Rowlands, A S (2016) Effective collaboration in construction: the importance of managing power. PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
(Embargoed until 31 December 2025) The search to find new ways of improving performance in the construction industry led to the introduction of collaborative working and, after fifteen years the question is has this approach delivered the expected improvements. The management of collaborative relationships is often underpinned by trust as a governance mechanism. However, owing to the practical problems of operating in the public sector combined, with the natural disposition of human behavior, the risk of opportunism and exploitation remains, requiring additional governance mechanisms to be put in place. However these mechanisms can only be realised if there is a position of strong buyer power. Therefore, the purpose of this thesis is to consider what impact buyer / supplier power has on collaboration and the consequent benefits delivered. Research has been carried out on a case study involving four projects from the Birmingham Construction Partnership using interviews and a questionnaire. It was found that levels of collaboration were not affected by marginal differences in power, but rather by agency factors and trust. However, the conclusion drawn is that the buyer must retain a strong position of power in order to ensure the buyer obtains a good apportionment of value generated by collaboration.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | case study; collaboration; governance; interview; opportunism; partnership; public sector; supplier; trust |
| Index terms: | case study, governance, partnership, public sector, exploitation, construction industry, interview, opportunism, Birmingham, human behaviour, collaboration, questionnaire, agency |
| Subjects: | business, data collection methods, industry analysis, administrative law, sociology, partnership management, management, health behaviours and lifestyles, Geography |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Geographical Context, Organizational Design, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Stakeholder Management, Governance |
| 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