Organizational Factors Influencing the Sustainability Performance of Construction Organizations

Construction projects contribute significantly to the growth of countries in terms of GDP and employment opportunities. However, construction organizations are often criticized for not adopting sustainable practices in delivering their projects. Underpinned by the resource-based theory (RBT) this research aims to investigate the organizational factors influencing the sustainability performance of construction organizations. This study used a mixed method approach in which the data was collected from the top management of Australian construction organizations. PLS-SEM was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that, among the five key factors, business strategies, technological capabilities, and organizational culture are found to have a significant positive impact on the environmental sustainability performance of construction organizations. Also, it is found that the organizations’ social sustainability performance is positively influenced by their organizational culture and business strategies. The research findings have several practical implications, such as the construction companies could use the operationalized measurement items of each determinant (i.e., organizational resources and capabilities) to self-assess and improve their organizational practices, which will help them develop strategies for improved sustainability performance.

• Organizational culture provides a basis for employees to achieve sustainability goals.

• Organizational technological capabilities are significantly characterized by building an efficient system to communicate and share real‐time information with employees, monitor sustainability performance, and reduce material use.

• Forming collaborative partnerships with clients and contractors is likely to improve sustainability performance.