Medium-sized Contractors Research Articles

Critical success factors framework for enhancing the sustainability of small and medium-sized contractors in Namibia

Critical success factors framework for enhancing the sustainability of small and medium-sized contractors in Namibia

Evaluation of the challenges facing small and medium-scale building contractors in Nigeria

In this study, the challenges associated with the operations of small and mediumscale building contractors in Nigeria were considered. Globally, the construction industry is faced with several notable challenges in terms of technological advancement, development of operational processes and mechanisms, and keeping up to date with the prevailing business trends. The main objective of this study is to examine the problems that are facing small and medium-scale building contractors in Nigeria. The study employed a questionnaire survey as a data collection instrument. A total of 317 closed-ended questionnaires were administered to small and medium-sized contractors in Akure Nigeria. However, only one hundred and seventy-two (172) returned questionnaires were found valid for analysis. The data was analyzed using the simple descriptive statistical method of percentage and weighted mean score (WMS). Findings revealed that inadequate startup capital for contractors was the major problem facing small and medium-scale building contractors in the study area given its highest mean score of 4.0697. In light of the above, the study recommends that the government being the major player in the building industry should endeavour to initiate, create, and implement policies such as grants and aids for small and medium-sized contractors to enable them to remain in business no matter the state of the economy. It is concluded that the ineffectiveness of the small and medium-sized contractors in the study area is influenced by the un-availability of startup capital, lack of political will in implementing policies that assist small and medium-sized contractors, delayed payment, high-interest rates on loan facilities, and difficulty in getting guarantors for the loan facility.

Critical Factors Influencing the Bid/no-Bid Decisions of Small and Medium-Sized Contractors in Sri Lanka

ABSTRACT The significance of the factors influencing bid/no-bid decisions varies significantly depending on the organization’s size and geographical region. The present study examined the critical factors influencing the bid/no-bid decisions of small and medium-sized contractors in Sri Lanka. Primary data were collected from 160 small and 118 medium-sized contractors in Sri Lanka through a questionnaire survey. The respondents were requested to rate the relative importance of 43 factors, and consequently, critical factors were identified. In-depth interviews with six industry experts were conducted to obtain a deeper understanding of the critical factors. Small-sized contractors perceived project size, availability of capital, timeliness of client in the payments process, current workload, and general overhead as the five most critical factors in the bid reasoning process. In contrast, medium-sized contractors deemed project size, current workload, type of project, availability of qualified staff, and duration of project vital in their bid/no-bid decision reasoning process. This study’s findings bridge the literature gap by prioritizing the factors most relevant to small and medium-sized contractors’ bid/no-bid decisions in South Asia. The study further qualitatively assessed the critical factors and added insight into the governing mechanisms behind the critical factors, an area often neglected in the literature.

Construction SMEs labour productivity: causal layered analysis

Purpose Small and medium-sized contractors are critical to micro and macroeconomic performance. These contractors in South Africa have long been confronted with the problem of business failure because of a plethora of factors, including poor productivity. The purpose of this study is to investigate salient issues undermining the productivity of small and medium-sized contractors in South Africa. This study proposes alternative possibilities to engender productivity improvement. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 contractors in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The research data were analysed using content and causal layered analyses. Findings Challenges to contractors’ productivity were associated with inadequately skilled workers, management competence and political factors. Skills development, construction business and political factors were dominant stakeholders’ perceptions. Metaphors for construction labour productivity are presented and reconstructed as alternative directions for productivity improvement. Practical implications Contractors lose a substantial amount of South African Rand to poor productivity. Alternative directions provided in this study can be leveraged to increase profitability in construction organizations, enhance the social well-being of South Africans and ultimately improve the contribution of contractors to the South African economy. Originality/value The causal layered analysis (CLA) applied in this study is novel to construction labour productivity research. The four connected layers of CLA, which make a greater depth of inquiry possible, were explored to investigate labour productivity in construction organizations.

Analysis of Hazards on Building Construction Sites: A Survey of Construction Artisans in Small and Medium-sized Construction Firms in Ghana

Eliminating hazards on construction sites has been a challenge for small and medium-sized contractors. This has contributed to the high rate of incidents that have resulted in injuries, emotional stress, and even fatalities among construction artisans. To avoid these incidences on construction sites, hazards need to be easily identified by these workers. This study sought to analyse hazards that artisans in small and medium-sized construction firms in Ghana are exposed to during project delivery. A cross-sectional design was adopted in this study. In total, one hundred and twenty (120) construction artisans were involved in the study. Data analysis revealed that several hazards exist on construction sites, and experienced workers are more likely to identify hazardous situations on construction sites than inexperienced workers. The study categorized the identified hazards on construction sites into task-induced, site-induced, and human-induced hazards. Most of the identified hazards were related to task-induced hazards. Even though contractors implement measures to eliminate hazards, most of these measures are geared towards making the working space safe rather than addressing hazards that occur during the performance of tasks. It was recommended that teamwork and collaboration among workers be encouraged to ensure safe and hazard-free sites during project execution. It was also recommended that contractors allocate resources to tackle hazards that occur during the performance of tasks and provide psychological training and counselling for their skilled workers.

An investigation of how stakeholders influence construction project performance: a small and medium sized contractor’s perspective in the Jordanian construction industry

PurposeThis research uses contingency theory and Venkatraman’s concept of moderating fit to explore how key project stakeholders (clients, consultants and suppliers) influence project performance from the perspective of small and medium contractors in the Jordanian construction industry.Design/methodology/approachAn anonymous structured survey was performed comprising 200 key informants including senior project managers, construction managers, engineers and general managers working for small- and medium-sized contractors in the Jordanian construction industry. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data.FindingsThe results of this study show that consultant-related factors (quality of documentation produced, ability to communicate and technical competencies) are perceived to have the most significant direct effect on project performance, followed by client-related factors (payment promptness, decision certainty and documentation control) and supplier-related factors (supplier performance, defects control and logistics management).Originality/valueThe results contribute new theoretical, empirical and practical insights to existing construction project performance research by highlighting the key performance factors which need to be managed for each stakeholder group to ensure effective project performance from a small- and medium-sized contractor perspective.

Factors affecting contractors’ bid or no-bid and mark-up decisions: a case of the Jilin province, China

PurposeContractors of different scales, operating in different construction industries of varying institutional and economic settings, have different considerations when making bid or no-bid and mark-up decisions. Focusing on the large and medium-sized contractors in the Jilin province, China, the purpose of this study is to examine important factors affecting their decision to bid (d2b) and mark-up decisions and investigate differences between large and medium-sized contractors in evaluating the importance of the various factors affecting their d2b and mark-up decisions.Design/methodology/approachThis study used a survey design for timely data collection from a large population. Contractors’ bidding attitudes was collected using an online survey questionnaire with a list of 40 key factors. Statistical analytical methods were applied for comparing the two groups of contractors.FindingsThe results of this study indicate that factors related to client conditions are most critical for both large and medium-sized contractors in their d2b and mark-up decisions. The results also show statistically significant differences between the two groups of contractors on a subset of factors affecting their d2b and mark-up decisions. The large contractors have placed more emphasis on projects' potential financial and strategic benefits. Another notable finding is that both groups of contractors have placed great emphasise on “government legislations” in their d2b and mark-up decisions.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings should be interpreted in consideration of several limitations. Firstly, the sample size is relatively small, and the focus was on a single province in the China construction industry. Next, this study only explores differences between large and medium-sized contractors in evaluating the importance of the various factors affecting their d2b and mark-up decisions.Practical implicationsContractors could refer list of critical factors in competing for jobs in Jilin province or other provinces of similar institutional and economic settings. Construction clients, on the other hand, should consider the list of critical factors in the formulation of their competitive tendering procedures, thus enhancing the efficiency in their procurement of construction services.Originality/valueResearch on contractors’ bidding decision-making in the context of Chinese construction industry remains scarce; the research findings have implications for the industry stakeholders.

Technological Capabilities of Medium-Sized Contractors in Indonesia

The construction industry plays a significant role in national development and economic growth of Indonesia. Contractors are key actors in the construction industry and manage large amounts of construction resources and activities. While the demand for improving the nation's infrastructure is on the rise, the question remains whether the industry, especially contractors, will be able to fulfil this demand. This study investigates whether contractors include technological capabilities as an important part of their company strategies for addressing the dynamics of the construction industry. In particular, it aims to understand how contractors develop and improve their technological capabilities through a technological learning process (exploration, acquisition and internalisation). The investigation focuses on medium-sized contractors, who often play an important role as part of the supply chain for larger contractors. A model is developed to represent the dynamic interactions between key factors that influence the way contractors select and use technology to enhance their performance. Data were collected through a survey and were then used to map the contractors' development of technological capabilities. The study reveals that medium-sized contractors have yet to consider the development of technological capabilities as strategic. The results are expected to benefit the regulator and construction companies in Indonesia in their efforts to improve the performance of the country's construction industry.

BIM feasibility for small and medium-sized contractors and subcontractors

BIM adoption for SMEs is an imperative topic. It is assumed that construction contractors and subcontractors play a great part in adopting or neglecting an innovative technology due to different factors. We believe this reluctance attribute would be a common factor between these two groups of construction actors and it would further be an indication of sort of behavior these groups have in common. This study intends to make a major contribution to the body of knowledge by investigating BIM feasibility for SMEs. The research method consists of application of a structured online questionnaire distributed Online, out of which 70 responses from the industry were collected and analyzed. Inferential statistics, and hypothesis testing were applied to check the associations among categorical variables via Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test and Mann-Whitney U Test. The factors between contractors and subcontractors in terms of organizational, technological, economic, and social attributes were compared. Further, contractors were grouped in terms of BIM and software usage, firm size, and partnership by Cluster Analysis. The results show the rankings for contractors were different from the rankings for subcontractors with respect to technological feasibility and the rankings of contractors were all higher than those of subcontractors when partnership was introduced as a differentiating variable.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF GREEN-BUILDING ADOPTION AMONG CONSTRUCTION COMPANIES IN SAUDI ARABIA: THE EFFECT OF PROACTIVE ENTREPRENEURIAL BEHAVIOR, GREEN PRODUCT INNOVATION, AND GOVERNMENT SUPPORT

Saudi Arabia is facing the rising of the global population and high resource use. The country needs to inculcate the adoption of sustainable practices, i.e. green building practices. However, adopting green building practices for a sustainable future requires fundamental changes in the way contractors build houses. This paper endeavours to conceptualize the elements that contribute to the adoption of green building among the contraction companies in Riyadh. Literature reviews and government document reviews are used for the conceptualization of the framework. Based on the resource-based view theory, the factors are conceptualized with small and medium-sized enterprise contractors as the subject of focus. This paper proposes that green builders or the construction companies’ internal resources, i.e. proactive entrepreneurial behaviour, are hypothesized to influence green building adoption. However, risk-taking and green product innovation are proposed to mediate the relationships. These factors are moderated by Saudi Arabian government support, financial and non-financial. By addressing these factors regarding green building practices, Saudi Arabia would be able to achieve sustainable development in the housing of its citizens.

Technology Assessment in Indonesian Construction Industry

In the last decades the Indonesian construction sector has experienced significant shift in both the size and complexity. The ever-growing size and complexity of construction and infrastructure works often required the employment of non-traditional construction methods and technology. Responding to such needs, however, there remain questions on whether the construction industry is able to respond to such challenges. This paper is to put forward the concept for assessing the technological capability of the Indonesian construction industry. Particularly, it aims to describe how the construction companies evolve in their technological management capability. The assessment will encompass three aspects: technological capacity, development of technology capability and acquisition and adoption of technology. A technology management assessment concept was proposed to determine key factors that influence the way construction companies select and utilize technology to enhancement their performance. Although they appear to agree on general path for technology capability development, large contractors seem to be more prepared in formulating the strategies for the utilization and development of technology in the company’s strategic plans than those of medium-sized contractors.

Should medium-sized contractors still implement home-made information technologies on construction sites?

Despite the increasing dissemination of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) approach, many firms are still far from BIM and are only starting to adopt information technologies. We conducted an ethnographic action research with an industrial partner that implements information technologies on its construction sites, with a strong preference for home-made applications. Results show that the development of such applications faces difficulties and that multiple iterations and versions are necessary before achieving the expected goals because the required competencies are lacking among internal development teams. Moreover, initial needs evolve considerably throughout the application’s development and evaluation process. However, notwithstanding the difficulties encountered during the different application development phases, the industrial partner believes the decision to be worthwhile because of the desire to have internal control over the project data and the need to consider certain specificities related to business processes.

Methodological Study to Classification of Damage State Immediately Subsequent to the Banjarnegara Indonesia Earthquake On 2018

This paper presents a preliminary methodological study of a seismic risk assessment in a residential area to classification of damage state immediately subsequent after earthquake happen. This paper compared with difference research of a seismic risk assessment in the same area, i.e. Kertosari, Banjarnegara Indonesia. This methodological study to identified compatibility of the building vulnerability assessment with Naïve Bayes Classifier (NBC) method for determine the probability of damage that has 5 different damage statuses (slight, moderate, extensive, complete and none), where the criteria damage states in vulnerable building has additional damage parameters based on the latest building damage regulations issued in 2013, which have totally 104 data difference criteria. The results from determine the probability of damage processing using the NBC methodology in Kertosari Banjarnegara that most type of damage states is extensive damage. There is a difference with 2018 research data, where the most damage state is the moderate damage, and there is also a difference with the Banjarnegara Municipal Disaster Management Authority (BPBD Banjarnegara) data, which has the most damage state is the complete damage. The difference is caused by the criteria in determining the damage conditions are still too general and the uncertainty value is high. Therefore, it is necessary to improve and detailed the building type model and damaged condition criteria for Indonesian buildings, based on the assessment and suggestion of experts who have good and long experience in earthquake risk management and understand the state of damage to Indonesian building regulations, such as: (1) researchers/scientists; (2) small and medium-sized contractors; (3) construction supervisors; (4) government officials; (5) business leaders; (6) academics/educators; (7) non-governmental organizations, in order to obtain an assessment of damage to residential houses quickly and accurately.

The Masonry Block Industry in Akwa Ibom State: Challenges and Prospects of Entrepreneurial Development

The study investigates the challenges and prospects of entrepreneurial development of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs). The focus is on the masonry block industry in Akwa Ibom State. Data used for the analyses were collected through 139 returned and valid structured questionnaires, administered on the respondents including, owners/managers of masonry block industry, small and medium size contractors. Data collected was analysed using percentage, mean item score and Kruskal Wallis Rank test. The results reveal a high level of patronage and prospect for entrepreneurship growth of SMEs masonry block industry. The further reveal ready availability of products, time/energy savings, material efficiency, quality control, and employment opportunities among the major prospective advantages of SMEs masonry block industry. Major challenges confronting entrepreneurial growth and development of SMEs masonry block industry in the study area include inadequate funding, high cost of production, inflation, unstable patronage, and poor managerial skill. The study recommends that government should provide an enabling business environment and infrastructures through its Support Initiatives and Policies for masonry block industry to thrive in addition to the provision of business enabling infrastructure in ensuring increased productivity, reduction in production cost and profit optimization. Keywords: Economic Growth, Employment, Developing Nation, Entrepreneurship, SMEs. DOI : 10.7176/CER/11-10-04 Publication date: November 30 th 2019

A strategy of survival during Nigeria’s economic downturn

Purpose This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings This research paper concentrates on the reasons why the labor-only procurement of construction services is being commonly used in Nigeria. Adopting a survival strategy for hard economic times of accepting labor-only work benefits small- and medium-sized contractors by providing quick sources of cash flow and by allowing them to build more client relationships, while small private clients benefit from cost savings and from controlling material quality. Originality/value The briefing saves busy executives, strategists, and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

Automation of Measuring Actual Productivity of Earthwork in Urban Area, a Case Study from Montreal

The construction of a new facility in an urban area, such as a downtown area, involves considerable earthwork excavation most of the time. Measuring the actual productivity of earthwork operations that involve heavy machinery can be a complex task for project managers. The complexity contributes to the impact of the many factors involved, the required accuracy, and the uncertainties associated with such operations. Traditionally, measuring actual productivity is carried out manually by measuring the actual quantities of the excavated earth. Measuring actual productivity manually is time-consuming and not necessarily accurate. The paper presents a case study project in Montreal to investigate the application of a developed methodology that is affordable for small to medium size contractors. It integrates the GPS and fuzzy set theory as an alternate effective methodology for measuring actual onsite productivity during the construction stage in an urban area. The developed methodology combines GPS data that are collected in near real time, fuzzy set theory (FST), and Google Earth. FST is used to define the variability and uncertainty which exists in the duration of the main activities of the earthwork (loading, traveling, dumping, and returning). Google Earth is used for graphical presentation and to store the collected GPS data of the moving hauling units. The productivity estimated by the developed methodology was compared with that provided by a simulation-based model, in which the collected GPS data are used to define the duration of earthmoving moving operations, and with that measured manually by contractor. The developed methodology proves that the utilization of GPS data and FST can yield a more accurate estimation of onsite actual productivity compared to that provided by simulation-based approaches, but in much a simpler way regarding the computation effort and time.

CONCEPTUAL BUSINESS MODELS OF STRATEGIC LOGISTIC SERVICES FOR SMALL-SIZED CONTRACTORS

The new Indonesian Construction Service Act has explicitly introduced the importance of supply chains for construction project delivery and sustainable supports of small-sized contractors to the Indonesian construction industry's efficiency. Most of the construction cost comes from the material cost to be delivered to the project site that needs proper logistic management. For large and medium-sized contractors, their capacities and projects values enable them to access closer tier of the supply chains; to the producers of strategic materials with more efficient transactions. This is not the case for small-sized contractors, therefore, there should be a strategic logistic service provided for helping them. This paper presents a development of a conceptual business model of a strategic logistic service, especially the third-party logistic service, for small-sized contractors in a small coverage area of operation. Seven business models were identified with the preliminarily identified potential to be the model for the region of Greater Bandung, Indonesia. The models were derived based on the origin entity that could transform or be created as a new business or extended business. The conceptual business models will be used for further research to develop proper and feasible business models of strategic logistic services for small-size contractors in the Greater Bandung area.

Moving to e-bidding

PurposeThis study aims to examine the influences of shifting the bidding system of Thai public infrastructure projects from e-auction to e-bidding.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted with owners or senior managers with direct responsibility in deciding the mark-up of 72 small and medium-sized contractor firms. Five senior professionals were interviewed to provide insights into and to strengthen the discussion of the findings. The Wilcoxon test was applied to analyze the difference in the importance of the factors between e-auction and e-bidding.FindingsThe results revealed a shift in the importance of the factors, from those related to the financial aspects in the e-auction to the situational aspects in the e-bidding. The comparison test results also suggested that the majority of factors become significantly less important in the e-bidding system, with “identity of competitors” and “general expense of the bidding process” having the most apparent mean differences. The interview results supported by data on winning prices and estimations strongly indicated that bid collusions likely exist in the e-auction. By shifting to e-bidding, the data also show that the Thai Government can save public money in its infrastructure project development.Originality/valueThe study provides an analysis from the perspectives of contractor firms on how e-auction and e-bidding options influence bid mark-up decisions. Many studies have focused on the issues and advantages provided by the e-procurement mainly from the owner (government)’s perspective but how the change influences the contractor’s attitude has been less explored.

The influence of government targeted procurement strategies on the growth performance of construction small and medium-sized contractors (SMCs) in South Africa

This paper examines government targeted procurement (TP) strategies in South Africa and whether these strategies have an influence on the growth performance of Small and medium-sized contractors (SMCs) in the construction industry. The rationale for this study stems from reports that while TP has been widely used as an instrument to improve the position of SMCs in the South African construction industry, three out of five SMCs do not become established firms. In addition, the nature of the influence of TP strategies on the growth performance of SMCs is not known. Following a review of existing literature, the study mainly adopted a quantitative research approach. Questionnaire surveys were administered to Construction Industry Development Board (cidb) Grades 3 to 6 contractors that have executed TP projects within the last 5 years. The collected data was subjected to descriptive and inferential statistical analyses –Spearman’s rank order correlationwas used as an index of association between the study variables. The study found that tendering equity is the most frequently used TP strategy, closely followed by preferencing and mandatory subcontracting. The study also found that positive significant associations exists among preferencing and turnover; third-party management and company assets; tendering equity, turnover and number of employees; as well as accelerated rotations, turnover and number of employees. The study concluded that government intervention through targeted procurement has the potential to achieve its intended results of improving the position of historically disadvantaged SMCs in the construction industry in South Africa if selected and implemented appropriately.

Barriers and facilitators for BIM use among Swedish medium-sized contractors - \u201cWe wait until someone tells us to use it\u201d

BackgroundThe pace of diffusion of BIM (Building Information Modelling) use is considered to increase with governmental initiatives in which public clients in countries like Finland, Singapore, United Kingdom, and Sweden begin requiring BIM as a part of the project delivery. Currently, larger contractor firms use BIM to a certain extent. However, BIM use by mid-sized contractor firms (that is, firms with 50–500 employees that can successfully compete with larger contractors on projects costing a maximum of 50 million Euros) is relatively unknown. Hence, the aim of the paper is to explore current use and perceived constraints and driving forces of BIM-implementation with respect to mid-sized contractors.MethodsA mixed method approach was applied, and data was collected through an interview study and a survey involving chief executive officers or their closest sub-ordinates in mid-sized contractor firms in Sweden. The survey was based on a technology-, organization-, and environment framework that is used in information systems research to study the use of inter-organizational information systems. The total population of firms in the survey corresponded to 104. The study presented the preliminary results based on 32 answers (with a 31% response rate).ResultsFifty-eight percent of the surveyed respondents stated that they had been involved in a project in which BIM was used in some manner. The most commonly used application included visualization, which also facilitates coordination and communication. The biggest perceived constraints involved partners that did not use BIM, lack of demand from clients, and the absence of internal demand in the company. With respect to the two last obstacles, significant differences existed between users and non-users. The most common perceived driving forces included the fact that BIM is perceived as a means to follow technical development and that BIM provides competitive advantages to the company.ConclusionsIt is concluded that the main driver responsible for BIM-implementation is mainly determined by an individual’s subjective positive or negative evaluation of BIM, instead of external pressure from clients and partners or by the internal capacity and knowledge to use BIM.