Measuring Constructs of Relational Contracting in Construction Projects: The Owner’s Perspective

AbstractTraditional project design and construction delivery is segmental. Researchers and practitioners often cite the separation, or “silo effect,” as a reason for poor project outcomes. In response, new forms of integrated contracts have emerged, fostering more collaborative efforts and a focus on successful project outcomes, instead of individual organizational outcomes. Relational contract theory provides a basis for understanding these new integrated forms of agreement through a set of relational contracting norms. This study operationalizes the relational contracting norms designed to measure project integration. The norms and their dimensions were developed through a rigorous construct mapping methodology and then tested, analyzed, and validated with a survey of owners and owners’ representatives from 314 completed projects using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. The study validates the measures and demonstrates the potential that the measures have to illuminate the nature of relationa...

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

[2]  Joseph P. Cannon,et al.  Contracts, norms, and plural form governance , 2000 .

[3]  P. Bentler,et al.  Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis : Conventional criteria versus new alternatives , 1999 .

[4]  Pertti Lahdenperä,et al.  Making sense of the multi-party contractual arrangements of project partnering, project alliancing and integrated project delivery , 2012 .

[5]  A. Akintoye,et al.  Collaborative relationships in construction: the UK contractors' perception , 2007 .

[6]  Mohan M. Kumaraswamy,et al.  Potential for Implementing Relational Contracting and Joint Risk Management , 2004 .

[7]  Suzanne Wilkinson,et al.  Establishment of Quantitative Measures for Team Integration Assessment in Alliance Projects , 2015 .

[8]  O. Williamson.  Transaction-Cost Economics: The Governance of Contractual Relations , 1979, The Journal of Law and Economics.

[9]  Scott B. MacKenzie,et al.  Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. , 2003, The Journal of applied psychology.

[10]  Suzanne Wilkinson,et al.  A fuzzy approach to developing scales for performance levels of alliance team integration assessment , 2015 .

[11]  Sai On Cheung,et al.  How relational are construction contracts , 2006 .

[12]  Lincoln Forbes,et al.  Modern Construction : Lean Project Delivery and Integrated Practices , 2010 .

[13]  N. Hanley,et al.  Validity and reliability , 2002 .

[14]  C. William Ibbs,et al.  TOWARD A NEW PARADIGM: SIMULTANEOUS USE OF MULTIPLE PROJECT DELIVERY METHODS , 2000 .

[15]  Leandre R. Fabrigar,et al.  Exploratory Factor Analysis , 2011 .

[16]  R. Kline.  Principles and practice of structural equation modeling, 3rd ed. , 2011 .

[17]  Awad S. Hanna,et al.  Quantifying Performance for the Integrated Project Delivery System as Compared to Established Delivery Systems , 2013 .

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

[19]  Andrew R.J. Dainty,et al.  The extent of team integration within construction projects , 2006 .

[20]  David W. Gerbing,et al.  An Updated Paradigm for Scale Development Incorporating Unidimensionality and Its Assessment , 1988 .

[21]  Burcin Becerik-Gerber,et al.  Transitioning to Integrated Project Delivery: Potential barriers and lessons learned , 2011 .

[22]  Armando Luís Vieira,et al.  Interactive LISREL in Practice: Getting Started with a SIMPLIS Approach , 2011 .

[23]  Ian R. Macneil.  Contracting Worlds and Essential Contract Theory , 2000 .

[24]  Florence Yean Yng Ling,et al.  Boosting Public Construction Project Outcomes through Relational Transactions , 2014 .

[25]  Gilbert A. Churchill.  A Paradigm for Developing Better Measures of Marketing Constructs , 1979 .

[26]  Patrick S. W. Fong,et al.  Empirical Study to Determine Fragmentation of Construction Projects , 2015 .

[27]  John W. Creswell,et al.  Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches , 2010 .

[28]  Ian R. Macneil.  Exchange Revisited: Individual Utility and Social Solidarity , 1986, Ethics.

[29]  Jan B. Heide,et al.  The Shadow Of The Future: Effects Of Anticipated Interaction And Frequency Of Contact On Buyer-Seller Cooperation , 1992 .

[30]  H. Voordijk,et al.  Reducing opportunistic behaviour through a project alliance , 2011 .