Prioritising construction procurement decision factors for achieving sustainable development

Abstract

The construction industry plays a critical role in advancing sustainable development due to its significant environmental, economic, and social impacts. However, procurement decisions in construction are still frequently driven by cost considerations rather than sustainability objectives. Therefore, this study investigates and prioritises construction procurement decision factors that significantly influence the achievement of sustainable development in construction projects. The main objectives were to prioritise existing procurement decision factors that support sustainability attainment and synthesise sustainability-sensitive procurement decision factors. The study utilises a quantitative research approach. The identification of thirty procurement decision factors was divided into five categories which are selection of the procurement method, construction materials, equipment acquisition, decision regarding labour, and selection of suppliers. A survey was conducted targeting construction professionals and academics using a structured questionnaire. Several statistical tests were performed on collected data including the Shapiro-Wilk test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and weighted mean ranking. The findings reveal that material related procurement decision factors and equipment acquisition related decision factors are the most significant in achieving sustainable development. Furthermore, study revealed that any of the labour related decision factors are not sustainability sensitive. The second most influential cluster were supplier selection and procurement method related decision factors to achieving sustainable development in construction. The implications of the study to offer evidence based guiding principles on how procurement strategies can be designed to incorporate sustainable development for to policymakers, construction professionals.