Explaining the alienation of megaproject environmental responsibility behavior: a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis study in China

Abstract

PurposeThe alienation of megaproject environmental responsibility (MER) behavior is destructive, but its mechanism has not been clearly depicted. Based on fraud triangle theory and the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method, this study explored the combined effect of antecedent factors on alienation of MER behavior.Design/methodology/approachBased on the fraud triangle theory and literature review, eight influencing factors associated with the alienation of MER behavior were first identified. Subsequently, the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis was used in this study to reveal configurations influencing alienation of MER behavior.FindingsThe study found nine configurations of MER behavioral alienation antecedent factors, integrated into three types of driving modes, i.e. “economic pressure + learning effect,” “institutional defect + moral rejection,” and “information asymmetry + economic pressure + expectation pressure.”Originality/valueBy analyzing the configuration effects of various induced conditions, this study puts forward a comprehensive analysis framework to solve the alienation of MER behavior in the megaprojects and a practical strategy to control alienation of MER behavior.

Multiple paths to enhancing the resilience of project-based organizations from the perspective of CSR configuration: evidence from the Chinese construction industry

“…Ma and Fu (2020) used a QCA approach to explore the impact of different combinations of project complexity on specific aspects of success for large construction projects. Xie et al. (2022) explored the combined effects of eight antecedent conditions on the alienation of megaproject environmental responsibility (MER) behavior, based on the fraud triangle theory and fsQCA method.…”

“…Ma and Fu (2020) used a QCA approach to explore the impact of different combinations of project complexity on specific aspects of success for large construction projects. Xie et al (2022) explored the combined effects of eight antecedent conditions on the alienation of megaproject environmental responsibility (MER) behavior, based on the fraud triangle theory and fsQCA method. Yang and Cheng (2020) used a QCA method to explore not only the sufficiency and necessity of organizational resilience conditions for the success of construction projects, but also the combination of organizational resilience constructions that promote the success of construction projects.…”

Risks Caused by Information Asymmetry in Construction Projects: A Systematic Literature Review

“…The remaining articles marked as Level III only used the terminology connected with information asymmetry somewhere in the text without any further elaboration on the concept. The topics investigated in these articles were diverse, and included the following: the analysis of work choices of contractors [109]; dynamic contract terms in projects [110]; network analysis of keywords in articles [18]; cost overruns of large construction projects [111]; risk identification and analysis on a company level [112]; decision support system for housing condition assessment, refurbishment and contractor selection [113][114][115]; communication performance challenges in PPP projects [116]; optimization of social procurement policy outcomes [117]; effect of contract completeness on contractors' opportunistic behavior [118]; allocation of risks in construction projects [44,119]; minimization of transaction costs in building energy efficiency [120]; blockchain in smart contracts and supply chain management [35]; contractors' risk attitudes [121]; improvement of the quality of projects [122,123]; environmental responsibility behavior in megaprojects [124]; safety supervision for prefabricated building construction [125]; and opportunistic behavior of private companies in a PPP project [126].…”

“…The pressure can be in project cost, time and quality requirements, health, safety and environmental requirements, or in relationships with other participants. The agent hides their mistakes from the principal because of the pressure to finish the work they started and to fulfill the contractual obligations [56,98,124]. Moreover, if the agent is exposed to unpredictable events related to weather, environment, etc., this can affect their performance and cause them to exert less effort [29,80].…”

“…Finally, the agent can also engage in opportunistic behavior because of moral designment. They justify their own immoral or opportunistic behavior because (1) they are in an environment (company or market) that behaves in the same way or (2) individuals often try to reduce responsibility for their actions and transfer it to others (for example, the contractor claims that he did something for the benefit of the project and not for his own profit) [29,64,65,73,87,93,98,124].…”