Collaboration in the Ghanaian Construction Industry: Perceived Barriers and Benefits

Abstract

The construction industry involves high risk-taking activities that result in cost overruns, low productivity, litigation, ineffective communication and construction delays. The introduction of collaboration into the construction industry has been frequently used as an innovative approach towards the achievement of quality in construction and as a remedy for the pitfalls of the conventional approaches of procurement in the construction industry. This study was aimed at assessing the perception of construction professionals on the potential barriers and benefits of collaboration in the construction industry. A questionnaire survey was used to solicit the views of the respondents on the issues under study. A total number of sixty questionnaires were sent to the respondents under investigation. Data from the survey was analyzed using Relative Importance Indices. The findings from the study revealed that fear of micromanagement, lack of common goals and past negative experience with collaboration were the main barriers to collaboration in the Ghanaian construction industry. Also, the main benefits associated with collaboration in the Ghanaian construction industry were identified to include total cost perspective in collaboration, technical expertise by partners and availability of resources in collaborations. The study recommends that, collaboration should be widely accepted and practiced, and careful consideration should be given to professional expertise with sufficient skills during selection of partners and workshops to advocate the use of collaboration in the construction industry.