Zuppa, D (2009) Model for developing trust in construction management. PhD thesis, University of Florida, USA.
Abstract
The construction industry is facing a number of challenges related to low productivity rates, uncertain profits and low adaptation rates of new technologies. Trust between contracting parties on construction projects is viewed as an important strategy to address these and other problems. This research focused on identifying the factors found on construction projects that weakened or strengthened trust between stakeholders. A thorough literature review of leadership approaches, trust models and leadership and trust in construction was completed. The leadership literature found that effective leadership was dependent on trust. The review of the trust models confirmed this finding and provided insights regarding the nature of developing trust. The construction literature provided additional insights and the necessary context of trust on construction projects. The methodology applied in the research first developed a comprehensive framework containing a number of factors that could impact trust on construction projects. The applicability of the framework was tested. The factors in the framework were prioritized and reduced with the use of a preliminary survey. The revised prioritized framework provided the basis for the research questions and survey questions. The survey was administered by phone with fax and e-mail support. The survey results were analyzed using advanced statistical methods. The statistical results were developed in a preliminary trust model. The model was tested by validating cases studies. The results of the case studies were incorporated to develop a revised and final trust model for contracting parties on construction projects. The survey respondents were characterized as highly educated males with over 20 years of construction experience holding senior positions. Thorough the use of descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, Chi-Square Goodness of Fit Test, Chi-Square Test of Independence, and validating case studies each trust factor was identified as weakening trust, strengthening trust or requiring trust. The major findings indicated that face-to-face communications strengthened trust; the over use of e-mail weakened trust; honoring informal and formal agreements was the key antecedent of trust; time was the key performance indicator; construction management was enhanced by high levels of trust and trust could increase the bottom line of construction projects. (Full text of this dissertation may be available via the University of Florida Libraries web site. Please check http://www. uflib. ufl. edu/etd. html)
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Applied sciences; Communication; Construction management; Leadership; Trust; Civil engineering; 0543:Civil engineering |
| Index terms: | new technology, contracting party, construction industry, e-mail, face, dissertation, literature review, science, methodology, trust model, correlation analysis, construction project, survey, case study, profit, productivity, statistical method, strengthening, agreements, trust factor, adaptation, key performance indicator, statistics, strategy |
| Subjects: | contract formation, structural engineering, management, user focus, data collection methods, communication, project delivery, innovation and technology management, mathematical modelling, psychology, economic analysis, practitioner, research methods, industry analysis, specialized education, production management, statistical analysis, data analysis and analytics, research dissemination and communication |
| Topics: | Education, Information Management, Business Strategy, Organizational Design, Contract Administration, Roles and Professions, Project Management, Design Practice, Research Practice, Engineering Principles |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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