AN EVALUATION OF COLLABORATIVE PRACTICES IN CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTING IN SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to advance ways of promoting collaborative cooperation between contractors and their supply chain in South Africa. The research approach is qualitative, and the design is based on multiple case studies. It was found that collaboration in South African construction sites has taken a different form from that of the international construction community. The nature of collaboration in South African construction is one of mutual dependency as well as antagonistic relations within teams on-site. Industry professionals apply collaboration by means of incentive programmes and standard contracts. This paper reinforces the idea that supply chain management collaborative practice can be identified within the existing structures of site practices, thus showing that collaborative practices are an integrative management approach. There is a need to develop and implement alternative forms of contracts, such as negotiated and strategic alliancing contracts which are tailored to South African construction. Collaboration enablers, such as regular communication, frequent meetings, incentives, and reward programmes, can improve the morale of the construction team. Opportunities thus exist for eliminating non-collaborative tailored practices between contractors and their supply chain in South Africa.