Purpose – The objective of this paper is to present different perspectives on building “trust” among supply chain participants working on construction projects. Design/methodology/approach – A case study methodology was adopted; with five construction projects selected as five case studies for the trust in construction project on the basis a selection criteria devised for the research project. Over 40 interviews were conducted with participants operating at different levels in their respective organisations and at different point in the supply chain. Findings – The information provided by the multiple informants was, to a large extent, consistent with much of the academic literature relating to the importance of and barriers to trust. Specifically, the case studies highlighted: what people within the construction industry understand by trust, reliance, and honest professional relationship; the key factors that contribute towards building trust and factors that result into breakdown of trust; and organisational and project related factors that influence trust and relationships among people within the industry. Research limitations/implications – The findings from this study are limited due to: a small number of case studies undertaken, focused within the North West Region of England, and limited time and resources available. However, the ideas proposed for ways to develop trust in construction projects as seen from project findings have important implications for not only the clients but also for the main contractors and sub-contractors who need to pay greater attention to build trusting and long-term relationship as part of an integrated supply chain in order to deliver the continuous demand for services especially from public sector clients. Practical implications – If more businesses operating in the construction sector gave more thought to the importance of trust in construction projects then this could have a significant impact on contract design and over all procurement strategy. Specifically the repetitive work carried out by the local authorities in the UK, such as school building and maintenance, social housing stock improvement, etc., can be subcontracted to the contractors on a longer term basis resulting into long term supply chain relationship among organisations and cost savings. Originality/value – The research is among the first attempts in response to Latham report published in 1994, in order to explore the role of trust in construction projects, from the perspective of multiple stakeholders. The paper provides insights into the practical issues that prevent the widespread development of trust within the construction industry, which is a challenge that clearly warrants further attention from academics and practitioners.

Retrofit has been described as one of the major engineering challenges of the twenty-first century (Kelly 2009). However, the industry needs to look beyond regarding the problem as restricted to the physical upgrade of properties. Asset managers, engineers and installers work on and in people’s homes and, in many cases, are subsequently changing the way householders use their homes to meet their comfort and wider energy needs. Here we consider how the twin issues of adopting and living with retrofit technologies have affected groups of residents in social housing. We discuss issues of trust, social norms, engagement and concern that have shaped the adoption process, as well as investigating the everyday experience of living with new configurations of energy consumption. The findings have relevance not only for the social housing sector but also raise questions as to how to effectively deliver programmes such as the Green Deal and the Energy Company Obligation within the UK.

Purpose – The use of partnering has grown within the public sector of the UK construction industry. Central to partnering is the use of the partnering charter. The charter establishes the mutual objectives of the project team. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of objectives that are identified and the potential reasons for them. Design/methodology/approach – A number of partnering workshops have been undertaken through one of the University of Salford's Enterprise Units, the Centre for Construction Innovation. Each of these generated a workshop report, which captured the discussions during the day. These have been analysed in order to establish the different mutual objectives that have been identified for different projects. Findings – The results show that while the key issues of time, cost, quality and safety are still central to what teams identify as successful project delivery, issues surrounding management of relationships including external stakeholders, such as the public, are also prevalent. In addition, there is an increase in identified objectives surrounding sustainable development issues, covering social and environmental goals. Originality/value – The findings provide strong indications that construction is moving towards a more complex regime of objectives in the context of value procurement and partnering arrangements. The objectives identified by the different project teams show that construction projects are now considering both soft management issues and sustainable development as central to the successful delivery of projects.