Amies, P; Jin, X and Senaratne, S (2025) Success in construction management of dams: An empirical study. International Journal of Construction Management, 25(10), pp. 1207-1217. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
The current body of research lacks adequate investigation of project success, especially for dam construction projects. Despite the considerable body of research in the field of project management, an empirical examination of the performance of dam projects, which carry substantial economic, social, and environmental impacts, is still lacking. This research attempts to fill the gap by conducting a survey among construction professionals who have experience with dams. Alongside the continuing construction projects to augment and upgrade existing dams, there is currently an unprecedented surge in the number of new dams planned or under construction. This is driven by the energy transition towards achieving net zero targets, with a focus on pumped-hydro schemes as an efficient form of large-scale energy storage. Exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM) are applied to explore critical success factors (CSFs) and success criteria (SC) and their relationships. This paper offers valuable recommendations for professionals to improve project performance and adds to the limited literature on dam construction project success. Construction professionals can optimize their efforts by strategically implementing the project elements presented in this research. This ultimately leads to improved project outcomes, increased efficiency, and lower costs.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | critical success factors; dam construction; factor analysis; structural equation modelling; success criteria |
| Index terms: | dam project, critical success factor, dam construction, environmental impact, construction project, survey, structural equation modelling, exploratory factor analysis, success criteria, project management, energy storage, factor analysis, investigation, project performance, empirical study, construction professional, net zero, project outcome, project success, efficiency |
| Subjects: | environmental impact, project completion, assessment methods, production management, infrastructure engineering, research methods, energy systems, control systems, data collection methods, infrastructure and transport systems, statistical analysis, project management theory and practice, professional development, performance management |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Project Management, Sustainability, Quality Management, Information Management, Research Practice |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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