Gunasekera, S (2013) The development of a framework for assessing the integration of construction supply chains. PhD thesis, Ulster University, UK.
Abstract
Supply Chain Management (SCM) is increasingly becoming important in the construction industry, which is still largely a fragmented industry. Several government sponsored reports have been instrumental in promoting the concept in the UK construction industry. However, previous literature helped identify that construction organisations are in the need of a mechanism that would allow them to measure integration of supply chains. Hence this research aimed to develop a framework for construction organisations to assess and improve integration of their supply chains. In this endeavour a Delphi survey was conducted in the Northern Irish construction industry to 'build' a SCM framework, and thereafter a UK-wide questionnaire survey to test the framework. Firstly, the Delphi method was used to prioritise and validate the inclusion of 13 critical success factors (CSFs) compiled from previous literature. This generated scores for each CSF, which could potentially be included in the developed SCM framework. Secondly, the Delphi method was used to develop the SCM framework based on the 13 CSFs and 4 levels of integration. This is the most significant contribution to knowledge created via this research. Thereafter, an e-survey was undertaken to test the robustness of the SCM framework. This added rigour to this research and utilised a mixed methodologies approach. In addition to testing the propositions and receiving feedback on the SCM framework, the e-survey revealed the current and future levels of integration of construction supply chains in the UK. This is the first quantitative survey that has been conducted among individuals in the UK construction industry regarding integration of construction supply chains. In conclusion, the proposed SCM framework is applicable to all main sectors of the construction industry; namely clients, consultants, main contractors, subcontractors and suppliers. This empirically tested framework is easy to use and helpful in assessing and improving construction supply chains.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | McAdam, R and Heaney, G |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction supply chain; critical success factor; integration; questionnaire survey; subcontractor; supplier; supply chain management; UK |
| Index terms: | construction industry, testing, construction supply chain, Delphi method, construction organization, main contractor, becoming, Delphi survey, critical success factor, subcontractor, methodology, integration, questionnaire, survey |
| Subjects: | organization, practitioner, professional practice, research methods, philosophical process, data collection methods, construction logistics, control systems, organizational analysis, industry analysis |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Roles and Professions, Supply Chain Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management |
| 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