Factors influencing sustainable performance in the construction industry in South Africa
Abstract
The construction industry makes a major contribution to the overall economy's sustainable development by achieving its basic development goals, including job creation, regeneration, production and income generation. However, the industry has recently been lagging behind with its performance, and not meeting the business objectives expected by its key stakeholders and customers. In order to change the situation, it is important for a healthier and more efficient construction industry to improve people's lives. Hence, this study sought to identify the main factors that influence sustainable performance in the South African construction industry. The data were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed randomly to 250 officers of the CIDB and Electricity Supply Commission (Eskom) via an online survey. 133 questionnaires were returned, giving a response rate of 53%. From 133 responses, 116 questionnaires were fully completed and 17 were incomplete. From the incomplete survey, only six could be used and this brought the total to 122 (49%) usable questionnaires to be used for data analysis. Data were analysed using the Social Sciences Statistical Package (SPSS), which included the following analysis: descriptive analysis; correlation analysis; RII; Cronbach analysis. The key factors affecting the sustainable performance of the South African construction industry were identified as "quality of service and labour, security and internal customer (customer) satisfaction, market effectiveness and competitiveness and profitability.” From the top five factors, the first four are non-financial measures concerning customer service, work quality and overall performance delivered by the business to their customers. The results of this study are important for understanding the knowledge management critical success factors in the construction industry. This knowledge may help improve industry performance and decision-making.