Exploring the relationship between failure factors and stakeholder coordination performance in high-rise building projects: empirical study in the finishing phase

Exploring the relationship between

failure factors and stakeholder

coordination performance in

high-rise building projects:

empirical study in the

finishing phase

Sy Tien Do

Department of Construction Engineering and Management,

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT),

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and

Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM),

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Viet Thanh Nguyen

Faculty of Civil Engineering, Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City,

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and

Chau Ngoc Dang

Applied Computational Civil and Structural Engineering Research Group, Faculty of

Civil Engineering, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Abstract

Purpose – This study aims to discover the impact of failure factors on stakeholder coordination performance

(SCP) in the finishing phase of high-rise building projects.

Design/methodology/approach – Firstly, this study identifies potential failure factors affecting

coordination performance as well as criteria for measuring SCP in the finishing phase of high-rise building

projects. Afterwards, a survey questionnaire is designed to collect data from high-rise building projects in

Vietnam. Using the factor analysis method, the study discovers the failure constructs. A structural equation

model is then built to uncover the relationships between failure constructs and SCP.

Findings – The study identified four failure constructs which could significantly affect SCP, namely

traditional adversarial relationship (TAR), incompetent parties (IP), poor project planning and organization

(PPO) and delays of parties toward construction works (DP). The developed model indicated that TAR, PPO

and IP significantly affected stakeholders’ coordination performance in the finishing phase of high-rise

building projects.

Originality/value – The results of the study fill the gap in knowledge by discovering the causal relationships

between failure constructs and SCP in high-rise building projects. The results might provide an initial guideline

for stakeholders during the finishing phase of high-rise building projects to enhance their coordination

performance.

Keywords Failure factors, Stakeholder coordination performance, Finishing phase, High-rise building

projects, Structural equation model

Paper type Research paper

1. Introduction

The construction industry has an important contribution to the economic development of any

country. This industry was one of the largest industries and contributed to about 10% of

gross national products in industrialized countries (Navon, 2005). Reuters (2011) showed that

ECAM

29,2

870

The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:

https://www.emerald.com/insight/0969-9988.htm

Received 23 September 2020

Revised 8 February 2021

3 March 2021

Accepted 5 March 2021

Engineering, Construction and

Architectural Management

Vol. 29 No. 2, 2022

pp. 870-895

© Emerald Publishing Limited

0969-9988

DOI 10.1108/ECAM-09-2020-0744

the construction sector accounted for more than 11% of global gross domestic product (GDP)

in 2011 and could account for 13.2% of the world GDP by 2020. In Vietnam, as one of the

developing countries, the construction sector also significantly contributes to the country’s

GDP, about 5.11–6.39% of GDP during the 2005–2018 period (Nguyen, 2020), and 5.94% in

2019 (Statista, 2020). According to Ibrahim et al. (2010), the construction sector contributes

not only to the economy but also to the quality of life of the population.

In developing countries, the increasing demand for spaces and limited lands, especially in

big cities, has caused an explosion of high-rise building projects. Such projects are tending to

develop strongly in modern urban areas, especially high-rise apartments and offices for rent.

In recent years, to serve the needs of office buildings and citizen housings, many real estate

investors and construction contractors have followed the trend of developing high-rise

building projects whose heights are beyond the reach of available fire-fighting equipment. In

the Vietnamese construction industry, a high-rise building typically includes more than 9

stories. Up to now, there have been many high-rise buildings, including 99 completed high￾rise buildings from 73 meters to 461 meters, 17 under-construction projects from 63 meters to

155 meters, and so on (Council on Tall buildings and Urban Habitat). Obviously, developing

high-rise building projects becomes a hot trend in Vietnam, given that the number of high-rise

buildings within 10 years from 2010 to 2020 increased nearly 5 times compared with the

period from 1997 to 2009 (Council on Tall buildings and Urban Habitat).

Construction projects, including high-rise building projects, have encountered various

challenges resulting from high levels of uncertainty and high risk, coupled with time￾consuming constraints (Basari, 2017). For a construction project to be completed and put into

utilization, there should be synchronous and smooth coordination among various

stakeholders such as owners, state agencies consultants, contractors, suppliers and end￾users (Retana, 2016; Titarenko et al., 2018). According to Brodetskaia et al. (2011) and

Sepp€anen (2009), significant problems derive from Mechanical Electrical Plumbing (MEP) and

interior works in the finishing (to be explained more clearly in a later section) phase compared

with foundational activities, structural works, or roofing and facade works. It has been proven

that many high-rise building projects have not achieved high efficiency such as delays in

progress, cost overruns, poor quality, lack of safety and unsatisfactory aesthetics (Basari,

2017), as well as the bad image of the contractors and subcontractors (Feige et al., 2011). Such

problems are usually caused by failure factors, which could significantly affect the

stakeholder coordination performance (SCP) including contractors’ poor performance

(Gamil and Abdul Rahman, 2020; Nguyen and Chileshe, 2015); improper planning (Damoah

and Kumi, 2018; Gamil et al., 2017; Nguyen and Chileshe, 2015); dramatic design changes

(Gamil and Abdul Rahman, 2020; Montequin et al., 2016; Nguyen and Chileshe, 2015;

Trangkanont and Charoenngam, 2014); the owners’ financial difficulties (Damoah and Kumi,

2018; Gamil and Abdul Rahman, 2020; Ikediashi et al., 2014; Nguyen and Chileshe, 2015); lack

of stakeholders’ commitment (Damoah and Kumi, 2018; Nguyen and Chileshe, 2015); and

unresolved spatial confliction (Eastman et al., 2011). In Vietnam, main contractors or owners

tend to subdivide the finishing works for various subcontractors. This can lead to coordination

problems between stakeholders. To avoid the problems leading to project failures,

coordination among stakeholders such as government agencies, owners, consultants,

contractors, suppliers and end-users is essential (Retana, 2016; Titarenko, 2018). According

to Brodetskaia et al.’s (2013) study, the finishing phase includes many interior and finishing

works and workflow tasks, such as structural handover, electrical activities, plumbing,

drywall (re-entrant), HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and tiling works. Sacks

et al. (2017) supposed that a flow chart of construction projects with optimal production flow

could involve partitions, electrical, plaster, sprinklers, plumbing, water proofing and tiling

works. The participation of various stakeholders in the same area may cause overlapping,

delayed or interruption works (Brodetskaia et al., 2011). Misinformation and poor coordination

Stakeholder

coordination

performance

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