Tutesigensi, A and Oak, D P (2007) Feasibility of collaborative working at the second tier subcontractor level in a prime contract. In: Boyd, D (ed.) Proceedings of 23rd Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2007, Belfast, UK.
Abstract
The Building Down Barriers (BDB) initiative involves adopting a procurement strategy to promote collaborative working through use of incentives to innovate best value for the client. The framework set out by BDB provides a strategy for procuring the supply chain at the first tier subcontractor level. However a strategy for implementation further down the supply chain for smaller subcontractor work packages, at the second tier, is not well developed. This paper describes the work undertaken to gauge the feasibility of implementing a collaborative working incentivisation agreement at the second tier subcontractor level. The research employed a case study research strategy. The case was a large regional construction contractor (annual turnover in excess of £100m) engaged as a first tier subcontractor on a prime contract project from a major national client organisation (annual construction expenditure well in excess of £1 billion). Through careful analysis of literature, a collaborative working incentivisation model was developed and validated with upstream parties. The model was then presented to three groups of second tier subcontractors and data relating to their opinions about the model and factors important to contractor-subcontractor relationships were collected. The results show that while the model was generally feasible, the agreements appropriate for different subcontractor groups vary due to different experience with open book relationships. It is argued that the success factors identified in this work provide a basis upon which contractors can develop strategies to overcome barriers to, and produce an environment that will facilitate, collaborative working.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building down barriers; collaborative working; incentivisation; supply chain |
| Index terms: | client organization, success factor, subcontractor, construction contractor, package, turnover, contractor-subcontractor relationship, agreements, strategy, case study, incentivization, procurement strategy, best value, implementation |
| Subjects: | management, contractual arrangements, health monitoring assessment and metrics, business management, contract formation, contract management, practitioner, data collection methods, bidding, client relations, risk assessment |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Procurement, Contract Administration, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Risk Management, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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