Exploration of factors which affect trust within the context of construction partnering

In recent times partnering strategies for procurement of major capital construction projects have been promoted as a vehicle to obtain better value and increase levels of quality and service delivery. Yet there is still evidence of low levels of client satisfaction, owing mostly to lack of trust. A review of literature has identified a theoretical framework for the creation and development of trust as a means to facilitate more effective business relationships which the study will discuss within the context of the UK construction industry and specifically partnering agreements. Possible explanations why organisations are wary to trust their partners are outlined as scepticism of realisable benefits, opportunism and inequitable working relationships. Trust is considered from the perspective of its attributes and factors that will have an influence on it. A qualitative research methodology approach is adopted through interviews with eight senior construction professionals with the research sample restricted to those UK based contracting, consulting and client organisations that have had experience of partnering projects and strategies. Coding and analysis of the resultant data has provided some insight as to why organisations may feel vulnerable about vesting trust in their partners. This lack of trust may have caused a lack of appetite for taking perceived unnecessary risks considering certain practices, attitudes and behaviours of partnering organisations. This is especially the case in project partnering, where relationships are perceived to be short term, as opposed to strategic partnering. Potential trust building measures to overcome such dilemmas have emerged and these include informal networking, professional development and team workshops. Future research is recommended to further explore how trust building initiatives can be designed and implemented in developing a framework for increasing trust in partnering strategies.