Relationships between Construction Clients and Participants of the Building Industry: Structures and Mechanisms of Coordination and Communication

Abstract

This article examines the factors that determine the relationships between project clients and participants of the building industry at two different levels: at the level of the structures created for project procurement and at the level of formal and informal mechanisms of coordination and communication between the client and participants of the building industry, integrated within the project's temporary multi-organization (TMO). Contrary to the majority of contributions in project governance in construction, this research analyses both inter-organization and intra-organization relations in order to challenge existing configurations of the TMO based on procurement strategies. The research, based on comparative case studies of institutional clients in Canada, examines (a) the functioning of the structures and contractual relations between clients and their main consultants and contractors and (b) the formal and informal mechanisms of coordination used by client representatives (notably mechanisms based on informal communication). The results highlight important characteristics of the mechanisms of communication between the institutional client and other members of the project TMO. The study (based on document analysis, observations, interviews and network mapping) concludes that the structure of the TMO, as derived from procurement strategies, does not reflect the real relations between project participants.