Partnering in the UK building industry

The subject of the research is partnering in the UK building industry. Partnering means the management actions needed to enable firms to change from competitive methods to those based on cooperation. In this research partnering in the UK building industry was investigated by means of case studies. The research subjects were chosen so as to include different sectors of the industry and to provide a stream of management actions. The research began by investigating through the literature the definition of partnering. This involved not only the literature on partnering but also on cooperative arrangements. Adopting partnering involves a significant change in management actions and so the literature on change in organisations is reviewed. The literature review suggests that the purpose of partnering is to improve the performance of the industry and the way to do this is to focus on mutual objectives, problem resolution and continuous improvement. Data was collected by a case study approach using a triangulated methodology of interviews, documents and where possible direct observation. The data describes management actions that experienced managers involved in partnering arrangements believed had produced measured improvements in performance. The data was classified into mutual objectives, problem resolution, continuous improvements and any others to test the hypothesis. The data was also classified into actions designed to apply the general process of change described in the literature. That is to alter intentions, procedures and attitudes. The data analysis served to support the hypothesis: Partnering is a set of management actions comprising mutual objectives, an agreed method of decision making and an active search for continuous measurable improvements. It also identified consistent patterns that suggest three new hypotheses about the use of partnering.