Shifting the paradigm: advancing construction efficiency through professionally managed projects over self-managed approaches

This study examines barriers to the adoption of Self-Managed Construction Projects (SMCP) that are managed by unqualified or unprofessional persons, versus Professionally Managed Construction Projects (PMCP) where external project management consultants or dedicated professional project managers are hired in developing countries. The study uses Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) to determine the most optimal management practices for both approaches. A comprehensive literature review is undertaken that explores the construction sector and the effects of self-managed projects and factors affecting their success. Data is gathered from construction professionals in developing economies through an extensive questionnaire and analysed to understand the impact of different factors on cost, time and quality. The results are indicative of the professional perception in this context and may not be generalizable, but they indicate that time is the most important project success criterion (more than 52%), and performance is the most influential criterion in choosing the best management approach (about 50%). The factors perceived to affect time are vested interest in timely completion (significance value = 0.134), optimum resource utilization for cost (significance value = 0.084), and optimum resource utilization for quality (significance value = 0.037). The findings also indicate that PMCP is the most preferred management practice among the sampled professional context with 73% of success. The results provide suggestive information for construction practitioners and policy makers in developing nations, but further generalisation may need to be tested in different geographical and institutional settings.