Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning

In this article, we go beyond the proverbial appreciation that context matters and provide a deep exploration of how and why it can help make sense of cost deviations in large-scale transport projects (>$500 million). Using abductive inference in combination with a multiple case st...

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Main Authors: Love, Peter, Ika, L.A., Matthews, Jane, Fang, W.
Format: Journal Article
Published: 2021
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102882
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90133
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author Love, Peter
Ika, L.A.
Matthews, Jane
Fang, W.
author_facet Love, Peter
Ika, L.A.
Matthews, Jane
Fang, W.
author_sort Love, Peter
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description In this article, we go beyond the proverbial appreciation that context matters and provide a deep exploration of how and why it can help make sense of cost deviations in large-scale transport projects (>$500 million). Using abductive inference in combination with a multiple case study approach, the criteria of planning, funding, scope, contract, challenges/issues, and benefits are used to understand and interpret the context and meaning of project cost performance. By comparing two light rail transit systems and conducting an in-depth examination of a road project, this article examines the differences between procurement approaches and worldviews and how they can introduce bias into a project's cost performance outlook. The contributions of this research are threefold as it provides an avenue for a new line of inquiry to help better understand causal inferences, thus contributing to the development of a plausible theory of project cost performance; highlights the ambiguity associated with cost performance assessment and calls for the use of standardized definitions and terminologies so that evidence-based decision surrounding risk and uncertainty can be enacted; and suggests that by engaging in a collaborative benchmarking process of project completion data, the context and meaning of a project's performance can be documented.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-901332023-02-13T06:54:07Z Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning Love, Peter Ika, L.A. Matthews, Jane Fang, W. In this article, we go beyond the proverbial appreciation that context matters and provide a deep exploration of how and why it can help make sense of cost deviations in large-scale transport projects (>$500 million). Using abductive inference in combination with a multiple case study approach, the criteria of planning, funding, scope, contract, challenges/issues, and benefits are used to understand and interpret the context and meaning of project cost performance. By comparing two light rail transit systems and conducting an in-depth examination of a road project, this article examines the differences between procurement approaches and worldviews and how they can introduce bias into a project's cost performance outlook. The contributions of this research are threefold as it provides an avenue for a new line of inquiry to help better understand causal inferences, thus contributing to the development of a plausible theory of project cost performance; highlights the ambiguity associated with cost performance assessment and calls for the use of standardized definitions and terminologies so that evidence-based decision surrounding risk and uncertainty can be enacted; and suggests that by engaging in a collaborative benchmarking process of project completion data, the context and meaning of a project's performance can be documented. 2021 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90133 10.1109/TEM.2021.3094511 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102882 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP210101281 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ fulltext
spellingShingle Love, Peter
Ika, L.A.
Matthews, Jane
Fang, W.
Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning
title Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning
title_full Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning
title_fullStr Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning
title_full_unstemmed Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning
title_short Large-Scale Transport Infrastructure Project Performance: Generating a Narrative of Context and Meaning
title_sort large-scale transport infrastructure project performance: generating a narrative of context and meaning
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102882
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP160102882
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/90133