Eliciting project managers’ perceptions regarding economic sustainability incorporation on construction projects: a Bloemfontein case study

Abstract

The operationalization of sustainable construction [SC] practice poses a challenge in South Africa. Seemingly, there is an overt concentration on some SD dimensions during decision-making by project managers. Yet, successful operationalization requires the incorporation of all SD dimensions in an integrated manner with trade-offs made to accommodate project peculiarities. To date, a paucity of literature eliciting perspectives of project management professionals within Bloemfontein on the consideration of economic sustainability in SC practice has been observed. This study seeks to explore the perspectives and understanding of project managers on economic sustainability and to identify the factors influencing the prioritization of economic sustainability aspects to secure satisfactory trade-offs. A qualitative case study research design using semi-structured interviews was used to elicit data from a purposively selected sample of project managers working within Bloemfontein. Qualitative content analysis (QCA) was utilized for data analysis. Findings confirmed that although project managers have an appreciable level of understanding concerning economic sustainability in SC, they lacked an understanding of how to motivate for its prioritization when compared to environmental and social dimensions. It is expected that these studies’ findings will contribute to the growing literature on the incorporation of sustainability dimensions within the construction projects.