An assessment of the applicability of partnering in the Turkish construction sector

There are problems associated with the Turkish construction sector; some of these problems are implications of Government policy, restrictions imposed on public construction projects, bureaucratic procedures, contractual clauses incorporating unfair risk sharing and inadequacies in control mechanisms. Some problems can be attributed to inadequate technological knowhow, and/or lack of education and training incen1 tives in new technologies and management approaches. This paper presents findings from research that was aimed at investigating the applicability of partnering in the Turkish construction sector as an alternative approach in seeking solutions to some of the problems within this industry. The findings suggest that the partnering approach could help reduce some of the problems associated with the Turkish construction sector, although the implementation of this approach is likely to face complications, mainly in terms of cultural change requirements and the bureaucracies associated especially with the public construction process. The findings also suggest that if partnering were to be considered for Turkey, the private construction sector would offer more flexibility in the implementation of this approach, rather than reliance on the Government for the introduction of partnering into Turkey.     

The future of construction economics as an academic discipline

The contribution made by economic theory when studying construction-related subjects has a muddled history. This theme was carefully reviewed in Ofori (1994) where he bluntly concluded that: ‘Construction economics cannot be regarded as a bona-fide subject’ (p. 304). This short note takes a retrospective look at George Ofori's paper and suggests that during the subsequent period little has changed. This is despite the publication of government reports that stressed the importance of creating a culture of economic efficiency within construction and the need for the industry to become sustainable. This paper is informed by a brief survey of what is currently taught at British universities under the title of construction economics. Two points for debate emerge. The first is the worrying observation about the present state of play, as it seems that construction economics continues to lack any coherent conceptual structure. The second is the more promising suggestion that in the foreseeable future the sustainability agenda could provide the impetus necessary for construction economists to agree a common purpose and conceptual approach.     

The definition of partnering as a Wittgenstein family‐resemblance concept

This article on partnering and family‐resemblance makes two contributions to the debate about the definition of partnering in construction. The first is a distinction between general prerequisites, components and goals when discussing the concept. In order to understand what is specific about partnering the focus should be on the components, which are identified through a literature review. The second contribution is to apply Ludwig Wittgenstein's idea of family‐resemblance to the partnering concept. His idea is that a complex concept can be understood as a network of overlapping similarities. From the literature review it is concluded that there are two necessary components in partnering – trust and mutual understanding – and that a number of different components can be added to form a specific variant of partnering. This provides a new method to define the vague and multifaceted concept of partnering in a flexible and structured way.     

The effect on contingency allowances of using risk analysis in capital cost estimating: a Hong Kong case study

Despite the vast interest and enthusiasm on the benefits of construction partnering, no apparent trend exists to show that it has become the dominant choice of procurement method across construction industries internationally. Rather, the implementation of construction partnering has been patchy, with varying degrees of success and, in many instances, its adoption is more an exception than the norm. This study argues and sets out to test the proposition that despite the huge advocacy for the use of partnering, its slow uptake and, more importantly, the inconsistent results it yields are due to the lack of systematic investigation into the institutional determinants of partnering. Based on data collected from 526 firms covering various industry disciplines, results show that firms' use of partnering is selective and that this selectiveness is significantly determined by the industry's level of institutional norms and not by the conventional notion that partnering increases a firm's profitability or efficiency. Findings further indicate that firms that perceive there are strong industry norms for partnering are twice as likely to use partnering as firms that do not have such perception. By empirically examining the institutional conditions under which partnering is more likely to occur, this study sheds some light on why the implementation of partnering remains at a conservative rate and suggests avenues for future research.     

Development of a partnering performance index (PPI) for construction projects in Hong Kong: a Delphi study

Over the past decade, research studies on benefits, critical success factors, difficulties, process, conceptual and theoretical models of construction partnering have been ubiquitous in the construction management discipline. In fact, there is adequate evidence that an increasing number of client organizations are adopting a partnering approach to undertake their building and construction projects both locally and worldwide during the last decade. With the perceived benefits that partnering brings about, research into Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to evaluate the success of partnering projects in construction becomes vital as it can help set a benchmark for measuring the performance level of partnering projects. However, although there are some related studies and papers on this research area, few, if any, comprehensive and systematic studies focus on developing a comprehensive, objective, reliable and practical performance evaluation model for partnering projects. A model has been developed using the Delphi survey technique to objectively measure the performance of partnering projects in Hong Kong based on a consolidated KPIs' conceptual framework previously developed for partnering projects. Four rounds of Delphi questionnaire survey were conducted with 31 construction experts in Hong Kong. The results reveal that the top seven weighted KPIs to evaluate the success of partnering projects in Hong Kong were: (1) time performance; (2) cost performance; (3) top management commitment; (4) trust and respect; (5) quality performance; (6) effective communications; and (7) innovation and improvement. A statistically significant consensus on the top seven weighted KPIs was also obtained. Finally, a composite Partnering Performance Index (PPI) for partnering projects in Hong Kong was derived to provide an all‐round assessment of partnering performance. Different partnering projects can now be assessed on the same basis for benchmarking purposes. Construction senior executives and project managers can thus use the Index to measure, evaluate and improve the performance of their partnering projects to strive for construction excellence. Although the PPI was developed locally in Hong Kong, the research method could be replicated in other parts of the world to produce similar indices for international comparison. Such an extension would aid the understanding of managing partnering projects across different geographic locations.     

Partnering for construction excellence—A reality or myth?

Project partnering has gained popularity in the Hong Kong construction industry since its adoption on the North District Hospital project in 1994. An increasing trend in the use of project partnering in building and construction has been observed over the past decade, with a proven track record of success. In order to critically investigate and examine the effectiveness and performance of project partnering as applied in the local building and construction industry, the Construction Industry Institute, Hong Kong (CII–HK) initiated an industry-driven research study in March 2003 to compare the implementation and outcomes of project partnering practices amongst the public, private and infrastructure sectors as well as between building and infrastructure works. This paper summarizes the key findings derived from the CII–HK funded research study completed in late 2004. Based on the case study of six selected projects, a ‘best practice’ partnering framework is developed. While it has been demonstrated that project partnering can provide extensive benefits to the industry across different sectors, it should be noted that partnering is not a panacea to solve all kinds of problems. What it does is to provide an avenue for people to communicate better thus eliminating unnecessary misunderstanding. It is recommended that partnering be adopted across a wider spectrum of the construction industry during the 21st Century to reap sustainable benefits for construction excellence.     

基于IDEF0 模型的业主——承包商Partnering 研究 ——对某大型国际电信项目的案例分析

工程项目中的Partnering 致力于建立相互信任、跨组织协作的高效项目执行模式。从信息流程的角度,将Partnering 分为3 阶段5 个子过程。运用IDEF0 模型,从输入、限制条件、驱动机制和输出4 个方面识别3 个阶段中影响Partnering 的因素。通过实际案例,分析Partnering 实施中网络型信息流,呈现其各子过程之间的逻辑关系。研究发现,组织的高层管理者在Partnering 前期是关键的驱动机制;组织间的信任水平是Partnering 实施效果的主要限制因素;问题解决效果和共同目标的达成与否是衡量Partnering 效果的关键子过程;项目执行中的一方的持续努力会局部改善Partnering 的实施效果。     

Chinese culture and successful implementation of partnering in Singapore's construction industry

Partnering is based on the principles of trust, mutual respect and cooperation towards the achievement of a common goal. Although partnering can help to resolve the problems of Singapore's construction industry, its usage is relatively low. This paper examines whether Chinese culture can facilitate partnering implementation in Singapore's construction industry. This is because Chinese culture contains some values that are important determinants of success of partnering. A postal survey on Chinese-owned large contractors in Singapore was undertaken to ascertain how Chinese culture influences their way of conducting business and the implementation of partnering. The study showed that Chinese contractors understand their culture as comprising certain core values that influence the operations of their businesses and their relationships with others, and that Chinese culture aids the implementation of partnering. It is suggested that Chinese construction entrepreneurs should apply the elements of their culture to formulate appropriate business practices, and to implement partnering.     

Innovation in clean-room construction: a case study of co-operation between firms

This study examines partnering between a large client, multinational contractors and specialist suppliers, and local subcontractors involved in a project to construct clean room facilities. An ethnographic approach is used, which demonstrates the changing attitudes, values and the new working arrangements that emerged. The social bond of a ‘construction challenge’ was the basis of trust and sharing risk in a ‘quasi-fixed network’. In place of formal contracts, ongoing bargaining and continuous negotiation took place. However, the client was seen to dominate the construction process. Shared workspaces or ‘liminal zones’, betwixt and between firms, were created to allow collaboration. These are argued to be a practical organizational approach to sharing information and co-ordinating inter-firm activities. Among trades, agreements were struck to exchange training and apprenticeships for allowing foreign specialists and equipment to be imported by the high-purity gas supplier. Liminal zones appear to function as on-the-job classrooms for rapidly training workers in unfamiliar construction techniques and systems.     

An empirical study of the benefits of construction partnering in Hong Kong

Many construction companies have adopted partnering in their construction projects over the past 10–15 years due to favourable project outcomes achieved. Its use in construction projects has been increasing rapidly as its benefits become more apparent and pervasive. This paper reviews the partnering literature within the construction field and tries to portray the comprehensive picture of benefits for the partnering practice. Through partnering and the active involvement of all key project parties, the project is more likely to be completed within budget, on time, and with the least number of conflicts, claims and work defects. Also, this paper reports upon the findings of a questionnaire survey of partnering benefits in Hong Kong. Seventy‐eight project participants completed a questionnaire to indicate the relative importance of partnering benefits. The perceived benefits were measured and ranked from the perspectives of the client, contractor and consultant for cross‐comparison. The results revealed that ‘Improved relationship amongst project participants’, ‘Improved communication amongst project participants’ and ‘More responsive to the short‐term emergency, changing project or business needs’ were the most significant benefits derived from the use of partnering. More partnering arrangements should be actively introduced into the construction procurement process so that every party can enjoy the full benefits of partnering.     

Automation and robotics in construction: a challenge and a chance for an industry in transition

Due to the prevailing prototype-oriented and mostly unstructured approach to construction, the introduction of self-optimizing and self-organizing systems (e.g. robots) will require organizational adjustments on the construction site as well as in the planning and design phase. Issues such as safety, job enrichment, high quality, vanishing craftsmanship, optimal usage of resources and preventive maintenance, are basic incentives to study the application of both system theory and cybernetics to construction operations. It is almost inevitable that intelligent machines will find their way into construction. Without question, both the fragmentary nature and the size of this industry make it unreceptive to revolutionary changes. In addition, there are many institutional barriers. Despite these facts, there are signs that forecast a transition period in construction, and they are becoming more and more visible. This paper provides a systematic insight into the prospect of an evolutionary development which may have already started.     

基于Partnering模式的特大自然灾害施工索赔研究

我国在施工索赔领域的相关研究起步较晚,大型土建施工项目遭遇特大自然灾害的相关索赔方法仍较为缺乏。基于Partnering理论,对现有规范中的工程索赔条款进行补充,并提出Partnering索赔模式。以某施工项目为例,阐述基于Partnering模式的特大自然灾害施工索赔过程,论证该模式的可行性。     

论Partnering模式在节能住宅科技示范项目建设中的应用

研究了Partnering模式在节能住宅建设领域的应用。探讨了在节能住宅科技示范项目建设中引入该模式的重要性,提出了科技示范项目Partnering运行平台的构成要素和沟通机制,结合具体案例讨论了Partnering的三类主要实施形式,最后提出应用Partnering模式促进节能建筑科技示范项目有序展开的对策建议。     

Rethinking organizational design for managing multiple projects

This paper aims at positioning organizational design as an important phenomenon in the field of project management with a high potential of contributing to organizational theory. While organizational design has been neglected by scholars of management and organizational theory, it has been of great interest to those from the project management field. This incongruence—comprising the focus of this study—calls for new insights on theorization in context. The paper provides a preliminary theoretical framework combining contingency theory, the historical approach and social theory to understand organizational design, both as a thing and as a process. It provides empirical evidence from three case studies in healthcare. Findings confirm the specificity of each design while at the same time adopting a similar temporal pattern. We take this opportunity to highlight the seminal work of Rodney Turner on project-based organization and design.

Defining relational contracting from the Wittgenstein family-resemblance philosophy

There has been an increasing interest in the concept of relational contracting (RC) in construction starting from the late 1990s. RC embraces and underpins different forms of collaborative approaches, including partnering, alliancing, joint venture and other collaborative working arrangements and better risk sharing mechanisms. By applying Nyström's and Yeung et al.'s similar approaches to define construction partnering and construction alliancing respectively, this paper focuses on RC and family-resemblance. A significant contribution to new knowledge is believed to have been made in providing a concise and comprehensive approach in defining the similar and yet different key components of RC by using a Sunflower Model. The development of this innovative Model is based on the German philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein's family-resemblance philosophy. His idea is that a complex concept can be understood as a network of overlapping similarities. Based on the reported literature, it is concluded that there are always five core elements included in construction RC. They are “commitment”, “trust”, “cooperation and communication”, “common goals and objective”, and “win–win philosophy”. In addition to these core elements, a number of different non-core elements, or called petals, can be added to constitute a specific variant of RC in construction. The contribution can be of paramount importance to both the research community and the construction industry. By using this innovative theoretical framework to define construction RC, industrial practitioners may find the Sunflower Model useful in the procurement of a construction RC project. The Sunflower Model can be applied to explain the underlying concepts and as a common starting point for discussions between a client and a contractor on how to procure a RC project, thus avoiding any misinterpretations of what a RC project is.     

An evaluation of partnership development in the construction industry

Improving the effectiveness of projects, particularly in construction, is of interest and concern to practitioners and academics alike. To this end, the use of partnering, now commonplace in a variety of industry sectors has been encouraged in the UK construction industry. However, in many respects project environments represent the antithesis of current thinking in partnership development and an unusual and difficult application, particularly at the lower levels in the supply chain. This paper, therefore, is concerned with evaluating the progress the UK construction industry has made in its adoption of partnering, how it is likely to develop in the future and what the implications might be for the industry’s suppliers. The partnering experiences of Main Contractors with Main Subcontractors for structural steel products are examined and a conceptual framework of the success factors presented and discussed. Critically, clients and not suppliers were found to be major barriers to the industry’s adoption of partnering.     

Reinforcing cycles involving inter- and intraorganizational paradoxical tensions when managing large construction projects

In recent years, scholars have shown a growing interest in combining control and flexibility when organizing and managing large construction projects, in contrast with the traditional focus on control. Prior research recognizes that there is a paradoxical tension between control and flexibility, meaning that, while both approaches make sense individually, they appear impossible to combine. Large construction projects are interorganizational, which means that tensions between interorganizational control/flexibility coexist with tensions between intraorganizational direction/empowerment, but the interplay and possible reinforcing cycles involving the two tensions have rarely been investigated in prior research. A multiple case study of four large construction projects with three rounds of interviews show how intraorganizational direction/empowerment can influence interorganizational control/flexibility and vice versa, and demonstrate both vicious and virtuous reinforcing cycles that involve the two types of tensions. Therefore, contributing to the project management and construction management literature, it is argued that employing a systemic approach when studying interorganizational projects is essential. A systemic paradox perspective can reveal interdependencies between tensions at different organizational interfaces, improve the understanding of how individuals in all managerial positions interplay, and explain how reinforcing cycles emerge and develop; this is important to recognize when organizing, staffing and managing large construction projects.     

构建集成化项目伙伴关系团队研究

在阐述构建集成化项目伙伴关系团队必要性的基础上,提出了项目伙伴关系团队业主主导性、成员动态性和信息交流复杂性的特点。同时,从合同角度,对非合同化与合同化伙伴关系中集成化项目伙伴关系团队的构建进行了分析。     

基于战略Partnering 模式的工程项目组合管理研究

工程项目组合管理模式的选择对项目组合综合效益有显著影响,将战略Partnering 模式应用于工程项目组合管理中,有助于提高工程项目组合的管理水平及收益。通过对战略Partnering 模式概念和特点的分析,设计了战略Partnering 模式的组织结构,提出了战略Partnering 模式的工作流程,详述了基于战略Partnering 模式的工程项目组合管理机制应包括信任机制、沟通机制、协作机制、利益机制与调节机制。