Core Competencies for Construction Project Management: Literature Review and Content Analysis
Publication: Journal of Civil Engineering Education
Volume 147, Issue 4
Abstract
Although the construction industry is a major player in the global economy, it is dealing with problems such as declining productivity, workplace safety, and work disputes. The human element—construction project managers in particular—is key to solving many of these persisting problems. A thorough understanding of construction project managers’ performance is important to identifying training needs, and enables executives to better match competent construction project managers with the appropriate projects. This paper examined competencies required for construction project managers and competency identification tools and techniques. Potentially relevant references were searched using appropriate search terms, topics, and publication dates in the ASCE Library. The process resulted in 2,102 references. Titles, abstracts, and contents of the references were examined further to select the most relevant references from the list; 31 of the initial 2,102 references were selected for content analysis. A systematic review and detailed content analysis of the 31 selected references from the ASCE Library published over the last 3 decades was conducted. Results of content analysis revealed that to identify competencies, two information gathering techniques predominantly were used in the selected sources, whereas three techniques seldom were used. A total of 39 competency categories required for construction project managers were identified. The most frequently identified competency categories were technical, leadership, communication, managing, organizing, and planning, teaming/teamwork, and determination. Findings of this study can assist the construction industry in directing its efforts toward key competency development areas and catering training and professional development to the real needs of the workforce.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Data Availability Statement
All data used during the study appear in the submitted article.
References
AGC (Associated General Contractors). 2018. “The workforce development plan 2.0.” In Proc., AGC of America’s New Plan to Address Growing Construction Workforce Shortages. Arlington, VA: Associated General Contractors of America. https://workforce.agc.org/plan/.
Aghion, P., et al. 2019. Work in the age of data. Bilbao, Spain: Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria.
Ahmed, S. M., and M. Saqib. 2010. Desirable attributes and skills for graduating construction management students. Miami: Florida International Univ.
Ahn, Y. H., R. P. Annie, and H. Kwon. 2012. “Key competencies for US construction graduates: Industry perspective.” J. Civ. Eng. Educ. 138 (2): 123–130. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EI.1943-5541.0000089.
Ballesteros-Sánchez, L. I., I. Ortiz-Marcos, R. Rodríguez Rivero, and J. Juan Ruiz. 2017. “Project management training: An integrative approach for strengthening the soft skills of engineering students.” Int. J. Eng. Educ. 33 (6): 1912–1926.
Baumann, S., I. Erber, and M. Gattringer. 2016. “Selection of risk identification instruments.” J. Finance Risk Perspect. 5 (2): 27–41.
BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis). 2019. “Gross domestic product by industry: Second quarter 2019.” Accessed October 29, 2019. https://www.bea.gov/system/files/2019-10/gdpind219_2.pdf.
Bedelian, H. 1996. “Successful major projects in a changing industry.” In Proc., Institution of Civil Engineers-Civil Engineering, 117–123. London: Thomas Telford-ICE Virtual Library.
BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics). 2019. “Construction: NAICS 23.” Accessed December 13, 2019. https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag23.htm.
Chan, A. P. C., D. W. M. Chan, and J. F. Y. Yeung. 2009. “Overview of the application of ‘fuzzy techniques’ in construction management research.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 135 (11): 1241–1252. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000099.
Cheng, M.-I., A. R. J. Dainty, and D. R. Moore. 2005. “Towards a multidimensional competency-based managerial performance framework: A hybrid approach.” J. Managerial Psychol. 20 (5): 380–396. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940510602941.
CII-RT (Construction Industry Institute). 2013. Project management competency development: Tools, games, and exercises. Austin, TX: CII.
CII-RT (Construction Industry Institute). 2014. Quantitative measurement of PM competencies. Austin, TX: CII.
Dainty, A. R. J., M.-I. Cheng, and D. R. Moore. 2005. “Competency-based model for predicting construction project managers’ performance.” J. Manage. Eng. 21 (1): 2–9. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(2005)21:1(2).
Debra, P., and S. Anil. 2019. Future of work in construction. San Rafael, CA: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Edum-Fotwe, F. T., and R. McCaffer. 2000. “Developing project management competency: Perspectives from the construction industry.” Int. J. Project Manage. 18 (2): 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0263-7863(98)90075-8.
Edum-Fotwe, F. T., and A. D. F. Price. 2009. “A social ontology for appraising sustainability of construction projects and developments.” Int. J. Project Manage. 27 (4): 313–322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2008.04.003.
Farooqui, R. U., and S. M. Ahmed. 2009. “Key skills for graduating construction management students—A comparative study of industry and academic perspectives.” In Proc., Construction Research Congress 2009: Building a Sustainable Future, 1439–1448. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Gretton, I. 1993. “Striving to succeed in a changing environment.” Prof. Manager 2 (4): 15–17.
Hanna, A. S. 2010. Construction labor productivity management and methods improvement. Madison, WI: Hanna Consulting Group.
Hanna, A. S., M. W. Ibrahim, W. Lotfallah, K. A. Iskandar, and J. S. Russell. 2016. “Modeling project manager competency: An integrated mathematical approach.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 142 (8): 04016029. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001141.
Hayden, B., Jr. 1996. “Learning on the jagged edge.” J. Manage. Eng. 12 (1): 23–25. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0742-597X(1996)12:1(23).
Helgadóttir, H. 2008. “The ethical dimension of project management.” Int. J. Project Manage. 26 (7): 743–748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2007.11.002.
ILO (International Labour Organization). 2001. The construction industry in the twenty-first century: Its image, employment prospects and skill requirements. Genève: ILO.
Koskela, L., and G. Howell. 2002. “The underlying theory of project management is obsolete.” In Proc., PMI Research Conf. 2002: Frontiers of Project Management Research and Applications, 293–302. Philadelphia: Project Management Institute.
Krippendorff, K. 2018. Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Kuprenas, J. A., and E.-H. B. Nasr. 2000. “Personalities of construction project managers: A link to high performance teams.” In Proc., Construction Congress VI: Building Together for a Better Tomorrow in an Increasingly Complex World, 1112–1119. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Mahmood, A., A. M. Hamidaddin, and M. W. M. Shafiei. 2006. “What competencies do project managers need?” In Proc., Int. Conf. on Construction Industry (ICCI), 12–24. New York: IEEE.
MGI (McKinsey Global Institute). 2017. Reinventing construction: A route to higher productivity. New York: MGI.
NERIS Analytics Limited. 2019. “16 personalities.” Accessed March 23, 2021. https://www.16personalities.com/.
Nguyen, L. D., Y.-Y. Chih, and B. García de Soto. 2016. “Knowledge areas delivered in project management programs: Exploratory study.” J. Manage. Eng. 33 (1): 04016025. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000473.
Ogunbayo, O. 2013. “Conflict management in Nigerian construction industry: Project managers’ view.” J. Emerging Trends Econ. Manage. Sci. 4 (2): 140–146.
Okoye, P., C. Ngwu, and S. Ugochukwu. 2015. “Evaluation of management challenges facing construction practice in Nigeria.” Int. J. Appl. Innovation Eng. Manage. 4 (1): 19–28.
Pant, I., and B. Baroudi. 2008. “Project management education: The human skills imperative.” Int. J. Project Manage. 26 (2): 124–128.
Pariafsai, F. 2020. “Replication data for review of core competencies for CPM (ASCE 1988-2019) October 2020.” Accessed October 12, 2020. https://dataverse.harvard.edu/dataset.xhtml?persistentId=doi:10.7910/DVN/UTDWRZ.
Patanakul, P., D. Z. Milosevic, and T. R. Anderson. 2007. “A decision support model for project manager assignments.” IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage. 54 (3): 548–564. https://doi.org/10.1109/TEM.2007.900797.
PMI (Project Management Institute). 2007. Project manager competency development (PMCD) framework. Philadelphia: PMI.
PMI (Project Management Institute). 2016. Construction extension to the PMBOK guide. Philadelphia: PMI.
PMI (Project Management Institute). 2017. A guide to the project management body of knowledge (PMBOK guide). Philadelphia: PMI.
Ranasinghe, U., J. Ruwanpura, and X. Liu. 2012. “Streamlining the construction productivity improvement process with the proposed role of a construction productivity improvement officer.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 138 (6): 697–706. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0000469.
Rezk, S., G. Whited, and A. Hanna. 2018. “Quantitative assessment of project manager competencies for Wisconsin DOT.” In Proc., Construction Research Congress 2018, 702–711. Reston, VA: ASCE.
Rostami, A. 2016. “Tools and techniques in risk identification: A research within SMEs in the UK construction industry.” Univ. J. Manage. 4 (4): 203–210. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujm.2016.040406.
Russell, J. S., E. J. Jaselskis, and S. P. Lawrence. 1997. “Continuous assessment of project performance.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 123 (1): 64–71. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)0733-9364(1997)123:1(64).
Shao, M. G. 2006. “Development of project manager selection tool based on project manager competency.” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. of Systems Science, Univ. of Ottawa.
Shen, Y., M. M. Tuuli, B. Xia, T. Y. Koh, and S. Rowlinson. 2015. “Toward a model for forming psychological safety climate in construction project management.” Int. J. Project Manage. 33 (1): 223–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2014.04.009.
Shenhar, A. J., O. Levy, and D. Dvir. 1997. “Mapping the dimensions of project success.” Project Manage. J. 28 (2): 5–13.
Siraj, N. B., and A. R. Fayek. 2019. “Risk identification and common risks in construction: Literature review and content analysis.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 145 (9): 03119004. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)CO.1943-7862.0001685.
The Myers & Briggs Foundation. 2020. “MBTI basics.” Accessed February 18, 2021. https://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/home.htm?bhcp=1.
Toney, F. 2001. The superior project manager: Global competency standards and best practices. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
Wang, N., K. Wei, and H. Sun. 2013. “Whole life project management approach to sustainability.” J. Manage. Eng. 30 (2): 246–255. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)ME.1943-5479.0000185.
WEF (World Economic Forum). 2016. Shaping the future of construction: A breakthrough in mindset and technology. Geneva: WEF.
Young, B. A. 1989. “Management skills and knowledge: A case example from the construction industry.” Leadersh. Organ. Dev. J. 10 (6): 3–9. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000001143.
Zhang, F., J. Zuo, and G. Zillante. 2013. “Identification and evaluation of the key social competencies for Chinese construction project managers.” Int. J. Project Manage. 31 (5): 748–759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijproman.2012.10.011.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Jun 11, 2020
Accepted: Apr 6, 2021
Published online: May 22, 2021
Published in print: Oct 1, 2021
Discussion open until: Oct 22, 2021
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
Cited by
- Ali Mansouri, Abdolmajid Erfani, Gender Disparity and Self-Presentation on Social Media among AEC Industry Leaders, Journal of Management in Engineering, 10.1061/JMENEA.MEENG-6121, 40, 5, (2024).
- Abdolmajid Erfani, Ali Mansoori, Shoib Khan, Unconscious Bias in Self-Presentation: Exploring Gender Disparities in Leadership within the Transportation Industry, International Conference on Transportation and Development 2024, 10.1061/9780784485521.040, (441-452), (2024).
- Hyun Jeong Seo, Boram Do, Seung-Yoon Rhee, Effective managers of workplace safety: A topic taxonomy of manager’s safety competency, Safety Science, 10.1016/j.ssci.2024.106528, 176, (106528), (2024).
- Gabriella Coloyan Fleming, Michelle Klopfer, Andrew Katz, David Knight, What engineering employers want: An analysis of technical and professional skills in engineering job advertisements, Journal of Engineering Education, 10.1002/jee.20581, 113, 2, (251-279), (2024).
- Omobolanle Ogunseiju, Nihar Gonsalves, Abiola Akanmu, Diana Bairaktarova, Philip Agee, Kereshmeh Asfari, Sensing technologies in construction engineering education: industry experiences and expectations, Journal of Information Technology in Construction, 10.36680/j.itcon.2023.024, 28, (482-499), (2023).
- S M Jamil Uddin, Alex Albert, Anto Ovid, Abdullah Alsharef, Leveraging ChatGPT to Aid Construction Hazard Recognition and Support Safety Education and Training, Sustainability, 10.3390/su15097121, 15, 9, (7121), (2023).
- Fida Hussain Siddiqui, Muhammad Jamaluddin Thaheem, Amir Abdekhodaee, A Review of the Digital Skills Needed in the Construction Industry: Towards a Taxonomy of Skills, Buildings, 10.3390/buildings13112711, 13, 11, (2711), (2023).
- Paola Ochoa Pacheco, David Coello-Montecel, Michelle Tello, Virginia Lasio, Alfredo Armijos, How do project managers’ competencies impact project success? A systematic literature review, PLOS ONE, 10.1371/journal.pone.0295417, 18, 12, (e0295417), (2023).
- Fatemeh Pariafsai, Manish Kumar Dixit, Sadjad Pariafsai, Stephen Mark Caffey, Edelmiro F. Escamilla, Sherecce Fields, Competencies Critical to Create and Implement Construction Projects' Health and Safety Plan: Perception of the Global Academia, 2023 IEEE Learning with MOOCS (LWMOOCS), 10.1109/LWMOOCS58322.2023.10306002, (1-5), (2023).
- Core Competencies for Construction Project Management: Perception of the Global Academia, 2023 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 10.1109/FIE58773.2023.10343455, (1-5), (2023).
- See more