Evaluation of construction contractor performance: a critical analysis of some recent research

Abstract

International comparisons of construction industry performance are notoriously difficult. A recent comparative study, extensive in scope and using an innovative approach, is reviewed and questions raised regarding various aspects of the methodology adopted, the validity of the conclusions drawn and manner in which outcomes were reported. Particular areas of concern include the unequivocal statement of conclusions that are based on a small sample, and the use of data from that sample that are, in fact, no more than estimates of project performance. Attention is drawn to the limitations of the research reported and the reliability of the methods used, and the data gathered is examined.International construction, industry comparisons, purchasing power parity, construction research,

Multi-Criteria Decision Making of Contractor Selection in Mass Rapid Transit Station Development Using Bayesian Fuzzy Prospect Model

“…A review of the literature on the following topics was conducted: contractor selection criteria [50,51], the key determinants of contractor performance, and the relative importance of quality assessment [10,20,26,27,35,36,[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]; 18 references and 30 influencing factors were compiled (See Table A1). In addition, 22 influencing factors belong to sustainable development criterions, indexes in critical information infrastructure, cultural heritage, or green procurement [20,26,36].…”

Comparable Performance Measurement System for Construction Companies

“…Whereas previous studies on performance measurement in the construction industry have focused on measuring project performance, recent studies on performance measurement frameworks that have made inroads at the company level are emerging ͑Beatham et Cheah et al 2004;Bassioni et al 2005;Yu et al 2005;Best and Langston 2006͒. These recent studies mainly explain the theories and conceptual frameworks of performance measurement.…”

“…However, most construction companies still depend on performance measurements that focus on financial profitability ͑Kagioglou et al 2001͒. In view of this, some recent studies have discussed the need for key performance indicators ͑KPIs͒ that reflect both a construction company's characteristics, and some of the problems in the performance management of a construction company ͑Beatham et Best and Langston 2006͒. To resolve the limitations discussed above, many institutes, such as the Construction Industry Institute ͑CII͒ in the United States, the Department of Environment, Transport, and the Regions ͑DETR͒ and the Department of Trade and Industry ͑DTI͒ in the U.K., and the Corporation for Technical Development in Chile, have developed PMSs that are suitable for their own national features. In particular, the CII has led PMS development in the construction industry by carrying out much research.…”

“…Existing research, which has been conducted as a performance evaluation and comparison at the company level, is limited in the literature, and in identifying problems and developing a conceptual framework ͑Bassioni et al. 2005;Best and Langston 2006͒. As a result, a measurement system that could be used to compare an organization's performance or be used for benchmarking is lacking ͑Cheah et al 2004͒.…”

“…However, detailed implementation and scoring techniques at the company level need to be investigated and used to develop the existing conceptual framework ͑Bassioni et al. 2005;Best and Langston 2006͒. In this context, we focused on the development of a methodology and process model for PMS implementation at the company level. More specifically, our research objectives were: ͑1͒ To establish a PMS implementation model to drive business performance improvement through competitive benchmarking; and ͑2͒ to develop implementation methods focused on the derivation of a common set of indicators, by which a comparison of a construction company's performance superiority could be made.…”