Supply chain management in construction: critical study of barriers to implementation

Abstract

Supply chain management (SCM) is considered to be the future of the construction industry. However, it is applied slowly because of barriers against its implementation. In addition, the potential benefits brought from construction supply chain management (CSCM) may not be achieved as expected if the barriers are not identified and removed. The barriers to the CSCM implementation seem to have not been thoroughly explored and analyzed by previous studies. This study identifies the barriers and discovers the underlying relationships among them. The results of the study showed that lack of effective leadership, lack of competence of parties in SCM, lack of understanding the supply chain concept, passive sub-contractors and suppliers, and organizational resistance to SCM were the five most significant barriers. The underlying relationships among the barriers were discovered under five factors, namely lack of knowledge and competence, lack of support and active participation from parties, confronting culture and adversarial behaviour, deficiencies in the contract system, and inherent difficulties in SCM. The findings could help practitioners to fully understand the barriers and to come up with appropriate strategies for promoting the development of the CSCM. The study contributes to the field of knowledge related to the CSCM.