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Abu Aisheh, Y (2011) Climate change and the built environment: an evaluation of sustainable refurbishment options for higher education buildings in the UK, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Ahmad, H S M (2011) Development of knowledge management model for knowledge management implementation and application in construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Al-Saqer, K M (2001) An investigation into the development processes and project management practices of government construction projects in Saudi Arabia, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Alsabban, A (2019) A study on analysing mega-project failures in Saudi Arabia by using agency theory, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
- Type: Thesis
- Keywords: management theory; performance; railway; failure; opportunism; case study; interview; Saudi Arabia
- ISBN/ISSN:
- URL: http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/8966/
- Abstract:
Mega-projects are seen as a driving force for countries’ economies (Flyvbjerg et al., 2003; Kipp et al., 2008). However, the rate of project failure has never been greater and it has been argued that performance in mega-project management has not improved over the last 70 years (Flyvbjerg, 2017). In this context, this case study research investigates the time and cost-related failure of the Haramain High-speed Railway (HHR) mega-project in Saudi Arabia. The research question asked in this thesis is to what extent agency theory (AT), which posits the possibility of agent opportunism and is the primary theory in the thesis, can explain the HHR project’s failure. AT is seen as an appropriate theoretical lens for studying the case as the HHR project contains a series of complex principal-agent relationships. This prime theory is supported in the task of explaining the HHR project failure by two further subsidiary contextual theories; national cultural theory (CT) and project management theory (PMT). It was felt that, given the location and nature of the HHR project, it would be interesting to seek to understand the role of AT in explaining the HHR project failure in relation to the greater-utilised (within the project management literature) CT and PMT and in exploring the existence of overlaps between the theories. The research adopts a case study approach consisting of qualitative data. 38 interviews were undertaken with project participants from different organisations involved with the HHR project. This was supplemented by site observations and official documents in order to triangulate the findings. In the event, AT was found to be an underlying explanation for the failures observed in the HHR mega-project. Multiple agency problems (APs) were identified as major cause of failure. However, there were also other causes which were related to CT and PMT. These causes (especially those CT-related) were less significant to the HHR project failure, although the research discovered that there was actually some interrelation between the AT, CT and PMT causes of failure. The study makes a contribution to the project/mega-project management literature by extending the limited AT-related research on mega-projects, by looking at a more extensive range of principal-agent relationships than previous studies, by undertaking the first AT-related research into Saudi mega-projects and by establishing that some of the more established causes of project failure described in the literature can actually be contributors to, or consequences of, agent opportunism. This latter contribution highlights how the research’s use of AT points the way to greater theoretical generalisability in the study of the causes of mega-project failure.
Ballard, H G (2000) The last planner system of production control, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Daheshpour, K (2018) Network level decision support system to assess railway track maintenance needs, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Debela, G Y (2021) Assessment of government policies and regulations in the process of adopting Public-Private Partnership for infrastructure development in Ethiopia, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Delgado-HernaÌndez, D J (2005) A framework for building quality into construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Gomez, C P (2002) A study of the situated practice of benchmarking in the UK construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Goodfellow-Smith, M (2019) How can finance and insurance institutions help deliver sustainable city infrastructure?, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Hackett, J A (2011) The role of cost estimators in UK construction: a case for, and steps towards, an estimating profession, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Haji Md Yusof, I (2019) Development of lean design process for building construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Hasan, N (2006) Developing a balanced scorecard model for evaluation of project management and performance, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Hughes, P M (1990) Buildings and the building trade in Worcester 1540-1650, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of History, University of Birmingham.
Ireland, P N (2005) Supply chain management in construction: an analysis of the appropriateness of proactive supply chain management thinking for the construction industry, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham.
Jabang, S-W (2017) An investigation into the use of public procurement and commissioning to deliver community (societal) value, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Government and Society, University of Birmingham.
Jacobs, A (2007) Will the new offence of corporate manslaughter motivate companies to prioritise safety over profit?, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Law, University of Birmingham.
Kalyviotis, N (2022) Balancing economic, social and environmental value in transport infrastructure business models, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Kamat, K J (2003) Decision making and negotiation: Establishing social order on a construction site, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Kavishe, N W (2018) Improving the delivery of PPP housing projects in developing countries, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Keskin, F S (2021) Integration of lifecycle assessment into structural intervention scenarios for assessing environmental impacts of vulnerable buildings, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Kugonza, S (2010) Influence of formal and informal institutions on outsourcing of public construction projects in Uganda, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Government and Society, University of Birmingham.
Low, S P (2012) Strategic development of the built environment through international construction, quality and productivity management, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham.
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Mulekezi, L (1990) The design of project estimating systems, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Naghashian, M H (2015) Generalised cost benefit analysis for large infrastructure projects: the case of the Channel Tunnel rail link, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Perera, T G U P (2019) Achieving sustainable housing affordability through an institutionalist approach to communicative planning: a case study of a new settlements and sustainable urban extensions in England, Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences , University of Birmingham.
Rooke, J A (2001) Researching culture on construction projects, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Rowlands, A S (2016) Effective collaboration in construction: the importance of managing power, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham.
Sansakorn, P (2018) Development of a risk assessment methodology and safety management model for the building construction industry: case studies from Thailand, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham.
Sasidharan, M P (2020) A risk-informed approach to setting economically-justifiable maintenance strategies for railway tracks, Unpublished PhD Thesis, , University of Birmingham.
Soe, Y (2017) Construction supply chain risk management framework for construction projects: case studies in Myanmar, Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Birmingham.