Adebowale, O J and Agumba, J N (2023) A meta-analysis of factors affecting construction labour productivity in the middle East. Journal of Construction in Developing Countries, 28(1), pp. 193-220. ISSN 1823-6499
Abstract
Despite the importance of the construction sector for economic development, labour productivity in construction is lower than the productivity of other sectors. Construction productivity has been declining continuously for decades, especially in developing countries. The challenges of low productivity in construction are considered chronic problems. This has raised concerns among construction stakeholders to address the myriad of challenges that are undermining labour productivity growth. This study performed a metadata analysis of factors affecting construction labour productivity (CLP) growth in the Middle East. A systematic review of existing studies on labour productivity in construction was presented. Ten studies from the Middle East were selected for metadata analysis. The key factors affecting CLP in the region were identified and quantitative data from the selected studies were synthesised. Effect summaries derived from the analysis revealed that delays in responding to requests for information, inadequate workers' supervision, a shortage of skilled labour, the extent of change orders and clarity of technical specifications are the major factors affecting construction productivity. The study is limited to journal articles published in the Scopus database between 2000 and 2020. Middle East contractors can adopt the study’s interventions to develop productivity improvement strategies for their organisations.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction sector; economic development; construction labour; developing countries; supervision; Middle East; labour productivity; meta-analysis; productivity; specification; change order; stakeholder |
| Index terms: | skilled labour, productivity, database, labour productivity, construction sector, meta-analysis, change order, supervision, specification, strategy, developing country, economic development, construction productivity, Middle East, journal, construction labour, systematic literature review |
| Subjects: | development economics, industry analysis, physical geography and landforms, research dissemination and communication, research evaluation and metrics, contractual condition, operations management, economic development, control systems, management, data management |
| Topics: | International Construction, Business Strategy, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Project Management, Site Management, Digital Applications, Human Resources, Sustainability, Contract Administration |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here