Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at
https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=tjcm20
International Journal of Construction Management
ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tjcm20
Service quality of building services consultants in
building project delivery; clients’ perspectives
Opeyemi Oyeyipo , Bamidele Adeyemi , Innocent Osuizugbo & Rapheal
Ojelabi
To cite this article: Opeyemi Oyeyipo , Bamidele Adeyemi , Innocent Osuizugbo &
Rapheal Ojelabi (2020): Service quality of building services consultants in building project
delivery; clients’ perspectives, International Journal of Construction Management, DOI:
10.1080/15623599.2020.1829784
To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2020.1829784
Published online: 14 Oct 2020.
Submit your article to this journal
Article views: 55
View related articles
View Crossmark data
Service quality of building services consultants in building project delivery;
clients’ perspectives
Opeyemi Oyeyipo
a
, Bamidele Adeyemi
b
, Innocent Osuizugbo
c
and Rapheal Ojelabi
d
a
Department of Quantity Surveying, Bells University of Technology, Ota, Nigeria;
b
Estate Links Limited, Lagos, Nigeria;
c
Department of Building,
Bells University of Technology, Ota, Nigeria;
d
Department of Building, Covenant University, Ota, Nigeria
ABSTRACT
The role of consultant services engineers in the construction process is pivotal as they make significant
contributions towards successful delivery of construction projects. They are responsible for ensuring that
the technical specifications and design standards of mechanical, electrical and plumbing aspects of con-
struction projects are adhered to with due consideration to budget and schedule. The quality of services
offered by these consultants have however become a source of worry to clients recently in Nigeria as
reflected in variance in the quality of services they render. This study examined clients’ assessment of ser-
vice quality of consultant services engineers in building project delivery. The study adopted survey
research design with a total 121 responses obtained from target respondents using structured question-
naire administered to clients’ organizations. The study adapted the 22 SERVQUAL service quality variables
from literature. The study discovered that client’s expectation of service quality of building services con-
sultant exceeded the actual perceived service in building project delivery. Clients are unimpressed with
the ability of the consultants to show sincere interest, provision of services at the time promised, the abil-
ity to give client specialized services relating to MEP and willingness to help client. Out of date software
is being used and clients are rarely satisfied with consultants’ responsiveness and assurance. It is impera-
tive for service consultants to understand client’s expectations and ensure such needs are met in the con-
struction delivery process in order to ensure the service quality gap is eliminated. Finally, there is the
need for consultants to be conscientious by timeously responding to all instructions and requests of cli-
ents as well as improve reputation which will ultimately pay off in project outcome.
KEYWORDS
Building project; building
services consultant; client;
perception; satisfaction;
service quality
Introduction
The activities of the construction industry involve the complex
interactions of relevant stakeholders. Oyeyipo et al. (2019)
opined that there is a string of interrelationship between stake-
holders which results in the achievement of client’s objectives.
Different individuals as well as organizations are involved in the
delivery process with different and varying interests, which affect
or are affected by the products of the industry. However, the
complexity of the construction sector has not affected its input
to the development of the economy. Tayeh et al. (2018) but-
tressed that the construction industry provides the national econ-
omy with the much-needed support. Majority of literature
reckons schedule delay, loss and expense claim are among other
major factors that cause conflict and construction disputes
(Ojelabi et al. 2018). Construction consultants are important for
achievement of the client’s objectives in the delivery of construc-
tion projects. Construction consultants are part of the primary
team members (PTMs) in any construction project with signifi-
cant involvement and responsibilities throughout all phases of
the project. Lichtig (2006) posited that PTMs including construc-
tion consultants make sound contributions and decisions to the
project delivery process. This important group are the client,
contractors, architects, quantity surveyors, structural engineers
and services engineers, amongst others in construction pro-
ject delivery.
The consultant services engineer is one of client’s representa-
tives during the process of project construction. Services engi-
neers are associated with the mechanical and electrical aspect of
construction project and are the professionals that make signifi-
cant contributions and guarantee the effective running and effi-
cient delivery of construction projects. One of the major
responsibilities of service engineers is to ensure that the technical
specifications and design standards of mechanical, electrical and
plumbing (MEP) works of construction projects are adhered to
without affecting the set budget and schedule. Dadzie et al.
(2012) maintained that a number of the main obligations of the
consultant service engineers are design review, evaluation of
operations of contractors, re-assessment of MEP contractor’s
work, quality control tests, appraisal of valuation of work done
for services, review of claims and the requests for extension of
time as well as the preparation of periodic progress reports for
the section of works. The quality of services offered by these
consultants has become a source of concern in recent times
(Rosli and Hamsa 2005). The problem of poor service quality is
however evident with the dearth of building services consultants
in the Nigerian construction industry. This is reflected in vari-
ance in the quality of services MEP consultants provide in con-
struction project delivery in the country.
According to Eshghi et al. (2008), service quality is the com-
plete evaluation or assessment of the service rendered to a client
or customer by the client or customer. Ghylin et al. (2008)
CONTACT Opeyemi Oyeyipo oyeyipoo@gmail.com
ß 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT
https://doi.org/10.1080/15623599.2020.1829784
corroborated that delivering higher quality of services by any
organization will result into increased customer satisfaction.
Measuring service quality of important construction consultants
such as MEP consultants is essential for successful project deliv-
ery in the construction sector. Limited literatures have assessed
the service quality of building service engineers in building pro-
ject delivery. For instance, Dosumu and Aigbavboa (2019) exam-
ined client’s perception of service quality of construction
consultants in delivery of construction projects. In the same
vein, while Tan (2012) examined the architect’s perception of the
consulting engineer’s service quality in building project delivery,
Chow and Ng (2003) carried out performance-based evaluations
for engineering consultants in construction project delivery.
Therefore, it could be inferred that studies regarding service
quality of building services consultants (BSC) in building project
delivery is sparse. Hence, the study aims to examine client’s
assessment of service quality of BSC in building project delivery
with the view to improving clients’ satisfaction in building pro-
ject delivery. To achieve the aim, the study sets out to pursue
the following research questions: (a) what are the perceptions
and expectations of clients on the service quality of building
services consultants in building project delivery? (b) what is the
gap in service quality of building services consultants in building
project delivery?
Outcome of this research provided a detailed understanding
of the need to bridge the lacuna between the expectation and
perception of clients concerning service delivery of building serv-
ices consultants in project delivery. The study provides insights
into the level of satisfaction of client about consultants mechan-
ical and electrical engineers in building project delivery and the
efforts required in closing the gap between expected and
observed performance from the client during project execution.
Literature review
Building service engineering consultants in building
project delivery
Generally, consultant engineers are specialists who have been
well trained and are professionally engaged in any field of engin-
eering. Amongst others, these fields include civil, mechanical,
electrical, electronic and petroleum. These professionals function
in a diverse range of construction projects, from consulting firms
to research corporations. For example, some of the functions of
engineers include but not limited to research and development,
teaching, designing, manufacturing and construction, testing and
consulting (Kemper 1990).
In the construction industry, building services engineers are
also referred to as mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineers.
Tan (2012) explained that services engineers are also responsible
for the design of air conditioning, heating ventilation and
plumbing systems. Fire protection engineers are however mostly
engaged independently. Electrical engineers are those in charge
for the distribution of power, fire alarm, lighting systems, tele-
communication and lightning protection within the build-
ing envelope.
In building projects, it is important to place great emphasis
on previous performance(s) when selecting or appointing serv-
ices engineering consultants for building projects (Chow and Ng
2003). This is because quality service is one of the major indica-
tors to ascertain the competency of BSC in finishing a building
project satisfactorily. According to Ullman (2001) and
Christodoulou et al. (2004), the breakdown or failures of some
construction projects are attributed to design error, deficient
technical solution as well as poorly administered contract offered
by services consultants. In this regard, Hattan and Lalani (1997)
stressed that the intricacies of construction projects in terms of
technical and contractual basis, calls for the engagement of cap-
able consultant engineers to protect the interests and rights of
clients. Gyadu-Asiedu (2009) posited that the construction indus-
try in developing countries, at different levels of socio-economic
development have realized the importance of the industry which
has necessitated taking strategic measures to enhance project per-
formance. One of the ways to achieve this is for consultants to
guarantee efficiency in the execution of construction projects.
Service quality and customer satisfaction: the Nexus
A customer could also be referred to as a client in the construc-
tion sector. Studies have shown that, the terms customer, end-
user and client can be used synonymously due to closeness in
their definitions (Othman 2015). The concept of customer satis-
faction originated in the early 1980s in United States. Customer
satisfaction has been an important subject in behavioural studies
and has been defined differently across various disciplines. The
meaning of customer satisfaction is referred to as being theoret-
ical which differs from one industry to another (Oluwatayo et al.
2014). While Aga and Safakli (2007) defined satisfaction as the
response of client as to whether a service or project is yielding
desirable level of usefulness, Dosumu and Aigbavboa (2019)
measured satisfaction by weighing the difference of expected ser-
vice/outcome from actual service rendered. Nunkoo et al. (2019)
described customer satisfaction as the degree of the disparity
between clients’ belief about a product or service and their
assessment of such product or service after completion. These
definitions indicate that clients are satisfied when a desire is ful-
filled although satisfying some clients might be difficult. The
complicated characteristics of human perception and behaviour
have therefore made the concept of customer satisfaction an
interesting research area in many industries (Tahanisaz and
Shokuhyar 2020).
Client’s satisfaction is premised on the performance of the
service quality of construction consultants, especially when the
expectations of clients are achieved (Dosumu and Aigbavboa
2019). Consulting firms that consistently satisfy their clients are
likely to enjoy greater profitability at all times. It is pertinent to
note that the necessity for service quality consideration is very
essential because organizations and construction consultants
depend on it for survival and profitability. The delivery of pro-
fessional service and reputation of service providers have been
found to influence client satisfaction (Oluwatayo et al. 2014).
Ingle and Mahesh (2020) noted that the construction project suc-
cess evaluation has been developed to include non-financial per-
formance aspects like customer relation, employee motivation
and stakeholder satisfaction so as to effectively manage construc-
tion projects. Thus, there is the need to always ensure that cli-
ents are satisfied by establishing and bridging the gap between
their expectation and perceptions.
Service can be referred to as an activity rendered by an indi-
vidual or organization in order to satisfy a client. As noted by
Olanrewaju (2016), service users can be dissatisfied or satisfied
based on the services received (i.e. whether the service met the
assessment of the services or not). Service differs from service
quality. The latter has been conceptualized as one of the con-
structs in service delivery, which measures a critical gap between
clients’ expectations and observations (Forsythe 2015
). Roy et al.
2 O. OYEYIPO ET AL.
(2019) described service quality as customer’s general opinion
about the quality of the service, and that conceptualization of the
service quality is in both tangible and easily measurable quality
(e.g. defection rate) and intangible aspects (e.g. heterogeneity
among service providers). Dosumu and Aigbavboa (2019) noted
that improved service quality as delivered by primary project
team members plays a significant role in enhancing client’s value
and achieving construction projects success.
Satisfaction of client is closely related to the construct of ser-
vice quality amidst the theoretical underpinning in the expect-
ancy-disconfirmation theory (Nunkoo et al. 2019). The service
quality assessment of any service is considered a herculean task;
therefore, the providers of a service should be proactive in man-
aging those aspects by which a service is assessed (Viadiu et al.
2002). The assessment of service quality is an important indica-
tor of client’s satisfaction in several industries (Oluwatayo et al.
2014; Nunkoo et al. 2019; Govender et al. 2019). Dosumu and
Aigbavboa (2019) stated that consulting firms should prioritize
the provision of top-notch services during the discharge of the
duties. Love et al. (2000) outlined three dimensions of service
quality including (i) Hygiene factors (the expectations of client
and if not discharged will result to client’s dissatisfaction); (ii)
Pleasing factors (the delivery of such actions which ensures client
satisfaction while the non-delivery of such which necessarily
does not cause disappointment); and (iii) Dual threshold factors
(the delivery of such actions above the requisite standard guaran-
tees client’s satisfaction while it’s delivery below the standard will
certainly cause dissection).
It is reported that the service delivery of consultants in the
construction project delivery fall below the expectations of client
in the discharge of their services with varying degree in different
part of the world. In UK, Cox and Thompson (1997) stated that
the inefficiency in construction project services have been associ-
ated partly with construction consultants among others. This
assertion has resulted into the failure to meet the needs of the
clients/users of such projects. However, Ng (2005) indicated that
while the quality of service of construction consultants was
within the acceptable range, it was revealed that some project-
related aspects of the construction deliverable turned in as less
satisfactory by clients. The service quality of construction consul-
tants in Nigeria is haphazard and which is complicated with
their poor disposition to innovative changes which will improve
client’s satisfaction (Usman et al. 2012). It is imperative that
building services consultants should brace up to close the service
quality gap in order to achieve client’s objectives and ultimately
improve satisfaction of the users and the clients of such con-
struction products.
Service quality measurement
Service quality is ascertained by measuring the concept against
the customer expectations. There is often a propensity to focus
on the present and past instead of focussing on the future when
measuring service quality (Love et al. 2000 ). This gives room for
service quality enhancement. Different scholars have designed
different methods for service quality measurement. For instance,
Parasuraman et al. (1988) established a quality gap model known
as SERVQUAL for the determination of service quality gap. The
model describes service quality as the differences between the cli-
ent’s expectation and actual observation of the actual service
delivered (Love et al. 2000; Olanrewaju 2016; Tahanisaz and
Shokuhyar 2020). This quality gap is also influenced by other
gaps, for example, differences between: (i) Service quality
specifications and observed service (ii) Observed service and
external communications about the service (iii) project team
leader’s observations of end user
’s expectations and service
quality specifications and (iv) Project manager’s perceptions
of client’s expectations and end user’s actual expectations
(Parasuraman et al. 1988). The quality gap model is a concept
with multi-dimensional impact that comprises of five dimensions
to include tangibility, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and
empathy (Forsythe 2015; Roy et al. 2019; Nunkoo et al. 2019).
The SERVQUAL programme is an approach designed for the
assessment of the service quality of decision making units
(Nojavan et al. 2020). Service quality is best measured with
SERVQUAL model (Dosumu and Aigbavboa 2019 ) and is most
widely used survey instrument for the measurement of service
quality (Love et al. 2000; Tahanisaz and Shokuhyar 2020).
Several researchers have criticized the significance of measur-
ing the service quality perceptions and the validity of the opera-
tionalization and dimensions of the SERVQUAL model (Forsythe
2015). According to Forsythe (2015), SERVQUAL model has been
long in use particularly for the psychometric advantages it offers
over and above other models despite the criticism. Many research-
ers have replicated SERVQUAL model and some recommended
that the model be modified to suit each particular service setting
(Hoxley 2000). Sallehan et al. (2012) noted that it has been modi-
fied and adapted in several studies to suit construction industry.
Based on this, the current research adapts the SERVQUAL
method to appraise the performance of building services engi-
neers/consultants in building project delivery.
Research method
The study is aimed at assessing clients’ perception of the service
quality of building services consultants in building project deliv-
ery in Lagos, Nigeria. The research carried out was an organiza-
tion-based study to assess the expectation and perception of the
service quality of building service consultants in the execution of
building projects within the study area. Lagos state was selected
because of the presence of client organizations, property develop-
ers and corporate organizations with head office/operating office
within its metropolis. Survey research design was selected to
aptly describe the client’s perception of service quality of this set
of construction consultants. Secondly, the survey research design
was selected because majority of service quality studies adopted
this type of research design.
Several studies were reviewed to identify service quality con-
structs adopted for this study and most notably to establish the
research gap(s). The review of literature revealed the constructs
used in the questionnaire instrument, while a pilot study was
carried out for construct and content validation. The research
instrument and objectives of the study were first made available
to five top experienced construction professionals working in cli-
ent organizations, property development companies and corpor-
ate organisations which formed the responding organizations.
Similarly, the research instrument was made available to aca-
demic scholars at the cadre of professor of construction manage-
ment in University of Lagos; one of the foremost University
offering construction management and construction commercial
management courses in the country. The highlighted corrections
were incorporated into the survey instrument before they were
administered to the intended target organizations.
The target population for the study are client and/or client
representatives involved in the construction process of building
projects within the study area. In the study of Idoro (2009), the
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT 3
list of clients of recently completed projects was compiled. A
total of two hundred and two clients were used for the study
which formed the basis for the sample frame for this study. The
inability of the present study to obtain an updated and compre-
hensive list of clients in the country as at the time of carrying
out this study necessitated the use of the list. The study imple-
mented a probability sampling method i.e. random sampling
technique. The technique was used because it gave the entire
sample frame equal probability of being selected in the study.
The sample size which depicts the representative of the popula-
tion was established using Kish equation (1965) cited in Dosumu
and Aigbavboa (2019):
n ¼ n
0
=½1 þðn
0
=NÞ (1)
where N total population, n sample size from known population,
n
0
sample size from immeasurable population S
2
/e
2
; where S
2
variance of the population elements, and e standard error of
sampling population (where S ¼ 0.5 and e ¼ 0.06). Thus, for a
sample frame of 232 clients’ organizations: n ¼ 53.
The sample size of 53 respondents obtained in the equation
above stipulates the minimum number expected from the popu-
lation of 232 clients’ organizations. However, in this present
study, 145 copies of the survey instruments were administered to
the target participants. Out of the copies administered, 121 cop-
ies of the instrument were retrieved from clients; representing a
response rate of 83%.
For achieving objectives of the study, the study adapted the
22 service quality variables as used by Parasuraman et al. (1988)
in similar study. There are five major service quality dimensions:
tangibles (TA), reliability (RL), responsiveness (RN), assurance
(AS) and empathy (EN). Each has four variables, five variables,
four variables, four variables and five variables respectively. The
research instrument used was divided into four parts (Sections
A–D). For this study, Sections A–C were used to elicit data from
the respondents. Section A retrieved demographic information of
the respondents and responding client organizations. Sections B
and C of the survey instrument were used to collect information
about the expectation and perception of client on service quality
of service engineering consultants in building project delivery
respectively. As stated above, the assessment comprises the
expectation and observation scale. While the expectation scale
denotes the client’s view of an excellent service before services
are rendered, the observation scale describes the perception of
the rendered service. Hence, the survey instrument was used to
elicit data regarding the expectation and actual perception using
a 7-point scale where 1 –‘very strongly disagree’ and 7 –‘very
strongly agree’ (Table 1).
Cronbach alpha test was used to test the reliability of the
responses of the drivers and inhibitors to ERM implementation
of contractors. After the test, the Cronbach value of all variables
used for the study was 0.878 which is greater than 0.70, the min-
imum value of acceptability as presented by Pallant (2010). All
the variables in the research instrument were subjected to an
inter-item correlation matrix and the values was positive. This
confirms that variables in the survey instruments have the same
underlying characteristics. The mean inter-item correlation of
0.685 for the study is within the allowable range of 0.48–0.76 as
highlighted by Chen and Mathies (2016). This correlation matrix
value confirms that there is a strong association among the vari-
ables used in the study research instrument.
The study adopted frequency distribution, mean score and
SERVQUAL to analyze the collected data in a bid to provide
answers to the highlighted research questions. The following
steps are used for calculating the SERVQUAL Score:
Step 1: The score for 22 adapted expectation and perception
items for the study is obtained. Thereafter, the difference
between expectation and observed score is calculated to obtain
the gap score.
Step 2: The gap score for each item in a major dimension is
added together and then divided by the number of responses in
the dimension; resulting to the average gap score for the dimen-
sion. This is done for each of the five service quality dimensions.
Step 3: The average gap score comprising all dimensions
(measure of service quality) is obtained by adding the individual
dimension gap score and dividing by 5.
Results and discussions
This section presents the discussion on the analysis of the col-
lected data for the study. The section provided the basis for
inference, conclusion and the practical implications. The section
provides information on three sub-heading; information on
respondent, expectation and observation of service quality of
building services consultants and service quality gap.
Table 2 revealed the frequency distribution of respondents;
information that participated in the survey. Quantity surveyors
constitute the highest proportion (27%) of the professionals
within the client organizations that participated in the survey.
Civil engineers accounted for 20% of the total population; while
other professionals like project managers, builders, estate sur-
veyors/valuers in the built industry were 4% of the total respond-
ents. Table 2 revealed that about 97% of the total population
received formal education, which positions them to provide reli-
able information about the assessment of service quality of build-
ing service engineer within the built environment. Sixty-three
per cent of the total population are known to have work experi-
ence of 11 years and above, which infers that the sample selected
for the study are suitably informed to assess service quality of
building service consultants in the construction process.
Clients’ expectation and perception of service quality of
building services engineering consultants
Presented in this section is the first objective of the study which
is to examine the expectation and perception of clients on the
service quality of building service engineers in the building pro-
ject delivery. To achieve this objective, 22 variables associated
with measuring service quality identified from literature were
selected and used in the research instrument. The twenty two
variables were classified into five dimensions namely; tangible
(TA), reliability (RL), responsiveness (RN), assurance (AS) and
empathy (EM). Five variables were classified under tangible and
empathy, while four variables were classified each under respon-
siveness, reliability and assurance. Expectation and perception of
the client on the service quality of building service consultants in
building project delivery was measured on a 7-point Likert scale.
The least number indicate low expectation or low perception while
the higher number indicates high expectation or high perception
in terms of service quality of building service consultants.
The items with high expectation scores were BSC should have
up-to date software (TA1 ¼ 5.97) in the discharge of their
duties, the ability of BSC to carry out their tasks as promised
(RL1 ¼ 6.22), BSC should show genuine interest in solving issues
and concerns during the construction process (RL1 ¼ 6.22), BSC
should make information easily accessible by clients and other
4 O. OYEYIPO ET AL.