In the construction industry project procurement management is a very critical area to be considered, because it is a prerequisite for projects to be successful. Particularly, the selection of a suitable contractor is a difficult task. This has often been carried out by way of a competitive tendering process, which is part of the project procurement management process. To make projects run more smoothly many researchers suggest that trust plays an important role in business relationships. This means that clients may benefit from it if appropriately considered as a contractor selection criterion. For this purpose the researcher aimed to shed light on the question of whether trust in general is considered as a selection criterion. Further, what level of trust and the reasons for trust play a role in the selection process. Interestingly, the significance of trust is largely unnoticed. Therefore, the researcher decided to adopt face-to-face interviews as a means of qualitative research. The qualitative research method enhances an understanding for the subject matter unlike the quantitative research method which tries to gain knowledge. For that reason qualitative research involves the use of unstructured exploratory techniques and some critiques even argue that it lacks replicability. / However, trust can potentially affect the contractor selection and was examined by contributions of previous researchers who also addressed this matter. In the literature review trust is outlined within the commercial context in two parts. The first part has an emphasis on the time before the contract award and is therefore to be found under the heading 'ex ante' whereas the second part focuses on post contract award issues and can be found under the heading 'ex post'. / The literature review also follows up the research questions, whether trust could become a decisive factor for the selection of contractors has been investigated and whether clients are prepared to pay a higher premium for risky projects. According to the findings of this paper four major elements could be determined that enhance trust in contractors. The following ranking order is based on importance, whereas the second place is being shared between two equally important trust concerning elements: 1.The existence of a former business relationship; 2. Client's perception of contractor' reputation and risk exposure for the client; 3.Informed opinion of experienced colleagues who worked together with one or more of the bidding contractors. / Thesis (MProjectManagement)--University of South Australia, 2004.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/267460 |
| Creators | Brandt, Lars. |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | copyright under review |
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