Assessing contract management as a strategic tool for achieving quality of work in Ghanaian construction industry A case study of FPMU and MMDAs Emmanuel Coleman, Isaac Kwesi Nooni, Samuel Korenteng Fianko, Linka Dadzie, Ebenezer Nickson Neequaye, Jasmine Owusu-Agyemang and Edna Obuo Ansa-Asare (Author affiliations can be found at the end of the article) Abstract Purpose – This study aims to investigate the attainment of quality in Government of Ghana’s (GoG) infrastructural projects through effective contract management and especially, relating to qualification, competence and experience of supply chain stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire and field observations were used to collect primary data from staff of the education ministry and construction professionals. Documentary analyses of contract documents were also undertaken. Findings – The results show that executing agencies’ failure to apply appropriate contract management processes was linked to the gap between stakeholders’ knowledge and actual practice. This was confirmed by Spearman’s rho tests of correlation between overall mean ranks given by professionals and non-professionals, which indicated strong agreement between those groups. Factors such as contractors’ engagement of unqualified supervisory staff, lack of proper projects monitoring and evaluation by executing agencies mainly contribute to the poor quality of work. Research limitations/implications – Investigations were limited to the Funds and Procurement Management Unit of the Ministry of Education, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and local contractors. Nonetheless, the methodology used could be used in future studies to analyse the socio-economic implications on the quality of education infrastructure. Practical implications – Construction is booming in Ghana but the capacity to improve the work quality through effective contract management is limited. However, with the effort of stakeholder and statutory bodies’ support in capacity building initiatives, GoG projects could offer some novel solutions to improve quality of work. Social implications – Construction industry professionals and students’ knowledge and perception on construction industry and contract management is significantly improved. Originality/value – This study provides information on respondents’ knowledge on contract management process, which, if not properly understood, can lead to poor quality of work and loss of money. Keywords Bid for public work, Building contractors, Building evaluation, Building/construction economics, Contract management, Higher education, Construction industry, Government of Ghana Paper type Research paper The authors wish to thank Dr. Yaw Djirackor of Marshalls University College and Mr. Antony Asare- Bediako for their valuable insights and proofreading of this work. Assessing contract management 41 Received 27 August 2018 Revised 3 June 2019 9 September 2019 23 September 2019 Accepted 30 September 2019 Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction Vol. 25 No. 1, 2020 pp. 41-60 © Emerald Publishing Limited 1366-4387 DOI 10.1108/JFMPC-08-2018-0046 The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at: https://www.emerald.com/insight/1366-4387.htm