Delineating investment-driven enablers of social value in Ghana’s construction industry: the role of sustainable and responsible investment

This study examines the impact of Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) on social value creation in construction project implementation in Ghana. Amid global shifts towards ethical and impact-driven investment, the paper aims to empirically delineate the SRI attributes that meaningfully contribute to social outcomes in construction project implementation. A mixed-methods research design was adopted, combining the Delphi technique and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to validate expert-identified SRI attributes. The Delphi process involved twelve experienced professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry to identify critical SRI variables. A subsequent survey of 220 professionals was conducted to test the construct’s factor structure. Seventeen initial variables were proposed, and a final CFA model retained eight key indicators demonstrating convergent validity and acceptable model fit. The study reveals social value creation in construction being significantly influenced by SRI variables, including reduced unemployment rates, ethical business practices, social return on investment, reduced homelessness, capacity building, community investment, community engagement, and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting. This study addresses a literature gap on SRI and its creation of social value in construction. It offers a validated framework that provides a theoretical basis for future research on SRI in project implementation.