Toladun, Olawale (2025) Sustainable procurement of infrastructure projects in the Australian construction industry: The perceptions of consultants. PhD thesis, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Abstract
Since the introduction of the sustainability concept in the 1987 Brundtland report, integrating sustainability into the construction procurement process has been recognized as a vital approach for balancing economic advancement, social equity, and environmental considerations in construction activities. Although numerous studies have examined the benefits, drivers, and challenges associated with the implementation of sustainable practices, there remains a notable lack of research specifically focused on the integration of Sustainable Procurement (SP) practices into the construction procurement process. Furthermore, the perspectives of construction management consultants (CMCs) regarding this integration remain scarce in the literature. To address these research gaps, this study investigates SP practices integration into public infrastructure procurement within the Australian construction industry. The specific objectives are to: uncover CMCs' perceptions, identify the literacy requirements for SP; explore the interrelationships among the integration steps involving SP awareness, SP implementation, and SP performance; and assess the influence of key stakeholders on SP uptake within the industry. The data collection process started with exploratory interviews to contextualize the identified SP practices and literacy contents in the literature within the Australian construction context. These contextualized SP practices and literacy contents from the thematic analysis formed the basis for the development of an online survey questionnaire which was to gather pertinent data from the CMCs in achieving the research objectives. This survey data was analyzed using Relative Index and Exploratory Factor Analysis in conjunction with Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM), aimed at developing a predictive model for the integration of SP practices into the construction procurement process. This model was further validated through confirmatory interviews to enhance its practical applicability within the industry. The findings reveal that both awareness and implementation levels of SP are notably high, indicating a positive attitude toward SP environmental, social, and economic practices among CMCs in Australia. Furthermore, study shows that transformational leadership, sustainability expertise, and specialized skills in construction as the foundational components of SP literacy. Utilizing the developed PLS-SEM predictive model, it was established that SP awareness significantly influences SP implementation, which in turn has a significant impact on SP performance. However, there is no statistically significant relationship between SP literacy and SP implementation. Additionally, the model shows that the attitudes of clients and contractors moderate the established relationships among SP awareness, SP implementation, and SP performance. While the clients' moderating effect strengthens the relationship, the contractors' influence tends to inhibit it. The contributions to knowledge include the establishment of distinct SP practices in Australia, the identification of key structure for SP literacy, and the requirements essential for achieving quality performance of SP practices. Additionally, this study sheds light on how the contractors and clients can influence CMCs' SP attitude and presents a mathematical model illustrating the integration of SP as an innovative approach in the procurement of construction services for public infrastructure in Australia. Furthermore, the study offers a checklist designed to assist CMCs in identifying and implementing SP practices aimed at improving the sustainability outcomes of construction services for public infrastructure.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Oo, Bee and Lim, Benson |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | awareness; construction management consultants; implementation; innovation; literacy; performance; practices; sustainable procurement |
| Index terms: | transformational leadership, infrastructure project, implementation, construction industry, construction procurement, structural equation model, quality performance, Australia, construction activity, public infrastructure, sustainable practice, partial least square, questionnaire, thematic analysis, integration, survey, mathematical model, exploratory factor analysis, interview |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, mathematical modelling, project delivery, methods and analysis, management, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, statistical analysis, organizational analysis, sustainable practices, construction operations, contractual arrangements, Geography |
| Topics: | Site Management, Organizational Design, Research Practice, Quality Management, Engineering Principles, Geographical Context, Sustainability, Procurement |
| 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