Purpose: Of late, cities across the globe are taking pragmatic steps towards addressing environmental, social and economic problems in the debate on sustainable development. Even so, little attention has been paid to studies focused on developing countries. The aim of this study is to examine the barriers to green cities development in developing countries.Design/methodology/approach: A comprehensive literature review was conducted to examine the barriers to green cities development. In terms of methodological choice, a quantitative research strategy was used to collect data from professionals who have lines of influence on the greening of our cities and sustainable urban development.Findings: The barriers to green city development identified were lack of awareness of the benefits of a green city, environmental degradation, insufficient policy implementation efforts, excessive generation of solid waste and poor wastewater collection and treatment. It was indicative from the study findings that taking the right sustainable steps in urban development and a paradigm shift towards the pillars of sustainability, Ghanaian cities, especially Kumasi, have a great proclivity of regaining its longstanding status being “Garden City”.Practical implications: The outcome of this study provides stakeholders in city development an insight into the barriers that inhibit the development of green cities. In practice, this study contributively proposes that the concept of green cities should be incorporated in the education and training of stakeholders to improve the level of awareness.Originality/value: This paper presents the foremost comprehensive study appraising green city development in Ghana.

Purpose: Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of projects is a very important aspect of project execution and management. This is because proper M&E practices have a significant effect on the successful delivery of projects. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of project M&E practices on construction project success criteria. Design/methodology/approach: Structured questionnaires were used to solicit the views of project professionals in the Ghanaian construction industry. The questions were developed through critical review of literature and complemented with a pilot interview on the subject. This paper utilized a partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS–SEM) to establish the impact of project M&E practices (constructs) on project success based on the hypothesis. Findings: Results showed that M&E practices had a positive statistical significant relationship with construction project success criteria. In addition, health and safety performance and project scope showed a strong significant relation with M&E practice, implying that, in developing countries, these two main constructs should be given critical attention in achieving project success. Practical implications: The findings of this study may be useful to organizations in determining M&E techniques that are relevant and contribute highly to project success. This may go a long way to increase productivity and accelerate the rate of successful project delivery. Originality/value: The application of rigorous analysis, PLS–SEM, gives a more reliable information on M&E practices that can ensure successful delivery of construction projects.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to ascertain the interaction effects among organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), work overload (WO) and employees’ performance in the Ghanaian construction industry, thus identifying the thin boundary between advocating OCB and avoiding WO in attempt to increase higher employee performance. Design/methodology/approach: Using a quantitative research method, three hypotheses were tested. The views of 86 project teams were elicited using a structured questionnaire, and linear regression was utilized to validate the hypotheses. Findings: The study proved that OCBs positively affect employee performance in the construction industry. The results implied that increased work load on employees do not increase their productivity levels, but adversely increase the unconsiderable effects of employees’ work lives. In addition, WO played the role of homologizing moderation in the relationship between OCB and employee performance. Practical implications: The findings suggest that there is a considerable effect of WO on overall employee performance in the construction industry; thus, there is a need for stakeholders to address this issue for performance improvement. Originality/value: The application and investigation of these issues have dominated the banking industry but lacked in the construction industry. The current study therefore provides useful insight into the interaction effects among organizational citizenship behavior, WO and employees’ performance in the Ghanaian construction industry.

Over the past decade, value engineering (VE) has developed to become a recognized methodology with ordinarily comprehended tools and procedures. Its adoption in public projects in developed countries is credited with meeting stakeholders' expectations. Although this may be so for construction industries in developed countries, the situation is bleak for developing countries. This paper considers the challenges facing the successful implementation of VE in public projects among developing countries. Using an empirical questionnaire survey, respondents were invited to rate their perception of 22 challenges identified from literature. This paper is based on a survey of construction and consulting firms based in Ghana. The data set was subjected to factor analysis. Correlations between the 22 variables show that five key components underlie the challenges facing VE in developing countries. Findings and recommendations of this study may be useful to construction professionals who are seeking innovative ways to enhance value for money.

Purpose: Construction firms worldwide are increasingly taking pragmatic steps towards addressing environmental problems arising from their activities. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of studies focused on the nexus between green construction and environmental performance. Hence, this study aims to examine the linkages between green construction practice and environmental performance.Design/methodology/approach: An extensive literature review was conducted to identify the relevant dimensions of green construction practice and indicators for measuring environmental performance. Variables collated were then subjected to pre-assessment and pre-testing processes. The pre-assessment was used as a preliminary content validation where experts assessed the various dimensions of green construction practice and indicators for measuring environmental performance proposed and determine if indeed the variables represent what the study set out to measure. Data were collected from construction professionals within the Ghana's Kumasi Metropolis. The sample size for the study was 100 experts in sustainable construction methods in the construction industry. A total of 63 responses were received out of the 100 target respondents, accounting for a 63% response rate. Data generated was analysed using mean score analysis and one-sample t-test to determine the level of significance of the various green construction practices and indicators for measuring environmental performance. A Pearson correlation analysis was undertaken to ascertain the relationships that exist among the various dimensions of green construction practice and indicators for measuring environmental performance. Finally, multiple linear regression analysis was utilised to ascertain the effect of the adoption of green construction practice on environmental performance.Findings: The results indicate that all the green construction practices and the indicators of environmental performance identified from the literature were significant at p = 0.05. The study's findings revealed that energy management is the most significant construct of green construction practice followed by storm-water management. Furthermore, the analysis showed that the preservation of water is the most significant environmental performance indicator followed by sanitation. The regression model developed also explained that 75% of the variations in environmental performance are explained by green construction practice.Research limitations/implications: Notwithstanding the study's achievements, one major limitation the research faced was the relatively small sample size.Practical implications: This study provides sufficient data for construction professionals to identify the various green construction practices that could enhance environmental performance. The study's results showed that environmental performance could be improved by adopting the key green construction practices identified in this study. Pragmatic directions are also provided to stakeholders in the construction industry to take a critical look at the environmental performance indicators that were significant.Originality/value: This pioneering research attempts to investigate the linkages between green construction practice and environmental performance in Ghana. Key results provide a critical evidential influence of green construction on environmental performance and make a crucial contribution to the current body of knowledge.

Purpose: While existing research has explored the association between supervisor support and turnover intention among construction workers, there is a notable gap in the literature concerning the potential mediating role of work engagement in elucidating this relationship, warranting further investigation. The paper, hence, aims to examine the mediating role of work engagement in the relationship between supervisor support and turnover intention among construction workers.Design/methodology/approach: Based on the quantitative research method, the hypothesis was tested. The data were collected from 144 construction professionals using a structured questionnaire. Observed variables were tested using confirmatory factor analysis, and the mediating role relationship was validated using hierarchical regression.Findings: The outcome of this study shows a significant positive impact of work engagement and supervisor support on employee turnover intention. The study further showed that work engagement plays a mediating role in the connection between supervisory support and the intention to turnover and improve project and business performance. Turnover intention, on the other hand, negatively affects project and organizational performance.Practical implications: By enhancing employee work engagement and perceptions of supervisor support, the findings of this study may aid construction organizations in making better judgments regarding the likelihood of employee turnover. The effectiveness of the project and the organization will likely be greatly impacted.Originality/value: The results of this study provide supporting evidence and advance efforts at reducing employee turnover intention through work engagement and supervisor support in improving project and organizational performance.