Research in Ethiopian Construction Industry: Review of Past Studies and Future Need Assessment
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2017-12
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
AAU
Abstract
Construction industry plays a vital role for developing countries as they are
considerably dependent on the growth and development of physical infrastructures:
furthermore, its relation to both economic and social sectors is very significant. Construction
research is the systematic process of collecting and analyzing information to increase our
understanding of every critical occurrence under study which plays a large role in the
development of the industry. However, in Ethiopia the trend of using construction research
works is very low: consequently, the role of research works in the construction industry is
insignificant. In this respect, the main objective of the research was to identify the current and
future research needs of the construction industry based on different perspectives.
In order to identify the current and future research needs of the construction industry
it was essential to find out if the past and current construction research which is done by
academic institutions is directly correlated with the construction industry demand. To
determine their alignment and correlation, evaluations of the rankings of construction
research trends and industry demands were carried out. The assessment was done through a
review of one hundred sixteen construction research papers from Addis Ababa Institute of
Technology, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Construction Technology and
Management post-graduate program. The research papers were classified into common
construction research topics areas. The industry research need was then gathered using a
questionnaire survey. Each research topic area was given a ranking based on the quantity of
researches classified into the common construction topic areas. Besides, questionnaires were
sent to professionals from Ethiopian Roads Authority, Addis Ababa City Roads Authority,
Real estate developers, Consultants, and Foreign and Local Contractors to find their ranking
of the research topic areas by the individual sectors. Additionally, questions were raised to
determine the possible causes for the less involvement of construction research findings in
the industry, identify the benefits, and possible methods to enhance the university industry
linkages.
The results show that the top three topic areas by the research ranking was concrete
technology, industry overview, and constructability, on the other hand questionnaire
respondents determined that the most important research topic areas for the construction
industry participants are economics or cost control, delay and cost overrun, and productivity.
The result of the Pearson correlation test indicates that there is no linear relationship among
the most researched topic areas from the university and the current needs of the research
participant of the construction industry professionals. The research, additionally, also makes
available recommendations on how to improve these conditions.
Keywords: Construction industry, Construction research trend, University -Industry linkage,
Industry research need.
Description
Keywords
Construction Industry, re Need Assessment