Manager Performance on Public Construction Projects: A Descriptive Analysis Study

Abstract

Over the last decade, the average value of public construction spending on commercial projects in the United States was $300 billion dollars annually (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023). Specifically, public expenditure encompasses various construction products and services such as, office, commercial, healthcare, educational, public safety, recreation, transportation, water supply, sewage disposal, storm water management, and other types of infrastructure and environmental projects (Maghsoodi & Khalilzadeh, 2018; U.S. Census Bureau, 2019; 2023). In general, the positive impact of public spending affects economic growth and improves distribution of income through social spending. For example, social spending on education, healthcare and other certain types of infrastructure projects reduces poverty and improves quality of life and living standards by providing basic public services, which may lead to greater equality in social outcomes (Zouhar et al., 2021). To maximize the socio-economic benefits from public expenditure on construction projects, it is necessary to mitigate project risks that may adversely affect project success (Damoah & Kumi, 2018). Therefore, a project manager must effectively mitigate project risks that result in cost overruns to enhance project success (Cox et al., 2003; Shane et al., 2013; Tworek, 2018). This study seeks to analyze the cause of primary risk factors that impact project success and provide insight on whether project success, as measured by cost overruns, is an accurate key performance indicator of manager performance. Additionally, the findings of this study can aid public leaders on how best to implement effective risk mitigation strategies to reduce cost overruns, control final project cost, and enhance project success on government construction projects.