Necessary condition analysis of factors responsible for corruption in tendering and bidding within China construction industry

Tendering and bidding in construction projects represents a critical juncture where corruption, a persistent threat to the industry, frequently emerges due to conflicting vested interests. Existing research on bidding corruption has predominantly relied on sufficiency-based logic, examining factors that increase the likelihood of corrupt practices while largely overlooking the necessity-based logic that governs their occurrence. In practice, while the presence of a single factor is rarely sufficient to guarantee corruption, the absence of a necessary condition (NC) can fundamentally prevent it. This study employs NC analysis (NCA) to identify antecedent conditions that are necessary for corruption and to pinpoint key ‘bottleneck’ conditions that constrain outcomes. Drawing on the ‘Fraud Triangle’ theory, nine factors are classified into pressure, opportunity and rationalization. Analyzing provincial-level data from China, five variables–marketization level, regional transaction scale, informatization level, social trust deficit and educational level–emerge as NCs associated with corruption. Furthermore, NCA reveals critical thresholds that must be met for higher corruption levels. These findings guide construction sector governance. By prioritizing NCs rather than all factors, policymakers can allocate resources efficiently and implement targeted interventions. Provincial governments can focus on locally relevant NCs to improve sustainability in public construction procurement governance.