Alzoubi, Y; Locatelli, G and Tristano, S (2024) The ugly side of construction: Modern slavery in the 2022 fifa world cup program. Construction Management and Economics, 42(5), pp. 412-430. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Modern slavery is an illegal and unethical practice that is widespread across several sectors, including construction. This article investigates the mechanisms and motivations for employing modern slaves in construction projects and the role of “political will” in fighting it. To this end, using a cross-sectional single case study, the article examines the case of Qatar’s construction of the infrastructure for the 2022 FIFA World Cup—a large construction program in which modern slavery has been extensively documented. Our theoretical lens is the Fraud Triangle Theory (opportunity, pressure, and rationalization), which is rarely used in construction management but is useful for investigating illegal or unethical phenomena. The findings document the various factors contributing to modern slavery, including the kafala system, confiscated passports, debt bondage, contract substitution, salary abuse, program time constraints, cash flow shortage, and weak internal control systems. This article’s key novel theoretical contributions relate to identifying why modern slavery occurs in construction projects using the Fraud Triangle Theory and highlighting the importance of “political will” in fighting modern slavery worldwide.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | forced labor; labor exploitation; ethics; migrant workers; discrimination |
| Index terms: | fraud, exploitation, program, migrant worker, Qatar, construction project, motivation, case study, discrimination, ethics, cash flow, control system |
| Subjects: | data collection methods, professional ethics, monitoring and control, ethical practice, financial management, Geography, production management, psychology, management, software systems |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Geographical Context, Project Management, Research Practice, Digital Applications, Business Strategy, International Construction, Human Resources, Cost Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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