Exploring and Modeling Critical Success Factors of Value Management in Small Construction Projects

Value management (VM) is the practice of making a balance between benefits and costs in order to maximize value for money without lowering quality and/or reducing production. Many construction projects, especially those led by small firms, often encounter cost and/or time challenges due to a number of reasons including lack of coordination among team members, which can lead to a less effective VM process. The main goal of this study is to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) for VM implementation in small construction projects and analyze the complex interrelationships among these CSFs and how they influence the implementation of VM in construction projects. To achieve this, a mixed-method approach was carried out for data collection, analysis, and processing. Initially, 600 construction professionals in Iraq were contacted to participate in the questionnaire survey. Out of the 100 individuals contacted, 214 responses were gathered. After that, descriptive statistics and structural equation modeling were performed on the collected data. Leadership commitment, organizational culture, and VM integration—which all are classified under organizational readiness—were found to highly impact VM implementation. In this regard, stakeholder collaboration and effective VM processes were determined as mediating factors impacting VM implementation in construction. Key stakeholders across the construction industry can utilize the findings of this study to improve VM implementation in the construction industry.