Title: Drop shipment-type wooden housing projects utilising locally-produced lumbers: determination of project leaders

Authors: Shuichi Ishida, Shuzo Furusaka

Addresses: Graduate School of Technology Management, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 NojiHigashi Kusatsu, Shiga 525-8577, Japan. ' Department of Architecture and Architectural Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto Daigaku Katsura Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto 615-8530, Japan

Abstract: In recent years, wooden houses which utilise domestic lumbers have been built in many parts of Japan through drop shipment-type projects. However, it is questionable whether this type of project greatly contributes to the revitalisation of local forest and housing industries, for in many cases, such projects largely rely on the voluntary initiatives of participating actors. This paper will discuss the system of local wooden housing production in terms of supply chain management which is a chain of sequential interdependences over lumbers. It will also attempt to select actors who can effectively lead projects, and evaluate their potential as well as overt leadership by the system theories and social network analyses. How the difference between leading actors can influence the progress of each project within the community will also be discussed from the standpoint of overcoming the immobilisation of the project members.

Keywords: supply chain management; SCM; locally-produced lumbers; lumber distribution systems; wooden housing production; interpretive structural modelling; ISM; social network analysis; Japan; project leadership; project management; system theory.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBSR.2007.014767

International Journal of Business and Systems Research, 2007 Vol.1 No.1, pp.29 - 46

Published online: 08 Aug 2007 *

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