Potemans, A; Volker, L and Hermans, M (2018) From agents to stewards? Experiences from a Dutch infrastructure case study. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 34th Annual ARCOM Conference, 3-5 September 2018, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK.
Abstract
In the construction industry, clients largely depend on contractors to deliver projects. Agency theory describes the problems of goal conflict and information asymmetry that arise in this delegation of work, and is based on the assumption that both the principal and the agent are self-interested. The control-oriented governance mechanisms that agency theorist propose as a means to resolve these problems can act counterproductive and give rise to new problems. Stewardship theory offers a counterweight to agency theory and assumes a relational reciprocity between the principal and the steward. Recently, a large group of Dutch public construction clients and contractors have collaboratively expressed their desire to improve their relationship in a manifest called 'the market vision'. Important aspects in this manifest are the achievement of mutual rather than individual goals, and sharing rather than withholding information during all phases of a project. This can be interpreted as a desire to shift from a principal-agent towards a principal-steward relationship. The aim of this paper is to to identify the factors that drive or constrain the transformation of this relationship and the mechanisms that are used to govern this relationship in practise. This ongoing research is based on a case study of one of the most ambitious projects under the umbrella of this market vision trajectory, including the underlying implementation process at the client and contractor organisations involved in this case. The first observations with the project team and semi-structured interviews indicate that they developed a relationship which can be characterised as a principal-steward bond. By investing in relationship-building from the pre-commercial phase, throughout the tender phase and the execution phase, they put their individual differences beside in order to reach their initially defined common goal. Agency theory is dominant in construction management, but stewardship theory has the potential to offer new insights.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | agency theory; stewardship theory; public commissioning; case study; partnering |
| Index terms: | project team, implementation, agent, construction industry, agency, commissioning, public construction, transformation, information asymmetry, case study, contractor organization, governance, partnering, interview |
| Subjects: | contractual arrangements, project delivery, data collection methods, transaction economics, organization, business, practitioner, partnership management, sociology, building construction, industry analysis, completion |
| Topics: | Quality Management, Organizational Design, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Project Management, Business Strategy, Governance, Procurement, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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