Effective Cost Management Practices for Enabling Sustainable Success Rate of Emerging Contractors in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Purpose: The paper investigated the cost management practices adopted by emerging contractors to ensure long-term success in the South African construction industry. Design/Methodology/Approach: The data was collected using survey questionnaires, and the data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used for the data analysis. The Cronbach’s Alpha test was also used to assess the constructs’ internal consistency. Findings: The findings revealed the following factors as most crucial for emerging contractors, effective cost control during the project delivery, managing cost through work production, subcontracting work to transfer financial responsibility, training employees on how to effectively manage the cost of project and effective administration of variation and contract instruction. Implications/Research Limitations: Given the fact that the study is limited to the Eastern Cape Province, further studies may be conducted across the remaining eight provinces of South Africa to establish whether similar findings would emerge. Practical Implications: In effect, effective cost management practices could help emerging contractors’ sustainability and may subsequently have a positive impact on construction project delivery. Originality/Value: The success rate of emerging contractors in developing nations in terms of project delivery has been significantly declining due to ineffective cost management strategies. The findings from this study contributes to the body of knowledge towards enhancing emerging contractors’ sustainability through effective cost management practices.