Geert P.M.R. Dewulf

Reducing opportunistic behaviour through a project alliance

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into how a project alliance contract is conducive to the development of cooperative relationships between client and contractor organizations involved in a complex project. Design/methodology/approach – A longitudinal case study of a complex construction project was conducted in which the contract was changed at the end of the negotiation period from a design-build into a project alliance form. Findings – Data show that opportunistic behaviour is reduced when there is an incentive structure, as is to be found in project alliances, for client and contractor organizations to cooperatively realize the project. However, it is not sufficient for project partners to agree upon an appropriate incentive structure. For cooperative relationships to develop, they also have to put substantial efforts into reducing their remaining inclinations to make use of opportunities that arise to deviate from the alliance contract. Practical implications – It is shown that both principals and contractors not only need to carefully select staff for such projects; they also have to work with the people employed such that appropriate attitudes are reinforced and rewarded. Developing cooperative relationships in project alliances needs the surrounding working methods to offer support. Originality/value – The longitudinal character of the case study offers exceptional opportunities for studying the dynamics in preventing and overcoming the deteriorating patterns of opportunistic behaviour that organizations regularly face in many traditional and design-build projects

Sense and nonsense of measuring design quality

Design quality is a tricky issue. It lies at the core of every debate about the built environment. Consensus about what quality is and how it should be assessed is hard to find. Nonetheless, achieving design quality is the ultimate goal of the whole industry–or it should be? Therefore, the authors were delighted to see that the recent issue of Building Research Information (31/5, 2003) was dedicated to design quality. The Guest Editors presented a practical tool that aims to measure design quality. The Design Quality Indicator (DQI) is a questionnaire for clients, designers and users to rate a series of quality aspects. It considers build quality, functionality, and impact on users and the wider public.

Collaboration in public construction—contractual incentives, partnering schemes and trust

It is increasingly common that public construction projects are procured and managed with explicit intentions to establish closer collaboration between partners. Opportunities for negotiation and the freedom to choose partners are more restricted in a public setting than in a private one. Thus, many relational requirements that are generally considered essential to trust-based collaboration are more difficult to fulfil. Based on two case studies from the Netherlands and one from Sweden, we investigate how this formalized context, including formal partnering models to support relationship management, influences relational development in public sector construction contracts. Collaboration is primarily needed in projects where uncertainty is high and exchange conditions cannot be comprehensively defined. The contractual ambiguities, together with the limited opportunities for pre-contractual sense-making and relationship-building, imply that the early post-contractual phase is of significantly higher importance in public projects than in private ones. After signing a contract, it is important that the parties use the interpretive flexibility to signal trust and commitment and also that joint learning processes are organized to resolve ambiguities and enable joint learning. Formal partnering models are helpful in structuring this interaction, but also incentive arrangements may be important in shaping interaction and signalling trust.

Towards better customized service‐led contracts through the competitive dialogue procedure

Recently, for the procurement of complex contracts the European Commission (EC) has developed the competitive dialogue (CD) procedure, a procurement system aimed at aligning the complex demands of principals with the possible solutions of contractors. The major question is how, in the practice of procuring service‐led contracts by the CD procedure, will the dialogue conversations be affected by tension between the CD procedure’s principles of transparency and confidentiality? A single case study of a large infrastructural project procured through the CD procedure has been conducted to find an answer to this question. It is concluded that the dialogue offered by the CD procedure in the Dutch Second Coen Tunnel project helped to align the complex demands with the several available solutions without harming the confidentiality principle or stimulating cherry picking. The procedure could be improved by the provision of standardized documents and actual, adequate and improved information about the project context.

Levels of Interorganizational Trust in Construction Projects: Empirical Evidence

Interorganizational trust is important, especially in an industry characterized by constantly changing combinations of organizations working on temporary projects, as in the construction industry. However, little is known about the factors influencing trust in this setting. This study aims to begin to fill that gap by studying trust in their counterparts, as expressed by principals and contractors engaged in construction projects. The findings show that the temporal embeddedness of the relationship (past and expected future relationships) is strongly positively related to the level of trust. Moreover, this study finds that the tendering procedure used and the delivery system employed influence the level of trust of the contractor but not that of the principal. Practical implications and suggestions for further research are drawn from these results

Adoption and Use of Interorganizational ICT in a Construction Project

The objective of this research is to explain why actors are not using interorganizational information and communication technology (ICT) in construction projects in the intended way, by determining the mechanisms that influence the way actors use this ICT over time during a construction project. This explorative research results in a theoretical model that contains four key categories that explains the way actors use ICT in construction projects: (1) personal motivation; (2) external motivation; (3) knowledge and skills; and (4) acting opportunities. The model is compared with three existing influential models about the adoption and use of ICT: the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, the theory of planned behavior, and the technology acceptance model. In these models missing elements are found. In addition, it is found that fundamental characteristics of construction projects, such as the fragmented and temporarily nature of construction projects, and the different working practices, resources, and objectives of the organizations involved cause most of the barriers to the intended use of interorganizational ICT.

User participation and the role of information and communication technology

Office workers are hardly ever involved in the design of their buildings. Buildings, therefore, do not match the needs of the users. Today, more and more designers and managers are involving users in the design process. This paper describes different approaches to user involvement and the way ICT can be useful for each level of involvement. ICT can be used as a tool to inform users, to facilitate the participation of users and to create commitment. The paper ends with a discussion on when and how user participation and ICT should be used.

A conceptual framework to identify spatial implications of new ways of learning in higher education

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the spatial implications of new learning theories and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in higher education. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a review of the literature, a theoretical framework has been developed that visualises the spatial implications of developments in higher education. To further explore spatial configurations that support changes in education, a comparative floor plan analysis was carried out at four Dutch institutes of higher education. Findings – The findings show that the traditional classroom space is progressively being replaced by a variety of learning settings to support contemporary learning activities. Practical implications – The research findings contribute to a better understanding of the alignment of learning space to the evolving needs that come from new ways of learning, supported by advanced ICT, and can be used to support space planning in higher education. Originality/value – This paper builds upon findings from different disciplines: Facilities Management and Corporate Real Estate Management (suitability of floor plans) and Theory of Education (the pedagogical approaches and pedagogical assumptions those floor plans convey).

Unpacking the path-dependent process of institutional change for PPPs

In the recent past, several countries and states have begun to use Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) for infrastructure development and have attempted to create institutional environments that enable PPPs. Providing an enabling environment for PPPs entails a combination of institutional creation and changing existing institutions relating to project procurement. This paper attempts to understand how path-dependant institutional change takes place in the context of PPPs and their enabling environments, and why different institutional environments evolve differently, using two cases: the implementation of PPPs in the road sector in the Netherlands and in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. We identify two factors that can be used as predictors of the direction of institutional change: a long-term orientation towards institutional change and a willingness to learn and modify transitional institutions. Where these factors exist, and thereby provide a goodness of fit, institutional change is likely to occur

The interplay between formal and informal contracting in integrated project delivery

This research examines the interplay between formal and informal contracting in integrated project delivery (IPD). It investigates how the interplay enables parties in health-care construction projects to cope with uncertainty and complexities, due to, among others, changing demands. New delivery models based on collaborative interaction, such as IPD models, often rely on relational contracting principles, defined as the simultaneous use of formal contracts and informal relational mechanisms to govern relationships between partners. Five case studies of IPD health-care construction projects in the USA and Norway are presented and analysed. The results show that the projects rely heavily on the formal contracts and structures to stimulate collaboration between the project team members and to enhance problem-solving. However, informal mechanisms play just as an important role. While formal mechanisms facilitate the building of trust and personal relationships between the partners, the formal mechanisms are in turn created and recreated through informal practices, illustrating a mutual constitutive relationship between the two types of mechanisms. The findings also indicate that previous experiences reinforce informal mechanisms in the project. The paper concludes that IPD models involve a complex interplay between formal and informal mechanisms, which engenders commitment resulting in joint problem-solving and responsibility throughout the construction process. The findings also indicate that even if the dynamic context and future uncertainties in health care are taken into account, dealing with such flexibility issues is not at the core of the current IPD model.