Construction Research Congress 2020
How to Choose a Trusted Contractor? Ability, Experience, and Reputation
Publication: Construction Research Congress 2020: Project Management and Controls, Materials, and Contracts
ABSTRACT
In the construction market, owners and contractors often face a dilemma of trust. Research has focused on the important role of trust in project success. However, rare has discussed the formation of trust between the owner and the contractor in the project. Based on the signal theory, this paper constructs a moderation model including the contractor’s capability, experience, and reputation to explain the formation process of trust. A total of 206 valid questionnaires from engineering practitioners were attained. The results show that the contractor’s ability and experience have a positive effect on trust. Reputation shows a moderating effect on these two relationships suggesting that when reputation is insufficient, owners are more willing to choose contractors with strong ability. What’s more, reputation reinforces the relationship between experience and trust. This study sheds a light on the formation of trust in engineering projects and provides a theoretical basis for the application of signal theory in engineering management. The findings also provide measures for practitioners to select reliable contractors.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Construction Research Congress 2020: Project Management and Controls, Materials, and Contracts
Pages: 1203 - 1211
Editors: David Grau, Ph.D., Arizona State University, Pingbo Tang, Ph.D., Arizona State University, and Mounir El Asmar, Ph.D., Arizona State University
ISBN (Online): 978-0-7844-8288-9
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Published online: Nov 9, 2020
Published in print: Nov 9, 2020
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