An international index for customer satisfaction in the construction industry

Abstract

In a competitive business environment, like construction, achieving customer satisfaction has been identified as a key measure for the success of construction projects and an effective tool for sustaining competitive advantage. This perspective emerges from the crucial role played by customers as the core of the construction industry and a driving force for improvement. Traditionally, customers are excluded from the design and construction process and decisions are made on their behalf. Organizations which fail to take account of their customers' needs and satisfaction encounter the risk of losing their customers. In spite of the contribution of the national customer satisfaction barometers and indices that have been developed worldwide, these have their own limitations and shortcomings that hinder their adoption and application globally. Hence, this paper aims to develop an international index of customer satisfaction in the construction industry. To achieve this aim, a research methodology consisting of a literature review, case studies and a survey questionnaire was designed to accomplish four objectives. Firstly, the literature review is used to investigate the concept of customer satisfaction and identify the drivers that lead to customer satisfaction in the construction industry. Secondly, 30 case studies are collected and analysed to validate the drivers identified in literature review and add new insights. Thirdly, the identified drivers are classified into two categories based on the different phases of the project life cycle and the construction industry's contribution as product-related and/or service-related drivers. Finally, an international survey questionnaire is conducted with a sample of members of the Co-operative Network for Building Researchers (CNBR) to quantify the identified drivers and define the most important ones. The International Index for Customer Satisfaction in Construction (IICSiC), developed from this research, represents a synthesis that is novel and creative in thought and adds value to the knowledge in a manner that has not previously been found in construction literature.