Assessment of competitive tendering methods of procuring educational building projects in Nigeria

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess educational building projects with a view to determining the level of utilization of competitive tendering methods, factors influencing their choice and predisposition to risk factors, in order to ensure effective construction project delivery.Design/methodology/approachThe paper assessed the level of utilization of competitive tendering methods, the factors influencing their choice and finally the predisposition of each of the methods to risk factors, adopting survey method which involved primary data, obtained by using multiple‐choice questionnaire administered to the respondents (architects, quantity surveyors, builders, structural engineers, civil engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers).FindingsIt was found that the usage of open competitive tendering methods outweighed selective tendering method of procurement as a result of accountability and price competition involved, which made it predisposed to not only financial risk factors, but also political and logistics factors.Research limitations/implicationsMultiple‐choice questionnaire administered to the respondents (architects, quantity surveyors, builders, structural engineers, civil engineers, mechanical and electrical engineers) was limited to selected institutions in the southwestern zone of Nigeria.Practical implicationsThe most widely adopted method (open competitive tendering method) suffers from risk factors such as selective but high premium being placed on financial and logistic risk factors in order to achieve hitch‐free construction project delivery. These measures will help the stakeholders in assessing degrees of project complexity and better manage the potential risks that might be induced to different levels of competitive tendering methods of project procurement in relation to educational building projects.Originality/valueThis empirical investigation provides strong evidence on the procurement of educational building projects in response to due process policy. The findings provided insightful perspectives to define and understand project complexity. For stakeholders, understanding and addressing the complexity help to improve project planning and implementation.