Fu, W K (2004) The effect of experience in construction contract bidding. PhD thesis, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.
Abstract
This thesis measures the effect of contractors' bidding experience on competitiveness in recurrent bidding. The focus of research is on the relationship between bidding competitiveness, organisational learning and experience. The key premise rooted here is that contractors learn to refine their bids towards the optimal price level over a series of contracts with continuous adaptation of recurrent rational decision making. Recurrent bidding creates a stable environment, which facilitates organisational learning. Organisational learning produces experience. Experienced contractors would show greater bidding competitiveness in contract bidding. The loop that captures these sequential interactions is in recurrent bidding. Organisational learning in a general contracting context is modelled with high coherence to these theoretical considerations. The empirical work is an analysis of bid data for 266 public building contracts in Hong Kong awarded from 1990 through 1996. Bidding performance of contractors at different levels of bidding experience is analysed on a pairwise basis. Empirical analysis shows not only that bidding competitiveness of experienced contractors who bid frequently is greater, but also that experienced contractors' bidding attempts fall within a relatively small competitiveness range when compared with that of contractors who only bid occasionally. A key finding of research is the existence of some experienced contractors. They may be perceived as ‘experienced market players’, having the attribute of a more competitive and consistent bidding performance. Another key finding is that those experienced market players tend to regularise the use of a bidding strategy, which is deemed optimal in response to recurring and similar bidding situations. This research should be useful to regular construction clients looking to prequalify contractors on the basis of experience and to contractors in analysing their bidding performance and/or their competitors' bidding performance as well as in prequalifying subcontractors.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Thesis advisor: | Drew, D |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | competitiveness; market; bidding; decision making; general contracting; learning; organisational learning; Hong Kong; building contract; client; subcontractor |
| Index terms: | organizational learning, strategy, decision-making, coherence, public building, bidding, subcontractor, Hong Kong, building contract, adaptation, construction client, competitiveness, construction contract, interaction |
| Subjects: | management, professional development, Geography, decision analysis, market analysis, behavioral psychology, user focus, contract type, construction type, human factors and perception, practitioner, bidding |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Business Strategy, Information Management, Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Geographical Context, Risk Management, Procurement |
| Descriptive scope: | 2 PC |
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