Purpose Industrial building projects directly support production capacity and enterprise competitiveness. Traditionally, however, evaluations of contractor success have relied heavily on outcome-based measures such as cost, time and quality. This study aims to develop and empirically validate an effort-based framework to determine which contractor efforts during the construction phase significantly influence success. Design/methodology/approach A survey of 194 practitioners involved in industrial projects in Vietnam’s Southeast region was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The study tests a model where stakeholder satisfaction (SSC) mediates the relationship between contractor efforts and project success (PS). It is redefined as “contractor success”, the ability to maintain client relationships, secure referrals and win repeat contracts. Findings The result confirms that efforts in quality, time, safety, environmental performance and lesson learning significantly enhance SSC, which in turn serves as a strong predictor of PS. Notably, cost-related efforts did not show a significant effect, indicating that cost control may be treated as a basic expectation rather than a differentiator. SSC emerges as the critical mechanism linking execution-stage efforts to long-term contractor success. Originality/value This study contributes a behavior-oriented perspective to project management literature by shifting focus from outcomes to proactive contractor efforts. The managerial implications highlight that sustainable contractor success in industrial construction depends less on cost minimization and more on prioritizing quality, schedule adherence, safety, environmental practices and continuous learning.
Le-Hoai et al. (2026) studied this question.