Factors Affecting Performances of Small Projects in Small Island States – Stakeholders’ Perceptions

Abstract

Numerous are the studies that investigate the performances of big construction projects. However, in this particular investigation, the emphasis is on small construction projects. The intent was to capture the perceptions of the major stakeholders, that is the clients, contractors and consultants on the factors that could affect the performances of such small projects, which have limited budget, are of short duration and to further complex the situation, the projects are executed in small island states, such as the Republic of Mauritius. After an extensive literature search, a list of 61 performance indicators was made, which was further grouped into 10 main clusters, namely (i) cost; (ii) time; (iii) quality; (iv) productivity; (v) owner; (vi) regulator; (vii) employee; (viii) health and safety; (ix) learning; and (x) environment. A performance success survey was devised, tested and refined before circulating to the major stakeholders (response rate; client – 89%; contractors – 68.5% and consultants – 56%). With Kendall’s coefficient of concordance W = 0.954 being greater than 0.5, the degree of agreement amongst stakeholders was found to be statistically significant. Hence the major 5 factors that impeded on the performances of smaller construction projects being executed in small island countries were found to be due to (i) poor leadership skills; (ii) absence of skilled force; (iii) inadequate liquidity within the company; (iv) escalation of material prices and (v) unavailability of resources.