Migliaccio, G C (2007) Planning for strategic change in the project delivery strategy. PhD thesis, University of Texas at Austin, USA.
Abstract
For organizations such as state departments of transportation, other public agencies, or private companies, adopting a new approach to procure services for delivery of construction projects requires significant organizational changes; modifications to both their work processes and existing organizational structures may be needed. These adjustments, encompassing many different aspects of the organization's interests, must occur for the change initiative to be successfully put into practice. In this research, the adoption of integrated project delivery methods within the transportation project sector is investigated to better understand the dynamics of this change. In the context of this study, an Owner's project delivery strategy is defined as the set of project delivery methods that are adopted for delivering capital projects. This dissertation presents findings from a study of Public Owner organizations that have implemented the design-build method for delivering highway projects. Using as a case study the new $1. 3 billion SH-130 tolled expressway project in Central Texas, the author analyzed project documentation and conducted many interviews with individuals affiliated with owner, legal, engineering consultants, and contractors. Findings suggest that project representatives institutionalize practices and routines connected to the new approach by adapting to new challenges, rather than "overwriting" previously existing practices. Similarly, the institutionalization of innovative approaches to project delivery happens concurrently with a deinstitutionalization of the previous approaches. Building upon these findings, a conceptual framework is presented for helping Owner organizations implement change in their project delivery strategy. The proposed conceptual framework is based upon both existing published literature and interviews with managers involved in implementing a strategic change in project delivery strategy. This framework was further refined by making a comparative study of four transportation projects in the United States. In addition, a detailed implementation framework was validated and further developed through a Delphi study with representatives from several organizations whose major responsibilities and experiences include the management of change in procurement approach. Findings from these studies, including application to the construction industry and other industries are presented.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | O'Connor, J T and Gibson, G E |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | management of change; organizational change; construction project; highway; delivery method; documentation; integrated project delivery; project delivery; engineering consultant; owner; United States; organizational structure; case study; interview |
| Index terms: | Delphi method, case study, owner, delivery method, institutionalization, engineering consultant, comparative study, highway construction, capital project, dynamics, implementation, construction industry, dissertation, project delivery, United States, manager, interview, organizational change, organizational structure, routine, transportation project, strategy, integrated project delivery, documentation, public owner, construction project, project documentation, management of change, agency, conceptual framework |
| Subjects: | contractual arrangements, project planning, strategic project management, project delivery, research dissemination and communication, data collection methods, business, research design and methodology, practitioner, delivery method, sociology, infrastructure and transport systems, professional, industry analysis, systems engineering, theoretical framing, management, civil engineering, production management, Geography, professional development |
| Topics: | Information Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Stakeholder Management, Roles and Professions, Organizational Design, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Geographical Context, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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