Purpose - This purpose of the paper is to present a maturity model developed to assess Knowledge Sharing (KS) for the Jordanian construction sector. Design/methodology/approach - The research was conducted in three stages. The first stage consisted of the review of literature and documenting variables from the literature that highlight influence on KS in organisations. The second stage was designed for maturity model development by identifying the cultural factors that affect KS in the Jordanian construction sector through questionnaires and interviews. Factor analysis was used to find possible relationships between the cultural variables followed by semi-structured interviews. In the third stage the initial maturity model was refined through another set of semi-structured interviews. Findings – The model presented in the paper includes three levels of maturity. The first level identifies whether the variable barely exists in company’s KS practices. The second level shows the occasional techniques which the company uses to increase KS activities. The final level demonstrates the importance of the variable in affecting KS as being fundamentally ingrained in the company’s vision, mission, strategy and operations. Originality/value - The research has developed a model that can be used to measure the KS in an organisation. Although the model has been applied to the construction industry, it can easily be modified to fit other sectors.

© 2017 Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify how the newly emerging UK practice of "collaborative planning" (CP) for construction project delivery aligns with the advocated principles of the global last planner system (LPS) of production planning and control. Design/methodology/approach: A mixed, qualitative, exploratory approach was adopted for the study. This entailed qualitative data through three techniques, namely: semi-structured interviews, documents analysis, and structured observation. In total, 30 in-depth interviews were conducted over a 12 month period with lean construction consultants, clients, main contractors, and subcontractors drawn from the building, highways and infrastructure and rail sector. In all, 15 projects were visited where practices were observed. Findings: The study reveals that the current practice of CP in the UK partially aligns with the LPS principles. Where practitioners have heard of the LPS they believe it to be the same practice as CP. Research limitations/implications: This study is limited to 30 interviews, observation of 15 projects and document analysis. The aim of the study is not to generalise the findings, however, since the study examined top construction companies and practitioners in the UK and the findings were consistent across the sample, some conclusions could be made. The study is also limited to examining the construction phase only, future studies should incorporate the design phase. Practical implications: A clear identification of the elements of current practice compared to the components of the LPS provides a contribution to the future practice of project production planning and management in the construction industry. Social implications: The study highlights a continuing resistance to collaboration within the industry. This resistance is subtly embedded within implemented practices even though they are based on collaborative working for their success. Originality/value: This is among the first studies in the UK that comprehensively examines and reports the application of LPS/CP practice in construction across the major construction sectors. Future studies could build on the findings from this work to develop an approach/methodology to improve the current practice.

Purpose Risks play an important role in the success of construction projects. Failure in identification and assessment of risks can lead to inadequacy in the process of managing risks, which in turn can critically affect the projects’ resources. A formal risk management is rarely practised in construction projects due to the lack of contractors’ awareness of key risks. The purpose of this paper is to focus on the investigation of risk factors in construction projects in Italy from contractors’ perspective. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect data, based on which a total of ten key risks were ascertained. The identified risks were compared with the findings of the surveys conducted in the Australian and Chinese construction industry to address the unique risks associated with construction projects in Italy. Findings The key risks included delays in payments, client variations, design variations, inaccurate cost estimates, and tight project schedules. The comparison between those three countries specified the delays in payments and project funding problems as the most critical factors that are related to cultural influences and behaviour of clients. The findings assist contractors in the risk identification process, and can be applied to the development of a risk management framework for construction projects. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study cannot be generalised statistically for the whole of Italy as it was constrained geographically, with respondents drawn only from a self-selection sample of construction projects in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. The findings represent a snapshot of the key potential internal and external risks from the perspective of contractors. Originality/value The results of the study specified the key risks of construction projects from the perspective of contractors which can contribute to risk management for construction projects.