The relationship of influential factors on material management effectiveness in building construction projects: Case study in Vietnam

Abstract

The improvement of management processes in construction could be seen as one of the important keys to project success in which material management should be appropriately taken into consideration. Although many previous research studies have examined the components of construction material management, the relationship of factors influencing material management effectiveness has not been explored. This study was carried out to identify influential factors on material management effectiveness and develop a model to explain the relationships between these factors and the effectiveness of material management based on practical projects. The research method included the collection of contractors’ opinions in building projects regarding the evaluation of factors and items in material management effectiveness, which have been reviewed and sorted into different groups from journal articles and conference papers. The survey questionnaire was gathered within two months during October and November 2018 in Vietnam. Lastly, 223 respondents were gathered in which only 200 samples were judged as valid for factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM).

The statistical results from confirmatory factor analysis presented nine major groups of factors affecting the effectiveness of material management with their standardized coefficients. The findings of this study enable a greater understanding of influential factors on material management effectiveness in particular, hence it will help construction players to avoid their occurrence in real practice as well as minimize their negative impacts on the overall performance of construction projects in general. On the other hand, the constitution of this practical model could be used for evaluating the effectiveness of material management for contractors in the future.