Nkoba, N. and Amoah, C. (2026) Curbing corruption and unethical practices in construction projects. International Journal of Construction Management, 26(9), pp. 1799-1814. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Corruption and unethical practices are widespread issues in the construction industry, with scandals and fraud being frequent occurrences. These corrupt activities negatively impact society, the economy, and the quality of construction projects. This study sought to identify the forms of corruption and strategies that can be implemented to curb it in the construction industry. The study adopted a qualitative approach, using semi-structured interview questions to solicit information from 30 construction industry professionals. The construction professionals were purposefully selected from different firms to enhance the diversity of the information. The information received was analysed using the thematic content method to generate themes. The findings indicate that various forms of corruption occur in different stages of project execution, which have significant consequences in construction projects, such as increased project costs, compromised infrastructure quality, delays in project completion, and decreased public trust in the construction industry. Additionally, corruption can result in financial mismanagement, waste of public resources, and a negative impact on socioeconomic development. Technology-driven accountability measures can be implemented to address construction industry corruption and improve construction project accountability, transparency and oversight. The study bridges a gap in context-specific anti-corruption strategies that could be implemented by construction stakeholders to curb corruption practices.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction industry; corruption; measures; projects; unethical practices |
| Index terms: | construction project, construction industry, qualitative approach, construction professional, accountability, society, strategy, transparency, corruption, fraud, interview, project cost, unethical practices |
| Subjects: | management, industry analysis, research methods, data collection methods, ethical practice, liability law, professional ethics, economics, professional development, communities and social development, production management |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Project Management, Information Management, Cost Management, Legal Issues, Business Strategy, Stakeholder Management |
| 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