Integrated Project Delivery: New Zealand’s Comprehensive Factor Interaction Framework

Abstract

Integrated project delivery (IPD), as the practical manifestation of lean construction principles, integrates people, systems, and business structures into a collaborative process that harnesses the collective skills of all participants. This approach enhances sustainability by reducing waste and advancing alignment with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The purpose of this study is to develop a practical framework that elucidates the interacting factors influencing IPD implementation within New Zealand’s (NZ) construction industry, offering transferable insights for other countries with comparable demographics. A systematic literature review of 66 articles identified 127 factors affecting IPD adoption. Deductive reasoning informed the development of open-ended questions for semi-structured interviews with 18 experts, yielding 142 factor interactions. These findings were triangulated with 137 survey responses for validation. Statistical analysis using t-tests confirmed 88 significant interactions (based on p-values), which were ranked via the Relative Importance Index (RII), visualised using Vensim software, and analysed through centrality techniques to construct a comprehensive IPD interaction framework. This study represents the first comprehensive investigation of IPD factor interactions in the NZ construction sector. The resulting framework provides researchers and practitioners with deeper insights into these dynamics to overcome barriers and promote wider IPD adoption for sustainable construction outcomes.