Assessment of the Relationship Between Performance Attributes and the Social Sustainability Framework of Construction Projects

The study addresses the missing aspect of assessing social sustainability in construction project performance evaluation. While environmental and economic aspects have been widely considered, social sustainability remains largely unexplored. The study seeks to analyze whether 11 performance attributes (including 5 short-term project performance attributes and 6 long-term project performance attributes) in the construction project performance model being implemented in Vietnam reflect social sustainability in construction projects. The study applies structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationship between these 11 performance attributes and the social sustainability criteria framework. A questionnaire was designed to collect data from stakeholders involved in construction projects. The results show that there are 9/11 attributes reflecting social sustainability. The research results also indicate that respondents seem to value short-term performance attributes more than long-term performance attributes. This demonstrates that long-term performance goals seem to be under-regarded in developing countries. The research results contribute to understanding how project performance attributes play a role in social sustainability goals in construction projects. The study was conducted in Vietnam—a developing country—so the results of the study may not be representative of other geographical areas. Future studies may apply to other social sustainability frameworks or other regions.