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This research uses contingency theory and Venkatraman’s concept of moderating fit to explore how key project stakeholders (clients, consultants and suppliers) influence project performance from the perspective of small and medium contractors in the Jordanian construction industry.

An anonymous structured survey was performed comprising 200 key informants including senior project managers, construction managers, engineers and general managers working for small- and medium-sized contractors in the Jordanian construction industry. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data.

The results of this study show that consultant-related factors (quality of documentation produced, ability to communicate and technical competencies) are perceived to have the most significant direct effect on project performance, followed by client-related factors (payment promptness, decision certainty and documentation control) and supplier-related factors (supplier performance, defects control and logistics management).

The results contribute new theoretical, empirical and practical insights to existing construction project performance research by highlighting the key performance factors which need to be managed for each stakeholder group to ensure effective project performance from a small- and medium-sized contractor perspective.

International comparisons of contractor performance can provide robust benchmarks for contractors in different countries and help to identify ways towards performance improvement. Based on a hypothetical construction project, overall contractor performance (OCP) in Japan, the UK and the USA is compared. Overall contractor performance is defined to embrace construction cost, construction time, construction quality and sustainable development, the philosophy being that the achievement of one aspect of performance should not be at the expense of another. Multiple regression analysis reveals that overall contractor performance is dependent on: their past performance on previous similar projects; their commitment towards lifetime employment; their perceived importance of time performance; their relationship with subcontractors; and the number of design variations during construction. To improve their overall performance, contractors are advised to focus on construction time, reduce delays, maintain a stable workforce and establish partnerships with their subcontractors. Clients should attempt to reduce design variations during construction.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the performance levels of small scale local government contractors (SSLGCs) in northern part of Nigeria with international practice. Previous studies focused attention primarily on benchmarking the performance of contractors, but were mostly conceptual rather than from empirical findings. This continuous to pose a challenge to the sustainable development of the construction industry, particularly, in developing countries like Nigeria. There is therefore a need to identify, assess and compare performance practice levels of small scale contractors.

The performance of each contractor was evaluated using a five-point Likert scale used in obtaining mean performance levels in respect to three classes of performance practices. A questionnaire survey was administered to major parties in the industry; clients, contractors and consultants who were selected by using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The contractors’ performance was compared by using ANOVA with post hoc.

The results indicated that the SSLGCs in Nigeria were average performers and there were effects and differences among the various contractors’ levels of performance with international practice.

The study is limited to SSLGCs in northern part of Nigeria.

The study provided the criteria for evaluation of SSLGCs’ performance in Nigeria and other developing countries that faced similar problems.

The study created bases for self-evaluation and competition among small scale contractors in Nigeria for the enhancement of productivity particularly in rural areas and general national development.

This study emanated from the governmental reports and past researches in the area of performance management on the persistence of the poor performance of small scale contractors in construction industry.

The results of an investigative study aimed at assessing the performance of construction contractors, as perceived by clients and architects in the UK, are presented. The assessment uses predetermined generic performance criteria and involves two measurements, namely perceived importance (I) and perceived performance (P). Importance‐performance analyses are then carried out using three measures, namely average satisfaction (D), percentage response (R) and priority rank (PR). Results indicate a need for contractors to improve in most aspects of performance. Generally, architects are found to be less satisfied than clients in regard to overall contractor performance. Furthermore, the perceptions of clients and architects regarding D and PR are broadly similar. It is implied that a well‐planned and designed performance improvement strategy on behalf of contractors will address the needs of both clients and architects. Findings will be of interest to contractors embarking on projects with clients and architects.

This study aims to examine the impacts of formal and informal hierarchical governances (HGs) on the performance of mega-projects and the mediating role of contractor behavior (i.e. perfunctory and consummate behaviors) in these relationships.

A total of 375 valid data entries from managers representing 375 mega-projects were analyzed through path analysis.

Both formal and informal HGs exert positive effects on the performance of mega-projects. While formal HG positively affects contractor perfunctory behavior and contractor consummate behavior, informal HG affects contractor perfunctory behavior only. Contractor behavior mediates the relationship between formal HG and project performance.

The impacts of potential moderators (e.g. institutional arrangement and complexity) on the relationship between HG and contractor behavior have not been considered in this study.

This study is useful for owners to enhance formal HG to improve contractor perfunctory and consummate behaviors, which in turn can enhance the performance of mega-projects.

This study expands the knowledge of mega-project performance management from the perspective of HG. It also contributes to the literature of contractor behavior within the context of mega-projects.

This paper evaluates an Air Force performance-based service contract against the contracts that were prescriptive in the past. Department of Defense mandated that all service contracts be performance-based by 2005. The goal of the paper is to determine whether this contract, after becoming performance-based, is achieving greater cost savings and better outcomes for government, contractor, and taxpayers. The paper assesses the contract performance standards and how they are measured. The authors analyze the language of the Statement of Work (SOW) before and after it became performance-based. The contractor’s performance is evaluated. Positive incentives are identified and described. Finally, the paper addresses risk assessment issues.

The University of Hawaii was searching for modifications to their construction delivery process that would increase the value and performance of construction and the efficiency of their project management group. The university had been plagued by poor construction performance (not on time, not on budget, and not meeting quality expectations). Their goal was to do more construction (with fewer project managers) and minimise the risk of construction non‐performance. The university wanted to study the impact of specifications, construction management, inspections and the existing low‐bid process on construction performance. The Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS) was selected due to its documented results in delivering high performance. There were two objectives for implementing the PIPS process. The first objective was to determine whether the university could procure higher quality construction projects by minimising management, regulations, qualifications, user specifications and inspections. The second objective of the test would be to document the impact of the PIPS process and satisfaction level of the different parties (contractors, designers, procurement personnel, lawyers, facilities engineers and university leaders) involved in this process.

In prior work, GAO found that contractors were paid billions of dollars in award fees regardless of acquisition outcomes. In December 2007, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued guidance aimed at improving the use of award fee contracts. GAO was asked to (1) identify agencies’ actions to revise or develop award fee policies and guidance to reflect OMB guidance, (2) assess the consistency of current practices with the new guidance, and (3) determine the extent agencies are collecting, analyzing, and sharing information on award fees. GAO reviewed the Departments of defense (DOD), Energy (DOE), Health and Human Services (HHS), and Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)-agencies that constituted over 95 percent of the dollars spent on award fee contracts in fiscal year 2008.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effects of financial management practices of small-scale building contractors on the technical performance of the contractors in the northern part of Nigeria with international best practices. Previous studies argued that the technical performance of small-scale building contractors in developing countries is poor because of insufficient cash to acquire strategic resources at the outset of a project. This continues to pose a challenge to the sustainable development of the construction industry, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria. There is, therefore, a need to identify, assess and compare the effects of financial practices of the contractors with technical performance best practices.

The technical performance of each contractor was evaluated using a five-point Likert scale. This is used to obtain the mean technical performance levels of the contractors. A questionnaire survey was administered to the professionals in the industry who were selected by using a proportionate stratified random sampling technique. The contractors’ performance was compared using ANOVA with post hoc, and the effects of contractors’ financial management practices were determined using multiple regression analysis.

The results of this study indicated that the contractors in Nigeria were average technical performers and there were large effects of financial management practices on the technical performance of contractors in building projects.

This study is limited to small-scale building contractors in northeast Nigeria. One of the implications of this study is that it provides the criteria for an evaluation of small-scale building contractors’ technical performance in Nigeria and other developing countries that faced similar problems.

The practical implications of this study are that it establishes the current level of contractors' technical performance and serves as an awareness of contractors' current financial practices.

This study created bases for self-evaluation of contractors’ technical performance and competition among small-scale contractors in Nigeria for the enhancement of productivity particularly in rural areas for national development.

This study emanated from the government reports and past studies in the area of performance management based on the persistence of poor technical performance of small-scale contractors in the construction industry.

The purpose of this paper is to unveil any underlying relationships between contractor inputs and performance outputs. The outcome of the reported study is intended to help identify the inputs, which have more significant impacts on contractor performance outputs and therefore, help formulate more reliable “upfront” (ex ante) performance assessment criteria, hence improving approaches to the contractor‐selection process.

A case study was conducted on the Performance Assessment Scoring System (PASS) of a large public client in Hong Kong to determine the Pearson product‐moment correlation between the scores of various input assessments and output assessments.

The findings revealed relationships between some of the input assessment scores and the output results. Emerging as positive, all the discerned relationships confirmed that better outputs did in fact relate well to better inputs.

The PASS system is designed to be very objective, hence the criteria and assessment of inputs may be restricted to easily measurable items. The sample size obtainable was small, but still considered to be adequate for this initial study.

Construction clients could choose to improve their contractor selection processes by identifying and incorporating contractor input factors that are seen to influence performance outputs. Contractors can also improve their outputs by focusing on the identified critical inputs.

Few studies have sought to discern relationships between contractor inputs and their performance outputs through a quantitative approach. This case study provided a methodology, incorporating a statistics‐based approach along with examples and explanations of how inputs can influence contractor outputs.