The nexus between risk profile and project performance: Evidence from the real estate sector in Tanzania

Abstract

Studies on the risk and project management in real estate research largely identify various forms of risk factors; the question of how these risks ultimately affect the performance of real estate projects has remained under-researched. Thus, this study examines the inter linkages of risk profile in terms of risk likelihood of occurrence (RLO), risk severity of impact (RSI) and risk controllability (RC) on real estate project performance (REPP). Data were collected from a sample of 144 developers from 18 real estate companies in Tanzania. It was found that identified risks have different levels of RLO, RSI, and RC. While market, financial, and environmental risks have higher RLO and RSI, technical risks, design risks, and managerial risks have higher RC. Furthermore, the results show that REPP is negatively influenced by RLO and RSI but positively influenced by RC. The study contributes to, and extends scholarly literature on risk and project management in real estate and sheds light on practitioners, particularly on the need to prioritize risks remedies, considering their frequency of occurrence. The paper concludes with avenues for further research. Research has identified various forms of risk factors, but the question of how these risks ultimately affect the performance of real estate projects has remained under-researched. This study stands as the first of its kind to analyse the nexus between risk profile and REPP.