Abstract Construction project management (CPM) is a technical-oriented service for construction project clients. Evaluating the performance of service providers is beneficial both to purchasers, enabling them to appraise the services received, and to providers, helping them to improve their services. However, no appraisal system for such services exists. This study developed a novel customer satisfaction evaluation model for CPM services that was developed using a questionnaire-based survey and statistical analysis. Test results show that the developed model is a feasible system. Research using this model reveals that CPM services in Taiwan are satisfactory with acceptable performance for clients. The developed model is a good reference for evaluating and assessing CPM performance. 

Jyh-Bin Yang

Sheng-Chi Peng

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Building and Environment 43 (2008) 458–468
Development of a customer satisfaction evaluation model for
construction project management
Jyh-Bin Yang, Sheng-Chi Peng
Institute of Construction Management, Chung Hua University, No. 707, Sec. 2, Wu-Fu Rd., Hsinchu 300, Taiwan
Received 11 May 2006; accepted 20 July 2006
Abstract
Construction project management (CPM) is a technical-oriented service for construction project clients. Evaluating the performance of
service providers is beneficial both to purchasers, enabling them to appraise the services received, and to providers, helping them to
improve their services. However, no appraisal system for such services exists. This study developed a novel customer satisfaction
evaluation model for CPM services that was developed using a questionnaire-based survey and statistical analysis. Test results show that
the developed model is a feasible system. Research using this model reveals that CPM services in Taiwan are satisfactory with acceptable
performance for clients. The developed model is a good reference for evaluating and assessing CPM performance.
r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Construction management; Project management; Professional services; Performance evaluation; Surveys
1. Introduction
With the ISO 9000 standard gaining popularity world-
wide, total quality management (TQM) has become a
strategic and survival approach for most firms in every
industry. TQM is a complete management philosophy that
emphasizes overall satisfaction through the continuous
improvements to products and processes. Notably, TQM is
concerned with customer satisfaction and is not merely a
slogan [1]. Since 1988, TQM has been codified in a national
award (the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award) in
the United States, ‘‘customer satisfaction,’’ once the most
criteria in TQM evaluation, has been transformed into
‘‘customer relationships and satisfaction’’ in the category
of customer and market focus [2]. Obviously, customer
satisfaction is a key factor in achieving quality improve-
ment. The construction industry has many characteristics
common to manufacturing and service industries. In the
construction industry, customer satisfaction demands on
contractor’s performance are in accordance with contrac-
tual duties, obligations and responsibilities. Total customer
satisfaction has never been a goal for designers, construc-
tion managers, subcontractors and material suppliers [3]. It
is hard to achieve higher satisfaction level by any single
project participant. However, there is no doubt that
making customer (client) as satisfied as possible is an
essential task for any firm in the construction industry
regardless of the construction-related products or services
they provide.
The application of professional construction manage-
ment (PCM) has increased rapidly since it was first
introduction and promoted in the early 1960s [4–7]. In a
narrow sense, PCM forms a three-party team, including the
owner, the architect/engineer (A/E) and the project
manager, to accomplish the owner’s authorized tasks [5].
On the contrary, from a broad perspective, PCM is an
effective means of satisfying an owner’s construction needs
[4]. Functional PCM tasks consist of the following phases
of construction projects: conceptual planning; conceptual
design; detailed design; construction; closeout; and, start-
up. PCM is now regarded as a professional team for
serving all owner needs in a construction project.
In Taiwan, the Government Procurement Law (GPL),
promulgated on May 27, 1998, allows several innovative
concepts and regulations, including the PCM (the official
ARTICLE IN PRESS
www.elsevier.com/locate/buildenv
0360-1323/$ - see front matter r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2006.07.044
Corresponding author. Tel.: +886 3 5186684; fax: +886 3 5370517.
E-mail address: jyhbin@chu.edu.tw (J.-B. Yang).
term in GPL is project management, therefore, construc-
tion project management (CPM) is used hereinafter
replacing the PCM term) approach and the most advanta-
geous tendering approach [8] for construction projects and
procurement entities. As stated in Article 39 of GPL—‘‘In
conducting a procurement, an entity may entrust a supplier,
according to this Act, with the project management related to
planning, design, supply, or contract performance’’, a
construction project can have a CPM contract to serve
the consultative and administrative needs [9]. After the
GPL of Taiwan went into effect, the number of construc-
tion projects with CPM contracts issued has been increas-
ing (see Fig. 1). With CPM stepping into its flourishing
phase in Taiwan, it is necessary to appraise the perfor-
mance of CPM services. This study focuses on developing a
customer satisfaction evaluation model for evaluating
CPM services and examines its applicability in Taiwan.
2. Customer satisfaction
There has been a quite obvious increase in the emphasis
on a firm’s ability to produce high-quality products and/or
provide high-quality services. Identification of high-quality
products or services can be achieved by measuring
customer satisfaction with these products or services. The
concept of customer satisfaction transforms all industries
from production centralized to customer based. Several
evaluation models or indices exist for assessing customer
satisfaction in various industries. To achieve a highly
reliable and stable index of satisfaction, the American
Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) [10] defines the
satisfaction as a weighted average of three survey ratings:
perceived quality, perceived value, and customer expecta-
tions. The ACSI index has been used to measure the
satisfaction in the manufacturing/nondurables, manufac-
turing/durables, transportation, communications and uti-
lities, retails, finance and insurance, services, public
administration, and government. Although the ACSI index
has an accepted satisfaction evaluation methodology, it is
not designed for the construction industry. Generally, the
evaluation result for customer satisfaction is highest for
competitive products, lower for competitive services and
retailers, and lowest for government and public agencies
[11]. The ACSI system criteria cannot be adapted to the
construction industry, a new evaluation model must be
developed not only for the construction industry, but also
for CPM services.
3. Related research
Construction projects involve numerous stakeholders
that are closely related and interacted during a given
project. The level of a stakeholder satisfaction directly
influences the current project and subsequent projects and
the level of satisfaction experienced by other stakeholders.
For contractors, completing a project in accordance with
the plans and specifications within budget and on time
satisfies owner needs and generates profit. Ahmed and
Kangari [12] used six client-satisfaction factors, including
time, cost, quality, client orientation, communication skills
and response to complaints, to conduct a survey for
analyzing the client-satisfaction factors in the construction
industry. They concluded that these six factors are equally
important when evaluating client satisfaction. Maloney
argued that the physical product and service delivery must
be considered when assessing customer satisfaction in the
construction industry. For electrical construction projects,
Maloney proposed a dual-influence model using five
dimensions—contractor/customer relationship, project
management, safety, prepared/skilled workforce and
cost—to evaluate customer satisfaction and for contractor
selection decisions [13]. Furthermore, Maloney claimed
that labor-management activities at levels of contractor–
workforce, contractor–local union and contractor associa-
tion–local union influence customer satisfaction [14].
Contractors need to establish partnerships with labors to
enhance customer satisfaction.
To measure home-buyer satisfaction, Torbica and Stroh
[15–17] developed a model, called HOMBSAT, with three
distinct dimensions of house design, house and services.
The indicators of house design and house are used to rate
the product quality of a transaction, whereas indicator of
services is used to rate the service quality. The HOMBSAT
can provide a total home-buyer satisfaction across three
dimensions to the home builders to track the overall
quality of their services. Moreover, Torbica and Stroh also
confirmed that a home builder can increase home-buyer
satisfaction by implementing TQM [18]. In 2002 and 2003,
J.D. Power and Associates reported that the quality of
workmanship/materials and customer services account for
50% of overall customer satisfaction among buyers of
new homes, and the levels of customer satisfaction
increased significantly in the highly competitive home-
builder industry [19]. Liu, who surveyed residential
satisfaction of housing estates in Hong Kong, utilized
questionnaires comprising nine categories with a total of 51
questions [20]. That study developed a well-structured
post-occupancy evaluation method for measuring customer
satisfaction.
ARTICLE IN PRESS
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CPM D/B or Turnkey BOT
Fig. 1. Trend of new project delivery methods in Taiwan.
J.-B. Yang, S.-C. Peng / Building and Environment 43 (2008) 458–468 459



Development of a customer satisfaction evaluation model for construction project management

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