Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the causes and effects of delays in public sector housing projects in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach – A purposive sampling approach was used in selecting the respondents for the study. These were experts working on various state housing construction projects in Ghana. Findings – Results from the study showed that the critical factors that contribute to project delays in Ghana are; delay in payment to contractor/supplier, inflation/price fluctuation, price increases in materials, inadequate funds from sponsors/clients, variation orders and poor financial/capital market. The critical effects of delays are cost overrun, time overrun, litigation, lack of continuity by client and arbitration. Research limitations/implications – This paper is limited to causes and effects of project delays in Ghana based on data collected from only one state institution. Due to geographic constraints the researchers were unable to sample state institutions across Ghana involved in various housing projects. Practical implications – This paper has documented the critical state housing construction project delay factors in Ghana. The results will help project managers and policymakers appreciate the effects of these delays on project outcomes. Social implications – Measures aimed at reducing cost of housing projects in Ghana can translate into significant benefits to the poor and support achievement of government objective of providing affordable housing to low income citizens. Originality/value – This research focussed on the key factors and best practices that lead to the success of state housing projects within the Ghanaian context.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between environmental management practices (EMP) and competitive operational performance with respect to reduced cost, improved quality, improved flexibility and improved delivery as well as overall environmental performance, of firms, using data from a developing country. Design/methodology/approach The study employed a survey approach with responses from 164 informants from different industries and used partial least squares structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between EMP and competitive operational performance and their overall impact on the environmental performance of firms. Findings The results indicate that EMP by firms have a significant positive effect on firms’ competitive operational performance. Again, firms’ competitive operational performance has a partial positive effect on the overall environmental performance. It was also realized that the EMP initiated by a firm have a direct positive impact on the overall environmental performance of the firm. Research limitations/implications There is the need for organizations to take steps to plan and implement EMP since it is likely to enhance their competitive operational performance as well as their overall environmental performance. Practical implications The findings demonstrate the impact of EMP on competitive operational performance as well as on the overall environmental performance of firms. This is important as firms struggle with balancing investments in those practices against the perceived benefits that might be obtained from the practices. Originality/value The work provides insights and adds to the literature in the area of EMP and firm performance by providing evidence from a developing country environment. This study is among the few that have investigated the impact of EMP on firm performance in developing country environments.

Purpose Cost overrun of construction projects has been a key concern for all stakeholders of projects for many decades now. Many studies have been done in the past and continue to be done currently to understand the underlying causes of construction project cost overruns. However, the empirical evidence of the causes seem not be clear due to the silo approach in understanding the causes of construction project cost overruns. The purpose of this paper is to take the debate a step forward by providing an understanding of the causes of project cost overrun from a system’s perspective, especially from a less researched environment. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected and analysed from 131 respondents who were mainly involved in construction works in public procurement entities in Ghana. A two-staged approach was employed in collecting data from the respondents. The first stage involved an interview session with key informants in the construction industry in Ghana to ascertain the detailed causes of cost overrun of construction projects. The second stage focussed on the validation of these detailed factors by a wider stakeholder group through questionnaires. Factor analysis was employed to consolidate these detailed factors into major causes of construction project cost overruns. Findings The results show that there are primarily four major causes of most public sector construction projects cost overruns. These four major causes of cost overruns are poor contract planning and supervision; change orders; weak institutional and economic environment of projects and lack of effective coordination among the contracting parties. Originality/value The study provides more insights as to the critical and major factors that underpin public sector construction projects cost overruns and more importantly provides a basis for common treatment of the multiple risk factors engendering public sector construction projects cost overruns.

Collaborative practices between firms and their suppliers are becoming increasing important in the light of short product life cycles, intense global competition, the need for sustainability, and the ever-increasing demands of customers. Although supplier relationship management (SRM) and its purported benefits have been widely studied in the literature, most of the studies have focused on examining its direct relationship with firm performance. Interestingly, there is scare research on the applicability and effectiveness of such relationships in less developed countries. Thus, we use data collected from firms in Ghana, a less developed country, and apply rigorous, robust, and consistent analytical procedures to examine moderated-mediation relationships between SRM, operational flexibility, ownership structure, and firm performance (FP). We demonstrate that operational flexibility capability mediates the supplier relationship management-firm performance link. Additionally, our moderated mediated analyses show that SRM's influence on firm performance is stronger for locally-owned firms (domestic) than foreign owned firms, indicating that domestic firms stand to gain more from investments in SRM than firms with foreign ownership. This finding is particularly interesting and vital given that locally owned firms might not have the needed resources to invest in SRM practices and thus, the need for these firms to comprehend the benefits and advantages of SRM.

Purpose In Ghana, the duration of construction projects from inception to completion is becoming a great concern, recently, especially among clients and beneficiaries, because of the rising interest rates, inflation, development plan targets, among other factors. Hence the need to understand the causes of delays and cost overrun in the construction sector has become more important than ever. This study therefore aims to identify the major factors underlying time and cost overruns in projects related to the education sector in Ghana to proffer practical solutions in addressing them. Design/methodology/approach The study conducted a survey among clients’ consultants and representatives of the contractors working on about 60 government school projects. A relative importance index was used to determine the relative effects of the factors causing construction time and cost overruns. Findings The key factors causing construction time overrun were: financial problems, unrealistic contract durations imposed by clients, poorly defined project scope, client-initiated variations, under-estimation of project cost by consultants, poor inspection/supervision of projects by consultants. Other factors were underestimation of project complexity by contractors, poor site management, inappropriate construction methods used by contractors and delays in the issuance of permits by government agencies. Factors affecting cost overruns were financial difficulty by client, delays in payments of completed works, variations in designs, lack of communications plans, poor feasibility and project analysis, poor financial management on site and material price fluctuations. Research limitations/implications The research was limited to only the educational sector projects. Practical implications Practically, this study highlights for the construction sector the critical factors causing project time and cost overruns in Ghana. Identification of these factors provides the basis for pragmatic solutions to enhance the chances of project success. Social implications The identification and solutions to project time and cost overruns, especially for educational sector projects, contribute toward making public goods more affordable and accessible to most citizens, particularly in developing countries. Originality/value This study contributes to the debate on factors causing project time and cost overruns in the construction sector especially from a developing country’s perspective.