Validating a Critical Success Factor Instrument for Digital Facilities Management Implementation in Malaysia Using the Rasch Measurement Model

Lean Management Model for Sustainable Project Delivery in Egypt: Implications for Off-Site Construction Adoption

Off-site construction depends on reliable planning, coordinated information flow, process stability, workforce capability, and digital integration. These requirements closely align with the organisational conditions needed for successful lean implementation. This paper develops and validates a lean management model for Egypt's construction industry with a specific focus on the critical success factors (CSFs) and their enabling conditions. Building on the research theoretical model, five exogenous constructs - top management support, employee training and engagement, process standardisation, collaboration and communication, and technology and innovation - were operationalised through fifteen enablers and tested using responses from 120 construction professionals. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was employed to examine measurement reliability, convergent validity, and the structural effects of each CSF on lean management outcomes. The results confirm that all five paths are positive and statistically significant. Top management support is the strongest predictor of lean outcomes (β = 0.5235), followed by technology and innovation (β = 0.4591), employee training and engagement (β = 0.3167), collaboration and communication (β = 0.2644), and process standardisation (β = 0.2630). The model explains 76.5% of the variance in lean management outcomes. The paper contributes an empirically grounded framework that translates the original model into an implementation logic suitable for Egyptian construction firms seeking to improve productivity, coordination, and value delivery. The model is rooted in the broader problem of limited awareness, fragmented delivery practices, weak training, and inconsistent leadership commitment in Egypt, which together prevent lean tools from being institutionalised at the firm level. By translating these contextual challenges into CSFs and enablers, the study moves from general advocacy of lean to a measurable implementation architecture.

Strategies for Improving Cost Performance through Effective Internal Stakeholder Management in Nigerian Building Construction Projects

This study examines strategies for improving cost performance through effective internal stakeholder management in building construction projects in Nigeria. Despite the critical role of stakeholder management in project success, limited empirical research exists on specific strategies that enhance cost outcomes in the Nigerian construction context. Anchored on stakeholder theory and the resource-based view, this study evaluates stakeholder management strategies across five dimensions: stakeholder identification and analysis, communication and information sharing, trust and expectation management, conflict resolution and collaboration, and continuous improvement and feedback mechanisms. A quantitative survey research design was employed, with data collected from 106 construction professionals in North-Western Nigeria using structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean scores, standard deviations, Relative Importance Index) and multiple regression analysis with comprehensive diagnostic testing. The findings reveal that trust between departments (RII = 0.745), consistency and transparency in decision-making (RII = 0.769), stakeholder participation in decision-making (RII = 0.759), and timely communication of project updates (RII = 0.745) are the most effective strategies for improving cost performance. Regression analysis, validated through multicollinearity diagnostics (VIF < 10) and stepwise regression, identified six significant predictors, with trust between departments (β = 7.852, p = 0.009), consistency in decision-making (β = 4.126, p = 0.025), and timely communication (β = 4.069, p = 0.026) as the strongest positive predictors. The study concludes that structured stakeholder management practices significantly enhance cost performance and recommends the adoption of systematic stakeholder identification tools, transparent communication protocols, collaborative decision-making processes, and continuous feedback mechanisms in Nigerian building construction projects.

ISQM 1 Implementation Maturity: A Multiple-Case Gap Analysis of Two Large Public Accounting Firms in Indonesia

Measuring knowledge management capabilities in project-based engineering firms: evidence from China’s water engineering sector

This study aims to develop and validate a measurement framework for assessing knowledge management (KM) as an organizational capability in project-based engineering firms, with a specific focus on China’s water engineering sector. Survey data were collected from middle- and senior-level managers in member firms of the China Water Engineering Association. A two-stage scale validation approach was employed. Exploratory factor analysis was first conducted to identify the underlying factor structure, followed by confirmatory factor analysis to assess measurement reliability and construct validity. The results support a four-dimensional KM framework comprising knowledge sharing, knowledge application, knowledge acquisition and knowledge creation. The findings indicate that these KM processes are empirically distinct yet interrelated, reflecting the cyclical and capability-based nature of knowledge management in project-intensive engineering environments. The study is based on cross-sectional data from a single industry context, which may limit generalizability. Future research could apply the validated scale across different sectors, countries and longitudinal settings to further examine the dynamics and outcomes of KM capabilities. The validated measurement scale provides managers with a diagnostic tool to assess strengths and weaknesses in organizational knowledge management practices. By systematically strengthening the four KM dimensions, organizations can enhance learning, adaptation and innovation in complex and uncertain project-based environments. Rather than introducing new constructs, this study refines and validates the measurement of established KM processes by demonstrating how they operate as interdependent organizational capabilities in project-based engineering firms, contributing to more rigorous and context-sensitive KM research.

Evaluating barriers to adoption of digital cost management in Nigerian public construction procurement using exploratory factor analysis and PLS-SEM

This study aims to analyze how construction procurement professionals in Southeastern Nigeria perceive barriers to the implementation of digital transformation in managing the costs of public construction projects. A quantitative methodology was adopted for conducting this study, which used a purposive sampling strategy. The data were collected from 203 participants with a structured questionnaire. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling was applied to test hypotheses concerning relations between barriers and digitalisation outcomes, and exploratory factor analysis was used to reveal the empirical factor structure of barrier variables. The findings showed that organisational barriers have a substantial positive impact (β = 0.502, t = 6.316, p < 0.001). Therefore, such barriers as organisational procedures, managerial support and organisational readiness play a key role in fostering the process of digitalisation. As for the negative barriers, it should be stated that Institutional Barriers are significantly influential (β = −0.399, t = 9.209, p < 0.001). Thus, institutional barriers, inefficiency of the policy framework and regulation have a detrimental impact on digitalisation. The study provides an opportunity to develop further studies into the issue of digital transformation in public procurement, which has scarce scholarly attention. While there are a number of studies on the use of digital technology in construction projects in general, this paper focuses on public procurement, which is especially important for the consideration of institutional barriers and regulations. The findings provide practical value for policy reforms that enable digital procurement practices and support the integration of digital cost management systems within procurement oversight frameworks.

Data-centric organizational capabilities and project management performance in digitally evolving construction environments: a PLS-SEM investigation

This study aims to investigate the extent to which data-centric organizational capabilities influence project management performance in Construction 5.0 environments. Specifically, it examines the roles of data governance capability, digital infrastructure capability, and organizational data culture as foundational drivers, and how these shape data integration capability, knowledge analytics capability, intelligent decision support capability, and predictive project management capability. Collectively, these capabilities are posited to enhance overall project management performance. A quantitative research design was adopted using a structured survey instrument administered to 331 construction professionals selected through purposive sampling. The proposed conceptual model was empirically tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) via SmartPLS. Reliability and validity were assessed through Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability, average variance extracted (AVE), and discriminant validity using the Fornell–Larcker criterion and the heterotrait-monotrait (HTMT) ratio, with mediation effects examined via bootstrapping. Data governance capability is significantly and positively associated with data integration capability, intelligent decision support capability, and knowledge analytics capability. Digital infrastructure capability is positively associated with data integration capability and predictive project management capability. Organizational data culture is significantly associated with data integration capability, knowledge analytics capability, and predictive project management capability. All four intermediate capabilities, namely data integration, knowledge analytics, intelligent decision support, and predictive project management, are significantly and positively associated with project management performance. Of the 12 specific indirect effects examined, eight were statistically significant and four were non-significant, with data integration capability emerging as the most consistent indirect pathway. The present study is confined to examining how data-centric organizational capabilities contribute to improved project management performance within construction environments undergoing a transition toward Construction 5.0. Future research should extend the framework by incorporating additional organizational and technological variables to further substantiate and strengthen the proposed model. Construction organizations seeking improved project outcomes should invest in robust data governance mechanisms, advanced digital infrastructure, and a data-driven organizational culture. These foundational capabilities are best treated as interdependent enablers rather than standalone investments, since their combined alignment is associated with organizational conditions that support intelligent, analytical, and predictive project management practices. This study offers an original, empirically validated framework for data-centric organizational capability development in digitally evolving construction environments associated with the Construction 5.0 transition. Unlike prior research that primarily examined the effects of individual digital technologies, the study contributes a layered, organization-level capability-chain architecture that distinguishes foundational, intermediate, and predictive capabilities, and empirically traces the mediating pathways through which foundational data resources are converted into project management performance. By integrating the Resource-Based View, Dynamic Capability Theory, and Socio-Technical Systems Theory into a single capability-development logic, the study clarifies not only whether data-centric capabilities are associated with improved project management outcomes, but how and through which routes these associations occur.