Relational contracting in the construction industry: Mapping practice to theory

There has been an increasing interest in the concept of relational contracting (RC) in the construction industry. The performance of RC approaches in construction projects, especially in highly complex and/or time-constrained infrastructure construction projects, is not very satisfying, although there have been sporadic improvements. Hence, this paper aims to map the practices of three main RC contractual arrangements (i.e. project partnering, alliance contracting, and integrated project delivery) to Relational Contract Theory (RCT). The comparative analysis of these three RC contractual arrangements is undertaken to illustrate how different arrangements are weighted in different key elements derived from RCT. Following this study researchers can proceed to investigate situational variables that will make a particular RC approach most suitable. Industrial practitioners can use the findings as a description of the concept and a starting point to facilitate the RC practices at the procurement phase of a RC project