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Business process improvement for sustainable technologies investments in construction: A configurational approach

Wood, Lincoln C.; Duong, Linh N.K.; Wang, Jason X.

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Authors

Lincoln C. Wood

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Dr Linh Duong Linh.Duong@uwe.ac.uk
Senior Lecturer in Operations Management

Jason X. Wang



Abstract

Given the importance of investments in business process improvements for sustainable technologies, many industry sectors are forced to examine and balance new investments with long-term economic viability. There are disputes with regard to the value of investments, particularly within the construction sector, which is characterized by poor capitalization, over-leveraged firms, and high risks, often coupled with business cycles or boom and bust periods. Understanding when construction firms should engage in business process improvements with sustainable technologies is not clear due to the risks and investment costs. To address this problem, the study takes a configurational approach to examine the factors of leverage and use of capital to examine their impact on firm performance with qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). We show distinct configurational outcomes that are associated with superior success, giving construction firms viable pathways to evaluate potential investments in sustainable technologies. Specifically, one configuration, focusing on incremental innovations, consistently produces positive firm performance. Two configurations that lead to the absence of performance are associated with radical innovations in firms that struggle to manage their working capital.

Citation

Wood, L. C., Duong, L. N., & Wang, J. X. (2022). Business process improvement for sustainable technologies investments in construction: A configurational approach. Sustainability, 14(9), Article 5697. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095697

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 10, 2022
Online Publication Date May 9, 2022
Publication Date 2022-05
Deposit Date Jun 22, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Sustainability (Switzerland)
Electronic ISSN 2071-1050
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 14
Issue 9
Article Number 5697
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095697
Keywords environmental sustainability technologies; construction management; event study analysis; qualitative comparative analysis
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/9639875

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