Environment, competitive strategy, and organizational characteristics: A path analytic model of construction organizations’ performance in South Africa

• Author: Luqman Oyekunle Oyewobi,James O. B. Rotimi,Abimbola Olukemi Windapo
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1384
• Published date: 01 September 2016
• Date: 01 September 2016

Environment, competitive strategy, and

organizational characteristics: A path analytic

model of construction organizations’performance

in South Africa

Luqman Oyekunle Oyewobi*

University of Cape Town

Abimbola Olukemi Windapo

University of Cape Town

James O. B. Rotimi

Auckland University of Technology

Abstract

While mainstream strategic management researchers have

paid attentionto the causes of performance differential among

organizations, there is a dearth of empirical research within

the construction industry on the subject.We examine the rela-

tionship betweenenvironment, organizational characteristics,

competitive strategies, and performance of construction

organizations in the South African construction industry. In

order to developa model for improving organizations’perfor-

mance, partial least squares was employed using quantitative

data collected from a sample of 72 large construction f‌irms

listed on the Construction Industry Development Board

contractors’register in South Africa. The results reveal that

organizational characteristics have a direct inf‌luence on

organizational performance, while the relationship between

the business environment and organizational performance is

mediated by competitivestrategies. Copyright © 2016 ASAC.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: construction company, contingency, competitive

strategy, organizational structure, performance, South Africa

Résumé

L’intérêt des chercheurs en gestion stratégique classique

pour les causes de la différence des performances entre les

organisations contraste avec la pénurie des recherches

empiriques sur ce sujet à l ’intérieur de l’industrie de con-

struction. Dans cet article, nous examinons la relation entre

l’environnement, les caractéristiques organisationnelles, les

stratégies concurrentielles et la performance des entreprises

de construction appartenant à l’industrie sud-africaine de la

construction. Le modèle élaboré pour l’amélioration de la

performance organisationnelle s’appuie sur l’analyse

partielle par les moindres carrés effectuée à partir de

données qualitatives recueillies auprès d’un échantillon de

72 grandes f‌irmes de construction inscrites dans le registre

des entrepreneurs du Construction Industry Development

Board en Afrique du Sud. Les résultats montrent que si les

caractéristiques organisationnelles ont un impact direct

sur la performance organisationnelle, en revanche, la rela-

tion entre l’environnement des affaires et la performance

organisationnelle est subordonnée aux stratégies

concurrentielles. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Mots-clés : compagnie de construction, éventualité, stratégie

concurrentielle, structure organisationnelle, performance,

Afrique du Sud

To maintain relevance in the ever-changing and hyper-

competitive construction business environment, it is fundamen-

tal that construction organizations continuously improve their

performance (Dansoh, 2005; Phua, 2006). Their performance

hasbeenlinkedtothecharacteristics of organizations, their

adopted competitive strategy, and the business environment

in which they operate (Lenz, 1981), among others. These

Thispaper was presentedat the 2014 InternationalConference on Infrastructure

development and Investment strategies for Africa, Livingstone, Zambia. The

f‌inancial assistance of the National Research Foundation (NRF) towards this

research is hereby acknowledged. Opinions expressed or conclusions drawn

are those of the authors and are not necessarily attributed to the NRF.

*Please address correspondence to: Luqman Oyekunle Oyewobi, Doctoral

Student, Department of Construction Economics and Management,

University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, 7405, South Africa. Email:

oywluq001@myuct.ac.za

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

33: 213–226 (2016)

Published online 24 May 2016 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1384

Can J Adm Sci

33(3), 213–226 (2016)Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 213