Ishtiaque, T A; Wondimu, P A and Klakegg, O J (2025) Likelihood of early contractor involvement (ECI) benefits in infrastructure versus building projects: The client's perception. International Journal of Construction Management, 25(10), pp. 1227-1238. ISSN 1562-3599
Abstract
Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) is a feature that has been used in many construction projects to onboard contractor competence early in the project lifecycle. Recently, there has been a growing interest in testing whether ECI can also be useful for building projects. Following a systematic literature review approach, a comprehensive list of potential benefits of ECI was identified. This study utilizes empirical data collected from 91 respondents from three client organizations to explore the likelihood of these benefits in a project. In general, the results show that improved innovation, enhanced constructability, and greater collaboration are perceived to be the most likely benefits of ECI. The likelihood of ECI benefits is moderated by the type of project, with building projects more likely to benefit from ECI. Regarding job roles, project management professionals are the most optimistic about the likelihood of these benefits. The results also indicate that there is no significant difference in the likelihood of the benefits based on the respondents' experience with collaborative projects. However, respondents having prior experience with ECI have a different outlook than those without ECI experience for the better quality of solution and reduction in project cost dimensions.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | building projects; client's perspective; early contractor involvement; infrastructure projects |
| Index terms: | early contractor involvement, construction project, constructability, project lifecycle, systematic literature review, dimension, client organization, project management, infrastructure project, competence, collaboration, testing, collaborative project, project cost |
| Subjects: | project completion, client relations, economics, contractual arrangements, health monitoring assessment and metrics, professional practice, management, construction integration, personnel development, infrastructure and transport systems, production management, research evaluation and metrics, project management theory and practice |
| Topics: | Human Resources, Design Practice, Health and Safety, Project Management, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Cost Management, Procurement, Stakeholder Management, Engineering Principles |
| 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