Identifying critical business competences contributing to the sustainability and success of contractors in the construction industry

Abstract

The construction industry in South Africa is very competitive, and companies are finding it ever more challenging to make large enough profits to reinvest in their companies and sustain growth over a long period of time. The industry is also being plagued by the lack of skills in the country. Current construction projects are becoming more of a project and people management effort, due to the shortage of skills. The literature study carried out searched for success factors that contribute to construction companies being successful and sustainable. There are various other factors that make it a challenging industry, which were also explored through the literature study, in order to determine what the industry's perception and experiences were in terms of being able to grow and maintain a sustainable company in the construction industry. An empirical study was carried out to test the literature and to see what the participants' experiences were vs. what has previously been tested in the literature. The study was carried out through a newly designed semi-structured interview that was conducted with the participants. The study was qualitative and a sample of only 15 participants was willing to participate. However, 67% of the participants had more than 16 years' experience in the construction industry, which made the study invaluable despite the small sample. The interviews were analysed and word counts, correlations and mean scores were calculated to draw conclusions from the interviews. The results were discussed and analyses were done on each of the success factors. The interviews revealed real experiences and yielded answers beyond the depth of a questionnaire alone. Conclusions were drawn and further suggestions to the study were proposed to explore similar topics from a different angle. The primary and secondary objectives were tested and evaluated with the conclusion that the objectives were achieved through the study