Factors affecting contractor's business failure: contractors' perspective

Purpose – The main objective of this paper is to identify the factors that have the potential to cause a contractor's business failure in the West Bank in Palestine and to determine their impact level from the contractor's viewpoint. Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 84 contractors from the West Bank in Palestine was performed. A total of 44 factors were considered in this study and were listed under three groups, i.e. financial, managerial, and external. Findings – Contractors have ranked the following factors as highly influential with huge potential to cause contractor's business failure: fluctuation in construction material costs; delay in collecting dibs from clients; lack of experience in contracts; low margin of profit due to competition; and closure and limitation of movement between West Bank areas. Originality/value – This paper identified the factors that have the potential to cause contractor's business failure in the West Bank in Palestine and determined their impact level from the contractor's viewpoint.