Ethical transgressions in the construction industry in Sarawak, Malaysia: perspectives of quantity surveyors

Abstract

Purpose

The unethical practices of quantity surveyors (QSs) are affecting quality of construction projects, leading to projects’ time and cost overruns. However, the unethical practices of QSs specifically from contractor and consultant firms are currently understudied. Therefore, this research aims to investigate and categorize the unethical practices of QSs.

Design/methodology/approach

A questionnaire survey was employed and distributed to the QSs who work in the contractor and consultant firms. Ninety-five responses were analyzed using Mann–Whitney U-test, factor analysis and partial least square-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The findings unveiled disparity between the QSs who work in the consultant and contractor firms, as evidenced by 16 out of the 33 practices displaying statistical significance. The factor analysis results grouped 24 practices into seven components. The PLS-SEM analysis revealed that “contractors ‘collusion and consultants’ biased tender evaluation” had the most significant impact on the perceptions of ethical standards’ declination.

Practical implications

The findings could serve as guideline for the management of consultant and contractor firms with QSs for better management procedures to avoid any intentionally or unintentionally unethical practices that may impact negatively on projects’ time, cost and quality.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies investigating the perspectives of QSs from the contractors and consultancy firms’ perspective by employing factor analysis and PLS-SEM. The findings could contribute to the body of knowledge in tackling the ethical transgressions specifically related to contractors’ or consultants’ QSs.

Citation

Yip, H.L., Wong, S.Y., Ding, C.S. and Low, W.W. (2024), "Ethical transgressions in the construction industry in Sarawak, Malaysia: perspectives of quantity surveyors", Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/ECAM-11-2023-1214