Results from a ten-year longitudinal study of Norwegian construction industry performance

Purpose It is a common view that performance in the construction industry is lagging behind other industries. However, several recent researchers have challenged the perception of low productivity and claim that this is a too simplistic view. The purpose with this paper is to analyse performance data using leading indicators, instead of lagging indicators and contribute with enhanced knowledge to the ongoing debate. Design/methodology/approach Analyses of collected data from 221 Norwegian construction projects between 2014 and 2023 using the 10–10 benchmarking tool developed by the Construction Industry Institute. Findings Our findings suggest that Norwegian construction projects, in general, have shown a steady performance growth between 2014 and 2023. Research limitations/implications The findings are based on data from the Norwegian construction industry, which affects the external validity of our findings and the possibility of generalising this outside Scandinavia. However, the types of projects covered in the dataset are not unique to Norway, as they include various types of buildings and infrastructure facilities relevant to most countries. Practical implications We identify sustainability as a critical focus area for project managers looking to improve their project performance. Originality/value An essential contribution of the research is that the findings are based on process measurements (leading indicators), while most existing studies on construction productivity are based on lagging indicators, such as the relationship between outcome and input.