CONSTRAINTS TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT PRACTICES IN THE GHANAIAN CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Evidence of Professional Project Management Practices in the Ghanaian Construction Industry (GCI) dates back to the 1980s. However, to date not much  has been achieved in its advancement and deployment especially in an era whereproject management is considered as an important management philosophy in achieving project success. This paper reports on a study to determine the constraints that exist in the advancement of project management practices in the GCI. Thepaper adopted a two-stage data-gathering approach involving qualitative and quantitative techniques. The qualitative approach helped in identifying eighteen (18) Project Management (PM) variables that stakeholders believe are posingchallenges to effective PM practices in Ghana. Out of the eighteen variables, nine supported existing literature while the remaining nine appear to be peculiar to the Ghanaian context. Subsequently, questionnaire containing the eighteen (18)variables were administered to 183 professionals who are involved in PM practices and then subjected to factor analysis. The paper highlights five (5) major underlying constraints namely: weak project management knowledge base, lack of clearlydefined role for project managers, poor understanding of procurement practices, weak institutional framework and poor communication practices. The paper therefore recommends that, it is important for these underlying factors to beaddressed conscientiously as they provide firm basis for advancing professional project management practices in the GC

TOWARDS A CLASSIFICATION OF FAMILY-OWNED CONSTRUCTION FIRMS IN GHANA

The Ghanaian construction industry predominated by family-owned construction firms has established its dominant impact on economic development, albeit unstructured. This literature review is to dissect extant literature bringing out the uniqueness of the sector and attempt a classification for family-owned construction firms in Ghana. Anchored in a value-free axiological tradition in which the classification criteria of family-owned construction firms can be obtained by objective means set out in the framework, this study was undertaken by an extensive literature review from journals databases, textbooks, and relevant reports and citations. The review began with searches using “AND” and “OR” operators to search abstracts, titles, and a keyword with no restriction placed on the article's date of publication. Content analysis was done of the articles and with lots of information on family-owned businesses, very few on family-owned construction firms. Existing frameworks on the classification of family-owned businesses formed the basis of this framework. The key findings indicate that small and medium-sized family firms predominate the construction industry. The physiognomies of family-owned construction firms also contribute to their proliferation and overarching importance within the sector. The novelty of this study is that it merges information from the general business and construction industry and carves criteria for which family-owned construction firms can be identified and classified. For academia, the paper contributes to the stream of knowledge on what constitutes family-owned construction firms whilst exposing the lack of research in this constituency. It also serves as the foundation upon which future research can be conducted in the field of family-owned construction firms. For practitioners and policymakers, the paper offers insights into how to identify family-owned construction firms to be able to distinguish them for targeted support to grow the economy. Future research should be targeted at examining the growth and sustainability of family-owned construction firms. Article visualizations

Financial distress and highway infrastructure delays

Purpose In developing countries, delays in highway infrastructure projects caused by financial distress-related factors threaten the construction industry’s capacity to contribute optimally to economic development. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to determine factors contributing to financial distress and develops a conceptual framework to illustrate the relationship between financial distress and project delay. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey collected data on factors that contributed to financial distress and delays in highway infrastructure delivery. In total, 78 responses were obtained, and factor analysis revealed that factors associated with payment, project financing, cash flow, economic issues, project planning and cost control influenced project delays. Findings The research identifies the importance of efficient public and private policies to engender financial sustainability among construction firms in developing countries. Originality/value This work presents the first research of its kind and strives to engender wider academic debate and renewed economic development in some of the world’s most impoverished nations

Examining the perception of site workers of their risk-taking behaviours on construction sites in Ghana

Purpose: Although many health and safety (H&S) studies have widely examined safety risk perception in the construction industry, few studies have explored how this perception influences site workers' risk-taking behaviours during construction. This study aims to examine how construction site workers perceive and judge safety risks in risk-taking behaviours of site workers for intervention safety policy framework that may encourage safe work. Design/methodology/approach: The study employed Pictorial-based Q-Methodology, which documented 63 picture scenarios of risk-taking behaviours from building sites and submitted them for validation from H&S inspectors. In total, 33 pictures emerged as having great potential to cause harm. After using these 33 pictures to elicit data from randomised site workers, the study used Frequency Tabulation, Relative Importance Index (RII) and Kruskal–Wallis Test to analyse the collected data. To fully explain the analysed data for deeper understanding, the study conducted Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with these site workers to share the thoughts of site workers on these pictures. Findings: Two distinctive pictures emerged from these analyses: one showing risk-taking behaviour likely to contract internal and skin disease and the other likely to fall from height. One of the implications is that construction site workers are unfamiliar with the dangerous contaminants in the materials the site workers use to work, which can potentially harm the site workers' skin and internal organs. Hence, site workers continue engaging in risk-taking behaviours. The other is that site workers are aware of and can mention catastrophic physical injuries attached to site workers' jobs. However, site workers continue engaging in risk-taking behaviours because of site workers' safety plights and rely on the favour and mercies of a supreme being as coping strategies to escape from these physical injuries. Originality/value: This study is original in that the study uses picture scenarios of risk-taking behaviours to amass an empirical-based understanding of how site workers perceive and respond to H&S risks during construction. This piece of evidence is missing in the numerous research studies in this area. Again, the findings contribute to the state-of-the-art literature regarding risk-taking behaviours on construction sites

Trade credit and supply chain delivery in the Ghanaian construction industry: Analysis of vendor interactions with small to medium enterprises

Purpose: Trade credit is treated as a financial intermediation device whereby construction vendors act as financial providers to their customers through deferred payments of goods purchased. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and report upon the key factors and motives influencing vendors' decision on trade credit provision to small to medium sized construction firms. Design/methodology/approach: Adopting deductive methodological approach, this paper utilises a combination of primary data emanating from structured survey questionnaires supplemented by secondary source of data from an extensive literature review, to present insightful commentary about trade credit provision in Ghana. The structured survey questionnaire was administered to 100 construction vendor firms/suppliers to elicit relevant data about their trade credit intentions. Drawing upon the principles of a total design method (TDM) of survey, a relatively high response rate of 57 percent was achieved. Principal component (factor) analysis was adopted to obtain simplification of variables and to detect underlying dimensions and reveal potential complex structures within decision variables. Findings: The underlying constructs and motives of vendors on trade credit were intricately interwoven in two principal factors: risk distribution and liquidity; and sustaining business relationship and liquidity. Despite the uncharacteristic manifestation of the liquidity measure being associated with the two principal components, the findings demonstrate the relative importance of liquidity in the trade credit debate. A critical observation stemming from the analysis was that trade policy was absent within the trade credit market in Ghana; this poses a potential threat to trade credit exchange and its development. Originality/value: The paper's methodological approach is uniquely positioned between the conceptual and empirical interface and the overarching research is pioneering within the developing world nation of Ghana. The paper's findings will be useful to contractors, particularly, small and medium size contractors who are considering feasible finance options; and vendors who seek to consolidate their clientele base. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Awareness and Application of Green Building Concepts by Construction Industry Stakeholders of Sub-Saharan African Countries

The notoriety of the construction industry regarding its impacts on the environment has brought to limelight the need for green buildings (GB). GB practices have become topical as the best vehicle for addressing these negative impacts by reducing CO2 emissions, minimising water and energy consumption amongst other benefits. Ignorance of the implementation of green building concepts (GBCs) in developing countries like Ghana accounts for a very slow pace of uptake as opposed to the developed country counterparts. This paper investigates the awareness and application of GBCs among Ghana Construction Industry (GCI) stakeholders. The data for the study was elicited via questionnaire survey of 292 stakeholders. The results indicate 88.4% of the respondents have previous knowledge of GBC with 69.2% of them indicating GB is environmentally friendly. The study revealed GCI stakeholders’ awareness of GBC is high with energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality recording the highest awareness rates of 97.6% and 93.8% respectively. The extent of application of GBCs in Ghana is moderate with energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality highest with relative importance indices of 0.680 and 0.660 respectively. It found the One Airport Square building, Accra is the most popular GB in Ghana. The internet is the most effective medium of disseminating and creating awareness of GB. The findings of this study is useful for stakeholders desirous to improving the momentum of GB uptake in the GCI. This study adds to the body of knowledge as the first study on GB in Ghana context involving all major stakeholders

Networking for knowledge capacity building of procurement professionals in Ghana

The role of public procurement professionals in achieving value for money in public procurement activities is widely acknowledged around the globe. This has inspired the organisation of training programmes and workshops for procurement professionals, particularly those in developing countries in order to hone their knowledge and skills for proper management of government projects. This paper sought to explore the opportunities in networking for knowledge capacity building of procurement professionals in Ghana. The study adopted quantitative research methods for both data collection and analysis. The paper revealed that professional networking can offer procurement professionals the opportunity to acquire new knowledge from external professionals, know global trends about procurement practice, and obtain new information from other institutions about procurement. It is recommended that a platform that can support a network of procurement professionals in Ghana should be developed in order to ensure effective interaction and communication among procurement professionals for their capacity building