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Current research on mental health in the construction industry is fragmented, making it difficult to obtain a complete picture of young construction workers’ mental health conditions. This situation adversely affects research progress, mental health-care planning and resource allocation. To address this challenge, the purpose of this paper was to identify the themes of mental health conditions among young construction workers and their prevalence by geographical location.

The scoping review was conducted using meta-aggregation, guided by the CoCoPop (condition [mental health], context [construction industry] and population [construction workers 35 years old and younger]) and PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews) frameworks.

A total of 327 studies were retrieved, and 14 studies published between 1993 and 2022 met the inclusion criteria. The authors identified 13 mental health conditions and categorized them under nine themes. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders and substance-related disorders constituted the most researched themes. Studies predominantly focused on young male workers in the Global North. The prevalence estimates reported in most of the studies were above the respective country’s prevalence.

This review extends previous studies by focusing specifically on the themes of mental health conditions and giving attention to young construction workers whose health needs remain a global priority. The study emphasizes the need to give research attention to lesser-studied aspects of mental health, such as positive mental health. The need to focus on female construction workers and on homogenous sub-groups of young workers is also emphasized. The findings can guide future systematic reviews on the identified thematic areas and help to plan the development of interventions.

Promoting positive mental health is increasingly being encouraged as the focus of research and policies on the mental health of construction personnel. Most measures of mental health, however, typically use negative indicators such as depression and anxiety and are not specifically developed for the construction workforce, especially those with a Global South background. These limitations have made it challenging to measure construction personnel’s positive mental health. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to develop a scale for measuring the positive mental health of construction personnel with a Global South background.

Guided by Keyes’ two-continua model of mental health, the study objectives were addressed through a mixed-methods study using the case of Ghana. Qualitative data collected from eight key stakeholder groups using 16 interviews and two rounds of focus group discussions were analysed thematically. Quantitative data were obtained through a survey of 425 construction personnel and analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis.

Thematic analysis revealed a four-dimensional structure of positive mental health, namely, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual. Confirmatory factor analysis and correlation analysis of the results indicated good instrument validity and reliability.

Existing measures of positive mental health are based on a three-dimensional model, i.e. emotional, social and psychological well-being. By including spiritual well-being, this study proposes a four-dimensional measurement model as a more comprehensive and promising measure to use in surveys of positive mental health among the construction workforce, especially those with a Global South background, and to develop suitable interventions for them.

The purpose of this research is to identify the conditions under which the internal environment of small construction firms makes them either develop or adopt an innovation.

The research described in this paper adopted a qualitative case study approach. The data were obtained from multiple sources such as face-to-face semi-structured interviews with company representatives and from project reports.

The study identified that firms’ decision to either adopt or develop an innovation is determined by a complex interaction between their internal environment and 12 different conditions. Some of the findings contrast widespread perceptions in broader literature on innovation development and adoption in small construction firms.

The study focused only on firms from two regions in Ghana. Additionally, adopting a purely qualitative approach meant that the quantitative impacts of the different factors were not presented.

The results can inform the decisions of agencies and persons wishing to invest their resources in innovation activities of small construction firms. It can also inform the policy debate and directions of government and industry associations looking to create innovation-friendly environments in the small business sector.

This research provides a better understanding of innovation development and adoption by small construction firms. Given that there is little previous research on innovation by small construction firms, especially in developing economies, the paper complements existing studies that generally focus on much larger firms and developed economies.

The purpose of this paper is to deepen the understanding on social media brand engagement (SMBE) practices by exploring the impact of consumer brand knowledge, perceived social pressure, perceived social relatedness (PSR) and the role of brand trust.

A model is proposed to suggest the influence of consumer-level antecedents and moderators of SMBE. Following a survey design approach, data collected from 687 respondents on Facebook are examined through structural equation modelling using AMOS 23.0.

The findings reveal significant relationship between the examined antecedents (brand knowledge, perceived social pressure and brand trust) and SMBE. Examination of the moderation role of PSR revealed significant interaction effects on the relationship between brand knowledge and SMBE, as well as perceived social pressure and SMBE. The findings also suggest a lack of interaction effect of PSR on the relationship between brand trust and SMBE.

This research provides empirical evidence in support of understanding SMBE practices by testing theoretically grounded hypotheses. The study focussed on technologically savvy respondents and only Facebook users in Ghana, which could limit the generalisation of the findings reported.

This study illustrates a need for managers to integrate multi-communication channels to enhance brand interactions and engagements. Firms must also adopt strategies that would enhance the sharing of interesting information about their brands on their social media platforms to attract others through customer networks.

The conceptualization of SMBE in this study zooms out our understanding of online SMBE by examining pertinent variables that drive or moderate consumer participation in SMBE activities. The integration of these variables brings out new empirical understanding and extends our knowledge on SMBE.

Recent United Nations Climate Change Conferences recognise extreme climate change of heatwaves, floods and droughts as threatening risks to the resilience and success of public–private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects. Such conferences together with available project reports and empirical studies recommend project managers and practitioners to adopt smart technologies and develop robust measures to tackle climate risk exposure. Comparatively, artificial intelligence (AI) risk management tools are better to mitigate climate risk, but it has been inadequately explored in the PPP sector. Thus, this study aims to explore the tools and roles of AI in climate risk management of PPP infrastructure projects.

Systematically, this study compiles and analyses 36 peer-reviewed journal articles sourced from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and PubMed.

The results demonstrate deep learning, building information modelling, robotic automations, remote sensors and fuzzy logic as major key AI-based risk models (tools) for PPP infrastructures. The roles of AI in climate risk management of PPPs include risk detection, analysis, controls and prediction.

For researchers, the findings provide relevant guide for further investigations into AI and climate risks within the PPP research domain.

This article highlights the AI tools in mitigating climate crisis in PPP infrastructure management.

This article provides strong arguments for the utilisation of AI in understanding and managing numerous challenges related to climate change in PPP infrastructure projects.

In Ghana, the duration of construction projects from inception to completion is becoming a great concern, recently, especially among clients and beneficiaries, because of the rising interest rates, inflation, development plan targets, among other factors. Hence the need to understand the causes of delays and cost overrun in the construction sector has become more important than ever. This study therefore aims to identify the major factors underlying time and cost overruns in projects related to the education sector in Ghana to proffer practical solutions in addressing them.

The study conducted a survey among clients’ consultants and representatives of the contractors working on about 60 government school projects. A relative importance index was used to determine the relative effects of the factors causing construction time and cost overruns.

The key factors causing construction time overrun were: financial problems, unrealistic contract durations imposed by clients, poorly defined project scope, client-initiated variations, under-estimation of project cost by consultants, poor inspection/supervision of projects by consultants. Other factors were underestimation of project complexity by contractors, poor site management, inappropriate construction methods used by contractors and delays in the issuance of permits by government agencies. Factors affecting cost overruns were financial difficulty by client, delays in payments of completed works, variations in designs, lack of communications plans, poor feasibility and project analysis, poor financial management on site and material price fluctuations.

The research was limited to only the educational sector projects.

Practically, this study highlights for the construction sector the critical factors causing project time and cost overruns in Ghana. Identification of these factors provides the basis for pragmatic solutions to enhance the chances of project success.

The identification and solutions to project time and cost overruns, especially for educational sector projects, contribute toward making public goods more affordable and accessible to most citizens, particularly in developing countries.

This study contributes to the debate on factors causing project time and cost overruns in the construction sector especially from a developing country’s perspective.

This study aims to investigate the attainment of quality in Government of Ghana’s (GoG) infrastructural projects through effective contract management and especially, relating to qualification, competence and experience of supply chain stakeholders.

A survey questionnaire and field observations were used to collect primary data from staff of the education ministry and construction professionals. Documentary analyses of contract documents were also undertaken.

The results show that executing agencies’ failure to apply appropriate contract management processes was linked to the gap between stakeholders’ knowledge and actual practice. This was confirmed by Spearman’s rho tests of correlation between overall mean ranks given by professionals and non-professionals, which indicated strong agreement between those groups. Factors such as contractors’ engagement of unqualified supervisory staff, lack of proper projects monitoring and evaluation by executing agencies mainly contribute to the poor quality of work.

Investigations were limited to the Funds and Procurement Management Unit of the Ministry of Education, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and local contractors. Nonetheless, the methodology used could be used in future studies to analyse the socio-economic implications on the quality of education infrastructure.

Construction is booming in Ghana but the capacity to improve the work quality through effective contract management is limited. However, with the effort of stakeholder and statutory bodies’ support in capacity building initiatives, GoG projects could offer some novel solutions to improve quality of work.

Construction industry professionals and students’ knowledge and perception on construction industry and contract management is significantly improved.

This study provides information on respondents’ knowledge on contract management process, which, if not properly understood, can lead to poor quality of work and loss of money.

Construction project management outcomes in the literature typically portray significant deviations from expected outcomes. Various theories from studies that focus superficially on causes of project cost and time overruns rather than root causes have not addressed this problem. The need is for a better understanding of how procurement strategy provides a fundamental means to address this problem. The purpose of this paper is to examine the procurement strategy used to deliver a new universities project in South Africa within budget and to ascertain its influence on the outcomes.

A case study was designed to provide a comprehensive and intensive methodology to identify and examine the construction procurement strategy and its influence on the project outcomes. Document analyses and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data on the construction procurement strategy and outcomes from the client team.

The evidence brought forward demonstrates that the successful outcome was largely a consequence of the client team, procurement strategy and systems of delivery. However, the collaborative procurement strategy formed the basis of the successful project delivery and outcomes. A general observation from the data is that an appropriate construction procurement strategy developed by an experienced client team and proactively implemented by an integrated delivery team working collaboratively is likely to achieve the intended project outcomes.

The findings show three critical keys to achieving intended outcomes – people, procurement strategy and systems of delivery at the governance, portfolio, programme and project management levels.

The value of this paper lies in using a comprehensive methodology to study the relationship between procurement strategy and outcomes. The findings can be applied by client teams to achieve better outcomes and value for money in infrastructure projects.

Marketing Strategy and Marketing Management. It can also be used to illustrate the application of specific concepts and frameworks, such as “revenue (demand/Capacity) management” in services marketing and “Integrated Marketing Communication” under marketing communication.

Postgraduate and Final Year Marketing Majors.

The case describes how the Ghana Premier League (GPL), the flagship football product of the Ghana Football Association, continues to record low attendances at various league centres since the turn of the new millennium. The case highlights the effects of global forces (both macro and micro factors) on the patronage of GPL matches. It also brings into focus the effects of professionalization and commercialization of the league, especially, on traditional football clubs. It presents discussions on the need for football clubs to adopt sound management principles, such as market-orientation in response to the dynamic global forces. Apart from illustrating the effects of globalization on football, the case can also be used for teaching topics on integrated marketing communication/brand management and revenue management for perishable services.

To enable students to appreciate how the forces of globalization affect businesses in developing countries; to enable students to apply strategic marketing frameworks (PEST, Porter's five forces Model, SWOT, etc.) to analyse business situations; to enable candidates/students to understand the use of services management principles to address problems relating to perishable demand and unused capacity; students should understand the importance of quality products/services and branding to an organization's ability to deliver exceptional customer experience; to enable students apply the elements of integrated marketing communication to address organizational problems; andto sharpen students' critical thinking and innovative problem-solving skills.

Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors influencing the choice and the amount of cocoa beans sold to public and private licensed buying companies in the Western North of Ghana.

The study was conducted in the Western North of Ghana. Cragg’s Double Hurdle model was used to examine the factors influencing the choice of licensed buying company (LBC) whereas Kendall’s coefficient of concordance was employed in analysis of the marketing challenges.

The results showed that non-price incentives determine the choice and the amount cocoa beans sold to an LBC. Specifically, education, years of experience in cocoa farming and timely payment of sold cocoa beans positively influence the choice of public LBC. However, off farm job participation, provision of credit facilities and extension services affect the choice of private LBC as marketing outlet. Perceived low price of cocoa beans, inadequate credit support, and adjustment of scales used in weighing of cocoa beans were identified as the most important challenges confronting farmers.

The research provides important information on non-price incentives influencing cocoa marketing outlet decision as well as the marketing challenges faced by farmers which can contribute to improving internal marketing efficiency of the cocoa industry in Ghana. Besides, this study also extends the frontiers in terms of methodological approach by adopting Cragg’s Double Hurdle Model in addressing the research question.

The research provides important information on non-price incentives influencing cocoa marketing outlet decision as well as the marketing challenges faced by farmers which can contribute to improving internal marketing efficiency of the cocoa industry in Ghana. Besides, this study also extends the frontiers in terms of methodological approach by adopting Cragg’s Double Hurdle Model in addressing the research question.