The influence of effort level on profit distribution strategies in IPD projects

Integrated project delivery (IPD) has gained significant attention as an effective alternative to traditional project delivery models. Profit distribution is a crucial aspect of IPD projects, influencing their overall success. This study aims to investigate the key factors impacting profit distribution to offer strategic guidance for project management practices. The study employs a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to establish an updated research framework in this domain. Through this analysis, 24 articles with highly relevant and extensively cited sources are identified for further examination. Grounded theory is subsequently applied to distill the findings. This process yields a foundational theoretical framework that delineates the factors influencing profit distribution in IPD projects, namely, contribution, resource-based input, effort level, and risk sharing. Additionally, a textual analysis of ten burst words is conducted to discern research trends and identify future areas of study. This research contributes to the existing literature by addressing gaps and providing a roadmap for future IPD investigations. A theoretical framework of influencing factors in profit distribution in IPD projects is developed based on the literature. The findings not only enhance understanding of profit distribution dynamics in IPD projects but also guide the implementation and optimization of IPD practices.

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is regarded as an effective project delivery method that can deal with the challenge of the rapid development of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry. In the IPD team, the alliance profit is not distributed fairly and effectively due to uncertainty, preventing the achievement of the IPD project goals. This study focuses on optimizing the profit distribution among stakeholders in IPD projects and uses quadratic programming models to solve fuzzy cooperative games in the IPD. A payoff function is used in the fuzzy alliance to determine the characteristics of the interval-valued fuzzy numbers, and different weights of the alliance and the efficiency of the player’s participation in the IPD are considered in the profit distribution. A case study is conducted, and the results of the proposed method are compared with those of crisp cooperative games. The results show that the fuzzy cooperative game increases the profit of participants in IPD projects. It is more practical to use weight fuzzy cooperative games than crisp games to express imputation. Moreover, the quadratic programming models and methods result in a fair and efficient profit distribution scheme in IPD projects.

Research Questions: 1) Does the use of Last Planner (LP) improve project performance? 2) Does Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) show different project performance? 3) Do IPD projects use LP? Purpose: The first objective is to figure out the relationship between IPD, LP, and project performance. Research Method: survey of ‘Lean’ projects known to adopt LP, including IPD projects, to determine the correlation between LP implementation and Project performance (cost reduction + time reduction); and a T test between IPD and non-IPD projects. Findings: 1) There is significant correlation between the degree of implementation of LP and project performance; 2) IPD projects do not show significantly different performance from that of others not adopting IPD; and 3) IPD projects do not show significantly different implementation of LP from that of others but their implementation is near to significance Limitations: Limitations in sample size and data quality reduce the credibility of generalizations. Implications: This exploratory research revealed interesting and important relationships between project structures and practices on the one hand and project performance on the other. Value for practitioners: The findings from this paper can be used by industry practitioners to design project delivery systems for better performance.

Developing IPD (Integrated Project Delivery) in projects requires the operable implementation scheme that can improve productivity and earn more profits. And it is important to provide incentives tied to achieving project goals. This paper suggested cooperative game theory as the method for analyzing profit distribution in IPD project and determined the designer, construction contractor, owner, BIM consultant as the key participants according the degree of importance in IPD projects. The main purpose of this paper is to: (1) Building the framework of BIM platform and using information sharing to guarantee the achievement of IPD project. (2) Exploring the profit distribution model of IPD according to various cooperative game theoretic solution methods. (3) Using the Shapley value to achieve the distribution of profits and the FCE (Fuzzy Comprehensive Evaluation) methods to quantize the risk of each index, while the AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) was used to give the weight. (4) Exploring the application of the identified allocation rules based on the case study of Autodesk Inc.

PurposeThis paper examines the profit distribution of engineering projects in the integrated project delivery (IPD) mode. IPD is a new delivery method that can ameliorate many of the disadvantages of traditional delivery methods and improve project results. In the implementation of IPD, the profit distribution is key for ensuring the success of IPD projects.Design/methodology/approachThis paper described a new method for characterizing profit distribution in the IPD mode. The payment function and Shapley value of the cooperative fuzzy game of fuzzy alliance were defined by considering the Choquet integral of the fuzzy measure. The participation of each player was considered, and the influence of participation on the profit distribution was discussed. Lastly, changes in the profit distribution of core participants under different alliance combinations were studied.FindingsA case from a report of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) was used to verify the fuzzy alliance model. There was a significant correlation between the degree of participation of the owner, architect and builder and the profit distribution among these three participants.Research limitations/implicationsThe theoretical research in this paper has some limitations. Initially, this paper selects a case with only three key participants in order to simplify the research. When there are many core participants, how to establish the alliance in the IPD mode and how to establish the corresponding profit distribution model, further work is certainly required to disentangle these complexities in models. Second, in this case, BIM technology has little impact on the income of the whole project. Therefore, this paper does not consider the impact of BIM technology on the marginal effect of the IPD project. Third, the contract type in the case is a custom tri-party based on IFOA. There is no classified discussion of the impact of different contracts on the profit distribute in the paper.Practical implicationsBased on the in-depth study of cooperative game with alliance structure, this paper promotes the classic cooperative game with alliance structure. The authors define the payoff function of fuzzy cooperative games by Choquet integral of fuzzy measure, and introduce the idea into the field of IPD. It aims at extending the solution to a cooperative game without a core. It can be obtained through a simple calculation. In the IPD alliance, the fuzziness and uncertainty of the participation degree of each participant will affect the profit of the whole project. The authors find that the higher the participation rate of players, the more profit each participant has. The greater the influence weight of the designer on the alliance, the lower the influence weight of the contractor on the alliance, the lower the participation of the contractor and the designer, and the lower the income distribution value of the three core participants. It shows a monotonous decline status.Social implicationsFor any construction enterprise, it can make more profits if it joins the grand alliance. In the IPD alliance, each participant can maximize their own interests, which can also promote the enthusiasm of construction enterprises to participate in the alliance and increase the application of IPD mode in AEC industry. This research method provides a new fast, effective, and more realistic solution method for cooperative countermeasures. It can be further extended to other cooperative game fields and advance a new research perspective and solution for the distribution of cooperative interests.Originality/valueThe contribution of this paper is the development of a fuzzy alliance model that provides a tool for measuring the profit distribution in IPD. This is the first quantitative model to connect the degree of participation with the profit distribution in IPD using fuzzy alliance.

Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) is an innovative procurement approach through which the client, designer, and contractor work together under one contract as a team. While an integrated team is expected to be able to create extra value for the project, this practice may bring new risks if not all team members are committed. The slow uptake of IPD may possibly be due to the insufficient understanding of the risks involved, especially those hidden risks associated with inappropriate integration practice. This study identifies critical risks in IPD projects, and investigates if risk criticality can be alleviated by having previous or future partnership between IPD partners. By collecting the views of construction professionals on the level of criticality of general risks and IPD-specific risks, it is found that (1) most highly critical IPD project risks are borne from multidisciplinary teams of poor integration quality, inaccurate target costs, or unreasonable cost estimates; and (2) having future cooperation intent can significantly alleviate the criticality of certain IPD risks, whereas no effect of previous partnership was found on risk criticality. This study contributes to a growing body of knowledge on IPD by providing insight into the effect of new and general risks on IPD project outcomes in particular and clarifying the role of previous/future partnership in risk management. This study suggests active involvement of client and contractors in the design of IPD and signals future cooperation intent to IPD partners during the project process.

Engineering management is undergoing revolution and innovation due to the rapid development in smart city and infrastructure construction worldwide. Infrastructure construction projects, including large-scale transportation projects, usually have the characteristics of huge investment, long construction period, and complex construction technology. Engineering change controlling is an important part of project management in infrastructure construction. Owing to main participants’ early involvement and working on mutual trust and benefits, integrated project delivery (IPD) mode has significant advantages in reducing engineering change, and thus draws much concern in infrastructure construction. IPD is featured by implementing a range of fundamental principles. Previous studies were rarely involved in how to address these IPD principles in certain IPD projects. This study constructed an IPD projects’ change controlling efficiency evaluation system using data envelopment analysis (DEA), correlating the change controlling efficiency and the implementing of IPD principles. The authors established the evaluation model. It is demonstrated that DEA was a feasible way for IPD projects’ relative change controlling efficiency calculating. By analysing the case study results, the authors explored how to use IPD principle to promote the IPD projects to yield better results from the perspective of engineering change controlling.

Purpose The Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry is witnessing a growth in the implementation of Lean principles, in particular, by teams adopting Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). This growth requires participants in these teams to possess knowledge of Lean and IPD. However, the practitioners might not have the time to participate in continuous training, nor the metacognitive awareness of their knowledge gap in these areas. This study develops an instrument to support participants in IPD teams in assessing their knowledge in implementing Lean in their projects. The instrument also aims to support these participants in gaining a metacognitive awareness of their knowledge gap and self-regulate their Lean learning journey. Design/methodology/approach The instrument was designed by leveraging literature on IPD, Lean Construction and self-regulated learning in educational psychology. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted to evaluate the instrument's face and content validity. The instrument was then deployed on three IPD projects, and survey data collected from these projects were used to validate its effectiveness. A principal component analysis was conducted to identify the most influential factors in self-regulated lean Learning assessment. Findings Based on the data from the three projects, owners and trade contractors in IPD projects implementing Lean tend to place more emphasis on Lean topics focused on understanding and fostering a collaborative environment. On the other hand, Architects, design engineers and other participants emphasize on learning and working towards a project environment based on trust. Research limitations/implications These findings inform participants on their current strengths in Lean implementation, which can be capitalized on for better project outcomes. Further, it helps identify areas that participants need to place more emphasis on their Lean journey to achieve improvements. Practical implications Through this instrument, the authors aim to support a better understanding of gaps in learning and implementing Lean principles by IPD project participants. Originality/value This paper develops a unique instrument that demonstrates how self-directed learning can be leveraged to assess the lean learning journeys of construction industry practitioners.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to clarify that while integrated project delivery (IPD) methods can be momenta for restructuring architectural practice, they do not predetermine specific patterns of restructuration for the roles, responsibilities and services of architects.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on a multiple case study design; two IPD projects were theoretically sampled and studied. The data collection methods included semi-structured interviews and observations. An inductive data analysis approach was applied to frame the phenomena, conduct cross-case comparisons and develop propositions.FindingsWhile IPD implementations set expectations for new structures for practices, it is the project participants’ situated decisions that lead to the restructuration of some dimensions of architectural practice. The dimensions in this study included team formation, design leadership and collaboration and architectural services. IPD project participants locally changed and redefined conventional roles, responsibilities and project artifacts (e.g. drawings and models) that concerned design development and coordination.Practical implicationsIPD context, by itself, does not predetermine a fixed pattern of change in establishing designers’ roles, responsibilities and services because restructuration is highly negotiated amongst the IPD parties and can lead to different responses to this contractual setting. Contracts set expectations for collaborative behavior, but the fulfillment of these expectations is situated and emerging as project participants negotiate to develop practices.Originality/valueWhile IPD research and guidelines aim to provide recipes for IPD implementation, this study contributes to the body of knowledge by clarifying that IPD is a context in which unprecedented ways of practice restructuration could emerge.

abstractThis article uses case studies to explore the IPD contractual approach from the standpoint of trust. It comprises two case studies of comparable IPD healthcare projects: Project A utilizes a single multi-party contract and lean construction; while Project B is transitional IPD-like by nature, incorporating a joining IPD agreement in addition to several two-party contracts. On Project B, team players are co-located and benefit from having past business relationships with one another. Project A, however, lacks these two attributes. These case studies identified attributes that establish and promote trust in IPD projects. These findings validate a theoretical IPD-Trust schema already established in the current published research; furthermore, the findings introduce seven new trust-building attributes leveraged by IPD. Additionally, the study compared trust across the two projects, and found that having pre-existing trust resulting from past business relationships, forming the best team, and co-locating project parties could be even more effective in creating trust than having a single multi-party contract with lean implementation without these attributes. This research also found that a single multi-party contract is more effective at building trust than multiple two-party contracts, since the latter pose the risk of inconsistently defined roles and responsibilities, and variable risk allocation across different agreements.

Research question: How do architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals overcome the most prevalent barriers of implementing IPD? Purpose: To investigate how successful IPD projects overcome legal, cultural, financial, and technological barriers in an effort to achieve wider adoption of IPD by the industry and to provide lessons learned to industry professionals interested in implementing IPD as a delivery method. Research Design: A brief review of the current situation of the AEC industry; semistructured interviews with leading AEC professionals in nine IPD projects. Findings: The study finds that successful IPD projects are achieved through proper selection and involvement of all main players as well as these main players achieving trust in each other. Training, procurement ability, and collaborative technology are also among the key factors for a successful transition to IPD. Limitations/Implications: Eight out of nine cases are from the state of California. Value for Practitioners: This paper highlights common barriers that currently exist in implementing IPD and provides lessons learned to practitioners in order to overcome these barriers. Keywords: integrated project delivery (IPD), barriers, relational contracts, insurance, compensation, collaboration, integration Paper type: Full paper

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