Alashwal, A M and Fong, P S W (2015) Empirical study to determine fragmentation of construction projects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 141(7): 4015016, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Fragmentation is a well-known problem in the construction field; however, the literature shows a lack of a precise definition and appropriate measurement of this notion. The purpose of this paper is to determine indicators of fragmentation in construction projects using a second-order formative measurement model. The data were collected using a questionnaire survey from big building projects in Malaysia. Three procedures were used to analyze the data. First, we used principal component analysis (PCA) to determine fragmentation constructs and develop the hierarchical model. Second, partial least squares-path modeling (PLS-PM) was conducted to analyze the hierarchical model and validate the constructs. Lastly, a multicollinearity test was performed to validate the formative variables. The results indicated four new constructs of fragmentation, namely: integration, spanning knowledge across boundaries, barriers, and decoupling of diversity. This paper contributes to the development of a new definition of fragmentation and shows how it can be measured empirically. The new model paves the way to determine fragmentation's influence on other factors and the development of its theory in construction projects. The influence of fragmentation on project performance, for instance, can now be determined more accurately using this model.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | barriers; information; integration; organizational issues; partial least squares-path modeling; spanning knowledge; type ii hierarchical model |
| Index terms: | Malaysia, organizational issue, modelling, project performance, empirical study, principal component analysis, survey, decoupling, fragmentation, boundaries, partial least square, questionnaire, integration, construction project |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, business, property law, analytical methods, research methods, production management, Geography, project management theory and practice, organizational analysis, statistical analysis, systems engineering |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Organizational Design, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management, Engineering Principles |
| 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