Building trust in contractor- owner relationship in construction projects : a case study of Vietnam | |
| Author | Nguyen Thanh Tam |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.CM-14-03 |
| Subject(s) | Construction projects--Vietnam Construction contracts--Vietnam |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Engineering in Construction, Engineering and Infrastructure Management, School of Engineering and Technology |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Dissertation ; no. CM-14-03 |
| Abstract | The construction industry is characterized by a highly fragmented structure of project participants. Adversarial and fractured relationships are rife and deliver poorly on time, cost, and quality for its clients. Particularly, construction projects contain uncertainties that make it difficult to anticipate all potential contingencies within a single contract, and then contracts are not always completed. In such situation, trust between construction stakeholders is essential for overcoming control problems via fostering cooperative relationship. To some extents, trust can be viewed as glue to foster cooperation between organizations and different team members and an vital lubricant that enables to complete the project smoothly. In fact, most studies on trust were conducted exclusively in developed countries where the legal system and economic infrastructure are well-developed and serve as a reliable platform for trust to grow. Likewise, transitional economies characterized by a lack of effective institutions and infrastructure, the trust development model may differ from those in the literature. Besides, few studies have explored the process trust development between construction parties over ae project course, and lack attempts have reduced the concepts behind trust to an operational level. The primary objective of this study were to propose proper model(s) for building and maintaining trust relationship between key construction project parties and to explore how trust influences the project outcome in integrative supply chain. The findings therefore are useful for parties engaging in construction projects in Vietnam to improve working relationships over the project life. First, in identification of operational trust factors, the study involved qualitative research on five large construction projects (case studies) in Vietnam. In each project case, the study conducted in-depth interviews with top management and project managers of the contractors and owners. The technique of CODING data in the Grounded theory was employed in the case study, as apart of research method in searching trust factors. Consequently, the study proposed different sets of operational factors for building trust between contractors and owners according to project phases. The findings indicated that Vietnamese construction parties strongly emphasize relational bonding to build trust between partners, while institutions are given the least attention. In addition, contractors and owners basically agree on the factors to build trust in institutions and relationships, while there are differences in the sets of factors which enhance calculus-based trust between the two groups. Second, the study also explored how trust helps to improve project performance. The hypothesized model presenting the cause – effect relationships between Trust antecedents and Trust consequences was developed based on literature review and five case studies. In order to quantitatively test the formulated hypotheses, a total of 814 sets of the designed questionnaires were delivered to senior field experts working on various types of construction projects in Vietnam. Consequently, the set of 523 valid responses were collected from the survey which is equivalent to 64% of response rate. SPSS and SEM program were employed to perform the analysis. Reliability statistics and Item analysis were employed to check the reliability of the designed questionnaire and determine the correlation between measurement items within one construct. And then Exploratory Factor Analysis was also applied to consider the underlying scales or factor structures. The result of analysis revealed that there are three groups for Trust factor constructs namely Institution-based trust, Relational trust, and Calculus-based trust with total fifteen items. Finally, the model goodness-fit was carried out to determine the fit measures for evaluating. The result showed that both the Measurement model and Structural equation model satisfy requirement of goodness-of fit model. In considering the relationship between Trust factors and their consequences in project management activities, the result of SEM analysis revealed that most of trust factors have positive influence on project performance through improving working environment. Among the three trust factors, Relational trust which is arisen by continual interactions between individuals has most contribution to generating harmony working environment. Regarding beneficial issues based on economic exchange, Calculus-based trust has considerably positive influence on working environment. These two trust factors are essential for improving working relationship in the context of construction projects in Vietnam via facilitating Communication, Cooperation, Negotiation and problem solving as well as Relationship satisfaction. Consequently, these play important role to project success. However, Institution-based trust, which is built up on legal system and professional practice, has least impact on improving working relationship. |
| Year | 2014 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Dissertation ; no. CM-14-03 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Civil and Infrastucture Engineering (DCIE) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Construction Engineering and Infrastructure Management (CM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Hadikusumo, B. H. W; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Chotchai Charoenngam;Sununta Siengthai;Linderoth, Henrik; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Travinh Project 100- Mekong 1.000; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2014 |