Highway construction projects have always suffered from cost overruns due to extended project delivery, causing a loss of public funds. Since highways are the backbone of a nation, the purpose of this study is to measure the criticality of the factors that influence the performance of highway projects. A survey instrument was prepared and distributed to 185 project managers. To achieve the aim of the study, exploratory factor analysis was used and the standard factor loading was the criteria to measure the criticality. From the analysis, it was identified that the factors were grouped under four categories: (a) Execution constraints (b) Operational factors, (c) Stakeholder and political constraints, (d) Design Constraints. Further, it was concluded that the complexity of the sub-contractor’s performance, frequent modification in alignment, project design, loopholes in safety, and ambiguities in specifications are the main factors that impact the performance of highway projects. Therefore, it was recommended to develop an efficient project planning methodology which is a continuum of project management skills and tacit knowledge of managing a site which operates efficiently.

The recent advancements in the project execution thinking and the growing levels of large capital-intensive investment projects in construction have led to increased attention to the ‘collaboration’. Loss or lack of collaboration between project partners is seen as the most significant professional and project execution in the construction industry. This study aims to identify the enablers, i.e. governing factors of collaboration. This study applies a systematic review methodology to explore the literature and achieve the objectives. In the process of this systematic literature review, a total of 800 articles were identified in the construction domain, out of which 110 articles were found to be relevant for this study. The ‘citation analysis’ was performed on the articles identified by ‘content analysis’ as relevant to this study, which focused on the issue of the construction industry and issues of subcontractors. The findings identified that trust, commitment and reliability are the enablers of collaboration in construction projects. Providing due attention to the enablers of collaboration, i.e. ‘trust, commitment and reliability’ in the context of the project execution decisions, can facilitate collaboration and thus enhancing project productivity.

Collaboration among project participants, specifically between main contractor and subcontractor, is an essential element for efficient project delivery. Observation from the literature suggests that the recent discourse in collaboration is focused on relational attributes. Nonetheless, the exchanges between project participants are highly transactional, and collaboration in construction projects is marred by constraints, i.e., regionalism, opportunism, breach of trust, lack of commitment, and reliability. However, the two key constructs of power and dependence are not explored in the context of collaboration in the construction sector, specifically in the context of the main contractor and subcontractor. Therefore, this study aims to explore the power and dependence in the context of collaboration between subcontractor and main contractor. The study applies a systematic process to review the literature to accomplish this research aim. The finding reveals that the power dynamics between the main contractor and subcontractor can be defined through the bargaining capacity of the parties and is influenced by the clarity of its procurement decisions, state of competition, and number of competitors available in the market. The dependence of the main contractor over subcontractor (or vice versa) is characterized by the commercial importance of the product traded and reputation of the actor.

Purpose: Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies possess the potential to transform the scenario of making real estate investment decisions through the immersive experience they offer. From the literature it was observed that the research in this domain is still emergent and there is a need to identify the latent variables that influence real estate investment decisions. Therefore, by examining the effects of these technologies on investment decision-making, the purpose of the study is to provide valuable insights into how AR and VR could be applied to enhance customers' property buying experiences and assist in their decision-making process.Design/methodology/approach: From an extensive review of the literature four latent variables and their measure were identified, and based on these a survey instrument was developed. The survey was distributed online and received 300 responses from the respondents including home buyers, developers, AEC professionals and real estate agents. To validate the latent variables exploratory factor analysis was used whereas to establish their criticality second-order confirmatory factor analysis was used.Findings: From the results, the four latent constructs were identified based on standard factor loadings (SFL) that is Confident Value Perception (CVP, SFL = 0.70), Innovative Investment Appeal (IIA, SFL = 0.60), Trusted Property Transactions (TPT, SFL = 0.58) and Effortless Property Engagement (EPE, SFL = 0.54), that significantly influence investor decision-making and property purchase experience.Originality/value: This study contributes to the literature on real estate investment decisions by providing empirical evidence on the role of AR and VR technologies. The identified key variables provided practical guidelines for developers, investors and policymakers in understanding and leveraging the potential of AR and VR technologies in the real estate industry.

Purpose: Construction projects in the real estate sector are important for a nation’s economic growth. However, owing to several constraints and stereotypes, the construction industry is suffering from major capital losses. A review of recent literature revealed that risks occurring in real estate construction projects (RECPs) carried out in developing economies can be divided into four categories, i.e. financial risks, design risks, execution risks and sociopolitical risks. This study aims to identify the critical factors that lead to these risk categories and develop a control structure for RECPs. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative method, i.e. a questionnaire-based survey, was used for this study. Using a random sampling technique the questionnaire was distributed to selected, highly experienced project managers. To determine whether the factors identified as part of the literature review strongly influence the categories, the factor analysis of the observations was performed. Findings: The observations made in this study lead to the identification of six critical risk causing factors, i.e. lack of efficient planning, execution constraints, external constraints, client-induced constraints, project constraints and partner experience. The observations indicated a lack of knowledge of project management, organizational culture and a claims redressal mechanism in RECPs. Also, this study recommends a blockchain-based control structure to control the occurrence of the risk causing factors identified. Originality/value: This study recommends a blockchain-based control structure for controlling the risks occurring.