EFFECTS OF BENCHMARKING PRACTICES ON THE PERFORMANCE OF QUANTITY SURVEYING FIRMS IN KWARA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Change is inevitable in the development of any organisations and one of the important requirements is its ability to respond to changes in its professional environment. The aim of this research work was to evaluate effects of benchmarking practices on the performance of quantity surveying firms in Kwara State, Nigeria. This was with a view to establishing improved practices in quantity surveying firms in Nigeria. A total of 54 completed questionnaires were retrieved from quantity surveyors in 27 quantity surveying firms using census survey. Mean item scores, Relative importance index and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were employed in the data analysis of various aspects of the research study. Mann Whitney test was used to test if there is any significant difference in the perceptions of Partnership and Sole proprietorship Quantity Surveying firms. The study revealed that Quantity Surveying firms are largely sole proprietorships and partnerships. The research also showed that most significant reasons for adopting benchmarking practices were maintaining competitive advantage and achieving continuous improvement. Moreover, resource constraints, failure to gain access to appropriate benchmark data and inadequate facilities to access required information are the prevalent challenges to the implementation of benchmarking practices. Benchmarking practices were also found to influence the performance of Quantity Surveying firms with functional and collaborative/cooperative benchmarking having the dominant influence. The study concluded that significant relationship exist between benchmarking practices and performance in Quantity Surveying firms. It is then recommended that management of Quantity Surveying firms should embrace benchmarking practices as strategy for driving performance.