Luo, M; Fan, H Q and Liu, G (2020) Measuring regional differences of construction productive efficiency in China: A distance friction minimization approach. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 27(4), pp. 952-974. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose: As one of the pillar sectors, China’s construction industry (CE) is not efficient in productivity with large regional gaps over the past decades. It is crucial for stakeholders to have insightful information on regional input of resources and output of productive efficiency for making policies and investment decisions. The purpose of this paper is to develop an efficiency measurement for the CE and explore the regional differences of construction productive efficiency across the three regions of China. Design/methodology/approach: Data envelopment analysis (DEA) is an objective benchmarking methodology used for measuring the performance of construction productivity. Distance friction minimization (DFM) approach, based on DEA model, is applied to identify the causes of inefficiency, sources of growth and the optimal paths to efficient frontier for regional CE. Further studies are conducted to provide insightful information for efficiency improvement, according to DFM modeling results and empirical analysis. Findings: The results indicate that eastern region leads construction development due to strong performance of coastal provinces. Faced with decreasing supply of skilled workers in developed region, investing more on construction plants and equipment for labor savings is more efficient to the long-term productivity growth of CE in the east. For developing midland region, heavy reliance on cheap manpower should be gradually relieved by allocating more budgets to vocational training and education program to boost quality labor supply, as well as making steady investment on construction equipment and advanced technology. In underdeveloped western region, raising construction labor wages is recommended to attract more workers to meet the market demand and achieve an optimal production efficiency in the CE. Originality/value: The findings provide insights into the causes of inefficiency, the sources of growth and the best strategies for efficiency improvement in regional CE, recommendations are made for policy making and strategic planning to enhance the overall performance of China’s construction productive efficiency.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction; novel model; optimization; productivity; strategic management |
| Index terms: | skilled worker, savings, labour supply, productivity, construction equipment, construction plant, efficiency, investment decision, construction development, modelling, data envelopment analysis, construction industry, construction productivity, construction labour, strategic planning, strategy, minimization, policy making, wages, vocational training, benchmarking, China, strategic management, program, methodology |
| Subjects: | management, performance measurement, software systems, algorithms, research methods, performance management, production management, Geography, labour economics, construction equipment, professional development, business economics, industry analysis, policy studies, operations management, data analysis and analytics, analytical methods, economic analysis |
| Topics: | Education, Site Management, Digital Applications, Quality Management, Human Resources, Governance, Plant and Equipment, Business Strategy, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Geographical Context, Project Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
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