Project Team Diversity, Implementation Process of Project Control Systems and Performance of Rural Roads Construction Projects in Kenya

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish the influence of project team diversity on performance of rural roads construction projects in Kenya. It also sought to establish the moderating influence of implementation process of project control systems on the relationship between project team diversity and performance of rural roads construction projects in Kenya. Six objectives were formulated for this study. The study was anchored on ecosystem theory, social identity theory and organisation control theory. The study applied pragmatism paradigm and mixed methods research approaches. Cross sectional descriptive survey and correlational research designs were adopted. A sample of 361 respondents was selected from a target population of 3680 construction workers through stratified sampling, simple random sampling and purposive sampling techniques. A questionnaire, observation and an interview guide instruments were used for collecting data. In this study, data was triangulated through comparison of qualitative data received from structured questionnaires for workers with qualitative in-depth interviews for site engineers and observation guide by the researcher. Qualitative data was analysed through checking data, developing codes, identifying themes and patterns and then summarizing the data and linking them to hypothesis and objectives. Quantitative data was then analysed and both descriptive and inferential statistics generated. Descriptive results were presented as frequency tables, percentages, arithmetic means and standard deviation while inferential statistics were obtained using Pearson’s Product Moment correlation (r) and from both simple regression and multiple regression analysis. Ftest was used to test the hypotheses. Tests of statistical assumptions were carried out before analysis. For objective one; r = 0.788, Rð€¬¶=0.62, F (4,192) = 285.254, p<0.001Ë‚0.05, therefore, H0 was rejected and concluded that project team demographic diversity significantly influence performance of rural roads construction projects. For objective two; r = 0.804, Rð€¬¶=0.647, F (3,193) = 335.874 at p<0.001<0.05, H0 was rejected and concluded that project team training diversity significantly influence performance of rural roads construction projects. For objective three r= 0.925, Rð€¬¶=0.855, F (2,194) = 965.321, at p<0.001<0.05, therefore, H0 was rejected and concluded that project team experience diversity significantly influence performance of rural roads construction projects. For objective four; r= 0.658, Rð€¬¶=0.432, F (3,193) = 136.735 at p<0.001<0.05, therefore, H0 was rejected and concluded that project team work-culture diversity significantly influence performance of rural roads construction projects. For objective five; r= 0.939, Rð€¬¶=0.882, F (4,192) = 358.941 at p<0.001<0.05, therefore, H0 was rejected and concluded that combined project team diversities significantly influence performance of rural roads construction projects. For objective six; R2 = 0.887, ΔR2= 0.005, F (5,191) = 299.871, at p<0.001<0.05, therefore, H0 was rejected and it was concluded that the strength of the relationship between combined project team diversities and performance of rural roads construction projects in Kenya depends on the implementation process of project control systems. In conclusion, the study findings provide evidence that for increased performance of rural roads construction projects in Kenya, aspects of project team diversity should be comprehensively addressed. It is therefore recommended that project teams in rural roads construction projects be constituted with an integrated diversity of the workers and that a policy to that effect be instituted and included during professional accreditation criteria for assessing performance and awarding of tenders. The findings add to Project Management Body of Knowledge by providing informative insights for project managers and other project management practitioners regarding project team diversity and performance of projects. Consequently, a similar study but with a longitudinal study approach to establish how project team diversity influences project performance, considering other intervening and contextual factors is recommended.