Browsing by Author "Alhomadi, Ahmad Awaduallah"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    An Assessment Tool for Measuring and Enhancing Innovation in Construction Projects
    (2018-02) Alhomadi, Ahmad Awaduallah; Jergeas, George Farage; Ruwanpura, Janaka; Lozon, Jim
    Innovation is essential to maintaining competitiveness, improving performance, increasing national economic growth, and contributing to a knowledge-based economy. The construction industry is one of the leading economic contributors in today’s societies. However, the industry is fragmented, diverse, and challenged with a constantly changing business environment and increasing complexity and sophistication. By investing in innovations, the industry seeks to promote performance and sustain competitiveness. The construction industry is mainly project-based, and project level innovation plays a key role in enhancing the performance of project-based companies. The main objective of this research, therefore, was to holistically investigate the factors influencing innovation processes and their diffusion outputs in the construction project context and develop an assessment tool that can help firms measure and benchmark innovation levels on construction projects. A multiphase mixed methods design was conducted, where the different phases interrelate to address the main research objective. The research design encompassed three main sequential phases. The first phase involved the collection and analysis of qualitative data using semi-structured interviews and an exploratory survey. This was followed by a development phase of translating the qualitative findings into a quantitative questionnaire instrument. Then the quantitative phase involved administering the developed instrument to a representative sample in Canada to measure the extent of innovation within the construction projects. The analysis of the quantitative data entailed several statistical procedures, particularly, exploratory factor analysis, scales reliability analysis, and multiple regression analysis. As a result, factor influencing innovation process and their outputs were examined, their prevalence within the context of construction projects was measured, and key factors and their relationships were identified. A construction project innovation assessment tool (CPIAT) was developed based on a synthesis of the results from the previous phases with 13 rigorous innovation indicators. Furthermore, the CPIAT was applied on two different construction projects and showed consistency and efficiency in meaningfully benchmarking construction projects’ innovation.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Public-private partnership implementations in Saudi Arabia infrastructure
    (2012) Alhomadi, Ahmad Awaduallah; Jergeas, George
    Over the past 20 years, the increasing demand for the delivery of public services and infrastructures has created a need to for new and effective delivery strategies. In the early 1990s, public-private partnerships were proposed as one such solution to help government cope with the growing demand of public services. However, a number of issues were encountered worldwide in the implementation of PPPs. Saudi Arabia, similar to other countries, has faced problems implementing PPPs to manage associated complex PPP arrangements. Therefore, this thesis has focused on studying the initiated public-private partnership (PPP) guidelines/frameworks governing PPPs within Saudi Arabia's infrastructure sectors to improve their implemented practices. The research was developed based on the qualitative data collected from two case studies. This multiple case study approach was used to understand and describe: the rationale and government objectives for choosing a PPP; the challenges facing the public and private sectors in planning and developing PPP projects; interrelationships of different variables associated with PPP projects; institutional capacity of public sectors for delivering PPPs; and the PPP market drivers. Data analysis has revealed four significant barriers: lack of political will and support, legal and regulatory, institutional capacity and expertise, and market maturity. In response to these weaknesses, the researcher has suggested a framework for improving market maturity to enable a more successful implementation. The main function of the suggested framework is to guide public sectors and policy makers who are interested in a more effective implementation of PPPs. The development of this framework was based on the insights gained from the analyses of case studies and discussions with experts and international best practices. It also focuses on ways to avoid the identified failures and explains how to overcome the challenges related to the Saudi PPP market. The proposed framework includes key elements (political will, legal and regulatory context, institutional context and market maturity) and their related attributes which governments must consider carefully when proceeding with PPP implementation.