Dissertation of Peter He Zhenbang

Introduction

On Wednesday, 26 August 2026, The Dissertation Defense for the Doctor of Research in Management (DRM) program of Peter He Zhenbang [2140003572], entitled “The Study of the Impact of Transformational Leadership, Project Policy and Management Experience on Indonesian Construction Project Performance,” was conducted at Room B0301, BINUS @Alamsutera Campus

The dissertation defense was chaired by Prof. Dr. Mts. Arief, M.M., MBA., CPM, who served as the chair of the examination committee and an examiner. The session was also attended by the supervisory committee and the board of examiners, who provided academic evaluation and feedback on the dissertation presented. The supervisory committee consisted of Prof. Dr. Ir. Harjanto Prabowo, M.M., as the Promoter (Supervisor), accompanied by Prof. Dr. Mohammad Hamsal, MSE, MQM., MBA, CICP, as Co-Promoter I, and Prof. Dr. Engkos Achmad Kuncoro, S.E., M.M., as Co-Promoter II. Meanwhile, the board of examiners comprised Dr. Sri. Bramantoro Abdinagoro as Examiner I and Dr. Mohammad Ichsan, Dip.-Ing.MT as Examiner II and Dr. Wisnu Isvara as Examiner III

During the defense, the supervisors and examiners raised various questions, provided constructive feedback, and conducted a comprehensive academic evaluation to assess the depth of the research and the scholarly contribution of the dissertation.

Dissertation Summary

This study examines Construction Project Performance (CPP) in the Indonesian construction industry by investigating the effects of Transformational Leadership (TL), Project Policy (PP), and Management Experience (ME), with Lean Construction Strategy Implementation (LCSI) as a mediating variable and Digital Innovation (DI) as a moderating variable. Using a quantitative approach and Structural Equation Modeling–Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS), the study analyzed data from 368 construction projects across Indonesia during 2022–2024 using SmartPLS 3.0 and 4.0. The findings indicate that TL, PP, and ME have positive effects on CPP, while LCSI partially mediates these relationships and DI strengthens the effect of LCSI on CPP. All proposed hypotheses (H1–H9) were statistically significant and accepted, although the findings for H7, H8, and H9 showed partial consistency and differences with previous studies, suggesting that these relationships may be context-dependent.

The study contributes theoretically by integrating six key constructs—Transformational Leadership, Project Policy, Management Experience, Lean Construction Strategy Implementation, Digital Innovation, and Construction Project Performance—into a comprehensive research framework. This framework extends the conventional Cost-Time-Quality perspective by incorporating leadership, managerial capability, lean practices, and digital innovation. It also enriches construction management literature through connections with the Resource-Based View, Systems Theory, Theory of Operations Strategy, Theory of Constraints, Transformation-Flow-Value Theory, and Leadership Theory. Methodologically, the use of 368 construction projects provides broader empirical evidence for understanding project performance in the Indonesian construction context.

Practically, the findings suggest that improving construction project performance requires an integrated approach involving strong transformational leadership, effective project policies, experienced management, lean construction implementation, and digital innovation. Construction organizations should strengthen leadership capabilities, facilitate knowledge transfer and mentoring, establish supportive policies, embed lean principles into project planning and execution, and utilize digital technologies for monitoring, communication, information management, and decision-making. Overall, the study demonstrates that CPP is influenced not only by traditional project controls such as cost, time, and quality, but also by the interaction of managerial, organizational, operational, and technological capabilities.

Author Biography

PETER HE ZHENBANG was born in Guangdong Province, China in the Year 1985. His education background is diversified and he was obtained the Bachelor Degree of Engineering from China University of Geosciences, Hubei Province, China in the Year 2008, and consequently the Master Degree of Engineering by research from National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore in the Year 2011 respectively. Ultimately, his endeavor in PhD was from Doctor of Research in Management (DRM), BINUS Business School, BINUS University in the Republic of Indonesia in the Year 2026.

After 4 years effort in the international construction firm in Singapore and Indonesia, he had worked diligently to build his own construction company in Southeast countries including Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia and China, with joint venture of the local partners. By counting period until recent year, his working and management experience has been accumulated more than one decade with decent knowledge of communication, coordination, management, resource allocation in the building industry. His research interest is construction project performance and various strategies in management (for instance, lean strategy and growth strategy) by supporting from his job experience. Furthermore, in terms of paper publish as academic achievement, the followings are articulated.

Publication

During his doctoral studies in the DRM programme, he has successfully published two internationally recognised scholarly articles, namely:

Paper title: The Quantitative Study of the Impact of Transformational Leadership and Digital Innovation on Construction Project Performance in DKI Jakarta, Indonesia
Journal Name: International Journal of Instructional Cases
Link: https://ijicases.com/article-view/?id=203

Paper title: Literature Review and Dimensions Design for Organizational Virtuousness, Business Experience and Growth Strategies in The Corporate Research Model Within Domain of Republic of Indonesia
Journal Name: Journal of Information Systems Engineering and Management
Link: https://jisem-journal.com/index.php/journal/article/view/4333

Paper title: Investment Budget Execution in the Apurimac Region, Peru (2018-2023): Trends, Constraints, and Pathways to Sustainable Growth
Journal Name: Acta Innovations
Link: https://www.actainnovations.com/index.php/pub/article/view/913