Upstill-Goddard, J D (2016) Towards a framework to enable construction small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to manage sustainability. EngD thesis, Loughborough University, UK.
Abstract
The careful management of sustainability issues is increasingly being demanded by construction clients and others within the construction supply chain. Certification to sustainability standards is widely recognised as a means of demonstrating performance in this regard, and many pre-qualification questionnaires and tender processes now explicitly require their suppliers to provide evidence of sustainability standard certificates and policies. However, implementation of these standards is a costly and time consuming process, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Smaller firms often lack the fundamental know-how of how to address the requirements of standards and are required to engage the services of consultancies in order to implement them, which further increases the costs associated with their implementation. This Engineering Doctorate (EngD) was instigated to address the barriers to SME sustainability certification, with an emphasis on the relationship between learning and sustainability. A number of research methods are employed, including a case study, data analysis and interviews, to examine the influences on the ability of SMEs to engage with such standards. The research reveals that higher levels of organisational learning and absorptive capacity determine SME's abilities to implement standards effectively, and a learning framework is developed to support smaller firms in addressing this. The subsequent validation of the approach demonstrates that it yields cost savings by focusing attention on key requirements of certification and compliance. It provides Responsible Solutions with a practicable tool that they can deploy when supporting such firms in the future. A number of recommendations for the further development of the framework are proposed as well as directions for further research in this space.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | absorptive capacity; construction supply chain; sustainability; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs; standards; certification; compliance; learning; organisational learning; pre-qualification; research methods; client; supplier; case study; interview |
| Index terms: | cost saving, implementation, pre-qualification, construction supply chain, construction client, case study, consultancy, evidence, validation, questionnaire, organizational learning, interview, compliance, data analysis, certification, sustainability standard, absorptive capacity |
| Subjects: | data analysis and analytics, construction logistics, data collection methods, administrative processes, professional development, economics, contractual arrangements, practitioner, evaluation and assessment methods, organization, health safety and environment, theoretical framing, sustainability assessment, tendering |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Procurement, Sustainability, Supply Chain Management, Cost Management, Research Practice, Information Management, Roles and Professions, Contract Administration, Organizational Design |
| 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