explore the key competitiveness indicators (KCIs) that provide the gu... more Purpose – The paper aims to explore the key competitiveness indicators (KCIs) that provide the guidelines for helping new real estate developers (REDs) achieve competitiveness during their inception stage in which the organisations start their business. Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted using a combination of various methods. A literature review was undertaken to provide a proper theoretical understanding of organisational competitiveness within RED's activities and developed a framework of competitiveness indicators (CIs) for REDs. The Delphi forecasting method is employed to investigate a group of 20 experts' perception on the relative importance between CIs. Findings – The results show that the KCIs of new REDs are capital operation capability, entrepreneurship, land reserve capability, high sales revenue from the first real estate development project, and innovation capability. Originality/value – The five KCIs of new REDs are new. In practical terms, the examination of these KCIs would help the business managers of new REDs to effectively plan their business by focusing their efforts on these key indicators. The KCIs can also help REDs provide theoretical constructs of the knowledge base on organisational competitiveness from a dynamic perspective, and assist in providing valuable experiences and in formulating feasible strategies for survival and growth.
Many academic researchers have conducted studies on the selection of a design-build (DB) delivery... more Many academic researchers have conducted studies on the selection of a design-build (DB) delivery method; however, there are few studies on the selection of DB operational variations, which pose challenges to many clients. The selection of a DB operational variation is a multicriteria decision-making process that requires clients to objectively evaluate the performance of each DB operational variation with reference to the selection criteria. This evaluation process is often characterized by subjectivity and uncertainty. To resolve this deficiency, the current investigation aimed to establish a fuzzy multicriteria decision-making (FMCDM) model for selecting the most suitable DB operational variation. A three-round Delphi questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the selection criteria and their relative importance. A fuzzy set theory approach, namely, the modified horizontal approach with the bisector error method, was applied to establish the fuzzy membership functions, which enables clients to perform quantitative calculations on the performance of each DB operational variation. The FMCDM was developed using the weighted-mean method to aggregate the overall performance of DB operational variations with regard to the selection criteria. The proposed FMCDM model enables clients to perform quantitative calculations in a fuzzy decision-making environment and provides a useful tool to cope with different project attributes.
Purpose – The aim of this study is to identify complexity measures for building projects in the P... more Purpose – The aim of this study is to identify complexity measures for building projects in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Design/methodology/approach – A three-round of Delphi questionnaire survey was conducted to identify the key parameters that measure the degree of project complexity. A complexity index (CI) was developed based on the identified measures and their relative importance. Findings – Six key measures of project complexity have been identified, namely: building structure & function; construction method; the urgency of the project schedule; project size/scale; geological condition; and neighboring environment. Practical implications – These complexity measures help stakeholders assess degrees of project complexity and better manage the potential risks that might be induced to different levels of project complexity. Originality/value – The findings provide insightful perspectives to define and understand project complexity. For stakeholders, understanding and addressing the complexity help to improve project planning and implementation.
Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Abstract. T... more Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Abstract. The design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated as an effective delivery method and has gained popularity worldwide. However it is observed that a number of operational variations of DB system have emerged since the last decade to cater for different client's requirements. After the client decides to procure his project through the DB system, he still has to choose an appropriate configuration to deliver their projects optimally. However, there is little research on the selection of DB operational variations. One of the main reasons for this is the lack of evaluation criteria for determining the appropriateness of each operational variation. To obtain such criteria, a three-round Delphi survey has been conducted with 20 construction experts in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Seven top selection criteria were identified. These are: (1) availability of competent design-builders; (2) client's capabilities; (3) project complexity; (4) client's control of project; (5) early commencement & short duration; (6) reduced responsibility or involvement; and (7) clearly defined end user's requirements. These selection criteria were found to have a statistically significant agreement. These findings may furnish various stakeholders, DB clients in particular, with better insight to understand and compare the different operational variations of the DB system.
Under pressure from both the ever increasing level of market competition and the global financial... more Under pressure from both the ever increasing level of market competition and the global financial crisis, clients in consumer electronics (CE) industry are keen to understand how to choose the most appropriate procurement method and hence to improve their competitiveness. Four rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted with 12 experts in order to identify the most appropriate procurement method in the Hong Kong CE industry. Five key selection criteria in the CE industry are highlighted, including product quality, capability, price competition, flexibility and speed.
Although the design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated to be an effective delivery method an... more Although the design-build (DB) system has been demonstrated to be an effective delivery method and has gained popularity worldwide, it has not gained the same popularity in the construction market of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The objective of this study was to investigate the barriers to entry in the DB market. A total of 22 entry barriers were first identified through an open-ended questionnaire survey with 15 top construction professionals in the construction market of China. A broad questionnaire survey was further conducted to prioritize these entry barriers. Statistical analysis of responses shows that the most dominant barriers to entry into the DB market are lack of design expertise, lack of interest from owners, lack of suitable organization structure, lack of DB specialists, and lack of credit record system. Analysis of variance indicates that there is no difference of opinions among the respondent groups of academia, government departments, state-owned companies, and private companies, at the 5% significance level, on most of the barriers to entry. Finally, the underlying dimensions of barriers to entry in the DB market were investigated through factor analysis. The results indicate that there are six major underlying dimensions of entry barriers in DB market, including the competence of design-builders, difficulty in project procurement, characteristics of DB projects, lack of support from public sectors, the competence of DB owners, and the immaturity of DB market. These findings are useful for both potential and incumbent design-builders to understand and analyze the DB market in China.
The two-phase best-value process has been widely used by public agencies for Design and Build (DB... more The two-phase best-value process has been widely used by public agencies for Design and Build (DB) procurement, with a key issue in the first phase of prequalification the determination of evaluation criteria. This study identified a set of general qualification criteria for design-builders and compares their relative importance by a thorough content analysis of 97 Requests for Qualification (RFQ) for public DB projects advertised between 2000 and 2011 in various regions of the United States. The thirty-nine qualification criteria found are summarized and classified into eight categories comprising: experience; project understanding, and approach; organizational structure and capacity; past performance record; professional qualifications; responsiveness to RFQs, office location, and familiarity with local environment ; and legal status in descending order of their relative importance. A comparative analysis of different types of projects shows that the relative weightings of the qualification criteria vary according to different characteristics of the DB projects involved.
Design-build (DB) is a generic form of construction procurement, and, rather than simply represen... more Design-build (DB) is a generic form of construction procurement, and, rather than simply representing a single system, it has evolved in practice into a variety of forms, each of which is similar to, and yet different from each other. Although the importance of selecting an appropriate DB variant has been widely accepted, difficulties occur in practice due to the multiplicity of terms and concepts used. What is needed is some kind of taxonomy or framework within which the individual variants can be placed and their relative attributes identified and understood. Through a comprehensive literature review and content analysis, this paper establishes a systematic classification framework for DB variants based on their operational attributes. In addition to providing much needed support for decision-making, this classification framework provides client/owners with perspectives to understand and examine different categories of DB variants from an operational perspective.
There is a growing demand for sustainable retirement villages in Australia due to an increasing n... more There is a growing demand for sustainable retirement villages in Australia due to an increasing number of ageing population and public acceptance of sustainable development. This research aims to gain a better understanding of retirees' understanding about sustainable retirement living and their attitudes towards sustainable developments via a questionnaire survey approach. The results showed that the current residents of retirement villages are generally very conscious of unsustainable resource consumption and would like their residences and community to be more environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The cost of energy supply is a concern to majority of respondents. However there is a certain level of concerns from residents too on the extra cost of going green in their residence. Education is required to residents about recycling household waste and how to use available facilities. A better understanding of retirees' awareness and attitudes towards sustainability issues helps to improve the sustainable developments of retirement villages in the future.
The request for proposal (RFP) with the design-build (DB) procurement arrangement is a document i... more The request for proposal (RFP) with the design-build (DB) procurement arrangement is a document in which an owner develops his requirements and conveys the project scope to DB contractors. Owners should provide an appropriate level of design in DB RFPs to adequately describe their requirements without compromising the prospects for innovation. This paper examines and compares the different levels of owner-provided design in DB RFPs by the content analysis of 84 requests for RFPs for public DB projects advertised between 2000 and 2010 with an aggregate contract value of over $5.4 billion. A statistical analysis was also conducted to explore the relationship between the proportion of owner-provided design and other project information, including project type, advertisement time, project size, contractor selection method, procurement process, and contract type. The results show that the majority (64.8%) of the RFPs provides less than 10% of the owner-provided design. The owner-provided design proportion has a significant association with project type, project size, contractor selection method, and contract type. In addition, owners are generally providing less design in recent years than previously. The research findings also provide owners with perspectives to determine the appropriate level of owner-provided design in DB RFPs.
Selecting an appropriate design-builder is critical to the success of design-build (DB) projects.... more Selecting an appropriate design-builder is critical to the success of design-build (DB) projects. The objective of this study is to identify selection criteria for design-builders and compare their relative importance by means of a robust content analysis of 94 requests for proposal (RFPs) for public DB projects. These DB projects had an aggregate contract value of over US$3.5 billion and were advertised between 2000 and 2010. This study summarized twenty-six selection criteria and classified them into ten categories, i.e., price, experience, technical approach, management approach, qualification, schedule, past performance, financial capability, responsiveness to the RFP, and legal status, in descending order of their relative importance. The results showed that although price still remains the most important selection category, its relative importance has declined significantly in the last decade. The categories of qualification, experience, and past performance , by contrast, have become more important to DB owners for selecting design-builders. Finally, it is found that the importance weight-ing of price in large projects is significantly higher than that in small projects. This study provides a useful reference for owners in selecting their preferred design-builders.
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Papers by Bo Xia
‘levels of motivation’ based on another theory from the field of psychology – the selfdetermination theory (SDT) of motivation. Hence, what are the levels of motivation for adopting green building? What is the implication of the levels of motivation for the design of policy for
motivating the adoption of green building? Through extensive literature review, this study uses insights from the SDT of motivation to answer these questions. By doing so, this study helps to form a newer understanding of the motivation for adopting green building. Specifically, this study provides the knowledge of the levels of motivation for adopting green building to individual and organizational level building stakeholders in the building sector, and how the public authorities can design policies to influence the respective levels of motivation.
construction industry. There are ample evidences that the DB system will theoretically bring benefits to the PRC construction industry. After a thorough investigation of the current DB market, it can be concluded that the development of the DB system is still at its infancy stage. The barriers to entry have been finally identified, which relate to the legal restraints, negative owner attitude, and high requirement of DB projects. These barriers constitute obstacles to the development of DB system in the PRC. However, with rapid growth of construction industry, new requirements in modern construction projects, and strong promotion from governments, it is believed that the domestic DB market will have great potential in the near future.
projects successfully. The objective of this study is, therefore, to identify the key competences that designbuilders should possess to not only ensure the success of DB projects but also acquire the competitive
advantages in the DB market. Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews and two rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted to identify the key competences of design-builders. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance. Six ranked key competences of design-builders have been identified, namely: (1) experience with similar DB projects; (2) capability of corporate management; (3) combination of building techniques and design expertise; (4) financial capability for DB projects; (5) enterprise qualification and scale; and (6) credit records and reputation in the industry. The design-builders can make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence. These research findings will also be useful to clients during the selection of design-builders.
Design/methodology/approach – Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews and two rounds Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted in the construction market of China to identify the key competences of DB clients. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance.
Findings – Six ranked key competences of DB clients have been identified, which are, namely: the ability to clearly define project scope and objectives; financial capacity for the projects; capacity in contract management; adequate staff or consulting team; effective coordination with DB contractors; and experience with similar DB projects. Calculation of Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) indicates a statistically significant consensus of panel experts on these top six key competences.
Practical implications – Clients should clearly understand the competence requirements in DB projects and should assess their DB capability before going for the DB option.
Originality/value – The examination of DB client's key competences will help the client deepen the understanding of the DB system. DB clients can also make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence.
Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted using a combination of various methods. A literature review was undertaken to provide a proper theoretical understanding of organisational competitiveness within RED's activities and developed a framework of competitiveness indicators (CIs) for REDs. The Delphi forecasting method is employed to investigate a group of 20 experts' perception on the relative importance between CIs.
Findings – The results show that the KCIs of new REDs are capital operation capability, entrepreneurship, land reserve capability, high sales revenue from the first real estate development project, and innovation capability.
Originality/value – The five KCIs of new REDs are new. In practical terms, the examination of these KCIs would help the business managers of new REDs to effectively plan their business by focusing their efforts on these key indicators. The KCIs can also help REDs provide theoretical constructs of the knowledge base on organisational competitiveness from a dynamic perspective, and assist in providing valuable experiences and in formulating feasible strategies for survival and growth.
Findings – Six key measures of project complexity have been identified, namely: building structure & function; construction method; the urgency of the project schedule; project size/scale; geological condition; and neighboring environment.
Practical implications – These complexity measures help stakeholders assess degrees of project complexity and better manage the potential risks that might be induced to different levels of project complexity. Originality/value – The findings provide insightful perspectives to define and understand project complexity. For stakeholders, understanding and addressing the complexity help to improve project planning and implementation.
‘levels of motivation’ based on another theory from the field of psychology – the selfdetermination theory (SDT) of motivation. Hence, what are the levels of motivation for adopting green building? What is the implication of the levels of motivation for the design of policy for
motivating the adoption of green building? Through extensive literature review, this study uses insights from the SDT of motivation to answer these questions. By doing so, this study helps to form a newer understanding of the motivation for adopting green building. Specifically, this study provides the knowledge of the levels of motivation for adopting green building to individual and organizational level building stakeholders in the building sector, and how the public authorities can design policies to influence the respective levels of motivation.
construction industry. There are ample evidences that the DB system will theoretically bring benefits to the PRC construction industry. After a thorough investigation of the current DB market, it can be concluded that the development of the DB system is still at its infancy stage. The barriers to entry have been finally identified, which relate to the legal restraints, negative owner attitude, and high requirement of DB projects. These barriers constitute obstacles to the development of DB system in the PRC. However, with rapid growth of construction industry, new requirements in modern construction projects, and strong promotion from governments, it is believed that the domestic DB market will have great potential in the near future.
projects successfully. The objective of this study is, therefore, to identify the key competences that designbuilders should possess to not only ensure the success of DB projects but also acquire the competitive
advantages in the DB market. Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews and two rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted to identify the key competences of design-builders. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance. Six ranked key competences of design-builders have been identified, namely: (1) experience with similar DB projects; (2) capability of corporate management; (3) combination of building techniques and design expertise; (4) financial capability for DB projects; (5) enterprise qualification and scale; and (6) credit records and reputation in the industry. The design-builders can make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence. These research findings will also be useful to clients during the selection of design-builders.
Design/methodology/approach – Five semi-structured face-to-face interviews and two rounds Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted in the construction market of China to identify the key competences of DB clients. Rankings have been assigned to these key competences on the basis of their relative importance.
Findings – Six ranked key competences of DB clients have been identified, which are, namely: the ability to clearly define project scope and objectives; financial capacity for the projects; capacity in contract management; adequate staff or consulting team; effective coordination with DB contractors; and experience with similar DB projects. Calculation of Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) indicates a statistically significant consensus of panel experts on these top six key competences.
Practical implications – Clients should clearly understand the competence requirements in DB projects and should assess their DB capability before going for the DB option.
Originality/value – The examination of DB client's key competences will help the client deepen the understanding of the DB system. DB clients can also make use of the research findings as guidelines to improve their DB competence.
Design/methodology/approach – The research was conducted using a combination of various methods. A literature review was undertaken to provide a proper theoretical understanding of organisational competitiveness within RED's activities and developed a framework of competitiveness indicators (CIs) for REDs. The Delphi forecasting method is employed to investigate a group of 20 experts' perception on the relative importance between CIs.
Findings – The results show that the KCIs of new REDs are capital operation capability, entrepreneurship, land reserve capability, high sales revenue from the first real estate development project, and innovation capability.
Originality/value – The five KCIs of new REDs are new. In practical terms, the examination of these KCIs would help the business managers of new REDs to effectively plan their business by focusing their efforts on these key indicators. The KCIs can also help REDs provide theoretical constructs of the knowledge base on organisational competitiveness from a dynamic perspective, and assist in providing valuable experiences and in formulating feasible strategies for survival and growth.
Findings – Six key measures of project complexity have been identified, namely: building structure & function; construction method; the urgency of the project schedule; project size/scale; geological condition; and neighboring environment.
Practical implications – These complexity measures help stakeholders assess degrees of project complexity and better manage the potential risks that might be induced to different levels of project complexity. Originality/value – The findings provide insightful perspectives to define and understand project complexity. For stakeholders, understanding and addressing the complexity help to improve project planning and implementation.