Abstract:
Incentives are mechanisms used to create genuine opportunity for contracting parties to
work together to achieve good results, rational returns and bear appropriate risks. The question of how
to motivate the construction workforce rightly so as to achieve best performance has remained
paramount to project owners. This paper investigates on how to model for incentive payoffs in the
Nigerian construction industry in order to effectively utilise the benefits of incentive mechanisms. The
collected data are analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, such as frequency counts, charts
and principal component analysis. The findings reveal the metrics for measuring organisational
incentive payoff and the scaling factor for each metric. The study further develops the employee
incentive payoff models for both operational workers and management staff in the construction sector.
This study provides a practical solution to the application of incentive mechanisms in construction
projects. The paper recommends the need for restructuring of incentive mechanisms to significantly
impact on other performance criteria therefore contributing to best performance in project delivery.
