Impact of External Risks on International Construction Projects Success: Evidence from Commonwealth Caribbean Islands

Abstract

Since risks on international construction show region to region variation, the present study investigates the impact of external risks on international construction project (ICP) success and the relationships between them, from the perspective of construction professionals working in the Commonwealth Caribbean Islands (CCI) states. After a literature review, a survey questionnaire was designed with the input of a small group of experts. An instrument was tested and then sent to the construction professionals working in the CCI. Seventy valid surveys collected were processed using the structural equation model (SEM). The results suggest that the reason why CCI is an attractive region for construction enterprises looking into developing countries is because they do not support a direct impact of external risks on the project success, contrary to the findings in other studies on developing regions. The SEM confirmed that global risks influence economic risks, while economic risks influence legal risks and, in this region, influence the social risks. Results obtained help to address the knowledge gap for the ICP risks for the Caribbean region. The study will help the firms and the professionals looking to venture into the CCI or other regions with similar characteristics to create their risk management plan.