Assessment of transaction costs for construction projects

Abdel-Galil, E; Ibrahim, A H and Alborkan, A (2022) Assessment of transaction costs for construction projects. International Journal of Construction Management, 22(9), pp. 1618-1631. ISSN 1562-3599

Abstract

The main premise of transaction cost economics is that project cost is not only production costs but there are also additional costs resulting from transactions between parties. Transaction costs include the costs of preparing the bidding package, estimating and drawing up a contract, administering the contract, dealing with any deviations from contract conditions and any contractual problems include claims, change orders, and disputes. The main objectives of this paper are to establish the factors that affecting transaction costs in construction projects in Egypt, assessing its value in Egyptian construction projects, and to provide a mathematical model that can predict transaction costs value accurately. The study was conducted on various types of construction projects in Egypt, which formed the sample size. To collect data, a questionnaire was used that was personally administered to the respondents, using emails and conducting semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS program, and a software package named IBM. The findings indicated that: the most important factors affecting positively (decreasing transaction cost value) on transaction cost value in construction projects in Egypt are: the financial position of the contractor, claims filed by the contractor, material substitutions by the contractor, contractor experience in similar type projects, contractor`s relationship with previous clients, contractor qualification to do the job, and procurement method. Transaction cost in the pre-contract phase of construction projects in Egypt is approximately (3–4) % of the contract value on average, and the average value for post-contract transaction cost is approximately (8–9) % of the contract value. All factors accredited as influential factors were taken into account and developed in an account model, the study devolved accounting models that can predict transaction cost value as a percentage of the project capital for construction projects in Egypt, two techniques were used, first is regression analysis with two methods (enter-stepwise), and second is the neural network, all models showed a high accuracy up to 95% in predicting transaction cost value for construction projects in Egypt.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: construction project; post-transaction costs; pre-transaction costs; transaction costs
Index terms: drawing, neural network, accuracy, project cost, software package, interview, production cost, mathematical model, transaction cost, accounting, estimating, bidding, influential factor, construction project, program, questionnaire, deviation, sample size, dispute, change order, procurement method, contract condition, package, qualification, Egypt, regression analysis
Subjects: production management, Geography, contractual condition, professional development, manufacturing engineering, contract structure, software systems, economics, educational resources, statistical analysis, financial analysis, dispute resolution, data collection methods, risk assessment, mathematical modelling, research design and methodology, bidding, artificial intelligence, contractual arrangements, financial and cost management, economic analysis, technical documentation
Topics: Risk Management, Procurement, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Engineering Principles, Information Management, Education, Contract Administration, Legal Issues, Design Practice, Digital Applications
Descriptive scope: 5 PCTEA

N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here