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Analyzing the mediating effect of economic performance on the relationship between green construction practices and health and safety performance in Nigeria

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Abstract

The adoption of green construction practices (GCP) has been on the increase in recent years as a means of reducing the negative effects of construction on the natural environment. However, GCP have been discovered to expose the construction workers to numerous health and safety (HS) risks, resulting from a decline in safety investment due to the economic burden associated with its adoption. This study explores the means through which GCP influence the HS performance of construction projects through economic performance. To obtain the views of contractors, a survey questionnaire was developed, and data was collected from project managers and site managers of “class A” contractors, with a response rate of 81.55%. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was adopted to analyze the data. The results show that the effect of GCP on HS performance is fully mediated by economic performance. The study concludes that for projects that adopt GCP to have high levels of HS performance, they are required to have an optimal economic performance. Efforts should be intensified by the government in providing subsidies, tax waivers, and other incentives for adopters of GCP to ensure the economic performance of their projects since it guarantees high HS performance.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Housing, Building and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800, Penang, Malaysia

    Hilary Omatule Onubi, Nor’Aini Yusof, Ahmad Sanusi Hassan & Ali Ahmed Salem Bahdad

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  1. Hilary Omatule Onubi
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  2. Nor’Aini Yusof
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  3. Ahmad Sanusi Hassan
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  4. Ali Ahmed Salem Bahdad
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by HOO, NY, ASH, and AASB. The first draft of the manuscript was written by HOO, and all authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hilary Omatule Onubi.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study involved human participants. Ethics approval was granted by the Ethics Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects, Universiti Sains Malaysia (JEPeM-USM), with study protocol code USM/JEPeM/18090438 on 9 May 2019.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Onubi, H.O., Yusof, N., Hassan, A.S. et al. Analyzing the mediating effect of economic performance on the relationship between green construction practices and health and safety performance in Nigeria. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 36598–36610 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13334-6

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