Exploring the Delays in Construction Projects: An Empirical Study

of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana

By

Ransford K. Awuku-Gyampoh, MPA, MSc., BTh.

Central University of Nicaragua

Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirement for the

degree of Doctor of Philosophy

To: Dr Thomas Grisham

October 2020
 Abstract

Delay has been one of the most prevalent challenges within church construction projects,

especially in the orthodox churches. Despite construction challenges and project delays within

most orthodox churches, there is still a lack of empirical evidence on unearthing the factors that

lead to church construction delays. This quantitative study is aimed at exploring church

construction delays within the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. After extensive literature and

theoretical review, a proposed construct was generated with a structured questionnaire and

distributed using the online survey tool, MikeCRM. Out of the 480 questionnaires distributed, 402

were completed and returned, representing a response rate of 84.8%. The questionnaires were

completed by 39.3% Other Positions, 21.9% Resident Pastors/Agents, 18.9% Managers, 9.95%

Project Managers, 5.90% Consultants, 1.99% Site superintendents (foreman), and 1.99%

Electricians. The sample data were analysed statistically using Exploratory Factor Analysis,

Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Cronbach’s Alpha, Pearson correlations, and AMOS for reliability

and validity and for measuring the suitability of the proposed constructs. The study confirmed six

factors as being responsible for the church construction delay with Material-related being the

highest influential factor and Client/Owner-related as the least. The other four factors include

Project-related, Quality-related, External-related, and Church Organizational Structure. The

findings will help academicians, building contractors and church stakeholders with awareness of

church construction delays. Theoretically, the findings will contribute to the existing body of

knowledge in the research area of church construction delay from the perspective of developing

countries.

Keywords: Construction in Ghana, Construction, Delay Factors, Ghana, Presbyterian Church of

Ghana, Infrastructure, Material delivery

1
 Declaration: Signature

“I declare that this doctoral dissertation is entirely written by me and no resources other than those

stated in this study were used for the accomplishment of the research. I also declare that all the

quotations which were used in this study were either direct or indirect; each one of them is

properly referenced. I declare that this project has not been submitted elsewhere for any form of

examination or publication.”

21/10/2020. Ransford, Kwabena Awuku-Gyampoh

Date Candidate’s Name

2
 Dissertation Committee – Signature

I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in

scope and quality as a doctoral thesis.

______________________________

Prof. Francis Pol Lim

I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in

scope and quality as a doctoral thesis.

______________________________

Prof. Ted Sun

I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in

scope and quality as a doctoral thesis.

______________________________

Dr. Thomas Grisham

3
 Acknowledgement

The completion of this academic work has been accomplished by the grace of God and

with the great support of some scholars, colleagues, and friends. The SMC University professors:

Dr. Thomas Grisham, Prof. Ted Sun, and Prof. Francis Pol Lim, have been incredibly helpful in

the entire dissertation process. I am grateful to the UCN professors and faculty; the Presbyterian

Church of Ghana congregations I have pastored; Ascension Koforidua, Trinity Royals, Adweso-

Koforidua, and Australia. It is very significant to mention the following scholars and mentors of

PCG for their overwhelming support in my ministry; Rt. Rev. Prof. J.O.Y Mante (Moderator),

Very Rev. Prof. Cephas N. Omenyo (Ex-Moderator), Very Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey (Ex-

Moderator), Rev. Dr. Nii Noi Odonkor (G.A Clerk), Rev. Dr Samuel Ayete Nyampong (Ex-G.A

Clerk), Rev. Dr Charles Gyang Duah (Ex-G.AClerk), Rev. Dr. William Ofosu Addo (B/A

Chairperson), Rev. Dr. G.O. Kwapong (Ex-Akuapem Chairperson), Rev. Herbert Anim Opong

Ex-NAAP Chairperson), Rev. J.J. Kumi Duodu (NAAP Chairperson) Rev. Dr. Nana Opare

Kwakye (University of Ghana) and Rev. Godfried Asante Bamfo (1st Resident PCG minister of the

Australian Mission),

I am equally grateful to the following intellectuals for their encouragement and assistance

Prof. Smile Dzisi (immediate past vice-chancellor, KTU) for motivation, Rev. Dr Nicholas Apreh

Siaw for his continual guidance right from the start of the study, Dr Edwin Okoampa Boadu for his

interventions, Dr Richard Ohene Asiedu for his useful suggestions, and Dr. Andy Ohene Asare for

his timely analytical suggestions and Rev. E. O. Otu (Ex clerk of the Akuapem Presbytery) for

always making documents available when needed. Also, to Dr. and Mrs. Mintah for their unending

assistance in this journey.

As well, I am thankful that this journey commenced with my dedicated lecturers, teachers,

and classmates particularly, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

(MBA/EMPA class of 2013), University of Cape Coast (MSc. class of 2014), Trinity Theological

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Seminary (2009–year group); Presbyterian Training College, Akropong (‘Adikanfo’ class of

2003), Nsawam Senior High (class of 1999), Prince Boateng International class of 1996 and Sakyi

Agyakwa LA Primary (1987–1990). My family cannot be forgotten for their love and

encouragement. My lovely sisters, Patricia, Faustina, Agnes, Evelyn and Helina for continually

encouraging me, my wife, and my daughter; I love you. Finally, thank you to my research

assistants Abigail, Bevelyn, Collins, Daniel, David, Evelyn, Gloria, Hannah, Kate, Mary, Phyllis,

Ransford, and Solomon. We have enjoyed this journey together.

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 Table of Contents

Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 1

List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... 13

List of Figures ...................................................................................................................... 14

List of Abbreviations ........................................................................................................... 15

List of Appendices ............................................................................................................... 16

Dedication ............................................................................................................................ 17

Chapter 1: Overview ............................................................................................................ 18

Research Problem ............................................................................................................ 18

Background of the study….. ........................................................................................ 20

Historical Background..……. .......................................................................... ………22

Purpose of The Study....................................................................................................... 23

Significance of the Study ................................................................................................. 24

Research Design .............................................................................................................. 25

Quantitative Research…. ............................................................................................. 26

Objectives of the study ................................................................................................ 27

Structure of the Thesis……………………………………………………………….. 27

Research Questions and Hypotheses ............................................................................... 30

Limitations of the Study .................................................................................................. 31

Summary .......................................................................................................................... 32

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Chapter 2: Literature Review............................................................................................... 33

Contextuality of the Problem ....................................................................................... 33

Review Direction for the Study… ............................................................................... 34

Review of Literature ....................................................................................................... 34

Project Management Theories ..................................................................................... 35

Initiation Theory.… ................................................................................................. 37

Planning Theory....................................................................................................... 38

Execution Theory..................................................................................................... 40

Monitoring and Controlling Theory. ....................................................................... 41

Closure Theory…..…… .......................................................................................... 42

Delay Components of construction projects…… ........................................................ 43

Critical and non-critical delays… ............................................................................ 45

Concurrent and non-concurrent delays. ................................................................... 46

Compensable and non-compensable delays ............................................................ 47

Excusable and non-excusable delays. ...................................................................... 47

Delay factors in construction projects. ........................................................................ 49

Potential delay issues ............................................................................................... 49

Contractor-related delay factors. ............................................................................. 50

Consultant-related delay factors .............................................................................. 51

Client/Owner-related delay factors .............................................................................. 53

External-related factors ................................................................................................ 53

Managerial dispute....................................................................................................... 55

Financial mishandling. ............................................................................................. 56

Lack of supervision from the board. ........................................................................ 57

Social and government regulation. .......................................................................... 58

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Church organizational structure ................................................................................... 59

Changes in Church Agents. ..................................................................................... 61

Leadership by church decision-makers. .................................................................. 61

Budgets. ................................................................................................................... 62

Lack of communication among church decision-makers and church members. ..... 64

Project-related factors. ................................................................................................. 65

Inappropriate project viability ................................................................................. 65

Unfavourable contract clause .................................................................................. 66

Legal disputes between project participants ............................................................ 66

Quality-related factors ................................................................................................. 68

Material-related factors ................................................................................................ 70

Effects of project delay in church construction ........................................................... 72

Time overrun ........................................................................................................... 72

Disputes ................................................................................................................... 73

Negotiation and arbitration. ..................................................................................... 74

Litigation...................................................................................................................... 75

Abandonment ........................................................................................................... 76

Cost overruns. .......................................................................................................... 76

Challenges faced in construction project ..................................................................... 77

Strategies taken. ........................................................................................................... 81

Onboarding proper technology ................................................................................ 81

Plan grid construction and productivity software .................................................... 82

Kahua collaboration and project management software. ......................................... 83

The Red Team and cloud construction project. ....................................................... 83

eSub construction project ........................................................................................ 84

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 Improve project plans with massive data..................................................................... 86

Improve training in construction productivity and promote job-site experience. ....... 86

Increase use of the prefabrication. ............................................................................... 87

Improve safety training. ............................................................................................... 88

Communicate effectively ............................................................................................. 89

Proper management of talent at a construction site. .................................................... 90

Summary .......................................................................................................................... 91

Chapter 3: Methodology ...................................................................................................... 95

Purpose of the study......................................................................................................... 95

Research Design .............................................................................................................. 96

Quantitative Research .................................................................................................. 96

Conceptual framework................................................................................................. 97

Research Questions and Hypotheses. ............................................................................ 102

Population and Sample Strategy .................................................................................... 103

Population of the study. ............................................................................................. 103

Sampling procedure ................................................................................................... 105

Sample size selection ................................................................................................. 105

Research Instrument ...................................................................................................... 108

Instrument Validation. ................................................................................................... 108

Pilot Study instrument reliability. ............................................................................. 108

Pilot study validity of instrument. ............................................................................. 109

Data Collection Procedure ............................................................................................. 110

Ethical concerns ......................................................................................................... 112

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 Data Analyses ................................................................................................................ 112

Summary ........................................................................................................................ 114

Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Presentation of Results ...................................................... 116

Demographics Statistics................................................................................................. 116

Age............................................................................................................................. 116

Profession or Role...................................................................................................... 117

Level of Education. .................................................................................................... 118

Years of Experience ................................................................................................... 119

Statistical tools analysis ............................................................................................. 122

Exploratory Factor Analysis .................................................................................. 122

Confirmatory Factor Analysis. .............................................................................. 124

Convergent Validity and Reliability ...................................................................... 127

Common Method Bias ........................................................................................... 130

Harman’s single factor test .................................................................................... 130

Descriptive Statistics ................................................................................................. 130

Correlation ............................................................................................................. 131

Structural Equation Model (SEM) and Hypothesis Test ....................................... 132

Path Estimate.. ....................................................................................................... 135

Details of Analysis and Results ..................................................................................... 137

RQ1: Relationship between Client /owner-related factors and Church ConD .......... 137

RQ2: Relationship between Church organization structure and Church ConD……. 138

RQ3: The relationship between Quality-related factors and Church ConD...............139

RQ4: The association between Project-related factors and Church ConD ……...…..140

RQ5: The relationship between Material-related factors and Church ConD ... …….141

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 RQ6: The relationship between External-related factors and Church ConD ........ …142

Summary of Results ....................................................................................................... 143

Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations ................................................................ 145

Summary of the Results ................................................................................................. 145

Discussion of the Results ............................................................................................... 149

H1: The relationship between Client /owner-related factors and Church ConD. ...... 149

H2: The relationship between ChuOS and Church ConD ......................................... 150

H3: The association between Quality-related factors and Church ConD .................. 151

H4: The relationship between Project-related factors and Church ConD ................. 151

H5: The relationship between Material-related factors and Church ConD ............... 152

H6: The relationship between External-related factors and Church ConD ............... 153

Conclusions.................................................................................................................... 154

The relationship between Client /owner-related factors and Church ConD. ............. 155

The relationship between Church organization structure and Church ConD………. 156

The relationship between Quality-related factors and Church ConD........................ 156

The relationship between Project-related factors and Church ConD ........................ 157

The relationship between Material-related factors and Church ConD ...................... 157

The relationship between External-related factors and Church ConD...................... 158

Practical Recommendations........................................................................................... 159

Recommendations for Client /owner-related factors ................................................. 159

Recommendations for Church organizational structure. ........................................... 160

Recommendations for Quality-related factors ........................................................... 161

Recommendations for Project-related factors ........................................................... 161

Recommendations for Material-related factors ......................................................... 162

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 Recommendations for External-related factors ......................................................... 162

Recommendations for Future Research. ........................................................................ 163

References.......................................................................................................................... 164

Appendices ........................................................................................................................ 190

Appendix A.................................................................................................................... 190

Appendix B .................................................................................................................... 197

Appendix C .................................................................................................................... 198

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 List of Tables

Table 1 Constructs and definitions ................................................................................................ 100

Table 2 Sample size determination ................................................................................................ 106

Table 3 Pilot study outcome .......................................................................................................... 109

Table 4 Plan for Data Analysis for the research question. ........................................................... 113

Table 5 Demographic Statistics of Respondents’ Profile (N=402) ............................................... 121

Table 6 Pattern Matrix .................................................................................................................. 123

Table 7 The Goodness of Fit indexes of the measurement model.................................................. 125

Table 8 Reliability and Convergent Validity of Instruments ......................................................... 129

Table 9 Descriptive Statistics ........................................................................................................ 131

Table 10 Correction ....................................................................................................................... 131

Table 11 The Goodness of Fit ........................................................................................................ 133

Table 12 Hypothesis Testing .......................................................................................................... 137

Table 13 Hypotheses (H1-H6) status summary ............................................................................. 144

Table C1 List of 378 Agents-in-Charge ......................................................................................... 197

Table D1 Total Variance Explained .............................................................................................. 198

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 List of Figures

Figure 1. Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................... 29

Figure 2. Theories of Project Management. .................................................................................... 36

Figure 3. Delays on a construction project. ..................................................................................... 45

Figure 4. Structure of the local PCG congregation. ........................................................................ 60

Figure 5. Construction projects chart. ............................................................................................. 93

Figure 6. Proposed Research Model for the study .......................................................................... 98

Figure 7. Age of respondents. ....................................................................................................... 116

Figure 8. Profession/ Role of respondents. ................................................................................... 117

Figure 9. Educational level of respondents. .................................................................................. 118

Figure 10. Years of experience of respondents ............................................................................. 119

Figure 11. Model fit of the independent variables tested amongst themselves............................. 126

Figure 12. Path Estimate. .............................................................................................................. 134

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 List of Abbreviations

AMOS Analysis of Moment Structure

AVE Average Variance Extracted

CAB Committee on Accounts and Budgets

CFA Confirmatory Factor Analysis

ChuOS Church Organization Structure

ClientORF Client /Owner-Related Factor

Church ConD Church Construction Delay

ConD Construction Delay

CR Composite Reliability

EFA Exploratory Factor Analysis

ExtRF External-Related Factor

KMO Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Test

MatRF Material-Related Factor

MSV Maximum Shared Variance

ProjRF Project-Related Factor

QuaRF Quality-Related Factor

H Hypothesis

HRM Human Resource Management

PIC Project and Investments Committee

PCG Presbyterian Church of Ghana

SD Standard Deviation

SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences and Stata

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 List of Appendices

Appendix A Questionnaire ............................................................................................................ 190

Appendix B List of Agents-in-charge............................................................................................ 197

Appendix C Total Variance Explained .......................................................................................... 198

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 Dedication

With joy in my heart, I dedicate this Doctor of Philosophy work to my lovely partners-in-

ministry. You are always there for me and the ministry. I cannot mention your names, but you

know you are a part of me. I pray for you to live long enough to see me use this knowledge to

impact my generation. I appreciate you and will forever cherish you.

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 Chapter 1: Overview

Exploring the Delays in Construction Projects: An Empirical Study

of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

The delay in construction projects is regarded as a critical concern for contractors as well

as managers as it involves high cost overruns because of the extended deadline of the project

(Monghasemi, Nikoo, Fasaee, & Adamowski, 2015; Marzouk, & El-Rasas, 2014). The research is

framed to identify the core delay factors which are hindering the Church construction projects in

the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG). This chapter delivers a brief overview of the research,

along with discussing the raised issues of delay in construction projects related to the church. The

identified information in the overview is used to frame questions to examine the influence of the

delay factors on the church construction projects. This research was conducted based on a

quantitative study where the independent variables (control variables) interconnected to the

hindrance in church construction were examined. Later in this study, the association between the

dependent and independent variables are established. The importance of the study is that it has the

potential to improve the project efficiency by reducing the influence of delay factors and this

knowledge is beneficial as well as vital for the policymakers, stakeholders, and managers involved

in project construction.

Research Problem

One of the things which remain of more significant concern in every country is the

economy, and how to boost it. Ghana, over the years, has shown several economic signs of

progress through the construction industry. However, lately, delays have been a worry and raised

national debate and concerns at various forums. The extreme level of prolonging completion dates

amidst the enormous cost incurred in these delays leaves a burden on the project managers,

contractors, and client/owners of the construction projects (Addo, 2016; Boys 2015; Marzouk, &

El-Rasas, 2014). Studies have revealed that Ghana had several occasions where the client/owner

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incurs an extra cost to the tune of paying three times the initial contract amount. As a result, the

work suffers long schedules and raises concerns on the quality of the construction projects (Addo,

2016; Adebowale & Ayodeji, 2015; Famiyeh, et al., 2017).

In the PCG, some church projects that commenced with a five-year completion plan have

been ongoing for over 10 years and still not completed (Adukrom District Report, 2014). Asiedu

and Alfen (2016); Aziz and Abdel-Hakam (2016); and Durdyev, Omarov, and Ismail (2017)

established that there are several project delays triggered by the project going over and above the

requisite budget and the required time frame. Construction projects that started with high hopes of

completion on schedule are being abandoned or suspended, resulting in economic loss. The

church, the society, and the government all give the impression of having experienced these stalled

projects with huge financial loss (Kog, 2017; Rachid, Toufik, & Mohammed, 2018). Kim and

Kang (2018), Mohammed (2016), and Rugenyi (2015) found an association with the failure of

project and low standard project performance as being influences of cost overruns.

According to Larsen, Shen, Lindhard, and Brunoe (2015) as well as Marzouk and El-Rasas

(2014), a delay triggered by construction project results in the loss of financial resources and time,

which negatively impact the parties concerned in carrying out the project. In some cases, an extra

one-third of the initial cost of the project is incurred because of delays caused during the execution

of the project. This form of procrastination is seen to create litigation and abandonment of projects

along with rising disputes (Alpkokin & Capar, 2019; Arcades Design & Construction (ADC),

2018; Kim & Kang, 2018).

The Church construction projects in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG) involve the

construction of a decent place within the church for worship purposes, building of church halls for

additional church functions, creation of church offices to execute administrative duties, building of

a residential place for the aged to receive care, and reconstruction and building of mission schools

for the Presbyterian educational unit (PCG–Constitution, 2016). These are the primary places that

19
are to be focused on during the building of the church to ensure its good standing. Few of the

congregations in the Presbytery were found to have worked efficiently to complete the project

related to the construction of the chapel, even though the completion dates were extended far

beyond the anticipated deadline. On the construction site it has been seen that other congregations

are still involved in the process of constructing chapels. In contrast, few have suspended their work

or have abandoned the chapel project due to lack of definitive knowledge regarding the time

(Akuapem Presbytery Report, 2013; 2014).

The buildings of the residential facility for office projects and agents in the church

construction site are still at the worst stages. This is evident because most of the facilities have yet

to be seen in the planning stage or at the initial phase of implementation, even long after the

session (governing council) of the different congregations involved in the project had approved the

plan (Akuapem Presbytery Report, 2014). As a result of the delay caused in this project, it has

been seen that the agents of the Church (client/owners) are living in rented places, which are

located far away from the construction site, making it difficult for the agents to access the site and

execute their work effectively. In investigating the reasons behind the delay, the research is

going to explore the factors that contribute to this delay with the intention of improving the

construction performance of the church. The knowledge developed is going to assist in

developing effective interventions to resolve the raised project challenges.

Background of the study. The problems relating to the delay of construction projects have

been raised as a global phenomenon in the industry (Nyoni & Bonga, 2017; Prasad, Vasugi,

Venkatesan, & Bhat, 2019; Wang & Tam, 2014; Zack-Williams, 2017). The primary objective of

each client/owner, be it a church construction project or other, is to effectively attain the successful

completion of the project (Sohu, Memon, Abbasi, Pahore, & Ullah, 2016). As asserted by

Schwing and Urtasun (2015), the success of construction projects depends on their effective

planning as well as design. This is because an unplanned and unstructured project planning of

20
construction leads the workers as well as the contractors to get confused in executing the

construction effectively. Moreover, effective planning leads to lower cost and results in the

completion of the project within the given deadline, thus reducing the influence of delay factors

(Dixit & Sharma, 2019).

During the execution of the construction, the project is influenced by success factors that

play a crucial role in assisting the parties involved in the project to reach their determined goals as

previously planned. Moreover, the delay factors also influence the project negatively as the dates

for completion of the project are missed or postponed (Wang & Tam, 2014). To reduce delay in

construction projects, the project managers need to become concerned with the understanding of

the client/owner’s objectives concerning quality, utility, cost, and time along with project

establishment (Marzouk, & El-Rasas, 2014; Schwing & Urtasun, 2015). The fundamental aspects

related to project management include monitoring, integration, and control of the contributors in

the project along with evaluating effective relationships involved in the selection of resources and

alternatives in the project to achieve the sufficient satisfaction of the client / owner.

Various studies related to the delays in construction projects happening in Africa have

revealed that time overrun was the vital issue faced (Marzouk & El-Rasas, 2014; Wang & Tam,

2014). Moreover, in many cases, it was seen that the project cost had surpassed the estimated

budget, leading clients/owners to express dissatisfaction with the project, thereby causing a delay

in construction (Nyoni & Bonga, 2017; Prasad, et al., 2017). Further, failure of the contractors to

adequately understand the client’s requirements in the construction regarding the design and

quality to be maintained, also caused project delay as it raised conflicts and disputes between the

contractors and clients/owners. In cases where the contractors could not execute work

management within the allocated deadline, a delay occurred in the construction project (Durdyev,

Omarov, & Ismail, 2017; Wang & Tam, 2014). The concept related to delays in construction

projects can be evaluated if the definition regarding the evaluation dimensions is effectively

21
available. In construction projects, the appraisal proportions are seen to correspond to the usual

project limitations such as rate, time, and value parameters (Sha, Shahi, Pandit, & Pandey, 2017).

Historical Background. The PCG was established on 18th December 1828 and has 21

presbyteries, 5,000 congregations and preaching posts (PCG 188th Report, 2018). The Akuapem

Presbytery is one of the oldest Presbyteries in the PCG. The name Akuapem in Ghana is seen to

be synonymous in spelling with the PCG. This is because the place is surrounded by lofty

mountain ranges on which the first stop was made by Basel Missionaries who came to the Gold

Coast on December 18, 1828, to spread the gospel PCG Constitution (PCG–Constitution 2016;

Kwakye, 2018). As a result of the long-standing and immense evangelical success from 1843,

many indigenous people converted to Christianity, and more specifically, to the PCG. Moreover,

missionaries and African converts have taken on the task of the clergy to spread the gospel at

Akuapem as well as to the places where the traditional churches are already established. Further,

many schools have been developed and established by thePCG to offer formal education to the

public (Kwakye, 2018).

The PCG established many educational and health facilities, which made it the third-largest

organization, surpassed only by the government services and healthcare services of the Catholic

Church, to deliver such facilities within the country (Kwakye, 2016). To effectively administer the

operation of the facilities in these areas, the PCG decided to set up Presbyteries, of which the

Akuapem Presbytery is one of the current 22 Presbyteries, each headed by a chairperson and

entrusted with overseeing the area’s spiritual development and physical factors. The Akuapem

Presbytery, being one of the largest and oldest presbyteries of the PCG, was established on July

21, 1922, with the synod held at Kyebi to deliver pastoral care in and around Anum and the

Akuapem area (PCG-Constitution, 2016). The Akuapem Presbytery presently covers the entire

traditional areas of Akuapem, some parts of Akyem Abuakwa, and New Juaben. The Presbytery,

including Akropong as its headquarters, consists of 25 districts, Abiriw, Aburi, Adawso, Adeiso,

22
Adoagyiri, Adukrom, Adweso, Amonokrom, Asuboi, Coaltar, Djankrom, Effiduase, Koforidua,

Larteh, Mamfe, Mampong, Mile 50, Nankese, Nsawam, Nsukwao, Suhum, Suhum New-Town,

Suhum Oforikrom, and Tutu. Almost all the 25 districts are currently undertaking construction

projects, and this confirms the vision perceived by the Church to cater to and fulfil the temporal

and spiritual requirement of its members (Akuapem Presbytery Report, 2013; 2014; PCG-

Constitution, 2016).

Purpose of The Study

The rationale to execute the quantitative study was to seek an understanding of the

essential delay determinants related to the Presbyterian Church construction projects in Ghana.

Rachid et al. (2018) assert that construction delays have legal, economic, and social consequences.

There are substantial losses of financial resources as a result of delays in the construction projects

(Larsen, et al., 2015). The study further focused on the critical success or failure components

involved in the church construction projects so that the extent of the influence of each factor could

be assessed correctly when understanding their effect on project efficiency (Naoum, Herrero,

Egbu, & Fong, 2018). Despite the numerous contributions of work in the construction field, not

much has been done on the religious institutions. For instance, construction projects like road

construction and other governmental projects have attracted constant attention by industry and the

academic world (Chen, Shan, Chan, Liu, & Zhao, 2019b). Though the delays in church

constructions keep increasing in the PCG (Akuapem Presbytery Report, 2014), the available

conceptual and empirical studies executed on construction delays largely focused on roads and

other public institutions (Famiyeh, et al., 2017; Murwira, & Bekker, 2017). There were few

examples of literature identified on church construction projects, and these were also outdated.

Therefore, in order to bridge these theoretical gaps, a conceptual framework integrating

client/owner-related factors, quality-related factors (QuaRFs), project-related factors (ProjRFs),

23
material-related factors, Church organization structure (ChuOS), and external-related factors

(ExtRFs) was developed to investigate their relationships with Church construction delay.

Significance of the Study

Construction of any form of shelter is required for fulfilling cultural requirements of life, as

each group of individuals is looking for a decent place for their habitation (Alzraiee, Zayed, &

Moselhi, 2015). Over 1,500 building projects are undertaken each year in Ghana, with

approximately 320,000 workers employed on construction jobs (Ghana Construction, 2017). The

World Bank recently projected that the construction industry has a shortage of 60,000 handicraft

workers and construction workers and that by the year 2020, the construction firm expects over

250,000 skilled artisans to fill the gap (Darko & Löwe, 2016). The building of any shelter needs

expert, semi-expert, and non-expert persons for completion. That is, in building one standard

shelter in Ghana, at least fifteen to twenty labourers are required in addition to all the technical

experts, and it takes many tedious steps to get a building permit, which may delay the projects

along with the added cost involved (Addo, 2016; Alzraiee, et al., 2015).

Consequently, it is significant to recognise and develop an understanding of all the causes

of the delays in the church construction to accomplish effective project management. This study

has afforded a verifiable base of thoughts that offer knowledge about the delays in construction

projects and their impact on the PCG. In this respect, the outcomes of the study contributed to the

business and the educational domain in three main categories, which include theoretical, empirical,

and methodological.

Empirically, the study impacted the body of knowledge, since it investigated the impact of

church organizational structure on church construction delays. This provided a useful approach to

the church, resident minister/agent, session, Project, and Investments Committee (PIC), and church

group leaders with a more unobstructed view of the influence of church organizational structure on

24
delay; mainly, the need to strengthen communication and make it active within the church

structure (Mulugeta, 2019). Project Managers’ reputation will be maintained if they avoid delays.

Theoretically, the aim was to contribute to the current knowledge base in the business

world as well as engineering, construction, and architectural management areas of study,

especially in the study of project management, church management, engineering, and technology,

according to the perspective of strategic management and a developing country (Ilhan & Yobas,

2019; Zidane & Andersen, 2018). In the PCG construction projects give access to a convenient

place of worship, and aid in housing the agent-in-charge (PCG-Constitution 2016). Therefore, this

study has also helped in ensuring that proper measures are put in place to avoid any undue delay

and make judicious use of the available resources (Li, et al., 2019). The outcome aided scholars,

church leaders, managers, and those in the construction industry to improve on their human

resource management (HRM) for sustainability in Church construction projects and other related

structure projects (Kim, et al., 2018; Sutar & Mehendale, 2017). Finally, this research was in

fulfillment of the Central University of Nicaragua’s requirement for the award of Doctor of

Philosophy.

Research Design

This study aims at investigating the extent to which delays affect construction projects in

the PCG. Premised on the predictor variables, the unit of the analysis was the 25 Districts of the

Akuapem Presbytery, which undertook a construction project like a chapel building, building of

church halls, building of church offices and building of a church manse as a minister’s residence

(PCG-Constitution, 2016). According to the nature of the research question and study objectives,

the study utilized the quantitative technique. The data collection was gathered from 402

respondents through a cross-sectional survey using questionnaires. The methodology of this study

was established as a result of the extensive literature reviews on delays in construction projects. A

25
cross-sectional survey was employed based on the aim of the study: to explore the delays in

construction projects in the PCG. Hence, the need for a sufficient sample of the population from

persons involved in the construction industry like the Resident Pastors/Agents (clients/owners),

Managers, Consultants, site superintendents (foreman), Project/Construction Managers,

Electricians, and others (committee/session) using the online survey tool, MikeCRM. As indicated

by Babbie (2016), the cross-sectional survey was the best means of gaining enough data in order to

attempt generalization about the larger population from which the participants were chosen as

samples. Since the study attempted to examine the relationship between the independent and

dependent variables, a cross-sectional survey was considered as the appropriate strategy.

Quantitative Research. Quantitative research is a technique that generally entails closed

questions designed for comprehensive interviews to measure or tally the answers and evaluate the

data statistically (Mayer, 2015; Nardi, 2018). The quantitative technique was used in this study to

assess various variables comprising areas relating to correlations between variables and employing

efficient statistics, such as correlations, testing theory, and variations between the means. The

hypotheses were developed to assist in having a sequential data analysis. The survey approach

helped in executing the study within a minimized time-frame and had a lower tolerance for errors

as well as maintained ambiguity in the study, resulting in the development of meaningful data

collection (Creswell & Clark, 2017; Naoum & Egbu, 2016).

As mentioned by Creswell and Clark (2017), the survey approach is used in research as it

provides a broader view and information about the social phenomenon occurring in the

environment without any form of subjectivism. The positivist paradigm was used as a principle

for implementing this design. The quantitative technique was used to measure and verify the

outcome (Mayer, 2015); to contrast and compare the results (Nardi, 2018); to establish the validity

of the instrument and the conclusion (Creswell & Clark, 2017) and to appreciate and critique the

precision of the study outcome (Vance, Talley, Azuero, Pearce, & Christian, 2013).

26
 This quantitative study gathered knowledge regarding the critical failure and delay factors

along with their level of association with the project. Moreover, the method was also used to

evaluate the impact of each of the factors on the construction project. In this study, the assessment

procedures employed in the quantitative technique, like statistics figures, charts, and tables, aided

the researcher in investigating, presenting, explaining, and analysing data for correlations and

trends.

Objectives of the study. The main objective of the research was to explore the delays in

construction projects in the PCG. The following sub-objectives aimed at leading the research to

achieve the targeted objectives.

1. To investigate the relationship between client/owner-related factors and Church

construction delays.

2. To investigate the relationship between Church organizational structure and Church

construction delay.

3. To examine the relationship between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay.

4. To examine the relationship between project-related factors and Church

construction delay.

5. To assess the relationship between material-related factors and Church construction

delay.

6. To examine the relationship between external-related factors and Church

construction delay.

Structure of the Thesis. This thesis is divided into five chapters, with the critical

components highlighted below.

Chapter One: Chapter One emphasizes the introduction, the background of the study,

historical background, research problem, purpose of the study, the significance of the study,

27
research design, objectives, research questions derived from the existing literature, hypotheses to

correspond the research questions, the structure of the thesis, and limitations.

Chapter Two: Chapter Two emphasizes the literature review, comprising intellectual

works and reviewed articles on construction projects, delay components, classification of delays,

and their impacts. This review will serve as the foundation of the study.

Chapter Three: Chapter Three sets out the methodology, the purpose of the study,

research design based on a quantitative study, reaffirming the research questions, hypotheses

corresponding with the research questions, population and sampling techniques, research

instrument, instrument validation to ensure the reliability and validity of data, data collection

procedures, and the conceptual framework to access the impact of the construction project in the

church.

Chapter Four: Chapter Four delivers the demographics (age, profession, level of

education) along with the data analysis of all the data obtained from the persons involved in the

construction project as in the stated hypothesis. This data analysis is in line with confirmatory

factor analysis, descriptive statistics, and exploratory factor analysis, and for each of the

hypotheses in the study constructs. Additionally, the validity and reliability analyses and the

correlation were performed, and the results are presented in chapter four.

Chapter Five: The last chapter offers conclusions and recommendations of the research

that links Chapters Two and Four. It also looks at the summary of the results from chapter four,

discussions of the results, and conclusions, both theoretically and empirically. Practical

recommendations to overcome Church construction delays are provided in this chapter. Finally,

recommendations for future research are presented. Figure 1 shows the structure of this study.

28
Figure 1

Structure of the Thesis

Note. This figure establishes the main structure of the thesis, indicating the beginning of the

dissertation to the conclusion and recommendations stage in chapter 5. Chapters 1 is the

introduction stages; chapter 2 deals with the theoretical review. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the

methodology used and how the data were analysed, respectively.

29
Research Questions and Hypotheses

This study was primarily focused on six sets of questions based on the literature review:

RQ1: Is there a relationship between client /owner-related factors and Church

construction Delay?

H10: There is no substantial relationship between client /owner-related factors and

Church construction delay.

H1a: There is a substantial relationship between client /owner-related factors and

Church construction delay.

RQ2: Is there a substantial relationship between Church Organization Structure and

Church construction delay?

H20: There is no substantial relationship between Church Organization Structure

and Church construction delay.

H2a: There is a substantial relationship between Church Organization Structure and

Church construction delay

RQ3: Is there a considerable association between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay?

H30: There is no significant association between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H3a: There is a significant association between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay?

RQ4: Is there a substantial relationship between project-related factors and Church

construction delay?

H40: There is no substantial relationship between project-related factors and

Church construction delay.

30
 H4a: There is a substantial relationship between project-related factors and Church

construction delay.

RQ5: Is there a relationship between material-related factors and Church construction

delay?

H50: There is no relationship between material-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H5a: There is a relationship between material-related factors and Church

construction delay.

RQ6: Is there a substantial relationship between external-related factors and Church

construction delay?

H60: There is no substantial relationship between external-related factors and

Church construction delay.

H6a: There is a substantial relationship between external-related factors and Church

construction delay.

Limitations of the Study

The present study was hindered geographically concerning the chosen terrestrial size. It

was centralized in the Akuapem Presbytery, which is just a part of the eastern region of Ghana.

This brings a concern to any bid to take the study in a broader view. Although, it can be posited

that the findings of this study are like Church construction delay in other PCG Presbyteries, to

generalise them to the churches in other developing countries would be problematic. This suggests

that in other churches or developing countries, this model could be employed for further research.

This will assist in discovering the strength and usage of the model from the perspective of other

churches in Ghana or developing countries. Furthermore, many existing studies with adequate

information regarding church delay could not be used for executing this research as they were

outdated. The church has minimal studies on construction delays.

31
 Finally, since the study was quantitative, the researcher was limited in listening to other

opinions outside the questionnaire, though some of the respondents requested additional space in

the questionnaire to have their opinions aired. Nevertheless, this was not feasible owing to the

initial structure of the study questionnaire and time limit.

Summary

The delays in projects related to Church construction were a critical aspect to be focused on

as the delays end in missing the timeline for accomplishment, which results in boosting the

expenditure of the project (Famiyeh, et al., 2017; Larsen, et al., 2015). In this chapter, the problem

statement regarding the study topic was highlighted, which demonstrated that, owing to the

absence of sufficient aptitude in planning, ConD is encountered (Schwing & Urtasun, 2015). An

overview of the background of the study was adequately covered, which indicated that delays in a

construction project had raised global concerns (Fummey, 2017; Nyoni & Bonga, 2017; Wang &

Tam, 2014). A brief historical background of the PCG was given, which showed that PCG has 21

Presbyteries out of which Akuapem Presbytery recorded several construction projects in almost all

the 25 districts (Akuapem Presbytery Report 2013; 2014). The significance of the study was

addressed, which provided that a decent place is needed to facilitate the Church’s activities. This

study would also help in ensuring that proper measures are put in place to avoid any undue delays

and make judicious use of the available resources during church construction (Li, Li, Li & Wu,

2019). The chapter discussed the limitations of the study encountered during its execution, which

included hindrance geographically concerning the chosen terrestrial size, and outdated books and

journals on Church construction delay.

32
 Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter One of the research presented the introduction, the background, research problem,

the purpose of the study, research design, significance, research questions, hypotheses, and

limitation of the research. Chapter Two discusses the main problem under study with specific

aspects of construction project delays using the approach by Awuku-Gyampoh and Dzisi (2018),

which seeks to select current relevant literature materials with the year of publication from 2013

onwards. The core resources for the study include articles, books, theses, and dissertations from

research databases like Google scholar, EBSCOhost, Academia.edu, and Scribd.

Contextuality of the Problem. In the PCG, Church construction projects are key to

the safety and proper management of the church, as in all other presbyteries (PCG-Constitution

2016). However, in response to providing these infrastructures, there were church buildings and

minister’s residences (manses) which had been left unattended for several years, and there were no

signs of continuing the project. Some of these church projects had been abandoned, and the

building materials were disappearing while others had been destroyed (Shehu, Endut, and

Akintoye, 2014a). The increasing concern of congregants had emanated from several uncompleted

church projects within the local congregations and the districts (Akuapem Presbytery Report,

2014). Each year, budgets are approved at congregational, districts, and presbytery sessions which

specify church projects and questions are asked about what happens to the budget when the year

ends and the construction projects are still not complete (Flyvbjerg, 2014; PCG-Constitution

2016). Several strategies are used by the local congregations to raise funds annually to support,

among other top priorities, the construction projects of the church. Aside from this, projects and

investment committees are formed by each congregation to coordinate all church projects,

including construction (Akuapem Presbytery Report, 2014-2018). The question that remains

unanswered is why are church projects struggling for completion? Are there some elements which

trigger these rapid Church construction delays? What could be the ideal solution for the benefit of

33
the church, the community, and the country? Are there economic benefits to be derived when these

delays are controlled? The author seeks answers to these and many other questions, and will start

by analysing existing works which relate to this study.

Review Direction for the Study. Delay is a critical concern for contractors and project

managers. It leads to high cost overruns when the deadline of a project is extended

(Monghasemi, et al., 2015; Marzouk, & El-Rasas, 2014). Several studies have been done on

construction delays, but hitherto the available works on construction delays have generally focused

on roads and other public institutions (Famiyeh, et al., 2017; Murwira, & Bekker, 2017). The few

scholarly works on Church construction projects are outdated, out of print or inaccessible on the

internet. The subsequent discussion here presents helpful resources for insight into the research

problem. It includes project management theories, with six construction delay-related components.

To be more specific, the areas are: delay components of the construction project (El-Gohary, Aziz,

& Abdel-Khalek, 2017; Kog, 2017; Smith, Beale, & Bowers, 2017), the classification of delay

(Chen, Shan, Chan, Liu, & Zhao, 2017) and delay factors in construction projects (Arditi, Nayak

& Damci, 2017; Senouci, Ismail, & Eldin, 2016). The rest are effects of project delay in

construction (Lu, Zhang, & Pan, 2015; Ojoko, Tanko, Jibrin, Ojoko, & Enegbuma 2016),

challenges faced in construction projects, and strategies available to improve the performance of

the project (Sears, Sears, Clough, Rounds, & Segner, 2015).

Review of Literature

The review of literature follows under six different headings. A critical examination of the existing

literature in the study is done by interacting with the materials through comparing, contracting and

synthesis. A summary is drawn at the end of the chapter detailing the key ideas.

34
 Project Management Theories. In every organization or enterprise, there exist laid-down

rules, which serve as useful procedures to be followed in the execution of duties. In project

management, steps need to be followed to provide for the successful completion of tasks

(Heldman, 2018). The PMBOK Guide splits the methods of project management into five:

"initiating, planning, execution, controlling and closing processes." In a study, Tereso, Ribeiro,

Fernandes, Loureiro, & Ferreira (2019) discovered that there is a link between planning and four

of the known practices of project management and grouped them into toolsets. That includes

planning/initiating, planning/executing, planning/controlling, and planning/closing. Planning is to

be the critical element in project management and runs through all the levels of the management

processes. Liu, Xue, Meng, Chen, & Sun (2020) found that the success of the project has to do

with the procedure.

In a related development, Sofberi, & Zainal (2020) maintain that construction projects turn

into failures whenever there are lapses in the planning. In project management, making sound

decisions stems from proper preparation at the planning stages. The success or failure of the

project will reflect the amount of time invested in the early stages of the proposed work.

Improvement of work output cannot be made on any other level than the planning phase. Liu, Xue,

Meng, Chen, & Sun (2020) argue that the failure of project managers to achieve their set targets

can be linked to the type of project management procedure employed. Adopting the right process

with thorough preparation yields positively in project success. Tereso et al. (2019), emphasizing

adequate planning in projects at every level of the project management, further discovered five

modern lenses to be the most popular methods employed in project management. They include

baseline plans, Gantt charts, progress meetings, activity lists and kick-off meetings. These findings

are worth studying, and therefore, this study will consider the procedures used by Tereso et al.

(2019) to serve as the basis for development (See Figure 2).

35
Figure 2

Theories of Project Management

Note. This figure displays the main features of project management. The focal areas are Initiating,
Planning, Executing, Controlling, Closing. Four toolsets make up the initiating/planning; the
Executing also has four toolsets while the Controlling comprises eight levels. It closures toolset is
also four. The planning runs through all the stages except the closure. Adopted from "Project
management practices in private organizations:" by Tereso, A., Ribeiro, P., Fernandes, G.,
Loureiro, I., & Ferreira, M. (2019). Project Management Journal, 50(1), p. 17. (DOI:
10.1177/8756972818810966). Copyright 2019 by Project Management Institute, Inc.

36
From Figure 2, the five philosophies of project management have been outlined as

planning/initiating, planning, planning/executing, planning/controlling, planning/closing. A careful

study of the list provided in Figure 2, by Tereso et al. (2019) is like what was adopted from

PMBOK® Guide (2002), (as cited by Koskela, & Howell, 2002) as planning processes, controlling

processes, executing processes, performance data correction in project management. The

discussions below will briefly define these procedures.

Initiation Theory. The first stage of the project sequence in every project management is

the initiation theory. The initiating approach asks the question, "why" a task ought to be

accomplished and starts with defined objectives to guide the ideas. The project charter (scope and

goals) is then developed with the identified stakeholders. The need for the project, who the sponsors

are, and who to manage the project is extremely critical in this phase (Колеснікова, Бондар,

Москалюк, & Яковенко 2017). This is done through kick-off meeting to involve all the parties,

beneficiaries, and project managers to explain the intended project and begin the preliminary work.

The study of Tereso et al. (2019) ranked kick-off meeting, and project charter under the initiating

theory group and the latter placed in the first position as the overall most-used tool in project

management practices. Project charter was the sixteenth position in the ranking. In similar research,

Besner, & Hobbs (2006) found a kick-off meeting to be the second most used tool employed by

project management practitioners in the industry while placing project charter at the eighteenth

position. This is an indication that to a large extent, project managers use the kick-off meeting

approach for their opening planning, but not so frequently with the use of project charter.

Additionally, Колеснікова et al. (2017) maintain that there are four essential entities at the

initial level of project management, which are linked together for a collective goal. The list includes

the team for the project, the project location, the type of project and the client/owner. The project

37
team at the early stages decide together on the right site to host the intended project and involve the

stakeholders in the preliminary stages. According to Matu, Kyalo, Mbugua, and Mulwa (2020), the

stakeholders need to play an active role in the initial planning phases of the project to bring harmony

and united fronts. When stakeholders are involved from the preliminary stages of the project, they

understand and get motivated to keep track of the entire project process up to the closing phase of

the meeting (Petersen, Handfield, & Ragatz, 2003).

Planning Theory. Planning has to do with the step-by-step outline of all the elements in

an anticipated project before its commencement. The advance groundwork puts in place what one

has decided to achieve within a given time frame. It is the arrangement of the pre-arranged ideas

and building on the pieces of information gathered at the initiation phase. Planning solves several

complicated issues and makes the execution of the proposed project smooth and less burdensome

(Schönbeck, Löfsjögård and Ansell, 2020; Sofberi and Zainal, 2020). A comprehensive analysis by

Tereso et al. (2019) reveals that the planning stage ought to be widely appreciated by a higher

percentage of the populace in project management. The preliminary phase is an obligation that

must not be skipped by any project management practitioners.

According to Heldman (2018), a considerable amount of time and resources is invested in

the forecasting phase of any project. Planning involves forecasting the activities of the project,

making room for a progress report, and provision for collating of the project outcome for

evaluation. Therefore, the failure and success of the project are connected to the initial plans put in

place. Whatever goes into the early planning surfaces in the output of the project. Taniguchi and

Onosato (2018), argue that effective planning advances reporting skills and aids the successful

completion of any required task. For the interest of this study, it will be beneficial to go deeper

into the components of planning.

38
Heldman (2018) explains that:

"…Schedule Development cannot be performed until all of the following core processes of

project Planning are completed: Scope Planning, Scope Definition, Resource Planning,

Activity Definition, Activity Sequencing, Activity Duration Estimating, Risk Management

Planning, and Cost Estimating. Schedule Development must be completed prior to the Cost

Budgeting process, … Both processes then feed the final Planning process, Project Plan

Development." (Heldman, 2018, p.247).

In the view of Heldman (2018) the evidence of project success is likened to a detailed schedule

which is reliant on other relevant components ranging from scope planning to risk management

and budgeting. The progress of project planning cannot be made in isolation. All necessary steps

must be observed to avoid undue prolongation of the project.

Mardiani (2018) maintains that whenever project managers plan a construction project,

they can evaluate the scheduled project to help in identifying potential risks that serve as threats to

the work. In this case, planners can make amends for both the existing projects as well as the

upcoming projects. Heldman (2018) stresses the worth of planning that the project's success is the

evidence of the volume of time devoted to the preparatory stages of the project. Taniguchi and

Onosato (2018) hold that there is a trio proportion of project management success. They include

being on schedule for the project execution, working within the projected budget and providing

details of the required work to help achieve the set goals of the set for the project. The planning

stage is all about "what and how?" Effective planning boosts time management cost control and

quality of the entire project. Project planning is directly proportional to the success of the project

itself (Sofberi and Zainal, 2020).

39
 Execution Theory. Execution is the “doing” of what was pre-arranged at the forecasting

stages. Thus, in the implementation of the required project, there must be coordination between the

design and the actual project. In a construction project, the architectural design is considered of

high importance at the planning stages and used by project managers to bring the plan into

operation at the execution processing stage (Leicht, Castro-Fresno, Dìaz, & Baier, 2020). In the

project execution, it is working on the schedule with the necessary stakeholders with the available

resources to bring the project charter to achieve the chosen project objectives. In brief, project

execution is the process of using the resources necessary to materialise the proposed project. Wen,

Qiang, & An (2017) discovered that clients/owners teaming up with the appropriate construction

management consultants would make project execution remarkably successful. There should be a

coordinated effort in pulling all the necessary specifications in the project charter to complete the

desired project. Tereso et al. (2019) detailed that the planning and the execution of any project are

simultaneous. This means that the execution stage is attained by observing schedule details for the

information to be managed, the people to be maintained, and compliance with the processes.

Nonetheless, Koskela and Howell (2002), argue that project managers often fail to deliver

projects as scheduled because of the lack of standard policies for project management. Fashina,

Abdilahi, and Fakunle (2020) think that poor communication amongst the shareholders and project

managers in project execution is, instead, the major challenge in the industry. In closing this gap,

Liu et al. (2020) point out that effective communication amongst the stakeholders and following of

the plan will promote a smooth execution of the project. In Figure 2, Tereso et al. (2019)

categorized project implementation under the planning/execution toolset to include risk

identification, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS), issue logged, and lessons learned. Yet, none of

those mentioned above met the most used procedure category. Project issue log ranked fifteenth,

and lesson learned ranked eighteenth among the seventy-nine tools, and procedures ranking used

as a yardstick. This implies that though the risk identification, WBS, issue log, and lessons learned

40
are familiar in the industry, they are not commonly used by project managers. One would agree

with Koskela, and Howell (2002) that the project execution process has not featured prominently

in the views of the stakeholders since the execution concept does not follow the required details.

The execution process must flow through delegation of responsibilities amongst all the parties

involved and with regular information flow to ensure strong working team (Wen, Qiang, & An,

2017).

Monitoring and Controlling Theory. Monitoring and Controlling are the checks and

regulatory measures applied to the executed project. Project monitoring and control runs through

the description of the project at the planning stage to the implementation and completion of the

project (Steinegger, 2020). In construction projects, paying attention to the project plan and

comparing it with what is being undertaken is monitoring. Supervising and Directing a project for

project performance are collectively done using the plan with the executed project as benchmarks

through regular meetings, recording and writing of the report (Tom& Paul, 2013).

In Figure 2, Tereso et al. (2019) revealed that the most used toolset under monitoring and

controlling are progress meeting, which ranked third in the analysis, with Gantt chart as the fourth

position and progress report in the sixth position out of the seventy-nine groupings assessed in that

study. This means that project managers regularly hold meetings on the ongoing projects with the

stakeholders to discuss up-to-date reports. Through the Gantt chart, the percentage of work done is

evaluated to give a clue to the outstanding work (Williamson & Scholefield, 2020). In another

development, Tereso et al. placed baseline plan (schedule, cost, and scope) in the fifth position, to

indicate that most project managers are familiar with examining the extent to which performance

deviates from the project plan. Customer satisfaction survey placed fourteenth and did not fall within

the first ten lists. The implication is that the project managers do not frequently find out the views

of their clients/owners on the executed project. Tom and Paul (2013) argue that the fact that project

41
management lacks adequate policies in the implementation of proper monitoring and control, means

it has failed to satisfy clients/owners.

On the other hand, Sofberi, and Zainal (2020) explain that in construction projects, the failure

or success of the work is determined at the planning phase and project managers must put in

maximum efforts to ensure a solid beginning that can be monitored and controlled for the project's

success. Every project that emphasises the monitoring of the approved plan with the ongoing work

can bring the entire project under control. In some cases, based on the project report, there can be

changes to the original request of the project plan (Tereso et. al., 2019; Tom & Paul, 2013).

Closure Theory. Project closure is the last stage that sums up all the events on the project

and the contract. The closing of the project is a sign of accomplishment. It can be the brief part of

the project management practices, or sometimes several demands need to be fulfilled for a mutual

settlement and future development (Sarfraz, 2009). In an article, Matu et al. (2020) argue that project

completion takes its direction from the active involvement in the project initiation. That is, both

project closure and the preliminary phrase have a healthy relationship. If project managers can

identify and involve the right stakeholders in the first phases of the project, there will not be much

chaos and stress at the closure stage. Zohrehvandi, Khalilzadeh, Hajizadeh and Cheraghi (2017)

found that many challenges like disagreements over entitlements, inadequate budgets and

insufficient resources occur at the closure phase of the project. What then is the right way to close a

project? Projects are closed mutually to ensure a smooth transition and to promote good after

contract relationship. It is significant to make an appraisal of experience learned and mistakes made

to serve as a guide to avoid repetition while being encouraged to build on the positive side.

Attaining approvals from all the parties involved in the project to validate acceptance of the

completed project is necessary. Sarfraz (2009) asserts that one of the challenges at the project

closure is the loss of interest before the completion of the project. Hence, getting the

clients/owners to sign the document endorses that the project is approved and serves as evidence to
42
indicate that no caveat can be raised on the closure of the work. Once the signature is appended, it

means that both parties agree on the completed project, and the contract must be closed positively

before picking up a new one. Ziddah, (2017) is of the view that delay and lack of documentation

interrupt the project closure process and that can hinder the final computation of cost for the final

payment to be made. Finalised reports are given on the whole project to specify recommendation

for future projects and not the limitations and the mistakes. Transition support is commended

before the implementation; the next parties to manage the project must understand the detailed

terminologies for a smooth hand over accordingly (Zohrehvandi, et al., 2017). The resources used

must be released, and all equipment, including unused materials, are to be returned to the right

office or persons. There must also be the need to archive all documents used in the project to serve

as references to give direction and to celebrate project success. Whether the project is cancelled or

completed, there is the need to end the project officially, and this involves a process called close

project (Sanghera, 2019).

Delay Components of construction projects. A construction project is regarded as a

temporary venture, having a specified time and cost, and the intention is to create a unique and

attractive building that has a minimal edition. Effective teamwork for the entire project helps in

achieving the success of a construction project (Larsen, et al., 2015). These functions include a

high-level of coordination on the part of the workers, plant, and materials, and the permit for

construction and, as a result, delays have been quite prevalent in the construction industry. The

integration of owner-desired changes, as well as innovative technologies, make a project even

more complicated (Chen, Jin, Xia, Wu, & Skitmore, 2015). Along with these, various kinds of

delays occur during the construction of buildings, churches, and other related church projects. The

construction industry is an essential area that leads to the improvement of the economy of a

country. It is regarded as a tool that helps in the accomplishment of the public regarding the

improvement of the economy of a country (Khattri, Agarwal, Gupta, 2016). Delays in

43
construction are classified as additions to the period of execution that is stated in a contract, or, a

time beyond the mentioned date for the positive finishing point of a construction assignment

(Chai, Yusof, & Habil, 2015). Some of the significant activities that are undertaken for the proper

construction of a church are the purchasing of construction materials, earthworks, levelling and

cleaning of the construction area, selection of a qualified contractor, and mobilization of the

church members to mitigate the delays considerably. The characteristics of the modern

construction projects are guided by innovative technologies, the participation of multiple parties,

frequent changes as desired by the owners, and new standards. Delay can be, and is, one of the

constant troubles in this industry. Certain factors describe contemporary construction projects,

such as propelled advances, constant changes as per the desires of the proprietor, and benchmarks.

It is an undertaking that slips over the scheduled timetable and is regarded as a significant issue in

construction projects (Belis, Pronk, Martens, Van Lanker, & Dispersyn, 2015).

Figure 3Delays on construction project

Note. The label "a" through "i" (a-b-c-d-e-f-g-i) shows the original expected completion date. The 'j'
indicates that the work delayed, and the time of completion extended. Delays in the construction
project. Adapted from “Delay mitigation in the Malaysian housing industry”: A structural
equation modelling approach by Chai, et al. (2015). Journal of Construction in Developing
Countries, 20(1), 65. pg. 67. Copyright 2015 by Journal of Construction in Developing Countries.

44
 Critical and non-critical delays. Critical as well as non-critical delays are widespread

within the construction industry and need to be treated as important. The critical delay is a

category that causes delays in the completion of the whole project. In contrast, non-critical delays

are the ones that do not have much effect on the completion time of a construction project. The

problems arising out of the critical delays have the primary source of forecasting of the Critical

Path Method (Akomah & Jackson, 2016). There are specific objectives via the critical path

technique in the construction industry, which are mentioned below:

• to calculate the finishing date of the project

• to identify the proceedings in the plan that provide the main risk of impacting the

finishing date of the project

• to identify the degree to which the vital activities might slip without any delays in the

project (Akomah &Jackson, 2016).

There are two principal methods for the estimation of the date of a project using this

critical path method: The Backward Pass Calculation and the Forward Pass Calculation. The

Forward Pass helps to compute the QuickStart as well as quick termination dates for a project. On

the other hand, the Backward Pass estimates the dates of a late start and late finish (Zheng,

Jayasumana, Romera-Paredes, Vineet, Su, Du, & Torr, 2015). There are certain factors upon

which the completion dates of a project depend. These are:

• the plan of the contractors and the schedule

• the physical constraints of a project that entail the way to build a job from a practical

point of view

• the entire project itself and

• the necessities of a contract for phasing and sequence (Hammanda, et al., 2017)

45
 There is a significant factor that, irrespective of whether one chooses to conduct an analysis

of the schedule of a construction project for the identification of the delays, is always present that

the contractor needs to give greater attention to this critical factor (Chen & Koltun, 2016). Each

project of the construction industry has a critical path, and the date of completion of the project is

impacted when there are delays in the critical activities. There are specific criteria for the

determination of the date of construction project completion (Schwing & Urtasun, 2015). These

include the project, the duration of a contractor in relation to the critical path activities, the

sequence of activities for the completion of the project and phasing, as well as a project’s physical

restraint (Jia, Shelhamer, Donahue, Karayev, Long, Girshick, & Darrell, 2014). The results of the

critical delays are extended field overhead, labour and material cost escalation, unabsorbed home

office overhead, idle labour and equipment cost, and liquidated damage.

Concurrent and non-concurrent delays. The concurrent delay is an overly complicated

type of delay that comprises more than one kind of delay component, irrespective of their types,

that either overlaps after a certain period or occurs at the same time (Chen, et al., 2017). It

becomes relevant to identify the type that is accountable for the delay in the entire project finishing

point. Thus, certain aspects, such as the duration of the delays, float ownership, the occurrence of

delays, and others, need to be taken into consideration. The concurrent delay is a type of delay that

is caused by the project owner or a general contractor that profoundly affects the project schedule

as well as the project completion date (El Gezery, 2018). Each of the project delays occurring

within the same period affects the completion time. It is the occurrence of multiple delays

simultaneously; one is the contractor risk incident and an additional one is the employer risk event,

and their effects. In many cases, business organizations remain entitled to cover the extra costs

because of delays. It is significant to identify the concurrent delays, as the owners increasingly use

this process as a tool for avoiding excess billing due to overhead and change of orders. Concurrent

delays result from the presence of multiple excusable delays that occur within the completion time.

46
 Non-concurrent delays take place when the critical path of the schedule of construction is

affected by a single activity (Gardezi, Manarvi & Gardezi, 2014). Non-concurrent delays can be

excusable delays taking into consideration compensation that can give some relief to the contractor

by extending the time, remission of potential delays of damages concerning a given circumstance,

and liquidated damages. It can also be an inexcusable delay where the contractor may have an

enormous impact on the finishing date simultaneously with the owner (Gardezi, et al., 2014).

Compensable and non-compensable delays. Compensable delays are those that are

defined in the contract in most of the cases. There is an ability for the contractor to be

compensated for the cost of delay in any construction project based on circumstances. It is also

known as no damages for delay. The situation where the contractor is solely responsible for the

delay in the construction project is known as a non-compensable delay. Non-compensable falls

under non-critical, critical, non-excusable, or excusable depending on the conditions of a contract

(Chen, et al., 2017). It is a type of delay that occurs due to unusual weather, fire, flood, or strikes.

It occurs when there is a lack of anticipation about the weather during that time of the year. The

contractor has the authority to extend the time of the project when there is severe weather. The

determination of the factors that constitute severe weather is based on the historical data of the

specific area (Baiden, Abdul-Razak, & Danku, 2015). A contractor should make a representation

about the weather conditions they have experienced so that they can request a time extension for

unusual weather. Non-compensable delays are ones where the contractor can only request a time

extension but not any other monetary compensation. Whether or not a delay is compensable

depends mainly on the terms of a contract. In most of the cases, a contract makes a note of the

types of delay that become non-compensable (Getahun, Macarubbo, & Mosisa 2016).

Excusable and non-excusable delays. Excusable delays are the ones that become

unforeseeable and are not within the control of a contractor in the construction industry. By

contrast, non-excusable delays are those within the control of a contractor. The main difference

47
between these two delays plays a significant part in the determination of the party that will be

liable for the delays. It also indicates whether a contractor can extend the project time and whether

he would be entitled to compensation for this date extension (Arditi, et al., 2017; Islami, Yang, &

Wibowo 2015; Khahro, & Memon, 2018).

The main reasons for excusable delays can be natural calamities, terrorist attacks, force

majeure clauses, political or social unrest, and delay by clients/owners. On the other hand, non-

excusable delays occur due to variety of reasons such as delayed procurement, delayed

mobilization, planning and scheduling, critical events that have not been made known to the

clients/owners at the time, and late submission of significant documents. Agyekum-Mensah and

Knight (2017); Amoatey, Ameyaw, Adaku, and Famiyeh (2015); Muhammed (2016); and Rao,

Shekar, Jaiswal, Jain, and Saxena (2016) found that certain events act as the source of excusable

delays. Some of these include:

• omissions as well as errors in the plans and specifications

• harsh climate conditions

• involvement of other organizations

• inadequate support from the government bodies

• floods

• general strikes by the workforce

• differing conditions at the site

• changes directed by owners (Agyekum-Mensah & Knight 2017; Amoatey, et al., 2015;

Muhammed 2016; Rao, et al., 2016)

Conversely, some examples of non-excusable delays are mentioned below.

• untimely performance on the part of the suppliers

• late performance of the subcontractors on a project

• defective workmanship of the subcontractors as well as the contractors and

48
 • a labour strike specific to a project that is caused either by the unwillingness of the

contractor to meet with the representatives of the workforce or through unfair labour

practices (Amoatey, et al., 2015).

Delay factors in construction projects. There are numerous dynamics responsible for

delays in the project management of the construction business. Some researchers have described a

categorization of the causes of delays (Chen, et al., 2017 Islami, et al., 2015; Khahro, & Memon,

2018). There are certain geographical limitations which prevent this research from being applied

(Muhwezi, Acai, & Otim, 2014). For this reason, there have been several types of research about

the causes of the various kinds of delays. Some factors are major while the others are minor. The

literature review has indicated the classification of various factors in groups of numerous

categories, such as design-related, consultant-related (Smith, et al., 2017), contractor-related (El-

Gohary, et al., 2017; Kog, 2017), equipment-related, labour-related, owner/client-related, material-

related (Sambasivan, Deepak, Salim, & Ponniah, 2017), engineer-related, managerial dispute

factors (Gebrehiwet & Luo 2017), project-related factors (Aziz, & Abdel-Hakam 2016) and

Church organizational structure. The sections below will outline the details.

Potential delay issues. The possible delay features of Construction Projects include design-

related factors, equipment-related, client/owner-related, and engineer-related factors. The ensuing

discussions explain the factors listed above. Design-related factors

include those related to the architectural designing and planning of the project, through to its

successful initiation and completion (Aziz, & Abdel-Hakam, 2016; Ramanathan, Narayanan, &

Idrus, 2012). The issues in design-related factors cause hindrances in the execution of construction

as the appropriate way to execute each step in building the construction is not known by the

contractors or engineering related to the project. Equipment-related factors include those that

relate to construction equipment (Yousefi, Yakhchali, Khanzadi, Mehrabanfar, & Šaparauskas,

2016). The lack of sufficient availability of equipment slows down the construction process and

49
creates hindrances in its completion. Labour-related factors include the workforces which are

involved in carrying out the construction, according to the designed plan and structure

(Gebrehiwet, & Luo, 2017). The client/owner-related factors are same as client/owner related

factors (ClientRFs) where the clients are the owner of the building to be constructed (Osei-Kyei, &

Chan, 2015). Thus, inappropriate involvement by them causes hitches in the execution of the

project as legal issues and disputes arise during the project. Engineer-related factors include those

that involve the different forms of engineer related to the construction project (Senouci, et al.,

2016). The lack of coordination among the engineers creates hindrances in the execution of the

project as well as increasing time in its building. Below are further descriptions of four other

components of delay under broader headings, they include, contractor-related factors, consultant-

related factors, client/owner-related factors, and external-related factors (Muhwezi 2014).

Contractor-related delay factors. Proper planning of projects, equipment, adequate

labour and proper availability of materials act as the critical factor of success for the effective

execution of the building of construction projects (El-Gohary, et al., 2017). Several studies

have been carried by El-Gohary et al. (2017); Senouci et al. (2016); and Sohu et al. (2016) on

specific critical dimensions for assessing their relative contributions for scheduling delays in the

construction sector. There can be financial difficulties, problems of forecasting and preparation,

tool breakdowns and maintenance problems, shortages of material and equipment, shortage of

workforce, and slow mobilization, which have been identified as the key contributors for

contractor-related delay factors (Arditi, et al., 2017). Some of the primary considerations for

contractor-related factors are the challenges of cash flow and financing, inadequate human

resources, and poor project management (Mohammed 2016). Inadequate skills of the contractor’s

technical team, insufficient supervision, and site management, as well as difficulties in financing a

project, are also factors that have been identified as critical (Xiong, Skitmore, Xia, Masrom, Ye, &

Bridge, 2014).

50
 The insufficient supply of resources and financial intricacies of the contractors are the focal

aspects of the occurrence of the delay. Some of the other delay factors related to contractors are

identified as conflicts in the schedule of the subcontractors in the execution of a construction

project, difficulties of the contractors in financing a project, conflicts involving the contractor with

other parties, and the reworking of activities (Gbahabo & Ajuwon 2017; Xiong, et al., 2014).

These conflicts are caused by errors made at the time of construction, ineffective planning,

improper methods of construction as implemented by the contractor, unsuccessful scheduling of a

project by the contractor, delays in the work of the subcontractors, high frequency of change of

subcontractors, and inadequacy of work (Vasilyeva-Lyulina, Onishi, & Kobayashi 2015). These

are the result of inefficient work, delays in the mobilization of the construction site, and inadequate

qualifications of the technical staff of the contractors. Other factors may include a shortage of

human resources and the commitment of errors during the construction activities being affected by

delays in the delivery of materials for a construction project and inadequate finance (Pall, Bridge,

Skitmore, & Gray, 2016).

Consultant-related delay factors. The consultant-related factor is an extra feature that

brings about delays in contruction assignments. Lessing, Thurnell, and Durdyev (2017) asserted

that the late issuing of instruction by the owners or contractors, rough drawings of the designs, and

inadequate supervision by the different parties lead to consultant-related delays (Soomro, Memon,

Chandio, Sohu, & Soomro, 2019). Inadequate supervision by the consultants is a major cause of

this type of delay. Delays in the approval of changes within the scope of work, lack of proper skill

on the consultant’s part, and the late review of design documents are also responsible for delays in

the construction of a church or other building. Slow preparation of drawings, approval of the

drawings, incomplete specifications of the designs, rough drawings, and significant changes in the

designs may also create delays (Smith, et al., 2017). Commitment of errors by the designers and

inappropriate communication between the consultant and the client/owner are other factors to be

51
considered when discussing delays in construction processes (Dosumu, Idoro, & Onukwube,

2017).

Additionally, an inspection of all the functions takes much time, during which the progress

of the construction may be delayed for a substantial period until the plans can be be agreed (Smith,

et al., 2017). On the other hand, a lack of commitment from the consultant and architect affect the

construction system. Errors in the contract, as well as discrepancies and mistakes in the

documents, are also responsible for delays in the construction industry (Muhwezi, et al., 2014).

The significance of the various kinds of delays is that they have a ripple effect on the parties

associated with the activities of construction and even the citizens in the economy of the country.

The impacts of the delays are universal, irrespective of the delays that are restricted by

geographical factors. Wu, Ann, and Shen (2017) revealed that all the respondents selected cost

and time overruns as the most frequent reason for delay in construction projects. The excess cost

associated with the construction activities acts as a nuisance to the parties concerned in the

construction process (Aziz, & Abdel-Hakam, 2016). Taxpayers are not receiving a proper return

for their money due to cost overruns. The same is true for the contractors who are experiencing

abnormal losses and cash flow crises. The reputation of the consultants is also considerably

harmed, as the clients/owners lose confidence in the execution of their plan(Ngomi, 2017).

Another noticeable impact of the construction delay factor is the abandonment of entire

projects. Hence, this leads to the reduction of employment opportunities, loss of revenue for the

government, a slowing down of the economic activities, and the deterring of foreign investors

from the funding of construction projects in the economy of a country (Prasad, et al., 2019).

Testing of the activities also takes much time, and the consultants become responsible for this.

Contract management, quality assurance as well as control, and greater waiting time for the

authorization of tests and inspections are factors that are also responsible (Lessing, et al., 2017;

Senouci, et al., 2016).

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 Client/Owner-related delay factors. Some studies have revealed ClientRFs to be

responsible for schedule delays (Asiedu & Alfen, 2016; Pall, et al., 2016). On the part of the

client/owner, whenever there are discrepancies in orders, interruption in decision-making, and

challenges in cash flow, delays are triggered in construction activities. (Sambasivan, Deepak,

Salim, & Ponniah, 2017). Another study showed that factors, such as deliberate decisions from

the clients/owners and inappropriate incentives for the contractors for finishing a construction

project before the estimated time, have an enormous impact on a construction project, leading to

delays (McCord, McCord, Davis, Haran, & Rodgers, 2015). Delay in payment of the workers,

including contractors, and regular changes may lead to delays in the construction project. Delay

factors in relation to the clients/owners include delay in equipping and handing over the site by the

contractor, late revision and approval of the design documents by the client, delays in the

endorsement of sample materials as well as shop drawings, poor communication, and coordination

by the title-holder and other parties involved in the whole process of construction in the

construction industry (Chen, et al., 2019b; Niazi & Painting, 2017). Other factors are

disagreement involving joint ownership in a construction project, lack of incentives and bonuses

forthe contractors and workers, suspension of work by the workers and owners, and slowness in

the decision-making process by the client/owners (Murwira & Bekker, 2017). Frequency and

sudden stoppages of construction work because of challenges of cash flow and delays in making

payments in due time to the construction workers are the main reasons behind this category of

delay (Nyoni & Bonga, 2017). Gbahabo and Ajuwon (2017) have acknowledged the factors of

payment and financing of the completion of works and changes in design by the clients/owners are

also responsible for the delays.

External-related factors. There have been peripheral, interrelated, delay factors in the

construction industry, known as external-related factors. They are one of the causes of schedule

delays. Some of the significant factors are price escalation and labour disputes as well as strikes,

53
slow granting of permits on the part of the government, civil disturbances, acts of God, and

inclement weather (Arditi, et al., 2017). Another study revealed that any kind of delay from the

authorities regarding work permits is very significant in this kind of delay (Muhwezi, Acai &

Otim, 2014). Unfavourable weather conditions are also responsible for the occurrence of

externally-related delays (Agyekum-Mensah &Knight, 2017; Arditi, et al., 2017; Muhwezi, et al.,

2014). Other external-related factors, as identified by numerous studies, include:

• Impacts on subsurface conditions, such as high water table and soil.

• Effect of hot weather on the various construction activities

• Delays in obtaining permits from the municipalities of different areas; and

• Unavailability of resources on the construction sites, such as telephone, water, and

electricity (Dolage & Pathmarajah, 2015; Lines, et al., 2015; Najib, Soon, Zainal,

Ahmad, & Hasaballah, 2018).

Other researchers, such as Lines, Sullivan, Smithwick, and Mischung (2015) and Najib et

al. (2018), identified additional external factors of delay, including:

• effects of rain on construction activities.

• effect of cultural as well as social factors.

• Restriction and control of traffic at the job site.

• Accidents at the construction site.

• Construction site conditions.

• Changes in the laws and regulations of the government.

• Delays in final inspection and certification by a third party; and delay in services

(electricity and water), (Lines, et al., 2015; Najib, et al., 2018).

Furthermore, certain aspects, such as legal disputes, shortages in the supply of construction

materials in the market, delays in the manufacturing processes of specialized building materials,

and penalties for ineffective suspensions of the project, also trigger the external kind of delay.

54
There can be delays because of the unforeseen ground conditions as well as long waiting times for

distinct types of drawings that can act as significant factors for construction (Kagiri & Wainaina,

2017). In addition to these, another study revealed that unfavourable weather conditions and

subsurface soil conditions are vital contributors to the various kinds of delays in the construction

industry (Adam, Josephson, & Lindahl, 2017). Certain factors, such as harsh climate conditions at

the site of the construction projects, hostile social environment, as well as hostile economic and

political environments, act as key contributors to delays in construction (Sinesilassie, Tabish, &

Jha, 2017).

Managerial disputes. Conflicts that arise during the construction project and the

administrative dealings with such disagreements are known as managerial disputes. This is the

resolution or alternative dispute resolution in the construction work. According to Sutar and

Mehendale (2017), the construction industry is project-based, encompassing all contributors such

as the constructors, clients/owners, designers, consultants, and contractors with different cultural

backgrounds. These diversities usually lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, and disputes, which

impede the progress of work. Kim et al. (2018) argue that Human Resource Management (HRM)

is vital in the construction firm in managing the personnel in the field and offering guidance in

achieving their goals.

In construction, effective planning and efficient HRM plans ultimately affect quality,

budgets, and work schedules at the project level. However, these strategies are sometimes

interrupted by certain foreseen and unforeseen challenges that breed disputes and conflicts

(Arantes, Ferreira 2020). According to Madalina (2016) and Alpkokin and Capar (2019), conflicts

and disputes are pervasive in humanity. They are directly related to diversity, detachment of roles,

and obligations. The disputes that may arise from unresolved conflicts interrupt the flow of

planned activities. The PCG Constitution (2016) holds that the local church has enough room to

handle minor disputes before they get out of hand. It states, “the Senior Presbyter shall settle minor

55
disputes in the congregation referred to him/her by the Session or the Agent” (p. 25). Consonant

with this, Baker and Keiser (2019) and Merrills (2017) hold that a dispute becomes impossible to

be resolved through negotiation if it is not professionally managed from the beginning.

The studies of Aziz and Abdel-Hakam (2016) and Gebrehiwet and Luo (2017) found that

the issues that trigger disputes and conflicts in Church construction delay include:

• Financial mishandling (Flyvbjerg, 2014)

• Lack of supervision by the board (Aziz, & Abdel-Hakam 2016)

• Poor communication between owners and contractors (Chen, et al., 2019b; Madalina,

2016)

• Poor organization structure and frustrating procedure for dealing with society and

governmental regulations.

The following section will detail the listed issues;

Financial mishandling. According to Gebrehiwet and Luo (2017) and Bowen et al.

(2015), the embezzlement of funds plays a critical role in project delays. Budgets compiled for

proposed projects are mismanaged and not adequately utilized for the intended purpose. Most

construction projects fail to materialize because they are either over-budgeted or under-budgeted.

Budgeted funds are mishandled, and shoddy work is presented in the end (Flyvbjerg, 2014).

Additionally, the study of Gebrehiwet and Luo (2017) ranked the causes of delay as

financial dishonesty, rises in the price of materials, lack of quality materials, late designing of

documents, late issuance of budgeted funds, ineffective planning, and scheduling of the project.

Nonetheless, Brunet (2019) argued that all the other activities revolve around the estimated budget

for the entire organization’s project. Any ongoing constructional project is forced to pause if there

are no accessible funds to support the project.

56
 Lack of supervision by the board. The absence of supervision by the contractor, the

site manager, or the congregational session is the lack of supervision (Arantes, & Ferreira 2020).

In a church construction project, the project committee, which is formed constitutionally by the

session, is mandated by the session to monitor work progress and update the session periodically

(Aziz, & Abdel-Hakam 2016; PCG-Constitution, 2016). In addressing the laborious nature of

project supervision, Sutar and Mehendale (2017) discovered ten tasks for site supervisors or

supervisory project boards.

They include:

1. Daily management of the current construction project

2. Sustaining a suitable labour force in finishing the detailed project.

3. A guide to aid the junior engineer in interpreting scientific terms during the inspections.

4. Monitoring by regulating on-site material wastage.

5. Enhancing the accomplishment of the project by regular collaboration with the

corresponding parties.

6. Ensuring that the site is well maintained daily.

7. Implementing measures to restrict unknown persons from trespassing on the property.

8. Co-ordinating all expenses to ensure proper receipts.

9. Notifying the senior engineer of any need for resources on demand.

10. Acknowledging and evaluating all resources in a comprehensive report (Sutar &

Mehendale, 2017).

Though Sutar and Mehendale (2017) outlined what site supervisors need to do, it is

significant to verify the circumstances that may lead to the negligence of duty by the site managers

neglecting their duty and whether that attitude hinders the workforce in the construction project

(Othman & Sokkar, 2019; Sutar & Mehendale, 2017). According to Chen et al. (2019b) and

57
Madalina (2016), poor communication is another issue affecting coordination. Absence of clear

and concise communication and the inability to use simple language to be understood by the

audience are significant issues that affect the smooth reporting and monitoring of an organization’s

activities. As a result, litigation and unresolved legal issues may arise to interrupt the progress of

the project (Gebrehiwet & Luo, 2017).

Social and government regulation. Government regulations in Ghana regarding

construction change with political transitions. Until a building design is approved and permission

granted, no construction project can commence. In many instances, the registration process takes

two to five years to complete either a land title registration or a building permit issuance to begin a

construction project (Allen & Iano 2019). Some land documents get misplaced in the process of

registration, and the clients/owners must re-do and re-submit them. The tiresome nature of the

registration makes some clients/owners or contractors skip registration to commence the

construction project (Lees, 2013; Mireku, Kuusaana, & Kidido, 2016). However, in the process of

working on some of these unregistered projects, the workers are stopped by the town and country

planning departments, and all tools and equipment are seized. The client is summoned to court,

and that starts another legal battle. Until the court case is decided and the ban on the land/project

is lifted, or the building permit is finalized, no work can be done. Mireku et al. (2016)

recommended that original landowners must endeavour to proceed with the final registration of

their lands at the land commission to have an official land title to curtail the stress in registration

after the land is sold. In a study exploring the primary sources of schedule delay, Rahman, Lee,

and Ha (2014) found political conditions to be a factor that can lead in the end to disturbances or

public strikes. Strikes will keep workers away from work for days or months, leading to the

contractor and the parties involved not remaining on site.

58
 Church organizational structure. Church organization structure has to do with all the

laid down hierarchies and procedures involved in the management of the church. In their study,

Sutar and Mehendale (2017) found that, in a construction project, active and well-organized HRM

strategies impact budgets, duration, and the value of the project outcome. The Church, PCG, like

any other organization, has a well-organized structure from the General Assembly to the

Presbytery, the District, and the congregational level. The congregational line of authority from

the top to the bottom is the structure of the church (see Figure 4).

59
Figure 4.

Structure of the local PCG congregation.

Notes: The order of church leadership from officers to session, administration, departments,

congregations, generational groups, and group leaders/group coordinators. Author’s Construct

(2020)

60
 Changes in Church Agents. Change is seen to be good and helps one to experience a new

culture and have different exposure. However, certain changes do more harm than good. The style

of leadership plays a vital role in management, especially in decision-making (Northouse, 2018).

In the PCG, Agents-in-charge (Ministers or Catechists) are rotated and are given between one to

five years before being transferred. This rotation continues until a compulsory retirement in the

seventh year of the position (PCG-Constitution, 2016). In changing Church Agents, ongoing

projects commenced by the previous administration are expected to be continued, but this is often

not the case. Every leader seems to have an exceptional vision and style of administration at every

point in time. Some Church Agents ignore an existing construction project in the church and bring

a new project for execution (Akuapem Presbytery Report 2013, 2014; Vaccaro, Jansen, Van Den

Bosch, & Volberda, 2012). However, Doppelt (2017) found that change is gradual and significant

in sustaining an organization. The changes in administration, if not well managed, will lose their

main intention; managerial changes without guidance are futile, and non-leading changes break the

chain of sustainability. However, in another study, Doppelt and McDonough (2017) argue that

factual change in the direction of sustainability results in transformed principles and customs that

are geared towards choices impacting all spheres of the administration dissimilar from the status

quo. Directional leadership, aiming at long-term development, alters the usual norms of the

organization.

Leadership by church decision-makers. Leadership plays a crucial role in every

Institution; style of leadership impacts the progress of the organization’s activities, and decision-

makers’ innovation is subject to their background/ origin and perspective (Vaccaro, et al., 2017).

Leadership is significant in any local congregation of the PCG. Each congregation is “under the

jurisdiction and supervision of the District under which it was established or under which it was

placed in the presbytery” (PCG-Constitution, 2016, p. 18). The Agent-in-charge, comprising the

minister or the catechist; the senior presbyter; and the session clerk are the principal officers of the

61
congregation to ensure implementations of decisions. The session is made up of selected

presbyters elected by the congregation, with a total membership of up to 50, depending on the size

of each congregation. A congregational session, among other things, is to safeguard “Church

property within their jurisdiction such as the place of worship, Church institutional buildings and

congregational houses for Church Agents (Ministers and Catechists)” (PCG-Constitution, 2016, p.

19). This indicates how powerful the session is and, if the members are not innovative with

excellent leadership skills, it determines the outcome of any construction project they start.

According to the PCG-Constitution (2016), the session is the highest court at the

congregational level and is to make all the decisions of the congregation. The principal

congregational officers work together to implement the session’s decisions and update session

frequently. The Agent-in-charge is considered the general manager of the local congregation and

the moderator of the session. In their study, Sutar and Mehendale (2017) found that a general

manager:

• is an overall overseer in charge of daily supervision activities.

• monitors and ensure that guidelines for the construction project are followed.

• Performs regular appraisal for improvement; and frequently briefs the board of

management in a report (Sutar & Mehendale, 2017; Vaccaro, et al., 2012).

Additionally, Volberda, Van Den Bosch, and Heij (2013) asserted that leadership’s low

confidence level and lack of determination negatively affect decision-making while absence of

innovation impedes progress in all areas’ life. However, Durdyev and Mbachu, (2018) establish

that bridging excellent leadership and motivation will reduce setbacks in the construction projects.

Budgets. The estimated itemization of all costs of the entire project includes material,

labour, consultant, contractor, and administrative costs from the beginning of the construction

work till the end of the project. The PCG-Constitution (2016) allows all local congregational

sessions to draw up and approve a budget each year through the PIC. They present the budget for

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approval by the session. If budgets are adopted by the session, it is important to understand why

construction project funds are diverted into another project. According to Brunet (2019), the

absence of strategic planning does not help to complete a project on time. Diversion of budget to

other unbudgeted projects leads to confusion and the inability to complete the desired project. In

the Akuapem presbytery report (2013) and Akuapem presbytery report (2014), most congregations

have been out of funds in their ongoing constructional projects. This eventually brought the entire

construction work to a halt. In response to this challenge, Asiedu, Frempong and Alfen (2017) and

Algwyad and Talib (2019) advocated that decision-makers, as well as project managers, must

make provision for contingencies in their budget and observe it to prevent cost overruns.

Moreover, Taniguchi and Onosato (2018) found that paying much respect to budgets and

work schedules results in the ultimate accomplishment of construction projects. If the approved

budget is not respected and worked with, other things, like time and work quality, will be

eventually affected. The work progress is interfered with if the estimated funds are not released on

time for materials and payment of other outstanding bills (Othman & Sokkar 2019). According to

the PCG-Constitution (2016), the session needs to prepare an annual budget and observe the

guidelines on funds mobilization, stating that “the funds of the congregation shall, a). Include

tithes, offerings, donations, and income from any other source approved by the session. b). Be

administered by the congregational session, and c). All sums of money received on account of the

congregation shall be paid into such bank as the congregational session may determine” (PCG-

Constitution, 2016, p. 22). Though the constitution of the PCG gives the sources of the funds for

the church, it is flexible on the types of bank accounts to be created. This begs the question of

whether this is the reason for not having specific bank accounts for the church construction

projects. Baker and Keiser (2019) asserted that a clearly stated constitutional clause helps the

parties involved to avoid conflicts. Long-term strategic planning, in most cases, is guided by the

organization’s constitution. The effectiveness of the forecast of activities needs to follow the aims

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and objectives of the firm or the organization. Contractors need to monitor initial arrangements,

including funds for the project, to avoid project duration extension (Kim, et al., 2018).

Lack of communication among church decision-makers and church members. A study

by Mulugeta (2019) found that effective communication within an organization, such as the

church, strengthens the bond and creates a decent connection between the decision-makers

(session) and the congregants. It minimizes all forms of criticisms and launches an excellent

working spirit amongst the team and it builds reciprocated thoughtfulness between followers and

upper administration. In the management of the church, the session, which comprises the Agent-

in-charge and a selected group of Presbyters, is the principal decision-makers of the church (PCG-

Constitution, 2016). When the session makes any major decision that involves the attention of the

congregation, it is constitutional that the session Clerk must “communicate decisions authorized

by Session to specific persons, groups, and organization concerned” (PCG-Constitution, 2016, p.

25). The PIC is to be informed in writing or invited for a meeting on any decision the session

takes concerning construction projects.

However, Mulugeta (2019) found that communication does not flow effectively in most

organizations. Top officials usually do not disseminate information to the members or employees.

Sometimes, employees may not be aware of an ongoing project and, in turn, give their own

interpretations. The activities of the organization are not made public, and the notice boards are not

updated. It must be established whether this assertion is accurate in the case of the church and if

there exists a communication gap between the decision-makers (session) and followers

(congregation). In connection with this, Madalina (2016) observed that traces of a break in

communication could be seen in situations such as a lack of feedback, not disclosing the realities,

and an absence of clear and concise communication.

According to Wyer (2019), when a piece of information is not presented correctly, the

intended meaning may not be received; misinformation originates from miscommunication.

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Madalina (2016) found that, even though breaks in communication are probable and, at times,

inevitable in organizations, if they are not aptly addressed, they lead to conflict and unhealthy

disputes in many institutions. When communication does not have its place in Church construction

projects, other parties may be uninformed.

Project-related factors. Time is vital in any construction firm, just as cost and knowing

the use of time and cost helps in forecasting a proposed project. The initial arrangements prior to

commencing the drawings/ designs and engaging a consultant or a contractor are incredibly

significant to the project’s success. Abhishek et al. (2017) found that project-related factors

(ProjRF) influence construction negatively when there is inadequate infrastructure for workers or

logistics at the construction grounds; that is, workers’ inability to get to the construction site on

time due to lack of accommodation or transportation.

According to Aziz and Abdel-Hakam (2016), the top-ranked roots of Construction Delay

under Project-related factors are inappropriate project viability study, perverse project duration,

complicated project, unsuccessful delay penalties, and the nature of project bidding and award.

This was revealed in a study that found 293 triggering categories of delay which were further re-

grouped into fifteen, with project-related as the ninth factor.

Inappropriate project viability. Some of the proposed projects are very complex in

nature; they are not well planned or designed before their commencement. Such unsuitable

projects get shelved along the way. If the construction project does not seem to be realistic and

achievable, it becomes difficult to be executed, partly because the project will run out of time due

to cost overruns. Sometimes, there is no specification in the project, or there is evidence of

inadequate details and no risk appraisal in the designin/ drawings (Ramanathan, et al., 2012). In

another study, Famiyeh et al. (2017) discovered that impractical contract lengths demanded by

clients/owners and poorly-defined details of the project in the drawings impose a burden on the

execution of the project. The unrealistic nature of the scope of work makes it difficult to complete

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the work on time. If the scope in the building design lacks enough details and specification,

coupled with insufficient risk assessment, the challenges are immense (Awuni, 2019). The effects

of subsurface conditions were also identified as potential delay factors for the project. For

instance, if the soil has a high water table, it is considered to have an impact on the environment

(Skaggs, & Chescheir 2003).

Unfavourable contract clause. Every project to be undertaken needs to have more

explicit terms and conditions attached for straightforward interpretations and implementation by

the contractor and subcontractors. Asiedu and Alfen (2014) disclosed that the failure to implement

all contract requirements by the parties involved affects project progress. If the contract clauses are

not spelt out, there are disparities and a whole lot of consequences happen as a result of changes in

site or working conditions. The study by Akogbe, Feng, and Zhou (2013) added that insufficient or

poor preparation before the commencement of the project is one of the significant factors of

project delay. Inadequate forecasting of the nature of bidding and award to be adopted in awarding

the contract may lead to giving the contract to an unqualified contractor. Sometimes the original

contract duration is limited in the contract, which is about double the estimated duration (Famiyeh,

et al., 2017; Kim, et al., 2018).

Legal disputes between project participants. When agreement is not reached, or if the

parties involved in the projects are not in accord, it changes the comfortable atmosphere of the

working environment. Lack of understanding or mismatch of thoughts between clients/owners and

the parties involved may lead to strikes and other unhealthy challenges (Wallensteen, 2018). It is

identified that the lack of long-term strategic planning to sustain the construction projects breeds

occasional disagreement, which can end in legal battles between the participants (Famiyeh, et al.,

2017).

Finally, Akogbe et al. (2013) and Zidane and Andersen (2018b) found ten significant delay

factors. They include:

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 1. Financial ability of the contractor,

2. financial problems for the client/owner,

3. reduced performance by subcontractor,

4. materials procurement by contractor,

5. variations in drawings by the architect,

6. insufficient scheduling and preparation of contractor,

7. consultant’s inadequate check-up on finished work,

8. lack of availability of equipment of the contractor,

9. planning,

10. endorsement of the consultant’s designs/drawings and the consultant’s acceptance of

insufficient project designs (Akogbe, et al., 2013; Zidane & Andersen 2018b)

This discovery is supported by the work of Gebrehiwet and Luo (2017), who similarly

found ten components of delay in road construction to be:

1. bribery and corruption

2. absence of site utilities,

3. materials inflation,

4. poor quality of materials,

5. late arrival of design with design brochures,

6. sluggish transport of construction materials,

7. lateness and reluctance in approving and releasing of the final work,

8. lack of site administration and performance,

9. the late release of funds, and

10. unproductive project forecasting and planning (Gebrehiwet & Luo 2017).

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 Out of the ten factors identified by Gebrehiwet and Luo (2017), six other factors were

found by Famiyeh et al. (2017) as the main influences on time overruns in construction. These

included: financial difficulties, impractical contract duration imposed by clients/owners,

inadequate scope definition for the project, variations originating from the client, lower-cost

valuation of the project by the consultants, and inadequate check-up of the consultants. However,

Asiedu and Alfen (2014) narrowed the study to contractors, consultants, and clients/owners and

found five significant factors responsible for overruns in public construction projects in Ghana,

which were tardiness and indecision in payment of workers, lack of implementation of contract

requirements by the parties involved, discrepancies and extra work as a result of deviations from

the contract, undue price variations of materials, and deviation from the contract.

Quality-related factors. The aim of every contractor or client/owner is to get excellent

construction work. Attakora-Amaniampong (2016) argues that a project’s success is related to the

quality of the construction project, whereas Algwyad and Talib (2019) hold the view that quality is

wholly related to the execution of the project. The conditions attached to the accomplishment of

the project determine its outcome. The desire for standard construction projects has faced a myriad

of challenges. According to Rahman et al. (2014), construction projects have adverse influences on

the project’s quality. Though several factors lead to project delay, the quest to seek quality in

construction work has adverse consequences on the project cost and materials involved. The lack

of quality planning affects the budget when there is a rise in the cost of materials (Dixit & Sharma,

2019). For instance, during an ongoing construction project, any rise in material cost affects the

initial project budget, and this has a direct influence on quality if contingency plans are not put in

place (Asiedu & Alfen 2016; Durdyev, et al., 2017). Correspondingly, Larsen et al. (2015) argued

that, owing to inadequate funds and logistics for construction projects, both the church and the

state are faced with the sub-standard quality in the construction industry. Concerning value, the

construction projects are affected by many challenges whenever a client/owner fails to honour part

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of the initial agreement. This results in progress on the project being left until the settlement is

made. Algwyad and Talib (2019) suggest that to overcome cost and time overruns, there must be

enough allowances for contingencies.

Furthermore, Zidane and Andersen (2018) found that a sluggish check-up process on

completed work affects quality. Lack of quality assurance from the beginning of construction can

lead to delays in the construction project. Every work that demands thorough examination or

inspection must be done well. Therefore, if a contractor is made aware of the strict guidelines for

the inspection of the final work and the unfavourable effects of the contractor losing the licence for

subpar quality work in the final project, matters will be taken seriously bythe construction firm.

An excellent and quality construction project has been compromised for lack of planning and, in

some cases, the entire building has been pulled down for the right building guide not having been

followed (Buys, 2015; Marzouk & El-Rasas, 2014). In addressing the situation, Asiedu (2016)

proposed that, to ensure efficiency and quality work, the government needs a development board

to assist in restructuring the main activities of the construction industry. There is a need for the

department of feeder roads and public works department to be active in the discharge of their

duties. In addition, Algwyad and Talib (2019) suggested that the inclusion of adequate motivation

and a proper welfare scheme will promote project quality.

Furthermore, Adam et al. (2017) argued that low qualifications of the contractor’s workers

and technical staff have an implication for the quality of the work. Improper supervision and the

absence of appraisals or review of staff along with the background of the consultant or the

contractor as well as their previous work can lead to sub-standard work being done. If the staff

have little or no knowledge of the project, there is the likelihood of their not being able to

understand the drawings and details of the construction projects. Tang, Mason, and Wang (2015)

found that essential skills in management and a suitable ability to take charge are the necessary

competencies for development in the construction phase, and managers need them to function on

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the project. Explicit theoretical and practical abilities and experiences are required in the

management of the project. Also, Gebrehiwet and Luo (2017) found that poor quality of material

affects the quality of the project. The lack of technical know-how of the client/owner of the

project makes it difficult to authenticate the quality of the materials in an ongoing project.

However, in cases where the client/owner or the consultants are determined to ensure quality,

inferior materials will not be entertained.

On the other hand, ensuring that the right construction standards are maintained can slow

the entire project if the preferred materials are not readily available. A study by Larsen et al.

(2015) found that the lack of a quality policy leads to mistakes or oversights in construction

projects, which eventually causes construction delays, affecting project quality. Also, lack of

inspection by the client/owner, the consultant, or the qualified body affects the quality of the

projects. If there are no guides for the building, it becomes difficult to ensure the excellency of the

construction work. Zhang and Yangb (2019) suggested the need for construction workers to

safeguard the project’s quality by observing the laid down rules and systems to fulfil the set

objectives of any given project.

Material-related factors. Materials are pivotal in the building industry and using

the prescribed material for the project is paramount in the success of the project (Allen, & Iano,

2019). Material-related factors include those that are related to the required building material for

framing the physical structure of the construction. The ineffective choice and selection of

material-related factors cause hindrances, such as the accidental collapse of the construction and

others (Senouci, et al., 2016). The variables linked to the quality of resources and the availability

or shortage of building materials used in the construction projects are the material-related factors.

The studies of Asiedu and Alfen (2016), Arthur (2016), Gebrehiwet and Luo (2017), and Pall

(2016) found that late delivery of material to the site, delay in endorsement of materials, wastage

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of materials, substandard quality of materials, higher material cost, and financial restraint of the

owner all hinder the progress of the construction project.

According to Durdyev et al. (2017), late delivery of material is among the prominent

triggering factors in delays in Columbia’s construction projects. Failure to release the required

material needed at the constructional site is believed to have the tendency to slow the construction

project (Gebrehiwet, & Luo, 2017). In another development, wastage of materials occurs when

cheap materials are bought, and owing to the improper storage of the materials leading to exposure

to rain and sunshine, most of these materials are destroyed (Soomro, et al., 2019). The

mismanagement of the materials from the market to the building site and within the site causes

most of the materials’ waste. The failure to make design changes with client/owner’s frequent

changes and theft, lead to material waste (Bekr, 2014). Again, KV and Bhat (2019) were of the

view that the financial difficulties of the owner/client can also lead to an inability to supply the

needed resources for the project. Contractors will not be able to carry out the scheduled work until

the required resources are supplied by the owner/client.

In another development, Chen, You, Sharifi, Yao, and Gong, (2019) recommended the use

of environmentally-friendly materials for the construction project so that it can last longer.

However, sometimes these branded materials to be used for the project can be out of stock in the

market at the time when needed. The contractor might also want a particular brand of material for

the execution of the project, and the tendency to be disappointed by the suppliers may prolong the

project (Akogbe, et al., 2013; Zidane & Andersen 2018a). Besides, when there are increases in

material prices, it impacts the entire budget and, in some cases, the client/owners go for a cheaper

material to fit the budget without considering the quality. On the other hand, the contractor, or the

client/owner sometimes, in requesting materials from the suppliers, may opt for inferior quality to

save money (Gebrehiwet & Luo 2017; Ogunde, Olaolu, Afolabi, Owolabi & Ojelabi, 2017).

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Moreover, Sutar and Mehendale (2017) recommended that there must be adequate monitoring and

regulation of on-site materials by the site manager to prevent wastage.

Effects of project delay in church construction. Project delay damages construction flow

and hinders the working efficiency and completion of the project. The key effects of project delay

experienced in a construction project include time overrun, cost overruns, litigation, abandonment,

arbitration, and dispute. As mentioned by Ojoko et al. (2016), cost and time overruns are mainly

triggered due to the delay of correct project estimates executed by the contractor. The contractors

cause this delay effect because they do not possess effective management and organization skills.

Thus, the contractors, before the execution of the project, requires a reassessment their skills so

that any inefficiency can be resolved, and project delays can be avoided. Project delay not only

hinders the productivity and performance of the construction but also results in obstructing the

accomplishment of pre-determined project objectives.

Time overrun. Time overrun refers to a situation where the contractor has not been able

to execute the construction project during the timeframe mentioned in the contract (Asiedu, 2015).

The time overrun experienced in a construction project can be categorized into two groups, which

include non-excusable and excusable delay. As mentioned by Amoatey et al. (2015), excusable

delay refers to those delays which are beyond the control of the contractor and are unforeseeable.

Excusable delays are caused mainly caused by the late delivery of instructions to the contractors in

executing further progress in the project, late approval in design and building materials, and late

access to the site enabling employees to do their work. As criticised by Marzouk and El-Rasas

(2014), the non-excusable delay is foreseen and triggered because of the lack of effective control

and organization by the contractor. Thus, once the project work faces a time overrun, it is evident

that it is not going to be completed within time, and it is required to extend the deadline for the

project (Arditi, et al., 2017).

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 Time overrun requires that the party involved in unsound practices during the construction,

due to which the delay occurred, must pay a sufficient amount to the other party for compensation

of the damages done because of the project delays (Asiedu & Alfen, 2016). As mentioned by

Owolabi et al. (2014), construction projects often get delayed due to weather conditions which

render the contractor incapable of executing the project on time. Thus, in such cases, the

contractor can claim a time extension as the situation was not adequate in any way to complete the

project within the given timeframe.

However, Larsen et al. (2015) criticised the fact that contractors are unable to claim a time

extension in cases where a time overrun occurred due to their fault. This results in hindering the

execution of the project as materials, as well as money, are depleted, but no adequate return is

received from the construction project. The time overrun has a significant impact on church

construction, which adversely reduces the efficiency of its construction projects (Prasad, et al.,

2019). This is evident in the La Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona, which was started in 1882

but due to ineffective time management, is still incomplete in 2017, and is not scheduled to be

completed until 2026. The time overrun impact on church construction was mainly due to trivial

reasons, such as complexity in the church design and interruption due to the Civil War, among

others. However, the impact of the time overrun has resulted in increasing the total construction

cost of the project along with the wastage of materials (Basilica De La Sagrada Familia, 2017).

Disputes. Improper project planning is seen to have a high impact on creating a

project delay in construction because proper contractual agreements are not drawn up, which

occasions disputes and conflicts between contractual parties such as consultants, contractors,

clients/owners, and others (Dixit & Sharma, 2019). As mentioned by Lu et al. (2015), project

disputes occur because of a lack of effective communication between the contractors and the

owner of the construction. If the church or any institution fails to consider bridging the

communication gap in construction, disputes would be prolonged. Thus, the Project Manager has

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to look after the situation and resolve the misunderstandings, disputes, and conflicts so that the

delay in construction can be resolved. As criticised by Vasilyeva-Lyulina et al. (2015), parties are

seen to be rigid in their attitudes and refrain from listening to the mediator while solving the

project disputes. This, in turn, creates project delays and damages the execution of the project, as

no mutual decision-making can be done to resolve the conflicts.

Disputes related to land acquisition, in many cases, are seen to affect project delays in

construction, especially in cases where the owner of the land bars the contractors from executing

construction work, resulting in conflict. In such cases, it is useful to appeal the decision to an

arbitrator to resolve the conflict (Chaphalkar, Iyer & Patil, 2015). The project disputes act as

threats affecting construction delay in a church. A notable example is the case of the land disputes

between the Roman Catholic Church in Weh and Indigenes of Weh Fondom. The report indicated

that the project dispute related to the surrounding land that is to be used by the church in the

expansion of their construction which has been going on for years, and that has resulted in

delaying their construction process for expansion. The arbitrator is also seen to have failed to

resolve the conflict, which has further added to the church construction delay (Lang, 2017).

Negotiation and arbitration. The arbitrator acts as an independent person who is

officially appointed to resolve a dispute. However, many parties are often seen to show a refusal to

comply or accept the decision made by the arbitrator, resulting in hindered negotiation for the

execution of the construction project (Equbal, Banerjee, Khan, & Dixit, 2017). This, in turn, affects

delay in the construction project as disputable and inconsistent issues are raised. As mentioned by

Getahun et al. (2016), the choice of an active arbitrator is required; one who has a manageable

caseload so that the individual can concentrate on developing strategies and decision-making to

resolve the dispute for a specific construction project. The arbitrator with unmanageable caseloads

is often seen to execute decision-making in resolving disputes with great haste, which often

hinders the accomplishment of effective negotiation (Equbal, et al., 2017; Hughes, Champion, &

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Murdoch, 2015). This negatively affects the project as delay in its execution is created because

collaborative and effective decision-making to execute the construction is not reached. The

arbitrators with practical legal and professional expertise are seen to have the experience to

develop well-reasoned and legally sound decision-making when resolving the raised dispute to

mitigate construction delays.

As mentioned by Komurlu and Arditi (2017), lack of practical legal knowledge by the

arbitrators causes them to make disputable legal decisions that adversely affect project delay. This

is because legal concerns create complications in the smooth execution of construction projects.

The arbitrators with improved practical knowledge are seen to act positively in resolving project

delay as they employ effective decision-making along with innovative strategies to resolve project

disputes with minimal time delay. As argued by San Cristóbal (2015), arbitrators require cost-

effectiveness in administering their services along with portraying strong management skills. This

is required to positively manage project delay by creating a collaborative environment where

parties, through collective decision-making, resolve their disputes in executing the smooth

operation of the project.

Litigation. Many relevant parties concerned in a building project are seen to lack

acceptance of the collaborative decision-making executed by the arbitrator. This results in project

delays as conflict obstructs the proper progress of the construction process (Chaphalkar, et al.,

2015). Thus, litigation is used to resolve raised disputes. As mentioned by Amoatey et al. (2015),

litigation involves a legal proceeding which is undertaken with the help of the court to resolve

disputes between two opposing parties defending their respective rights. In the litigation process,

the judgement provided by the court regarding the disputed matter, if not accepted by either of the

parties, can be further appealed to the court for effective decision-making by delivering new proofs

and evidence. However, if either of the parties accepts the judgement provided during the

litigation process, then the guilty party must pay to the other party the value of the compensation

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awarded. As criticised by Tarhini, Fakih, Arzoky, and Tarhini (2015), the litigation progress can

require extensive time in executing decision-making, which results in the construction project

missing the deadline for completion. This is because neither of the parties involved in the

accomplishment of the project wishes to work on it during the litigation process in order to execute

the project within the given time.

Abandonment. Abandonment refers to situations in which the project stops suddenly

because the client cannot provide the required amount of finances needed for completion of the

project, among other reasons. As mentioned by Shehu et al. (2014a), a project may be abandoned

entirely due to the client's problems or dispute with the contractor. Moreover, bankruptcy, poor

quality marketing and sales, and deceit by the contractor, among other reasons, can also result in

the abandonment of a construction project. According to Ikediashi, Ogunlana, and Alotaibi

(2014), project abandonment affects the contractor, supplier, consultant, and other parties involved

in the construction process. Moreover, project abandonment negatively influences the purchasers

who are liable to experience the effect of cost damages..

Cost overruns. Cost overruns refer to the increased expenses incurred in a project due to

the contractor's lack of effective budgeting, evaluation, and analysis during the initiation of the

project (Larsen, et al., 2015). The cost overrun is directly related to time overrun because, when

an increased amount of time is required to complete the project due to delay, this in turn, raises

the overall cost. This is because the prices of building materials in the market rise with time,

which causes contractors to spend more finances when buying the materials (Niazi & Painting,

2017). Moreover, during the ConD, the labourers must be managed and, thus, contractors must pay

them to keep their numbers so that the effective workforce required to execute the construction

project is appropriately available. This extra expenditure to maintain an appropriate workforce is

incurred in the case of a short-term delay in a construction project. As commented by Senouci et

al. (2016), cost overruns occur due to ineffective financial planning made by the contractors for

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which they must cover the loss and pay expenses to the owner. This further results in additional

delays in the construction, as a sufficient amount of finance may not available for the execution of

the project as required of the contractors by the owners (Buys, 2015). The cost overruns can be

adequately understood before their occurrence by the contractors if they can see the dynamics and

connections between the various sources involved with the construction project.

Challenges faced in construction projects. The challenges faced in construction projects

result in the loss of thousands and millions of valuable monies deposited by the public, which

culminates in causing serious financial issues. Moreover, challenges in construction related to the

Church not only cause financial hindrance but also lead to a lack of effective functioning of the

leadership and loss of confidence by the public in the pastor and church authorities. As

mentioned by Sears et al. (2015) challenges in church construction projects are faced because the

experience of planning and executing an effective building program that best meets the demands

and needs of the architecture and budget of the church is lacking among the members of the church

council. Initially, the most common challenge faced in construction related to the Church and

others includes failure to assume the accurate cost required for the execution and completion of the

project. As mentioned by Kerosuo, Miettinen, Paavola, Mäki and Korpela (2015), during the

initiation of the construction project, the owners are required for useful cost estimation to

determine the things they can afford in comparison to what they require. This estimation is needed

as it leads the owner to understand the limitations which they are being forced to impose on their

requirements to allow the budget needed to complete the construction project effectively.

As criticised by Latiffi, Mohd, and Brahim (2015) as well as Safo-Kantanka, Aigbavboa,

and Arthur-Aidoo (2018), lack of adequate cost estimation is experienced when the owners do not

effectively link their budget planning with their requirements. This results in ineffective budget

estimation as the owners, due to overconfidence and enthusiasm to satisfy their requirement,

accept the construction plan blindly without investigating whether they would be able to pay for it

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or not. However, due to lack of adequate finances, project delays occur which, in turn, raise the

overall cost of the construction to the point where the owner cannot afford to take the project on,

leading to abandonment (Addo, 2016; Asiedu & Alfen, 2015; Niazi & Painting, 2017). Failure to

access outside help for evaluation of the project is another challenge the owners face in

construction projects. Outside assistance is required because it helps the owner to get sufficient

knowledge regarding the resources to be appropriately used in the execution of the construction

project. As commented by Zhang, Sulankivi, Kiviniemi, Romo, Eastman, and Teizer (2015), an

experienced project planner helps to determine the best solution required for the building

program involved in construction.

Moreover, in many cases, it has been seen that the owner does not analyse the transparency

of information provided in a construction project. They do not feel the urge to know how much

finance is required or for which purpose during the construction, which acts as a big challenge for

them. As asserted by Sears et al. (2015), lack of transparency acts as a significant challenge in the

construction project as it paves the way to allowing contractors to indulge in deceptive activities.

This, in turn, causes the owners to spend extra finance for the completion of the project, thus

resulting in their loss of the planned use of finances.

Last-minute changes create challenges, such as formula errors from pasting and cutting

along with forgotten line items in budget estimation. This results in the loss of the profitable

project, as a valid estimation of the cost is not correctly made due to the rise of errors. As

mentioned by Sears et al. (2015), during the development of the estimate for a construction

project, current focus is to be given to all aspects. However, in other cases, it has been realized

that proper focus has been given only to managing the strengths, whereas the weaknesses to be

encountered are ignored. This acts as a prime challenge that also delays and hinders the execution

of the project; errors in project planning are raised, which cannot be properly resolved, since

strategies have not been formed beforehand to resolve them (Larsen, et al., 2015). The allocation

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of an incorrect amount of resources acts as a challenge that hinders the construction as a sufficient

amount of construction material needed to complete it is not available at the appropriate time.

Lack of attention to safety requirements and the lack of effective consideration of risk assessment

create challenges for construction projects. This is because they hinder the project execution as

well as createing time overrun issues for the contractors. As mentioned by Gurcanli, Bilir, and

Sevim (2015), existing safety consideration at construction sites makes the labourers working on

the site feel safe, which leads them to provide adequate services as demanded. However, a lack of

safety, makes the labourers feel neglected and fear for their lives, which results in providing a

lower concentration at work as well as an unwillingness to carry on with the project, leading to a

shortage of labour. The lack of a sufficient amount of labour due to safety issues delays the

project, as the staff required for the construction work are lacking (Zidane, & Andersen, 2018).

Thus, labour shortage issues create a delay in the construction project, acting as a challenge

because they create time overruns, which, in turn, increases costs. The rise in cost creates issues

that negatively affect the construction due to an adequate amount of finances not being available

from the owner as well as for the contractor to support the project, as the cost appears to the

owners as overbilling. As criticised by Olusanya (2018), the demotivational behaviour of the

management acts as a challenge in construction as it destroys productivity and slows the working

process. This is because labourers do not feel any enthusiasm to execute work and, thus, slow

their progress in completion of the project.

The inefficiency that results from not acting against extravagant claims poses a challenge

for a construction project because it leads to the construction company or the contractor paying

extra costs. According to Hughes et al. (2015), lack of adequate information regarding all the

processes involved in framing the documentation of the project results in creating difficulties in

defending the claims made in the project. This is because the contractors cannot immediately

present proper evidence to justify the claims and this hinders the execution of the construction.

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This, in turn, acts to increase the overall expenditure of the constructor in executing the project

resulting in his earning a lower profit. This is because the contractors must spend time and money

in reframing the project to meet the new claims that could not be justified by them due to a lack of

evidence. As criticised by Wimala, Akmalah, and Sururi (2016), multiple versions of the

documentation of the project create challenges, resulting in project delay and mistakes. This is

because such activity results in creating confusion among the staff, since many of them do not

have accurate knowledge about how the architectural plan was developed, based on which they are

required to execute their duties.

The owners are often seen to demand unrealistic time frames from the contractors to

complete the project as they think that a lower time would result in theirspending a lesser amount

of money. This acts as a challenge in construction because it may creates lower strength of the

construction that is then liable to collapse or expire sooner than its usual lifeline. As mentioned by

Alotaibi, Sutrisna, and Chong (2016), the accomplishment of construction projects within

unrealistic deadlines makes the contractors hurry in framing resources and architectural planning

to execute the project. Thus, in a hurry, many valid points of risk are missed, and this results in

the development of faulty architectural planning, which does not provide a usual life expectancy to

the construction resulting in the negative image of the contractor in the market. As argued by

Agyekum-Mensah and Knight (2017), the negative image of the contractor in the marketresults in

their facing difficulties in acquiring further projects. This is because owners feel insecure, and

lack trust and confidence in recruiting the contractors to undertake their projects out of fear of the

destruction of the projects before their usual lifetime. Thus, this, in turn, creates challenges for the

contractors as they cannot effectively carry on their business within the market.

The lack of effective communication during the execution of the construction project acts

as a challenge. This is because many members miss useful information regarding the constant

evolution in the project planning. Thus, the non-collaborative working environment results in a

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delay in the completion of the project. As mentioned by Gunduz and Yahya (2015), sudden and

constant changes in the construction project planning, as demanded by the owner, pose challenges

for the construction. This is because such activity slows the working progress of the labourers, as

they face difficulties in coping with the constant changes made to the architectural plan of the

project. As criticised by Durdyev and Ismail (2016), ineffective scheduling of the construction

acts as a challenge for the project, because it raises delay due to the inconsistent nature of the

service. A proper project schedule helps to prevent construction from being affected negatively.

Finally, the above presentation has a direct or indirect influence on projects in Ghana. The

delay-triggering factors that prolong projects in Ghana include financial issues, lack of evaluation,

last-minute challenges, lack of an initial risk assessment, lack of safety measures, lack of effective

communication, owners’ unrealistic time frames, and the ineffective scheduling of projects

(Soomro, et al., 2019). On any given project, lack of financial planning leads to cost overruns,

making it extremely difficult to complete a project on time (Larsen, et al., 2015; Lu, et al., 2015).

Ghana has seen communication gaps, especially between owners and contractors, leading to last-

minute changes by the owners, creating misunderstanding between the two parties. Lack of risk

assessment and lack of evaluation in most construction projects in Ghana has given rise to several

project delays. Safety measures not included in the execution plan affect project progress since

labourers feel it is not safe for them to commit themselves to the given work (Addo, 2016; Asiedu,

2015; Gurcanli, 2015; Lu, et al., 2015; Olusanya 2018).

Strategies adopted. Below are the strategies that were adopted to improve performance in

construction projects.

Onboarding proper technology. As stated by Walker (2015), to increase the performance

level of the construction project, it is vital for the construction project management to adopt new

technology for taking the fastest path with the biggest payoff. In this context, it can be specified

that the PCG has faced a higher amount of mismanagement in conducting proper construction

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projects due to using traditional construction methods . To enhance the productivity of

construction projects at the PCG, church leaders can focus on installing productivity software and

information modelling software that is effective for the leaders to eliminate the waiting time as

well as reduce costly reworking (Du, Tang, Liu, Wang, Wang, Shen, ... & Zhou, 2016). Different

technologies can be useful for the PCG to develop the efficacy of project managers, which further

accelerates the construction project. They are as follows:

Plan grid construction and productivity software. As stated by Kärnä and Junnonen

(2016), this software allows project managers as well as the team members to manage real-time

submissions, drawings, issues, mark-ups, and photos. In this milieu, it can be detailed that this

software can help the marketing leaders of the PCG to use the power grid to improve their project

performance as well as to elevate their productivity, thereby accelerating the construction work

and avoiding the chance of delays. As stated by Zheng, Le, Chan, Hu, and Li (2016),

implementation of this software makes the marketers able to reduce the trips as required as well as

reducing the time expenditure, thereby allowing the team to be involved in accurate as well as

useful take offs electronically, rather than using or surveying the other electronic means for

tracking construction issues and tasks.

As Ghana is experiencing a proper economic boom due to due to the proper utilization of

agriculture and marketing, construction leaders associated with the PCG have enough financial

ability to install this software to speed up anydelayed work. Power grid productivity software is

essential at the construction site to process drawings, submittals and construction issues in the

shortest time, which makes the engineers and managers at the construction site sure to maintain

proper time management (Zailani, Ariffin, Iranmanesh, Moeinzadeh, & Iranmanesh, 2016).

Therefore, it can be stated that the PCG could install this software to improve their construction

work by reducing the allocated time required for individual construction work on the site.

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 Kahua collaboration and project management software. This software can be

implemented by the construction project manager to maintain proper collaboration among various

construction aspects of implementing proper legacy project management techniques and tools

(Olawale & Sun, 2015). A construction project is not a straightforward assignment; instead, it

needs optimum cooperation as well as collaboration among all the entities involved in the task. In

Ghana, the Presbyterian Church faces delays in construction work due to various technical,

demographic, and economic reasons (Prasad, et al., 2019). Therefore, Kahua can be a highly

effective software program that can be used by project managers to enhance and elevate their

success as well as to improve the construction project management framework. According to

Joshi and Khandekar (2015), it is essential for all the workers at the construction site to maintain

proper collaboration in their tasks, such as drawing, making submittals, maintaining the technical

database, and quantity surveying as well as quality controlling. By installing Kahua software the

PCG would be able to maintain proper coordination between all the disciplines associated with

construction work.

The Kahua software would allow marketers associated with construction at PCG to

develop a proper project management framework that can be followed by the marketers at the

construction site and can improve the productivity of the organization byensuring proper

cooperation among the work of different project stakeholders (Leong, Zakuan, Mat Saman, Ariff,

Md, & Tan, 2014). By promoting the rapid creation of all the constriction databases and

workflows, Kahua software can make the manager at the construction site efficient in accelerating

the development of the project and improving the project management process.

The Red Team and cloud construction project. According to Memon, Rahman, and Jamil

(2014), by using this software project managers have a proper cloud solution for maintaining the

account and financial databases. In this context, project managers at the construction site of the

PCG could send different construction drawings and databases to the power grid application. They

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could pull the necessary requests for information (RFI) from the power grid application software

via the Red Team software. This software also makes the project manager engaged in the

construction project of the PCG proficient at making accurate commercial estimations, which

enhances the relevancy as well as the accuracy of the project. The Red Team is one of the fastest

accounting solutions that can enable the project manager to make the proper optimization of all the

accounting and financial databases. As stated by Bamfo-Agyei, Hackman, and Nani (2015), for

commercial project construction Red Team is highly recommended software that maintains proper

coordination between accounts as well as financial databases with the other aspects that allow a

project manager to be highly involved in maintaining the reliability and relevancy of the

construction project. Pharne and Kande (2016) found that Red Team cloud software is essential in

the case of construction work as it can be implemented by the project manager to manage different

construction aspects such as preconstruction, project management, Gantt Scheduling, equipment

management, and accounting. Therefore, in this context, the construction project of the PCG can

be improved and triggered towards its objectives by installing the software, which allows the

construction team to use this software to maintain proper technical communication as well as

collaboration online through sharing and creating the posting, contracting documents, posting

updates, and monitoring performance.

eSub construction project. eSub software assists project managers in developing efficient

coordination between the office and the construction site in real-time (Mir & Pinnington, 2014).

Along with the power grid, this software allows the project team and the project manager to send a

screenshot of technical drawings, annotations, and project databases that can be used by the team

members to make possible coordination among all the construction workers. In this context, team

members, as well as project managers appointed to the construction site at the PCG, could install

this sub-project software which would enable them to facilitate connectedness with the

stakeholders and reduce the time needed to complete the entire work (Hwang, Zhao, & To, 2014).

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This software prevents the staff and construction managers from having to chase down the RFIs,

insurance documents, contract, and orders by keeping the proper uniform structure to move the

project towards its destination, to finish the project in a well-organized manner. It is vital for all

the staff to understand the weaknesses and strengths of the projects and construction planning,

which are essential to make possible any reformation in the entire project planning.

According to Mok, Shen, and Yang (2015), as the construction projects of the PCG are

experiencing considerable delays in finishing the construction work, there is a need to install eSub

software, which gives all the project team members the ability to store, create, and access all the

projects from their mobile devices. Team members can make and send notes from their

construction field and capture photos, which can then be sent to the project manager instantly to

ensure effective collaboration among the team members. According to Ngacho and Das (2014),

the eSub software would also help the team members to work by downloading the online mobile

application, thus enabling the PSG construction project team to update as well as document the

entire project database. According to Serpella, Ferrada, Howard, and Rubio (2014), by using this

software, team members can communicate with each other more quickly in a well-organized

manner, which not only increases the productivity of the organization but also impacts on the

overall performance of the construction workers at the construction site. By removing the need to

chase down multiple contracts, current project plans, RFIs, and insurance documents, the

employee can make the workers able to exercise effective coordination with the construction team

members, which is essential to enhance the quality of the project. According to Zohar and

Polachek (2014), by installing this software, team members can identify issues happening at the

site, helping them to develop arrangements to resolve the issues raised. By locating proper project

addresses and dealing with other key elements through the utilization of this software, the

construction workers can improve the performance level and effort of all the team members.

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 Improve project plans with massive data. As stated by Kärnä and Junnonen (2016), a

construction project can be easily handled by increasing its productivity and performance level

through reforming as well as restricting the project outline. In this context, the project manager at

a PCG construction site , can easily understand flaws and drawbacks of the project planning which

are responsible for the project delay. As per Gudienė, Banaitis, Podvezko, and Banaitienė (2014),

reformation of the project plan can make team members and the project manager of this

construction site evaluate the entire project decryption end-to-end to analyse the requirements and

expectations of the construction project. It is essential for all the team members to have explicit

knowledge about project progress and project requirements, which is possible only by doing good

project planning that allows the project managers as well as team members to maintain possible

coordination of all aspects of the project.

Maintaining, as well as improving, a proper database is one of the significant steps

involved in project planning. As per Prakash and Nandhini (2015), by developing, storing, and

accessing possible project construction databases, team members can input all the information

related to the projects in one relevant model that can be followed by all the project managers and

construction staff, thereby giving substantial benefits as well as improving the productivity of the

construction work. Contractors at the PCG construction site can easily make proper analysis and

evaluation of the previous database to identify as well as eliminate all the barriers and drawbacks

of the project planning. Serpella et al. (2014), state that by developing the useful matrices, project

managers and contractors can easily maintain the accuracy as well as the relevancy of the project

outcomes that would assist the project staff to enhance their performance level.

Improve training in construction productivity and promote job-site experience. To

elevate the performance level of construction work, it is vital for the contractors to train the

construction supervisors, which is essential in order to involve them in high-quality construction

work. As stated by Shen, Tuuli, Xia, Koh, and Rowlinson (2015), the construction supervisor can

86
fail or succeed at a job by their potentiality and experience. Contractors must ensure that all the

workers who are appointed to the field are well-experienced and able to deal with all kinds of

construction work. In this context, the contractors at a PCG construction site need to train their

supervisors and staff to make them able to understand the way to deal with various technical

aspects and equipment (Safo-Kantanka, et al., 2018). In most of the cases, contractors also train

their staff and supervisors on how to operate different technical types of equipment to run the

project consistently.

As stated by Obeidat and Aldulaim (2016), it is essential for the contractor to train the

supervisor, not only in handling different technical types of equipment, but also in applying their

best efforts to increase productivity and improve the project. Supervision at the construction site is

responsible not only for the day-to-day checking process, but also for maintaining a high level of

coordination among all the entities associated with the construction work. Completion of the

construction project in a well-organized manner has some milestones, which supervisors and

project developers need to recognize and implement. According to He, Tang, Wei, Duffield, and

Lei (2015), it is vital for all the supervisors to meet each project milestone on a proper schedule to

use all the organizational resources to finish the entire task within the allocated budget. In this

context, the contractors and supervisors in a PCG construction project must be well trained to

handle the whole construction task. This can be accomplished by incorporating new ideas and

thoughts, managing internal conflicts among the staff, maintaining and storing all the technical

database regarding the construction work, and reducing the changes of project delay by utilizing

all the possible resources to accelerate the project growth.

Increase use of the prefabrication. As stated by Kärnä and Junnonen (2016),

prefabrication is the process used in the construction industry to assemble all the essential

components of the structure in a factory or other manufacturing site. It is one of the necessary and

conventional transition processes used by the project managers to transport different essential

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materials to the construction sites. By using this method, contractors and project managers of a

PCG construction project can prefabricate all the indispensable technical elements and bring them

to the construction site without delay, rather than building each of them on the construction site.

According to Gudienė et al. (2014), prefabrication leads to reduction of the costs and improves

quality by giving the team members the ability to use highly efficient elements on the construction

sites, thus accelerating the completion of the project. It is essential for all the staff to be well-

trained in transporting the essential items from one construction site to another, providing a safe

and secure way of getting the best materials that can be used at the construction sites to gain better

productivity. For increasing the quality as well as the performance level of the project, it is

essential that cooperation among different entities is made possible (Serpella, et al., 2014).

Prefabrication makes the construction team able to improve the quality. In this context, PCG

construction work can be grouped into a different entity to accelerate the project completion.

Prefabrication would make it possible for the supervisor as well as the contractors to collect

different, essential components from other construction sites that would be relevant to the

completion of the construction work. As per Ngacho and Das (2014), prefabricated parts of the

equipment used on the construction site can be called subassemblies, which are essential to

incorporate all the possible equipment into the one model to enhance the efficiency as well as the

quality of the equipment. Prefabrication can reduce the schedule allocated for completing the

construction work, thereby giving the team members the ability to meet all the criteria for

promoting the improvement of the construction project.

Improve safety training. Accidents can be the primary causes of any category of project

delay as well as cost overruns. As stated by Hwang et al. (2014), contractors should be required to

conduct more safety training programs to train all their staff, project managers, and project team

members, in order to engage them in adopting proper safety methodologies, thereby maintaining

proper safety and security while working at the construction sites. It is vital for the staff to

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maintain effective communication with each other to understand the efficacy and experience that

can be implemented to maintain reasonable safety within the organization (Chen, et al., 2019b).

Different or outdated safety measures are ineffective; therefore, contractors are required to

consistently implement innovative and new methodologies in the construction work to enhance

productivity and reduce all types of risks as well as liabilities (Mir & Pinnington, 2014; New

South Wales, 2016). Providing a strong awareness curriculum and raising more safety awareness

can ensure that the contractors on PCG construction projects know how they can maintain the

safety and security of the project while working in a well-organized manner. Therefore, it is vital

for the construction project that contractors not only provide training to the staff, but also that they

provide up-to-date knowledge to the staff by making them aware of the type of construction

equipment that can be used on the construction sites to accelerate the completion of the work.

Communicate effectively. According to Bilbo, Bigelow, Escamilla, and Lockwood

(2015), it is evident that productivity is an essential aspect of the construction site that should be

maintained in a manner consistent with the project objectives. However, contractors need to shift

the project dynamic by making possible communication about the importance and usefulness of

productivity for the entire team. The contractor can better communicate with the construction

team and project managers to make them understand the actual aim of the project. In this context,

contractors at the Presbyterian Church can interact specifically with all the staff and supervisors to

enhance the involvement of all the staff in meeting the project goal (Sinesilassie, et al., 2017).

Communication would enable contractors to understand the strategies and weaknesses of the team

and allow them to take practical steps, such as training, self-assessment programs, and regular

conferences, to enhance the expertise and efficacy of the team members to deal with various

difficult tasks (Safo-Kantanka, et al., 2018). Demirkesen and Ozorhon (2017) affirm that by

maintaining possible interaction with the staff, project managers, and contractors, it is possible to

manage any conflict among the team members as well as project managers and supervisors

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regarding job procedure and construction. In addition to this, effective communication is one of

the essential ways that help the construction staff share in the decisions and thoughts regarding the

construction project.

Proper management of talent at a construction site. According to Sinesilassie et

al.(2017), talent management is one of the sensitive as well as important issues on a construction

site, which enhances the productivity and the chances of the betterment of the construction project.

Contractors at PCG construction sites in Ghana need to find the best people with high skills and

proper experience in the construction field. It is imperative for the staff at the construction site to

have the necessary intelligence and the excellence to deal with the various complicated tasks that

would accelerate the growth and performance level of the task. Staff must have strong skills as

well as the proper mindset to put their best efforts into the tasks to deal with all the complicated

construction aspects. As per Memon et al. (2014), in this context it can be stated that project

managers and contractors at the PCG construction sites can utilize the autonomous system to

provide all the staff with enough power and freedom to use their expertise and experience to deal

with complicated tasks. However, contractors need to maintain proper supervision of each of the

staff to eliminate the chance of misuse of power and opportunity, thereby making the construction

framework free from all types of conflict and controversies. As per Leong et al. (2014) contractors

need to involve the staff in dealing with the new challenges at the construction site to examine

their efficacy and self-confidence, which are the cornerstone of getting better production and

performance at the construction site. By conducting a self-assessment program and official

meetings, the contractor would be able to recognize the ability as well as the efficacy of the

construction staff to deal with new challenges. By conducting transparent interview processes, the

contractor can find highly skilled and experienced candidates who can deal with challenging tasks.

Therefore, it is essential for the contractor at the construction site to recognize the strengths and

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weaknesses of the staff to create potential workforces that can deal with any organizational

challenges (Safo-Kantanka, et al., 2018).

Summary

Chapter two considered the major project management theories needed for every project.

They include planning/initiating, planning/executing, planning/controlling, and planning/closing

(Lui, 2020; Matu, 2020, Tereso, et al. 2019). Later in the review, delay factors influencing the

PCG construction projects were categorized under the following headings: material-related factors,

Church organization structure, client /owner-related factors, project-related factors, external-

related factors and quality-related factors. The material-related factors were disscused in terms of

choice of material, wastage, money to purchase, and bad storage, which all trigger delay (Arthur,

2016; Asiedu, & Alfen, 2016; Pall, et al., 2016, 2018; PCG-Constitution, 2016; Wallensteen,

2018). The client /owner-related factors were highlighed to include disparities in orders,

interruptions in policymaking, challenges in the cashflow, unpunctuality in the modification of

design documents and their approval, delayed endorsement of sample materials, and poor

communication, leading to delays in construction projects (Addo, 2016; Alotaibi, et al., 2016;

Arditi, et al., 2017; McCord, et al., 2015; Sambasivan, et al., 2017). Also, Church organization

structure was outlined with respect to lack of budget, bad leadership skills, poor communication,

changes in leadership, and slow decision-making having an influence on delay (Doppelt &

McDonough 2017; Northouse, 2018; Sutar & Mehendale 2017; Volberda, et al., 2013). Project-

related factors were shown to have triggered delay in areas like disputes, unclear schedules,

unclear contract clauses, lack of planning, poor materials, and the low technical know-how of

subcontractors (Akogbe, et al., 2013; Kim, et al., 2018; Skaggs, & Chescheir 2003; Wallensteen,

2018). External-related factors covered areas that disturb construction projects like price increases,

price escalation, labour disputes, slow permits from government, civil disturbances, harsh climatic

conditions, hostile social, and economic, and political environments (Adam, et al., 2017;

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Agyekum-Mensah & Knight, 2017; Lines, et al., 2015; Najib, et al., 2018; Sinesilassie, et al.,

2017). Finally, quality-related factors were discussed in terms of the low qualifications of workers

or technical staff, lack of technical know-how, lack of quality policy, improper supervision, and

absence of staff appraisal having an influence on Church construction delay (Asiedu & Alfen

2016; Algwyad & Talib, 2019; Attakora-Amaniampong, 2016; Buys, 2015; Durdyev, et al., 2017;

Gebrehiwet & Luo 2017; Larsen, et el., 2015; Rahman, et al., 2014; Zidane, & Andersen 2018).

The expanded forms of the delay components identified include: Managerial dispute

(Baker & Keiser, 2019; Kim, Lee, & Choi 2018; Merrills, 2017; Sutar, & Mehendale 2017),

Contractor-related (El-Gohary, et al., 2017; Kog, 2017), Design-related (Yousefi, et al., 2016), and

Consultant-related (Marzouk & El-Rasas, 2014; Smith, et al., 2017). The rest are Equipment-

related (Ngacho and Das 2014), and Labour-related (Arditi, et al., 2017; Olusanya 2018).

The four categories of delay that impact PCG construction projects were discussed,

revealing that delays that hinder the completion of the entire construction project were the critical

factor (Arditi, et al., 2017; El-Gohary, et al., 2017). The non-critical factors were those without

direct influence on the completion date of the Church construction project (Xiong, et al., 2014).

The non-concurrent delays occur whenever the critical path of the construction schedule is

influenced by a single action, but the concurrent delay has a number of activities contributing to its

occurrence (Chen, et al., 2017; Gardezi, et al., 2014). The delays that are mostly defined in the

contract are the compensable ones, and those that are triggered by unforeseen circumstances, like

natural events, are the non-compensable (Getahun, et al., 2016).

The effects of project delay are also discussed and include: time overrun (Asiedu & Alfen,

2016; Ojoko, et al., 2016), abandonment, dispute, and litigation, (Hughes, et al., 2015; Lu, et al.,

2015; Shehu, et al., 2014a; Vasilyeva-Lyulina, et al., 2015). The rest of the effects consist of

negotiation and arbitration (Equbal, et al., 2017; Getahun, et al., 2016) and cost overruns (Larsen,

et al., 2015; Senouci, et al., 2016). The delay factors have some impact on Ghana’s construction

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projects and will lead to the next chapter, which outlines the methodology adopted in this study

and examines the factors that impact the delay in construction projects (Asiedu & Alfen 2016;

Arthur 2016). Moreover, as revealed by Agyekum-Mensah and Knight (2017), Safo-Kantanka et

al. (2018) and Sears et al. (2015) the challenges faced in construction projects and the strategies

for improvement are represented in Figure 5.

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 Figure 5.

Construction projects chart.

CONSTRUCTION
PROJECTS
CHART

CHALLENGES FACED
STRATEGIES FOR
IN CONSTRUCTION
IMPROVEMENT
PROJECT COMPONENTS

Lack of Safety Improve Project Plan

Financial Issues Proper Technology
Measures with Huge Data

Lack of Effective Plan Grid Improve Training in

Lack of Evaluation
Communication Construction and Construction
Productivity Productivity and
Last Minutes Owners Mnrealistic Software Promote Job Site
Changes Time Frames Experience
Red Team and Cloud
Lack of Initial Risk Ineffective Construction Project
Scheduling of Increase Use of the
Assessment
Projects Prefabrications
eSub Construction
Project
Communicate
Effectively
Improve the Safety
Training
Manage Talent at
Construction site
Properly

Note.: A constructional chart is showing the challenges encountered in the construction projects and
approaches to be adopted in improving Church construction project. Author’s Construct (2020)

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 Chapter 3: Methodology

This chapter explains the various research methods used for the study. The key elements

include purpose of the study, research design, hypotheses with research questions, sampling

strategy and population, research instrument, instrument validation, procedures for collecting data,

ethical consideration, data analysis and other approaches employed in the research.

Purpose of the study

The motivation for executing the quantitative study was to seek essential sympathetic delay

determinants that relate to Church construction projects in Ghana. Rachid et al. (2018) asserted

that construction delays have social economic, and legal consequences. There is a great loss of

financial resources in construction projects as a result of delays (Larsen, et al., 2015). The study

also aimed at the critical failure or success mechanisms implicated in the Church construction

projects so that the magnitude of impact of each factor was reviewed correctly in identifying its

validity for the efficacy of the project (Naoum, Herrero, Egbu, & Fong, 2018). Despite the

numerous contributions of work in the construction field, not much has been done with regard to

religious institutions. For instance, construction projects like road construction and other

governmental projects have attracted consistent attention from industry and academic world

(Chen, Shan, Chan, Liu, & Zhao, 2019b). Though the church constructions delays keep increasing

in the PCG (Akuapem Presbytery Report, 2014), the available conceptual and empirical studies

executed in ConD largely focused on roads and other public institutions (Famiyeh, et al., 2017;

Murwira, & Bekker, 2017). There was very little literature identified on Church construction

projects, and what was available was also out of date. Therefore, in order to bridge the theoretical

gaps, a conceptual framework integrating client organizational related factors, quality-related

factors, project-related factors, material-related factors, Church organization structure, and

external-related factors was developed to investigate their relationship with Church construction

delay.

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Research Design

This study aimed to explore the delays in PCG construction projects . Premised on the

predictor variables, the unit of the analysis was the 25 Districts of the Akuapem Presbytery, which

were undertaking construction projects such as chapel building, building of church halls, building

of church offices, and building of church manses as ministers’ residences (PCG-Constitution,

2016). Considering the nature of the research question and study objectives, the study utilized the

quantitative technique for this study. The data collection was taken from 402 respondents through

a cross-sectional survey using questionnaires. The methodology of the study was established as a

result of the overall literature reviews on delays in construction projects. A cross-sectional survey

was employed based on the aim of the study to explore the delays in PCG construction projects .

Hence, the need for a sufficient sample of the population from persons in construction projects like

the resident pastors/agents (clients/owners), managers, consultants, site superintendents (foreman),

project/construction managers, electricians and others (committee/session) using the online survey

tool, MikeCRM. According to Babbie (2016), a cross-sectional survey is the best means of

gaining enough data in order to attempt generalization about a larger population from which the

sample of participants has been drawn. Since the study attempted to examine the relationship

between the independent and dependent variables, a cross-sectional survey was considered as the

appropriate strategy.

Quantitative Research. Quantitative research is a technique that generally entails closed

questions designed for comprehensive interviews to measure or tally the answers and evaluate the

data statistically (Mayer, 2015; Nardi, 2018). The quantitative technique was used to assess

various variables comprising areas relating to correlations between variables and employing

efficient statistics, like correlations, testing theory, and variations between the means. The

hypotheses were developed to assist in producing a sequential data analysis. The survey approach

helped in the execution of the study in a minimized timeframe and had a lower acceptance for

96
errors as well as maintained vagueness in the study, stemming in the advancement of significant

collection of data (Creswell & Clark, 2017; Naoum & Egbu, 2016). As stated by Creswell and

Clark (2017), the survey approach is employed in research since it affords a wider viewpoint and

knowledge about the social phenomenon happening in the environment without any form of

subjectivism. The positivist paradigm was applied as a tenet for executing this design. The

quantitative technique was applied in this study for the rationales listed below:

• To measure and verify the outcome (Mayer, 2015)

• To contrast and compare the results (Nardi, 2018)

• To establish the validity of the instrument and the conclusion (Creswell and Clark,

2017)

• To appreciate and critique the precision of the study outcome (Vance, et al., 2013).

This quantitative study gathered knowledge concerning the delay factors and critical failure, along

with their level of relationship with the project. Moreover, the method was also used to evaluate

the influence of each of the factors on the construction project. In this study, the assessment

procedures employed in the quantitative technique, such as statistical figures, charts, and tables,

aided the author in investigating, presenting, explaining, and analysing data for correlations and

trends.

Conceptual framework. The literature and theoretical review uncovered several influence

factors of construction delay. For instance, Amoatey et al. (2015) as well as Zidane and Andersen

(2018) outlined delay factors like client-related, contractor-related, consultant-related, material-

related, equipment and labour-related, contract-related, contractual-related, and external-related.

However, Muhwezi (2014), regrouped those factors into four broader categories as consultant-

related, client/owner-related, external-related, and contractor-related factors. Prasad et al. (2019)

included financial and owner/owner-related factors, whereas Dixit and Sharma (2019) added

design-related, planning-related, and expert-labour-related factors. Inferring from Amaotey et al.

97
(2015), Muhwezi (2014), and Prasad et al. (2019), this study concentrated on six items to represent

the independent variables. They included:

1) Client/owner-related factors (Larsen, et al., 2015; Muhwezi 2014; Prasad, et al., 2019;

Zidane and Andersen 2018),

2) Church organization structure (Arditi, et al., 2017; Doppelt & McDonough 2017;

Northouse, 2018; Sutar & Mehendale 2017; Volberda, et al., 2013).

3) Quality-related factors (Akogbe, et al., 2013; Algwyad & Talib, 2019 Famiyeh, et al.,

2017; Kim, et al., 2018; Skaggs, & Chescheir 2003; Wallensteen, 2018).

4) Project-related factors (Akogbe, et al., 2013; Famiyeh, et al., 2017; Jackson, 2020; Kim,

et al., 2018; Skaggs, & Chescheir 2003; Wallensteen, 2018).

5) Material-related factors (Arthur, 2016; Asiedu, & Alfen, 2016; Pall, et al., 2016;2018;

PCG-Constitution, 2016; Wallensteen, 2018).

6) External-related factors (Adam, et al., 2017; Agyekum-Mensah & Knight 2017; Najib, et

al. 2018; Lines, et al., 2015; Najib, et al., 2018; Sinesilassie, et al., 2017).

The Church construction delay was the proposed dependent variable, as illustrated in

Figure 6. This proposed model was developed to help answer the six research questions. Hence,

the study sought to explore the delays in PCG construction projects.

98
Figure 6

Proposed Research Model for the study

Client/Owner Related Factors

H1
(ClientORF)
Church Organizational Structure
H
H2H
(ChuOS)
Quality Related Factors 12H3 Church
H
Construction
(QuaRF)
Project Related Factors 3 H4 H Delay

(ProjRF) H
45 H
Material Related Factors
H6
5 H
(MatRF)
External Related Factors
6
(ExtRF)
Note. Church construction delay serve as the dependent variables being controlled by the six

independent variables. This means that the changes in the controlled variables trigger the

dependent variables (church construction delays). Author’s construct 2020

99
Table 1

Constructs and definitions

Independent Definition Sources

variables

1. Client/Owner The extent the owner of the project Larsen et al. (2015); Muhwezi

Related Factors contributes to the church construction (2014); Nyoni and Bonga

delays. (2017); Prasad et al. (2019);

Zidane and Andersen (2018)

2. Church The extent the chain of command in the Arditi et al. (2017)

Organizational church organizational philosophy impedes Sutar and Mehendale (2017)

Structure the church’s construction.

3. Quality Related The degree to which interruptions in Algwyad and Talib (2019);

Factors construction impede the value of the Algwyad and Talib (2019);

project. Dixit and Sharma, (2019);

Durdyev et al., 2017).

Rahman et al. (2014),

4. Project Related The degree to which the issues associated Akogbe et al. (2013); Dixit

Factor with the planning, designing, starting, and and Sharma (2019); Famiyeh

completing the project are impeded in the et al. 2017; Jackson (2020);

project. Kim et al. (2018); Skaggs,

and Chescheir (2003); Tedla

and Patel (2018);

Wallensteen, (2018)

100
 5. Material Related The magnitude by which the Arthur 2016; Asiedu and

Factors mismanagement of resources hinders the Alfen 2016; Pall et al. (2016);

efficiency of the construction processes. PCG-Constitution, (2016);

Wallensteen, (2018)

6. External Related The extent to which external issues in Adam et al. (2017);

Factors construction alter the original duration to Agyekum-Mensah and Knight

cause a delay in the project. (2017); Najib et al. (2018);

Lines et al. 2015; Najib et al.

(2018); Sinesilassie et al.

2017).

Dependent Variable This is the variable regulated by the Rahman et al. (2014);

control variables. It changes whenever Wu, Ann, and Shen (2017)

the independent variables change. The

delay in church construction is the

dependent variable.

Note. Definition of the proposed variables with responding references. Source: Author’s Construct

2020

101
Research Questions and Hypothese.

This study was primarily focused on six sets of questions based on the literature review.

RQ1: Is there a relationship between client /owner-related factors

and Church construction delay?

H10: There is no relationship between client /owner-related factors

and Church construction delay.

H1a: There is a relationship between client /owner-related factors

and Church construction delay.

RQ2: Is there a substantial relationship between Church organization structure and Church

construction delay?

H20: There is no substantial relationship between Church organization structure and

Church construction delay.

H2a: There is a substantial relationship between Church organization structure and

Church construction delay.

RQ3: Is there a substantial relationship between quality-related factors and

Church construction delay?

H30: There is no significant association between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H3a: There is a significant association between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay?

RQ4: Is there a substantial relationship between project-related factors and Church

construction delay?

H40: There is no substantial relationship between project-related factors and

Church construction delay.

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 H4a: There is a substantial relationship between project-related factors and Church

construction delay.

RQ5: Is there a relationship between material-related factors and Church construction

delay?

H50: There is no relationship between material-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H5a: There is a relationship between material-related factors and Church

construction delay.

RQ6: Is there a substantial relationship between external-related factors and Church

construction delay?

H60: There is no substantial relationship between external-related factors and

Church construction delay.

H6a: There is a substantial relationship between external-related factors and Church

construction delay.

Population and Sample Strategy

This section describes the population and the sampling size strategy. The relevant

justification for the selection of the target sample size for the study is outlined.

Population of the study. A target population is defined as the inclusive class of specific

components of the population that is significant to the study unit. In contrast, a sample is a

segment of the population that is selected to be examined in order to interpret the set population in

mind (Rubin & Babbie 2016). The population included those in the construction firms in Ghana.

These include builders, woodworkers, plumbers, and electrical workers. In the year 2012, an

approximate building contractors’ populace of 1,600 was given by the Chartered Institute of

Building-Ghana (Ahmed, Hatira, & Valva, 2014). The total membership of woodworkers in

103
Ghana was over 40,000 (GNA, April 2015) and the overall number of PCG Agents stood at 5,701

(PCG Report 2018).

In the current study, the population is 2,400 covering stakeholders in Church construction

projects such as the building of chapels, ministers’ residences, church halls, offices, and other

church-related projects in Ghana. (Ahmed, et al., 2014; Akuapem Presbytery Report 2014; PCG

Report 2018; ) Nevertheless, the participants of the study were church stakeholders or decision-

makers in Church construction projects and building contractors who have worked on church

projects. Included in the sample were resident pastors/agents (clients/owners), managers,

consultants, site superintendents (foreman), project/construction managers, electricians, and other

leaders on the project and investment committee/session. Those holding major positions in the

church construction projects were chosen as the study sample because they are responsible for

decision-making at church. Accordingly, the author performed a quantitative study into delays in

construction projects and their influence on the church. The idea for choosing the location and

various roles/professions in the construction projects was to explore the broader view of the delays

in Church construction projects. Though all the PCG congregations in Ghana are involved in

construction projects, PCG Akuapem Presbytery has several ongoing construction projects in

almost all the 25 districts (Akuapem Presbytery Report 2013; 2014). A second reason for the

study area selection was that the researcher had spent over six years as a Presbyterian minister in

the selected study area and is more familiar with the trends of Church construction projects and

delays, making data collection easier. In conclusion, during the data-gathering procedure the

researcher could not incorporate the entire population because of the financial commitment and the

duration needed. Nonetheless, since church construction projects share similar physical

characteristics, the nature of the study sample varies, and it is meant to represent subclasses of the

population of church construction projects in the PCG and other churches in Ghana.

104
 Sampling procedure. In applying the purposive random sampling, self-administered

questionnaires were used to gather the data. Distribution was done by purposively selecting key

Church Construction Project leaders in PCG Akuapem Presbytery between September and

December of 2019. Nevertheless, for the intention of this study, a letter was written to the

Presbytery office to seek permission to engage the participants in the Presbytery and ensure they

were all working on a project or had recently worked on a construction project. Only

congregations or districts which were involved in construction projects were chosen for this study

and subsequently gave their consent to take part. This was used to enable the researcher to

carefully monitor the data-gathering process in order to regulate the number during the data

collection to reduce attrition and dropout. Out of the 700 project leaders who fell within the

conditions, 480 were chosen randomly to partake in the study.

Sample size selection. The deployment of the sample selection technique and how it

symbolized the population had a substantial consequence on the study outcomes. Thus, it was

imperative for the sample to have the projecting features of the study populace. In considering the

chosen sample from the population of the study, the sample must exhibit some estimated

characteristics of the population.

The target population was assumed to have the characteristic of interests cited in Mugenda and

Mugenda (2008), which suggested that 50% was the suitable sample size. Thus, the study applied

the Cochran sample size formula to calculate the appropriate sample size of the study units as

follows:

𝒁𝟐 · 𝒑(𝟏 − 𝒑)
𝒆𝟐
𝒁𝟐 · 𝒑(𝟏 − 𝒑)
𝟏+( )
𝒆𝟐 𝑵

105
Confidence Level (1−α) 95%

Population proportion (p) 50% (0.5)

Margin of Error (confidence interval) (e) 4%

Population size (N) 2400

Alpha divided by 2 (α/2) 0.025

Z-Score (Z) 1.96

As shown in Table 2 the procedure used to arrive at the sampled number of study units has

been simplified.

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Table 2
Sample Size Determination

Item Symbol Value Calculation

Confidence Level 1−α 95% = 1 - 0.95 = 0.05; || => 0.05

Population proportion p 50% 0.5

Margin of Error e 4% e = 4/100 = 0.04. || If e = 0.04, then

e2 = 0.0016

Population size N 2400 2400

Alpha divided by 2 for Z α/2 0.025 i.e. if α = 0.05, => 0.05/2 = 0.025

Z-Score Z 1.96 Z= (1.96) 2 = 3.8416 => Z2 = 3.8416

Sample Size Calculation using the formula ((Z^2·p(1-p))/e^2 )/(1+((Z^2·p(1-p))/(e^2 N))

𝒁𝟐 ·𝒑(𝟏−𝒑)
𝒆𝟐
=> 𝟐
𝒁 ·𝒑(𝟏−𝒑)
𝟏+( )
𝒆𝟐 𝑵

𝑍 2 ·𝑝(1−𝑝) (1.96)2 ∗0.5(1−0.5) 3.8416 ∗0.5(0.5) 0.9604

Numerator = = = =>
𝑒2 (0.04)2 0.0016 0.0016

= 600.25

𝒁𝟐 ·𝒑(𝟏−𝒑) 3.8416 ∗0.5(0.5) 0.9604

Denominator = 𝟏 + = 1+ = 1+ => 1+1.25
𝒆𝟐 𝑵 0.0016 ∗2400 3.84

= 1.25

Numerator 𝟔𝟎𝟎.𝟐𝟓
Sample size (n)= = => 480
𝐷𝑒𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝟏.𝟐𝟓

Therefore, n = 480

Note. The Table demonstrates the steps used for the sample size calculation. The population
size (N=2400); Confidence level (1−α= 0.05); p-value, is 50% (0.5); Margin of error (e = 0.04);
and Z-score = (1.96). Based on the formula, the numerator was calculated and had 600.25
which was divided by the denominator with 1.25. The sample size for the study is n = 480.

107
 Research Instrument

The 20th version of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to

examine the descriptive statistics such as the standard deviation (SD), mean, frequency

distribution, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and regression. Similarly, the 24th version of the

Analysis of Moment Structure (AMOS) was applied in Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) as

well as Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) (Babbie, Wagner, & Zaino, 2018). The EFA was

adopted to verify the existence of correlations in the intended model. To verify the overall

significance of all the correlations within the correlation matrix for the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Test

(KMO) and Bartlett’s Test and Chi-Square. The CFA was applied to verify decency in the model.

Cronbach’s Alpha was used to measure internal uniformity and to check validity and reliability for

further analysis of the research. The correlation was employed to test for the suitability of

variables and to identify if there are any issues of multicollinearity.

Instrument Validation.

To identify the precision of the questionnaire and to ascertain the clearness of the

instrument from the respondents, internal reliability and validity became necessary, as indicated by

Fraser, Fahlman, Arscott, and Guillot, (2018). A pilot study was conducted by distributing a total

of 65 questionnaires to resident pastors/agents (clients/owners), managers, consultants, site

superintendents (foreman), project/construction managers, electricians, and the project and

investment committee/session. In the end, 60 responses were returned, making 92.3% percent.

Pilot Study instrument reliability. In Table 3, a Cronbach's alpha was used to evaluate

the internal uniformity and to demonstrate the reliability assessment for each scale. The measures

obtained depicted suitable reliability. The range measured from .741 to .916 for the Church

construction delay. Thus, higher than the minimum requirement of 0.6, making the proposed

constructs reliable. Table 3 reveals the pilot study results.

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 Pilot study validity of instrument. The confirmation needed to authenticate the expected

results called for validity, which was reliant on the assertions made (Kane, 2016). Validity implies

the capacity of instrument to evaluate its expected rationale for the underlying construct. The

validility established included:

a) Face validity was proven subjectively to be accurate for the study objectives (Burns &

Bush, 2005; Kane, 2016).

b) Discriminant validity, which showed that some of the items had high values, suggesting

few items were redundant and indicating the need to restrain the unwanted pairs.

c) Convergent validity showing an evidence that all items of the proposed model were

correlated and, therefore, the construct was reinforced.

Therefore, the study, employed three categories of validity (face, discriminant, and

convergent) to measure the respective model (Burns & Bush, 2005; Kane, 2016; Zohrabi, 2013).

109
Table 3

Pilot study outcome

Constructs Mean Variance SD Cronbach’s Alpha

Church ConD 20.43 14.050 .891 .757

ChuOS 20.61 13.136 1.154 .776

ClientORF 19.70 14.403 1.032 .791

ExtRF 20.00 15.023 .614 .753

QuaRF 20.26 14.084 .917 .762

MatRF 19.92 12.615 1.070 .740

ProjRF 19.86 18.842 .653 .846

Note. Scale statistics showing the Mean, Variance, Standard Deviation (SD), and
with Cronbach’s Alpha between .740 and .846

Data Collection Procedure

One of the vigorous procedures of any research is the gathering of data, which has two

parts: primary and secondary data (Johnson, Reynolds, & Mycoff, 2019). The direct data that the

study gathers for a precise study are the primary data, whereas the secondary data are the accounts

made by witnesses and that accessible from other sources. Other factors that contribute to data

collection include the accessibility of the material or resources, cost involved, the study duration,

and the expected precision level (Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Khan, 2014).

In this study, the primary data was collected using two steps. In the first step, a semi-

structured questionnaire was used to gather data from persons directly involved in the Church

construction projects, like Church Agents (Ministers and Catechists), project managers,

contractors, and consultants. In the second stage of the data gathering, a questionnaire that gave a
110
detailed view of the study was developed and used in the data collection through an extensive

literature review (Todorović, Petrović, Mihić, Obradović, & Bushuyev, 2015).

Without any variations, all the respondents received a similar questionnaire, since the

research was an empirical study aiming at exploring delays in construction projects of the

Akuapem Presbytery of the PCG. With regards to the time frame, the economic aspect, and the

large sample size for this study, an online survey was preferred for the collection of data and

respondents had the option to print it out or respond directly online (Bernard & Bernard, 2013;

Bowen, Edwards & Cattell, 2015). The study, without any manipulation of variables, contacted

participants, such as the agents (Minister and Catechists), managers, consultants, site

superintendents (foreman), project/construction manager, electricians, and other committee

members, through text messages, e-mail, Facebook, LinkedIn, telephone, and WhatsApp with the

questionnaire link. Employing the online survey tool MikeCrm, the respondents filled in all the

questionnaires at their homes or job sites.

A covering letter was attached to the questionnaire, spelling out the essence of finishing the

questionnaire and guaranteeing all the respondents that their information would be kept

confidential. Respondents had the choice to complete a printed or online questionnaire. The online

survey tool MikeCRM enabled the researcher to have access to all responses in real-time (Bowen,

et al., 2015). The online survey tool is “easy to analyse; they come on a spreadsheet” (Bernard &

Bernard, 2013, p. 218).

Respondents either completed the online questionnaire or, for those who opted to fill it out

manually, were sent the questionnaire via email in order to print it. All questionnaires sent via

electronic mail were followed-up with calls after the expiration of the four weeks given. Sending a

constant reminder to respondents increases the rate of responses (Van Mol, 2017). In all, the

questionnaires comprised the respondents' demographics (age, profession/role, and educational

111
level). A standard 5 Likert Scale was adopted as a measurement for all the items, with the scale

range: 1-Strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-Neutral, 4-Agree, 5-Strongly Agree (Willis, 2015).

Ethical concerns. To guarantee the aptness of the study, the author employed the most

elegant approach by adopting all the procedural ethics concerning the persons involved (Quinlan,

Babin, Carr, & Griffin, 2019). The two vital ethical rules of Walliman (2017) were adopted. First,

the personal morals of the researcher concerning integrity and honesty were upheld. The

researcher ensured that integrity is kept in every facet of the study. All materials used were

adequately acknowledged, and the data collected were stored correctly and used for the purpose

for which they were intended.

Secondly, the researcher handled the people involved with politeness and honoured their

consent and privacy. There was no breach of the confidentiality of respondents. The information

obtained from the respondents was not disclosed to a third party. This means the privacy of the

respondents was kept with a high level of confidentiality. There was no dishonesty in the gathered

data. The researcher tried to avoid data duplication or influencing the persons involved in the data

collection. Regarding respondents’ consent, the researcher explained to the respondents their

freedom and the willingness to either participate or withdraw from taking part in the survey

without any penalty.

The researcher also followed the ethical writing principles of UCN. The Central University

of Nicaragua is very particular that researchers provide a genuine work devoid of plagiarism.

Data Analyses

In analysing the gathered data, the EFA was adopted to verify the existence of correlations

in the intended model, as indicated in Figure 6. The KMO and Bartlett’s tests were used to verify

variance and the CFA to verify decency in the model. The correlation was used to test for the

suitability of variables and to identify if there are any issues of multicollinearity and regression, as

shown in Table 4.

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Table 4

Plan for Data Analysis for the research question.

Serial no. Research Statistical tools employed

question

1 (RQ 1): The EFA - verify the existence of correlations in the intended model

KMO and Bartlett’s Test - verify variance

CFA - verify decency in the model

Correlation - test for the suitability of variables and to identify if there

were any issues of multicollinearity

Regression was used to ascertain the relation amongst the independent

and dependent variables.

2 (RQ 2): KMO, EFA, CFA, correlation, regression and Bartlett’s Test.

3 (RQ 3): KMO, EFA, CFA, correlation, regression and Bartlett’s Test.

4 (RQ 4): KMO, EFA, CFA, correlation, regression and Bartlett’s Test.

5 (RQ 5): KMO, EFA, CFA, correlation, regression and Bartlett’s Test.

6 (RQ 6): KMO, EFA, CFA, correlation, regression and Bartlett’s Test.

Note. This table illustrates the statistical tools used to address each of the six Research Question
(RQ). KMO is the Kaiser Olkin Test, EFA is the Exploratory Factor Analysis; and CFA refers to
Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Author’s construct 2020.

113
 Summary

Chapter three carefully reviewed the methodology for the research and the related

elements. The key components included the purpose of the study, which disclosed that financial

resources are lost in construction projects as a result of delays, and the sparse available church

construction literature was also out of date, hence, the study was to bridge such theoretical gaps

(Larsen, et al., 2015). The rationale for choosing the quantitative technique was discussed, which

revealed that the technique helped to measure and verify the outcome (Mayer, 2015), to contrast

and compare the study results (Nardi, 2018), to establish the validity of the instrument and the

conclusion (Creswell and Clark, 2017), and to appreciate and critique the precision of the study

outcome (Vance, Talley, Azuero, Pearce, & Christian, 2013).

The chapter also underscored the six research questions and their corresponding hypotheses

in exploring church construction delay in the PCG. A conceptual framework was developed based

on the literature and theoretical review, to include six independent variables and a dependent

variable. The church construction delay is the proposed dependent variable to hypothesize a

correlation or influence of the independent variables, such as Client/owner-related factors (Larsen,

et al., 2015), Church organization structure (Arditi, et al., 2017), Quality-related factors (Algwyad

& Talib, 2019), Project-related factors (Jackson, 2020), Material-related factors (Asiedu & Alfen

2014) and External-related factors (Najib, et al., 2018).

The population was identified to be those in the construction firms in Ghana. These

included blockwork, woodwork, plumbing, and electrical works. The sample population was the

key stakeholders in church construction projects such as chapel, minister’s residence, the building

of church halls or offices in the PCG. The research design was uncovered and indicated that a

quantitative technique was employed using a self-administered questionnaire through cross-

sectional survey to obtain the primary data from 402 participants involved in the construction

projects initiated through the PCG.

114
 The assessment of the internal accurateness of the questionnaire and consistency of the

instrument were tested in a pilot study. The Cronbach’s alpha was .741 to .916, showing an

internal uniformity and validity for each scale. Thus, higher than the minimum requirement of 0.6,

making the proposed constructs reliable. Ethical consideration in the data collection was

addressed, which indicated that the researcher observed academic integrity and honesty as well as

ensured the privacy of the respondents (Quinlan, et al., 2019; Walliman, 2017).

Finally, the plan for data analysis was outlined to show the various instruments to be used

in analysing the gathered data. KMO, EFA, CFA, correlation, regression and Bartlett’s Test were

employed in analysing all six research questions.

115
 Chapter 4: Data Analysis and Presentation of Results

The study had the central aim of investigating and identifying delays caused in the

construction project of PCG. The first part of this section dealt with an established theoretical

information concerning the study, the research questions, and the methodology. The chapter

further considered the collection of data using the online survey which were obtainable in three

distinct units. The first section of the survey covered the participants’ socio-demographic

variables. The second segment included discussions of the analysis in line with the research

question, R1 to R6. The final part is a summary and tabulation of the outcomes of the hypothesis,

H1 to H6, with their corresponding statistical analyses and their status.

Demographics Statistics

Demographics are the statistical features of the target group that distinguishes the group.

According to Asiedu (2015), “the demographic profile of the respondents and the verifiability and

consistency test conducted should enhance the credibility of the responses” (p.150). In this study,

the demographics used included age, profession or role, academic level, and job experience to

scrutinize and to disclose the possible impact of the delay factors in Church construction (Vance,

et al., 2013).

Age. In Table 5, the six-step ordinal scale was used, which revealed that 47.1% of

participants were between the age group of 31-40. Similarly, respondents between the ages of 21-

30 were 31.1%, and 12.9% of participants represented the age group 41-50. Moreover, 7.96%

represented the age group above 51; whereas, 0.99% were below the age of 20. This information

is demonstrated in Figure 7.

116
Figure 7

Age of Respondents

200

180 189
160

140
Number of Respondents

120
125
100

80

60

40 52

20 32
4 0.99% 31.09% 47.10% 12.90% 7.96%
0
Below 20 21-31 31-40 41-50 51 &Above

Age

Note. The vertical, 0-200, shows the number of respondents. The horizontal part displays the

positions of the participants and the rate obtained, ranging from 0.99% to 47.10%

Profession or Role. This portion of the study presents background information of the

respondents. In using the eight-step nominal scale, the participants were requested to specify the

role they played in the construction projects. Table 5 illustrates that the majority of the

respondents had various roles in the construction industry. Since the study sought to involve

people in the construction field and other persons in managerial positions of the Church, 39.3% of

the respondents were persons in other managerial positions in the Church, while 21.9% were

Church Pastor/Agent and 18.9% were managers. Additionally, 9.95% of the total respondents

117
were project/construction managers, whereas consultants, site superintendents (foreman), and

electricians out of the overall respondents represented 5.90%, 1.99%, and 1.99%, respectively as

described in Figure 8.

Figure 8

Role/ Professional of Respondents

180

160
158
140

120
Number of Respondents

100

80 88
76
60

40
40
20
39.30% 21.90% 18.90% 24 5.90% 8 1.99% 9.95% 8 1.99%
0

Profession

Note. The vertical, 0-180, shows the number of respondents. The horizontal part displays the

positions of the participants and the rate obtained, ranging from 8.99% to 39.30%

Level of Education. The respondents' academic background information was assessed on a

seven-step nominal scale. Table 5 reveals the outcomes that the majority of the respondents, 322

constituting 80.1%, had a university education, and 40 respondents, denoting 9.95%, were college

graduates. Moreover, 24 respondents, representing 5.97% of the overall respondents, had other
118
qualifications, while 16 respondents, denoting 3.98%, were high school graduates. This

information is demonstrated in Figure 9.

Figure 9.

Level of education

Notes: The vertical, 0-350, shows the number of respondents. horizontal part represents the

specific qualifications of respondents, ranging from 3.98% to 80.10%.

Years of Experience. As seen in Table 5, a five-step ordinal scale was used to define the

the number of participants’ years on the construction projects. The outcomes revealed that 134 of

the respondents, signifying that 33.3%, had between 1-5 years of experience in the church

construction firm, while 96 of the over-all respondents, representing 23.9%, correspondingly had

6-10 years’ experience in the construction firm. However, 64 of the total respondents,

representing 15.9%, had almost a year experience in the construction firm; while 60 of the overall

respondents, denoting 14.9%, had 11-15 years of experience in the construction firm.

119
Furthermore, 24 of the total respondents, representing 11.9% of the respondents, had 16 years and

above experience in the construction firm. This information is proven in Figure 10.

Figure 10.

Years of Experience

160
Number of Respondents

33.30%
140
120 134
23.90%
100
80 15.90% 96
14.90% 11.90%
60
64 60
40
48
20
0
Almost a year 1-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years 16 years and
above
Years of Experience

Notes: The vertical, 0-350, shows the number of respondents. horizontal part represents the
specific qualifications of respondents, ranging from 3.98% to 33.30%.

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Table 5.

Demographic Statistics of Respondents’ Profile (N=402)

D. Variables Age (year) Frequency Percent

Age Below 20 4 0.99%
21-31 125 31.09%
31-40 189 47.1%
41-50 52 12.9%
51 &Above 32 7.96%
Profession /Role Other positions 158 39.3%
Church Pastor/ Agent 88 21.9%
Manager 76 18.9%
Consultant 24 5.90%
Site superintendent (foreman) 8 1.99%
Project/Construction Manager 40 9.95%
Electrician 8 1.99%
Educational Level High School 16 3.98%
College 40 9.95%
University 322 80.1%
Other 24 5.97%
Years of experience Almost a year 64 15.9%
1-5 years 134 33.3%
6-10 years 96 23.9%
11-15 years 60 14.9%
16 years and above 48 11.9%
Total 402 100

Note. Demographic Statistics on the age, profession/role, educational level, and year of experience
on the job.

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 From the table, age range of respondents in the study showing that most of them were

between the ages of 31-40 years, whereas the least participants aged below 20 years. Participants

profession/ role in the construction project, indicating that those with other managerial positions

participated more with 39.3% rate whereas electricians and site superintendents (foreman) were

the least participants with 1.99% each. Respondent level of education shows 80.1% as the highest

for University graduates and the least being 3.98% for high school leavers. The respondents’ year

of experience in the construction firm showing 1-5 years experience being the highest and 16 years

and above as the least.

Statistical tools analysis. This aspect presents the analysis of all the statistical tools

employed in the review of the data. The discussion includes the Statistical Package for Social

Sciences (SPSS), Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the Moment Structure (AMOS),

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), The Kaiser-

Meyer-Olkin Test (KMO) and Bartlett’s Test and Chi-Square (Babbie, et al., 2018).

Exploratory Factor Analysis. EFA was completed with Maximum Likelihood Method of

extraction in defining relationship level amongst the constructs. The results indicated that the

research data generously showed the overall significance of all the correlations within the

correlation matrix for KMO and Bartlett’s Test of sampling adequacy of 0.846, significant with

approximate Chi-Square of 9.345E3 at 9630 df, p<0.000. Per psychometric properties, Table 6

indicates that all other assumptions relating to the observed values for the pattern of the rotated

component matrix, communalities, and MSAs were accurately met.

This signified acceptance to proceed with the factor analysis on the set of data. Besides,

the observed communalities for all the items were satisfactorily high, ranging from 0.4 to 0.8,

indicating enough correlations among the construct’s items in the study model. The reproduced

correlation matrix also recorded 64, constituting 10.0% non-redundant residuals higher than 0.05,

122
with a total variance of 68.0% explained. All items had strong loadings except for Projection-

related factors which had lower than 0.5 factor loading.

Table 6

Pattern Matrix

Components
1 2 3 4 5 6 7

ChuOS1 .879
ChuOS3 .872

ChuOS2 .863
ChuOS5 .851
ChuOS4 .849

ChuOS6 .803
ClientORF1 .895
ClientORF6 .890

ClientORF4 .889
ClientORF2 .809
ClientORF5 .798

ClientORF3 .741
ExtRF4 .847
ExtRF3 .844

ExtRF5 .828
ExtRF2 .813
ExtRF6 .794

ExtRF1 .645
QuaRF3 .849
QuaRF1 .839

QuaRF2 .837
QuaRF4 .818
QuaRF5 .798

MRF4 .874
MRF1 .855
MRF2 .833

MRF3 .785
ChConD3 .897
ChConD4 .861

ChConD2 .731
ChConD1 .694
ProjRF3 .788

ProjRF4 .781
ProjRF2 .745
ProjRF1 .655

ProjRF5 .485

Note. The Removal Procedure was carried out with the Main Factor Assessment. Rotation
Approach using the Promax with Kaiser Normalization for all the study independent variables.
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 Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Through a covariance-based method, a measurement

model was derived and validated using a rotated pattern matrix. The factor analysis examined

indicated a decent measurement model for the study. The modification indices generated

suggested covariance among most of the error terms to generate a decent and robust fit in the

measurement model. An affirmation of the results justified the links amongst the said indicators

with their corresponding latent variables. Chi-square/df (cmin/df), RMSEA, GFI, and CFI, TLI,

SRMR, and P-Close were all strongly compared to their critical thresholds in the quest of

Goodness of fit indices assessment for the model. Apart from GFI, which had a less than the

threshold of > 0.95 with an index value of 882, all other remaining index values met their

thresholds for measurement model to prove an established acceptable projecting ability with a Chi-

square of 999.505, and degrees of freedom at 544. To affirm the values derived for the fit indexes,

all paths of items estimations were found to be adequately higher than .50.

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Table 7

The Goodness of fit indexes of the measurement model

Chi-Square
Chi-Square 999.505
Degree of Freedom 544
Probability Level .000
The Goodness of Fit Indices
Categories Name of Index Index Value Threshold
Absolute Fit RMSEA .046 <.05 good; .05-.10 moderate;>.10 bad
P-Close .945 >.05
GFI .882 >.95
RMR .080 <.09
.95 great;>.90 traditional;>.80 sometime
Incremental Fit CFI .950
permissible
TLI .942 >.90
Parsimonious Fit Chi-square/df (cmin/df) 1.837 <3 good; <5 sometimes permissible

Note. The Goodness of fit indexes of the measurement model showing in comparison, an accepted

predictive ability with a threshold of >0.95 and an index value of 882. A lesser threshold observed

in the GFI with Chi-square of 999.505, degrees of freedom at 544

125
Figure 11

Measure model.

Note. This is a Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Through a covariance-based method, a measurement model
was generated and validated using a rotated pattern matrix. The factor analysis examined indicated a decent
measurement model for the study. The modification indices generated suggested covariance among most
of the error terms to generate a decent and robust fit in the measurement model.

126
 Convergent Validity and Reliability. Validity and reliability were conducted to meet the

requirement of proceeding to model the construct. As seen in Table 8, the items and constructs in

the study data were carefully examined to identify any validity concerns by examining convergent

validity with computed Average Variance Extracted (AVE) where the square roots of AVEs were

equated to inter-component relationships. The preferred range of 0.5 and above was achieved

except for Project-related facors, which had 0.405, which was below 0.5. However, this was

acceptable since Lam (2012) suggested that AVE less than 0.5 is acceptable if Composite

Reliability (CR) is more than the acceptable level of 0.6. In this case, CR for Project-related

factors was 0.769, which was above the threshold of 0.6.

Furthermore, MSVs were concurrently calculated and compared to construct AVEs, which

vindicated the uniqueness of the constructs in the research model, as well as generating and

comparing CR values of 0.70 threshold which designate any problematic issues of deficient

interior uniformity of the instruments for the survey. The results for CR values, showed that it

surpassed the 0.7 threshold, ranging from 0.769 to 0.935, as well as observed values for both

MSVs less than the AVEs values, indicating that there existed distinct factors in the research

model. Additionally, for all the constructs, the study revealed the estimates for the Cronbach’s

Alpha as 0.742 to 0.913 which were above the minimum requirement of 0.6.

127
Table 8

Reliability and Convergent Validity of Instruments

MaxR Client Cronbach

CR AVE MSV (H) ChConD ChuOS ORF ExtRF QuaRF MatRF ProjRF Alpha

ChConD 0.814 0.527 0.284 0.858 0.726 .840

ChuOS 0.935 0.705 0.176 0.942 0.420 0.840 .931

ClientORF 0.912 0.637 0.107 0.930 0.276 0.109 0.798 .913

ExtRF 0.888 0.575 0.067 0.913 0.259 0.058 0.172 0.758 .869

QuaRF 0.874 0.581 0.116 0.878 0.340 0.275 0.059 0.058 0.762 .886

MatRF 0.875 0.643 0.284 0.941 0.533 0.357 0.327 0.195 0.285 0.802 .869

ProjRF 0.769 0.405 0.038 0.796 -0.061 -0.036 0.019 0.196 0.082 0.028 0.637 .742

Note. Cronbach alpha was found to be .742 to 0.913. Thus, higher than 0.6, making the construct reliable

128-129
 Common Method Bias. Common method bias (CMB) is characterised as a bias in a

dataset caused as a result of external issues to the instruments that might have affected the

response given or the instrument attempts to uncover. In other words, a study with most of the

variance explained by a single factor is deemed to be a significant CMB (Burns & Bush 2005).

Since the data collected was steered by the using the online survey tools, there are high chances of

methodical biases in the response which can escalate or deflate the response (Gaskin 2016;

Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee and Podsakoff, 2003).

Harman’s single factor test. The IBM SPSS was employed to conduct Harman's single

factor experiment to ascertain whether a single factor explained majority of the variation by

constraining some of the factors obtained from the EFA into a loaded in a common factor or a

single factor, instead of eigenvalues extraction. Because the total variance for a single factor

extracted was 19.0%, which was less than 50.0%, this suggested or implied that there were no

concerns of CMB in this study (Jöreskog, & Sörbom, 1996).

Descriptive Statistics. The descriptive statistics, which were the SD and mean of all the

measures, are illustrated in Table 8. The Church construction delay had a mean of 3.11 with an SD

of .889. The client /owner-related factor had a mean of 3.71 and an SD of 1.027. The mean of

quality-related factors was 3.24 while the SD was 1.034, while the project-related factors had a

mean of 3.44 and an SD of .797. The external-related factors had a mean of 2.86 and an SD of

.996, Church organization structure also had 2.98 as the mean and 1.092 as the SD. The mean for

material-related factors was 3.38 whereas the SD was 1.035

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Table 9

Descriptive Statistics

Constructs Mean Std. Deviation

Church ConD 3.11 .889

ClientORF 3.71 1.027

QuaRF 3.24 1.034

ProjRF 3.44 .797

ExtRF 2.86 .996

ChuOS 2.98 1.092

MatRF 3.38 1.035

Note. The mean with their corresponding SD of the model constructs.

Correlation. In examining the relationships in the available variables, the Pearson

correlation was employed in the correlation analysis. In Table 10, the independent and dependent

variables were concurrently examined, and the independent variables showed a weak association

among one another. Moreover, the connection between the dependent and the independent

variables was extremely positive. Hence, there were no challenges with multicollinearity, and that

made it very appropriate to continue with the analysis.

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Table 10

Correction

Constructs Church ClientORF QuaRF ProjRF ExtRF ChuOS

ConD

Church ConD

ClientORF .220**

QuaRF .262** .064

ProjRF -.063 .017 .075

ExtRF .134** .148** .001 .223**

ChuOS .391** .103* .244** -.030 .033

MatRF .467** .315** .235** .060 .155** .357**

Note. The correlation among the independent and between the dependent variables. The
independent variables showed a weak association among one another. Whereas the correlation
among the dependent and the independent variables was extremely positive.

Structural Equation Model (SEM) and Hypothesis Test. The model obtained a good fit

given 1283.589 chi-square, 560 degrees of freedom (df) and Chance level of .000 while all other

criteria were met demonstrating obtained fitness values for the research model with the exception

of P-close (.004), GFI (.851), and RMR (.172), which did not meet the threshold. Table 11

displays the Goodness of fit aimed at the constructed model.

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Table 11

The Goodness of Fit

Chi-Square

Chi-Square 999.505

Degree of Freedom 544

Probability Level .000

The Goodness of Fit Indices

Categories Name of Index Index Value Threshold

<.05 good; .05-.10 moderate;>.10

Absolute Fit RMSEA .057
bad

P-Close .004 >.05

GFI .851 >.95

RMR .172 <.09

.95 great;>.90 traditional;>.80

Incremental Fit CFI .920
sometime permissible

TLI .910 >.90

Chi-square/df
Parsimonious Fit 2.292 <3 good; <5 sometimes permissible
(cmin/df)

Note. The Goodness of Fit assessment for the model. Chi-square/df (cmin/df), RMSEA, GFI,
TLA, SRMR, and P-Close were all strongly compared to their critical thresholds.

133
Figure 12

Path Estimate.

Note. This figure is the path estimate desmostrating the link between the dependent and indepent variables. The

abbreviation for the controlled variables are expended as ChuOS for Church organization structure; ClientRF for

Client-ralated; ExRF for external-related factor; QuaRF as quality-related factor; MatRF as material-related factor;

ChConD for Church construction delay; and ProjRF for project-related factor.

134
 Path Estimate. There were Path estimates for both the effect and outcome variable.

The estimated regression coefficients analysis shows positive effect between all predictor

variables of Client/owner-related factors, External-related factors, Quality-related-factors,

Material- related factors, Church organizational structure, and Project-related factors), and the

outcome variable Church construction delay. For every single increase in Church organization

structure, client /owner-related factor, External-related factors, Quality-related factors, Material-

related factors, and Project-related factors on Church construction delay will increase by a

percentage of .155, .074, .112, .146, .212, and -.111, respectively, as the estimated regression

forecasted. Similarly, the probability estimates of attaining high critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337

are less than 0.05, 0.01, and 0.1 for Church organization structure, client /owner-related factors,

External-related factors, Quality-related factors, Material-related factors, and Project-related

factors. The analysis ascertained that there was a stable linear and definite relationship among all

the predictor variables and the criterion variables.

H10: There is no relationship between client /owner-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H1a: There is a relationship between client /owner-related factors and Church construction

delay.

H20: There is no substantial relationship between Church organization structure and

Church construction delay.

H2a: There is a substantial relationship between Church organization structure and Church

construction delay.

H30: There is no significant association between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H3a: There is a significant association between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay.

135
 H40: There is no substantial relationship between project-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H4a: There is a substantial relationship between project-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H50: There is no relationship between material-related factors and Church construction

delay.

H5a: There is a relationship between material-related factors and Church construction

delay.

H60: There is no substantial relationship between external-related factors and Church

construction delay.

H6a: There is a substantial relationship between external-related factors and Church

construction delay.

Again, as indicated by the regression estimates, the independent variable of material-

related factors was the most significant predictor of all the remaining variables on the factors,

positively affecting the Church construction delay. In contrast, client /owner-related factors had

the lowest significant correlation on Church construction delay, comparably. Furthermore, at .05

and 0.01 level of significance, there existed enough indication to decide that all the observed

slopes in the research model were not equivalent to zero to the extent that, Church organization

structure, Client /owner-related factors, External-related factors, Quality-related factors, Material-

related factors, and Project-related factors, β 0) in that, all these predictor variables are suitable in

predicting Church construction delay. This information is demonstrated in Table 12.

136
Table 12

Hypothesis Testing

Constructs Estimate S.E. C.R. P

ChConD <--- ChuOS .155 .030 5.194 ***

ChConD <--- ClientORF .074 .026 2.892 .004

ChConD <--- ExtRF .112 .029 3.893 ***

ChConD <--- QuaRF .146 .036 4.036 ***

ChConD <--- MatRF .212 .033 6.337 ***

ChConD <--- ProjRF -.111 .032 -3.435 ***

Note. A tabulation of the research outcome showing the variables, statistical inference, on ChuOS,

ClientORFs, ExtRFs, QuaRFs, MatRFs, and ProjRFs on Church ConD.

Details of Analysis and Results

The findings of this study answered the six research questions and the preceding

discussions focus on their analysis.

RQ1: Is there a relationship between client /owner-related factors and Church

construction delay?

In answering the above research question, the current research analysis in Table 9

confirmed a positive association between client /owner-related factors and Church construction

delay with an SD and mean of 3.71 and 1.027, respectively. Further, analysis on validity and

reliability in Table 11 indicated that all the requirements were met for proceeding to model the

construct, with CR of 0.912, AVE of 0.637, and MSV of 0.107. The independent and dependent

variables in Table 10 were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link

between the independent and the dependent variables was extremely positive, showing that all the

137
constructs were stable. Hence, there were no challenges with multicollinearity, which made it very

appropriate to proceed with the analysis.

Furthermore, the path estimate was generated for the effect of the predictor variable of

client /owner-related factors, on the outcome variable of Church construction delay. As seen in

sTable 12 and Figure 12 the estimated regression coefficients analysis showed a positive effect

between the predictor variable of client /owner-related factors and the outcome variable Church

construction delay, such that, for every single increase in a client /owner-related factor, Church

construction delay will increase by a percentage of .074, as the estimated regression forecasted.

Correspondingly, the probability estimates of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337

were less than 0.05, 0.01, and 0.1 for client /owner-related factors. The analysis ascertained that

there was a stable linear and definite relationship among the predictor variable and the outcome

variable. Therefore, the above analysis conducted enabled the research question to be answered by

rejecting the null hypothesis and accepting the alternative hypothesis: H1a: There is a substantial

between client /owner-related factors and Church construction delay.

RQ2: Is there a substantial relationship between church between Church

organization structure and Church construction delay?

To answer this research question, the current research analysis in Table 9 indicated that

there existed a positive relationship between Church organization structure and Church

construction delay with an SD and mean of 2.98 and 1.092, respectively. Further analysis on

validity and reliability from Table 11 indicated that all the requirements were met for proceeding

to model the construct, with CR of 0.935, AVE of 0.705, and MSV of 0.176. The independent and

dependent variables in Table 10 were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and

the link between the independent and the dependent variables was extremely positive, showing

that all the constructs were stable. Hence there were no challenges with multicollinearity, which

made it very appropriate to proceed with the analysis.

138
 Additionally, the path estimate was generated for the effect of the predictor variable of

Church organization structure on the outcome variable of Church construction delay. From Table

12 and Figure 12 the estimated regression coefficients analysis revealed a positive effect between

the predictor variable of Church organization structure and the outcome variable Church

construction delay such that, for every single increase in a Church organization structure, Church

construction delay will increase by a percentage of .155, as the estimated regression forecasted.

Correspondingly, the probability estimates of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337

were less than 0.05, 0.01, and 0.1 for Church organization structure. The analysis established that

there is a strong linear and positive relationship among the predictor variable and the criterion

variable. Therefore, the above analysis conducted enabled the research question to be answered by

rejecting the null hypothesis and accepting the alternative hypothesis: H2a: There is a momentous

relationship between Church organization structure and Church construction delay.

RQ3: Is there a substantial relationship between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay?

The above research question was answered through the current research analysis in Table

9, which revealed a positive relationship between quality-related factor and Church construction

delay, with an SD and mean of 3.24 and 1.034, respectively. Further analysis from Table 11 on

validity and reliability indicated that all the requirements were met for proceeding to model the

construct, with CR of 0.874, AVE of 0.581, and MSV of 0.116. The independent and dependent

variables in Table 10 were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link

between the independent and the dependent variables was extremely positive, showing that all the

constructs were stable. Hence there were no challenges with multicollinearity, which made it very

appropriate to proceed with the analysis.

Also, the path estimate for the effect of the predictor variable of quality-related factor on

the outcome variable of Church construction delay was examined. From Table 12 and Figure 12,

139
the estimated regression coefficients analysis indicated a positive effect between the predictor

variable of quality-related factors and the outcome variable Church construction delay such that,

for every single increase in a quality-related factor, Church construction delay will increase by a

percentage of .146, as the estimated regression forecasted. Correspondingly, the probability

estimates of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than 0.05, 0.01, and 0.1

for quality-related factor. The analysis established that there was a stable linear and definite

relationship among the predictor variable and the outcome variable. Therefore, the above analysis

conducted answered the research question by rejecting the null hypothesis and accepting the

alternative hypothesis: H3a: There is a substantial relationship between quality-related factors and

Church construction delay.

RQ4: Is there a significant association between project-related factors and Church

construction delay?

The above research question was answered through the current research analysis. Table 9

revealed a positive relationship between project-related factors and Church construction delay with

an SD and mean of 3.44 and .797, respectively. Further analysis in Table 11 on validity and

reliability indicated that all the requirements were met for proceeding to model the construct, with

CR of 0.769, AVE of 0.405, and MSV of 0.038. The independent and dependent variables in

Table 10 were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link between the

independent and the dependent variables was extremely positive, showing that all the constructs

were stable. Hence there were no challenges with multicollinearity, which made it very appropriate

to proceed with the analysis.

Moreover, the path estimates for the effect of the predictor variable of Project-related

factors on the outcome variable of Church construction delay was examined. From Table 12 and

Figure 12, the estimated regression coefficients analysis indicated a positive effect between the

predictor variable of Project-related factors and the outcome variable Church construction delay

140
such that, for every single increase in a Project-related factor, Church construction delay will

decrease by a percentage of -.111, as the estimated regression forecasted. Correspondingly, the

probability estimates of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than 0.05,

0.01, and 0.1 for Project-related factors. The analysis established that there was a stable linear and

definite relationship among the predictor variable and the outcome variable. Therefore, the above

analysis conducted answered the research question by rejecting the null hypothesis and accepting

the alternative hypothesis: H4a: There is a substantial relationship between project-related factors

and Church construction delay.

RQ5: Is there a substantial relationship between material-related factors and Church

construction delay?

The above research question was answered through the current research analysis, which

revealed in Table 9, a positive relationship between material-related factors and Church

construction delay with an SD and means of 3.38 and 1.035, respectively. Further analysis from

Table 11 on validity and reliability indicated that all the requirements were met for proceeding to

model the construct, with CR of 0.875, AVE of 0.643, and MSV of 0.284. The independent and

dependent variables in Table 10 were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and

the link between the independent and the dependent variables was extremely positive, showing

that all the constructs were stable. Hence there were no challenges with multicollinearity, which

made it very appropriate to proceed with the analysis.

Again, the path estimate for the effect of the predictor variable of material-related factors

on the outcome variable of Church construction delay was examined. From Table 12, and Figure

12, the estimated regression coefficients analysis indicated a positive effect between the predictor

variable of material-related factors and the outcome variable of Church construction delay such

that, for every single increase in material-related factors, Church construction delay will increase

by a percentage of .212, as the estimated regression forecasted. Correspondingly, the probability

141
estimates of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than 0.05, 0.01, and 0.1

for material-related factors. The analysis established that there was a stable linear and definite

relationship among the predictor variable and the outcome variable. Therefore, the above analysis

conducted answered the research question by rejecting the null hypothesis and accepting the

alternative hypothesis: H5a: There is a considerable relationship between material-related factors

and Church construction delay.

RQ6: Is there a substantial relationship between External-related factors and Church

construction delay?

In the quest to answer this research question, the current research analysis in Table 9

indicated a positive relationship between External-related-factors and Church construction delay

with an SD and mean of 2.86 and .996, respectively. Further, analysis on validity and reliability in

Table 11 indicated that all requirements were met for proceeding to model the construct, with CR

of 0.888, AVE of 0.575, and MSV of 0.067. The independent and dependent variables in Table 10

were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link between the independent

and the dependent variables was extremely positive, showing that all the constructs were stable.

Hence there were no challenges with multicollinearity, which made it very appropriate to proceed

with the analysis.

Furthermore, the path estimate was generated for the effect of the predictor variable of

external-related factors on the outcome variable of Church construction delay. From Table 12 and

Figure 12, the estimated regression coefficients analysis showed a positive effect between the

predictor variable of external-related factors and the outcome variable of Church construction

delay such that, for every single increase in external-related factors, Church construction delay

will increase by a percentage of .112, as the estimated regression forecasted.

Correspondingly, the probability estimates of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337

were less than 0.05, 0.01, and 0.1 for external-related factors. The analysis established that there

142
was a stable linear and definite relationship among the predictor variable and the outcome variable.

Therefore, the above analysis conducted answered the research question by rejecting the null

hypothesis and accepting the alternative hypothesis: H6a: There is a substantial relationship

between external-related factors, and Church construction delay.

Summary of Results

Chapter Four discussed the socio-demographic variables of participants and data analysis.

In Table 5, the age ranges of respondents in the study showed that the ages of 31 to 40 years were

the highest respondents’, whereas the least number of participants were aged below 20 years.

Participants' profession/role in the construction project revealed that those with other managerial

positions participated more, with a 39.3% rate. In contrast, electricians, and site superintendents

(foreman) were the least participants, with 1.99% each. Respondents’ level of education showed

80.1% as the highest for University graduates and the least being 3.98% for high school leavers.

Respondents' years of experience in the construction firm showing 1-5 years’ experience

being the highest and 16 years and above as the least of the participants. On the other hand, in

Table 6, the reduction of the data was obtained using the principal component analysis and rotated

matrix and Promax with Kaiser Normalization. The observed communalities for all the items were

satisfactorily high, ranging from 0.4 to 0.8, demonstrating enough correlations among the items for

the constructs in the study model. In Figure 12, the path estimate showed the relationship between

the independent and dependent variables to be positive. The independent and dependent variables

in Table 10 were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link between the

independent and the dependent variables was extremely positive, showing that all the constructs

were stable. Hence, there were no challenges with multicollinearity, which made it very

appropriate to proceed with the analysis. In Table 9, the descriptive statistics of all the

measurements had a mean of 2.86 to 3.71 and an SD of .88 to 1.092. In Table 11, the reliability

and validity conducted met all the requirements to proceed to model the construct. All the AVEs

143
had above the preferred 0.5 range except project-related factors with 0.405 but was accepted since

the CR for project-related factors was 0.769 and beyond the acceptable 0.6 level, as argued by

Lam (2012). The CR values for all the constructs exceeded the threshold of 0.7, ranging from

0.769 to 0.935. All the observed values for both MSVs were less than the AVEs values, indicating

that there existed distinct factors in the study model. Also, estimates from Cronbach's Alpha

values were 0.742 to 0.913, which were above the minimum requirement of 0.6 for all the

constructs. Below is the summary of the Hypothesis testing.

Table 13

Hypotheses (H1-H6) status summary

Hypothesis
Estimate p
Constructs Remarks

H1 ChConD <--- ChuOS .155 *** Accepted

H2 ChConD <--- ClientORF .074 .004 Accepted

H3 ChConD <--- ExtRF .112 *** Accepted

H4 ChConD <--- QuaRF .146 *** Accepted

H5 ChConD <--- MatRF .212 *** Accepted

H6 ChConD <--- ProjRF -.111 *** Accepted

Note. The table illustrates all the hypotheses with the corresponding estimated regression statistics
and P values to determine the acceptance or rejection status.

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 Chapter 5: Conclusions and Recommendations

This chapter summarizes the quantitative technique findings, discussion of the results,

conclusion strategic recommendations for all the findings, and future recommendations. These

findings are within the 402 respondents who participated in the survey in the Akuapem Presbytery

of PCG. This section scrutinized six research questions with the corresponding hypotheses for

Church organization structure, Client /owner-related factors, External-related factors, Quality-

related factors, Material-related factors, and Project-related factors on Church construction delay,

which was in line with the initial plan to use a questionnaire for data collection (Todorović, et al.,

2015). The outcomes are presented in Tables, charts, and figures to give quantifiable data for

analysis.

Summary of the Results

The study revealed six research questions and their respective hypothesis. This part of the

research summarizes the findings of each of the outlined hypothesis in the study for Church

organization structure, Client /owner-related factors, External-related factors, Quality-related

factors, Material-related factors, and Project-related factors on Church construction delay.

H10: client /owner-related factors have no relationship with Church construction delay.

H1a: client /owner-related factors have a relationship with Church construction delay.

The study revealed in Figure 12 that there was a stable linear and definite relationship

among the predictor variable and the outcome variable. The null hypothesis for H1 was rejected,

and the alternative hypothesis was accepted: H1a: client /owner-related factors have a relationship

with Church construction delay. There was a positive connection between client /owner-related

factors and Church construction delay, with an SD and mean of 3.71 and 1.027, respectively. The

validity and reliability showed that all necessities criteria were met with CR of 0.912, AVE of

0.637, and MSV of 0.107. In Table 10, the independent and dependent variables were

concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link between the independent and the

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dependent variables was extremely positive, showing that all the constructs were stable. The

probability approximations of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than

0.05, 0.01, and 0.1 for client /owner-related factors.

H20: Church organization structure has no substantial relationship with Church

construction delay.

H2a: Church organization structure has a substantial relationship with Church construction

delay.

The analysis in Table 9 shows that the independent and dependent variables were

concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link between the independent and the

dependent variables was extremely positive. Figure 12 shows that the probability approximations

of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than 0.05, 0.01, and 0.1 for

Church organization structure. Also, there was a stable linear and definite relationship among the

predictor variable and the criterion variable. This, therefore, led to the null hypothesis’ rejection

and approval of the alternate hypothesis: H2a: Church organization structure has substantial t

relationship with Church construction delay. Again, there was a positive relationship between

Church organization structure and Church construction delay with an SD and a mean of 2.98 and

1.092, respectively. The validity and reliability showed that all the requirements were met for

proceeding to model the construct, with CR of 0.935, AVE of 0.705, and MSV of 0.176.

H30: quality-related factors have no significant association with Church construction delay.

H3a: quality-related factors have a significant association with Church construction delay.

There was a positive relationship between quality-related factors and Church construction

delay, with an SD and a mean of 3.24 and 1.034, respectively. The validity and reliability showed

that all the requirements were met for proceeding to model the construct, with CR of 0.874, AVE

of 0.581, and MSV of 0.116. As seen in Table 10, the independent and dependent variables were

concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link between the independent and the

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dependent variables was extremely positive. Figure 12 indicates that the probability

approximations of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than 0.05, 0.01,

and 0.1 for quality-related factors. Also, there was a stable linear and definite relationship among

the predictor variable and the outcome variable. This, therefore, resulted in the null hypothesis’

rejection and approval of the alternate hypothesis: H3a: Quality-related factors have a considerable

link with Church construction delay.

H40: Project-related factors have no substantial relationship with Church construction

delay.

H4a: Project-related factors have a substantial relationship with Church construction delay.

The study revealed a positive relationship between project-related factors, and Church

construction delay, with an SD and a mean of 3.44 and .797, respectively. The validity and

reliability showed that all the requirements were met for proceeding to model the construct, with

CR of 0.769, and AVE of 0.405, MSV of 0.038. Table 10 shows that the independent and

dependent variables were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the link

between the independent and the dependent variables was extremely positive. The probability

approximations of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than 0.05, 0.01,

and 0.1 for project-related factors. Also, there was a stable linear and definite relationship among

the predictor variable and the outcome variable. Therefore, this led to the null hypothesis’ rejection

and approval of the alternate hypothesis: H4a: There is a substantial relationship between external-

related factors and Church construction delay.

H50: There is no relationship between material-related factors and Church construction

delay.

H5a: There is a relationship between material-related factors and Church construction

delay.

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 The findings showed that the validity and reliability of all the requirements were met for

proceeding to model the construct, with CR of 0.875, AVE of 0.643, and MSV of 0.284. Also,

there was a positive relationship between material-related factors and Church construction delay,

with an SD and a mean of 3.38 and 1.035, respectively. In Table 10, the independent and

dependent variables were concurrently examined using the Pearson correlation, and the

independent variables showed a weak association among one another, whereas the link between

the independent and the dependent variables was extremely positive. The probability

approximations of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than 0.05, 0.01,

and 0.1 for material-related factors. Also, there was a stable linear and definite relationship among

the predictor variable and the outcome variable. Therefore, this led to the null hypothesis’ rejection

and approval of the alternate hypothesis: H5a: There is a relationship between material-

relatedfactors and Church construction delay.

H60: There is no substantial relationship between External-related factors on Church

construction delay.

H6a: There is a substantial relationship between External-related factors on Church

construction delay.

The results discovered that there was a positive association between External-related

factors and Church construction delay, with an SD and a mean of 2.86 and .996,

respectively. The validity and reliability showed that all the requirements were met for

proceeding to model the construct, with CR of 0.888, AVE of 0.575, and MSV of 0.067.

In Table 10, the independent and dependent variables were concurrently examined using

the Pearson correlation, and the link between the independent and the dependent variables

was extremely positive, showing that all the constructs were strong. The probability

approximations of attaining high-level critical ratios of 2.892 to 6.337 were less than 0.05,

0.01, and 0.1 for External-related factors. Also, there was a stable linear and definite

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 relationship among the predictor variable and the outcome variable. Therefore, leading to

the null hypothesis’ rejection and approval of the alternate hypothesis: H6a: There is a

substantial relationship between External-related factors on Church construction delay.

Discussion of the Results

This aspect deals with the discussions of the outcomes attained from the data analysis in

Chapter Four. The main components of the discussion are compr sed of the influences of Church

organization structure, client /owner-related factors, External-related factors, Quality-related

factors, Material-related factors, and Project-related factors on Church construction delay. The

discoveries will further be linked to works in the literature review.

H1: There is a relationship between client /owner-related factors and church

construction delay.

The findings revealed that the client /owner-related factors have a substantial relationship

with Church construction delay (β = 0.740; p<0.04). This result demonstrated a low proof counter

to the null hypothesis and an endorsement of the alternate hypothesis. This finding corresponds to

those of Gbahabo and Ajuwon (2017) and Nyoni and Bonga (2017), which revealed that client

/owner-related factors have a significant influence on project delays. In the literature, Sambasivan,

et al. (2017) explained that, whenever there are discrepancies in instructions or interruption in

decision-making, and challenges in the cashflow, construction activities delay. In line with the

study results, Alpkokin and Capar (2019) and Kim and Kang (2018) argued that the client/owner’s

inability provided a clarified perception of the total cost of the construction project and whether

they can afford the proposed construction projects. The study of McCord et al. (2015) added that

the deliberate attempt of the client/owners and the lack of remuneration for early completion of

work ahead of schedule have an enormous influence on project construction delay.

In conformity with these findings, the studies of Purnus and Bodea (2014) have indicated

that, just as working during the night time as preferred by most of the Clients/owners, the cost gets

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higher concerning providing inputs for arrangements of lights at night and other allowances to

compensate the workers’ efforts for extra hours. Moreover, Mohammad, Ani and Rakmat (2017)

and Purnus and Bodea (2014) agreed with the study findings that client /owner-related factors

have a significant component in construction delay and attributes the absence of better equipment

and lack of planning by client/owners as significant components. Also, the study of KV and Bhat

(2019) affirmed the findings that client /owner-related factors trigger construction delay if there is

no contingency plan by the client/owner to accommodate unforeseen circumstances. The study

findings with the previous work concluded in support of the alternate hypothesis that client

/owner-related factors influence Church construction delay.

H2: There is a substantial relationship between Church organizational struction and

Church construction delay.

The results indicated that Church organization structure has a significant influence on

Church construction delay (β = 0.155; p<0.000). The outcome portrayed low evidence support to

the null hypothesis and an agreement of the alternate hypothesis. These findings are signs of

noncompliance to the PCG-Constitution (2016) that spells out the church structure to be followed

for effective administration. The church mandates the local session to oversee all Church projects.

A study by Northouse (2018) mentioned that leadership plays an essential part in the management,

especially in decision-making. However, Doppelt (2017) found that changes in administration, if

not well regulated, defeat its core intention, and non-leading change breaks sustainability. The

findings again reflect the Akuapem Presbytery report (2014) in the literature review that improper

organizational management plays a greater percentage in Church construction delay.

Similarly, the results parallel the work of Asiedu et al. (2017), who found that the lack of

administrative contingencies in the budget contributes to project delay. Besides, the findings

confirm those of Brunet (2019) that lack of proper decision-making by the organization and the

absence of strategic planning in organizations breed delay. Also, Mulugeta (2019) and Madalina

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(2016), in their studies, assented that organizational structure is a hindrance to administrative

progress when there is a communication barrier. In conclusion, the evidence presented in the study

and the discussions show that Church organization structure has a considerable connection with

Church construction delay.

H3: There is a significant association between quality-related factors and Church

construction delay.

The outcome showed that quality-related factors have a positive influence on Church

construction delay (β = 0.146; p<0.000). This result was a low indication on the null hypothesis

and an endorsement of the alternate hypothesis. The findings affirmed the study of Rahman et al.

(2014) that delay in construction work has opposing influences on the quality of the project, with

lack of planning being the key element. Similarly, Durdyev et al. (2017) and Asiedu and Alfen

(2016) attributed inferior project quality to inadequate budget allocation for the construction

project. Besides, Larsen et al. (2015) emphasized that as a result of poor financial planning, the

government, politicians, industries, and church suffer the consequences of inferior quality

construction projects. In agreement with the findings, Buys (2015) and Marzouk and El-Rasas

(2014) argued that the absence of effective monitoring of the construction project from the

commencement of the construction leads to low standard work. On the contrary, Bowen et al.

(2015) and Niazi and Painting (2017) deplored the bribery and corruption attributes of both the

government and the contractors, which deter the quality of construction projects. The results and

the discussions showed that there exists a meaningful relationship between quality-related factors

and Church construction delay.

H4: There is a substantial relationship between project-related factors and Church

construction delay.

The study disclosed that there was a positive relationship between project-related factors

and Church construction delay (β = -0.111; p<0.000). This outcome rejected the null hypothesis

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and accepted the alternative hypothesis. The findings confirmed with that of Aziz and Abdel-

Hakam (2016), who found project-related factors as a component of construction delay and linked

them to uncertain project duration and complicated project design as vital elements of project-

related factors. Moreover, the work of Wallensteen (2018) emphasized the study outcome that

project-related factors, such as legal disputes between project parties, are a construction delay

component.

Nevertheless, the work of Ramanathan et al. (2012) substantiated the study results that

project-related factors trigger construction delay if the construction project is unrealistic; it

becomes challenging in its implementation. In a comparable view of the findings, Famiyeh et al.

(2017) revealed that project-related factors are a significant component of construction delay due

to unfeasible contract lengths imposed by clients/owners. In another dimension, Akogbe et al.

(2013) realized that improper preparation ahead of commencing the construction project is one of

the critical elements of project delay. In support of the project-related factors in construction

delay, Asiedu and Alfen (2014) concluded that tardiness and indecision in payment of workers

trigger the project-related delay. Based on the findings and previous results, the study concluded

that project-related factors contribute significantly in Church construction delay.

H5: There is a relationship between material-related factors and Church construction

delay.

The study revealed a positive relationship between material-related factors and Church

construction delay (β = 0.212; p<0.000). This conclusion showed acceptance of the alternate

hypothesis while rejecting the null hypothesis. The survey endorsed the findings of Arthur (2016),

Gebrehiwet and Luo (2017), and Pall (2016) who identified material-related factors as a crucial

factor of construction delay. In addition, the study findings were like those of KV and Bhat

(2019), who argued that material-related factors trigger construction delay and attributed them to

an insufficient financial determination of the client/owner to supply the required materials on a

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timely basis for the project. Similarly, in another study, Durdyev et al. (2017) confirmed that

material-related factors are prominent sources of construction delay and ascribed them to late

delivery of the essential materials for the construction. Agreeing with the findings, Gebrehiwet

and Luo (2017) concluded that material-related factors lead to construction delay when there is an

increase in material prices and when the clients/owners prefer cheaper material to suit their budget.

From the analysis of the study and the literature support, it was evident that material-related

factors bear a relationship with construction delay.

H6: There is a substantial relationship between External-related factors and Church

construction delay.

In assessing the relationship between External-related factors and Church construction

delay, the study found that external-related factors have a positive relationship with Church

construction delay (β = 0.112; p<0.001). This outcome was proportional to the earlier argument of

Arditi et al. (2017) that external-related factors influence construction delay in that some

uncontrollable external-related factors are over and above the control of the contractor, the

client/owner, and the project manager. Also, the study finding was like that of Addo (2016),

Alzraiee et al. (2015) and Baiden et al. (2015) who resolved that external-related factors increase

the construction delay to the extent that price appreciation, labour disputes, acts of God, and harsh

weather condition are disturbing components.

Moreover, Najib et al. (2018); and Sinesilassie et al. (2017) discovered in support of the

findings that external-related factors are hypothetical generating factors of construction delay but

linked them to components such as late access to the site, unsuitable site conditions, and

unfriendly economic and political environments. In support of the results, Agyekum-Mensah and

Knight (2017) and Adam et al. (2017) maintained that external-related factors have a massive

impact on construction delay due to the late issuance of building permits and the late approval of

drawings as well as unfavourable weather conditions. As a result of the findings, and the

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discussions, the study confirmed a considerable relationship between external-related factors and

Church construction delay.

Conclusions

This research was an empirical study of the Akuapem Presbytery of the PCG that sought to

explore the delays in construction projects. An extensive literature review was done to uncover

aspects of delay, including its components, classification, factors, and effects. Challenges in the

construction project and ways of improving construction projects were also discussed.

Furthermore, questionnaires were generated and distributed to 480 persons in the construction

firms, namely the resident pastors/agents (clients/owners), managers, consultants, site

superintendents (foreman), project/construction managers, electricians and other position holders

(those on the project and investment committee/session), using the online survey tool, MikeCRM.

Out of the 480 questionnaires distributed, 402 were completed and returned, representing a

response rate of 83.8%. Also, employing the sample data, the intended study model was then

examined statistically using EFA, CFA, the Pearson correlation, and AMOS.

In the first place, the EFA was adopted to verify the existence of correlations in the

proposed model. The results indicated that the research data generously showed the overall

significance of all the correlations within the correlation matrix for KMO and Bartlett’s test of

sampling adequacy of 0.846, significant with approximate Chi-Square of 9.345E3 at 9630 df,

p<0.000. The CFA was used to verify decency in the model, and the results justified the

relationships among the observed indicators and their parallel latent variables. Again, the validity

and reliability conducted met the criteria for this study, which suggested a further analysis of the

research. Also, the Pearson correlation was employed to test for the suitability of variables and

identify any issues of multicollinearity. The analysis established no issues with the

multicollinearity. Though, the relationship among the independent variables demonstrated weak

association among one another, the correlation amongst the dependent variable, Church

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construction delay and independent variables, client /owner-related factors, external-related-

factors, quality-related-factors, material related factors, and project-related-factors and Church

organization structure was stable. In another development, the data analysis was conducted for six

hypotheses with the corresponding objectives to investigate the relationships that exist between

Church construction delay and client /owner-related factors, Church organization structure,

quality-related factors, project-related factors, material-related factors and external-related factors.

In all, the findings confirmed the module created fit for the study (see Figure 6). Therefore, the

model is considered relevant as exemplified in the discussions below.

The relationship between client /owner-related factor and Church construction

delay.

H1: client /owner-related factors have a relationship with Church construction

delay. In answering the above research question, the present research analysis in Table 9 showed

a positive association between client /owner-related factors and Church construction delay. The

outcomes implied that clients/owners trigger delays in church construction delay. Practically, it

means that when the resident minister/pastor or the agent in charge of the congregation (the

client/owner) fails to provide the basic things like money or materials needed to continue the work,

there is a delay in the Church construction, as presented by Nyoni and Bonga (2017). The analysis

further indicated that comparing all the six constructs, client /owner-related factors had the lowest

connection on Church construction delay (β = 0.074, p<0.004). This discovery, to some extent, did

not agree with all the earlier literature. The finding is totally opposite to the work of Mohammad et

al. (2017), who confirmed client/owner related factors as a major influence of project delay,

whereas Sambasivan et al. (2017) promoted client/owner satisfaction as priority. Out of sixty

proposed delay causes identified by McCord et al. (2015) the client/owner related factor was

ranked among the first three causes of construction delay. This is an indication that in the Church’s

setting, though client/owners trigger delay, it is not as high as in the public sector. The church has

155
structures that must be followed by the resident minister/pastor who serves as the client/owner in

charge of the construction project, and he cannot be 100% blamed for all the delays.

The relationship between Church organization structure and Church construction

delay

H2a: Church organization structure has a substantial relationship with Church

construction delay. The results indicated that Church organization structure has a considerable

relationship with Church construction delay (β = 0.155, p<0.000). This finding implied that the

laid down chain of command and church management systems have a substantial relationship with

Church construction delay. The PCG has a procedure for executing construction projects, which

includes the use of the PIC through the session (PCG-Constitution, 2016). Therefore, whenever

there is a leadership challenge or when the laid down principles of the church are not followed in

executing the Church construction projects, it automatically hinders the flow of work in proposed

construction projects. The discovery was equivalent to Chen et al. (2019b), which indicated that

breaks in administrative command among the parties involved trigger delays. It was proved that

there are adequate correlations among all the six proposed components for Church organization

structure in the construct, ranging from 0.485 to 0.788. The degree to which Church organization

structure influences construction delay was found in components like Church Agents (0.879), no

long-term strategic planning (0.872), the style of leadership by church decision-makers (0.863),

diversion of church funds into other things (0.851), no specific project budgets for the construction

work (0.849), and lack of communication among church decision-makers and church members

(0.803) (Asiedu, et al., 2017; Brunet, 2019; Doppelt, 2017; Madalina, 2016; Mulugeta, 2019;

Northouse, 2018).

The relationship between quality-related factors and Church construction delay

H3a: quality-related factors have a significant association with Church construction

delay. Considering the cost and resources put into the construction project, the quality-related

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factors were analysed, and the outcome revealed a positive correlation with the Church

construction delay (β=0.146, p<0.000). This finding was equivalent to that of Algwyad and Talib,

(2019) and Attakora-Amaniampong (2016) who asserted that the project’s quality has a significant

influence on construction delay. Additionally, Table 6 indicates that there are adequate

correlations among all the six proposed components for quality-related factors in the constructs,

ranging from 0.798 to 0.849. They included lack of quality assurance in the project (0.849), the

quality planning (0.839), the understanding of the potential benefits of quality implementation

(0.837), and the appropriate quality supervision and appraisal of the quality plan (0.798) (Bowen,

et al., 2015; Durdyev, et al., 2017; Larsen et al., 2015; Niazi & Painting 2017; Rahman, et al.,

2014; Zidane, & Andersen, 2018).

The relationship between project-related factors and Church construction delay

H4: Project-related factors have a substantial relationship with church construction

delay. In examining the relationship between project-related factors, and Church construction

delay, the study disclosed a positive association amongst the project-related factors, and Church

construction delay (β = -0.111, p<0.000). It was established that all the six anticipated

components of the project-related factors, had a satisfactory correlation range from 0.485 to 0.788.

They included original contract duration (0.788), unfavourable contract clauses (0.781), and legal

disputes between project participants (0.745). The rest was the complexity of projects such as the

size and kind of the project (0.655), and insufficient description of an ample date for completing

the project (0.485). The findings were similar to the works of Akogbe et al. (2013); Aziz and

Abdel-Hakam (2016); Famiyeh et al. (2017); Niazi and Painting (2017); and Wallensteen (2018).

The relationship between material-related factors and Church construction delay

H5a: There is a relationship between material-related factors and Church

construction delay. The study revealed a positive relationship between material-related factors

and Church construction delay (β = 0.212, p<0.000). It was further established that material-

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related factors are the most influential delay component in the PCG. This finding was in

congruence with Rahman et al. (2014), who ranked material pricing as the highest delay factor.

Akogbe et al. (2013) also classed lack of funds to procure materials as a major factor of

delay. Furthermore, it was also demonstrated that there were adequate correlations among all the

four proposed components for material-related factors in the constructs, ranging from 0.785 to

0.874. The components included a delay in the approval of materials (0.874), lack of quality

resources (0.855), shortage of building materials (0.833), and late delivery of material to the site

(0.785). The results conformed to the earlier works of Arthur (2016); Asiedu and Alfen (2016);

Kagiri and Wainaina (2017); Pall et al. (2016); and Sambasivan et al. (2017).

The relationship between External-related factors and Church construction delay.

H6a: There is a substantial relationship between external-related factors and Church

construction delay. In assessing the relationship between external-related-factors and Church

construction delay, the study found that external-related factors have a positive relationship with

Church construction delay (β = 0.112, p<0.001). This finding implied that the external-related

factors have consequences for construction delays in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. It was

confirmed that there were adequate correlations among all the six proposed components for

Church organization structure in the construct, ranging from 0.485 to 0.788. This included the

third party’s delay in completing final assessment and documentation (0.847), unfavourable

weather conditions (0.844), and thefts done on-site (0.828). Also, price fluctuations in building

materials (0.813), insufficient manufacturing of local raw material (0.794), and modifications in

government policies and by-laws (0.645) (Agyekum-Mensah & Knight, 2017; Lines, et al., 2015;

Najib, et al., 2018; Sinesilassie, et al., 2017).

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Practical Recommendations

There are several practical implications of the discoveries and contributions of this study,

which, when utilized, can help both the church and the nation. The study recommends these

practical steps for consideration:

Recommendations for client /owner-related factors

The client/owner of the project or the church must be presented with improved awareness

about the budget of the construction project and whether or not the necessary money can be

provided for the efficient carrying out of the proposed projects. This can be done when the

client/owner seeks construction experts’ counsel on the intended project, and ensures the provision

of adequate funds to meet the prepared budget before commencing the work (Larsen, et al., 2015).

This can do away with the interruption of the church construction projects due to insufficiency of

the funds. Again, an eventuality plan needs to be prepared each time if there are ineffective funds

and this can be used to raise resources for the rapid purchasing of materials at any moment to

avoid delays (Arantes, & Ferreira, 2020; KV & Bhat, 2019). Furthermore, there is the need to

have a manual or a handbook that spells out the details of the project to be constructed, and

responsibilities are to be assigned to the right persons before the work starts. This aids in

strengthening the chain of command in terms of who does what at what time, and leads to

thorough discussions among all the key parties, like the contractor, the site engineer, and the

consultant, with the client/owner’s team (Nyoni & Bonga, 2017). There is a need to have an active

communication channel between the workers and the client/owner. This can best be done by

frequent weekly scheduling or fortnightly meetings between all the key parties involved in the

project (Gebrehiwet & Luo, 2017). Besides, the client/owner must approve of the intended

building design before starting the project and understand that regular unplanned changes in the

project are a breach of the contract rules and attract a penalty. Also, the client/owner must

endeavour to have all the design documents approved by the authorized or the certified board

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ahead of starting the project. This would prevent later review and endorsement of the building

design (Alpkokin & Capar, 2019; Kim & Kang, 2018).

Recommendations for Church organizational structure.

The church must give directives that, until one construction project is completed, a new

project cannot be undertaken. This can be achieved by implementing a sustainable strategic plan

for construction projects (Schwing & Urtasun, 2015). Church Agents (ministers and catechists),

on transfers to and from a station, must update themselves about the strategic plan and continue

from where a construction project was paused. To achieve this, the session (board) and the local

project committee must brief such agents. Strict adherence to this will not hinder construction

projects in the congregations, even if a minister (Resident Pastor) or an agent is transferred (PCG-

Constitution, 2016). Again, every decision to undertake a construction project must be made by

the session (board), and must empower the church’s PIC to present details of the project for

discussion and approval. The PIC must be made up of experts (architects, engineers, building

consultants, project managers, and financial planners). The CAB of the church must be tasked by

session (board) to prepare precise budgets for construction projects and propose possible ways of

sustaining the budget (PCG-Constitution, 2016). In addition, a separate project account is to be

opened to directly deposit project funds to avert the diversion of funds intended for construction

works into other activities (Zack-Williams, 2017). There must be frequent feedback from the

various committees, like the PIC and the CAB, to the session (board). This can, ideally, be done

by co-opting a session (board) member each to the CAB and the PIC to update session (board),

and then the session will keep the congregation abreast regularly.

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 Recommendations for quality-related factors. At the beginning of the construction

project, there must be a proper briefing for the workforce on quality assurance. The PIC, the

consultant, contractor, and all the parties involved must sign a declaration of providing quality

work. This can be attained by proper planning involving the supply of top-quality resources (Dixit

& Sharma, 2019; Tang, et al., 2015). The parties participating in the construction project need to

be educated to appreciate the implications of using accredited and standardized materials for the

projects and the need to supply them promptly (Gebrehiwet, & Luo, 2017). This is achievable

when the emphasis is placed on proper monitoring and evaluation of the construction work (Zhang

& Yangb, 2019). The church needs to outsource an accredited monitoring and evaluation board to

inspect the work at each of the stages and offer suggestions where necessary. To ease this process,

the PCG must implement a policy on quality construction projects for the church.

Recommendations for project-related factors. The initial contract duration of the

project must be detailed and justifiable. This means the timeline for the entire project

must be strategic enough, allowing for unforeseen circumstances (Akogbe, et al., 2013). This can

be carefully done by making room for building in stages; for instance, the first stage, from

foundation to flooring; second stage up to lintel; third stage up to roofing; a fourth stage for the

finishing phase. Also, there must be decent contract clauses, which can be done by making all the

clauses in the building contract very clear and easy to read and understand (Famiyeh, et al., 2017;

Kim, et al., 2018). Once this is done, it will prevent needless disputes between project

participants (Equbal, et al., 2017). In addition, there must be a manual for a church building and

church manse (mission house). The PCG must establish criteria for construction projects in the

church, especially for the congregations in the less-endowed communities. Such projects must be

modest and affordable to build and complete within the shortest period taking all risks into account

(Awuni, 2019).

161
 Recommendations for Material-related factors. To avoid late endorsement of

construction materials, the client/owner, contractor, consultant, or the manager must start the

process far ahead of time and be sure that the proposed materials for the project are available in the

market. The approved sample materials for the project must be ordered ahead of time in the

required quantity (Soomro, et al., 2019). There must be adequate quality resources, which

includes experienced and qualified workforces as well as standard materials for the project

(Akogbe, et al., 2013). There is a need to make provision for the prompt delivery of materials to

the project site (Gebrehiwet & Luo, 2017). This can best be accomplished by appointing a works

superintendent to oversee the project materials and schedule delivery (Sutar & Mehendale 2017).

Recommendations for External-related factors. There must be a timely inspection of

the completed construction work by the authorized examining board (Allen & Iano, 2019). There

should be a penalty for consultants or contractors who fail to adhere to the provisions of the

contract. The client/owner and the consultant must ensure that inspection of the completed work is

done swiftly and adequately with certification. Again, there must be provision of a proper storage

facility for the building materials and also enough shade for the workers to counter unfavourable

weather conditions that may disturb the flow of work (Durdyev, et al., 2017). Also, to avoid the

theft of materials and other useful resources, there must always be a security guard on site as well

as enough lights around the storage area at night (Zidane, & Andersen, 2018). Furthermore, to

avoid price fluctuations in building materials, there must be a proper and approved budget before

the commencement of the projects (Asiedu, et al., 2017). This means there must be a contingency

plan to cater for any shortage, where applicable. In addition, there is the need to purchase materials

in bulk and from the approved producer. This would prevent the purchasing of inferior materials

and material wastage (KV & Bhat, 2019). In cases where the required materials are out of stock,

the contractor, the consultant, the manager, or the client/owner must plan for an alternate product.

162
There is a need for all the project parties involved to be well informed of modifications made in

government policies and by-laws before commencing any construction project (Wyer, 2019).

Recommendations for Future Research.

In accordance with the study limitations in Chapter One and the several benefits derived

from the Church construction projects, this study presented the basis for future research. For

further studies, the following are highly recommended;

1. Concerning the geographical study size, it is suggested that upcoming researchers should

cover the entire PCG, so the results can uncover different patterns of factors that can lead

to Church construction delay.

2. The model created for this study has been developed on the perception of construction

delays which some developing nations have been using (see Figure 6). Therefore, future

scholars can use this for other nations.

3. Again, it is recommended that a comparative study be conducted to investigate the delay

factors affecting the Pentecostal churches and the PCG and to determine the restraining

relationship with church organizational structure, Church Agents’ (ministers and

catechists) transfer, and funds management.

4. Future researchers must consider conducting both qualitative and quantitative studies to

enable extensive findings and to obtain the in-depth opinions of stakeholders.

5. Finally, future researchers should consider expanding the research model to help address

all the risks that might arise during such projects. This would help stakeholders in

mitigating risk. To further help eliminate construction delays, technology for risk

management should be introduced and implemented. That is, all stakeholders

(clients/owners, contractors, consultants, and session) should have a risk management plan.

163
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 Appendices

Appendix A

Questionnaire

Exploring Construction Projects Delays: A Pragmatic

Study of The Presbyterian Church Of Ghana
Instruction:
The rationale for the research is to investigate the reasons behind the interruptions in Church
constructional project in the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, especially those in the Akuapem
Presbytery. The researcher seeks responses from members of the church, session members
(leaders), project committee members of the church, project managers of the church, experts in
construction project, Church Agents (Ministers and Catechists) and workers of the church
construction project.

Ethical Consideration
Please be informed that the individual responses to this study are strictly protected and
confidential. This study will not disclose the identity of the respondents. The survey questionnaire
should take about 5 to 10 minutes to complete. Please note that you are not under any compulsion
to participate in this research, and you are unrestricted to pull out at any stage without prejudice.
The research guarantees confidentiality and will ensure there is no access to your data, and the
questionnaire does not reveal who is filling out. Information will be stored only aggregate data on
a computer, and all surveys notes, and data will be kept with high security.

Thank you for your help.

190
What is your age? *
▪ Below 20
▪ 21-30
▪ 31-40
▪ 41-50
▪ 51 and Above
What is your profession or role? *
▪ Church Pastor/Agent
▪ Manager
▪ Consultant
▪ Site superintendent (Foreman)
▪ Project/Construction Manager
▪ Electrician
▪ Carpenter
▪ Mason
▪ Supplier
▪ Other
What is your highest level of education? *
▪ High School
▪ College
▪ University
▪ Other
How many years of experience do you have in your profession or role? *
▪ Almost a year
▪ 5 years
▪ 6- 10 years
▪ 11-15 years
▪ 16 Years and Above

191
Client-Owner Related Factors

Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Slower and interruption in decision-making
Frequent unplanned changes

Late in revision and approval of the design documents and sample

materials

Delay in progress payment by client/owner

Suspension of work by the owner
Poor communication with the parties involved
Bureaucracy in the bidding/tendering method

Contractor-Related Factors *

Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Poor site management

Shortages of material and equipment,

The insufficient experience of the contractor and subcontractors

Improper and hindered planning and mistakes in construction

Tools breakdown and maintenance problem,

Inadequate human resources

Using illegal construction methods

192
Consultant-Related Factors *

Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Poor management of the contract

Unapproved structural drawings

Inadequate preparation of architectural planning

Inadequate supervision from the consultant and other parties

Long waiting time for approving an inspection

Late issuance of instruction from owners or contractors

Incomplete designs specifications

Managerial Dispute *

Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Financial mishandling

Lack of supervision from the board

Poor organization structure

Poor communication between owners and contractors

Litigation

Frustrating procedure for dealing with society and the

governmental regulations

Unresolved legal issues

193
Material-Related Factors *

Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Lack of quality resources

Shortage of building materials

Late delivery of material to the site,

Delay in the endorsement of materials

Wastage of materials

Substandard quality of materials

Higher material cost and financial restraint of the

owner

Project-Related Factors *

Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

The complexity of project such as project type, project
scale, etc.
Legal disputes between project participants
Original contract duration is short
Unfavourable contract clauses
Inadequate definition of substantial completion
Type of project bidding and award (negotiation, lowest
bidder)
Effects of subsurface conditions (e.g., soil, high water
table, etc.)

194
Church Organizational Structure *

Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Changes in Church Agents (Ministers and Catechists)
The style of leadership by church decision-makers
No long-term strategic planning
No specific project budget
Diverting of church funds into other things
Lack of communication among church decision-makers
and church members
No specific project bank account

External-Related Factors *
Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Changes in government regulations and laws
Price fluctuations in building materials
Unfavourable weather conditions
Delay in performing final inspection and certification by
the third party
Thefts on-site
Inadequate production of raw material in the country
Poor transportation network affecting the delivery of
construction materials

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Base on your experience in construction projects, to what extent do you agree or disagree

with the statements on church construction project delays. *

Rating range: Strongly Disagree-1 Disagree-2 Neutral-3 Agree-4 Strongly Agree-5

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

Factors such as church organizational structure lead to project delays

Factors such as Client-owner related factors contribute to project

delays

Factors such as Material related factors contribute to project delays

Contractor related factors lead to project delays

Project-related factors lead to delays in construction projects

External factors such as government regulations, unfavourable

weather causes delays in the construction of projects

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 Appendix B

List of Agents-in-charge

Table C1

List of 378 Agents-in-Charge

District Ministers Other Agents Total

Abiriw 3 3 6
Aburi 8 20 28
Adawso 2 9 11
Adeiso 5 14 19
Adoagyiri 2 17 19
Adukrom 7 17 24
Adweso 4 4 8
Akropong 6 5 11
Amanokrom 2 4 6
Asuboi 2 9 11
Coaltar 3 16 19
Djankrom 4 17 21
Effiduase 7 11 18
Koforidua 9 4 23
Larteh 4 1 5
Mamfe 3 6 9

Mampong 3 7 10
Mile 50 5 11 16
Nankese 2 25 27
Nsawam 4 11 15
Nsukwao 6 8 14
Suhum 4 15 19
Suhum New Town 3 20 23
Suhum Oforikrom 4 14 18
Tutu 2 6 8

Total 104 274 378

Note. The list includes Minsters and Catechists who are leading church construction projects in the

Akuapem Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.

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 Appendix C

Total Variance Explained

Table D1

Total Variance Explained

Component Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings Rotation Sums of

Squared Loadings
a

Total % of Cumulative % Total % of Cumulative % Total

Variance Variance
1 7.569 21.024 21.024 7.569 21.024 21.024 5.495
2 4.503 12.510 33.533 4.503 12.510 33.533 4.846
3 3.674 10.204 43.738 3.674 10.204 43.738 4.352
4 2.991 8.309 52.046 2.991 8.309 52.046 4.164
5 2.404 6.678 58.724 2.404 6.678 58.724 4.835
6 2.042 5.671 64.395 2.042 5.671 64.395 4.455
7 1.484 4.122 68.517 1.484 4.122 68.517 2.759
8 .882 2.449 70.966
9 .787 2.187 73.154
10 .750 2.084 75.238
11 .700 1.944 77.182
12 .646 1.795 78.977
13 .615 1.708 80.685
14 .594 1.649 82.334
15 .561 1.557 83.891
16 .528 1.466 85.358
17 .462 1.283 86.641
18 .444 1.233 87.874
19 .394 1.095 88.969
20 .370 1.029 89.998
21 .362 1.006 91.004
22 .315 .874 91.878
23 .307 .853 92.731
24 .297 .826 93.557
25 .282 .783 94.341
26 .269 .748 95.088
27 .234 .649 95.737
28 .229 .635 96.373
29 .214 .596 96.968
30 .206 .573 97.542
31 .179 .499 98.040
32 .175 .486 98.526
33 .164 .454 98.980
34 .148 .412 99.392
35 .121 .335 99.727
36 .098 .273 100.000

Note. The Method of Extraction: Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

a. The Sum of squared loading are unable to add up for a total variance in correlated components.

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