Are the public tertiary education building projects devoid of risks in the Nigerian construction context?

Abstract

Purpose The non-performance of construction projects in meeting the set objectives has continued to draw researchers worldwide. Despite this, little attention is accorded to public tertiary education building projects in Nigeria. Therefore, on this background, this study aims to assess the perceptions of stakeholders on the level of occurrence of risk factors in the public tertiary education building projects (TEBP) to enhance the performance of these projects. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a quantitative method of data collection via a questionnaire survey. In total, 452 questionnaires were administered to the respondents comprising client representatives, consultants (quantity surveyors, architects, services and structural engineers and builders) and the contractor. The respondents were involved in the conception and execution of TEBP across five public tertiary education institutions in Ondo State, Nigeria. Of 452 questionnaires, 279 were retrieved and found suitable for analysis, indicating a 61.73% response rate. The reliability analysis for the research instrument was 0.965 via the Cronbach α test, indicating the high reliability of the instrument used for the data collection. Moreover, the clusters of risk factors also had reliability values that ranged between 0.719 and 0.875. Findings The study found inflation, delayed payments in contracts, high competition bids, delay in work progress and occurrence of variations are the most frequently occurring risk factors in public TEBP. By contrast, difficulty to access the site, environmental factors and pollution were found to be low-weighted risks with the least likelihood of occurrence. The results of this study indicated the existence of significant differences in some of the risk factors in terms of the level of risk occurrence in TEBP. The risk factors were eventually clustered into eight major groups for TEBP. The post hoc comparisons using the least significant difference test also indicated differences between the contractors and consultants in the ranking of risks occurrence in TEBP, but no significant differences between clients/contractors and clients/consultants. Research limitations/implications The findings in this study are limited to the public TEBP procured via competitive tendering; therefore, the results might not be applicable when other procurement methods are being considered. Besides, the study classified the project participants based on organizations and not on the different ownership status of the projects, such as federal or state government-owned TEBP. However, the literature shows that likelihood of risk occurrence could vary due to the degree of project ownership. Practical implications The information provided with respect to the most frequently occurring risk factors would enhance the performance of public TEBP. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on the subject within a previously unexplored context where insights were provided on the most frequently occurring risk factors on the public TEBP.

Success criteria-based impacts of risk factors on education building projects in southwestern Nigeria

“…Risk-influencing factors analyzed by Adedokun et al (2021) but cited in Odimabo and Oduoza (2013), formed the basis of the current study, as Odimabo and Oduoza’s research (published in the USA) was relevant to developing economies such as that in Nigeria. Thus, the outcome of this review generated 58 risk factors (Table 1) associated with construction project developments in developing countries.…”

“…Risks are associated with construction projects at pre-bidding, planning, design, execution, implementation and handing over stages (Renuka et al , 2014). Similarly, during the stages of TEBP, the risk sources include financial, political, environmental, management, logistics, legal, design and construction risk factors (Adedokun et al , 2021). Therefore, building projects are associated with various risks that need to be managed to achieve set goals (Renault and Agumba, 2016).…”

“…Legal issues that can arise under a general contract can also occur concerning a construction contract. These include matters relating to the formation of the agreement, the legal validity of the contract, performance of the contract, the effect of force majeure, assignment of the contract, damages, among others (Adedokun et al , 2021). However, some of the issues in construction contracts occur against the background of a contract of some magnitude or complexity, thereby presenting a few peculiar features that warrant special attention (Bell, 2006) .…”

“…Thus, the outcome of this review generated 58 risk factors (Table 1) associated with construction project developments in developing countries. Adedokun et al (2021) presented a comprehensive empirical evidence of the frequency of occurrence of these risk factors with the implication that tertiary education building projects (TEBP) are not devoid of experiencing risks like other construction projects. The current assessment proposes that these could provide fundamental evidence of risks impacting construction projects.…”

Structural equation modelling of risk factors influencing the success of building projects

“…The inherent risks in these projects cause problems bewildering the achievement of a project goal and making the project fall below the overall success expectancy level. In addition, some of these risks include inflation, variation, high competition bids, delayed payments in contracts and delays in work progress (Adedokun et al , 2021a).…”