During the last decade, sustainable development issues have been gradually adopted in Greece's construction industry, changing the traditional methods and technology. The aim of this investigation is to identify potential drivers of change, to position them properly in the wider context of sustainable construction and to outline the progress to be expected in the coming decade. The methodological framework used is a Delphi technique based on a questionnaire of 20 experts (consultant engineers, construction managers and contractors). The results show that the most important influences on sustainable construction in Greece are energy conservation measures, resource conservation strategies and waste reduction. In terms of the initiatives expected in the coming decade, energy conservation measures, waste reduction measures, as well as product innovation and certification are expected to rank high. In conclusion, the results are consistent with those of previous researchers showing significant trends towards land use, energy, and resource conservation.Change, sustainable construction, Delphi method, Greece, construction policy,
Existing research on construction performance measurement is dominated by project level studies, and the firm stakeholders require the development of models that compare performance in terms of efficiency. A new framework that integrates data envelopment analysis (DEA) and ratio analysis using a two-step approach is described to evaluate performance in terms of profitability and effectiveness of a sample of construction firms listed on the Athens Exchange. In the first step, profitability and effectiveness are assessed by employing DEA and by using the profit margin (i.e. income-to-sales ratio), respectively. In the second step, a Tobit and an ordinary least squares model are used in order to identify the drivers of profitability efficiency and effectiveness, respectively. Results do point out positive links between profitability efficiency and effectiveness. Profitability inefficiency can be explained by the size and expenses-to-total revenue ratio, whereas effectiveness can be explained only by the latter explanatory variable. The research framework may benefit not only Greek construction firms, but also firms in other countries to quantify their performance and improve their competitive advantages.
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