ISM model for assessing critical productivity factors in the Jordanian construction industry post-COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Abstract The construction industry is a human-intensive industry despite the massive development in technologies. Nowadays, after crossing COVID-19 pandemic, the construction industry is an important sector for saving the national economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has created new ways of thinking due to massive and unpredictable socioeconomic consequences. Thus, understanding the critical productivity factors after the COVID-19 pandemic will enhance the construction industry by improving the understanding of the professionals who are involved at an early stage of the project lifecycle. This study aims to determine the critical productivity factors after the COVID-19 pandemic for enhancing the construction industry in developing countries such as Jordan. A review of available literature similar to the related topics before the COVID-19 pandemic was explored, and then a questionnaire was distributed across the Jordanian construction industry to determine the main productivity factors post-COVID-19 pandemic. A focus group was used to determine the interrelationship among the factors with the Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) approach. The obtained results indicated that 22 main productivity factors affected the Jordanian construction industry. The hierarchy of these factors is categorised into six levels of ISM whereas the sixth level has the greatest factors that influence productivity in the construction industry. Thus, enhancing productivity in construction projects requires solving problems related to factors in level 1, which will help to solve problems at the next level and so on.