Modelling the Effect of Housing Design Unit Contract Packaging on Mass Housing Project Team Communication Performance
Main Article Content
Abstract
Studies exploring success on mass housing projects (MHPs) continue to cite communication ineffectiveness inherent from the unique attributes of mass housing as a major problem in the delivery. Unfortunately, these studies fail to establish the nature and extent to which the observed communication ineffectiveness is attributed to the unique characteristics displayed by MHPs. Here, this study aims at exploring the influence of the housing design unit contract packaging (HDP) features of MHPs on project team communication performance. By adopting a questionnaire survey and the use of structural equation model (SEM), the study used empirical data collected from project team leaders on mass housing project sites in Ghana to assess the communication ineffectiveness inherent in the HDP attributes. The evidence gathered from the empirical study indeed supports the hypothesis that the HDP features of MHPs significantly contribute to communication ineffectiveness related to information flow and information composition among the project team. These findings affirm the uniqueness of MHPs and suggest the need for project teams and stakeholders on mass housing to adopt communication methods, medium, strategies and management approaches that fit the mass housing project environment to engender managerial and communication efficiencies in mass housing delivery.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Adinyira, E., Ahadzie, D.K. and Kwofie T.E. (2013). Determining the Unique Features of Mass Housing Projects (MHPs). In S. Laryea and S.A. Agyepong (eds.). Proceedings of the 4th West Africa Built Environment Research (WABER) Conference. Accra, Ghana, 12–14 August. Accra, Ghana: WABER, 381–390.
Ahadzie, D., Proverbs, D. and Olomolaiye, P. (2007). Critical success criteria for mass housing building projects in developing countries. International Journal of Project Management, 26(6): 675–687. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.09.006.
Ahadzie, D., Proverbs, D. and Sarkodie-Poku, I. (2014). Competencies required of project managers at the design phase of mass housing building projects. International Journal of Project Management, 32(6): 958–969. doi: 10.1016/j.ijproman.2013.10.015.
Bentler, P. and Wu, E. (2005). EQS 6.1 for Windows. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software. Available at: http://down.cenet.org.cn/upfile/83/200931814911118.pdf [Accessed on 11 February 2015].
Byrne, B.M. (2006). Structural Equation Modeling with EQS: Basic Concepts, Applications and Programming. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chou, J.S. and Yang, J.G. (2012). Project management knowledge and effects on construction project outcomes: An empirical study. Project Management Journal, 43(5): 47–67. doi: 10.1002/pmj.21293.
Construction Industry Institute (CII). (1997). An assessment tool for improving project team communications. University of Texas at Austin Research Report. Austin, TX: CII, 105–11.
El-Rayes, K., Ramnathan, R. and Moselhi, O. (2000). An object oriented model for planning and control of housing construction. Construction Management and Economics, 20(3): 201–210. doi: 10.1080/01446190110115312.
El-Saboni, M., Aouad, G. and Sabouni, A. (2009). Electronic communication systems effects on the success of construction projects in United Arab Emirates. Advanced Engineering Informatics, 23(1): 130–138. doi: 10.1016/j.aei.2008.07.005.
Enshassi, A. (1997). Site organization and supervision in housing projects in the Gaza strip. International Journal of Project Management, 15(2): 93–99. doi: 10.1016/S0263-7863(96)00044-0.
Enshassi, A. and Burgess, R. (1991). Managerial effectiveness and the style of management in the Middle East: An empirical analysis. Construction Management and Economics, 9(1): 79–92. doi: 10.1080/01446199100000008. Entrusty Group. (2009). What are preliminaries and how to evaluate them? Master Builders Journal, 1: 80–90.
Field, A. (2005). Discovering Statistics Using SPSS for Windows. London: London Sage Publications.
Gray, C. and Hughes, W. (2012). Building Design Management. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.
Hair, J.F., Black, W.C., Babin, B.J., Anderson, R.E. and Tatham, R.L. (2010). Multivariate Data Analysis with Readings. 7th Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Hair, J.F., Hult, G.T.M., Ringle, C.M. and Sarstedt, M. (2013). A Primer on Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Hair, J.F., Ringle, C.M. and Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 19(2): 139–151. doi: 10.2753/MTP1069-6679190202.
Hu, L. and Bentler, P.M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6(1): 1–55. doi: 10.1080/10705519909540118.
Iacobucci, D. (2010). Structural equations modeling: Fit indices, sample size and advanced topics. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(1): 90–98. doi: 10.1016/j.jcps.2009.09.003.
Khanzadi, M., Dabirian, S. and Youneszadeh, Y. (2008). Assessment of Effective Factors on Time, Cost and Quality of Mass House Building Projects Using Analytic Hierarchy Process: A Case Study in Tehran. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: International Symposium on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (ISAHP). Available at: http://www.isahp.org/2009Proceedings/Final_Papers/ 18_Dabirian_EFFECTIVE_FACTORS_OF_HOUSING_MASS_PRODUCTION_PROJE CTS_REV_FIN.pdf [Accessed on 12 July 2013].
Kline, R.B. (2011). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. 3rd Ed. New York: Guilford Press.
———. (2005). Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling. 2nd Ed. New York: Guilford Press.
Kwofie, T.E., Fugar, F.D.K., Adinyira, E. and Ahadzie, D.K. (2014). A conceptual framework for evaluating communication performance among mass housing project team. In O. Ejohwomu and O. Oshodi (eds.). Proceedings: 3rd International Conference on Infrastructure Development in Africa. Abeokuta, Nigeria, 17–19 March. Abeokuta, Nigeria: Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, 6–21.
Liu, Y. (2009). Critical factors for managing project team communication at the construction stage. PhD diss. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Murray, M., Tookey, J.E., Langford, D.A. and Hardcastle, C. (2000). Project communication variables: A comparative study of US and UK construction industry perceptions. In Proceedings of ARCOM Conference. Glasgow, UK: Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 813–822.
Project Management Institute (PMI). (2008). A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. 3rd Ed. Pennsylvania: PMI.
Skulmoski, G. and Hartman, F. (2010). Information systems project manager soft competencies: A project-phase investigation. Project Management Journal, 41(1): 61–80.
Thomas, S.R., Tucker, R.L. and Kelly, W.R. (1998). Critical communication variables. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 124(1): 58–66. doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1998)124:1(58).
Wong, K.K. (2011). Book review: Handbook of partial least squares: Concepts, methods and applications. International Journal of Business Science and Applied Management, 6(2): 52–54.
Xie, C., Wu, D., Luo J. and Hu, X. (2010). A case study of multi-team communications in construction design. Supply Chain Management, 15(5): 363–370. doi: 10.1108/13598541011068279.
Xie, X. (2002). Communications in construction design. PhD diss. Loughborough University.
Xie, X., Thorpe, A. and Baldwin, A.N. (2000). A survey of communication issues in construction design. In A. Akintoye (ed.). 16th Annual ARCOM Conference Vol. 2. Glasgow Caledonian University, 6–8 September. Glasgow, UK: Association of Researchers in Construction Management, 771–780.
Zairul, M.M.N. and Rahinah, I. (2011). Identifying concurrent engineering (CE) elements for mass housing industry. Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, 5(1): 61–78.