Purpose: Transaction costs in projects can be reduced through improved collaboration between contractors and clients. The purpose of this paper is to respond to the call for further research on the framework suggested by Li et al. (2015) who presented 26 factors that determine project transaction costs. The objective is to empirically test the framework to identify factors that have the greatest influence on project collaboration so that practitioners can prioritize their efforts on the most salient factors that will improve collaboration and reduce transaction costs. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employed interviews with 38 project practitioners from three different industries in Norway. The respondents had in average 20 years of professional experience. Findings: The quality of communication, project uncertainty, owner’s organizational efficiency, change orders and trust were the five most frequently found factors that influence both project transaction costs and collaboration level. When the authors compared findings between different industries the authors found that the quality of communication was important for all industries. The owner’s organizational efficiency was also highly important in oil and gas and ICT projects. Trust was particularly important in oil and gas projects while frequency of claims was particularly important in construction projects. Practical implications: This paper identifies the five most important factors for project practitioners to prioritize in order to reduce transaction costs through improved collaboration. Originality/value: The paper contributes to the conceptual theory of transaction costs and collaboration as it empirically tests and extends the framework developed by Li et al. (2015).

This paper deals with procurement routes in public building and construction projects in Norway. Seen from a practical point of view, as well as from a theoretical one, it is important to improve methods for selection of procurement procedure, contract model, and compensation formats. The paper objective is to find out if public owners select a procurement route according to recommended practice. The sources are literature, support material for two software tools for selection of the procurement route, and documentation from 22 public building and construction projects in Norway. According to the literature and the support material for the two software tools, the answer to what is the proper procurement route will depend on the characteristics of each project. The documentation study implies that public owners continue to select the same procurement route as they are in the habit of. They do not consider what procurement route suits each single project, and therefore they do not select the route according to recommended practice. The paper calls for innovation and better supported selection of the procurement route in public building and construction projects.

The architectural, engineering, and construction industry is facing challenges related to increased productivity and improved quality. Most of these challenges need to be dealt with early in the design phase of the projects. This requires an effective design process and increases the need for effective building design management (BDM). This paper explores the success factors for BDM by addressing the following research questions: (1) What are the key success factors in BDM according to literature? (2) Which of these key success factors are considered important by practitioners? Based on a literature review, a framework with 10 success factors for BDM is proposed. The success factors were then assessed with a case study. Afterwards, 22 design managers (DMs) have ranked these success factors according to importance. The case study shows that not all 10 success factors were equally dealt with, underlining the need for a broader perspective on successful BDM. The case study findings emphasize the design team and communication as the most important success factors, while the DMs rated communication and decision-making as most important. The proposed framework should enable building DMs to better handle the challenges of the design phase.

It is widely accepted that contractor involvement in the front end can influence the outcome of the project in a positive way. However, in the traditional project delivery method of construction projects, the design and construction process are separated and sequentially. As a consequence of this, it is difficult to integrate construction knowledge in the front-end of projects. The evolving project methods are designed to remove such typical challenges by involving contractors early in the process. The purpose of this paper is to explore the success factors for early contractor involvement (ECI) in public infrastructure projects. In addition, the paper aims to propose suitable approaches to implement ECI for public owners in future projects without violating the EU public procurement directives. In addition to a literature study, multiple case studies on eleven projects selected from the Norwegian public bridge projects were carried out. The majorly identified ECI success factors are timing of ECI application, proper compensation, trust, contractors’ qualification, owners’ competence, and risk distribution. The paper concludes that public owners can implement ECI by using various approaches without violating the EU public procurement directive. Furthermore, based on the identified success factors, effective practical strategies for the successful implementation of ECI may be generated

Purpose: Early contractor involvement (ECI) faces many barriers when it is implemented in public procurement, given that it is different from traditional business practices. Primarily, public owners face a major challenge, as they should treat all bidders equally. The purpose of this paper is to explore suitable ECI approaches that public owners could use. Design/methodology/approach: In addition to a literature and document study, 14 semi-structured in-depth interviews with key personnel from 11 cases selected from Norwegian public bridge projects were carried out. Findings: In all, 23 unique approaches of ECI were identified during this research (16 from literature and 7 new from case projects). The findings provide a new direction to ECI through introducing new approaches of ECI from the case projects. Originality/value: This paper for the first time presents several alternatives of ECI approaches for public owners with the intention of illustrating ECI is actually possible in the public project procurement. Furthermore, it presents for the first time success factors of ECI with the intention of increasing the understanding of ECI concept from a public procurement perspective.