Kometa, S T; Olomolaiye, P O and Harris, F C (1994) Attributes of UK construction clients influencing project consultants' performance. Construction Management and Economics, 12(5), pp. 433-443. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
Despite numerous efforts to understand construction clients and their priorities, evidence abounds to suggest that they are largely misunderstood and dissatisfied with the performance of their consultants and contractors. The perception of poor performance may not be attributed to the consultants alone. Perhaps the clients themselves do not possess the necessary attributes to secure a successful project performance. This paper describes a survey which set out to establish the relative importance of the attributes of clients' organizations which may influence project consultants' performance using the 'relative index ranking technique'. Project consultants were surveyed using a structured questionnaire as the main research tool and this was augmented by interviews. The most important attributes are financial stability of client (creditworthiness, current liabilities and current assets), feasibility of the project (project priorities, feasibility study and site conditions), past performance of client (cost overrun, quality achieved and time overrun), project characteristics (time for completion, type of project, cost of project and objectives/subobjectives) and client’s duties (project definition1 formulation, planning and design and project finance). More successful projects may result if clients cultivate some of the attributes identified in this study.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | clients; consultants; professionals; project performance; risk assessment |
| Index terms: | evidence, questionnaire, project finance, duty, liability, interview, relative importance, feasibility study, survey, stability, project performance, risk assessment, time overrun, construction client, cost overrun |
| Subjects: | design stages, financial and cost management, data collection methods, evaluation and assessment methods, contractual role, risk assessment, practitioner, project controls, liability law, financial management, structural engineering, project management theory and practice, financial risk |
| Topics: | Roles and Professions, Risk Management, Cost Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice, Contract Administration, Time Control, Design Practice, Legal Issues |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCEA |
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