Assessing Awareness and Drivers of Critical Success Factors for Stakeholder Management in Public Health-Sector Building Projects in Ondo State, Nigeria

This study evaluates the level of awareness of Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and identifies the primary drivers influencing their use in the management of public health-sector building projects in Ondo State, Nigeria. Adopting a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 150 purposively selected stakeholders, including Quantity Surveyors, Architects, Builders, Engineers, Contractors, and End-users. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for awareness levels and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax rotation to isolate the drivers of CSFs. The study revealed a moderate level of awareness of CSFs among stakeholders (mean scores of 2.95–3.41). Respondents demonstrated stronger conceptual understanding (M = 3.41) but significantly weaker practical application and familiarity with implementation protocols. Furthermore, PCA extracted six distinct components explaining a substantial portion of the variance in project delivery: innovation and process efficiency, teamwork and cost management, quality assurance and timeliness, and stakeholder satisfaction. There is a critical gap between theoretical awareness and practical execution of CSFs. To bridge this, project teams must intentionally prioritize drivers such as team spirit, innovation, and structured quality assurance, while policymakers enforce continuous training and institutional support. The study provides localized empirical data on the drivers of CSFs in the Nigerian health-sector construction context, highlighting how foundational factors like teamwork and cost control directly influence stakeholder confidence.