Strahorn, S; Gajendran, T and Brewer, G (2015) The influence of trust in traditional contracting: Investigating the "lived experience" of stakeholders. Construction Economics and Building, 15(2), pp. 81-101. ISSN 2204-9029
Abstract
The traditional procurement approach is ever-present within the construction industry. With fundamental design principles founded on definitive risk allocation, this transactional based approach fails to acknowledge or foster the cooperative relationships considered to be vital to the success of any project. Contractual design encourages stakeholders to defend their own individual interest to the likely detriment of project objectives. These failings are not disputed, however, given that trust is a fundamental requirement for human interaction the influence of trust is potentially important in terms of stakeholder relationships and ultimate project success. Trust is therefore examined within this context. A conceptual framework of trust is presented and subsequently used to code and analyse detailed, semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders from different projects. Using a phenomenological investigation of trust via the lived experiences of multiple practitioners, issues pertaining to the formation and maintenance of trust within traditionally procured construction projects are examined. Trust was found to be integral to the lived experiences of practitioners, with both good and bad relationships evident within the constructs of traditional procurement mechanisms. In this regard, individual personalities were considered significant, along with appropriate risk identification and management. Communication, particularly of an informal nature, was also highlighted. A greater emphasis on project team selection during the initial stages of a project would therefore be beneficial, as would careful consideration of the allocation of risk. Contract design would also be enhanced through prescriptive protocols for developing and maintaining trust, along with mandated mechanisms for informal communication, particularly when responding to negative events. A greater understanding regarding the consequences of lost trust and the intricacies of trust repair would also be of value.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | traditional project procurement; relationships; trust; trust repair |
| Index terms: | investigation, trust repair, project success, practitioner, risk allocation, interview, construction project, traditional procurement, project procurement, personality, project team, design principle, risk identification, traditional contracting, conceptual framework, construction industry, interaction |
| Subjects: | psychology, behavioral psychology, project delivery, contractual arrangements, industry analysis, theoretical framing, data collection methods, practitioner, financial risk, design methods, project management theory and practice, production management |
| Topics: | Procurement, Roles and Professions, Project Management, Research Practice, Cost Management, Organizational Design, Design Practice |
| 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