Ayirebi Dansoh

Strategic planning practice of construction firms in Ghana

In Ghana, the operating environment for construction firms is constantly changing in the face of a volatile economic environment, shifting political climate and a highly competitive market. Confronted with such instability, companies need strategic planning to combat the threat to their survival. A survey was conducted to determine how widespread strategic planning is used as a management tool by contractors in Ghana. Construction firms with classification A1B1, A2B2, D1 and D2 were used in the survey. Only 8.5% of D2 firms use strategic planning. The other firms have a combined average of 86.7%. Civil engineering contractors are far ahead of the building contractors in the practice of strategic planning. Strategic plans are drawn to cover an average of three years. There is an urgent need for contractors in the D2 class to be encouraged to seek insight into strategic planning and employ the technique to enhance their chances of surviving risks in the business environment.

Reasons for adopting Public–Private Partnership (PPP) for construction projects in Ghana

Over the past decade, Public–Private Partnership Policy has increasingly been adopted by governments over the world and the Ghanaian Government is no exception. This paper explores the key reasons for adopting PPP for construction projects in Ghana. In an empirical questionnaire survey respondents were invited to rate their perception on 17 reasons identified from literature. The results show that five most important reasons for adopting PPP are: ‘reduces public sector administrative cost’, ‘allows for shared risk’, ‘reduces the problem of public sector budget constraint’, ‘private sector possess better mobility’ and ‘private sector has ability to raise funds for project’. A significance test using one – way ANOVA indicates that ‘offers benefit to local economic development’, ‘increase access to the public sector market’, ‘provides tax exemption and reduction’ and ‘provides incentives to new market penetration’ receive different views from the public and private organizations as reasons for adopting PPP policy. Factor analysis also shows that the factor groupings for the 17 reasons are: innovation enhancement and economic benefits, private sector efficiency, opportunities for market penetration and innovation, effective project risk management and business growth incentives for the private sector.

Innovation development and adoption in small construction firms in Ghana

Purpose The purpose of this research is to identify the conditions under which the internal environment of small construction firms makes them either develop or adopt an innovation. Design/methodology/approach The research described in this paper adopted a qualitative case study approach. The data were obtained from multiple sources such as face-to-face semi-structured interviews with company representatives and from project reports. Findings The study identified that firms’ decision to either adopt or develop an innovation is determined by a complex interaction between their internal environment and 12 different conditions. Some of the findings contrast widespread perceptions in broader literature on innovation development and adoption in small construction firms. Research limitations/implications The study focused only on firms from two regions in Ghana. Additionally, adopting a purely qualitative approach meant that the quantitative impacts of the different factors were not presented. Practical implications The results can inform the decisions of agencies and persons wishing to invest their resources in innovation activities of small construction firms. It can also inform the policy debate and directions of government and industry associations looking to create innovation-friendly environments in the small business sector. Originality/value This research provides a better understanding of innovation development and adoption by small construction firms. Given that there is little previous research on innovation by small construction firms, especially in developing economies, the paper complements existing studies that generally focus on much larger firms and developed economies.

Performance of building technology graduates in the construction industry in Ghana

Purpose – This paper aims to assess the perception of the Ghanaian construction industry of the performance of entry‐level building technology graduates. Also, other non‐technical skills or attributes expected from building technology graduates are to be compared with the actual proficiency of the graduates.Design/methodology/approach – The findings in this paper are based on a series of interviews and structured questionnaire survey of randomly selected contractors and consultants in the Ghanaian construction industry.Findings – The overall performance of the graduates was considered acceptable by the construction industry. However, much more needed to be done in “coordination” and “scheduling” of site activities by graduates who work as site managers, and in “coordination of site activities” and “issuance of site instructions” for those who work as project managers for contractors. There was a considerable gap between the expectations of the construction industry practitioners and the actual proficiency...