This paper describes a group decision support system (GDSS) developed in response to the need of ... more This paper describes a group decision support system (GDSS) developed in response to the need of a computer supported collaborative work environment for implementing the value management (VM) methodology in construction briefing. The GDSS is based on the VM methodology that allows a client to define and represent his or her requirements with functions and functional performance, to bring forward ideas to achieve the functions, and finally to evaluate and highlight the ideas against the functional performance for further development in design. The conceptual framework, design, implementation, use of the GDSS are addressed and described in that order. The system is complementally evaluated through a field study and an experimental study. It is concluded that the GDSS can effectively facilitate the implementation of VM in construction briefing. In addition, the GDSS has big potential to improve the performance of VM studies in terms of the enhanced participation and interaction, the shortened time for tasks, and the improved satisfaction with VM workshops. Research limitations and knowledge contribution of this study are also discussed.
Stakeholder analysis and engagement are the main tasks in stakeholder management. To identify ope... more Stakeholder analysis and engagement are the main tasks in stakeholder management. To identify operational approaches for stakeholder analysis and engagement, six interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted in Hong Kong, and an additional 15 interviews were held in Australia. The main finding is a typology of practical approaches for practitioners in construction. A total of 30 approaches are comprised in the typology, and they are classified by application. To test the usefulness of the typology, action research is applied to two real‐life projects in Australia. The implication is that the selection of the approaches is an art and a contingency approach as well, requiring practitioners’ judgments. Each approach has its strengths and limitations, so the most appropriate way for effective stakeholder management is to use a combination of elements from each approach as circumstances dictate. This study can serve as a reference for the systematic consideration of the project management team about the operational approaches for stakeholder management in construction projects.
This paper concentrates on identifying gaps in the scope of previous studies on stakeholder manag... more This paper concentrates on identifying gaps in the scope of previous studies on stakeholder management, and starting to address those gaps by conducting an empirical study. To complete these research objectives, literature review, interviews, questionnaire survey, and a case study were used in this study. Four gaps regarding critical success factors, stakeholder management process, methods for stakeholder management and stakeholder relationship management were identified. Based on an empirical study, a framework for effective stakeholder management is proposed, and the application of a Social Network Analysis technique, as a means of determining the influence of stakeholders on decision making, is illustrated and validated by a case study. These findings can serve as initial references towards a more systematic approach for stakeholder management. Since the empirical study was conducted only in Hong Kong and Australia, further studies should be conducted in other regions to validate and compare with the finding in this paper.
The strategic implementation of innovative, collaborative and integrated information is essential... more The strategic implementation of innovative, collaborative and integrated information is essential for the sustainable development of construction organizations in the new century. The emerging information technologies (ITs) offer construction organizations great potential to develop collaborative work (CW) management information systems in architecture, engineering and construction (A/E/C) projects. This paper presents an in-depth literature review of IT supported CW in A/E/C projects. Based on selected papers from well-known academic journals in construction management over a ten-year period (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009), the review focuses on the implementations of IT in collaborative design, collaborative construction project management, and integrated inter-organization management information systems. A synthesis is presented on the state-ofthe-art and trends of IT supported CW in A/E/C projects. Some limitations of past research studies in IT supported CW in A/E/C projects are discussed and future research directions are recommended.
This research designs a multi-agent based multiattribute negotiation framework for large-scale co... more This research designs a multi-agent based multiattribute negotiation framework for large-scale construction projects (LCP) supply chain coordination (SCC) through adopting the agent technology and regarding supply chain as a typical multi-agent system. Since different members in the supply chain have different preferences on the decision attributes (such as cost, time, quality, safety and environment), a multi-attribute negotiation mechanism is established by constructing the multi-attribute negotiation model, describing the negotiation process, and designing negotiation protocol. Finally, a prototype system is developed and tested on a hypothetical LCP. The experiment indicates that the negotiation mechanism can solve problems in LCP supply chain and provides a solution to LCP SCC
Measuring the value of information sharing (VIS) in different inventory policies can help general... more Measuring the value of information sharing (VIS) in different inventory policies can help general contractor to improve materials and equipments management in construction supply chain. The models for measuring the VIS under (s, S) and Periodic Review (PR) inventory policies are established. A method to compare the VIS is given in a two-level construction supply chain, which aims to measure the impacts of supply quantity information of materials on general contractor's service level and total inventory cost under different inventory policies. A numerical example is proposed to explore the gap of VIS between (s, S) and PR inventory policies in a rebar supply chain. The results show that general contractor's service level in (s, S) inventory is higher than PR's and total inventory cost in (s, S) inventory is lower than PR's in the case of no information sharing. In the case of information sharing, general contractor's service level in PR inventory policy is higher than (s, S) policy; however, it is implemented by the increase of total inventory cost. This research provides valuable information to help general contractor to make correct decision on inventory management in supply chain at firm-level.
The construction industry in general is characterized with high fragmentation, low productivity, ... more The construction industry in general is characterized with high fragmentation, low productivity, cost and time overruns, and conflicts compared with other manufacturing industries. Supply chain management as an innovative management mode provides a new solution for resolving these problems from systems perspective. Coordination is the core issue to improve construction performance in construction supply chain (CSC). In this paper, the concepts of CSC and CSC management are defined. Furthermore, the inter-organization problems that effect CSC coordination are identified. Considering the Internet fosters the integration of construction processes and provides an efficient platform for CSC coordination, this paper presents two types of Internet-enabled coordination mechanisms: market mechanism, such as auction and contracting, and coordination flow, including information hub and electronic marketplace, for improving construction performance and to accelerate the innovations in the construction industry.
This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based negotiation efficiency... more This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based negotiation efficiency (REANE) in a construction supply chain. REANE provides a path forward to help negotiators reach an acceptable solution when other methods fail; the key insight is the use of relative entropy to measure the relative degree of consensus among parties and hence minimize necessary compromises. An illustrative example is presented to show the application of REANE. The REANE method aggregates the preference information of negotiators in CSC twice. First, a compromise group preference order is ascertained using preference information, which is newly provided by negotiators, and compromise preference information (formed previously in the agent-based auto-negotiation process). Second, group preferences are aggregated by employing a relative entropy model, which is established based on entropy theory, while, considering the multiple attributes of negotiation in a construction supply chain. The method of REANE fulfills the necessary requirement of group decision-making, i.e., maximizing the preference consistency of decision-making groups and minimizing the utility gaps between every negotiator's preference and the group's preference.
This work focuses on establishing coordination models and method with different information in th... more This work focuses on establishing coordination models and method with different information in the operation process of established construction project supply chains (CPSCs). A two-level programming model for collaborative decision making is established to find optimal solutions for all stakeholders in CPSCs. An agent-based negotiation framework for CPSCs coordination in dynamic decision environment is designed based on the intelligent agent technology and multi-attribute negotiation theory. This work also presents a relative entropy method to help negotiators (stakeholders) reaches an acceptable solution when negotiations fail or man-made termination. This is a summary of the first author's Ph.D. thesis supervised by Yaowu Wang and Geoffrey Qiping Shen (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) and defended on 25 June 2006 at the Harbin Institute of Technology (China).
The changing business environment characterized by tense competitiveness and wide global links re... more The changing business environment characterized by tense competitiveness and wide global links requires construction organizations to establish effective and efficient interorganization collaborative management systems. Collaborative working (CW), as a new term and ...
Abstract - Considering the condition of negotiation failure or man-made termination of negotiatio... more Abstract - Considering the condition of negotiation failure or man-made termination of negotiation for increasing efficiency of negotiation, this research presents a hybrid method for improving agent-based multi-attribute negotiation efficiency (HIAMNE) in supply chain (SC) ...
Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organi... more Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organization systems, especially in construction supply chain (CSC) which is characterized by fragmentation, low efficiency and multiple partners. This chapter defines the concepts of CSC and CSC management, especially regarding CSC management as the coordination of inter-organization decision-making in CSC and the integration of key construction business processes and key members involved in CSC. Much research and practice indicates that there are still many problems in construction, most of which are supply chain problems. The research analyses the problems in CSC. In order to resolve these problems and improve the performance of construction, this research proposes a multi-agent based negotiation platform for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of collaborative decision-making in CSC by adopting agent technology and regarding CSC as a typical multi-agent system. The general structure of the agent-based negotiation platform (ANeP) is designed, which includes two kinds of agent group: specialty agents and service agents. Since different members in CSC have different preferences on the decision attributes (such as cost, time, quality, safety and environment), a multi-attribute negotiation model is established by designing a negotiation protocol and describing the negotiation process. Considering the negotiation failure or man-made termination of negotiation for increasing the efficiency of negotiation, this research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based multi-attribute negotiation efficiency (REAMNE) in ANeP. This method aggregates the preference information of negotiators in CSC twice. Firstly, compromise group preference order is ascertained by using preference information and compromise preference information. Secondly, group preferences are aggregated by using a relative entropy model, which is established based on entropy theory whilst, meanwhile, considering the multiple attributes in CSC negotiation. The prototype of ANeP is developed based on the ZEUS agent development toolkit. The trial run reveals the feasibility of implementing ANeP for improving collaborative working in CSC.
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management-asce, 2008
... efficiency, and change in scale efficiency to explain the productivity growth performance ofM... more ... efficiency, and change in scale efficiency to explain the productivity growth performance ofMalaysia's 28 manufacturing ... policies and measures to improve the productivity and competitiveness of the Chinese construction industry in the gradually opening construction market. ...
Journal of Business Economics and Management, 2010
Negotiation is the popular collaborative decision-making behavior in interorganization systems, e... more Negotiation is the popular collaborative decision-making behavior in interorganization systems, especially in the collaborative working in construction projects (CWCP). However, negotiation has long been recognized as a critical but time-and energy-consuming process. The lack of an effective framework to improve the efficiency (performance) of negotiation is a major problem for those seeking to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of collaborative working in construction projects. This paper aims to develop a cognitive mapping-based application framework for improving collaborative working in construction project from negotiation perspective (CF-CWCP). This framework includes two-fold: (1) mapping negotiation process in construction projects using cognitive mapping technique; (2) developing CF-CWCP by integrating intelligent agent and cognitive mapping techniques. This research will benefit the partners in construction projects to improve construction negotiation performance. A prototype of CF-CWCP is developed.
Supply chain coordination has become a critical success factor for supply chain management (SCM) ... more Supply chain coordination has become a critical success factor for supply chain management (SCM) and effectively improving the performance of organizations in various industries. Coordination refers to the integration of different parts of an organization or different organizations in supply chain to accomplish a collective set of tasks and to achieve mutual benefits. This paper defines the concepts of construction supply chain (CSC) and construction supply chain management, especially regards construction supply chain management as the coordination of interorganizations decision making in construction supply chain and the integration of key construction business processes and key members involved in construction supply chain. Much research and practice indicate that there still are many problems in construction, most of which are supply chain problems. The research analyzes the problems in construction supply chain. In order to resolve these problems and improving the performance of construction, an agent-based framework for construction supply chain coordination is designed based on the agent technology and multiattribute negotiation and multiattribute utility theory (MAUT). The framework, which integrates the construction organizations in construction supply chain and multiattribute negotiation model into a multiagent system (MAS), provides a solution for supply chain coordination in construction through multiattribute negotiation mechanism on the Internet. Finally, the prototype of the framework is developed and tentatively run based on an imaginary construction project. The trial run reveals the feasibility to implement the agent-based framework for coordination in construction. D
In order to overcome abuses in selecting supply chain partners by invitation to bid and bidding, ... more In order to overcome abuses in selecting supply chain partners by invitation to bid and bidding, the paper analyzed the problems in construction supply chain during invitation to bid and bidding, points the out realism of disjoint between the result of invitation to bid and bidding and prompting effect in the construction process. The paper put forth the method of combined radix determination as a method of partner selection by value assessment and performance assessment. The new method established a rational ''motivating agreement'' to motivate contractors to participate while restricting them. It is an effective, operable motivating mechanism. The paper determined the range of factors in the new method, and validated it by a case study.
Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organi... more Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organizations systems, especially in construction supply chain (CSC) which is characterized with fragmentation, low efficiency and multiple partners. This research proposes a multi-agent based negotiation platform for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of cooperative decision-making in CSC adopting agent technology and regarding CSC as a typical multi-agent system. General structure of the agent based negotiation platform is designed, which includes two kinds of agent group: specialty agents and service agents. Since different members in CSC have different preferences on the decision attributes (such as cost, time, quality, safety and environment), a multi-attribute negotiation model is established by designing negotiation protocol and describing the negotiation process.
There are increasing requirements for collaborative scheduling (CS) in supply chain management (S... more There are increasing requirements for collaborative scheduling (CS) in supply chain management (SCM). CS in construction supply chain (CSC), which involves multiple partners, such as general contractor, subcontractors, and material suppliers, can be seen as a multilevel decision-making system with hierarchical structure. Adopting the decomposition-coordination thought of large scale system theory and using the multilevel programming theory, a two-level programming model for CS decision making is established to find satisfactory solution for every partner in CSC. This model has the merit of paying attention to the maximization of profit or minimization of cost of all partners located at different decision-making level in CS process. The algorithm of this model is provided, which is combined with the first level programming adopting simulated annealing algorithm and second level programming using discrete search algorithm. Finally, an illustrative example of CS in a CSC is presented. The two-level programming method provides a new way to improve collaborative decision making in CSC. This research makes a contribution to the body of knowledge of scheduling.
This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based multi-attribute negoti... more This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based multi-attribute negotiation efficiency (REAMNE) of collaborative working in construction projects (CWCP). This method aggregates preference information of negotiators of CWCP in two steps. Firstly, compromise group preference order is ascertained by using preference information, which is newly provided by negotiators, and compromise preference information, which is formed in previously agent-based automatically negotiation process and calculated by using a compromise preference model. Secondly, group preferences are aggregated by using a relative entropy model, which is established based on entropy theory meanwhile considering the multiple attributes in negotiation of CWCP. The method of REAMNE has the merit of fulfilling the necessary requirement of group decision making (GDM), i.e. maximizing preference consistency of GDM and keeping minimum gap of negotiators’ utility and group preference.
The construction industry has been recognized for its conservatism and lack of innovation. In ord... more The construction industry has been recognized for its conservatism and lack of innovation. In order to improve the success rate of construction innovation, the implementation of innovations within the context of construction has been discussed and developed. Literature in this area focuses extensively on construction innovation, and yet does not contain a systematic review. This paper looks to fill this gap by providing a systematic review of construction innovation. The review synthesizes the conclusions and shows the implementation of construction innovation. Collaboration, culture, innovation process, and drivers are identified as critical factors to improve the performance of construction innovation. Finally, the limitations of prior studies in construction innovation are discussed and recommendations made for areas of future study.
This paper describes a group decision support system (GDSS) developed in response to the need of ... more This paper describes a group decision support system (GDSS) developed in response to the need of a computer supported collaborative work environment for implementing the value management (VM) methodology in construction briefing. The GDSS is based on the VM methodology that allows a client to define and represent his or her requirements with functions and functional performance, to bring forward ideas to achieve the functions, and finally to evaluate and highlight the ideas against the functional performance for further development in design. The conceptual framework, design, implementation, use of the GDSS are addressed and described in that order. The system is complementally evaluated through a field study and an experimental study. It is concluded that the GDSS can effectively facilitate the implementation of VM in construction briefing. In addition, the GDSS has big potential to improve the performance of VM studies in terms of the enhanced participation and interaction, the shortened time for tasks, and the improved satisfaction with VM workshops. Research limitations and knowledge contribution of this study are also discussed.
Stakeholder analysis and engagement are the main tasks in stakeholder management. To identify ope... more Stakeholder analysis and engagement are the main tasks in stakeholder management. To identify operational approaches for stakeholder analysis and engagement, six interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted in Hong Kong, and an additional 15 interviews were held in Australia. The main finding is a typology of practical approaches for practitioners in construction. A total of 30 approaches are comprised in the typology, and they are classified by application. To test the usefulness of the typology, action research is applied to two real‐life projects in Australia. The implication is that the selection of the approaches is an art and a contingency approach as well, requiring practitioners’ judgments. Each approach has its strengths and limitations, so the most appropriate way for effective stakeholder management is to use a combination of elements from each approach as circumstances dictate. This study can serve as a reference for the systematic consideration of the project management team about the operational approaches for stakeholder management in construction projects.
This paper concentrates on identifying gaps in the scope of previous studies on stakeholder manag... more This paper concentrates on identifying gaps in the scope of previous studies on stakeholder management, and starting to address those gaps by conducting an empirical study. To complete these research objectives, literature review, interviews, questionnaire survey, and a case study were used in this study. Four gaps regarding critical success factors, stakeholder management process, methods for stakeholder management and stakeholder relationship management were identified. Based on an empirical study, a framework for effective stakeholder management is proposed, and the application of a Social Network Analysis technique, as a means of determining the influence of stakeholders on decision making, is illustrated and validated by a case study. These findings can serve as initial references towards a more systematic approach for stakeholder management. Since the empirical study was conducted only in Hong Kong and Australia, further studies should be conducted in other regions to validate and compare with the finding in this paper.
The strategic implementation of innovative, collaborative and integrated information is essential... more The strategic implementation of innovative, collaborative and integrated information is essential for the sustainable development of construction organizations in the new century. The emerging information technologies (ITs) offer construction organizations great potential to develop collaborative work (CW) management information systems in architecture, engineering and construction (A/E/C) projects. This paper presents an in-depth literature review of IT supported CW in A/E/C projects. Based on selected papers from well-known academic journals in construction management over a ten-year period (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009), the review focuses on the implementations of IT in collaborative design, collaborative construction project management, and integrated inter-organization management information systems. A synthesis is presented on the state-ofthe-art and trends of IT supported CW in A/E/C projects. Some limitations of past research studies in IT supported CW in A/E/C projects are discussed and future research directions are recommended.
This research designs a multi-agent based multiattribute negotiation framework for large-scale co... more This research designs a multi-agent based multiattribute negotiation framework for large-scale construction projects (LCP) supply chain coordination (SCC) through adopting the agent technology and regarding supply chain as a typical multi-agent system. Since different members in the supply chain have different preferences on the decision attributes (such as cost, time, quality, safety and environment), a multi-attribute negotiation mechanism is established by constructing the multi-attribute negotiation model, describing the negotiation process, and designing negotiation protocol. Finally, a prototype system is developed and tested on a hypothetical LCP. The experiment indicates that the negotiation mechanism can solve problems in LCP supply chain and provides a solution to LCP SCC
Measuring the value of information sharing (VIS) in different inventory policies can help general... more Measuring the value of information sharing (VIS) in different inventory policies can help general contractor to improve materials and equipments management in construction supply chain. The models for measuring the VIS under (s, S) and Periodic Review (PR) inventory policies are established. A method to compare the VIS is given in a two-level construction supply chain, which aims to measure the impacts of supply quantity information of materials on general contractor's service level and total inventory cost under different inventory policies. A numerical example is proposed to explore the gap of VIS between (s, S) and PR inventory policies in a rebar supply chain. The results show that general contractor's service level in (s, S) inventory is higher than PR's and total inventory cost in (s, S) inventory is lower than PR's in the case of no information sharing. In the case of information sharing, general contractor's service level in PR inventory policy is higher than (s, S) policy; however, it is implemented by the increase of total inventory cost. This research provides valuable information to help general contractor to make correct decision on inventory management in supply chain at firm-level.
The construction industry in general is characterized with high fragmentation, low productivity, ... more The construction industry in general is characterized with high fragmentation, low productivity, cost and time overruns, and conflicts compared with other manufacturing industries. Supply chain management as an innovative management mode provides a new solution for resolving these problems from systems perspective. Coordination is the core issue to improve construction performance in construction supply chain (CSC). In this paper, the concepts of CSC and CSC management are defined. Furthermore, the inter-organization problems that effect CSC coordination are identified. Considering the Internet fosters the integration of construction processes and provides an efficient platform for CSC coordination, this paper presents two types of Internet-enabled coordination mechanisms: market mechanism, such as auction and contracting, and coordination flow, including information hub and electronic marketplace, for improving construction performance and to accelerate the innovations in the construction industry.
This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based negotiation efficiency... more This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based negotiation efficiency (REANE) in a construction supply chain. REANE provides a path forward to help negotiators reach an acceptable solution when other methods fail; the key insight is the use of relative entropy to measure the relative degree of consensus among parties and hence minimize necessary compromises. An illustrative example is presented to show the application of REANE. The REANE method aggregates the preference information of negotiators in CSC twice. First, a compromise group preference order is ascertained using preference information, which is newly provided by negotiators, and compromise preference information (formed previously in the agent-based auto-negotiation process). Second, group preferences are aggregated by employing a relative entropy model, which is established based on entropy theory, while, considering the multiple attributes of negotiation in a construction supply chain. The method of REANE fulfills the necessary requirement of group decision-making, i.e., maximizing the preference consistency of decision-making groups and minimizing the utility gaps between every negotiator's preference and the group's preference.
This work focuses on establishing coordination models and method with different information in th... more This work focuses on establishing coordination models and method with different information in the operation process of established construction project supply chains (CPSCs). A two-level programming model for collaborative decision making is established to find optimal solutions for all stakeholders in CPSCs. An agent-based negotiation framework for CPSCs coordination in dynamic decision environment is designed based on the intelligent agent technology and multi-attribute negotiation theory. This work also presents a relative entropy method to help negotiators (stakeholders) reaches an acceptable solution when negotiations fail or man-made termination. This is a summary of the first author's Ph.D. thesis supervised by Yaowu Wang and Geoffrey Qiping Shen (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) and defended on 25 June 2006 at the Harbin Institute of Technology (China).
The changing business environment characterized by tense competitiveness and wide global links re... more The changing business environment characterized by tense competitiveness and wide global links requires construction organizations to establish effective and efficient interorganization collaborative management systems. Collaborative working (CW), as a new term and ...
Abstract - Considering the condition of negotiation failure or man-made termination of negotiatio... more Abstract - Considering the condition of negotiation failure or man-made termination of negotiation for increasing efficiency of negotiation, this research presents a hybrid method for improving agent-based multi-attribute negotiation efficiency (HIAMNE) in supply chain (SC) ...
Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organi... more Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organization systems, especially in construction supply chain (CSC) which is characterized by fragmentation, low efficiency and multiple partners. This chapter defines the concepts of CSC and CSC management, especially regarding CSC management as the coordination of inter-organization decision-making in CSC and the integration of key construction business processes and key members involved in CSC. Much research and practice indicates that there are still many problems in construction, most of which are supply chain problems. The research analyses the problems in CSC. In order to resolve these problems and improve the performance of construction, this research proposes a multi-agent based negotiation platform for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of collaborative decision-making in CSC by adopting agent technology and regarding CSC as a typical multi-agent system. The general structure of the agent-based negotiation platform (ANeP) is designed, which includes two kinds of agent group: specialty agents and service agents. Since different members in CSC have different preferences on the decision attributes (such as cost, time, quality, safety and environment), a multi-attribute negotiation model is established by designing a negotiation protocol and describing the negotiation process. Considering the negotiation failure or man-made termination of negotiation for increasing the efficiency of negotiation, this research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based multi-attribute negotiation efficiency (REAMNE) in ANeP. This method aggregates the preference information of negotiators in CSC twice. Firstly, compromise group preference order is ascertained by using preference information and compromise preference information. Secondly, group preferences are aggregated by using a relative entropy model, which is established based on entropy theory whilst, meanwhile, considering the multiple attributes in CSC negotiation. The prototype of ANeP is developed based on the ZEUS agent development toolkit. The trial run reveals the feasibility of implementing ANeP for improving collaborative working in CSC.
Journal of Construction Engineering and Management-asce, 2008
... efficiency, and change in scale efficiency to explain the productivity growth performance ofM... more ... efficiency, and change in scale efficiency to explain the productivity growth performance ofMalaysia's 28 manufacturing ... policies and measures to improve the productivity and competitiveness of the Chinese construction industry in the gradually opening construction market. ...
Journal of Business Economics and Management, 2010
Negotiation is the popular collaborative decision-making behavior in interorganization systems, e... more Negotiation is the popular collaborative decision-making behavior in interorganization systems, especially in the collaborative working in construction projects (CWCP). However, negotiation has long been recognized as a critical but time-and energy-consuming process. The lack of an effective framework to improve the efficiency (performance) of negotiation is a major problem for those seeking to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of collaborative working in construction projects. This paper aims to develop a cognitive mapping-based application framework for improving collaborative working in construction project from negotiation perspective (CF-CWCP). This framework includes two-fold: (1) mapping negotiation process in construction projects using cognitive mapping technique; (2) developing CF-CWCP by integrating intelligent agent and cognitive mapping techniques. This research will benefit the partners in construction projects to improve construction negotiation performance. A prototype of CF-CWCP is developed.
Supply chain coordination has become a critical success factor for supply chain management (SCM) ... more Supply chain coordination has become a critical success factor for supply chain management (SCM) and effectively improving the performance of organizations in various industries. Coordination refers to the integration of different parts of an organization or different organizations in supply chain to accomplish a collective set of tasks and to achieve mutual benefits. This paper defines the concepts of construction supply chain (CSC) and construction supply chain management, especially regards construction supply chain management as the coordination of interorganizations decision making in construction supply chain and the integration of key construction business processes and key members involved in construction supply chain. Much research and practice indicate that there still are many problems in construction, most of which are supply chain problems. The research analyzes the problems in construction supply chain. In order to resolve these problems and improving the performance of construction, an agent-based framework for construction supply chain coordination is designed based on the agent technology and multiattribute negotiation and multiattribute utility theory (MAUT). The framework, which integrates the construction organizations in construction supply chain and multiattribute negotiation model into a multiagent system (MAS), provides a solution for supply chain coordination in construction through multiattribute negotiation mechanism on the Internet. Finally, the prototype of the framework is developed and tentatively run based on an imaginary construction project. The trial run reveals the feasibility to implement the agent-based framework for coordination in construction. D
In order to overcome abuses in selecting supply chain partners by invitation to bid and bidding, ... more In order to overcome abuses in selecting supply chain partners by invitation to bid and bidding, the paper analyzed the problems in construction supply chain during invitation to bid and bidding, points the out realism of disjoint between the result of invitation to bid and bidding and prompting effect in the construction process. The paper put forth the method of combined radix determination as a method of partner selection by value assessment and performance assessment. The new method established a rational ''motivating agreement'' to motivate contractors to participate while restricting them. It is an effective, operable motivating mechanism. The paper determined the range of factors in the new method, and validated it by a case study.
Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organi... more Negotiation is an effective and popular decision-making and coordination behavior in inter-organizations systems, especially in construction supply chain (CSC) which is characterized with fragmentation, low efficiency and multiple partners. This research proposes a multi-agent based negotiation platform for improving the effectiveness and efficiency of cooperative decision-making in CSC adopting agent technology and regarding CSC as a typical multi-agent system. General structure of the agent based negotiation platform is designed, which includes two kinds of agent group: specialty agents and service agents. Since different members in CSC have different preferences on the decision attributes (such as cost, time, quality, safety and environment), a multi-attribute negotiation model is established by designing negotiation protocol and describing the negotiation process.
There are increasing requirements for collaborative scheduling (CS) in supply chain management (S... more There are increasing requirements for collaborative scheduling (CS) in supply chain management (SCM). CS in construction supply chain (CSC), which involves multiple partners, such as general contractor, subcontractors, and material suppliers, can be seen as a multilevel decision-making system with hierarchical structure. Adopting the decomposition-coordination thought of large scale system theory and using the multilevel programming theory, a two-level programming model for CS decision making is established to find satisfactory solution for every partner in CSC. This model has the merit of paying attention to the maximization of profit or minimization of cost of all partners located at different decision-making level in CS process. The algorithm of this model is provided, which is combined with the first level programming adopting simulated annealing algorithm and second level programming using discrete search algorithm. Finally, an illustrative example of CS in a CSC is presented. The two-level programming method provides a new way to improve collaborative decision making in CSC. This research makes a contribution to the body of knowledge of scheduling.
This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based multi-attribute negoti... more This research presents a relative entropy method for improving agent-based multi-attribute negotiation efficiency (REAMNE) of collaborative working in construction projects (CWCP). This method aggregates preference information of negotiators of CWCP in two steps. Firstly, compromise group preference order is ascertained by using preference information, which is newly provided by negotiators, and compromise preference information, which is formed in previously agent-based automatically negotiation process and calculated by using a compromise preference model. Secondly, group preferences are aggregated by using a relative entropy model, which is established based on entropy theory meanwhile considering the multiple attributes in negotiation of CWCP. The method of REAMNE has the merit of fulfilling the necessary requirement of group decision making (GDM), i.e. maximizing preference consistency of GDM and keeping minimum gap of negotiators’ utility and group preference.
The construction industry has been recognized for its conservatism and lack of innovation. In ord... more The construction industry has been recognized for its conservatism and lack of innovation. In order to improve the success rate of construction innovation, the implementation of innovations within the context of construction has been discussed and developed. Literature in this area focuses extensively on construction innovation, and yet does not contain a systematic review. This paper looks to fill this gap by providing a systematic review of construction innovation. The review synthesizes the conclusions and shows the implementation of construction innovation. Collaboration, culture, innovation process, and drivers are identified as critical factors to improve the performance of construction innovation. Finally, the limitations of prior studies in construction innovation are discussed and recommendations made for areas of future study.
Uploads
Papers by Xiaolong Xue