Modeling success factors for public construction projects with the SEM approach: engineer’s perspective

Purpose

The study of the success factors of a project is a means of improving the effectiveness of the project. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to identify various determinants and validate their effects on the success of public construction projects in Ethiopia.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses a questionnaire survey to collect data and structural equation modeling (SEM) to empirically examine the effect of determinants, namely, project manager’s competence, owner’s competence, management support and updates, scope clarity (SC), effective partnering, and monitoring and feedback on success of public construction projects which has been measured by performance on cost, schedule, quality and no-dispute parameters. Out of 407 questionnaires distributed among the selected respondents, a total of 200 completed questionnaires were received. The response rate was 49.1 percent.

Findings

The results depict that the investigated factors have a significant positive influence on the success of public construction projects with path coefficient of 0.82, the model is substantial in representing the relationship of the factors on the success of public construction projects and the factor “SC” plays a decisive role in the success of a project as it has a path coefficient of 0.98, and it is followed by “effective partnership, and owner’s competency” having equal path coefficients of 0.96.

Research limitations/implications

The proposed model was validated by collecting data from many senior construction executives in Ethiopia only, hence may induce certain bias in the outcome of the study.

Practical implications

The significance of six constructs is highlighted to help the project manager in understanding the role of various constructs in public construction projects. The results would enable researchers and industry practitioners to focus on a few factors to take proactive measures and get the optimum result in the successful delivery of public construction projects. Utilization of SEM in the understanding of the significance of various success determinants is an important contribution to the body of theoretical literature in construction management. Since the model includes constructs, SEM has been used for construct validation.

Social implications

The implications of this study are not limited to researchers and construction industry practitioners alone. The Ethiopian Government could adopt the results of this study to reduce/avoid additional cost incurred due to the poor performance of public construction projects which results in poor utilization and increased social and economic costs. Furthermore, the study may also help the government efforts to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public funds for construction projects which are an ongoing concern of government and of the international development community.

Originality/value

This work is original and has neither been published nor under consideration for publication elsewhere. This study can add value to the construction professional in public construction project management as well as the Government of Ethiopia.