- Title
- An investigation of psychological contracts in construction procurement
- Creator
- Jefferies, M. C.; Davis, P. R.; Ke, Y.
- Relation
- Going North for Sustainability: Leveraging knowledge and innovation for sustainable construction and development. Going North for Sustainability: Leveraging knowledge and innovation for sustainable construction and development: CIB International Conference Proceedings (London 23-25 November, 2015) p. 70-80
- Publisher
- IBEA Publications
- Resource Type
- conference paper
- Date
- 2015
- Description
- Purpose: A psychological contract (PC) is an unwritten contract with mutual obligations as the central issue and it fills the gaps in a relationship and shapes employee behaviour. To date, there has been limited research that has examined PC with respect to procurement methods in construction projects. There is a lot written about PCs, as a theoretical framework in areas such as strategic supplier partnering and relationships, but little research has been undertaken within a construction management context. An increased understanding of PC would enable procurement teams to identify the nuances associated with relationships in procurement and stakeholder selection. Aim/Objectives: This research aims to examine social exchanges in construction contracts so that partners can better manager their relationships in projects. Specific objectives of the broader research are to: identify the presence of psychological contracts in construction projects; identify and catalogue the affect that the PC's has on the teams in various procurement models currently utilised within construction management and deliver a conceptual model of the PC in traditional and relationships style procurement scenarios. Method: This paper reports on the first stage of a broader research project. To check and maintain currency of the topic, focus groups are held with key industry players and this is followed by the development of a survey instrument administered to a large sample of construction professionals involved with project delivery (n=100). Results: PCs are clearly present in the construction delivery team and they have considerable effect on the interaction between the project stakeholders. It appears that the PC variables underpin behaviours to a considerable extent. The next stage of the research is to use the output from the triangulated survey to develop a conceptual model of the PC in traditional and relationships style procurement scenarios.
- Subject
- psychological contracts; traditional procurement; alliance contracting; focus groups
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1316775
- Identifier
- uon:23266
- Identifier
- ISBN:9781326479510
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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