A rank order of determinants of construction organisations' performance in New Zealand

Abstract

There are certain factors within and outside organisations that can influence organisational performance. The presence or absence of those factors impacts organisations' ability to gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. As a risk-prone business sector, construction organisations need to identify those determinants that could ensure their superior performance. To date, global studies have identified many determinants that govern the performance of construction organisations. However, few of these are known in New Zealand, and their weightings could be useful in forming business strategies. Therefore, this paper measures the significance of identified determinants of construction organisational performance. A total of 100 professionals participated in a questionnaire survey administered using a snowball sampling technique. The Relative Importance Index approach was used to rank the determinants according to their importance to organisational performance. Five main determinants were significant and ranked highly, with more than 80% relative importance index scores. These determinants are resources and capabilities, competitive strategies, organisational characteristics, environmental factors, and customers relationship management. This finding provides a useful benchmark for future research on the significance of some determinants that could explain the performance differentials experienced in the construction domain in New Zealand