Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction, Volume 14, Issue 2
Academic journals in addition to publishing leading research in their discipline should also through the presented papers assist practitioners and society to benefit from the findings of research. Improvement in the financial management of property and construction helps both clients and those involved in the contract work. This issue of the journal presents papers which should be of interest to those seeking greater economic efficiency in property and construction.
The first paper by Ian Dow, Begum Sertyesilisik, and Andrew David Ross investigates how particular variables influence the difference between the original tender price and the eventual final account figure of sub contract work. In addition to an extensive literature review which includes the history of the various procurement methods in construction contracts, the authors describe a case study using 33 projects undertaking by a contractor. The analysis of these projects is discussed. With regard to the procurement used,they consider the active involvement of the sub contractor in design and build,and partnering to be more beneficial than traditional procurement. The results of over 1,000 sub contracts are presented and examined. These sub contracts covered all aspects of building from groundworks to painter work, as well as mechanical and electrical, and external works. The differences in outcomes of them are shown; the highest being mechanical and electrical and internal fix and the lowest windows. Information on how variables such as location, ground type and quality of materials, etc. affects the outcomes is also presented.
The next paper by Adnan Enshassi, Jomah Al-Najjar and Mohan Kumaraswamy considers the problem of delays and cost overruns in construction projects using evidence acquired from contractors working in the Gaza Strip. The authors first looked at previous research in the subject from other countries. The methodology used for the described research was to obtain the perceptions of contractors,consultants and owners (clients). The findings of same were compared with the results from previous research elsewhere by others. A total of 110 delay factors were grouped under 12 areas and 42 cost overrun factors were identified. The level of importance of these factors was measured and ranked separately by the contractors, consultants and owners. The findings showed general agreement between them; for delays the main causes were strikes, border closures and material related factors (lack of supply and delivery); for cost overruns the main causes were price fluctuations, delays in delivery of materials and equipment and inflation. A detailed discussion of the findings is then given and they conclude that better management in getting materials delivered and stored earlier and also local government legislation against monopoly of material supply would improve matters.
The third paper by Yongjian Ke, Xinbo Zhao, Yingying Wang and ShouQing Wang examines the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) factors which private firms or investors should consider when considering the development of a major utility, etc. project in China. The paper begins with an extensive literature review of previous research dealing with SWOT factors. The authors also used brainstorming and interview methodology to compile the SWOT factors. These were then used by them to create a questionnaire, the results of which would be analysed to validate their significance. The results identified 16 strength, 15 weakness, 16 opportunity, and 21 threat factors. As part of the statistical analysis of the results, a factor analysis was carried out which permitted weak factors to be removed to improve the correlation testing of the remaining. A detailed discussion of the findings for each factor is given and many tables presented to show the various tests of significance. The paper concludes by highlighting some of the key findings. Strengths included exploring new markets; management which can be both a strength or a weakness; opportunity in the right economic climate or environment and threats from government factors outside developer’s control. These and other findings should be useful to foreign investors considering development in China.
The final paper comes from Nigeria. In developing countries the potential benefits of improved management in construction projects is greater than in those countries which have had well-established procedures in the procurement and monitoring of construction work. The paper by O.I. Aje, K.T. Odusami and D.R. Ogunsemi highlights this. Cost and time overruns have always been a problem in construction. This paper shows how improved management can help. After a literature review where the importance of management capability in a variety of areas such as sub contract control, materials and plant utilisation skills are required, the authors then describe their chosen methodology of a structured questionnaire, interview and use of archival data. The questionnaire involved clients, architects, engineers and quantity surveyors as well as contractors. The results of their findings are subjected to statistical analysis of variance and to detail regression analysis. It is interesting to note that management skills are rated more important by the consultants than by the contractors themselves. The findings of the research are used as the basis of models which could be used to help in choosing the right contractor and reduce cost and time overruns are presented. The authors conclude by stating the benefits of the findings to countries such as Nigeria.
Readers of the journal will perhaps have noted that this issue only contains four papers instead of the usual five. This is due to the length of the papers. Papers generally seem to be increasing in their length. As editors we accept this, but would like to appeal to authors to consider submitting short papers as well. These often are of more interest to practitioners who take a more general interest in new research developments.
Akintola Akintoye, Jim Birnie
