Critical Factors Affecting Trust in Construction Partnering in UK

Abstract

Critical Factors Affecting Construction Partnering has been advocated for use in the construction industry as a new procurement approach that tries to create an effective project management process between two or more organisations with the aim of providing a sound basis for a win-win climate. Among the success factors of partnering, trust and mutual understanding have been identified as the most important components. However establishing trust among partners in construction is very daunting especially when they are operating under a bid-price ­driven environment which promotes suspicious behaviours. A questionnaire survey was conducted on client organisations, consultancy firms and contractors in the UK to assess the role of trust in partnering. Results from the study indicated that the relationship between trust and partnering is not always linear suggesting that apart from 'trust' other elements are required to achieve success in partnering. Moreover, 14 trust attributes identified in literature were considered to be of relevance to partnering success. 'Openness and integrity of communication' was seen to be the most critical trust factor. The other relatively more critical factors which include competence, effective communication and sufficient information flow are all action related attributes required in the day-to-day running of projects.

Keywords: Partnering, Trust, Success, Attributes