An Intepretive Structural Modelling Analysis Of Social Value Implementation Barriers In Infrastructure Delivery Systems

Abstract

The debate concerning the contributions of infrastructure assets to economic growth persists in contemporary society. Also, the delivery of infrastructure assets has been identified as veritable platforms for implementing socioeconomic policies. Social value (SV) happens to one of such policy which has attracted the attention of the construction industry. However, till date, research into SV implementation performance remains underreported in extant literature. This study set out to bridge this gap through an investigation into the criticality of SV implementation barriers within an IDS by interrogating the nature of interrelationships existing among these barriers. This qualitative study utilized a focus group discussion group session for eliciting the perspectives of a purposively selected sample of key industry actors with extensive experience. Eight discussants participated in the focus group discussion group sessions. The data emanating from the session was subjected to further analysis using the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) to ascertain the relationships between the SV implementation barriers and subsequently, determine the levels of criticality thereof. Findings from the study indicate that poor policy interpretation, poor government support and unnecessary complexity of the implementation process proved to be most critical when compared to other barriers. This study holds significant implications for policy makers and industry practitioners as it provides them with valuable knowledge to enable the development of protocols for engendering successful SV implementation in the IDS.