Identification of Factors Affecting Risk Appetite of Organizations in Selection of Mega Construction Projects

Risk appetite is a crucial component that plays a key role in the decision-making process of project risk management. Despite rising scholarly interest in project risk management, risk appetite has received little attention thus far. A well-defined risk appetite ensures that all decisions taken throughout the course of a project are consistent with an organization’s ultimate strategic aim. This research aims to identify the factors affecting the risk appetite of megaproject selection in the construction sector. The study adds to the knowledge of risk appetite in mega construction project selection and qualitatively examines the factors affecting risk appetite. Exploratory research design is used to identify these factors. The factors are identified using semi-structured interviews of 30 practitioners from the top and middle management working on mega construction projects. Thematic analysis was performed using NVIVO academic software. The most highlighted factors are financial attributes, board of directors’ agility, political factors, project location and demographics. The proposed conceptual framework identifies the factors affecting the risk appetite of mega construction project selection. These factors may be utilized as a starting point by construction project organizations to evaluate the risk appetite of a mega construction project. Risk appetite-based project selection will decrease chances of failures, delays, and cost overruns in mega-projects. These factors can be used by researchers as a rationale for developing predictive or descriptive models of project selection based on risk appetite.