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The construction industry is an enabler of economic growth in developing countries, but its performance is governed by the professional behaviour of construction professionals. Unethical behaviour (UB) breaches codes of practice and undermines economic performance hence, ubiquitous academic attention has been given to understanding this phenomenon. This paper aims to contribute to the ensuing discourse by reporting upon the most critical ethical behaviours (EBs and UBs) of professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI).

The study compounded identified factors into a closed-ended questionnaire in a quantitative research strategy. Data analysis was conducted using the relative importance index and one sample t-test. To measure the reliability of the scale, Cronbach’s alpha was used, which indicated that all measured items were reliable for further analysis.

The study confirmed that professionals within the GCI are aware of the existence of UBs and revealed that the most prevalent ethical conducts exhibited, namely, level of accuracy, accountability, honesty, reliability, fairness and respect for colleagues. Common unethical conducts exhibited included: favouritism, bribery and corruption, professional negligence, falsification, fraud and overbilling.

The study reported on the dominant ethical conduct among built environment professionals. The claims put forward in the analysis are, thus, affected by Ghana’s social, economic and political environments, which could restrict the generalization of the findings.

Incipient findings presented from this research will guide stakeholders to develop and device strategies that will aid alleviate persistent ethical issues within the built environment.

The study highlights individuals’ perspectives on ethical issues persistent in the built environment. The findings suggest individuals adhere to ethical practices in a project environment by the evidence presented.

This pioneering study is a novel assessment on EBs and UBs of built environment professionals in the GCI. The study supplementary adds value to the literature on ethical and unethical practices. By identifying these practices, construction firms have a competitive edge in combating UB and promoting EB among built environment professionals in the GCI.

The construction industry is beset with unethical behaviours. Although several studies have investigated the effects of unethical behaviours on project performance, research in the Ghanaian construction industry (GCI) remains scant. Consequently, this research assesses the interactive effects of ethical and unethical behaviours of construction professionals on project performance in the GCI.

A quantitative research approach was used to obtain primary data from 68 construction professionals, viz, quantity surveyors, architects, civil engineers, clerk of works and project managers, via a closed-ended questionnaire survey. Data collected were analysed using one-sample t-test and Kruskal–Wallis test statistics, after which two hypotheses were tested and validated using regression analysis.

Reduction of project risks, avoidance of legal problems and maximisation project quality performance were critical effects of ethical behaviours observed on project performance, whereas the effects of unethical behaviours such as cost overrun, abandonment and time overrun were severe on project performance in the GCI. Ethical behaviour was seen to relate to project performance positively, and unethical behaviour was proved to have dire consequences on project performance.

Construction project performance is greatly influenced by professionals' ethical and unethical behaviours. Emergent findings emanating from this research will assist emerging economies in developing and implementing counter policies and systems that mitigate the unethical behaviours of construction professionals.

The study highlights the effects of ethical and unethical behaviours on project performance to reorient individuals' perceptions that unethical behaviours are less critical in the construction industry. Supporting evidence encourages individuals to adhere to ethical behaviours in a project environment.

The inability to obtain data across the entire geographical spread of Ghana is acknowledged as a major limitation of the study and affects the generalisation of the results.

This study constitutes a first attempt to establish the interactive effects of ethical and unethical behaviours of construction professionals on project performance within the GCI. A significant addition to the body of knowledge is that ethical and unethical behaviours impact project performance positively or negatively, respectively.