A framework for the performance assessment of construction contractors in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Purpose

In this work, a framework for assessing construction contractors' performance in Saudi Arabia is developed. Usually, a contractor's assessment is based on financial aspects, which are lagging indicators in nature, and can ignore other nonfinancial aspects. Hence, a more detailed contractors' assessment framework is needed for the construction industry in Saudi Arabia. A framework that integrates financial and nonfinancial aspects in one model will enable contractors to better benchmark their performance to the rest of Saudi Arabia's construction industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Initially, the literature is reviewed and the most commonly used key performance indicators (KPIs) are identified and surveyed through contractors’ feedback to ensure their proper alignment with Saudi Arabia’s construction industry. The adopted set of KPIs will be further prioritized through the relative importance index (RII) method based on the surveyed contractors’ perceptions. Furthermore, the important set of KPIs will be factored into various groups using principle component analysis (PCA). Finally, the findings are validated through expert judgment.

Findings

All key performance indicators (KPIs) have proven to be significant, except for the environmental factor, which happens to be nonsignificant and hence has been omitted from further consideration. The remaining KPIs have been factored through the principle component analysis method. Five generic dimensions were identified: Performance, Satisfaction, Actual Metrics, Estimated Metrics and Compliance. The model has been validated by expert feedback, and it was found to be reliable.

Originality/value

The proposed model establishes an assessment framework to aid building construction contractors in assessing their performance in real time, in addition to postconstruction assessment for business development and retrofitting purposes.

Citation

Tuffaha, F.M., Assaf, S., Zaben, Y.Z. and Hadidi, L.A. (2021), "A framework for the performance assessment of construction contractors in Saudi Arabia", Built Environment Project and Asset Management, Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 195-213. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-01-2020-0004