Ethical and cost performances of projects: a canonical correlation

Purpose - Globally, corruption and unethical practices are blamed for financial leakages in construction procurement processes. In literature, there are very few studies that have sought to unravel the connectedness between the ethical and cost performances of projects. This paper aims to report findings on the relationship between unethical tendering practices and cost performance of projects in the Nigerian public sector. Design/methodology/approach - A survey of participants in 119 public projects in Nigeria was conducted. Noting the infrequent use of canonical correlation in construction studies, this study made use of the technique in identifying the significant unethical tendering practices that affect the cost performance of projects. Findings - Findings include three contractor-related variables: C1: Competitors offer bribes to gain access to confidential tendering information, C2: Competitors overstating their capacity, experience and qualification to secure construction contracts, C3: The same owner(s) use different firms to tender for the same project; and four clients/consultants-related variables: T5: Client divulging more information to preferred bidder, T9: Project requirements overstated or tailored to fit a preferred bidder, T14: Criteria for selecting winner not made public, E1: Chief executive of client organization intervenes in tender evaluation and helps his/her preferred tenderer win the contract affect the cost performance of projects. Practical implications - Chief executives of procuring entities should no longer act as the chairpersons of their organisations’ tenders boards. This role should be given to reputable members of the core construction professional bodies. Originality/value - This study links ethical performance of projects to their cost performance using the canonical correlation technique.