A framework towards health and safety knowledge transfer from the construction industry to the community in developing countries: a case study of Ghana

Abstract

This study aims at developing a framework to transfer health and safety knowledge (H&SK) from construction companies to project host communities as their corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a developing country. This study combined quantitative and qualitative enquiries into a mixed method. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews were conducted in a case study of the Ghanaian community and a construction company. 250 contractors comprised 155 building contractors, and 95 road contractors partook in the study. One sample t-test and thematic analysis were the analytical tools employed for this study. This study found eleven enablers of knowledge transfer from construction companies to a project host community and nine enablers of diffusion of knowledge in the Ghanaian community. The study further found that H&SK is compatible with Ghanaian cultural norms and values and that Ghanaian citizens are willing to adopt and share H&SK with their neighbours. It further found that H&SK can be transferred through family ties. It is expected that the framework put forward by this study would provide construction companies with the means to carry out their CSR with little budgetary constraints. It will also help to address the challenges in CSR implementation in the industry in Ghana and countries alike and, at the same time, improve the well-being of the citizenry. The framework developed by this study is novel because this is the first time an attempt has been made to provide the construction industry with a means to carry out its CSR in Ghana and to also improve the well-being of the Ghanaian citizenry at the same time.