Principal components of variables hypothesised to cause project delays and cost overruns in Ghana

Abstract

Many construction projects in developing countries suffer delays because timely completion, within budget, and being of desired quality is dependent on many variables, many of which are not properly managed in these environments. Attempts to get a good grip on reduced (or major) variables or factors to pay attention to have been varied and have yielded varied results. This paper argues that approaches to identifying the number of important variables that affect project delays can be improved further. It uses principal components analysis to identify components of 13 variables hypothesized to affect construction delays and quality in Ghana. A questionnaire was administered to industry stakeholders. The principal axis method was used to extract components which were then subjected to oblique rotation. Five components that explained two-thirds of the variance in the original 13 variables were retained. The study finds that the State of Industry, Infrastructure Availability, and Legal Issues, which proxy industrywide state of affairs in delivering projects load onto Component 1. Consultant Related and Labour Related issues, which speak to the state of human capital load onto Component 2. Project Preparation and Construction Methods load onto Component 3. These variables speak to preparations for specific projects and the methods by which they are undertaken. Change in Government Regulation and Force Majeure, which are exogenous to the industry, load onto Component 4. Finally, Construction Material issues and Equipment Related issues load onto Component 5. We see these variables as inputs to projects.

Keywords: construction projects, principal components; Ghana; project delays; eigenvalues; cost overruns