Communication performance challenges in PPP projects: cases of Ghana and South Africa
Built Environment Project and Asset Management
ISSN: 2044-124X
Article publication date: 28 August 2019
Issue publication date: 20 September 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The need to gain theoretical and practical understanding into the communication performance challenges in public private partnership (PPP) projects is considered as a precursor to effective communication strategies, management, planning and improvement in PPP models in both developed and developing countries. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the nature of communication performance challenges in PPP projects.
Design/methodology/approach
By adopting a deductive research design, a questionnaire survey of participants in the communication network of PPP projects in two countries (Ghana and South Africa) was conducted. The responses were analyzed using mean scores, Kendall’s concordance and Mann–Whitney U test.
Findings
The results revealed communication performance challenges that are unique to PPP project environment. Additionally, there were other typologies of communication challenges such as untimeliness, distortions and protocols that were frequently experienced in Ghana and not in South Africa. Also the emergence of misunderstanding affirmed that indeed this is a communication problem that is common and not peculiar to any project context or country.
Practical implications
With communication challenges and information asymmetries as notable challenges in PPP coupled with suggestions that effective communication is central to success of PPP projects and management, the insight into the communication performance challenges given by this study could be very useful to effective planning and strategies towards communication in construction project delivery in PPP and thus underline the importance of deriving mechanisms and protocols that suit PPP project environments.
Originality/value
These findings can be a precursor for developing bespoke communication systems, tools, protocols and communication behaviours to facilitate information flow aimed at overcoming information asymmetries and ultimately improving the quality of communication actions, tasks and outcomes in PPP project delivery.
Keywords
Citation
Kwofie, T.E., Ohis Aigbavboa, C. and Thwala, W.D. (2019), "Communication performance challenges in PPP projects: cases of Ghana and South Africa", Built Environment Project and Asset Management, Vol. 9 No. 5, pp. 628-641. https://doi.org/10.1108/BEPAM-11-2018-0137
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited