Key Factors of Project Characteristics Affecting Project Delivery System Decision Making in the Chinese Construction Industry: Case Study Using Chinese Data Based on Rough Set Theory

A project delivery system (PDS), as one of the crucial factors of project success, not only influences innovation in the construction industry but also strongly affects project schedules, costs, and quality. Traditionally, decision making concerning PDSs have often been made by owners or other decision makers on the basis of these individuals' experiences, which often fail to reflect the inherent laws and dependencies among various factors and different PDSs. Recent studies on PDS selection have primarily focused on owners' characteristics, project characteristics, and external environment. This study was first conducted exclusively on the project characteristics as the continuation of research on owners' and contractors' characteristics. First, 16 project characteristic factors affecting the PDS selection were described through a literature review. Next, project characteristics data from 101 domestic projects were collected using a questionnaire survey to determine the key factors that affect the PDS selection through rough set modeling. Project scale, project complexity, project type, flexibility, scope definition, and disputes were determined to be the six key factors affecting the decision making concerning the PDS, and the results can provide support for owners in selecting the appropriate PDS while also enriching the research methods in the field of PDSs.