Revisiting the critical factors causing failure of construction projects in Vietnam

Nguyen T P, C N (2013) Revisiting the critical factors causing failure of construction projects in Vietnam. In: Smith, S D and Ahiaga-Dagbui, D D (eds.) Proceedings of 29th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2013, Reading, UK.

Abstract

The Vietnam construction industry has considerably developed since 1986 as a result of “Doi Moi” or all-round renovation process, stepping in the general development trend and the process of gradual globalization and regionalization. However, despite the pace of economic reforms, obstacles and risks have continued to plague the construction industry. This paper attempts to elicit the perceptions of construction professionals by revisiting some of these critical factors causing the failure of construction projects in Vietnam. A triangulated data collection approach involving 10 interviews and 45 questionnaires was administered to construction stakeholders to elicit their perceptions on the 20 factors causing the failure of the construction projects. The quantitative response data was subjected to descriptive statistics such as frequency analysis whereas, content analysis was used for the qualitative (interviews data). The results revealed that the ten most critical factors causing the failure of construction project were as follows: (1) “disregard of the significance of project planning process and project planning”, (2) “lack of experience in executing complicated project”, (3) “poor design capacity and frequent design changes”, (4) “lack of knowledge and ability in managing construction projects”, (5) “lack of financial capacity of owner” (6) “poor performance of contractors”', (7) “lack of a systematic approach to managing the project and entire organisation”, (8) “corruption and bribery in construction projects”, (9) “the delays in payment”, and (10) “economic volatility and high inflation”. The originality and value of this study lies with the identification of the lessons which are necessary for enhancing understanding and improving the awareness of project risks. This provides an appropriate approach to risk management, thereby tackling and mitigating the impacts of negative events in managing construction projects in Vietnam. The study further provides insights on the factors contributing to the failure of construction projects across the Vietnam construction sector.

Item Type: Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords: project failure; performance; critical factor; risk management; Vietnam
Index terms: project failure, Vietnam, interview, critical factor, owner, content analysis, design change, corruption, globalization, risk management, questionnaire, renovation, inflation, construction professional, construction project, project planning, construction industry, statistics, construction sector
Subjects: contractual arrangements, data analysis and analytics, economic analysis, data collection methods, risk assessment, mathematical modelling, project completion, control systems, sociology, professional ethics, industry analysis, economic factors, renovation and retrofit, production management, Geography, professional development
Topics: Business Strategy, Information Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management, Risk Management, Procurement, Legal Issues, International Construction
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