Critical success factors for small contractors to conduct green building construction projects in Singapore: identification and comparison with large contractors

As a major participant of the construction industry, small contractors have been increasingly involved in green building construction projects in recent years. However, existing literature indicates that little research has been done to investigate the critical success factors for small contractors to conduct green building construction projects. As a result, this study aims to fill up the gap by identifying the most critical success factors of small contractors and comparing them against large contractors. To achieve these goals, a comprehensive literature review and pilot interviews with experienced industry experts were conducted first, followed by a questionnaire survey administered to 30 small contractors from the construction industry of Singapore. Non-parametric statistical tests were used to analyze the data. Results reported that “laborers with experience in conducting green building construction projects,” “incentives/subsidies provided by government,” “support of senior management,” “return on investment,” “commit to changing behavior,” “effective communication between stakeholders on goals for sustainable construction,” “early contractor involvement,” “engaging experts with sound knowledge of green building construction,” “cost control,” and “competency of project manager” were the top ten critical success factors for small contractors to conduct green building construction projects. Additionally, the comparison results between small and large contractors revealed that eight factors were statistically different assessed by industry practitioners. These factors are “procurement process,” “cost control,” “commit to changing behavior,” “educating clients on benefits in sustainable construction,” “laborers with experience in conducting green building construction projects,” “hefty levy and tax on unsustainable construction practices,” and “public demand for green building construction” and “industrial culture.” This study enriches the knowledge by exploring the critical success factors for small contractors to conduct green building construction projects. Furthermore, this study is informative to industry practitioners as well, especially to those small contractors who plan to conduct green building construction projects in the future.