Date of Conferral

2019

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Management

Advisor

Daphne Halkias

Abstract

Infrastructure project delays and cost overrun are caused by ineffective use of organizational skills, processes, and resources by project managers in the construction industry. Cost overrun and schedule delay in Qatari infrastructure projects have had damaging effects on the national economy by way of claims and litigation, contractual disputes, delays in dependent projects, and project abandonment. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of project managers regarding how they utilize capacity-planning practices to mitigate project schedule delay and cost overrun in government-funded infrastructure projects in Qatar. This study was framed by three conceptual models developed by Gill to outline the capacity management needs within a construction company: (a) the time horizon model, (b) the individual-organization-industry levels model, and (c) the capacity development across components model. Date were collected from semistructured interviews with 8 participants, observational field notes, and archival data regarding Qatari infrastructure project managers' experiences in capacity-planning practices. Thematic analysis of textual data and cross-case synthesis analysis yielded 5 conceptual categories that encompassed 15 themes. The conceptual categories were (a) resources to meet performance capacity, (b) knowledgeable and skillful staff, (c) short- and long-term planning strategy, (d) cost overrun issue, and (e) time management. Findings may be used to promote timely completion of infrastructure projects, which may benefit citizens, construction companies, and the economy of Qatar.

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