Assessment of Risk Mitigation Strategies and Their Association with Construction Project Performance in Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between risk management practices and construction project performance and assessed the predictive relationship between risk mitigation strategies and project performance in Nigeria. The study employed a quantitative research design using a cross-sectional survey approach. The study was conducted in Lagos State, Nigeria, with an accessible population of 320 construction professionals involved in large-scale construction projects valued at 500 million naira and above. Using the Yamane sample size formula, a minimum sample size of 178 respondents was obtained, while 210 questionnaires were distributed. Of these, 120 usable responses were retained for analysis, representing a 57.1% usable response proportion. Data were analysed using Pearson Product-Moment Correlation and Multiple Regression Analysis. The findings revealed statistically significant positive relationships between overall risk management practices and cost, time, quality, and overall project performance. Risk Mitigation exhibited the strongest correlation with overall project performance (r = 0.591). The overall regression model explained 48.7% of the variance in overall project performance, with Risk Mitigation having the largest standardized coefficient (β = 0.345). For cost performance, Risk Mitigation was the strongest significant predictor (β = 0.257), while Risk Monitoring and Control was the strongest predictor of time performance (β = 0.280); Risk Mitigation was the strongest significant predictor of quality performance (β = 0.316). The five-item mitigation model was statistically significant (R² = 0.356), although none of the individual mitigation items was significant at the 0.05 level when entered simultaneously. The findings are interpreted as associations and predictive relationships rather than evidence of causation because of the cross-sectional design. It is recommended that construction firms strengthen structured risk identification, assessment, mitigation, and continuous monitoring practices throughout the project lifecycle, while recognising that the present evidence does not establish that these practices cause improvements in project performance.