Theses for Project Management

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The Influence of Risk Determinants and the Project Environment on the Successful Delivery of Software Development Projects
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2023-01) ALHOUSANI, AMNA
While the literature has widely discussed the adverse effect of risk factors on software project success, there has been a lack of empirical examination of this relationship, particularly in the software development industry. Particularly, the existing literature on cognition lacks a unified conceptualization of risk factors. Few studies have looked at the association between risk variables in the area of successfully completing software development projects, according to a study of the literature. Additionally, only a small number of research have explored how the project environment influences both risk factors and success of project. This study proposes a structural model in which risk factors (i.e. development-environment, product-engineering, and program-constraints-associated risks) directly impact the successful delivery of software development projects in the federal government of the UAE. Further, project environment (i.e. stakeholders, resources, market and culture) mediates the association among risk factors and the successful delivery of software development projects in the federal government of the UAE. The survey-based technique was used to gather information from 250 IT employees assigned to projects of the software development in the federal government of the UAE. The PLS-SEM technique was employed in this study. The reliability, validity, and goodness of model fit and the hypotheses were tested. Findings indicate that the risk factors (i.e. -, development-environment, product-engineering and program-constraints-correlated risks) have significant direct negative effects on the accomplishment of projects of related to software development projects. This study significantly contributes to the existing knowledge by providing a comprehensive model of risk factors in software development projects, particularly within the UAE federal government context, and by unveiling the mediating role of the project environment in the relationship between risk factors and project success. This not only enriches the understanding of risk management in software projects but also offers valuable insights for practitioners in managing risks effectively in the public sector.
The influence of users’ addictive behaviours on the relationships between information security countermeasures and risky cybersecurity practices
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-06) ALRASHDI, ALI SAEED
The emergence of the modern internet in 1990 and the development of web 1 was the first step on information sharing and reading-data, while the web 2 took a step closer and allowed peer-to-peer interactions with always an inter media system acting as a transmitter. Nowadays, web 3 is underway which will boost worldwide connectivity even further. The world is living the era of huge data flows, global scale interactions and social engagement of multicultural people in a worldwide network. People from various backgrounds and cultural dimensions are influencing the way that data are interpreted and managed through the technology driven system. Therefore, cyber security became extremely important and critical for organisations continuous operations. As the literature indicates the 95% of cyber security breaches are cause by a human error. Consequently, organisations worldwide are looking ways of minimising cyber threats that caused by human behaviour to improve information security. Currently, there is a lack of research on the role as well as the impact of the multi-behaviour countermeasures dimensions on information security. The main purpose of this research is to suggest a human behaviour information security countermeasures model for supporting investigation of and reasons for the main features of people’s risky behaviours in the context of information security within public organisations in the UAE. The research methodology used descriptive quantitative with linear regression analysis. The research used a questionnaire that was analysed with the software (SPSS) 24.0. Findings indicate that Attitude and self-efficacy have a direct influence on the attitudes towards cybersecurity countermeasures and Administrative, Managerial and Support countermeasures have a direct influence on the Security awareness countermeasures. The users’ addictive behaviours can influence both information security countermeasures and risky cybersecurity behaviour practices of the workforces of public organisations. Further research on employee behaviour can be studied over a longer period of time using a longitudinal study.
The Influence of Cognitive Bias Attributes on Decision-making Style of the Project Manager: The Moderating Role of Narcissistic and Voice Behaviour
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-04) OBEIDAT, OMAR SALEM
This thesis investigates the influence of cognitive bias attributes (CBA) on the decision-making (DM) style of project managers (PJM): the moderating role of narcissistic behaviour (NB) and voice behaviour (VB) in Information Technology Software Development (ITSD) projects in Dubai. The research classified sources of bias under two families: (1) perception and behavioural bias, (2) belief and probability estimation bias; these families consist of six groups that contain 21 sources of bias. The research followed a positivism philosophy using a deductive approach based on a quantitative analysis methodology and a survey instrument strategy to collect data; 381 responses were collected through an electronic survey. The study used confirmatory factor analysis to validate the constructive validity of the variables, Cronbach’s alpha to test the reliability of the variables, a pilot study conducted prior to survey distribution and multiple regression analysis through IBM SPSS statistics version 20 to test research hypotheses. The results indicated that: 1) CBA influences the decision-making style of project managers, 2) the relationship between CBA and the experiential decision-making style of the project manager is significant, whereas the rational decision-making style of the project managers is less affected by CBA, 3) using the experiential style to make a decision under uncertain events has a relatively negative influence on the success of projects as it is connected to CBA, 4) using the rational style to make a decision under uncertain events has a relatively positive influence on the success of the projects as it is less connected to CBA, 5) voice behaviour negatively moderates the relationship between cognitive bias and the decision-making style of project managers; however, the relationship was weak, and 6) NB does not moderate the relationship between CBA and the DM style. The researcher developed a de-biasing DM model which can be used to mitigate the influence of the biased decisions. The study enriched the body of knowledge of the CBA through extensively exploring various sources of bias and their impact on the DM process; and expands on the knowledge of the DM styles provided by CEST by exploring the negative influence posed by CBA. The study imparts elaborate information about the role of project managers’ NB and VB in the context of PM and provides a model that will help mitigate the risk of CBA on the decision-making process. The thesis recommends testing the group and social bias family, effect, and memory bias family in future research.
Determinants of Value Benefits in Adopting an Engineering Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) – ABU DHABI Oil and Gas, UAE
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-02) ALZAABI, ABDULLA RASHED
The requirement for modern businesses to develop complex projects has forced businesses to consider opportunities for application of specific contracting models which would guarantee adequate distribution of responsibility in the project team among stakeholders and minimise risks for the project owner. This study aims to analyse the main characteristics of the EPC and EPCM contracting models for the Abu Dhabi oil and gas sector, and determine opportunities and risks related to the application of both contracting models. Specific results had to be associated with the definition of optimal guidelines for application of the EPCM contracting model in the target sphere of practice. The results of the prior literature review demonstrated that, though the EPCM contracting model is generally considered as more effective compared to the EPC approach, practitioners lack reliable recommendations for application of this method in practice. The methodology of the thesis included a quantitative study of a large sample of employees and managers in the target industry to gain understanding of their perception of the EPCM contracting model. The results of the study demonstrate the main features and factors of successful application of the EPCM contracting model in the target industry, together with practical guidelines for future implementation. It was found that the EPCM contracting model could be the optimal approach to large project management if properly arranged. The novelty of this research can be viewed from two perspectives:  One is from a theoretical point of view where the research will challenge existing theories of value and contracting strategies. The research proposes ways in which value and contracting strategies and theories can be enhanced within the context of the oil and gas sector.  Two, from a practical point of view, the research ascertained key practical EPCM determinants which can be used as guidelines for senior project practitioners in delivering large oil and gas programmes and mega projects in Abu Dhabi for better value through using the EPCM model.
The Analysis of Project Governance and Cultural Intelligence in the Successful Delivery of Complex Construction Projects: The Case of the UAE Construction Sector
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-03) ALEID, ALJAZZY BINT MOHAMED
The overarching aim of this research was to examine how project governance and cultural intelligence can influence successful complex construction project delivery. The research proposed a model that comprises project governance and cultural intelligence determinants that can be used to enhance successful complex construction project delivery in the UAE. The key variables of project governance, cultural intelligence and successful complex construction project delivery are significantly explicated in the literature review with the accompanying factors and references for each. To obtain the needed results, the study entailed the use of a quantitative research method. For this study, it was crucial to ensure that only the relevant respondents took part in each stage of the research. A total sample of 404 respondents was used in the study. This number of respondents was considered sufficient in the context of this study and the realisation of the set goals aimed at understanding the complex building construction industry. The study adopted non-probability sampling and snowball sampling strategies. Data analysis comprised descriptive statistics, reliability test, correlation test and regression test. Validity and reliability were attained through the assessment of their plausibility in relation to the existing knowledge on the relationship between the aspects of project governance and cultural intelligence and their effects on successful complex construction project delivery. The verification occurred when the model had been formulated. Workshops and group discussions helped achieve this goal. The research rigour was attained by focusing on verification and validation, which include aspects of methodological coherence and data analysis. As specified below, the novelty of the research can be viewed from two perspectives:  There is a paucity of research studies that examine how project governance and cultural intelligence could influence successful complex construction project delivery, yet the topic is of significance in the construction sector. The research findings of the study are intended to add to the existing body of knowledge in the single area that explicates the relationship between complex area of cultural intelligence, project governance, and complex building construction projects.  The proposed model is intended to provide senior construction project practitioners in the UAE with approaches for managing the rising numbers of multicultural teams based on the aspects of project governance and cultural intelligence. Keywords: Project governance, Cultural intelligence, Complex building projects, Construction sector, United Arab Emirates, Project management.
Alignment of Team Integration with Successful Digital Transformation in the Higher Education Sector in UAE
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2022-03) ANISSA BETTAYEB
This study looks into the alignment between team integration and successful digital transformation in higher education sectors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Although several researchers have studied various team integration factors, particularly in construction, there is a clear research gap that is filled in this research by studying different types of team integration related to technology and processes and aligning them with successful digital transformation implementations. Furthermore, the education sector is slower to adopt such new technology than other sectors, making such adoption more difficult to achieve unless a clear framework and practices are followed. Following a thorough literature review, this research work identifies the fundamental aspects that determine team integration from several perspectives. Furthermore, the research aims to investigate the relationship between individual and team traits, technological features, process aspects, and team integration, all of which will contribute to a successful digital transformation. Several project environmental variables, such as organizational support, the team's location and presence, work pressure, and task design, influence this relationship. Data was collected using the quantitative technique by delivering an online questionnaire to various employees, including leaders, project managers, team members, academics, and administrative staff working on digital transformation projects in several educational sectors in the United Arab Emirates. Different statistical methods are used to analyze the data, including normality, regression, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Both EFA and CFA contributed to the identification of latent factors and the investigation of variable-to-variable correlations. To determine the hypothesis and moderator effects, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and structural equation modeling (AMOS) were employed. According to the findings, Team Traits (Team Trust and Cohesion, No Blame Culture, and Team Diversity), Technological Aspects (Digital Skills and Technology Adoption and Exchange), and Process Aspects (resistance, innovation, team spirit, and communication) are important factors influencing digital transformation. Furthermore, the researcher confirmed that project environment factors such as organizational support, team location and presence, work pressure, and task design moderate the relationship between team integration and successful digital transformation. The findings of this study provide a framework made up of essential team integration factors that may be used to improve the implementation of successful digital transformation in the UAE's higher education sector. The new recommended framework offers useful direction to all decision makers and project managers, as it will assist organizations in managing, developing, and maintaining team performance, as well as preventing any human risks or project failure.
THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF TALENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-09) ALTAMIMI, EBTIHAL JASSIM MOHAMMED
In this thesis attention is given to aspects of talent management within projects and is based on the assumption that organisational success depends on the capacity to attract, develop, and retain high quality personnel for specific roles. The project management discipline offers a flexible means of implementing and meeting the challenges of talent management. Qualitative and quantitative research were used and case studies regarding the effectiveness of projects aimed at managing talent in public sector organisation within three police forces in the United Arab Emirates were examined. In addition to data collected from secondary documents, several human resource managers, talent management managers and team members were interviewed. An initial pilot case study was conducted in the Sharjah Police involving the distribution of 100 questionnaires in different departments. It is noted that from the perspective of rigorous professional project management, there is no explicit concept of project management of talent management in any of the sample organisations studied in this research. Clearly, this constitutes a major shortfall in project management implementation in talent management which should be addressed by the police forces as well as in other public and private sector organisations. Despite certain limitations, this thesis does contribute to knowledge on project management and talent management in police forces in the GCC and Middle East. The GCC and MENA region are under-studied areas in the academic and practitioner literature on talent management and the project management of talent management, especially in public sector management contexts. For future research, it is recommended that a combination of action research and case study research is conducted. Overall, it is concluded that there are no major political or cultural obstacles in developing more sophisticated and functional project management of talent management policies and practices in police force organisations in the GCC and MENA region.
Uncovering the Structure Complexity of Stakeholder Interactions with Process and Product Innovation in Oil and Gas EPC Projects
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-03) ALHAMMADI, NASSER MOHAMED IBRAHIM
Using Social Network Analysis framework to analyse the influence of project stakeholders on process and product innovation, this study set out to understand the stakeholders and activities that can lead to process and product innovation in a Greenfield, Downstream Oil and Gas EPC project. Deriving their position from having a high number of interactions and occupying a central position in social network, the Engineering Manager, the Cost Control Manager/ Procurement Engineer, and the Senior Construction Engineer were identified as the most influential stakeholders in Process Innovation in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Phases respectively. For the same reasons, the Engineering Manager, Cost Control Manager/Procurement Engineer, and Senior Quality Assurance/ Quality Control Engineer were identified as the most influential stakeholders on product innovation in the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Phases, respectively. Based on being the most senior decision maker in the whole EPC project, Engineering Manager was found to have the highest level of influence on process innovation. For the same reasons, the Project Manager was identified as most influential stakeholder on product innovation. In terms of activity nodes, the most influential on both process and product innovation were identified as those having many connections with other nodes giving them access to important information flows. The most influential activity nodes on process innovation were identified as “IPF (SIL Review)” for Engineering, “Weekly Procurement expediting meetings with Contractor and Vendors” for Procurement, and “Fire water Tank – Final Testing” for the Construction Phase. Also based on the number of node connections, the most influential activities on product innovation were identified as: IPF (SIL Review) for Engineering, “Suction K.O. drum – prepare and Issue MR” for Procurement, and “Mechanical (Equipment) – HIPS Installation” for the Construction Phase. Because of its high number of connections, highly central Network position, and ranking higher in the hierarchy in terms of decision making, “IPF (SIL Review)” was identified as the most influential activity on both Process and Product innovation for the entire EPC project.
A design thinking-based Framework for effective business excellence outcomes in the public sector
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-10) ALMOMANY, GEBREEL AHMAD
Business excellence has a proven history of making real differences in the outcomes of organizations. However, most scholarly published research is limited to the application of excellence models in the private sector, because most excellence models are only adapted to fit the context of the public sector organizations. This study adds value by focusing on investigating the relationship between the independent variable of attitude, knowledge, actions, and excellence and the business excellence implementation outcomes. Furthermore, it examines if this relationship is moderated by design thinking and its determinants of empathise, define, ideate, and prototype. This research used a questionnaire survey from the population of leaders and senior level managers listed at Dubai local Government Departments. A sample of 141 senior managers were selected through convenience sampling who completed the survey. Positive relationships were found between knowledge, actions, attitude and excellence with business excellence implementation outcomes. The impact of attitude and knowledge on excellence implementation outcomes is found to be moderated positively by design thinking and its determinants. However, actions were not moderated by design thinking and its determinants for their relationship with business excellence outcomes. This anomalous moderating influence of design thinking determinants is explained by the changes in work environment and organisational priorities during the persisting COVID-19 pandemic. Based on these results, a design thinking-based framework for business excellence implementation in the public sector is recommended by the researcher, which suggests that managers should promote factors and criteria of excellence that are suited to their organizational context. This is in addition to empirical and academic recommendations.
SYSTEM DYNAMICS APPROACH FOR WHOLE LIFE CYCLE COST MODELLING OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDING PROJECTS IN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-04) Sadek, Ahmed
Purpose – Project management field is experiencing many challenges to maintain its performance and delivery within planned time, budget, and quality. Latest research focused on cost modelling and estimation. There is a high demand to have many developments within a short period and acceptable quality. The significance of cost modelling comes from the forecasted information value. This research study aims to model project's whole life cycle costs of residential buildings in UAE at the preconstruction stage, choosing VENSIM system dynamics approach. The objective is to simulate dynamically cost over time for all outputs. Design/methodology/approach – The approach of this research is pure quantitative. It requires mapping diagrams and mathematical computation systems. Research questions were answered as a gear unit to build the final cost model. Identifying cost risks values are the first required answer. These values are extracted from field experts. Data validity and reliability are conducted using mechanistic (hypotheses) mathematical models (correlation and regression). Adjusting cost risks are computed using Monte Carlo stochastic mathematical model. Finally, VENSIM system dynamics final cost model is developed approaching empirical, dynamic (stock and flow), and deterministic mathematics. Findings – The result of system dynamics approach investigation revealed that it can model project's total expenditure (TOTEX) dynamically over time, including cash flow and NPV. Limitations – The model’s verification process could not verify OPEX estimation accuracy due to the absence of OPEX real data in UAE. This is because UAE age (≈ 50 year) is less than the model's lifecycle (60 years). The model is developed for residential buildings in UAE. This requires further investigation to check the ability of system dynamics approach to model costs for other project types and/or in other geographical regions. It is required to check the model's response against changing/adjusting the used mathematical system to ensure the maximum accuracy of system dynamics approach for cost modelling. It is compulsory to investigate system dynamics cost modelling response against adapting deferent demolition scenarios. Theoretical implications – The final system dynamics cost model is incorporating TOTEX cash flow and net present value estimates for each time step across the project's whole life cycle at the preconstruction stage. This is achieved by applying adjusting risks on project's initial cost at the preconstruction stage with respect to cost and risk behaviours at each time step. Cost impact is following an increasing S-Curve behaviour during CAPEX time and risk impact is following a decreasing S-Curve behaviour during CAPEX lifetime. Both cost and risk impacts are linearly increasing during OPEX lifetime. And NPV is following a negative exponent behaviour over TOTEX lifetime. The applied adjusting risks are comprising three value levels. Minimum, mean, and maximum cost risks. Simulated costs under adjusting risks' levels can be presented in the same exported data sheet. All cash flow scenarios, under three cost risks levels, can be trended in the same chart, simultaneously, including all project's lifecycle time steps. Practical implications – TOTEX and NPV accurate estimation outputs are the most important criteria for future investments decisions. In addition, modelling project's cash flow is the most helpful approach to apply stochastic area method (easy-to-apply) analysis. Multiple scenarios provide better understanding of future events. Originality/value – This research significant contribution to the project management body of knowledge is accomplished by providing the first cost model, approaching system dynamics, for residential building projects' whole lifecycle.
Developing a Stochastic Model to Predict Cost Overrun due to the Causes of Projects Delay in Oil Fields Construction Industry
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-05) ALKHOORI, KHALID ABDUL MAJEED
The criticality of managing projects delay in oil fields construction projects has been exacerbated by the general complexities associated with the sources of projects delay and how varied the impact may be to various stakeholders such as client/owner, contractor, design/consultant and miscellaneous/external groups within the industry. While most of the previous research investigated the causes of project delay in general construction, very little research exists specifically on oil fields construction projects in terms of budget overrun. The main aim of the research is to establish a model that could be used to map the causes of projects delay to the cost overrun in oil fields construction projects and to investigate the variables that contribute to budget/cost overrun. In addition, the author used regression analysis and Monte Carlo simulation to develop a stochastic model to map the causes of projects delay to cost overrun. The research results revealed that poor contractor works was found to have the most significant positive impact in the delay experienced by the projects considered in this work. However, most of the causes of cost overrun were found to follow the Log logistic distribution – a family of distribution associated with projects where the risk increases at the initial phase of the project and decreases later on. Therefore, to minimize cost overrun, the study suggest that those involved in a project’s value chain must ensure a smooth execution of project in its early stage so as to limit the high risk associated with the project during in its initial phase. The main contribution of this work, is the research framework which can be used by businesses in oil fields construction industry to model their own factors and help in their decision-making, as opposed to using anecdotal evidence. Finally, the author recommended some areas of the current study that can be developed such as mapping the causes of projects delay to other impacts, such as time overrun success criteria and to increase the number of projects delay in the regression model.
Exploring Public Sector Resilience to Emerging Events
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-05) Nabulsi, Fadi
There are certain challenges that require the public sector to be more resilient in the face of emerging events. These include the fourth industrial revolution, change in economic structures, security challenges, health pandemics, and other social cohesion challenges. This study aims to explore the concept of resilience and to develop a conceptual framework for governments, public sector leaders, various governmental sectors, researchers, and other relevant stakeholders to. To achieve this purpose, the study, through a content analysis of resilience literature, defined key components of resilience in general to come up with relevant themes and concepts of resilience to draw an initial framework. This framework was then used to conduct an exploratory qualitative study via semi-structured interviews to investigate the insights of 37 subject matter experts in the public sector within UAE. As an outcome of the thematic analysis conducted, four resilience concepts, seven principles, and eight attributes of building resilience in the public sector emerged from the data. A conceptual framework incorporating these components was developed including three resilience strategies, namely, absorptive, adaptive, and transformative strategies were identified to face various emergent events. This study showed that resilience in the public sector is not a passive, reactionary attribute of organizations that enable them to survive a disruptive event. Rather, building resilience includes taking proactive steps to collaborate, monitor, anticipate, and possibly predict emergent events. Further studies are required to validate the proposed relationships between the different attributes in the framework and resilience in the public sector by conducting quantitative hypothesis testing or qualitative case-study research.
Using Social Media for Public Participation in Government Policies and Services
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-09) ALJANAHI, AYESHA ABDULNOOR MUSTAFA
A major problem facing the UAE, as well as governments in many other countries, is how to sustain high levels of public participation. Social media and continuous innovation are becoming key factors in providing government services to gain public satisfaction and encourage loyalty. This research aims to discover the optimal applications and implementation processes involved in incorporating social media into government innovation strategies and projects. This thesis, therefore, asks two research questions. First, how do social media contribute to the success of government projects? Second, how can social media be effective in the diffusion of innovation programmes across the national culture (NC)? The empirical research reported in this thesis concentrates on five case studies which are all government or semi-government organisations, each with varying levels of experience and resources in social media. The case data were collected based on the two main research questions and ten case questions. The case issues are reported, analysed and interpreted based on the emergent themes in the empirical field, as well as compared to existing themes in the literature on social media and public participation in government. The research contains five case studies; these are Implementer, Residential, Healthcare, Education, and Media entities. From the five cases, it is clear that the concept of public participation is not yet comprehensively implemented To conclude, first, social media has the potential to contribute to the success of government projects, when local and federal government entities initiate and maintain two-way communication with the public; facilitated by skilled and qualified social media teams. Employees should be trained in different crisis management scenarios so that they can cope with the problems encountered on social media platforms. Second, for social media to be effective in the diffusion of innovation programmes across the NC, there should be a coordinating government department that specialises in innovation and recent technologies, and collaborates with social media specialists and teams. While the regional, governmental, societal and cultural context of the UAE is significantly different compared to, for example, the USA, it is concluded that there is emergent evidence from these five empirical case studies of the advantages of implementing Linders’ (2012, 2015) evolving concepts of we-government. It is recommended that future research investigates the theoretical framework of government initiatives, programmes and projects and evaluates how they use social media platforms and modern technologies like Artificial Intelligence to advance and implement government policies and services.
The impact of strategy diffusion on organisational performance of project-based organisations
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2021-06) Al Maazmi, Jamila
Many studies have investigated topics related to strategy management, portfolio management, program management, and project management relationships. However, traditional one-way cascading of the strategy is still preferable by many organisations, with few studies investigating the use of top-down and bottom-up techniques to spread an organisation’s strategy and getting back the performance, or the possibility of employing one of diffusion theories (e.g., Rogers’ Theory of Innovation Diffusion) within strategy or project contexts in project-based organisations. Consequently, the need to understand and apply a strategy diffusion (top-down) and report its performance (bottom-up) was urgent and necessary within project-based organisations, to fulfil the complete drive of the strategy and raise the competitive advantage of businesses. In this study, there was a comprehensive literature review of strategic management, diffusion theory, and project management facets, where the strategy spreading practices were based on the five well-known skills of Rogers’ diffusion theory; to diffuse the strategy (top-down) and reveal performance results (bottom-up) to feed each level of the project-based organisation hierarchy structure, taking the advantage of the interrelationships that exist amongst the strategy, the portfolio, the program, and the project levels. This was done to facilitate the deployment process. Moreover, mediation effects were taken into consideration for the organisational culture and the performance (bottom-up) related to the four organisational levels during the relationships investigation between all the research variables; since it is known that organisational culture and bottom-up performance have huge influence on business outcomes. Accordingly, the research framework was adopted and designed. This study used a quantitative method to investigate the influence of strategy diffusion on organisational performance within project-based organisations, where significant positive influences on the relationships were found between the required research variables. This thesis shifts strategy diffusion practices within the project context from a traditional one-way method to strategy diffusion top-down and performance bottom-up methods. Since, the study was limited to government agencies in the Emirate of Dubai located in United Arab Emirates (UAE), the generalisation of outcomes to other sectors is challenged.
The impact of stakeholder integration on large-scale, innovative PPP infrastructure projects
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-07) ALBALOOSHI, HOORIAH AHMED
Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are recognized as a viable option when procuring public services and infrastructure projects. In recent years, PPPs have become one of the most effective methods adopted by governments across the world, both in high-income and low and middle-income countries, these projects involved multiple stakeholders with varying interests and power in projects. United Arab Emirates recognized the importance of PPP project, therefore for the country began to legalize this practice and develop policies and procedures to facilitate the government and private sectors relationships and ensure the success of PPP projects. An example of this is the cabinet resolution No1/1 of 2017 and the Local Law of the Emirate of Dubai No.22 of 2015. The thesis focused on single case study that helped to explore and define how to ensure stakeholders integration in innovative PPP projects. PPPs have received attention from researchers and practitioners for their effects and associated risks on projects and participating parties and the crucial role of the stakeholders in PPP projects that affect project outputs, outcomes, and impacts. Much research has addressed the success factors of public and private sector projects and related challenges where a set of common factors have been identified, including stakeholder management factor. Examples of failed PPP projects indicate that some of the projects failed due to stakeholder related issues such as stakeholders’ knowledge, experience, and engagement. Despite the importance of stakeholder management in PPP projects, it has not yet received significant attention, this thesis seeks to address this gap in our current knowledge by holistically examining stakeholder integration (SI) in PPP innovative projects, as the integration of stakeholders between all parties is essential to the success of PPP projects, especially if it is innovative. SI is determined by a set of factors that must be integrated in equal measure to ensure the success of projects and conformity to organizational requirements and objectives. In addition to the importance of spreading knowledge and benefiting from experiences through harnessing the agreements between government and private agencies to implement these projects This study adopted qualitative research methodology to collect data through the conduct of a single case study of a cancelled PPP project based on a BOT contract in the UAE, which had been at the planning phase for more than eight years. The case study involved document analysis, participation observation, structure interviews, and semi-structured interviews with private sector representatives, members of local governments, members of the federal government, and sub-contractors and consultants. The main findings revealed that there are factors related to the extent of integration of stakeholders in the project that affect the success of these projects, such as knowledge, skills, experience, powers & interest between government organizations according to phases of the project as well as the unified PM tools, process and procedure in governments in innovative large-scale project management. Also, the findings reveal that the absence of procedures and laws in such projects causes a large number of obstacles that lead to the failure of these projects and not to take advantage of the opportunity associated with this kind of projects. The key contributions to knowledge included bridging the gap in the literature related to the importance of stakeholder in delivering successful PPP project by considering factor that shape the level of integration between the two parties specifically and others. In addition, this empirical study focused on SI in large-scale innovative infrastructure PPP projects, which will fill the gap of defining the impact and the importance of SI in these fields. Based on the findings the study came up with a set of six variables that defines the Stakeholder integration: Knowledge; experience; skills; legal awareness; unified process and procedures and unified project management tools. Also the a framework was developed to highlights the required process and decision in managing PPP project in the earlier stages of the project with the case of the absence of process, law and the lack of experience, the framework was validated by industry experts to ensure that this new framework will provide local government organizations with a valuable basis for planning, implementing and evaluating the successful delivery of PPP projects.
Developing a Framework for Measuring Organisational Cyber Resilience Against External and Internal Cyber Threats
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-07) Alshehhi, Saeed
This dissertation empirically examines the level of resilience and readiness for cyber-risks in public sector organisations within the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to provide managers with proactive mechanism to improve the cyber-resilience of their organisations. Moreover, the study aims to synthesize the extant literature and identifies new framework that filling the gaps in the current practices. The importance of this study stemmed from the fact that cyber threats are becoming a significant global concern prompting the importance of developing a reliable resilience mechanism to counter cyber threats and risks in the UAE public sector organisations. Therefore, the study addressed four distinct challenges in order to develop the framework for the UAE; providing tools for the management, accepting the human factors of cyber-security, exploring the correlation between the risks, and examining the moderating effect of organisational resilience on cyber-risk. Using a positivist/realist philosophy and an inductive approach to the data. The quantitative approach was chosen to quantify the attributes of the study variables with a motive to prove the tested hypothesis. A qualitative analysis would not have allowed this unless the same person carried out the later examination. Having a number or percentage gives the manager a clearer picture. This approach has been successfully used in other research into cyber-resilience. The relevant epistemology and ontology for the research are also explained fully in the methodology section. An online questionnaire was used to gather quantitative data from employees in different UAE public sector organisations. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse 207 variables. The EFA was used to evaluate the underlying factor structure of a correlation matrix, and to build a theory. This helped to identify the latent factors underlying the manifest variables, and the relationships between latent and manifest variables. After the EFA, a multilinear regression analysis was used to further examine the study hypotheses that emerged from the factor analysis. The findings suggest that all the public sector organisations in the UAE have a satisfactory level of resilience to potential cyber-threats. There was a high level of awareness among UAE public sector employees of cyber-threats and risks, which could contribute to readiness and resilience to cyber-threats or attacks. This suggests that there may be a relationship between the level of employee awareness and readiness to deal with cyber-threats, and the organisations’ overall resilience and readiness. This study contributes to the literature on cyber-resilience best practices. It provides organisations in the UAE public sector with a conceptual model to enable them to evaluate and identify potential weaknesses in their readiness for and resilience to cyber-threats. The feedback from the pilot study suggests that the specialists spoken to believe that this is one of the first empirical studies to establish a relationship between the level of employee awareness and readiness to deal with cyber-threats, and the level of organisational resilience and readiness in UAE public sector organisations.
Modelling of Concrete Waste Using Life Cycle Assessment & Damage Cost
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2019-07) SAEED, MOHAMED DARWISH MOHAMED
There is a massive quantity of concrete waste in the city of Dubai and in United Arab Emirates (UAE) landfills, due to the enormous growth of infrastructure in the last two decades that has resulted in an increase in the number of construction and demolition sites, and currently there is no effective management option to reduce the concrete waste in the landfills by sustainable methods. Furthermore, concrete waste accumulated in landfills can damage human health, resources and ecosystems. Therefore, in this study, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) was conducted between the current method of landfilling and its transportation of concrete waste to landfill, and the proposed recycling method. While the comparison helps in highlighting the ecological impact of concrete waste, the best waste management method, and the associated damage cost through the comparison of the relationship between ecological impacts and their costs, it also helps in reducing the environmental impacts and achieving project sustainability. Furthermore, the LCA was conducted through the utilisation of the ISO 14040:2006 framework and principles, which guided the study to follow the phases of LCA in an organised and systematic approach. In addition, the EcoInvent 3.4 database and SimaPro 8.5.2.0 software were used as tools to correlate and simplify LCA phases and results. Furthermore, the Handbook Environmental Prices 2017 was used to find the damage cost for each impact. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA) and damage cost results showed that concrete waste in the landfill has a considerable impact on the environment compared to the recycling method and transportation process. The study opens up opportunities for future research to identify which impact indicator and management method of concrete waste has a significant influence on the environment and its damage cost. Moreover, Life Cycle Cost Assessment (LCCA) can be conducted in future to compliment this study in finding the financial benefit of different management options of concrete waste beyond its damage cost. This study’s contribution is predominantly the expansion of an understanding of modelling the damage cost, in addition to providing LCA results for the management of concrete waste, which was based on different waste management options such as landfilling, recycling and transportation process.
An Empirical Study on Measuring Operating Efficiency and Revenue of Real Estate Assets in the UAE Using Data Envelopment Analysis
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2019-12) Alafeefi, Abdulrahman
The main focus of this thesis is building assets in the United Arab Emirates as a representative of emerging real estate markets. Research conducted in this thesis tackles the issue of efficiency in building assets. There is an extreme lack of studies investigating the performance of building assets in emerging markets in the Middle East. In the last couple of decades, the United Arab Emirates has witnessed an accelerated growth in all economic aspects. The population exploded from barely 3 million to almost 10 million. This growth of population forced the real estate industry to grow as well. As a result, investment in real estate became one of the main norms. Nevertheless, comparing the performance of real estate building assets is not an easy task due to the lack of necessary studies. This thesis tries to fill this gap by investigating efficiency in real estate. Data envelopment analysis was used as the main methodology in this research. In addition, data collection of 57 building assets was conducted. Results showed that most of the building assets in this investigation can be considered moderate with regard to efficiency in terms of Capital Expenditures metrics. On the other hand, Operational Expenditures metrics experience a wider range of efficiency values, indicating that the building assets require improvement. Finally, this thesis contributed to expanding the definition of real estate performance outside financial performance and investigating the uniqueness of the efficiency of building assets in emerging economies by utilising local data only.
The Impact of an Occupational Health and Safety Management System on Workers’ Performance in the Abu Dhabi Construction Industry
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-06) Alhosani, Awatif
Abu Dhabi Occupational Safety and Health Center (OSHAD) was established as a government center in Abu Dhabi in 2010. The objective of the Center is to manage and ensure the proper implementation of an integrated occupational health and safety management system in the Emirate. Many researchers have highlighted the relationship between applying occupational health and safety management systems and the impact on workers’ performance. However, there is limited research on the impact on workers’ performance of the occupational health and safety management system that is implemented in Abu Dhabi. Hence, this study carries out an evaluation of the impact of OSHAD SF using several performance indicators: commitment, absenteeism, work alienation, and job performance. This study has contributed to the literature in that it evaluating in depth the current OSH situation in construction companies. This evaluation will support the regulatory body by suggesting opportunities of enhancing in the regulations on implementation. This study also contributes to understanding the personal traits of workers’ in construction companies in Abu Dhabi. If owners and supervisors of companies understand these traits, it will be easier for them to deal with workers’ welfare and will enable companies to provide OSH training. This study suggests that further research into safety risks in Abu Dhabi construction industry is required. Increasing the number of studies that investigate the activities in this important sector will provide a larger database and validate further the findings of this study.
Influence of Cognitive Bias on Decision Making in Mega Projects
(The British University in Dubai (BUiD), 2020-04) ALNUAIMI, WALEED
Mega projects is an important topic in social sciences as it showcases the achievements attained by a group of people in a bid to advance the trend in a society through critical official transformation. Over the years, scholars, specialists, legislators, and the public have developed profound concern regarding mega projects exploring its characteristics and most importantly the consequences of these projects. In spite of mega projects yielding amazing outcome and benefits in the respective environments where they are executed, majority of research shows that the performance of projects is extremely below par especially in relation to expenses and time overruns which have been attributed to the features of mega projects which include complexity, wide scope, extended duration, huge funds and environmental settings that prompts increased risks to mega projects than other projects consequently increasing the rate of cost overruns. The main reasons for cost overrun have been clustered into three groups namely technical, optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation. Since mega projects are increasing in size and number, and their poor performance has been consistent despite various proposals suggested based on project management best practices that have mainly focused on the technical element of implementing mega projects, the performance in mega projects has not improved prompting this study to focus on optimism bias and strategic misrepresentation where if optimism is exceeded, it is termed as over optimism and leads to cost overrun due to significant underestimation of costs. The study builds on the view that cognitive biases have an influence of on cost overrun either directly or indirectly through decision making. Cost overruns are mainly influenced by decisions relating to costs and those that relate to risk. The study checked the influence of 12 cognitive biases that are controllability, availability, anchoring, conformation, cognitive dissonance, dread, familiarity, hindsight, scale, representativeness, optimism and venturesomeness on decision making (cost and risk) and cost overrun due to over optimism by developing a predetermined questionnaire using these factors and distributing it to decision makers in projects. Additionally, the influence of demographic attributes on cost overrun was also checked. 101 responses were received and analyzed through variance analysis, correlation, association analysis, and hierarchical regression. The association analysis which generated the key findings of the study indicated that work experience, controllability, dread, and cost decision making have significant influence on cost overrun due to over optimism while other factors were not significant. On the other hand, availability, anchoring, dread, and familiarity were found to significantly influence cost decision making, the other biases had no significant influence on cost decision making implying these biases have an influence on cost overrun through decision making. The hierarchical regression showed only work experience had an effect on both cost decision making and cost overrun while all other cognitive biases showed no impact indicating the presence of all biases at the same time does not have an influence on cost overrun but when considered individually which reflects high degree of the bias, controllability and dread biases have a direct influence on cost overrun due to over optimism whereas availability, anchoring, dread, and familiarity biases influence cost overrun through cost decision making in mega projects. The study proposes monitoring of all cost decisions in relation to these biases to ensure the biases do not impact on the project’s costs and hence do not influence cost overruns.

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