Luqman Oyekunle Oyewobi

The impact of rework and organisational culture on project delivery

Purpose It is generally accepted that organisational culture is capable of influencing how project organisation performs. It can also impact on how people set individual goals and objectives, perform their roles, tasks and deploy resources to achieve set objectives. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of organisational culture on the occurrence of rework in Nigerian construction industry. Design/methodology/approach The research adopted mixed method research using both quantitative and qualitative approaches to elicit information. Though, the result of the questionnaire survey was presented in this paper. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify which variables measured attributes of the same underlying proportions, while descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis were used to establish the influence of organisational culture on rework. Findings The study identifies 14 factors as causes of rework from the result of factor analysis. The outcome also indicates that leadership style, success criteria and management style are important organisational culture dimensions. Poor management practices and lack of teamwork are found to be largely responsible for poor project delivery due to rework occurrence. Practical/implications The research will be of significant benefit to both the academic and industry practitioners. The result of the research will provide academics with useful insights into the influence of organisational culture on project delivery by undertaking future research to inform better understanding. The research will also provide practitioners with good understanding of how culture within their organisations can influence the performance of their subordinates or employees. Further research is encouraged to investigate the influence of management and leadership style on project delivery in the context of Nigeria. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to investigate the influence of organisational culture on occurrence of rework empirically in the Nigerian construction industry. There is paucity of research focusing on this area as it affects project delivery.

An empirical analysis of construction organisations’ competitive strategies and performance

Purpose – The essence of strategy formulation is to assist an organisation obtain a strategic fit with its environment and help enhance organisational continuous improvement in achieving performance excellence. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the type of competitive strategies used by construction organisations in attaining their strategic goals in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach – The study employs an inductive research approach using a well-structured questionnaire to elicit information from large construction organisations based in South Africa. Findings – The research identifies five strategic attributes that could assist organisations to grow their businesses and enhance their returns. It reveals that all Porters’ generic competitive strategies are significantly related to organisational financial performance measures except focus strategy. The research found that three generic competitive strategies are positively related to non-financial performance and that differentiation an...

Relationship between competitive strategy and construction organisation performance: The moderating role of organisational characteristics

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible moderating role of organisational characteristics (organisational structure, management style and decision-making style) in the relationship between strategy and organisational performance among large construction organisations in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative research approach using a questionnaire survey to obtain data from 72 large construction organisations in South Africa. Using hierarchical multiple regression, the paper examines the relationship between the constructs discussed in the study. Findings The internal characteristics of the organisation form the vital basis for achieving optimal performance. The results obtained from the analysis revealed that decision-making style directly influences the measure of organisational effectiveness, while it could also be inferred that organisational characteristics partly moderate the relationship between competitive strategy and organisational performance. The findings indicate that internal characteristics is one of the means through which organisational strategic factors and contextual aspects are organised to achieve greater organisational performance levels. Originality/value The findings have theoretical implications for strategic management literature in construction as it extends the scope of research on strategic management from assessing a set of individual management practices to evaluating a complex mechanism that connects internal characteristics and competitive advantage. It is believed that this study will contribute positively to the role of organisational characteristics in the competitive strategy-performance relationships in large construction organisations in South Africa and to the ongoing discussion on emerging strategic management issues in construction.

Measuring strategic performance in construction companies: a proposed integrated model

Purpose – This paper aims to examine and compare a performance measurement system and performance frameworks commonly used within the construction industry. The paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of balanced scorecard (BSC) and business excellence model (BEM) to propose an integrated model for measuring strategic performance of construction organisations as a single model. The purpose is to help organisations achieve performance excellence, financial integrity and continuous improvement in business results to sustain competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach – This paper examines and compares performance measurement system and performance frameworks commonly used within the construction industry. The paper explores the strengths and weaknesses of BSC and BEM to propose an integrated model for measuring strategic performance of construction organisations as a single model. The purpose is to help organisations achieve performance excellence, financial integrity and continuous improvement i...

Determinants of construction organisational performance: A partial least square-path analytic method

Literature suggests that there are sets of common variables that are capable of explaining organisational performance differentials. These variables are used to examine performance variance and its contribution to organisation profitability. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of large construction organisations’ performance in South Africa using a partial least squares path analytic method.,This study examines the interrelationship between a number of constructs, namely, organisational characteristics, resources/capabilities, competitive strategies, business environment and performance, using a questionnaire survey to obtain data from 72 large construction organisations in South Africa. Using a path analytic approach, the paper examines the relationship between the constructs discussed in the study.,The findings from the analysis of the data show that organisational characteristics do indeed influence the performance of organisations, and that the business environment is capable of moderating the relationship between competitive strategies and performance. The results, however, indicate that organisations that combine sustained organisational characteristics and strategy tend to experience high performance over those that do not.,The study findings have implications for management practice, as it could help managers of construction organisations to acknowledge the influence of organisational characteristics, unique resources/capabilities, competitive strategies and business environment as sources of competitive advantage. The study contributes to the current debate on the causes of performance differentials among large construction organisations.

Analysis of causes and impact of variation order on educational building projects

Purpose Construction process is complex and traditionally fragmented; thus, it is almost impossible to have a project completed without changes to the original plan or the construction process. The purpose of this study is to identify and examine the causes of variation orders, ascertain their effects and establish the cost and time performance implication as a result of variation orders. Design/methodology/approach This study obtained information from 90 construction stakeholders on 30 completed educational building projects to ascertain the causes and effects of variation orders on project delivery using questionnaire survey. In addition to this, a pro forma document was designed to obtain the project characteristics, cost and time data from these 30 completed educational building projects. Factor analysis was used to categorise the causes of variation orders, while severity index was used to examine their effects on project delivery. The hypothesised statement was tested using paired t-statistics to examine whether a statistically significant difference existed between variation orders, cost and time performance of the projects. Findings The study identified 13 main factors as causes of variation orders and the results revealed that the most frequent effects of variations were increase in construction costs, time, client dissatisfaction, increase construction project rework and demolition and project abandonment. The results also showed that variation orders had significant effects on both cost and scheduled performance of the educational building projects with average cost and time escalation of 33.95 and 29.45 per cent of the original project cost and time, respectively, for the entire projects studied, while average cost implication of variation orders is 23.79 per cent. Practical implications The findings in this study will be of assistance to government agencies and management of public works in higher institutions of learning in managing variations in construction projects. The study will also add to the current literature on the impact of variation orders on educational building projects in developing countries. Finally, it will create the much-needed awareness on the severity and implication of change or variation orders on project delivery. Originality/value The study identified and examined the causes of variation orders, ascertained their effects and established the cost and time effects of the causes of variation order on project performance. This will assist project initiators, contractors, consultants and other stakeholders to fully appreciate and understand the significant effects of variation orders on project performance.

Competitiveness of construction organisations in South Africa

The government patronizes and awards public sector construction projects to large construction companies in South Africa based on the premise that they are technically and financially capable of executing the projects. In spite of this assumption and important contributions made by the construction organisations in delivering high-profile construction projects, many clients report poor performance of contactors on public projects. This paper therefore investigates the competitive strategies being used by large construction companies, their financial performance and whether their knowledge of the business environment help in obtaining beneficial strategic fit and fiscal performance. This study intends to use the synthesis of industrial organisation, contingency and resource-based theories in developing measures of environmental factors and competitive strategies used by construction companies. Parametric and non-parametric statistics is used in analysing quantitative and qualitative data obtained from the questionnaire survey. It emerged that corruption and lack of transparency was perceived as the key exogenous environmental factor influencing the strategies adopted by construction companies, while manpower problems associated with trade unions was perceived as the key endogenous environmental factor. The results also indicate that the differentiation competitive strategies of achieving high quality and time which are negatively correlated to financial performance were viewed by the respondents as the best strategies to adopt. This research will contribute to the discourse on competitive strategies in the construction industry and best practices.

Total quality management practices and organizational performance: the mediating roles of strategies for continuous improvement

ABSTRACT The relationship between total quality management (TQM) practices and organizational performance has been widely reported in literature without consensus on its nature. This study examined the nature of relationship as well as influence of TQM practices and strategies for continuous improvement on different measures of performance among large- and medium-sized construction companies in the Nigerian construction industry. Unlike earlier studies, the research gives specific thought to how the relationship between TQM practices and performance is mediated by strategies for continuous improvement. The study was conducted using sequential mixed methods. In-depth structured interviews were first conducted which formed the basis for cross-sectional survey that subsequently followed. One hundred and twenty-eight valid questionnaires from well-structured questionnaires that were self-administered to 155 medium- and large-sized construction companies were received. Based on the factor analysis and partial least square structural equation modelling that were carried out, the study revealed that TQM practices have significant effects on organizational performance. However, the mediating roles of strategies for continuous improvement are necessary to ensuring better organizational performance. Therefore, it is imperative for organizations that are craving for competitive advantage to place high premium on TQM practices while ensuring that the right strategies for continuous improvement are put in place.

Women professionals’ participation in the nigerian construction industry: finding voice for the voiceless

Abstract The construction industry is a male-dominated industry globally, with poor women representation in every facet of the construction profession and the involved jobs. In this context, this study investigated the current level of women participation, challenges faced by professional women, factors that influence them in the course of developing careers in construction and the criteria that can be used to encourage women participation in the Nigerian construction industry. This was done through self-administration of 145 structured questionnaires to 93 women professionals in the built environment and 52 employers of built environment labour in Abuja, Nigeria. The analyses showed that the construction industry is largely dominated by men, with women having a lot of challenges ranging from lack of self-confidence to compete with their male counterparts to insecurity in the midst of men to execute their work as professionals. Therefore, the study recommends that making young women aware of construction industry opportunities is needed to encourage them to build their careers in construction from the school stage in order to increase the number of professional women participating in the future. In addition to this, professional women should be given equal job opportunities as their male counterparts to ensure better representation of women so that the impact of women professionals in the construction industry can be extended.

Relationship between decision-making style, competitive strategies and organisational performance among construction organisations

Purpose The decision-making styles and strategies of organisations play significant roles in their competitive advantage and the achievement of superior performance. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of decision-making styles on the strength of the relationship between competitive strategy and organisational performance among large construction organisations based in South Africa. Design/methodology/approach The study focuses on large construction organisations in South Africa using a questionnaire survey to elicit information. The sample consists of 72 large construction organisations, and the measures of decision-making styles, competitive strategies and organisational performance used for the instrument utilised to elicit information were derived from the literature. Descriptive, parametric and multiple regression analyses were used to determine the effect of decision-making styles and competitive strategies on the organisations’ performance. Findings The results of the study show that organisations utilize all types of decision-making styles, but the most significantly adopted styles are analytical and directive. The study found that decision-making styles influence organisational performance through competitive strategies. Research limitations/implications The research considered large construction organisations based in South Africa and operating in three provinces, where almost 75 per cent of all public projects are being implemented. The findings can be generalised to other large construction organisations functioning within the South African industry, because most of the organisations surveyed operate nationally. However, the findings may not be generalizable to the entire industry. Small and medium-sized organisations vary in terms of structure in relation to large organisations; hence, their decision-making styles may be different. Practical implications The study makes explicit the need to consider the role of different decision-making styles being practiced within organisations and how their moderating effect influences organisational performance beyond rational processes. A better understanding of this will enable organisations to achieve the total commitment of their staff to achieve superior performance. Originality/value The study contributes to the existing literature and body of knowledge on the strategic management of organisations. It underpins the assertion that decision-making styles and competitive strategies can influence organisational performance, and this is validated within the construction industry. Knowledge of the relationships between the variables measured in this paper will be beneficial to both owners and managers of construction organisations, because they provide the necessary information on how strategic decision-making styles influence the strategy adopted and, in turn, the organisational performance.