Share:


Developing a corporate social responsibility framework for sustainable construction using partial least squares structural equation modeling

    Liang Wang Affiliation
    ; Ping Zhang Affiliation
    ; Li Ma Affiliation
    ; Xuhui Cong Affiliation
    ; Miroslaw J. Skibniewski Affiliation

Abstract

Sustainable construction is vital for the embodiment of sustainable development, and corporate social responsibility practice is critical for construction firms to realize sustainable construction. However, the link between sustainable construction and corporate social responsibility is still in its infancy, and previous studies have not developed comprehensive methods for evaluating sustainable construction performance. We first established a conceptual corporate social responsibility framework based on the five aspects of sustainable construction: economic, environmental, social, stakeholders, and health and safety. Then, a set of criteria assessing sustainable construction performance was identified through a literature review and interviews with industry practitioners. A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect primary data and identify the significance of the proposed criteria. Furthermore, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to statistically validate the conceptual model and identify key factors for sustainable construction. The results revealed that health and safety, and environment are the key aspects, while site inspection and audits, providing a healthy and safe working environment, effective emergency management procedures and safety supervision, compliance with environmental laws and regulations, reducing pollution and waste, and corporate environmental management system are critical to achieving sustainable construction. Our study underlines the link between sustainable construction and corporate social responsibility, improves the evaluation accuracy, and provides new guidelines for practical applications.

Keyword : change orders, construction industry, analytic hierarchy process, relative importance index

How to Cite
Wang, L., Zhang, P., Ma, L., Cong, X., & Skibniewski, M. J. (2020). Developing a corporate social responsibility framework for sustainable construction using partial least squares structural equation modeling. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 26(1), 186-212. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2020.11263
Published in Issue
Jan 24, 2020
Abstract Views
3792
PDF Downloads
1429
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Abidin, N. Z. (2010). Investigating the awareness and application of sustainable construction concept by Malaysian developers. Habitat International, 34(4), 421-426. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2009.11.011

Akadiri, P. O., & Fadiya, O. O. (2013). Empirical analysis of the determinants of environmentally sustainable practices in the UK construction industry. Construction Innovation, 13(4), 352-373. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-05-2012-0025

Ali, F., Rasoolimanesh, S. M., Sarstedt, M., Ringle, C. M., & Ryu, K. (2018). An assessment of the use of partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) in hospitality research. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, 30(1), 514-538. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCHM-10-2016-0568

Athapaththu, K. I., & Karunasena, G. (2018). Framework for sustainable construction practices in Sri Lanka. Built Environment Project and Asset Management, 8(1), 51-63. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-11-2016-0060

Avram, D. O., Domnanovich, J., Kronenberg, C., & Scholz, M. (2018). Exploring the integration of corporate social responsibility into the strategies of small-and medium-sized enterprises: a systematic literature review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 201, 254-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.011

Barthorpe, S. (2010). Implementing corporate social responsibility in the UK construction industry. Property Management, 28(1), 4-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/02637471011017145

Basta, M., Lapalme, J., Paquet, M., Saint‐Louis, P., & Abu Zwaida, T. (2018). How are supply chains addressing their social responsibility dilemmas? Review of the last decade and a half. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25(5), 833-843. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1500

Belás, J., Smrcka, L., Gavurová, B., & Dvorsky, J. (2018). The impact of social and economic factors in the credit risk management of SME. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 24(3), 1215-1230. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2018.1968

Bevan, E. A. M., & Yung, P. (2015). Implementation of corporate social responsibility in Australian construction SMEs. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 22(3), 295-311. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-05-2014-0071

Brooks, A., & Rich, H. (2016). Sustainable construction and socio-technical transitions in London’s mega-projects. The Geographical Journal, 182(4), 395-405. https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12167

Calveras, A., Ganuza, J. J., & Llobet, G. (2007). Regulation, corporate social responsibility and activism. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, 16(3), 719-740. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-9134.2007.00155.x

Chang, R. D., Soebarto, V., Zhao, Z. Y., & Zillante, G. (2016). Facilitating the transition to sustainable construction: China’s policies. Journal of Cleaner Production, 131, 534-544. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.147

Chang, Y. H., & Yeh, C. H. (2016). Managing corporate social responsibility strategies of airports: The case of Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport Corporation. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 92, 338-348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2016.06.015

Chen, W. S., & Yao, A. Y. T. (2016). An empirical evaluation of critical factors influencing learner satisfaction in blended learning: a pilot study. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 4(7), 1667-1671. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2016.040719

Commission of the European Communities. (2001). Green paper: promoting a European framework for corporate social responsibility. Brussels.

Commission of the European Communities. (2002). Communication from the commission concerning corporate social responsibility: a business contribution to sustainable development. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/communication-commission-concerning-corporate-socialresponsibility-business-contribution_en

Darko, A., & Chan, A. P. (2017). Review of barriers to green building adoption. Sustainable Development, 25(3), 167-179. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.1651

Dickie, I., & Howard, N. (2000). Assessing environmental impacts of construction, industry consensus, BREEAM and UK ecopoints. Building Research Establishment, Garston and Watford.

Durdyev, S., Ismail, S., Ihtiyar, A., Bakar, N. F. S. A., & Darko, A. (2018). A partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) of barriers to sustainable construction in Malaysia. Journal of Cleaner Production, 204, 564-572. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.304

Faith, A. T., Fagbenle, O. I., Amusan, L. M., & Adedeji, A. (2018). Dataset on sustainable construction practices of foreign and indigenous construction firms. Data in Brief, 20, 812-818. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dib.2018.08.044

Gan, X., Zuo, J., Ye, K., Skitmore, M., & Xiong, B. (2015). Why sustainable construction? Why not? An owner’s perspective. Habitat International, 47, 61-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2015.01.005

Hsu, W. C. J., Tsai, M. H., & Tzeng, G. H. (2018). Exploring the best strategy plan for improving the digital convergence by using a hybrid MADM model. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 24(1), 164-198. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2016.1205531

Ibrahim, A. R. B., Roy, M. H., Ahmed, Z., & Imtiaz, G. (2010). An investigation of the status of the Malaysian construction industry. Benchmarking, 17(2), 294-308. https://doi.org/10.1108/14635771011036357

Jiang, W., & Wong, J. K. (2016). Key activity areas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the construction industry: a study of China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 113, 850-860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.10.093

Jones, P., Comfort, D., & Hillier, D. (2006). Corporate social responsibility and the UK construction industry. Journal of Corporate Real Estate, 8(3), 134-150. https://doi.org/10.1108/14630010610711757

Khaksar, E., Abbasnejad, T., Esmaeili, A., & Tamošaitienė, J. (2016). The effect of green supply chain management practices on environmental performance and competitive advantage: a case study of the cement industry. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 22(2), 293-308. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2015.1065521

Kibert, C. J. (2008). Sustainable construction: Green building design and delivery (2nd ed.). John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Kibert, C. J. (1994, November 6-9). Establishing principles and a model for sustainable construction. In Proceedings of first international conference of CIB TG 16 on sustainable construction (pp. 3-12), Tampa, Florida, USA. Retrieved from http://www.irbnet.de/daten/iconda/CIB_DC24773.pdf

Kibwami, N., & Tutesigensi, A. (2016). Enhancing sustainable construction in the building sector in Uganda. Habitat International, 57, 64-73. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2016.06.011

Kissi, E., Sadick, M. A., & Agyemang, D. Y. (2018). Drivers militating against the pricing of sustainable construction materials: The Ghanaian quantity surveyors perspective. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 8, 507-516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscm.2018.04.003

Kudłak, R., Szőcs, I., Krumay, B., & Martinuzzi, A. (2018). The future of CSR-Selected findings from a Europe-wide Delphi study. Journal of Cleaner Production, 183, 282-291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.02.119

Liao, P. C., Shih, Y. N., Wu, C. L., Zhang, X. L., & Wang, Y. (2018). Does corporate social performance pay back quickly? A longitudinal content analysis on international contractors. Journal of Cleaner Production, 170, 1328-1337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.230

Lichtenstein, S., Badu, E., Owusu-Manu, D. G., Edwards, D. J., & Holt, G. D. (2013). Corporate social responsibility architecture and project alignments: A study of the Ghanaian construction industry. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 11(3), 334-353. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-09-2012-0041

Lin, L., Hung, P. H., Chou, D. W., & Lai, C. W. (2019). Financial performance and corporate social responsibility: Empirical evidence from Taiwan. Asia Pacific Management Review, 24(1), 61-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmrv.2018.07.001

Lu, W., Ye, M., Chau, K. W., & Flanagan, R. (2018). The paradoxical nexus between corporate social responsibility and sustainable financial performance: Evidence from the international construction business. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 25, 844-852. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1501

Lu, W., Ye, M., Flanagan, R., & Ye, K. (2016). Corporate social responsibility disclosures in international construction business: trends and prospects. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 142(1), 04015053. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001034

Maon, F., Lindgreen, A., & Swaen, V. (2010). Organizational stages and cultural phases: A critical review and a consolidative model of corporate social responsibility development. International Journal of Management Reviews, 12(1), 20-38. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2009.00278.x

Maqbool, S., & Zameer, M. N. (2018). Corporate social responsibility and financial performance: An empirical analysis of Indian banks. Future Business Journal, 4(1), 84-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fbj.2017.12.002

Mcmurray, A. J., Islam, M. M., Siwar, C., & Fien, J. (2014). Sustainable procurement in Malaysian organizations: practices, barriers and opportunities. Journal of Purchasing & Supply Management, 20(3), 195-207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pursup.2014.02.005

Melli, G., Chiorri, C., Bulli, F., Carraresi, C., Stopani, E., & Abramowitz, J. (2015). Factor congruence and psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) across non-clinical and clinical samples. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 37(2), 329-339. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10862-014-9450-1

Mohammed, A., & Rashid, B. (2018). A conceptual model of corporate social responsibility dimensions, brand image, and customer satisfaction in Malaysian hotel industry. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 39(2), 358-364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2018.04.001

Moon, J. (2007). The contribution of corporate social responsibility to sustainable development. Sustainable Development, 15(5), 296-306. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.346

Ogunbiyi, O., Goulding, J. S., & Oladapo, A. (2014). An empirical study of the impact of lean construction techniques on sustainable construction in the UK. Construction Innovation, 14(1), 88-107. https://doi.org/10.1108/CI-08-2012-0045

Oke, A. E., & Aigbavboa, C. O. (2017). Benefits of sustainable value management. In Sustainable value management for construction projects (pp. 183-190). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/9783-319-54151-8_12

Park, S. M., & Rainey, H. G. (2008). Leadership and public service motivation in US federal agencies. International Public Management Journal, 11(1), 109-142. https://doi.org/10.1080/10967490801887954

Petrovic-Lazarevic, S. (2008). The development of corporate social responsibility in the Australian construction industry. Construction Management and Economics, 26(2), 93-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/01446190701819079

Rajendran, S., & Gambatese, J. A. (2009). Development and initial validation of sustainable construction safety and health rating system. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 135(10), 1067-1075. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(2009)135:10(1067)

Ranängen, H., & Lindman, Å. (2018). Exploring corporate social responsibility practice versus stakeholder interests in Nordic mining. Journal of Cleaner Production, 197, 668-677. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.159

Runhaar, H., & Lafferty, H. (2009). Governing corporate social responsibility: An assessment of the contribution of the UN Global Compact to CSR strategies in the telecommunications industry. Journal of Business Ethics, 84(4), 479-495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-008-9720-5

Schröpfer, V. L. M., Tah, J., & Kurul, E. (2017). Mapping the knowledge flow in sustainable construction project teams using social network analysis. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 24(2), 229-259. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-08-2015-0124

Serpell, A., Kort, J., & Vera, S. (2013). Awareness, actions, drivers and barriers of sustainable construction in Chile. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 19(2), 272-288. https://doi.org/10.3846/20294913.2013.798597

Sfakianaki, E. (2019). Critical success factors for sustainable construction: a literature review. Management of Environmental Quality: An International Journal, 30(1), 176-196. https://doi.org/10.1108/MEQ-02-2018-0043

Shi, L., Ye, K., Lu, W., & Hu, X. (2014). Improving the competence of construction management consultants to underpin sustainable construction in China. Habitat International, 41, 236-242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.08.002

Tan, Y., Shen, L., Craig, L., Lu, W., & Michael, C. H. Y. (2014). Critical success factors for building maintenance business: A Hong Kong case study. Facilities, 32(5/6), 208-225. https://doi.org/10.1108/F-08-2012-0062

Tan, Y., Shen, L., & Yao, H. (2011). Sustainable construction practice and contractors’ competitiveness: a preliminary study. Habitat International, 35(2), 225-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2010.09.008

Vonglao, P. (2017). Application of fuzzy logic to improve the Likert scale to measure latent. variables. Kasetsart Journal of Social Sciences, 38(3), 337-344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjss.2017.01.002

Weber, M. (2008). The business case for corporate social responsibility: A company-level measurement approach for CSR. European Management Journal, 26(4), 247-261. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2008.01.006

Yankson, P. W. K. (2010). Gold mining and corporate social responsibility in the Wassa West district, Ghana. Development in Practice, 20(3), 354-366. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614521003709965

Yin, B. C. L., Laing, R., Leon, M., & Mabon, L. (2018). An evaluation of sustainable construction perceptions and practices in Singapore. Sustainable Cities and Society, 39, 613-620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2018.03.024

Yu, T., Shi, Q., Zuo, J., & Chen, R. (2018). Critical factors for implementing sustainable construction practice in HOPSCA projects: A case study in China. Sustainable Cities and Society, 37, 93-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2017.11.008

Yuan, J., Li, W., Zheng, X., & Skibniewski, M. J. (2018). Improving operation performance of public rental housing delivery by PPPs in China. Journal of Management in Engineering, 34(4). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000615

Yuen, K. F., Thai, V. V., Wong, Y. D., & Wang, X. (2018). Interaction impacts of corporate social responsibility and service quality on shipping firms’ performance. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 113, 397-409. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2018.04.008

Zhao, Z. Y., Zhao, X. J., Davidson, K., & Zuo, J. (2012). A corporate social responsibility indicator system for construction enterprises. Journal of Cleaner Production, 29, 277-289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.12.036

Zhao, Z. Y., Zhao, X. J., Zuo, J., & Zillante, G. (2016). Corporate social responsibility for construction contractors: a China study. Journal of Engineering, Design and Technology, 14(3), 614-640. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEDT-07-2014-0043

Zhu, Q., Zhao, T., & Sarkis, J. (2011). An exploratory study of corporate social and environmental responsibility practices among apartment developers in China. Journal of Green Building, 6(3), 181-196. https://doi.org/10.3992/jgb.6.3.181