Information feedback in construction contract bidding: Perceptions of Hong Kong contractors

Abstract

Contractors learn from their experiences in which feedback information plays a key role to enable experiential learning in recurrent bidding. However, little is known about how contractors perceive and act in response to varying levels of bidding feedback information from construction clients. Focussing on construction procurement in Hong Kong, this exploratory study examines: (i) the level of bidding information feedback from public, private and quasi-government client groups, and (ii) the sources, types, uses and adequacy of bidding feedback information from these client groups from contractors’ perspective. Data was collected using online questionnaire. The results provide strong evidence that the respondents perceive bidding feedback information from the three client groups are inadequate. They have heavily relied on multiple and/or ‘unofficial’ sources for obtaining bidding feedback information. Nonetheless, there is suggestive evidence of different possible uses of bidding feedback information among the contractors, which could substantially affect bidding outcomes. This study provides a much-needed insight into clients’ information feedback conditions and how feedback information might be used by contractors in competitive bidding. The research implication for clients is that they should take into consideration contractors’ need for feedback information in their procurement design so as to enhance efficiency in their procurement practices.