Architecture, Building and Planning - Theses
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ItemTransaction Costs and Entrepreneurial Discovery in House Building Innovations: A Study of Developers’ Behaviour in Ghana( 2022-12)Innovative housing is necessary to address crucial housing problems in Sub-Saharan Africa, including inferior quality and unaffordability while delivering sustainable housing. That notwithstanding, innovation housing investments are limited, and adoption failures are common. At the same time, despite several innovation barrier studies, there are limited insights into developers' discovery of viable opportunities to adopt specific innovative technologies and adoption outcomes (failed, successful or otherwise). This dissertation develops and implements an institutional approach (integrating transaction costs economics and entrepreneurial theories of opportunity discovery) to understand the innovation experiences of the earliest adopting developers of walling innovations (first movers) in Ghana. The specific research questions examined are: 1. what are the critical constituents of transaction costs (TCs) to the developer in the context of walling innovation, and to what extent do they influence actual technological innovation choices of developers? 2. to what extent do these TCs influence innovation adoption outcomes? 3. whether and to what extent does the relationship between different perceived uncertainties and TCs determine developers’ walling innovation choices? 4. what governance mechanisms do developers use in reducing the TCs associated with discovering innovation opportunities and their adoption? The study applied a mixed research method design, with Accra and Kumasi, Ghana's main real estate markets, as case studies. In total, eighty-two developers validly completed the survey questionnaires (Accra – 78, Kumasi - 4), providing data on their perceived innovation uncertainties, TCs and innovation history, among others. Their responses were analysed using correlations, principal component analysis and regressions to examine the uncertainties and TCs associated with their walling technologies adopted. Content analysis techniques were used to examine the qualitative data from in-depth interviews with the first movers, walling technology suppliers, sector ministry and departments, bank, key informants and a building research institution (15 respondents total). The findings reveal limited walling innovation among developers. Eighty-six per cent of the 82 developers always or mostly used conventional sandcrete blocks. Six per cent of developers discontinued the use of pozzolana, burnt clay bricks (7.6%), compressed earth (1%), interlocking blocks (4.6%), aerated concrete (9.1%), and modular prefabricated housing (15.2%). Positive intentions to adopt an innovative walling material were distinct from historical practices. Among the first movers, identified walling innovations (burnt clay bricks, modular prefabricated housing, aerated concrete, compressed earth, pozzolana, expanded polystyrene system, and aluminium formwork) have limited sustainability dimensions. They are also mainly sourced exogenously. Prototyping developments/building showhouses through mainly vertical integrated development processes was the commonest governance approach to opportunity discovery and reducing the associated TCs with the increased administrative control offered by in-house coordination. It allowed developers to coordinate information from relevant stakeholders (incl. financial institutions, planning authorities and potential homebuyers). Moreso, at the pre-technology adoption stage, a mix of governance mechanisms, the lone genius, outsourcing, vertical integration, and spot market transactions were observed, each with different TCs depending on whether the adopter was a developer and technology supplier, a developer-builder or both. The study further identifies and discusses the critical TCs incurred in coordinating dispersed non-price knowledge associated with the different innovation outcomes (e.g. four failed adoptions, one discontinued). Contrary to popular conceptions that the high TCs associated with innovations adversely affect innovation tendencies, their effects are mixed. Those adopting a new technology did not perceive lesser TCs. Their impact is also conditional on the uncertainties around the discovery of market value. Market uncertainties have the most significant and consistent influence on innovation intentions and technology choices. However, reducing uncertainties does not linearly improve adoption probabilities. The study’s implications are that innovation policy should address the broad aspects of transaction costs to enable developers inexpensively identify and exploit innovation opportunities.
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ItemSocial capital and disaster resilience: A case of flooding in informal settlements in Accra, Ghana( 2021)The impacts of escalating climate-linked disasters have been acutely felt across sub-Saharan Africa in recent times. Rapid urbanisation and changing climate have complicated the frequencies, intensities, and associated impacts of disasters to unprecedented levels. In Ghana, the conventional approaches overly dependent on strengthening technical and physical infrastructure are inadequate and often disregard informal settlements that absorb much of urban growth and are at the interface of most disaster risks. Consequently, disaster resilience in informal settlements is restricted to the capacities, ingenuities, and resources available to residents and through their social networks. Yet, there is limited understanding of the influences of social capital on disaster resilience among households. Based on a case study of flooding in four informal settlements (i.e., Gbegbeyise, Old Fadama, Sabon Zongo, and Alajo) in Accra, this thesis addresses three main questions: (i) How do households navigate flooding in the informal settlements? (ii) How do household capitals influence their resilience to flooding? (iii) To what extent does social capital influence the resilience of households to flooding? The research adapted the ‘capitals-based’ framework and combined it with the disaster cycle to examine how social capital constructs influenced the pre-, during, and post-disaster resilience of households. It applied mixed methods involving household surveys and in-depth interviews, agency consultation, documents review, and observation to gather research data. Also, it used qualitative (e.g., themes) and quantitative (e.g., factor analysis and regression) procedures in analysing flood experiences and implications of social capital for disaster resilience. The findings reveal that the conflicting rationalities between households and agencies' perceptions about flooding have validated official neglect of informal settlements from risk reduction interventions, necessitating households’ reliance on their assets and social networks for resilience to disasters. As a result, although the households applied structural and non-structural flood preparation measures, they experienced multifaceted impacts on livelihoods, properties, and general wellbeing. Interestingly, the application of household capitals generated complex outcomes of disaster resilience on the disaster cycle. Contrary to popular conceptions, some dimensions of household capital were counter-productive to resilience. The study found that social capital is a critical resource for resilience in Accra’s informal settlements because it supported preparedness, mitigated associated multifaceted impacts, and facilitated responses and recovery. However, the benefits from social capital channels – i.e., bonding, bridging, and linking networks – differ at the various stages of the disaster cycle. These findings suggest that a more nuanced consideration of household capitals is required when developing policies for disaster resilience. Depending on the aim along the disaster cycle, different dimensions of household capitals may be enhanced. Moreover, the significance of social capital for resilience in informal settlements justifies the need for careful consideration and protection in urban planning policies and programmes. It is only when the non-structural features like social capital are included in disaster planning and management that cities can advance towards attaining global disaster resilience targets.