A Second Look: Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Some Issues in Design-Bid-Build Procurement Practice in Nigeria

Abstract

The construction product is an outcome of many procurement possibilities, among which the most dominant has been the design-bid-build (otherwise called the traditional) method. The procurement method’s real or perceived drawbacks have warranted or even been rationalized for the emergence of alternative methods. Yet there is a continued use of the method in both private and public sector projects in Nigeria. This study thus sought to investigate stakeholders’ perception on the use of the traditional method. 241 questionnaires were administered purposively on construction industry client, consulting and contracting organizations. 100 were received and analyzed through the use of descriptive and inferential statistical tools. Respondents were requested to express their agreement or otherwise with twenty issues raised from literature and practice on the traditional project procurement. The aggregated rankings for the stakeholder organizations show that ‘where sought at all, inputs of contractors are at best advisory’ ranked first among issues being assessed on traditional project procurement practice. ‘Relationships among participants breed mistrust’ ranked least among the twenty issues. The results of the analysis further indicate that there are no significant differences between the three stakeholder groups on some selected issues in traditional project procurement practice and documentation. It is recommended that the homogeneity of perceptions about the traditional method can be a springboard and form a baseline for further intervention efforts at improving construction project procurement in Nigeria.