Leadership style of sustainability professionals in the UK construction industry (original) (raw)
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Purpose – Adopting sustainable construction practices minimizes the overall environmental impact of the built asset throughout its whole life. Currently, there is demand from key stakeholders in the construction industry for organization to deliver sustainable built environment, however, leaders/champions within construction organizations charged with the adoption of sustainable construction practices face many challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an investigation into the challenges facing intra-organizational leaders charged with the promotion of sustainable construction practices. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interview with 15 leaders, followed by an industry-wide survey of 200 intra-organizational leaders in contractor and consultant organizations in the UK construction industry. Findings – The results revealed that increased capital cost is the most significant challenge facing construction organizations in attempt to adopt sustainability practices in the delivery of construction projects. Originality/value – This study provides the empirical evidence linking leadership within construction organizations and sustainability; filling the gap in literature and serving as a source of reference material for higher education programmes in the built environment.
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Leadership in construction organizations and the promotion of sustainable practices
The construction industry is a very important sector in achieving society’s sustainable development goals; however the change towards sustainability is a process that presents a leadership challenge. Construction organizations need leadership that provide the collective vision, strategy and direction towards the common goal of a sustainable future. The aim of this paper is to critically examine the role, drivers and factors affecting leadership in the effective implementation of sustainable practices in construction organizations. A review of relevant literature and preliminary qualitative results from an in-depth interview with eight (8) leaders in United Kingdom construction consultant organizations, including sustainability directors, managers and consultants is presented. The analysis of the collected qualitative data revealed that, the leadership role in promoting sustainability in construction organizations include the development of strategies and the formulation of policies. A major driver for construction organizations to pursue sustainability is to win more business, while increased capital cost for sustainability is still a major challenge to many organizations. This study establishes the basis for further investigation in an on-going doctoral level research on the role of leadership in promoting sustainable construction practices
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Organizational leadership role in the delivery of sustainable construction projects in UK
Purpose – Sustainable construction project delivery should be supported by committed and inspirational leadership, with a clear understanding of the sustainability challenge. Construction organizations need intra-organizational leadership that provides the collective vision, strategy and direction towards the shared common goal of a sustainable future. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of intra-organizational leadership within UK construction organizations charged with the promotion of sustainability practices. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopts a mixed method approach with qualitative data collected through semi-structured interview with 15 leaders, followed by an industry-wide survey of 200 intra-organizational leaders in contractor and consultant organizations in the UK construction industry. Findings – The analysis of the data revealed that, the most important role of intra-organizational leadership in promoting sustainable construction practices is to formulate policies, implement procedures and disseminate best practices throughout the organization. Originality/value – Nothing has been written on intra-organizational leadership role in promoting sustainability practices in the construction industry. Although leadership and sustainability has been widely covered as separate issues this study provides the empirical evidence of the link between leadership and sustainability in construction.
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Implementation of Sustainable Practices in UK Construction Organizations: Drivers and Challenges
The construction industry is a very important sector in achieving society’s sustainable development goals; however the change towards sustainability is a process that presents challenges. The construction industry provides benefits to society as well as causing negative impacts; this makes it a key sector in the delivery of a sustainable built environment. The quest for sustainability has put enormous pressure on construction organizations from the government and the general public to improve on its currently unsustainable pattern of project delivery. It is becoming a key requirement for construction organizations to deliver projects that addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability. This research investigates the drivers and challenges facing construction organizations in United Kingdom (UK) in attempting to embed sustainable construction practices. This issue is a strand of work within an ongoing PhD study on the topic “promoting sustainable practices through leadership in construction organizations”. A qualitative study with fifteen (15) UK construction organizations is presented. It involves interviews with leaders in these organizations including; sustainability directors, managers and consultants. This research examines the factors driving these UK construction organizations to adopt and promote sustainable practices. It also critically examines key challenges affecting the effective implementation of sustainability in construction organizations. The analysis of the collected qualitative data revealed that, for many construction organizations, the key driver to pursue the sustainable agenda is their reputation as a green company. They also believe that, it’s good for business as it helps them win more contracts. However, one major challenge facing construction organizations, according to the findings from the interviews is a lack of client demand for sustainability due to a wrong perception of high cost associated with sustainability.
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International Journal of Real Estate Studies
A project manager is a crucial factor of a project's success, especially in sustainable construction projects. Their role as a leader is also observable with regard to achieving sustainability objectives in sustainable construction projects. In contrast to conventional projects, sustainable construction projects face more nuanced issues. The influence of leadership skills of the project managers is therefore becoming essential for the success of sustainable construction projects. This study examines the level of understanding of leadership skills among project managers in sustainable construction projects and determines the correlation between their experience and understanding of leadership skills. A questionnaire survey was carried out among 153 project managers with experience in the management of sustainable construction projects in Malaysia. The IBM SPSS software version 24 was used to perform a descriptive statistic, a normality test, and a Spearman's correlation test ...
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