This research study explores the perceptions and experiences of individuals involved in the business collaborations of the Coal Authority (TCA) with other public and private sector organisations. The study offers two major contributions to professional knowledge and practice. The first is that the social and behavioural activities associated with the business collaboration process are of as much concern as the economic and structural aspects. The second is a conceptual model and framework which makes sense of the public sector business collaborating process, and identifies behaviours and practices which are perceived by the participants to positively contribute to successful business collaborating and to minimise the risk of inter-organisational collaboration failure. The research accounts underpinning the study are based on the researcher's direct observation, interviews, accounts and life experiences of over fifty individuals that he engaged with during his thirty months involvement within the research process. This was complemented by his reflective diary recording in real time the thought processes from the participants in both the public and private sector involved in business collaborating on a day-to-day basis, as he immersed himself in a purposeful way in the research setting. Twenty-four of the collaborators work for public sector organisations, twenty-nine work in the private sector. Thematic discourse analysis was used to interpret their life experiences and develop the framework around the four perspectives that emerged. The four perspectives are: • The context perspective • The business and strategy perspective • The delivery perspective • The people perspective Personal reflections on the research process and the framework are based on the Kirkpatrick (1967) four level theoretical model for the evaluation of learning and development outcomes. The researcher also describes the changes in behaviour and practices within TCA with regard to the way the people within TCA interact and collaborate with people from other organisations as a result of the study and its findings. Finally, the researcher demonstrates his achievement of the six learning outcomes of his DBA doctoral programme.

The need for construction to change its traditional working practices has been repeatedly expressed in government, industry, and academic publications. The Internet has been a major catalyst for change in most industry sectors, including the construction sector. The implementation of Internet-based technologies, such as ecommerce for achieving business targets, bring about changes in an organisation, its current practices, systems, processes and workflows. It is therefore important to evaluate the business process implications of adopting e-commerce in construction organisations. This was the focus of this study. The early stages of the research established the possible benefits, barriers, and drivers for the adoption of e-commerce technologies within construction. This was done by conducting an industry-wide survey that explored attitudes, current usage, barriers and enablers of IT and e-commerce within the UK construction sector. Survey results indicated that the exact benefits of using e-commerce within the construction industry were not known and more needed to be done to establish the effects of incorporating e-commerce applications into construction business processes and to demonstrate the opportunities of e-commerce for construction. To address this need a typical business process model that used the principles of business process re-engineering and demonstrated opportunities for e-commerce, was developed. Using this model it was possible to illustrate how, with the use of ecommerce applications, different members of the construction supply chain could derive business benefits and overcome traditional process inefficiencies. In order to effectively adopt e-commerce technologies in construction, companies may have to reengineer their current working methods, which could lead to a step change in current work practices. To facilitate such a step change it was essential to study and document the impact of specific e-commerce applications on their current end-user business processes. Case studies were conducted for this purpose. The case study findings showed that the end-user companies had accrued several business benefits from using e-commerce tools. Issues related to management buy-in and organisational culture were the main barriers to the wider use of e-commerce within the construction industry. The case studies and earlier findings indicated that e-commerce is 'here to stay' and it will not be long before it becomes an industry norm. Taking this into account, construction companies who are currently using, and those who have yet to use, e-commerce tools need to take measures to successfully adopt and benefit from these tools. It is important for companies that seek to adopt ecommerce to assess their 'e-readiness' for adopting e-commerce tools to ensure a productive and beneficial implementation of these tools. To address this need an ereadiness model for construction organisations and a prototype application, VERDICT, that assess e-readiness were developed and implemented. The model is based on the premise that for any company to be e-ready, its management, people, process and technology have to be e-ready in order to derive maximum business benefits. The research findings indicate that the use of e-commerce is still in its infancy within the construction industry. The current use of e-commerce has resulted in process automation, however, there is no evidence of process re-engineering. Such practices, although beneficial in the short-term, can have long-term implications in that the end-users are not necessarily making full use of the technology and hence not deriving full benefits from it. The model and e-readiness assessment prototype developed as part of this study will enable construction organisations to successfully adopt e-commerce and exploit its potential.

<p>This paper intends to give the reader a wider knowledge about sustainable construction by taking a closer look at what drivers and goals have been of most importance in Silverdal - a construction project with environmental commitment and focus on energy efficiency. The research is formed by using a compilation of variables, such as regulation, brand building and risk management, which serve as a base for the qualitative research of the case study. The empirical findings have been gathered by interviewing people responsible for the Silverdal project. These findings imply that compliance with regulations has become more important with time and that brand building can still have greater relevance than long-term commitment to environmental related risk management. Also, economic benefits seem to be the most desired ones at the expense of making a contribution to real sustainability.</p>

This paper intends to give the reader a wider knowledge about sustainable construction by taking a closer look at what drivers and goals have been of most importance in Silverdal - a construction project with environmental commitment and focus on energy efficiency. The research is formed by using a compilation of variables, such as regulation, brand building and risk management, which serve as a base for the qualitative research of the case study. The empirical findings have been gathered by interviewing people responsible for the Silverdal project. These findings imply that compliance with regulations has become more important with time and that brand building can still have greater relevance than long-term commitment to environmental related risk management. Also, economic benefits seem to be the most desired ones at the expense of making a contribution to real sustainability.

The aim of this thesis is to create a business plan for a newly created construction company. The theoretical part describes in detail the structure of the business plan, the principles for a successful treatment plan and possible alternatives. The second part focuses on the description of the construction industry, its characteristics and the current market condition. The practical part is the actual business plan, whereby you can verify that it is the intention of the actual real market conditions and whether the founders of the initial investment back within a sufficiently short time.

The objective of this diploma thesis is the valuation of medium construction company Matex HK s.r.o. using discounted cash flow method. The thesis is divided into two main parts - the first part acquaints us with methodology of business valuation, while the second part is focused on valuation of the company itself. The theoretical body of the thesis describes basic calculations, methods and procedures necessary for correct estimation of the company value. Opening part is focused on defining of the basic principles of this issue. This is followed by introduction to methodics of strategic and financial analysis and description of the selected valuation method and matters related. Applied part of this thesis uses the described tools for the purposes of valuation of chosen company. Conclusion is devoted to company valuation statement and subsequent commentary.

The main objective of this thesis is to determine the market value of the compa-ny's equity DEKTRADE, Plc. to the valuation date 1st January 2016. The sec-ondary objective is to predict the growth of the market. These predictions should help the company's management. Thesis will be typically divided into theoretical part that aims to introduce readers to the issues of valuation and introduce methods that will be used in subsequent practical part. The practical part begins with a strategic analysis to be followed by a financial analysis. Following the distribution of assets to the operationally necessary and unnecessary forecast of value and a financial plan. The actual awards will be made using the method DCF entity. Results will be compared with the book value of equity.

There has been a huge increase for start-ups in the construction business between 2019 &amp; 2021. During this period of time covid-19 pandemic gradually spread and exposed the society for a severe challenge with social distancing, work from home and liquidation of several companies as a consequence. The demand for services in the construction business went however in the opposite direction and they were positively affected. Additional companies who join the market generate an increase in competition were smaller companies in the construction business needs to find competitive advantage in order to establish and survive.    This study focuses on how start-ups in the construction business is currently working with digital marketing. Data has collected through qualitative interviews with eight individuals, all of them are owners of small companies in the construction business. The collected data has been analyzed together with previous research in digital marketing where some key factors for improvements has been identified. The study indicates a huge lack of knowledge for the respondents according to digital marketing and how its tools can be used. However, the majority of the respondents points out the advantage in digital marketing and wants to add some knowledge in the area, illuminating especially social media. By increase the knowledge, design marketing strategies, and actively work with eWOM could generate valuable competition advantages for smaller companies in the construction business.

The South African construction industry is experiencing challenging times, like its counterparts globally, which has led to the failure of known large contractors. While some studies have suggested different reasons for this, a stream of scholars argued that company leadership contributes significantly to the organisation's performance. Studies on leadership in construction have mainly been undertaken at project level, considering that construction organisations are project-based. This study examined the leadership of construction organisations and whether the traits, skills, role, style and strategic decisions of company leaders impacted on the long-term performance and sustainability of contracting firms in South Africa. The main question investigated in this study is: what combination of leadership traits, skills, style, role, and strategic decisions results in superior and sustainable construction organisation performance, when moderated by strategic decisions of CEO/company leadership? The study draws from theoretical perspectives, namely the ‘upper echelons' theory, strategic leadership theory, and the Full Range Leadership Model (FRLM), to develop a conceptual framework. A convergent mixed-method research design was used to advance the investigation. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposively selected construction company leaders of large contracting firms in the Western Cape, in positions of Group Chairman, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Managing Director in major building construction, civil engineering, or geo-technical companies of good repute. The survey instrument was pretested by construction company leaders before distribution to respondents and the Crobach Alpha test was used in testing the reliability of the study responses. The cidb provided the database of the construction leaders and a survey of contractors listed in Grades 7-9 of the cidb Register of Contractors was conducted. The responses of the samples on the survey question raised on their position also attests to this. At the end of the survey period between April and September 2020, 257 responses were received, representing 56.86% response rate. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), to validate the hypothesis developed that construction company leaders positively impact organisational performance through their strategic decisions on project management, change, and innovation and investment. In addition, the study also tested the hypothesis that strategic decisions mediate the relationship between construction companies' leadership components, characteristics, and construction organisation performance. The findings of this study reveal that decisions on change and innovation have the most impact to prevent business failure, and for construction organisation performance. Whilst there are other internal and external factors that may contribute to a firm's business outcomes, the findings of the study explain that the attributes of construction business leaders and their strategic decisions play a significant role in construction company leadership and construction organisation's outcomes. The leadership of construction companies is expected to be exhibit transformational qualities, cast visions, channel new opportunities, and reposition their companies according to the current and future economic situations. The gap between expectations and performance must thus be filled by leadership through their strategic decisions that are premeditated and calculated towards the expectations and visions of the construction companies. The study thus contributes to knowledge in leadership and construction research by demonstrating how the multi-dimensions of company leadership impact construction business organisation performance. The integration of leadership personality traits, skills, style, role, and strategic decisions provides a better measure of how leadership impacts organisational performance. The leadership framework developed from the study's findings made explicit the leadership traits, skills, style and strategic roles that would assist construction company leaders to operate their organisations sustainably and devise effective succession plans. The components of the leadership framework include the strategic leadership roles that construction organisational leaders must play, using catalytic leadership skills, transformational and transactional leadership approaches and inherent leadership traits, which could be developed through education, career experiences, mentoring and training. The study is limited to South Africa, which has implications for the generalisability of results.

In this thesis, a national information technology (IT) strategy applicable to Turkish construction industry for future implementation of IT is developed, advising guidance to current and future stakeholders but also researchers and decision makers to set the right priorities and pre-harmonization for IT in construction. Within this study, the present situation of the industry is discussed, so as to structure today&rsquo / s required industry abilities fulfilling tomorrow&rsquo / s demands and innovative IT solutions. Then, a coherent vision is developed for agile, model-based, knowledge driven Turkish construction industry. Following the analysis of IT trends and opportunities, a national IT strategy framework for the industry is specified. Finally / other country applications are examined to give direction for the developed strategy implementation approach.