Agyekum-Mensah, George ORCID: 0000-0002-3906-4621 and Knight, Andrew David (2017) The professionals’ perspective on the causes of project delay in the construction industry. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 24 (5). pp. 828-841. ISSN 0969-9988 (Print), 1365-232X (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-03-2016-0085)

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Abstract

Purpose–Constructionprojectdelaysaredescribedasauniversalproblem,whichhasledtomanyempirical studies. However, most of these studies were based on the rankings by respondents, and they were rarely verified. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore professional perspectives on the causes of delay in the construction industry, where there has been little explicit consideration on this subject in recent decades.

Design/methodology/approach – A critical literature review and a qualitative approach was considered for a deeper and fresh understanding of the causes of delays, rather than recycling the existing themes and the risk of a statistically biased approach. A total of 41 interviews were undertaken which included the London Olympic 2012 project team.

Findings – In all, 32 themes were identified, which were categorised into 15 categories of causes of delay in the construction projects. Almost two-thirds of the main themes are not ranked top 15 causes of delay. These include knowledge and competence shortage, poor commercial decisions, unnecessary health and safety restrictions, poor risk management and poor space and logistics management.

Research limitations/implications – Due to the qualitative nature of the study, the findings might not be considered as representative. Practical implications – The findings provide consideration of the causes of delay in the construction industry as seen by practitioners, which should provide guidance to enhance performance.

Originality/value – The study contributes to the better understanding of the causes of delays by using qualitative research strategy which is limited in the construction management literature. This study is an empirical investigation into the causes of delay in the twenty-first century and it represents an important edition to the body of knowledge within the subject area.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	project management, construction management, planning, construction delays, practitioners perspective, UK construction
Subjects:	N Fine Arts > NA Architecture
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences Faculty of Liberal Arts & Sciences > School of Design (DES)
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2020 22:51
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/24451

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