Influence of System Behavior on Success of Public Infrastructural Megaprojects in Kenya

The main objective of this study was to investigate the influence of system behavior on the success of public infrastructural megaprojects in Kenya. The need for this study arose from the thesis that complexity is the main cause of waste and failure that results in infrastructural megaprojects being delivered over budget, behind schedule, with benefit shortfalls, over and over again; and that system behavior is a key cause of this complexity. The study was designed as quantitative research, based on virtual constructionist ontology. A cross-sectional census survey of completed public infrastructural megaprojects was conducted using two interlinked questionnaires. Data analysis was conducted using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that system behavior had a significant negative influence on the success of public infrastructural megaprojects. System dynamics arising from the interaction of connectedness and dependency influenced success in such a way that the relative variability in cost and schedule performance was lower in cases where project components were pre-fabricated, pre-assembled and tested offsite; and projects in which materials were only brought on site when the site was ready to receive them recorded superior performance in both cost and schedule. As such, this study recommends that the design of these projects should provide for a delivery model in which project components are pre-fabricated, pre-assembled and tested offsite before their actual use on the project. It is also recommended that procurement practices for these projects be streamlined to allow for Just-In-Time (JIT) procurement