FAMILIAR COLLABORATION AND ITS ADVERSE IMPACTS ON THE QUALITY OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS

Abstract

Due to the fragmented and complex nature of the construction industry, many countries, including Singapore have progressively encouraged greater collaboration among major stakeholders in the construction industry. It is hoped that doing so will result in an increase in quality of construction projects. Given the long duration of a typical construction project, it is plausible for collaborating parties to develop close and personal relationships. Within this dissertation, these relationships shall be classified as “Familiar Collaboration(s)”. Within such strong and intimate relationships, parties may be in danger of committing corrupt practices. In recent years, corruption cases arising from familiar collaboration have caught the public’s attention. If carried to the extreme, familiar collaboration could give rise to corrupt behaviours that have the potential to adversely impact the quality of construction projects. In the context of this issue, this dissertation seeks to propose a conceptual framework to better understand familiar collaboration and its adverse impacts on the quality of construction projects. A mixed research methodology was adopted where both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The findings suggest that contractors i.e. contractors and subcontractors are more inclined to be engaged in familiar collaboration than clients i.e. owners’ representatives and consultants. The findings also suggest that when there is a lack of surveillance, familiar collaboration is likely to lead to favouritism and dishonesty, which is likely to have an adverse impact on the quality of construction projects. Additionally, the findings suggest that value for money, conformance to specifications and fitness for purpose are the main aspects of quality that are likely to be adversely affected by corrupt practices.