PhD Final Thesis April 2013.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

Thesis Keith Gale 201311.4 Validation of Group C HypothesesGroup C proposes a single hypothesis which positively associates performanceoutcomes with sociological factors (behaviour factors) and operational factor(performance measures).Construct validity arrived from examination of behaviours with groups of a technicalclass engaging with sociological group research and those attributable to highperforming organisations. Published research placed behaviour factors as significantcontributors to performance outcomes and cross reference between journal papersprovided a focus upon the most appropriate recognisable factors for constructionmanagement groups. A pilot study was used to engage participants and confirmidentification with behaviour factors.A questionnaire survey, comprising collection of views from participants forbehaviours and measures achieved a high response rate from the case study (55.6%of the total estimated population of 180 practitioners) providing content validity togroup views. Face validity was attained through involvement of experienced industryprofessionals through the interview and questionnaire survey using structuredquestions to strengthen internal reliability. An examination of bias between subgroupsthrough scatterplots and cluster examination was undertaken prior tostatistical analysis. In addition to behaviour factors, association of outcomes usingperformance measures were specifically tested through questions in section 2 of thequestionnaire – specifically at Q6, Q7 and Q8.Factor analysis is used to identify behaviours within the model to ensure internalconsistency reliability is sufficient (Montgomery et al, 2001). Analysis ofquestionnaire results was used to extract as many latent variables (factors) asnecessary to explain correlations among items (Reise, et al, p. 294). Two factorswere discovered – labelled duration and empowerment. Both relate to long termarrangements available for framework operations, but not so with discreteprocurement. Of the two factors, duration is significant due to an eigenvalue of 4.27.Interviews transcripts were analysed using qualitative data analysis (QDA) with textaggregation, node classification and graphical representation. Rationale of theinterviews provided greater depth to responses from the questionnaire survey, wherecontent validation is achieved through engagement with practitioners. Results fromtranscripts confirmed group recognition of behaviours identified through interviews259