Manley, K and Chen, L (2016) The impact of client characteristics on the time and cost performance of collaborative infrastructure projects. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 23(4), pp. 511-532. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose - Collaboration is thought to offer significant benefits over traditional contracts, however there is little existing research concerning how these benefits can be optimized. To address this gap, a survey investigated the impact of client characteristics on the time and cost efficiency of collaborative infrastructure projects. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - The survey of experienced senior practitioners of Australian collaborative infrastructure projects yielded 320 valid responses. Cluster analysis, one-way between group ANOVA tests and independent sample t-tests were used to confirm that three client characteristics are critical to time and cost performance: client sector (public/private); client experience with asset procurement; and client approach to price competition. Findings - Projects procured by experienced private sector clients were found to meet targeted levels of performance, regardless of their approach to team selection. Among projects procured by experienced public sector clients, groups of relatively low and high performing projects could be distinguished, regardless of their approach to team selection. Projects run by teams selected competitively on non-price criteria prior to the pricing stage exhibited significantly better performance than those run by teams that competed on the price of the project to win the work. Research limitations/implications - This study focussed only on analysis of three client characteristics. Future research may consider a broader range of contextual variables. Results are based on perceptual data rather than objective data. Practical implications - The findings show collaborative infrastructure clients in the construction sector should be less concerned about inexperience than they might have been, and more interested in single-team selection approaches than they might have been. Originality/value - The results indicate significant performance differences between client types. In particular, experienced public sector clients had more polarized performance outcomes, compared to the private sector.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Australia; infrastructure; cost efficiency; collaborative projects; client characteristics; time efficiency |
| Index terms: | survey, public-sector client, competition, practitioner, collaboration, cluster analysis, methodology, time efficiency, cost efficiency, cost performance, construction sector, pricing, performance outcome, Australia, private sector, client characteristics, collaborative project, infrastructure project |
| Subjects: | value management, practitioner, data collection methods, client relations, contractual arrangements, data analysis and analytics, economic analysis, Geography, management, economics, research methods, industry analysis, infrastructure and transport systems, market analysis, sociology |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Project Management, Geographical Context, Research Practice, Cost Management, Business Strategy, Procurement, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Organizational Design |
| 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