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Previous studies have postulated that an advance payment system (APS) positively impacts the contractor's working capital and is paramount to ensuring an efficient and effective project cash flow process. However, scant research has been undertaken to empirically establish the cash flow performance and domino effect of APS on project and organisational performance.

The epistemological design adopted a positivist philosophical stance augmented by deductive reasoning to explore the phenomena under investigation. Primary quantitative data were collected from 504 Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) registered contractors (within the grade bandings 1–9) in South Africa. A five-point Likert scale was utilised, and subsequent data accrued were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM).

Emergent findings reveal that the mandatory use of an APS does not guarantee a positive project cash flow, an improvement in organisational performance or an improvement in project performance.

The ensuing discussion reveals the contributory influence of APS on positive cash flow and organisational performance, although APS implementation alone will not achieve these objectives. Practically, the research accentuates the need for various measures to be concurrently adopted (including APS) towards ensuring a positive project cash flow and improved organisational and project performance.

There is limited empirical research on cash flow performance and the domino effect of APS on project and organisational performance in South Africa, nor indeed, the wider geographical location of Africa as a continent. This study addresses this gap in the prevailing body of knowledge.

Sustainable construction practices are strongly correlated with a profitable and competitive construction industry, improved client satisfaction and efficient use of resources. However, due consideration is not being given to sustainable construction practices in Nigeria. Therefore, this study aims to identify the unsustainable construction practices on construction sites, the barriers to sustainable construction and possible strategies to improve sustainable construction in Nigeria.

A questionnaire survey of 50 construction sites was conducted with construction professionals on the sites as the specific target, out of which only 43 construction sites have at least a construction professional present at the site. Forty-three filled questionnaires from the respondents were used for descriptive (mean score, standard deviation and charts) and inferential analysis (t-test and Kruskal–Wallis) in this study.

The study shows that a large percentage (75%) of construction professionals in Nigeria are aware of sustainable construction. The descriptive and inferential analysis showed a disparity in the ranking of the 12 unsustainable practices, 14 barriers and 11 strategies among the respondents. Five unsustainable practices (“negative externalities”, “excess energy”, “unsustainable technologies”, “non-management of health and safety of workers” and “material waste”), six barriers to sustainable construction (“absence of historical data and exemplary projects on which construction professionals can build and learn from”, “lack of professional to handle the task”, “poverty and low urban investment”, “lack of urban and construction policy”, “lack of awareness” and “lack of technical know-how”) and three strategies to improve sustainable construction practices in Nigeria (“cooperation, partnership and participation”, “protection of biodiversity and conservation of natural resources” and “sustainability assessment system”) were found to be significant.

The study offers significant insights into the construction industry unsustainable practices, barriers to sustainable construction, as well as strategies for improving sustainable construction practices. These insights can be applied to other developing countries with an emphasis on geographical differences.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the recent studies in Nigeria that explored the context of sustainable construction in the construction industry by providing insights into the unsustainable construction practices, barriers and strategies to improve sustainable construction in Nigeria.

Construction companies require meticulous and thorough financial planning to ensure business survival in an increasingly competitive global market. Past studies assert that cash flow management is also crucial to meeting project and organisational performance expectations. However, the link between an advance payment system (APS), cash flow and project performance has hitherto received scant academic attention. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the attributes and impact of APS on cash flow, project and organisational performance. This study surveyed all registered contractors listed in Grades 1–9 on the Construction Industry Development Board Register of Contractors in South Africa.

This study adopted an empirical epistemological design and deductive reasoning to analyse primary data collated via a questionnaire data collection instrument. Summary statistical and regression analysis were used to explore data garnered.

This study found that key significant attributes of APS in South Africa were payment of balance to the contractor upon project delivery; advance payment to contractors before the commencement of the work; and payment to contractors as agreed. This study proffers that project performance in terms of cost, time and quality performance is highly and positively supported by APS. Moreover, APS positively supports the efficiency, competitiveness and profitability of construction organisations. Cumulatively, these findings confirm that APS attributes in South Africa conforms to the global attributes of APS. The research concludes that client use of APS on projects improves the likelihood of attaining improved quality and time performance. This paper concludes with a recommendation that both public and private clients consider the option of an APS as the ideal payment system to support project and organisational performance.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work constitutes the first attempt to explore the linkages between an APS, cash flow and project performance in South Africa and seeks to engender wider polemic debate and further discussion among industry stakeholders.

This paper aims to evaluate Nigerian contractors’ perceptions regarding the effects of positive and negative cash flow during construction projects, with a view to establishing effective strategies for cash flow management.

A desktop-based literature review is used to develop a cross-sectional questionnaire survey which uses Likert items to elicit responses from construction professionals on: the reasons for cash flow problems; the impacts of negative and positive cash flow; and the potential solutions for improving cash flow on construction projects.

The study finds that delay in payments, difficulty in obtaining financial aid and inadequate budgetary control are the causes of cash flow problems during construction projects. Cumulatively, these issues result in project delays, reduced profit margins and in the worst scenarios, abandoned projects.

There has been limited research into the effects of positive and negative cash flows on construction projects in Nigeria and indeed, the wider geographical location of West Africa. This study addresses this observed dearth and consequently advances methods and solutions to deal with the problem of poor cash flow management in the Nigerian construction industry.

As the foundation for understanding the dynamics of the construction sector's corruption, this study examines building contractors' experiences of the stifling of moral, communal and cultural values in the name of modern social and religious principles.

This study's objective was accomplished in two phases. First, a theoretical model was constructed. The theory is then tested using structural equation modeling in the second section. The theory suggests that, based on social norm and institutional theories, social disquietude and religious manipulation influence the interaction and types of corruption in the Nigerian construction sector. From this theory, it was deduced that social malaise (hypothesis 1) and religious manipulations (hypothesis 2) mediate the processes and forms of corruption in the construction sector. To validate the hypotheses, a structural equation model (SEM) was developed and tested.

Native intelligence, new values, social quests and poverty are the social malaises that are profoundly responsible for corruption manifestations in the construction industry. The findings confirmed that construction stakeholders are heavily influenced financially and spiritually by religious organizations. Construction stakeholders engage in corrupt activities as a result of the ravenousness and self-interest bestowed on them by religious manipulation and the significant contribution of social malaise. The study admits that social engineering is required to integrate local wisdom and values into Nigerian society in order to mitigate the negative consequences of social unrest and religious manipulations.

This study has contributed to a branch of the literature on corruption in the construction industry that aims to identify the hidden factors that drive the sector's corruption dynamics. It has shown how many different problems in society and religious beliefs can make building contractors more likely to be dishonest. In order to improve project delivery, this study emphasized the importance of investigating the relationship between religious affiliations, religious doctrines and domination and religious competition on corruption in the construction industry.

Following the findings of this study, the majority of construction stakeholders place their trust in unmerited favor, “spirit money,” prosperity gospels and the payment of offerings and “seed money” to win contracts. This implies that construction stakeholders will most likely be deceptive in their dealings, increasing the quantity of certified work, increasing variation claims and engaging in collusion. This is because their faith in inconceivable favors and the exchange of offerings for blessings would lead them to perceive fraudulent practices as a favor.

This study is unique in that it sought to determine whether construction stakeholders' corrupt tendencies stem from religious manipulations and complex social systems.

Research into project success (PS) has a long pedigree as has research into the impact of building information modelling (BIM) on projects. Yet, despite the many revealed advantages BIM is known to deliver to projects, the relationship between the level of BIM application within a project, BIM's ability to impact a project at that level and the consequent effectiveness and range of success factors BIM is able to bestow across levels remains unmapped. Given the importance of evaluating the success of BIM-based construction projects (BBCPs) and the necessity to ensure the continual improvement of the BIM process, there is a need to identify the relationship between the level of BIM employed on a project and the specific PS factors that BIM is able to impact at that level.

This study puts forward a conceptual model for evaluating the success of BBCPs. A thematic synthesis approach is taken, using Scopus and other databases, and retrieving relevant articles from some 50 journals.

Eight success criteria for BBCPs were extracted and categorised according to BIM's ability to impact them across four levels of project application. Mapping BIM's variable impact at these four levels against the eight success factors produces a model for evaluating the PS of BBCPs. The model posits that the success of a BBCP is a function of the extent to which BIM is applied to the project. Moreover, the findings indicate that an increase in the number of PS criteria (PSC) for a BBCP is a derivative of BIM effectiveness, and not BIM impact.

This work constitutes seminal research to examine the concept of PS and PSC for BBCPs with the view to developing a model for evaluating the PS of BBCPs.