Lavelle, D; Hendry, J and Steel, G (2007) The selection of subcontractors: Is price the major factor. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 23rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2007, Belfast, UK.
Abstract
The philosophy of 'lowest price wins' in the selection of subcontractors often leads to problems with quality of work and claims for further costs. Since Latham (1994), many models have offered selection methods that take account of a wide range of quality criteria as well as price. A review of existing literature and models enables a list of selection criteria to be drawn up and a survey ascertains which selection criteria are considered most important and whether opinions change when faced with different types of project. The results of the questionnaire are analysed through the use of Simple Relative Indexes, Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient tests and a number of T-tests. It is established that price is no longer considered the only important factor in subcontractor selection, and that health and safety, past performance, and insurance cover are considered equally important and, in some scenarios, more important than price.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | price; quality; selection; subcontractor |
| Index terms: | survey, philosophy, selection method, Latham, health and safety, subcontractor, subcontractor selection, selection criteria, questionnaire, insurance |
| Subjects: | organization, data collection methods, practitioner, economic analysis, tendering, health safety and environment, industry policy reports, philosophical studies |
| Topics: | Supply Chain Management, Business Strategy, Health and Safety, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Procurement, Governance |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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