Impacts of anti-corruption barriers on the efficacy of anti-corruption measures in infrastructure projects: implications for sustainable development

This study investigates the correlational impacts of two key constructs associated with corruption in construction and infrastructure-related projects: 1) the effectiveness of extant anti-corruption measures (ACMs) in project planning, procurement and management; and 2) the barriers that hinder the effectiveness of the ACMs. Typically, the study examines the correlational impacts of within developing countries, using Ghana as its immediate context of research. A survey was conducted with 62 professionals involved in project procurement and management. Twenty-four relational iterations were established and examined among the identified constructs (i.e., four barriers and six ACM constructs), forming the study's hypotheses. The results showed that the lack of knowledge and understanding of one's right in a contractual environment and political barriers were the most critical variable and construct, respectively. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) results revealed that seven out of the twenty-four statistical relationships tested were significant. Primarily, the socio-political barriers' construct, as the most critical one, revealed to have strong impacts on administrative, compliance, and promotional anti-corruption measures. The findings justify why most projects in developing countries are plagued with political corruption that leads to cost and time overruns. Theoretically, this study contributes to the body of knowledge on approaches for dealing with corruption in construction and infrastructure-related projects, an unexplored topic. Practically, it can inform relevant stakeholders of projects, policymakers, and anti-corruption advocates, of the significant barriers that obstruct the effectiveness of anti-corruption measures and the means to extirpate them.