Critical Barriers to Social Responsibility Implementation within Mega-Construction Projects: The Case of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Ali Alotaibi,Andrew D.F. Price,Francis Edum-Fotwe

doi:10.3390/su11061755

Abstract

Even though social responsibility (SR) has been widely discussed as a business concept, it is still not being effectively implemented within mega-construction projects due to a range of barriers. Overcoming these barriers requires detailed information, however, there is a lack of research on the barriers to SR implementation within mega-construction projects, particularly in developing countries like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study thus aims to investigate the critical barriers to SR implementation with reference to mega-construction projects in the KSA. Eleven barriers were identified from a comprehensive literature review and interviews with experts. These barriers were examined in more detail using a questionnaire survey on two current mega-construction projects in the KSA. There were no differences in the ranking of barriers between the two projects with the 136 respondents identifying the top seven SR barriers as being: (i) additional costs; (ii) lack of awareness and knowledge; (iii) lack of guidelines and coherent strategy; (iv) lack of stakeholder communication; (v) lack of law enforcement; (vi) lack of training; and (vii) unclear project requirements. The findings of this study not only contribute to deeper understanding of the critical SR implementation barriers, but could also encourage industry practitioners and stakeholders to improve SR activities for more effective SR implementation. Moreover, identification and ranking of the critical barriers allows decision-makers to prioritize and develop effective strategies to tackle them at both project and sector scale. Future studies should investigate the interrelationship between the critical barriers and their impact on SR implementation

Highlights

The construction industry is often publicly viewed as being irresponsible because of its adverse social and environmental impacts which suggests that the industry is lagging behind other industries with regards to social responsibility (SR) implementation [1,2] mainly due to the fragmented and diverse nature of the industry [3]
This is argued by Murray and Dainty [4], who stated that the construction industry has many reasons to implement SR practices as it is being watched and monitored by governments, environmentalists and the media
This study established the relative importance of eleven barriers to SR implementation on two mega-construction projects

Summary

Introduction

The construction industry is often publicly viewed as being irresponsible because of its adverse social and environmental impacts which suggests that the industry is lagging behind other industries with regards to social responsibility (SR) implementation [1,2] mainly due to the fragmented and diverse nature of the industry [3]. Construction organizations and their projects face the critical challenge of understanding the strategic importance of SR and benefits associated with its implementation at both organizational and project levels. High-risk activities, such as construction, justifies detailed investigation as to how SR knowledge and awareness influence SR practices [4,14]

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion