Labour productivity in Zambia's construction industry: A multi-site qualitative investigation of workforce, organisational, and resource constraints

Resumo

Labour productivity in Zambia's construction sector is a continuous and complex challenge influencing project outcomes, budget management, and the development of national infrastructure. The construction industry contributes roughly 15.6% to the gross domestic product and serves as the main vehicle for implementing the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP), yet it faces persistent productivity issues that lead to cost overruns, project delays, and reduced quality in both public and private undertakings. Despite its vital role, empirical research at the company level examining the specific factors affecting labour productivity in Zambia remains limited. This study was guided by two theoretical lenses, Human Capital Theory and Expectancy Theory, which together capture the capability and motivational dimensions of workforce productivity. The research explored workforce-related, organisational, and resource-availability factors that influence labour productivity in selected construction firms in Zambia. An interpretive qualitative multiple-case study design was adopted, involving four purposively selected construction firms operating in Lusaka and the Copperbelt Province. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants drawn from senior management, project management, site supervision, and skilled-worker categories, complemented by analysis of relevant organisational documents. Thematic analysis was conducted using a six-phase framework via NVivo 12, producing three main themes and nine sub-themes with 370 coded references. Three interrelated deficits hinder labour productivity in Zambia's construction sector: (1) a self-reinforcing human-capital underinvestment cycle perpetuated by limited TEVETA capacity, casual employment practices, and brain drain; (2) a client–contractor–worker payment cascade in which delays in client payments erode worker motivation, worsened by poor site planning that produces avoidable idle time; and (3) structural resource constraints, including material-procurement disruptions tied to currency depreciation and landlocked logistics, equipment downtime aggravated by a "landlocked maintenance trap" with spare-part lead times of four to eight weeks, and limited technology adoption constrained by daily load shedding. Project complexity emerged as a moderating factor that intensifies all three deficit categories. The study contributes three contextualised theoretical constructs, the human-capital underinvestment cycle, the payment cascade, and the landlocked maintenance trap, and extends Human Capital and Expectancy theories to landlocked Sub-Saharan African construction. The study provides evidence-based recommendations for construction firms, policymakers, and vocational training institutions.