Exploring human resource incentivisation for public sector construction project delivery in Scotland

The construction industry is largely accepted to be significantly human resource dependent. This assertion justifies the importance attached to the motivational wellbeing of human resources. This importance is evidenced in the engagement of human resources, for the achievement of project goals, with incentives and rewards. These arguments emphasise the influence held within human behaviours towards either successful delivery or failure of construction projects. This research aims to critically evaluate the types and prevalence of incentive schemes implemented towards the successful delivery of public sector construction projects. This research seeks to answer the question: how do workforce incentive schemes operate when administered to aid construction project delivery? A critical literature review provided 5 categories of incentives; financial, non-financial, intrinsic, extrinsic and disincentives. This review justified the need for further understanding on human resource incentivisation. This revelation aided the adoption of a qualitative phenomenological approach to analyse the experiences of 9 purposive sampled professionals in public construction projects in Scotland. The thematic analysis generated 4 initial themes, namely; incentives as corruption, financial dominance, the need to move beyond financial incentives and management hierarchical tensions. This research recognises the need for approaches drawn from experiential attributes of engaged human resources within construction projects.