Improving Design Performance by Alliance between Contractors and Designers in International Hydropower EPC Projects from the Perspective of Chinese Construction Companies

Abstract

Extant literature lacks a systematic framework addressing the mechanisms of the alliance functional process and its impacts on management activities together with performance in delivering Engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) projects. This study quantitatively investigates the cause-effect relationships among these themes by building and validating a conceptual model of contractor-designer alliance in international hydropower EPC projects. With the support of data collected from an industry survey, the results reveal the key design problems, application of contractor-designer alliance, design management level and performance, which form a sound basis for design management emphasis in EPC activities, e.g., sufficiently considering sustainability of hydropower projects by incorporating environmental, social, and economic factors into designs. The path analysis indicates that the contractor-designer alliance can not only improve design performance by enhancing design management, but also directly promote design performance. This research has significant contributions to the body of knowledge by building interdisciplinary linkages between the areas of alliance, design management, and performance, theoretically demonstrating the mechanism of how interfirm cooperation functions to achieve superior design outcomes of hydropower EPC projects. Understanding these causal relationships will be crucial for contractors and designers to optimally allocate their complementary resources for seeking better design solutions in dealing with both technical issues and sustainability factors.

Social Sustainability: Satisfying Owners and Communities by Multilevel Strategies of Contractors

“…The SEM analysis yields that the cooperation substrategy receives the largest weight, with a regression weight of 0.48. Various forms of cooperation exist, such as networks with other construction parties [43]; strategic alliances with owners, government agencies, labor unions [44] and designers [45]; construction joint ventures [46]; and partnerships with suppliers who acknowledge and support green construction [47]. All the cooperation forms are devised to extend the competency of individual engaging parties in business operations, leading to a higher competitive advantage over competitors.…”

Interdependencies and Public Procurement Law. The Example of Spanish Division into Lots

“…Notwithstanding, communication channels play a key role in the development of a construction project and in the management of interdependencies (Zhang et al, 2018); hence, poor communication in the planning process may also increase uncertainty (Cheung, Yiu, & Lam, 2013;Wong & Lam, 2011). Regarding communication, organizational interdependencies -who does what and the established control mechanisms-should be taken into account in the design of the procurement, as they offer great opportunities for the contracting authority to increase the quality of the outcome (Walker & Lloyd-Walker, 2016).…”

Sustainable Energy Development under Climate Change

“…The sixth paper by Zhang et al [13] quantitatively investigates the cause-effect relationships among mechanisms of contractor-designer alliance in international hydropower Engineering-Procurement-Construction (EPC) projects. This indicates that allowing the building of interdisciplinary linkages between the areas of alliance, design management, and performance of inter-firm cooperation functions would allow one to achieve superior design and sustainability outcomes of hydropower EPC projects.…”