Evaluating the adoption of project management tools and techniques in private construction companies in Nigeria

Abstract

This research investigates the factors that influence the adoption of Project Management Tools and Techniques (PMTT) in the Nigerian private construction industry. To date, the private construction industry in Nigeria has experienced delays in project delivery, budget overrun, low quality, and project failures in most of its projects as a result of inadequate use of project management tools and techniques. These issues have been a major concern to the stakeholders and clients, considering the huge investments made in the construction projects and the impact they make on the growth of the economy. Several authors have focused on project management practice in public construction organisations with less focus on private construction companies. This research, therefore, seeks to address this gap by deploying the Nigerian private construction industry’s perspective to investigate the factors influencing PMTT practice. This research was conducted using qualitative research methods and data were collected through structured interviews. This research adopted the generic purposive sampling strategy because it was best suitable for the context of this research. In order to meet the objectives, set for the research, a pilot study was conducted using a semi-structured interview with eighteen participants in five geopolitical zones of Nigeria, excluding the North-East zone due to security issues, followed by the main study with forty-three participants. Case studies of two companies were further carried out for the purpose of triangulation, validating the data from both the pilot study and the main study. The data collected from the studies were analysed using thematic analysis to identify the different themes and sub-themes in the research. Based on the research findings and institutional theory, a conceptual framework for investigating the factors influencing the adoption of PMTT was developed for private construction companies in Nigeria in order to improve their practice. This conceptual framework presents the theory underpinning this study, key factors influencing the adoption of PMTT and the ‘Needs Factors’. Also, this study’s conceptual framework was validated.