**1. Introduction**

Decision-making in construction procurement is multi-faceted. It is influenced by different factors arising from clients' specifications, project peculiarities, and procurement options [1]. According to [2], the choices made by clients regarding the optimal procurement route remain a crucial, yet difficult hurdle in achieving overall project success. While there are active debates on construction project underperformance [3–5], previous studies have revealed that the basis of project inefficiency can be traced to the conception stage, when procurement decisions are made [6–8]. Consequently, scholars have emphasized the need for efficient procurement routes in the construction industry [1,4,9–11].

Aside from the objective procurement determinants of cost, quality, and time, Ref. [7] noted that client characteristics also influence procurement choices. The authors of [5,12] argued further that construction clients' (CCs') innovation in the procurement process is often driven by subjective feelings, knowledge, or past experiences on similar projects. Therefore, instead of evaluating procurement routes purely on objective models, the need for a subjective approach that assesses the distinct peculiarities of each project has been suggested [5]. According to [13], efforts should be made to develop decision-making tools that could match a range of project performance indicators to project peculiarities and client demands in order to achieve overall project success.

While many construction professionals believe overall project success to be a comprehensive assessment arising from the consensus of all key stakeholders [12], others believe that project success is much more complex [4,14] and that client's satisfaction with the

**Citation:** Bolomope, M.; Amidu, A.-R.; Ajayi, S.; Javed, A. Decision-Making Framework for Construction Clients in Selecting Appropriate Procurement Route. *Buildings* **2022**, *12*, 2192. https:// doi.org/10.3390/buildings12122192

Academic Editors: Davide Settembre-Blundo and Jorge Pedro Lopes

Received: 26 October 2022 Accepted: 5 December 2022 Published: 12 December 2022

**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

**Copyright:** © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

final outcome is perhaps the most critical indicator of whether a project can be considered successful or not [15,16]. Although several scholars have attempted to simplify the construction procurement process [1,10,11,17], gap remains regarding the role and impact of CCs' subjective attributes in selecting suitable procurement routes for different project types. The main objective of this paper is, therefore, to explore the impact of CC's subjective experience in procurement selection and subsequently develop a framework that could guide CCs toward making informed procurement choices as they align their perceptions and experiences with the objective reality of the procurement selection process.

This study was executed in two stages. The first stage involved in-depth qualitative interviews which focused on understanding the impact of CCs' peculiar beliefs, experiences, and perceptions regarding the procurement selection process. Subsequently, the CCs were assigned the task of prioritizing different project parameters that inform their procurement decisions for different project types. The combined approach resulted in the development of a framework that could enhance the procurement selection process based on the robust consideration of client characteristics, goals, and project peculiarities. The remainder of the study is organized into six sections. The extant literature on procurement and construction clients was reviewed in Section 2, followed by the presentation of the adopted methodology in Section 3. The data collection and analysis were outlined in Section 4. Sections 5 and 6 outline the study findings and discussion, respectively, while the study culminates in Section 7.

## **2. Procurement and Construction Clients**

#### *2.1. Construction Clients*

Unlike other industries, clients in the construction industry dictate the organizational and management pattern of project delivery [18,19]. Whereas there are standard practices and methods of delivering projects in industries like manufacturing and automobile [14], selecting procurement routes in the construction industry remains ambiguous [17,20]. According to [13], the procurement process in the construction industry is client-centered. CCs are individuals or organizations responsible for the provision, maintenance, and disposal of construction projects [21], and their actions or inactions influence the overall project outcome [7,15]. Further, CCs have different perspectives through which they assess construction procurement [22–24]. Ranging from the basic project requirements of cost, quality, and time, CCs' considerations have emerged to include factors such as project variation, risk perception, and end-user satisfaction [9,14].

According to [21], CCs are traditionally divided into two categories; public and private clients, but it has also been acknowledged that subdivisions of these two major categories exist based on clients' experiences and whether they are primary or secondary constructors [23]. The publications, 'Constructing the Team' [25], and 'Rethinking Construction' [26] have also evaluated the categorization of CCs to include expert, inexpert, etc. According to [12], the innovative role of CCs in the procurement process can be multi-dimensional. It could be an assertive role, where the client drives innovation; a cooperative role, where the construction team and the client jointly drive innovation; or a passive role, where the construction team drives innovation [2,14,19]. Appendix B-Figure A2 illustrates the various categorization of CCs.

As CCs consider project feasibility in the procurement process, they are also faced with some elements of project uncertainties [1]. Therefore, aside from focusing solely on project objectives and client attitude to risk, factors like clients' resources, peculiar project characteristics, ability to make changes, and ethical considerations have consistently influenced clients' innovation in the procurement process [23]. While these factors affect projects differently, based on their magnitude and complexity, the preferred procurement choice is often determined based on the factors that are of the most importance to the client [18]. Scholars have therefore, emphasized that there should be a harmonization of clients' objectives, the attributes of available procurement alternatives, and the expected project outcome [17].

According to [9], when clients' goals are clearly defined, selecting a procurement route should be a purely logical process. CCs should be able to choose project delivery options that suit their project expectations with ease [21]. However, the reality of clients' subjective attributes vis-a-vis the complexity of modern construction makes this unrealistic [14,23]. The demand for contemporary construction varies with clients' expertise and has continued to widen the gap between experienced and inexperienced clients [7]. Only clients that are up to date with the latest innovation and best practices are relevant in today's construction industry. This explains the difference in various clients' perspectives when rationalizing procurement options [5,18].

While the experienced client appreciates the significance of collaboration and sustainability in the overall project outcome [15], the inexperienced client may not emphasize these factors in selecting a project delivery route. However, irrespective of the categorization, CCs do not fully explore the procurement variants available to them [22]. Instead, they often rely on past occurrences, feedback from other stakeholders, and the impact of external factors like legal framework and public perception [13,15]. Unfortunately, this approach does not adequately appraise the peculiarity of particular projects, and it could lead to uninformed decisions by clients, which could ultimately result in poor quality of construction, cost overrun, or delay in project delivery [18]. In order to avert the consequences of inefficient decisions and their subsequent impact on the project outcome, it is essential that decision-making tools are made available to the clients, as is being suggested in this study.
