McCord, P J and Gunderson, D E (2014) Factors that most affect relationships with general contractors on commercial construction projects: Pacific Northwest subcontractor perspectives. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 10(2), pp. 126-139. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
This Pacific Northwest study was conducted to determine the most important factors in the commercial construction general contractor-subcontractor relationship. Interviews were conducted with twenty-four subcontractors from eight disciplines to evaluate their opinions about the general contractor's personnel, procedures and practices that improve or damage their relationships. The study revealed the top three relationship factors to be: bid shopping, project manager relationship, and superintendent capability, respectively. A mixed method research design was utilized. Subcontractors were asked to rank their top three relationship factors and determine which factors were important enough to end their relationships with general contractors. Subcontractors stated that bid shopping is a serious betrayal of trust with 75% of respondents indicating that they have ended a relationship after having a bid shopped. The project manager and superintendent have key roles in maintaining the subcontractor relationship; honesty, fairness and capability were determined to be their most important traits.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | general contractor: specialty contractor: subcontracting: subcontractor |
| Index terms: | subcontracting, commercial construction, specialty contractor, mixed method research, project manager, fairness, general contractor, personnel, interview, subcontractor |
| Subjects: | professional practice, construction type, organization, practitioner, leadership, research methods, data collection methods, profession, management |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Roles and Professions, Construction Technology, Human Resources, Organizational Design, Engineering Principles, Supply Chain Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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