Sundjo Fabien and Nsom
Sundjo Fabien and Nsom
Sundjo Fabien and Nsom
Fabien Sundjo
University of Bamenda/Buea, Cameroon
[email protected]
Abstract
Several construction firms still face enormous challenges from the non-respect of both the
previewed time and cost, leading to construction project failure. This article therefore purports to
empirically investigate the factors behind the non-respect of both previewed time and cost in the
construction department of the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS).
Specifically, the study aimed at: investigating the drivers of the construction project failure from
a general viewpoint, identify the factors responsible for the non-respect of initial estimated time
and cost. In order to achieve these objectives, questionnaires were administered to 115
respondents working at this construction department in order to obtain data for the study. Pre-
tests were conducted to ascertain the reliability of the data and we made use of descriptive
statistics and the probit regression. Among the several econometric results, we found out that,
the non-resolution of conflict among members neither affected the expected time nor cost of
project execution while ineffective communication and unavailability of material resource
increased the probability of non-respect of time in project execution but however remain
insignificant as concerns the non-respect of previewed cost. While an increase in non-risk
planning and mitigation at construction site increases the probability of non-respect of
previewed cost in project execution, it was however not significant as concerns the non-respect
Keywords: Construction Project failure, Project costing, Project timing, Probit model
INTRODUCTION
In today‟s highly competitive and fast-growing world, the creation and delivery of high quality
products and services is crucial for business survival. Organizations and individuals are
focusing their energies to improve upon their project management skills in other to face the
highly competitive environment (Jha and Iyer 2006). According to Enzo and Dennis (2002),
products and services that need much technical knowledge and diversity of skills either lack the
skilled workers or visionary management to manage the limited resources appropriately. In
addition, they ascertain that organizations must maintain the highest quality standard in their
projects while using the least budget possible. To meet this demand of high quality standards,
modern businesses need to operate at high performance level, harnessing the full power to
manage their resources in respect to their initial business objectives.
The demand for high quality goods and services as required by Enzo and Dennis (2002)
has equally been transposed in the construction industry as indicated by Hampson et al. (2010).
Further, Hampson et al. (2010) cited economy watch (2010) which indicated that world
construction industry is one of the biggest industries in the world that contributes about one-
tenth of the Global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on the quality of services it provides.
It is an employment generator that provides work to about, 7 percent of the world population but
project challenges are becoming a hindrance to its numerous contributions in reducing
unemployment as indicated by Cicmil et al. (2006).
The traditional construction project management approaches in the construction
industry, does not longer help to provide quality because of the challenges involved (PMI 2000).
According to PMI (2000), the traditional management processes used in the past to enable the
delivery of new products and services are no longer effective in terms of cost and time.
Furthermore, he ascertained that project management has become an issue for skilled and
visionary managers if quality has to be achieved using the minimal resources.
As concern Africa, Chendo and Obi (2015) indicated that most construction firms in
Africa are not too big to fail and that Abuja, Lagos, among others are major cities that witnessed
the collapsed of construction projects in Nigeria and in Africa due to construction challenges.
Ndama (2017), on his part indicated that many big construction firms in Namibia in particular
and Africa in general are on the verge of collapsing. This failure in construction firms is likely
due to the non-respect of time and initial cost as indicated by Jha and Iyer (2006).
In Cameroon, GESP (2010) indicated that the rate of investment in infrastructural
development is not linear on the rise. This is buttressed by retarded infrastructural development
rate of the 1980s caused by the then economic crises. It is in this light that GESP (2010) has
called for the need to accelerate infrastructural development which is one of the key issues in
the Cameroon Growth and Strategy Paper. Cameroon vision 2035 main aim is to emerge by the
year 2035, and for this vision to be accomplished, the construction of new infrastructural
projects that consistently meet the desired quality and standards are primordial.
The importance of quality infrastructural development has equally been underscored by
the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS). In this light, in the late 90‟s a
department charged with construction services was introduced. This construction department
has been executing a number of projects recording few success and remarkable failures as
indicated in the CBCHS document and project archives as indicated in the CBCHS policy
document and project archives. Projects carried out by the construction department are either
completed beyond the normal estimated time or end up more expensive than originally
estimated. It is difficult to draw a line whether, the problem is from the management team, the
project staff, or which of the project management factors are responsible to these project
failures. According to Enzo and Dennis (2002), the modern construction project management
approach is the only way forward for all construction firms to succeed. Construction project
management therefore, has a big role to play in meeting project success.
Anne (2007) opined that time is money and therefore, time Management is an important
aspect of project management. In the same line, Taussig (2015) indicated that lack of effective
time management can have a negative impact on a project in the long run because time is one
of the three triple constraints, and any deviation from the schedule has an effect on the cost and
scope of a project.
This maxim is in support of the findings of Mourice et al. (2000) who equally dueled on
time and management of construction projects. Following Mourice et al. (2000), Anne (2007)
and Taussig (2015), time is money and cost minimization is necessary if sustainable growth of
construction firms is to be achieved. According to Amusan (2011) and Amade (2012),
construction firms that do not respect initial time and initial cost respectively, are bound to
disappear in the long run. Hence, any rational construction firm following the maxim of homo
economics should use all strategies at her disposal to complete projects on time while
respecting the initial cost since time is money.
Paradoxically, observations and facts from the CBCHS seem to reveal that this
maximization principle of respecting initial cost and previewed time is not targeted. Most
construction projects in the CBCHS either end up more costly than originally budgeted or take
longer time than estimated. Some examples of these projects are; Kolo III Health Center
renovation project in Yaoundé that was estimated at 28,000,000FRS and it ended up costing
47,254,954FRS. Doctor‟s Duplex II project at the Mbingo Baptist Hospital (MBH) estimated at
26,060,000FRS and it ended up costing 28,215,500FRS. Banso Baptist Hospital (BBH) Eye
Department was estimated at 185,059,006FRS and it ended up costing 219,616,100FRS.
Baptist Training School for Health Personnel (BTSHP) was estimated at 166,155,839FRS and it
ended up costing 305,214,586 FRS. The North West Special Fund Health Personnel
(NWSFHP) first phase was estimated at 169,913,435FRS and it ended up costing
200,136,757FRS. As indicated by the bills of quantities and estimates at the technical
department. Also, the Director of Health Services (DHS) Office renovation was estimated at
34,022,456FRS and it ended up costing 76,622,856FRS.
In addition, the director‟s office renovation work was programed for a maximum duration
of six months, but it ended up taking eight months just as many others that went above the time
schedule as indicated in the project record documents. This persistent construction project
failure as concerns time and cost leaves us with the worry to investigate the drivers of project
failure in the CBCHS in relation to the non-respect of both time and cost?
Research Questions
Following the background and problem statement above, the major research question of this
study is: What are the driven factors behind the non-respect of both the previewed time and cost
observed at the Cameroon Baptist Convention health Services construction projects? Following
the above major research question we formulated the following specific research questions:
What are the drivers of the observed continuous construction project failure from a
general perspective at the Cameroon Baptist Convection Health Services?
What are the determinants of the non-respect of previewed time in the construction
department of the Cameroon Baptist Convection Health Services?
What are the causes of the non-respect of previewed cost in the construction
department of the Cameroon Baptist Convection Health Services?
MIFI division. In the Central, we focused on Etougebe Baptist hospital Yaounde and Ekounou
Baptist health center and in the Littoral, we focused on Mboppi Baptist hospital Douala.
However, some services are extended to the rest of the ten regions but not established. It is in
these institutions that the technical services department operates.
The technical services department is a construction department which has been long
into construction projects management, hence a better place for effective and efficient
assessment of the determinants of construction project failure most importantly the factors that
concern time and cost. It is on these bases that even though with the vast nature of construction
sites in Cameroon, we restricted our findings to CBCHS construction department because of its
large technical department located in more than six regions and their longevity and challenges
in construction field.
The rest of the write up is organized in six sections. Section two duels on the literature
review while section three duels on the methodology of the research. Section four focuses on
presentation of demographic data and analyses. Section five pays attention to presentation of
specific objectives related results and analysis. Then, section six duels on the limitation of the
study while section seven concludes the paper.
EMPIRICAL LITERATURE
Under this empirical literature, we review the literature previously written in the field of project
management especially those that have to do with factors affecting construction project success
or failure. In this light, our review begins with public sector construction project review before the
private sector construction projects literature.
Amade et al. (2015), carried out a study aimed at investigating the Critical Success
Factors for Public sector construction projects in Owerri, Imo State in Nigeria. Fifty six (56)
questionnaires were administered to construction firms located in Owerri and Imo and they
made use of the linear multiple regression model. Among the six independent variables used
(efficient and effective procurement process, effective communication, adequate planning,
leadership skills of the project manager, weather conditions, and effective coordination of
project activities) results of the findings revealed that adequate planning had a significant
positive impact on the success of public sector construction projects delivery. Equally,
Nemathullah et al. (2016) were interested on investigating the critical success factors (CSFs)
with the major objective to identify, categorize, and prioritize a general set of critical success
factors for public sectors constructions. Their study relied mainly on analytical, descriptive and
field study methodologies. Project performance of construction firms was evaluated on the basis
of six KPIs namely; project time, cost, quality, safety, site disputes and environmental impact.
They also focused on six CSFs that influence success of public sector construction projects:
project-related factor, client-related factor, consultant-related factor, contractor-related factor,
supply chain related factor and external environment-related factor. All these six CSFs
assessed were found to have a significantly positive effect on the success of construction
projects.
While the aforementioned studies are important in indicating the factors that affect
construction project success, their recommendations could likely be erroneous if applied in the
private sector as they duel only on the case of the public construction industries. It is likely that
the factors might vary as we move from the public to the private sector.
In this light, some studies have deviated from the public domain to focus on the private
sector among which are the research works of; Adnan et al. (2009), Jha& Iyer (2006), (2016),
Teena (2014), Shaban (2008), Bui and Ling, (2010), (2010), Amusan, (2011), Fetene (2008),
(2010), Nyangilo (2012), Lepartobiko (2012), Githenya and Karanja (2014). Among these
studies dueling on the private sector, some were interested on issues linked to quality or
performance of the construction like the studies of Adnan et al. (2009), Jha& Iyer (2006),
Abdulsalam (2013), Shobana and Ambika (2016) and Teena (2014), while others focused on
cost and times related success or failure.
As concern the quality of construction, Adnan et al. (2009), Jha& Iyer (2006),
Abdulsalam (2013), Shaban (2008), Fetene, (2008) focused on factors influencing project
quality. Shobana and Ambika (2016) indicated that quality is an essential component for
sustainability and customer satisfaction. Adnan et al. (2009) indicated a number of factors that
positively influence construction project quality. Some of these factors included, material prices,
delays because of closures leading to materials shortage, availability of experienced personnel
with high qualifications, quality of equipment and raw materials in projects. Similarly, Jha and
Iyer (2006) through a questionnaire survey, collected data from large construction industry and
made their own suggested measures for improving quality. From their findings, project
manager‟s competence; top management‟s support; monitoring and feedback by project
participants; interaction among project participants; and owners‟ competences lead to high
quality. On the contrary, conflict among project participants, hostile socio-economic
environment, harsh climatic condition and the knowledge of the project manager adversely
affected quality. Following the same approach, Abdulsalam (2013) revealed that poor design is
the main factor that reduces the overall quality of a construction project. This was further
supported by Teena (2014).
The aforementioned studies dueled much on quality of constructions and did not
consider cost and time which is an important factor in project success. Taking into account that
cost of project is primordial in measuring performance at construction sites; some studies have
therefore dueled on cost and time related issues. In this light, Fetene, (2008), Kigari and
Wainaina (2010), Amusan (2011), Amade (2012), Githenya and Karanja (2014) were interested
in finding out the factors that affect cost and time in a project and revealed that cost overrun
both affect time and cost of projects. Kigari and Wainaina (2010), on factors affecting time and
cost overruns in power projects in Kenya observed that the Projects had time overruns ranging
from 4.6 percent to 53.4 percent, while the cost overruns varied between 9.4 percent and 29
percent.
According to Amusan, (2011) studies that were carried in Nigeria, the main factors
observed through factor analyses causing cost overrun were; contractor‟s inexperience,
inadequate planning, Inflation, continuous variations, and change in project design. In addition,
project complexity, shortening or increasing of project period and fraudulent practices were also
responsible. In the same line, Fetene (2008) in Ethiopia indicated that 67 out of 70 public
building construction projects suffered cost overrun. The rate of cost overrun ranges from a
minimum of 0 percent to the maximum of 125 percent of the contract amount for individual
projects. Furthermore, Iyer and Jha (2006) in their part in India revealed that the project
manager‟s competence and top management support contribute significantly in enhancing the
respect of cost in construction project. Following a regression approach, Amade (2012) in
Nigeria found out that; environmental factors are more critical to project success than skills
portfolio of the project team. Collective responsibility among project stakeholders is a necessary
condition for project success within time.
Similar studies made by Githenya and Karanja (2014) in Kenya with focus on
determinant of project cost and using a regression model indicated the lack of project control
measures to have the most significant impact on cost of housing project.
Gaps Identified
Following these studies that have been carried out on performance of construction projects, to
the best of our knowledge they did not pay attention to the drivers of construction project failure.
While most of them lump up cost and time in a single regression, we however, deem it not
appropriate. This is because a project might be successful as concerns time but not as
concerns cost.
Hence it is important to segregate the effect as per time and as per cost. It is in this light
that this present study after lumping or considering failure in general, we took a step further to
segregate our model to capture both time and cost independently.
METHODOLOGY
Model Specification and Variables of Interest
Discrete choice models are most prominently used in the literature of construction project
especially if performance is a binary dependent variables. In this case the simple linear model
gives inaccurate results (Maddala, 1983). While we could make use of the logits models, we
have nevertheless privileged the probit model as the logit model due to calculation simplicity
was simply developed to approximate the probit model.
The decision which considers the option of project success or failure is explained by the random
utility choice model of the form:
Y*
where is the latent unobserved continuous variable considered as the net utility obtained by
the construction firm when a project is not successful, x denotes a vector of variable that
Y*
determines , among which proper costing, inadequate motivation of project team members,
unavailability of material resources, non-allocation of project completion time, non-respect of
project scope, ineffective planning of project manager, ineffective collaboration of team
members, lack of timely and inadequate supply of funds, non-resolution of conflicts among
members, non-risk planning and mitigation, ineffective communication, and level of educational.
Y*
provides the highest utility. While we do not observe we do observe the discrete choice
made by the CBCHS construction department according to the following binary choice rule:
1 if Yi 0
Y .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .....( 2)
0 if Yi 0
Then, the probability for a construction project not to respect time or cost is given by:
x 2
Pr ob Y 1
t
dt x .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .(3)
1
2
e 2
and Wise (1978) hold that the probit model is a significant improvement over the logit model. It
is in this light that we opted to make use of the probit model. Equation 1 is first run to determine
the factors affecting construction project failure in general before we further ran it as per the
non-respect of time then, the non-respect of cost.
Research Design
In practice, there have been different methods to carry out research proposed by many
scholars; nevertheless, none of the methods seems superior to the other. We have two main
groups of Research methods which are qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Quantitative research method is based on the measurement of quantity or amount. In order to
facilitate the investigation regarding project management failure in the construction industry, the
supplied method is driven by quantitative data and has very little to do with qualitative data.
Therefore, during this research, we made use of quantitative research method because it is
necessary to have the absolute values of certain key variables to analyze for proper results. In
this quantitative research, the main objective measurements were taken through
instrumentations rather than through human judgment.
Equally, qualitative research method was not completely rolled out given that it is
explorative and will help us dig deeper into certain aspects. Secondly, it will permit us to study
the frequency of the phenomenon in its social context and be able to come to terms with the
meaning (Taylor 2003). Also, it best answers the questions of “why” through the analysis of
unstructured information but quantitative research method is the main research method used for
this research. We adopted the quantitative research design though our dependent variable is
captured as qualitative variable.
We also made used of binary probit regression model using IBM SPSS statistics tools
because it best helps in obtaining information concerning certain variables that are main
determinants of both the non-respect of time and non-respect of cost. With the probit regression
model, we were interested in how certain variables affect the non-respect of both the previewed
cost and time of projects execution.
As concerns the Study Population, the CBCHS has a total population of over 4,000 while
technical services department has a total population of about 170 permanent employees. This
population excludes temporal workers who come and go depending on the work availability at
the time. Each technical services construction department unit representing a stratum has about
10 or more employees.
As concerns the sample for this study, we targeted the workers of the technical services
department and management staff due to their considerable dexterity in construction related
issues. In this light, we focused on men and women of this department who have worked for
several years already and are aware of the construction related qualms. As concerns the
sample size, we made use of 115 men and women from all the different stations projects‟
departments (strata) as our sample size. They were technicians, general labourers, finance staff
and management personnel. Also, due to the remarkable advantages of the stratified random
sampling over the simple random sampling, we privileged the two stage stratified random
sampling technique. As indicated by Joop and Hennie (2015) this is important as stratified
random sampling is likely to reveal more appropriate information especially from strata that are
non-overlapping.
The respondents were grouped following their working stations as concerns the first
strata, and then the second stage strata were constructed on the basis of specialties. In this
case some of the workers were grouped under the technician‟s stratum while others fell under
the management team. This was because we did not want to create a bias in which only
managers will be considered at the detriment of technicians. From here, the simply random
sampling technique was made used of.
As concerns data collection instruments used, the inexistence of secondary data on the
issue under investigation caused us to make use of a questionnaire to gather relevant
information from the CHCHS construction department. The questionnaire in this context is
appropriate as it gave us the opportunity to tailor our questions to better determine and identify
the determinants of both the non-respect previewed time and cost in construction projects. This
instrument is better than conducting an interview because it is more objective as all respondents
will be asked the same questions with limited possibility for them to deviate to issues that are
not of interest to us as in the case of unstructured interview. In this light several closed ended
and very few open ended structured questions were used in the questionnaire. The
questionnaire was constructed in three sections; the socio demographic section, the general
factors relating project failure, and factors relating the non-respect of both previewed time and
cost.
As concerns data collection procedures, we administered the questionnaires to the
respondents in person. However, for some of the project workers who had difficulties in
reading, the questionnaires were read out to them and their responses were filled for them. In
addition, some secondary data was obtained from the departments‟ records.
As concerns data analysis, after collecting the data, it was inputted into the computer
using SPSS Software package and the data was analyzed using both SPSS and Stata Software
package. We also made use of tables, bar charts and frequencies tables. Since the descriptive
analysis could not capture the causal relation, inferential statistic was then made use of.
Concerning Ethical considerations, the consent of the participants was sought before
administering the questionnaire and no one was forced to participate. In addition, there was no
question asking the respondent to reveal his or her name or identity. The participants were
given assurance that whatever information obtained regarding their personal life as well as
construction related issues was to be anonymous (unidentified) and treated with great
confidentiality in the study. As if it was not enough, we further assured them that during the
answering process they were very free to exit from the process without any fear whatsoever.
Finally we assured them that the information they provide will be used only for academic
purposes. During this process much respect was given to the respondents irrespective of age,
sex, religion or race.
Reliability
The reliability of a research instrument concerns the extent to which the instrument yields the
same results on repeated trials (Kimberlin and Winterstein 2008). Following our well-structured
questionnaire, the method of administration, and the methodology used, we are certain that the
data obtained for analyses was reliable and that replicability is possible.
Sources of Data
Due to the importance of the issues under study and because secondary data was absent, we
made use of primary data. This was through the use of a well-structured questionnaire. Primary
data gives firsthand information and it is more reliable while secondary data in the other hand is
more of second hand information and may not be all reliable since it has first been analyzed by
other researchers (Laura 2013). Information needed was well captured by the questionnaire for
analyses. However, some secondary data was also collected from archive of the CBCHS
construction department.
FINDINGS
Presentation of Demographic Data and Analyses
Distribution of respondents according to age group
As indicated in Figure 1 below, the age groups that is involve more in the construction sector
are men and women above 18 years and with a higher concentration between 31 to 45 years
old. 20 (17.39 percent) workers of technical department are between 18 to 30 years. This low
percentage may likely be arising from the fact that most of the workers below 30 years in
Cameroon are still going to school as well as writing competitive examinations for employment.
75 (65.22 percent) respondents are between the ages of 31 to 45 years. The technical
employees between 46 years to 60 years were 20 (17.39 percent). A majority of the staff of the
technical department falls within a good active age that could likely be experienced and
productive contrarily to what is observed on the field. There was no staff among those who
filled our questionnaire that was above 60 years.
Series1, Married
, 84.3
Series1, Single,
15.7
Series1
Male
Female Male
5.2
5%
Series1
Female
94.8
95%
same roof is considered as medium household size while 8 persons and above under is
considered to be a large household size. From Figure 5, respondents with small household size
category were 48 (41.7 percent), medium household size category were 60 (52.2 percent) while
large household size category were 7 (6.10 percent). The number of employees with large
household size was very negligible when compared to the other categories. This might be likely
due to the small pay package.
Series1, Large,
6.10%
Series1, Medium,
52.20%
Series1, Small,
41.70%
Series1, Urban,
Rural Urban 66.1
Series1, Rural,
33.9
Series1, > 10
years, 40%
Series1, 5_10
years, 23.50%
Series1, 1_5
years, 27.80%
Series1, <1
year, 8.70%
determinants of construction project failure from the general perspective. Then, the results for
objective 2 and 3 are presented on table 4 on the determinants of Construction Project failure as
concerns the non-respect of time and the non-respect of cost respectively.
Table 3, present the results from the binary probit regression with dependable variable being
construction project failure from a general perspective. Table 3 shows variation in the level of
significance. While some had a significance level of 1 percent on our robust t-statistics of
t>2.58, others had a 5 percent significant level on the robust t-statistics of 1.96<t<2.58 and
some with 10 percent significant level on our robust t-statistics of 1.65<t<1.96.
Objective 1: To determine the driving factors behind the observed construction project
failure from a general perspective at the Cameroon Baptist Convection Health Services.
The regression table indicates a number of factors that are responsible for project failure from a
general perspective. Looking at the coefficient associated to the variable, non-respect of scope,
we noticed a positive sign. This implies that the more the scope of the project is not respected,
the higher the probability that the project will fail from a general perspective. This is true at 1
percent level of significance (***). This result ties with the findings of Amade, et al. (2015) who
carried out a similar study in Nigeria and observed that adequate planning had a positive impact
on the success of public sector construction projects delivery. As concerns the coefficient
associated to the variable, lack of timely and inadequate provision of funds, we noticed that it is
positive. This implies that when project funds are not adequately provided and not on time, the
probability that the project will fail will be higher. This is equally true at 1 percent level of
significance (***).
Also considering the coefficient associated to the variable, Ineffective planning of project
manager, the sign is positive. This implies that the more the project managers do not plan well,
the higher the probability that the project will fail. This implies that the non-respect of Scope,
lack of timely and inadequate provision of funds as well as ineffective planning of the project
managers from the general perspective, has a higher probability to cause construction project to
fail all things being equal. Ineffective communication, inadequate motivation of project team
members, unavailability of material resources, and collaborative nature of the project managers
also increase the likelihood of construction project failure from a general perspective.
The coefficient associated to the variable, Non Risk Planning and Mitigation was noticed
to have a negative sign. This was true at 1 percent level of significance (*) and likely means that
non risk planning is not a major issue in the CBCHS. Also, the coefficient associated to the
variable, Ineffective Collaboration of Team Members was negative. This may likely mean that
Ineffective Collaboration of Team Members is not a major issue in the management of projects
in the CBCHS from a general perspective.
However, the rest of the factors such as; timely allocation for completion of projects and
Resolution of conflicts among members did not have any major significant effect on project
failure.
Determinants of Project Failure as concerns the non-respect of previewed time and cost
In table 4, column 2, the dependent variable was construction project failure as concerns the
non-respect of time while construction project failure as concerns non-respect of Cost is
presented in column 3.
Table 4: Drivers of Project failure as concerns the non-respect of previewed time and cost
independent Variables Dependent variable: Construction Project failure
NON-RESPECT OF TIME NON-RESPECT OF COST
Inadequate Motivation Of Project Team Members 0.217*** (2.64) -0.002* (1.91)
altered or is not respected, the higher the probability that the project will not be completed within
time.
On the other hand, the coefficient associated to the variable, ineffective planning of
project managers has a positive sign. This implies that a continuous increase on poor planning
will probably increase the chances that the project will not be completed within time. This is true
at 1 percent level of significance (***). Looking at the coefficient associated to variable,
inadequate motivation of project team members, we noticed that it has a positive sign. This
implies that the more workers are not motivated, the higher the likelihood that the workers will
not work hard to achieve the project within time making the project to fail. This result is at 1
percent level of significance (***). This lack of motivation seems more feasible when linked with
the household characteristics observed in our household demographic data. The majority of the
workers lived in small and medium household size and if they workers were well motivated, the
probability would be that, the majority will likely have large household size. Looking at the
coefficient associated to the variable, ineffective Communication, we noticed that it was positive.
This implies that when there is no effective communication in the project, the higher the
probability that the project will not be successful within time. This is true at 1 percent level of
significance (***).
The coefficient of the Low Educational status of members associated to project failure
was observed to have a positive sign, implying that the more uneducated workers are employed
the higher probability that the projects will not be successful within time. This is true at 1 percent
level of significance. Even from the educational characteristics in the socio demographic data,
we observed that the majority of the CBCHS workers are those who completed only primary
school or did not complete at all. This illiteracy level can likely contribute to the incompetency
level of the project team, and hence, may lead to project failure.
Our fundamental theory for the study has been the Critical Chain Project Management
Theory and to an extent the project management competency theory, and by it, project
managers should definitely have some basic knowledge on effective planning, as well as cost
and time management. With this knowledge, project managers are supposed to prepare a
project network diagram to follow considering its critical paths in order to make projects succeed
within time. The illiteracy level of the project team can likely increase their degree of
incompetency leading to poor time management and project failure. The coefficient association
to the variable, Infective collaboration of project manager indicated a positive sign. This implies
that the more there is no effective collaboration amongst the project managers and team, the
higher the probability that the project will not succeed within the stipulated time. This is true at 5
percent level of significance (**).
The degree of the effects of the aforementioned on project failure as concern the non-respect of
the previewed time shows that attention is needed to greatly shorten project duration so that
projects can be successful within the stipulated time frame. The results of our findings here
show some corroboration with the findings of Iyer and Jha (2006) that carried out a research on
factors affecting cost performance and project duration in Indian construction projects and found
out that the project manager‟s competence has a positive effect on quality performance, time
and cost of construction projects.
findings observed by Jha& Iyer (2006), Shaban (2008), Amusan, (2011), and Adnan et al.
(2009) on similar studies. Their findings on similar factors affecting project cost performance,
and duration of local construction projects and their relative importance, indicated material
prices, and unavailability of material resources that increases cost of project. In our case,
unavailability of project resources has a higher significant value.
project execution. The implication is that for CBCHS to reduce challenges of non-respect of time
and cost, they should not focus on these factors since they do not have any effect on project
failure as concerns the non-respect of both the previewed time and previewed cost.
As also observed, Ineffective communication and unavailability of material resources on
the other hand increase the probability of non-respect of time in project execution and however,
remain insignificant as concerns the non-respect of previewed cost. Therefore, if the CBCHS
want to succeed in her projects within time, they should enhance effective communication by
providing communication channels and tools, making sure that material resources are timely
and adequately provided for work at all times, and workers motivated to work. But if resources
are provided and workers motivated but project managers fail to plan well and bring all that
matters in the project on board, we may never overcome project failure in CBCHS.
While an increase in non-risk planning and mitigation at construction site increases the
probability of non-respect of previewed cost in project execution, it is however not significant as
concerns the non-respect of previewed time-frame. This indicates that if CBCHS want to
succeed in her, construction projects as concern the non-respect of the previewed cost, risk
planning and mitigation should be targeted with great concerns but if they want to succeed in
their projects within the expected time frame, they should not border about risk planning and
mitigation since it has no significant effect as concern the non-respect of time. Furthermore, low
level of education, ineffective planning of managers and ineffective collaboration increased the
likelihood of construction project failure as concerns the non-respect of time and cost as
originally previewed. To address the issue of long project duration and non-respect of the
previewed cost entails that effective planning and effective collaboration of the project managers
and team is needed.
The CBCHS also need to consider the level of qualification of the workers employed to
work in her system because an uneducated worker may not be productive in solving
construction project problems. During planning and project execution, the project managers and
team need to be collaborative especially in times of costing. Effective planning will reduce or
illuminate scope changes and enhance proper time allocation for the entire project duration. If
this is done and workers are not motivated to work, the probability for them to be idling will still
be a hindrance leading to high cost which all boils down to project failure.
We were concerned with the factors that affect construction project failure from the general
perspective and also those that affect the previewed time and the previewed cost of projects in
the construction projects of the CBCHS and so, did not go beyond the boundaries of the
CBCHS.
We encountered the difficulty of moving from one region to the other due to our large
sample population and sample size located in different regions. Because of this vast sample
population in the case studied, financial challenge was another factor that caused us to strain to
cover the population and sample size chosen. However, the choice of sample population and
size spotted in different regions was because we wanted to come out with objective results that
will truly reflect the CBCHS situation at hand and also, results that will help the management of
the CBCHS take some policy relevant decisions to enhance its services. Since our findings
were limited to the CBCHS Technical department, it is therefore certain that this research will or
may not address all worries relating to the factors that bring about construction project failure
from the general perspective or as concerns the non-respect of both the previewed time and
cost.
CONCLUSION
The aim of this paper was to investigate into the drivers of project failure in the CBCHS. The
specific objectives to achieve were to; determine the driving factors behind the observed project
failure from a general perspective, verify the determinants non-respect of the previewed time
frame, and to identify the determinants of the observed projects failure as concerns the non-
respect of the previewed cost in the Cameroon Baptist Convection Health Services. We made
use of quantitative research study method with very little of qualitative. A descriptive survey
design was used to analyze the socio-demographic characteristics while the BMI SPSS
software, made use of binary probit regression to further analyze the drivers of project failure in
general as well as the determinants of non-respect of both the previewed time and the
previewed cost. Using a closed structured and open ended questionnaire that was designed
and administered to 130 respondents, we obtained answers from 115 of them who filled the
questionnaire sections properly. This was to find answers for the questions as well, satisfy our
objectives.
The determinants of project failure from the general view point were obtained. We also
obtained the determinants of non-respect of both the previewed time frame and previewed cost.
Our major theory used in carrying out this research was the Critical Chain Management theory
and to a lesser extent, we also made use of the project management competency theory.
Following the aforementioned, and with the below listed recommendations as derived from our
findings, we can conclusively say that the objectives of the research were satisfactorily met.
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Dependent Variables
Project Success
Respect of Previewed time (high quality) Respect of previewed cost (high quality)
Non-respect of previewed time (low quality) Non- respect for previewed cost (low quality)
Project Failure
Independent Variables