The construction industry is often characterized by the traditional adversarial working relationships between contracting parties. There has been a strong call for applying target cost contracts to align the interest of owners and contractors together. By doing so, it aims to achieve a win–win situation under a partnering arrangement within the construction industry. Even though a multitude of research studies have been undertaken on target cost contracts (TCC) or guaranteed maximum price (GMP) contracts, not many of them have focused on the risk management and analysis of these procurement strategies. This paper aims to identify, rank and compare the key risk factors encountered with these forms of procurement based on an empirical questionnaire survey geared towards the clients, contractors and consultants in Hong Kong. Despite the limited number of completed TCC and GMP (TCC/GMP) construction projects in Hong Kong, the chosen sample was perceived to be truly representative of the survey population. A four-level data analysis framework was applied in this paper, including descriptive statistics, Kendall's concordance test, Spearman's rank correlation test and Mann–Whitney U test. The research findings showed that the client group, contractor group and consultant group are in general agreement on the impact of individual risks. The identification of the key risk factors and their relative significance is important in the risk management of target cost contracts and guaranteed maximum price projects, which, if properly done, would enhance the value for money throughout the whole procurement process. This research study also helps various key project stakeholders to be equipped with better knowledge and understanding of TCC/GMP scheme by paying close attention to those high-risk factors and then the implementation of appropriate risk mitigation measures in a proactive manner.

Reports on the results of a survey of 220 front-line supervisors in Hong Kong using the job descriptive index (JDI) to investigate the perceived impact of total quality management (TQM) programmes on job satisfaction. Shows that the respondents were much less satisfied with the work dimension than with other JDI dimensions such as supervision and co-workers. TQM programmes seemed to have no impact on pay and promotion. The respondents perceived that the TQM programmes had led to a variety of changes which made their jobs more demanding, requiring greater individual skill and accuracy, but did not make their jobs more interesting and important. Discusses significance of these findings in the context of the need to provide employee satisfaction in total quality management.

Purpose – To present a comprehensive literature review of human resource information systems (HRIS) and to report the results of a survey on the implementation of HRIS in Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was designed, pre-tested, modified, and used to capture data on a cross-section of HRIS users in Hong Kong. The questionnaire was
pilot-tested by practicing HRIS consultants and by HR andMIS managers. Based on the feedback from the pilot-test, the questionnaire was modified and a final questionnaire was developed and mailed to companies in Hong Kong.

Findings – Most Hong Kong industries perceived that the greatest benefits to the implementation of HRIS were the quick response and access to information that it brought, and the greatest barrier was insufficient financial support. Moreover, there was a statistically significant difference between HRIS adopters and non-adopters, and between small, medium, and large companies, regarding some potential benefits and barriers to the implementation of HRIS.

Research limitations/implications – Further research should address the status of internet/ intranet-based HRIS. An internet/intranet-based HRIS will undoubtedly be of much more benefit than the traditional HRIS, but its adoption will pose some challenges to practitioners. Practical implications – Provides some insights into the implementation of HRIS by Hong Kong companies, which should help HR practitioners acquire a better understanding of the current status,
benefits, and barriers to the implementation of HRIS.

Originality/value – Little research has been done to address the perceived benefits and potential barriers to the implementation of HRIS. This study is timely and important in that it examines the current status of HRIS in Hong Kong. It also compares differences in perception between HRIS
adopters and non-adopters as well as in the size of organizations in relation to the adoption of HRIS.