Luo, J and Santoso, D S (2024) Critical factors affecting Chinese construction expatriates' living and working conditions in Thailand: A Delphi study. International Journal of Construction Management, 24(10), pp. 1066-1076. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Expatriation management is a key concern in international construction projects, where the living and working conditions of expatriates can have a significant impact on project success. This study investigates the critical factors affecting Chinese construction expatriates' living and working conditions in Thailand. Through a three-round Delphi technique involving twelve experts and in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight construction experts with extensive overseas experience to validate, six critical factors were identified for each living and working condition. Language and Covid-19-related (during the investigating period) factors were the most dominant factors affecting the living conditions, while technical standards, technology, and competition were critical factors for working conditions. The study categorizes the critical factors into five groups and provides suggestions for improvement. This research is the first to investigate the specific factors affecting Chinese construction expatriates in Thailand and offers insights and management directions for the expatriation process, particularly for the growing number of Chinese construction companies expanding internationally. The findings also serve as a valuable reference for future research on this topic.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction expatriates; Delphi study; living conditions; project management; working conditions |
| Index terms: | project management, living condition, critical factor, Delphi technique, COVID-19, Thailand, interview, competition, project success, Delphi method, construction company, international construction project, working conditions |
| Subjects: | employment law, data collection methods, health risk and incident analysis, organization, Geography, risk assessment, sociology, strategic management, market analysis, project management theory and practice |
| Topics: | Project Management, Health and Safety, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Urban Studies, Legal Issues, Risk Management, Research Practice, International Construction |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here