Inter-organizational studies - Practitioner Article
Multidimensional Performance Measure
The article, “Toward a Multidimensional Performance Measure for International Joint Ventures in Construction,” discusses and tests by survey the methods for measuring the performance of joint ventures in the construction industry. Specifically, the June 2011 article published in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management talks about international joint ventures which it abbreviates IJVs. It points out that there is no consensus on defining and measuring the result of IJVs and questions the validity of the measuring methods. The authors point out that it is uniquely important to the construction industry to have successful joint ventures because “performance is greatly affected by partner compatibility, interworking relationships, IJV structure, host country conditions, and project-specific characteristics” (M. Talat Birgonul 403). Of course, the other variable, perhaps the hardest to measure, is that a lot of various people work on construction projects and tend to skew any sort of objective test results.
The article explains what the objectives of the research on IJVs are: “develop[ing] complete/multidimensional performance metric for IJVs in construction and explor[ing] the direct and indirect impacts of internal and external drivers on the IJV performance” (M. Talat Birgonul 404). The authors point out that most of the existent literature focuses on manufacturing industries rather than construction. They are quick to add though that much of the current research is more concentrated on the construction industry which appears to need this type of information for managers to make wise decisions when it comes to evaluating whether an IJV is a good proposition or not. The study detailed in this account used the results of a face-to-face survey and interviews via email to test the overall satisfaction. The respondents were Turkish partners of IJVs half of whom had undertaken projects in a foreign country including Russia, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Jordan, Iraq, India and the United States.
The findings of the survey revealed that the way respondents judged the performance of the IJV’s varied by the dimension being tested, which inspired the researchers to develop a multidimensional performance measure specifically for construction managers. However, they still could not reach consensus on what are the most appropriate criteria to measure, nor could they come to an agreement on the best method to use to measure the criteria. The researchers concede that IJVs can be measured using both subjective and objective methods, and either method can be applied depending on the performance item being measured. Clearly, when a manager is dealing with groups of widely varying types of people, which construction managers often are, a subjective method of measure must be included.
The authors provide several tables indicating the various aspects of IJV performance and the performance indicators that the study participants were surveyed about. Since the researchers could not detect consensus among the participants, they also included a diagram showing what the “variables of performance model and factor loadings for constructs” in the study were (M. Talat Birgonul 408). The researchers also concede that perhaps a bigger sample would have helped them to reach consensus.
While the fact that the study did not really come to a conclusion about what IJV performance attributes should be measured or how they should be measured, it did stress the importance of measuring and sharing the measurements. The study admitted that this is a new area of research in construction business management, but a growing one that is necessitating such research. The importance for managers lies in the fact that a formula to measure joint ventures is on the horizon and will make their job much easier when a consensus about what attributes are important to measure and a method of measuring them is met. In the meantime, construction managers can help by keeping track of data for researchers to use.
Work Cited:
M. Talat Birgonul, et al. "Toward A Multidimensional Performance Measure For International Joint Ventures In Construction." Journal Of Construction Engineering & Management 137.6 (2011): 403-411. Academic Search Premier. Web. 6 July 2012.
Sinea, can you provide a link to this article? This is a pretty interesting topic though, and I was surprised to find that researchers have this much difficulty conducting research. I wouldn't have thought it would be difficult to track success within a joint venture, at least not financially. I'm also a little surprised that the authors feel there's a developing formula coming soon, but they can't agree on what attributes to measure. I don't quite understand how they can be confident that a formula is close when they can't agree on what data should be tracked.
ReplyDeleteHey Josh, I got the article by using my brother-in-laws password for the Journal Of Construction Engineering & Management. Sorry I could not find a public version of it. But I agree with you, this article has a very interesting topic. I have been wrapped up in the health care field so its a interesting change for me.
DeleteIt all sounds sort of "hit or miss" in measuring the IJV performance in construction. But since there are many companies and nationalities involved in IJV's, maybe part of the problem in defining performance measures lies in the differences in cultures and customs within the various countries and what is considered important to each. I'm having a hard time responding to this research since it didn't really come to a conclusion. I think a manager just has to do his job and analyze all areas both objectively and subjectively to make the best decision for the IJV. It's just kind of amazing to me that aren't already some kind of uniform performance standards in place and that no concensus has been reached on them. And I agree with Josh - how can the researchers feel that a formula is in the works without having agreed on what the performance criteria is and how it should be measured?
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have thought that successful joint ventures are uniquely important to the construction industry. From my understanding, construction is usually quite reliant on joint ventures; but I thought successful joint ventures are important to other industries as well. Especially IJVs in our current world. Resources and knowledge are widespread and IJVs are a powerful tool for companies.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post, too bad they couldn't come to a conclusion.
I agree with you guys too. I do not understand how they are so confident that a formula is close when they can not even agree on what data should be tracked. I talked to my brother-in-law about this topic (he is a Civil Engineer in Louisiana) and he said that he has noticed that a lot of articles produced in the Engineering field are predictions or ideas that "will work." He said this is for the reason that many researcher try to get there ideas out before someone else publishes about it. Kind of childish but seems like the best way to get credit for your own work and ideas in today's fast growing world.
ReplyDeleteI could easily see the need for a performance measure like discussed in the article. I would have to agree that in order to publish a work that is unique, you have to act fast. It is a shame because if the writers spent more time developing their ideas, the credit that would recieve would be much more important.
ReplyDelete