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Charles Chen, Ph.D., PE, received his BSEE, MSEE, MBA and Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is an Associate Faculty Member at the University of Phoenix Hawaii and a Distinguished Professor at Chongqing Technology and Business University. His research interests are in the areas of international management, emerging markets and engineering project management. Charles is a licensed professional engineer in the states of Hawaii and Illinois. He is a member of the U.S. National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, the International Registry Membership for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Engineer Coordinating Committee and the Engineers Mobility Forum International Register Coordinating Committee, directed with 13 Countries.
In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development, which set out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets and 231 unique indicators as a significant initiative towards socio-economic development. The SDGs provide the construction industry with a new lens through which global needs and desires can be translated into business solutions. This paper explores the role of the construction industry in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The paper uses an explanatory sequential design with an initial quantitative instrument phase, followed by a qualitative data collection phase. Following a comparative review of the literature on the 17 SDGs, a questionnaire was designed and administered among 130 respondents, and 105 responses were received. These data were then validated through semi-structured interviews with 16 sustainable construction experts. Data obtained from the semi-structured validation interviews were analysed through side-by-side comparisons of the qualitative data with the quantitative data. The findings show that the construction industry has a critical role in achieving almost all the 17 SDGs. The roles were, however, prevalent in 10 key SDGs, namely: sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11); climate action (SDG 13); clean water and sanitation (SDG 6); responsible consumption and production (SDG 12); industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9); life on land (biodiversity) (SDG 15); gender equality (SDG 5); good health and well-being (SDG 3); affordable and clean energy (SDG 7); decent work and economic growth (SDG 8). The study confirmed the role played by the construction industry in achieving these SDGs. The findings from this study provide further insights into the ever-increasing state-of-the-art regarding the construction industry’s role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.
Wenmei Fei; Alex Opoku; Kofi Agyekum; James Anthony Oppon; Vian Ahmed; Charles Chen; Ka Leung Lok. The Critical Role of the Construction Industry in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Delivering Projects for the Common Good. Sustainability 2021, 13, 9112 .
AMA StyleWenmei Fei, Alex Opoku, Kofi Agyekum, James Anthony Oppon, Vian Ahmed, Charles Chen, Ka Leung Lok. The Critical Role of the Construction Industry in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Delivering Projects for the Common Good. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (16):9112.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWenmei Fei; Alex Opoku; Kofi Agyekum; James Anthony Oppon; Vian Ahmed; Charles Chen; Ka Leung Lok. 2021. "The Critical Role of the Construction Industry in Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Delivering Projects for the Common Good." Sustainability 13, no. 16: 9112.
(1) Background: Generally, firms are reluctant to report outsourcing failures, no matter what industry they operate within. To eliminate poor performance of outsourced service providers, it is necessary to establish a specific outsourcing relationship model for facilities management (FM). The purpose of this paper is to study the concept of outsourcing relationships in relation to FM and to investigate the design of the critical success factors on sustainable outsourcing strategies through a discussion of four dimensions (ownership of FM assets, control of FM assets, competitive position and long-term plan). (2) Methods: Based on two questionnaire surveys, data were collected from 38 clients and 34 service providers. The study evaluated the FM outsourcing strategies from critical success factors in educational facilities in Hong Kong. (3) Results: This study explains the impact of FM outsourcing strategies on Hong Kong’s four commonly outsourced FM contracts including building maintenance, security, cleaning and catering from the clients’ and service providers’ point of view. (4) Conclusions: This is the outsourcing way forward in order to create a better working environment conducive for all the parties that would result in better sustainability of FM’s future and thus impact the economic objectives of sustainable development, in parallel with adding social and environmental value.
Ka Lok; Andrew Smith; Alex Opoku; Charles Chen. The Challenges of Sustainable Development on Facilities Management Outsourcing Services: An Investigation in Educational Facilities. Sustainability 2021, 13, 8156 .
AMA StyleKa Lok, Andrew Smith, Alex Opoku, Charles Chen. The Challenges of Sustainable Development on Facilities Management Outsourcing Services: An Investigation in Educational Facilities. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (15):8156.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKa Lok; Andrew Smith; Alex Opoku; Charles Chen. 2021. "The Challenges of Sustainable Development on Facilities Management Outsourcing Services: An Investigation in Educational Facilities." Sustainability 13, no. 15: 8156.
The Contingency Outsourcing Relationship (CORE) model originated from the Four Outsourcing Relationship Types (FORT) model; the CORE model is used in the globalized Facility Management (FM) industry, while the FORT model is originally used in the global information technology industry. The purpose of this paper is to thoroughly analyse the simulated case studies of the four different categories (i.e., in-house, technical expertise, commitment and common goals) of the CORE model from the perspective of the various clients. This study builds on the previous work on the outsourcing relationships between a client and a globalized FM service provider. It further explores the application of this model with the aid of artificial neural networks (ANNs) towards a sustainable future. A quantitative methodology through a survey is used to analyse eight outsourcing strategies for the four outsourcing relationships. A set of revised rules of the CORE is introduced and discussed regarding the approaches to investigate the four simulated outsourcing relationship systems. The study further reveals that an interesting understanding of the four outsourcing categories can be systematically and efficiently implemented into the FM outsourcing relationships through the methodology of scientific Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is concluded that FM outsourcing categorization may help to define the appropriate relationships. This further detailed outcome generated from the ANN can be clearly considered a strong and solid reference to define and explain the existing outsourcing relationships between the stakeholders and the service providers with the aim to assign an outsourcing category to the FM relationship between the client and service provider based on the learnt rules.
Ka Lok; Albert So; Alex Opoku; Charles Chen. A Sustainable Facility Management Outsourcing Relationships System: Artificial Neural Networks. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4740 .
AMA StyleKa Lok, Albert So, Alex Opoku, Charles Chen. A Sustainable Facility Management Outsourcing Relationships System: Artificial Neural Networks. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):4740.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKa Lok; Albert So; Alex Opoku; Charles Chen. 2021. "A Sustainable Facility Management Outsourcing Relationships System: Artificial Neural Networks." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 4740.
Much of the research on big data analytics has been centered on technical or system development. Research has been carried out on the usage of big data analytics to understand customer relationships and experience, amongst others. Still, there is a lack of research in the retail industry considering big data management, examining the impact on customer satisfaction and organizational performance in the retail sector. Retailers explore analytics to gain a unified picture of their customers and operations across the store or online channels and make strategic decisions contributing to the growth of the retail industry. Thereof, this study has been conducted by majorly focusing on the Singapore retail industry to clarify the feasibility of big data management analytics. Quantitative research method was employed involving 500 participants from the retail industry of Singapore. The results of the study stated that amongst the different big data analytics utilized within the retail industry of Singapore, social media analytics had been majorly answered by the participants. Future researchers can study about the upcoming retail trends in Singapore and how the effects of big data analysis changed in the past few years and deal with the unexpected future recessions in the retail industry within Singapore.
Song Ying; Stavros Sindakis; Sakshi Aggarwal; Charles Chen; Jiafu Su. Managing big data in the retail industry of Singapore: Examining the impact on customer satisfaction and organizational performance. European Management Journal 2020, 39, 390 -400.
AMA StyleSong Ying, Stavros Sindakis, Sakshi Aggarwal, Charles Chen, Jiafu Su. Managing big data in the retail industry of Singapore: Examining the impact on customer satisfaction and organizational performance. European Management Journal. 2020; 39 (3):390-400.
Chicago/Turabian StyleSong Ying; Stavros Sindakis; Sakshi Aggarwal; Charles Chen; Jiafu Su. 2020. "Managing big data in the retail industry of Singapore: Examining the impact on customer satisfaction and organizational performance." European Management Journal 39, no. 3: 390-400.