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A framework for enhanced decision making in construction organisations based on quality of pipeline information : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, School of Built Environment, Massey University, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2025-08-25) Moshood, Taofeeq Durojaye
The New Zealand government actively pursues the development of a sustainable construction sector that ensures high performance, productivity, innovation, and community well-being through diverse project initiatives spanning residential, non-residential, and infrastructure development. Despite these aspirations, construction projects in New Zealand are frequently delayed and not effectively completed, thus leading to underperformance. Two critical factors contributing to project delays and suboptimal outcomes are inadequate quality of information and ineffective strategic decision-making processes. Formulating effective strategic decisions is a fundamental challenge for construction organisations, significantly impacting their overall strategic goals and operational success. While information management and decision execution are widely recognised as crucial elements in organisational strategy, there remains a notable gap in understanding the intricate relationship between the quality of information and strategic decision-making, particularly within the context of construction business performance. This research addresses this critical knowledge gap by identifying the determinants for successful construction business performance. It investigates the mediating role of quality of information in the relationship between strategic decision-making and the performance of construction businesses in New Zealand. The study employs a comprehensive methodological approach combining systematic literature review, quantitative analysis, and stakeholder validation to develop a robust understanding of these complex relationships. The systematic literature review focused specifically on identifying critical determinants for successful construction business performance in New Zealand, utilising the ATLAS.ti 9 tool for analysis. This comprehensive review highlighted the fundamental role of the quality of information in strategic decision-making processes and its subsequent impact on organisational performance. This systematic analysis led to the development of a conceptual framework and associated hypotheses establishing the relationships between these factors and their impact on strategic decision-making, information quality, and construction business performance. A quantitative survey was conducted with 102 respondents, and the sample size was determined using G*Power analysis to ensure statistical validity. The study examined how strategic decision-making and information quality influence construction business performance in New Zealand. The research method that was employed integrated established theoretical models and employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS4 software. This analytical approach allowed for robust testing of both direct relationships between variables and the mediating effect of information quality on the relationship between strategic management practices and business performance outcomes. The findings revealed a strong positive correlation between strategic decision-making management and construction business performance, with quality of information serving as a crucial mediating factor. A key research component involved validating the proposed strategic decision-making process framework for its sufficiency, clarity, coherence, relevance, and applicability in New Zealand construction organisations. This validation process included in-depth interviews with six industry experts representing various organisational approaches to strategic decision-making. Their responses revealed a spectrum of techniques ranging from highly structured to more informal methodologies, providing valuable insights into the practical application of strategic decision-making frameworks in different organisational contexts. The research outcomes significantly contribute to theoretical understanding and practical application in the construction industry. Establishing clear criteria for successful quality of information and identifying critical factors affecting project implementation success, this study offers valuable guidance for improving practices within the construction sector. The findings emphasise the crucial importance of prioritising both the quality of information and strategic decision-making to effectively lessen project delays and optimise overall performance in the construction sector. Furthermore, the research contributes to developing more effective strategic decision-making processes by highlighting the interconnected nature of the quality of information and strategic planning. The validated framework provides construction organisations with a practical tool for enhancing their strategic decision-making capabilities while considering the critical role of quality of information in achieving successful outcomes. This study's findings have significant implications for construction industry stakeholders, such as project managers, organisational leaders, and policymakers. The research demonstrates that improving the quality of information and strategic decision-making processes can enhance project outcomes and overall organisational performance. The validated framework offers a structured approach for organisations to assess and improve their current practices while considering their unique operational contexts and requirements.
Automated and disrupted mobilities: Insights from the New Zealand industry sector
(Elsevier Ltd, 2025-10) Shammut M; Imran M
This paper aims to understand the readiness of automated vehicles (AVs) technology in New Zealand (NZ) through the lens of the mobilities paradigm. Drawing on interviews with AVs industry participants, the findings are categorised into three interrelated themes: (1) hard infrastructure, (2) soft infrastructure, and (3) future infrastructure development. First, hard infrastructure highlights the complexities of urban environments and AVs difficulty in predicting road users' movements. Second, soft infrastructure reveals that connectivity standardisation could enhance AVs communication, yet coverage inconsistencies may disrupt AVs Over-The-Air (OTA) updates. The findings also show how the AVs industry is perceived as ‘owners’ of AVs personal user data, raising ethical concerns around monetisation and surveillance. Third, future infrastructure development could help facilitate AV deployment, particularly through greater collaboration between and across the tech-industry, government, ‘ethical hackers’, and the use of techniques like ‘network slicing’. This paper concludes that while achieving driving autonomy is complex, deploying AVs in limited urban settings (e.g., shuttle services) offers opportunities to incrementally learn from real-world conditions. Overall, this paper responds to controversial and underexplored questions around AVs data ownership, industry use of personal data, infrastructure resilience, and government-industry collaboration for AV-ready cities. This paper contributes to the mobilities paradigm by extending our understanding of the unintended technological consequences of AVs uptake, and offers context-specific insights for policymakers, urban planners, and the industry to better understand the barriers and opportunities towards AVs implementation in future cities.
Governance of automated mobilities transition in Aotearoa New Zealand
(Elsevier Ltd., 2024-08-01) Shammut M; Imran M
This paper explores how political-institutional factors influence the transition towards automated vehicles (AVs) in New Zealand (NZ). Using the lens of ‘mobilities paradigm’ and analysing policy documents along with interviews data from government officials, the findings reveal the complexity of governing AVs transition due to fragmented responsibility, contested visions, and high interdependency across government agencies. The findings suggest that strong political leadership coupled with infrastructure investments and building regulators’ capability are important catalysts of change towards AVs transition in NZ. The paper concludes that the complex governance environment, and the central government action and inaction to set priority for the AVs agenda, may hinder or facilitate a smooth transition towards AVs in NZ. This paper contributes to the mobilities paradigm by enriching our understanding of the political-institutional challenges associated with the emergence of AVs and offers illuminating policy guidance to better inform decision-making around governing the future transition towards AVs.
Planning for an offshore oiled wildlife response: case studies from New Zealand and Brazil.
(Springer Nature, 2023-04-01) Chilvers BL; Ruoppolo V; Garrigues P
When an offshore oil spill occurs, it is often assumed that there will be no wildlife impacted or that an oiled wildlife response could not be undertaken. In most cases, one or both assumptions are wrong. With increasing offshore fishing, petroleum exploration, and shipping routes, the risk of accidents and spills offshore has increased. This review outlines the important considerations for offshore oiled wildlife response and explores two case studies on offshore oiled wildlife response planning based on offshore drilling or active platforms in New Zealand and Brazil. There are significant challenges for running a response in offshore environments; however, with planning, including preparation of specialized response plans, equipment, and readiness of skilled personnel, an offshore oiled wildlife response can lead to greater survival and protection for wildlife and the environment.
Techniques for hazing and deterring birds during an oil spill.
(Elsevier B.V., 2024-04-01) Chilvers BL
Preventing wildlife from becoming oiled is the priority in an oiled wildlife response. This is achieved through diverting spilled oil away from wildlife, or hazing, deterring, or excluding wildlife from oiled areas. This paper undertakes an international review of techniques deployed for hazing and deterring birds, the taxa most affected, during oil spills. Using these techniques as a baseline it then compares what techniques are used in New Zealand at airports, in agriculture, and at waste management facilities, to assess what could readily be deployed in New Zealand during oil spills, as currently there are few options planned for. As international literature suggests, the best technique is to use a variety of methods for targeted species to reduce habituation. This review highlights international practices that could be tested and implemented, to allow for planning for effective hazing and deterrence practices in New Zealand.
The development of a complementary financial capability index : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in Finance at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2024-06-11) Wedlock, Meg
Achieving behaviour change only through improved financial knowledge levels is difficult when taking into account other factors which influence an individual’s decision-making such as psychological factors, financial attitudes, and socio-demographic influencers. A deeper understanding of the relationship between psychological factors and financial capability levels provides educators and policymakers valuable insights to generate progression. Psychological biases are often innate, meaning individuals are usually not aware of the influence they may have on financial decisions. Education programmes which educate individuals on psychological influences as well as improving financial knowledge may collectively generate confidence and self-efficacy in one’s decision-making abilities. Therefore, a better understanding of financial decision-making is a critical investment in the social capital of society both today and in the future. Financial capability is an important behavioural element which contributes to the development of financial wellbeing at the individual and household level, as well as improving economic stability. Consequently, financial capability remains high on the priority list for governments seeking to improve retirement wellbeing and reduce reliance on debt funding and government funded benefits, thereby improving financial stability. This research seeks to investigate the influence of psychological factors on financial decision-making, providing findings which confirm the relationship between psychological factors and financial capability levels. Within a New Zealand context, this thesis proposes a complementary financial capability index developed in support of the financial wellbeing conceptual model developed by Kempson and Poppe (2018) and to further strengthen existing behavioural finance models. The complementary financial capability index is developed using data from the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, and particularly focuses on incorporating measures of time orientation, self-control, locus of control, impulsivity, social status, and action orientation. Results of this study confirm the statistical significance of psychological factors independent of financial behaviour when measuring financial capability levels. The robustness of the proposed complementary financial capability index is tested on two different datasets under variable conditions. Significant results in both applications highlight the sensitivity of the index to changes in data inputs, while also confirming the ability of the model to produce financial capability scores despite changes in data inputs. To further investigate the relationship between psychological factors and financial decision-making and to understand the factors which influence financial behaviour in practice, a mixed methods study was undertaken on fourteen participants. The collection of survey data enables further applicability testing of the complementary financial capability index while thematic analysis of the one-on-one interview transcripts results in six key behavioural finance themes which further support the research objectives addressed in this thesis and provides valuable practical insights supporting existing behavioural finance literature. This investigation confirms the significance of psychological factors on financial capability levels, over and above what may be captured by traditional factors such as financial knowledge and financial behaviour. The findings of this thesis inform policymakers and education providers on the elements of the financial decision-making process that can be targeted to generate progression in the financial capability levels and consequent financial wellbeing of New Zealanders.
Infrastructure planning emergency levels of service for the Wellington region, Aotearoa New Zealand : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (Emergency Management) at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2024-06-07) Mowll, Richard
Past work has demonstrated that the infrastructure in the Wellington region, Aotearoa New Zealand, is vulnerable to natural hazard events such as earthquake and tsunami. To enable common understandings of the levels of service (or targets) that critical infrastructure entities are planning on delivering in an emergency event, the concept of ‘planning emergency levels of service’ (PELOS) is developed and presented in this thesis. Such a concept is readily relatable to the water sector where, for example, the World Health Organisation’s ‘basic access’ to water standard is for ’20 litres of water, per person, per day, within 1km of the dwelling’. Despite such standards for water, there are few other examples in the sectors of energy, telecommunications and transport. A literature review investigated relevant sources of information on the concept from both academic and from infrastructure sector-specific texts and was used in developing a preliminary framework of PELOS, alongside discussions with emergency management experts in the Wellington region. The overall PELOS concept and preliminary framework was then presented in interviews and workshops with key stakeholders, and qualitative data collected from these interactions was used to create an ‘operationalised’ PELOS framework. This framework was adopted by the Wellington Lifelines Group, a grouping of the critical infrastructure entities in the region. Key themes of the PELOS concept are explored, namely: interdependencies, the need to consider the vulnerabilities of some community members, emergency planning considerations, stakeholders’ willingness to collaborate and the flexibility/adaptability of the delivery of infrastructure services following a major event. Further, a description of the process taken to develop the framework is provided to enable other regions to create their own frameworks. A mapping tool, visualising where PELOS can, and cannot, be achieved based on hazard impact modelling is presented. This allows the infrastructure entities, the impacted communities and the emergency management sector to have a common understanding of the targets of response following a major hazard event, and plan for them in future.
Planning in the front end of flagship projects post-disaster : a Canterbury earthquake study : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Construction Management at Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2022) Rodrigo, Witharanage Lourdes Niransha
In the recent past, governments around the world have been using large public-funded projects to rebuild their disaster-stricken cities. Large public-builds, better known as flagship projects, have come under scrutiny due to unfavourable project outcomes. The continuity to under-deliver expected outcomes leaves a question about the relevance of flagship projects. Governments around the world continue to invest millions of taxpayer money into large builds. Marysville - a rural town in Victoria, Australia, spent a similar proportion on flagship projects to Christchurch following the Black-Saturday bushfires. Flagship projects post-disaster rarely attract favourable attention. There has been no previous research that explores the outcomes or the root cause of the negative impacts of flagship projects. Ten years post-disaster Marysville flagship projects have not been assessed to check the outcomes against objectives. Driven by the lack of research into flagship project outcomes and their causes, the researcher intends to understand how planning in the front end affects flagship projects in post-disaster rebuilding. The findings will be used to produce a set of guidelines for the planning of future post-disaster flagship projects. The researcher intends to assist government planners in determining if flagship projects would support rebuilding post-disaster by following the guidelines generated using the data of this study. The researcher used a case study approach to fulfill the research aim. A pilot study in Marysville, Australia, using a Grounded Theory approach, revealed that most factors that cause adverse project outcomes are linked to the planning in the front end. The study findings showed that top-level governance arrangements, early planning, and stakeholder management in Front-End Planning have a significant impact on project outcomes. A data-driven model obtained through the analysis formed the basis of the main study. The main literature study was conducted in phases to eliminate bias that could potentially affect Grounded Theory data analysis. The process revealed that pilot study data influenced a revision to the traditional Font-End Planning process. Marysville pilot study revealed that government project planning officials spent time understanding the situation created by the disaster. This activity appeared ahead of the feasibility phase. A modified version of the model included pre-feasibility, feasibility, concept, and detailed scope stages as phases of the Front-End Planning process. The findings informed the differences between routine and post-disaster public projects in the Front end Planning process. The data suggested that Stakeholder Management is a cross-phase activity starting at inception and continues right through to the detailed scope stage and beyond. The main research study was focused on three flagship projects in the Central Business District of Christchurch. The city faced a devastating sequence of earthquakes in 2010-2011 that had scrapped the city of its key buildings. The government planning officials put in place a strategy to rebuild through 17 flagship projects. The researcher adopted a qualitative method that used face-to-face interviewer data to explore three projects to achieve research objectives. The FEP process criteria identified through the pilot study and the previous literature were then applied to the case studies. The researcher adopted a qualitative study approach to construct the theory and used semi-structured face-to-face interviews as the data collection method. Thirty-four expert respondents were interviewed. The interviewees covered all major stakeholder categories for flagship projects in Christchurch, and they belonged to the highest level of decision-makers in their organisations, except for the frequent users of the public facilities in question. The data gathered through the case studies revealed that the projects that more or less followed all of the proposed steps in the front-end planning process had better project outcomes. Some of the adverse outcomes of the projects that followed the FEP process thoroughly still had some negative impacts. The negative impacts were caused by external factors outside of the control of the project owners. Governance at the portfolio level seems to have a lesser effect on projects that were fully Crown-funded. Large projects that allow sufficient time for FEP, specifically in the Pre-feasibility phase, feasibility phase, concept phase, and detailed scope phase seem to avoid detrimental project outcomes. A set of planning guidelines for future government planning officials has been formulated based on the evidence of the case studies. The guidelines address all four areas of the FEP process and follow the process revealed within the study. The research fills the gap where Emergency management frameworks/guidelines only consider immediate recovery following large-scale disasters. Unlike other planning guidelines, the guidelines produced as the output of this study appreciates the effect different governance arrangements may have on the planning of large public projects. With an understanding of governance arrangements post-disaster, the guidelines can be altered and used as a guide to inform better decision-making regarding large public builds post-disaster.
Gender differences in financial capability and the implications for retirement adequacy in New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Studies in Finance at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2018) Wedlock, Meg
Empirical studies fail to extensively explore the relationship between gender and financial capability, particularly in relation to retirement adequacy. For this study, financial capability is defined as the behaviour, knowledge, attitude and ability to make decisions towards financial wellbeing; a financial theory that builds on the common concepts of financial inclusion and financial literacy. Literature exploring financial capability identifies a direct link with increased retirement planning. Ultimately, gender affects much of what is traditionally thought to impact financial capability; income, education, ethnicity and gendered social stigmas. This thesis seeks to explore the relationship between gender, financial capability and one’s ability to achieve retirement adequacy. The first hypothesis for this thesis is that a gender difference exists in financial capability and financial literacy levels of men and women. Lissington’s (2018) study measured two variables of specific interest: financial literacy and financial capability scores. These variables were tested independently using a two-sample T-test to compare male and female mean scores. Results were not sufficient to reject the null hypothesis of no difference between gender means for financial literacy or financial capability. That is, this study does not support a significant gender difference in financial literacy and financial capability levels for 50-80-year olds in New Zealand. The second purpose of this thesis is to identify whether the gender gap in financial capability found in empirical studies translates to a disparity in retirement adequacy. Using the online survey data from Lissington’s (2018) study, a binary logistic regression model was applied to test the explanatory power of gender on retirement adequacy. Controlling for income, education and ethnicity, women were found to be less likely to achieve retirement adequacy for pre-retirees only. The findings of this study enhance the understanding and progression of financial capability and retirement wellbeing, especially for New Zealand resident women. Its intended purpose is to contribute to the literature on gender and financial behaviour and guide policymakers to further explore and address gender disparities in financial capability and retirement adequacy.
Modelling earthquake hazard preparedness during recovery in Nepal : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Emergency Management at Massey University, School of Psychology, Wellington, New Zealand
(Massey University, 2018) Adhikari, Mina
Preparedness is a vital component of disaster risk reduction (DRR), but more often communities fail to prepare for disasters adequately. Theory-based approaches have found prominence for helping to identify the factors that drive preparedness behaviour of the population. However, there has been a limited empirical validation of these theories of preparedness in post-disaster recovery contexts. Further, their application has been mostly limited to culturally individualistic and developed countries, and there is a great need for their application in the setting of developing countries where disaster impacts are often most severe. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the preparedness of a population in a post-disaster recovery scenario in a developing country. A mixed method research design with a household questionnaire survey (n=306) followed by a follow-up qualitative study driven by semi-structured interviews (n=11) was adopted to conduct this study. The outcomes of the study include 1) development of a conceptual model predicting earthquake hazard preparedness after reviewing the existing theories and models applied in the setting of natural hazards; 2) empirical validation of the proposed conceptual model predictions by analysing quantitative data collected through household survey conducted in two villages in Dhading district, of central Nepal; 3) identification of factors and processes underlying people’s decisions related to recovery efforts and preparedness to future events in a post-disaster context derived by developing a hierarchical value map from the qualitative interview data. The quantitative findings from the survey data justify the capability of the proposed model to assess the interaction of individual, community and institutional factors to predict household’s intentions to prepare in a post-disaster recovery scenario. Furthermore, the qualitative findings support the quantitative findings and provide evidence for the influence of socio-cultural values of Nepalese society on household preparedness decision-making during post-disaster recovery. The qualitative findings also provide evidence of additional predictors those need to be considered in future modelling of preparedness. Further, the qualitative findings show that people’s preparedness decisions and recovery efforts are influenced by personal beliefs, community efforts, and community and institutional collaborations during the post-disaster recovery period. Understanding of population preparedness in a post-disaster recovery is limited in both developed and developing countries. Thus this research makes a significant contribution to the body of knowledge on population preparedness in the post-disaster context in a developing country. The findings further contribute to any future study on developing theoretical foundations for the preparedness of populations in both developed and developing countries. The application of the outcomes of this study is evident as it is already cited for its theoretical, and methodological rigour.

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