Critical success factors for managing construction small and medium-sized enterprises in developing countries of Middle East: Evidence from Iranian construction enterprises

The study aims to study the critical success factors (CSFs) for managing construction small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the developing countries of the Middle East. The statistical population included active experts in the field of construction in the study area. The sample size was determined using the Cochrane formula, and purposive and convenience sampling was used to select 118 participants as the primary sample. The questionnaire used in this study was based on 63 CSFs items derived from the extant literature, which were categorised into eight CSFs categories. The findings indicated that the mean rank score of the CSFs for managing construction SMEs for the CSFs categories and each CSFs item ranged between medium and high, and all CSFs items and areas can be considered significant CSFs for managing construction SMEs in developing countries of the Middle East. Furthermore, in the ranking of the CSFs categories, technology with an average (MS) of 6.38 was rated the most significant CSFs category, followed by human resource management aspect (MS = 5.48), dynamic capabilities (MS = 5.30), and organisational management (MS = 4.76). It is expected that the study findings and recommendations would significantly contribute to improving project success and efficiency of construction SMEs in developing countries while deepening stakeholders’ awareness of critical variables for prioritisation in order to remain competitive in the construction industry.