Risk allocation plays a crucial role in the successful development of public-private partnership (PPP) projects. However, despite being an important topic for scholars and practitioners, the existing literature does not provide sufficient evidence on how managing risks in solicited (SP) and unsolicited (USP) road PPP projects, and subsequently, on what the sustainability implications are for such managerial processes. This study aims to extend risk allocation studies by analyzing contracts in Chilean highway PPPs over the last decade based on a systematic content analysis framework and case study data. The framework was developed through line-by-line coding of contract provisions associated with risk-related issues, and data were collected from semi-structured interviews with Chilean PPP practitioners. Results show that, although the majority of risks are either shared or transferred to the private party in most contracts, there are important variations in the way allocation procedures are implemented for SPs and USPs. Contracts analyzed revealed that risk arrangement mechanisms have usually focused on the economic dimension of sustainability without fully incorporating social and environmental considerations, increasing protests in the long-term. Conclusions indicate that risk allocation procedures and sustainability considerations are highly dependent on project-specific features and contextual factors. Overall, the analysis uncovers that the level of autonomy given to the private sector in both SPs and USPs has contributed to properly manage technical and economic risks, but has failed to successfully allocate social and environmental concerns.

The architecture, engineering, and construction industry requires methods that link the capture of customer requirements with the continuous measurement of the value generated and the identification of value losses in the design process. A value analysis model (VAM) is proposed to measure the value creation expected by customers and to identify value losses through indexes. As points of reference, the model takes the Kano model and target costing, which is used in the building project design process. The VAM was developed under the design science research methodology, which focuses on solving practical problems by producing outputs by iteration. The resulting VAM allowed the measurement and analysis of value through desired, potential, and generated value indexes, value loss identification, and percentages of value fulfillment concerning the design stage. The VAM permits the comparison of different projects, visualization of the evolution of value generation, and identification of value losses to be eradicated. The VAM encourages constant feedback and has potential to deliver higher value, as it enables the determination of parameters that add value for different stakeholders and informs designers where to direct resources and efforts to enhance vital variables and not trivial variables.

The supply chain relationship is an essential factor in the performance of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD). The IPD system encourages the early involvement of key participants in the design stage. Consequently, this early involvement requires a new configuration of the supply chain relationship in the IPD system. However, there is a lack of knowledge in understanding the performance of the supply chain relationship in the IPD system. To fill this gap, we applied a simulation model, Virtual Design Team (VDT), to explore the dynamics of the supply chain integration in terms of project organization and project delivery process in design. This study presents a conceptual and qualitative analysis of the VDT model applied in two IPD projects. The results explored different behaviors of integration at inter-organizational and project levels throughout project organization, contractual and technological mechanisms of coordination. The project organization characteristics influence the performance of the construction supply chain.

Public projects continually face multiple difficulties for their satisfactory completion. One of the most complex challenges is early contract termination (ECT), which delays social goods delivery and exhausts public resources. This study aimed to determine the root causes of the critical factors that lead to ECT in public building projects. We studied 20 kindergarten construction projects in Chile through a multi-case study. It addressed a pattern-matching analysis of symptoms associated with risks of design–build (DB) contracts and a five whys analysis to determine the root causes of the symptoms identified in the units of analysis. The results show that ECT projects’ most common symptoms are labor force shortage, materials shortage, and non-payment claims. In addition, the root-cause analysis exposed that the main causes of ECT’s symptoms were deficiencies in the bidding evaluation process, which led to an inadequate selection of the general contractor, lack of experience of the owner, and regulatory limitations of the legal framework for public projects. The construction projects faced ECT and cost and time overruns associated with poor risk management due to the owner’s and general contractor’s lack of experience in DB contracts.

Target value design (TVD) is a management approach that applies target costing in the design and construction industry. TVD enables a project environment with favorable characteristics to generate value. However, because the TVD’s primary assessment is cost, target cost can be met without necessarily achieving the project’s full value. This research applies the action research approach to implement TVD in a housing project and explores the value generation of the project using a value analysis model (VAM) to study the balance between cost and value fulfillment in the product and design process. According to the results, even though the target cost was achieved, the desired value of the project was not achieved during the project design. However, there is a tendency to increase value over time to a greater extent in the product and not so much in the process. The main contributions of this study are the possibility of comparing cost and value, identifying the emphasis of product over process and cost over value throughout the TVD project. This study enhances the literature on project value generation and maximization, offering new knowledge for a better understanding of how to conduct a value analysis in combination with costing in TVD projects.