Stakeholder perceptions of delay causes in Orthodox church construction projects

Purpose Construction project delays are a widespread issue globally. This study aimed to identify significant delay factors in church construction projects unanimously agreed upon by all stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach A structured questionnaire incorporating Likert-scale items was used to collect data from experts and volunteers directly involved in the design, supervision and construction of Orthodox church projects. The respondents included professionals with backgrounds in architecture, civil engineering, construction management and related fields as well as key volunteers familiar with the operational aspects of church construction. The study employed multiple statistical techniques to analyze the data. These included tests for normality, reliability analysis (where a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.66 was deemed acceptable for exploratory research based on Noble et al., 2021), Spearman’s rank correlation to identify relationships between delay factors, Mann–Whitney U tests to assess differences in perception among stakeholder groups, and the Relative Importance Index (RII) to rank the significance of the identified delay factors. Findings The study identified several significant delay factors unanimously recognized by all stakeholders, including the complexity of the structures, a shortage of skilled professionals within the construction committee, delayed delivery of materials and equipment and ineffective project planning and scheduling. Practical implications The identification of these delay factors provides valuable insights for project managers and stakeholders to address and mitigate delays in church construction projects, ultimately improving project efficiency and success. Originality/value This study contributes to the understanding of delay factors in church construction projects and offers practical recommendations for enhancing project management practices in the construction industry.