Bondin, I (2022) Inter-organisational relationships in construction projects: an analysis of inter-organisational relationships over time through the theoretical lens of trust and power. PhD thesis, Loughborough University, UK.
Abstract
Trust is a subject that has drawn considerable interest amongst the construction project management research community. It has been portrayed as an ingredient for success that is somewhat lacking in the construction industry. Construction project settings have been portrayed as problematic arenas when it comes to the development of trust. The timely aspect of projects has been portrayed as one of the barriers for the development of trust. Nonetheless, there are several aspects to the concept of trust that are not adequately teased out in the literature concerning trust in construction. The multi-faceted aspect of trust is rarely incorporated in such studies. Also, its benefits go completely unquestioned. Moreover, the aspect of power and its relevance to trust did not draw considerable attention. Consequently, this study aims at providing a better-informed explanation of inter-organisational relationships in construction projects through the theoretical lens of trust and power and the way these aspects develop over a project's duration. Accordingly, in this study, the main foundations of the concept of trust are addressed in a contextually embedded manner. Construction projects are defined as Temporary and Multiple Organisations (TMOs) and as such, the characteristics of such organisations affect relationships at the inter-organisational level. The research takes an exploratory stand and seeks to develop an understanding of how trust and power underpin inter-organisational relationships in construction project settings over time. A multiple case-study approach was chosen. The findings reveal that organisations understand and in turn make sense of trust in a contextually embedded manner. In making sense of trust, the matters at play are important to organisations. Moreover, several types of trust (system trust, relational trust, calculus based trust etc.) are drawn upon when interacting with other organisations in projects. The findings also revealed that organisations are aware of the sources of power (or otherwise lacking) to their own respective organisations. Based on this knowledge of power as well as trust, organisations take actions and decisions. In turn, the explanations shed a different light on the concepts of trust and power and their development over time in construction project organisational settings. Several arguments concerning trust and power in the literature are put into question and in turn constitute a catalyst for further research concerning trust and power in construction project organisations from a fresh perspective.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | duration; trust; foundations; construction project; project organisation |
| Index terms: | construction project, relational trust, project organization, foundations, duration, construction industry, construction project management |
| Subjects: | structural engineering, organizational theory, production management, psychology, project controls, industry analysis, project management theory and practice |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice, Human Resources, Time Control |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
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