Reconstructing Cultures for Relational Contracting

Although previous research has pointed to potential performance gains through relational contracting (RC), reservations remain as to its value and viability. Even those who wish to use RC need guidelines for introducing it, especially where it clashes with prevalent project cultures. A study was launched from Hong Kong to identify the critical factors which promote RC and team building in the context of specific cultures. This paper consolidates the perceptions of 60 respondents to a questionnaire survey in Singapore, in relation to the hypothesized 24 factors facilitating RC, and 28 factors impeding/deterring RC. It indicates the evident readiness of the Singaporean contracting industry to embrace collaborative working practices. On the whole: (1) all the 24 factors facilitating RC, and 23 of the 28 factors deterring RC, are significant; (2) these two sets of factors could be represented by six and seven “broad factors,” respectively; and (3) except in a few cases, respondents from large and medium compa...

[1]  Mohan M. Kumaraswamy,et al.  Constructing Relationally Integrated Teams , 2005 .

[2]  Frederick D. Lazar,et al.  PARTNERING--NEW BENEFITS FROM PEERING INSIDE THE BLACK BOX , 1997 .

[3]  Helen Lingard,et al.  The impact of contractor selection method on transaction costs: a review , 1998 .

[4]  Mohammed Fadhil Dulaimi,et al.  The factors influencing bid mark-up decisions of large- and medium-size contractors in Singapore , 2002 .

[5]  M. Bresnen,et al.  Motivation, commitment and the use of incentives in partnerships and alliances , 2000 .

[6]  Gernot Grabher.  The embedded firm : on the socioeconomics of industrial networks , 1995 .

[7]  Jae-On Kim,et al.  Factor Analysis: Statistical Methods and Practical Issues , 1978 .

[8]  W. Dugger.  The Economic Institutions of Capitalism , 1987 .

[9]  Albert P.C. Chan,et al.  Exploring Critical Success Factors for Partnering in Construction Projects , 2004 .

[10]  R. Kanter.  Becoming PALs: Pooling, Allying, and Linking Across Companies , 1989 .

[11]  Peter E.D. Love,et al.  Partnering research in construction , 2000 .

[12]  Panos Y. Papalambros,et al.  Structural reanalysis for topological modifications – a unified approach , 2001 .

[13]  Mm Kumaraswamy,et al.  Re-Engineering Construction Project Teams , 2003 .

[14]  Stewart Macaulay.  Non-contractual relations in business: a preliminary study , 1963 .

[15]  Frank Harris and Ronald McCaffer.  Modern Construction Management , 1977 .

[16]  Steve R. Sanders,et al.  PEER-REVIEWED PAPER:Partnering Continuum , 1998 .

[17]  W. Hughes,et al.  Construction contract policy: do we mean what we say? , 2002 .

[18]  Debra L. Shapiro,et al.  Betrayal of Trust in Organizations , 1998 .

[19]  Mohan M. Kumaraswamy,et al.  Strategies for triggering the required ‘Cultural Revolution’ in the construction industry , 2002 .

[20]  David Levine,et al.  Application of a hybrid genetic algorithm to airline crew scheduling , 1996, Comput. Oper. Res..

[21]  Md. Motiar. Rahman,et al.  Revitalising construction project procurement through joint risk management , 2003 .

[22]  Akintola Akintoye,et al.  An analysis of success factors and benefits of partnering in construction , 2000 .

[23]  M. Cascio,et al.  Conformation of alamethicin in phospholipid vesicles: Implications for insertion models , 1988, Proteins.

[24]  G. D. Holt,et al.  The learning organisation: toward a paradigm for mutually beneficial strategic construction alliances , 2000 .

[25]  Heng Li,et al.  Development of a conceptual model of construction partnering , 2001 .

[26]  B. Williams.  The new social contract , 1967 .

[27]  R. Coase,et al.  The Firm, the Market, and the Law , 1990 .

[28]  Anthony Walker,et al.  The relationship between construction project management theory and transaction cost economics , 1999 .

[29]  Steve R. Sanders,et al.  PARTNERING PROCESS MODEL , 1997 .

[30]  Sai On Cheung,et al.  Behavioral aspects in construction partnering , 2003 .

[31]  Albert P.C. Chan,et al.  An empirical study of the benefits of construction partnering in Hong Kong , 2003 .

[32]  Anthony Walker,et al.  Project Management in Construction , 1984 .

[33]  M. Kumaraswamy,et al.  Joint risk management through transactionally efficient relational contracting , 2002 .

[34]  J. Robinson.  Some new distortion measures for quadrilaterals , 1987 .

[35]  Francis L. Jeffries,et al.  Trust and Adaptation in Relational Contracting , 2000 .

[36]  Christopher M. Gordon,et al.  Choosing Appropriate Construction Contracting Method , 1994 .

[37]  Mohan M. Kumaraswamy,et al.  Contracting Relationship Trends and Transitions , 2004 .