Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on indigenous contractors in a developing economy with a view to enhancing their performance. Design/methodology/approach The study used a purposive sampling technique to select 37 indigenous contractors with ongoing construction contracts in Osun State, Nigeria who provided data for the study. A structured interview protocol was used to elicit the required information from the interviewees and frequency, percentage and content analysis were used for data analysis. Findings The results showed that the critical impact of COVID-19 on indigenous contractors in a developing economy is: time overrun, loss of profit and creation of dispute. Further results showed that other impacts are a disruption in supply of labour, locally sourced materials are with additional cost, the additional cost of implementing COVID-19 protocols, difficulty in sourcing imported materials and absence of new jobs with the corresponding retrenchment of workers. Practical implications The study recommended special palliatives for the indigenous contractors from the government so as to cushion the impact of the pandemic on them, thereby enhance their survival and performance. A special arbitration panel is set up in each state of the federation to look at disputes arising from the aftermath of the pandemic, this is with a view to adequately compensate indigenous contractors with genuine and properly compiled claims. inferring from the findings of the study, it suffices to say that the severity of the impact of the pandemic is very high on indigenous contractors in developing economies, as such a better preparedness strategy could lessen the impact of such pandemic in the future. Originality/value The study is an attempt to unearth the impact of COVID-19 on indigenous contractors with ongoing construction contracts in a developing economy. The study will be of value to construction stakeholders in providing the information needed to devise strategies to minimise the impact of a pandemic on indigenous contractors in future projects thereby enhance their performance.

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PurposeThe study assessed the stakeholders prioritization of key performance indicators (KPIs) on public and private tertiary educational projects in Osun State, Nigeria intending to enhance their performance.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a total enumeration survey to purposively select built environment professionals working in the Physical Planning and Development Unit (PPDU) and procurement units of 17 tertiary educational institutions (7public and 10 private) in Osun State Nigeria for data collection. A quantitative research approach was adopted for the study using a questionnaire. A total of 102 questionnaires were retrieved from the respondents and used for analysis. Analysis of data was done using frequency, percentile, mean score (MS), Cronbach's Alpha coefficient, t-test, and Analysis of variance (ANOVA).FindingsThe study found that in the overall opinion of the respondents the most prioritized KPIs for tertiary educational projects are for the project to meet specifications (MS = 4.17), the project must be on time (MS = 4.01), and efficient use of resources (MS = 3.96). The important KPIs for the public tertiary educational projects is that the project should meet specifications (MS = 4.08), deliver the projects on time (MS = 3.96), and be under cost (MS = 3.84). While, the most prioritized KPIs for private tertiary educational projects are for the project to meet specifications (MS = 4.25), efficient use of resources (MS = 4.14), on time, and doing the right thing (effectiveness) (MS = 4.06) each. More findings indicated that there is no significant difference in the manner built environment professionals prioritized KPIs. However, there is only a 7% significant difference in the manner professionals working in the public and private tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria ranked KPIs.Practical implicationsThere is a significant difference in the ways and manner built environment professionals working with the public and private tertiary educational institutions in Nigeria view resource utilization on their projects. As such, working environment either as public or private has a significant impact on resource utilization for tertiary educational construction projects.Originality/valueThe study compared opinions of professionals working with public and private tertiary educational institutions on KPIs to enhance project performance.