Abstract
Effective construction of sustainable buildings is linked with project delivery performance success. However, the literature suggests that sustainable building construction (SBC) is fraught with challenges such as lack of requisite knowledge, skills, and capacity of relevant personnel and stakeholders, lack of public awareness of sustainable principles, non-compliance with policies, poor procurement strategy, the misconception of construction cost overrun, lack of financial assistance for technological changes, lack of top management support and consequence management at the executive level, as well as inadequate monitoring and evaluation. Additionally, poor implementation of SBC has partly contributed to shortcomings such as inefficiency and poor quality in project delivery, a massive amount of waste generation, excessive usage of natural resources, pollution of air and water, and other damages to the environment.
The current study investigated and modelled the extent to which regulatory environment (RE), knowledge sharing (KS), corporate disposition (CD), project delivery strategies (PDS), project management techniques (PMT), and modern building techniques (MBT) predict the effective implementation of SBC for project delivery success in South Africa. The predicting factors formed the six-factor exogenous construct for the current study. An extant review of the literature was done to apprise the study. The study adopted a quantitative approach and used a structured questionnaire to elicit data from 281 built environment professionals, predominantly based in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science software version 29 and Amos software version 29. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to explore the data and correlations between variables and refine the variables between each construct. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to determine the causal relationships of the constructs and for the validation of the integrated SBC model. Confirmatory factor analysis, a crucial part of SEM was used to test the specific hypotheses concerning the structure of the set of variables and was essential for determining the best-fit model for the study. Findings revealed that the structural model data were acceptable. Five out of six latent exogenous constructs had a statistically significant relationship in predicting the effective implementation of SBC. The significant exogenous constructs included knowledge sharing, corporate disposition, project delivery strategies, project management techniques, and modern building techniques. Additionally, SBC implementation (SBCI), a mediating
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construct, had a statistically significant influence in actualising integrated SBC project delivery outcome variables.
This study adds to the body of knowledge by addressing the dearth of theoretical information regarding the factors that are most significant in predicting the effective implementation of SBC and achieving project delivery success outcomes. Additionally, the developed integrated sustainable building construction (ISBC) model is a contribution to the body of Knowledge. Notably, no study has developed an ISBC model for South Africa. The study recommended that the developed multi-factor ISBC model form the basis regarding SBC implementation for project delivery success, especially in South Africa. It also stressed that knowledge sharing, corporate disposition, project management techniques, and modern building techniques should be prioritised for integration in further studies. Furthermore, project delivery strategies like early involvement of stakeholders, collaboration of project participants, integrated project delivery system, and public-private partnerships were recommended for effective implementation of SBC for project delivery success in South Africa.
Due to time constraints and difficulty reaching experts from other South African provinces, the study was predominantly conducted in the Gauteng province. The circumstances contributed to the use of a convenience sampling technique, which suggests the findings of this study may not be generalised to the South African built environment. Hence, more research can be done on ISBC to have an overall view using data from other provinces in South Africa. Similarly, although the ISBC model achieved an accepted fit and construct validity, further validity is recommended in future research to substantiate the model. Nevertheless, the model provides a reference for future research.
Keywords: South Africa construction industry, Sustainable building construction, project delivery strategies, project management techniques, project performance, structural equation modelling