A principal component analysis of supply chain management skills for the Nigerian construction industry

Supply chain management (SCM) has been posited as a remedy to address the challenges and reduce fragmentation in the construction supply chain. But the success of its adoption in the construction industry (CI) is influenced by the availability of professionals with the required SCM skills. This study examined SCM skills with a view to identify the existence of any relationship and complex structure among them using a data reduction technique. A well-structured questionnaire was administered to 215 construction professionals and a relatively high response rate of 82% was attained. A principal component analysis of the data was carried out, and this reduced the identified 24 SCM skill variables to four skill areas namely; information and human resource management competencies; leadership and negotiation competencies; process management competencies, and political sensitivity and salesmanship competencies. These forms the basis for effective SCM training in the context of the Nigerian CI. The study recommended that professionals and students in the CI should undergo trainings in these areas and educators should update their curriculum to be in track with current and emerging practices of SCM. Further studies can replicate this research in other developing countries to affirm or disprove the study results.