Multicountry perspectives of relational contracting and integrated project teams

Abstract

Worldwide calls for integration in construction translate into needs for relational alignment of both structural and operational arrangements, in order to successfully streamline the combined efforts of diverse interacting parties, for improved project delivery. Appropriate applications of relational contracting (RC) principles can help to achieve such integration. As such, the aims of the reported study are to examine the relative usefulness of various potential factors and strategies and to offer suitable contractual and noncontractual incentives, for building an RC culture and building integrated project teams (IPTs) in construction. Results from statistical analyses of 224 questionnaire responses from five countries are presented. Trust and trust-based operational arrangements are seen to effectively offer the required incentives for implementing various RC-based arrangements in construction where top management commitment and their support play a vital role. The choices of country-specific approaches suggest various patterns of integration through project-based partnering type RC, e.g.,cliental initiative and removing client related barriers in Hong Kong, removing uncongenial organizational and/or system-based barriers from the client's side in Australia, teamworking by cliental initiatives through contractual arrangements in The Netherlands, removing organizational and/or system-based barriers in the U.K., importance of trust and communication-related factors in Singapore, with no specific strategy in this respect. The outcomes also suggest the need for a highly interrelated and consolidated approach for spreading RC. Outcomes of this study are expected to benefit both industry practitioners and researchers in exploring, designing, and implementing various RC-based working arrangements. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.