1.0 Introduction
1.1 Background to the Study
The construction industry is a fundamental economic sector that permeates most of the other sectors as it transforms various resources into physical, economic and social infrastructure necessary for socio-economic development (Ministry of Works, 2003). In Nigeria, the industry occupies an important position in the economy and has great potentials of becoming one of the biggest construction markets on the planet yet, it contributes less than other industries (Aibinu and Jagboro, 2002; Construction Overview, 2011). The Nigerian Construction Industry (NCI) is growing fast and has outgrown most sectors of the economy yet, its contribution of only 3.2% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is very low (Dantata, 2008; Construction Overview, 2011).
The performance of the construction industry has considerable impact on the economy (Bon-Gang and Fan, 2010). The industry, globally, has been under tremendous pressure to improve its performance and several calls have been made in this regard (Kulatunga et al., 2005).In Nigeria, the NCI is faced with problems such as construction delays, time and cost overruns, abandonment of projects at various stages of completion, lack of skilled local labour, power shortage, unavailability of materials, corruption, unethical practices and lack of capacity to deliver (Aibinu and Jagboro, 2002; Dantata, 2008; Kolo and Ibrahim, 2010; Ayodele et al., 2011; Oyewobi et al., 2011). The industry suffers the problems of inefficient policies and practices, weak institutions and adverse business environment, alongside complex social and cultural practices (Aniekwu and Audu, 2010). The performance of the industry has been a concern to its stakeholders.
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