Factors influencing building maintenance sourcing decision in Nigeria Southwest Universities

Appropriate decision making on either to insource or outsource maintenance services in universities is a strategic task. Such a decision-making process is usually complex and challenging. In the sourcing of maintenance services, different sourcing option suits different maintenance scenarios, hence the need to study the factors influencing decision to insource or outsource maintenance services in universities. Through a cross-sectional survey, data were collected from 112 respondents. The relative influence index and ANOVA test were employed as statistical tools for the descriptive and inferential data analysis respectively. The results show that the development of in-house maintenance staff, technological requirements uncertainty, and the difficulty in getting trustworthy contractors are factors influencing maintenance insourcing, while the need for specialized expertise, strategic alliance with contractors, and the need for specialized management influence maintenance outsourcing. The study concludes that management factors influence insourcing decisions while outsourcing decision are influenced by strategic and technological factors.