Head contractor role in construction value-based management: Australian building industry experience

Purpose – Value in construction is defined in so many ways and used to mean many different things, often linked to cost, time, objectives and customers that there exists no concise and complete description of what constitutes value within a construction context. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to study the current perceptions of value by the construction players and compare with emerging theories of value in the literature. Design/methodology/approach – Empirical evidence of prevailing perceptions of value within the support role provided by the head contractor (HC) to the subcontractors (SCs) is presented based on two years of action research on six construction sites in Sydney, Australia. Findings – The results show that value management during the construction phase is currently understood as intrinsic to other HC functions. The paper presents a list of activities identified by HCs and SCs as key support services to be performed by the HC to enable efficient progression of construction. Research limitations/implications – There are limitations in generalising the outcomes of this study to the construction industry. Further research is required in advancing the role of the HC in overall construction organisation. Originality/value – This paper adds value in advancing the role of the HC in construction. Empirical evidence of value-based management closely following the current perceptions of the construction players compared to managing value as a separate function is presented..