What impacts the productivity performance of government construction projects?

Abstract

PurposePrevious research has advanced in two-stage construction project productivity (CPP) evaluation by integrating site efficiency (SE) in the delivery and utilisation effectiveness (UE) in the post-delivery stages. The literature has separately addressed the factors affecting these three constructs. However, the interrelationships among them are rarely discussed together. This study aims to systematically identify the influencing factors of CPP, SE and UE and disentangle interrelationships among the three constructs.Design/methodology/approachThe paper first reviews the literature about the two-stage project productivity evaluation framework for government construction projects. Then this paper proposes hypotheses regarding the relationships between the three constructs and identifies influencing factors associated with the constructs. Based on questionnaire survey from over 200 government construction project professionals in China, the structural equation modelling is adopted to validate the hypotheses.FindingsThe paper provides empirical insights that CPP can be directly influenced by UE to a large extent but indirectly impacted by SE through its effects on UE. The findings indicate that CPP is not a simple sum of SE and UE, and consequently reveals the complex, non-linear and indirect relationships between SE and CPP.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research should further extend the timeframe boundary to merge the pre-delivery stage (e.g. design and planning), findings of which may propose a more generalised understanding and reduce the bias resulting from pre-delivery activities.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to construction facility management literature by explaining the mediating role of UE on the relationship between SE and CPP. Therefore, this paper offers practitioners an integrated management logic in strategically combining project and facility management into government project management.