Collaboration between Subsidiaries with Different Disciplines in the Construction Industry

Construction projects are becoming more complex and the corresponding contracts (DBFM/DBFMO) are becoming more common. These forms of contracts and the complexity of the projects require a different approach in collaboration of the parties involved. Different parties, amongst which subsidiaries, have to work together on these complex undertakings. Collaboration between subsidiaries is a subject which is not often discussed in research and this paper will provide an insight in this knowledge gap. Using a quantitative approach, this research investigated the influence of the organizational climate on the collaboration between subsidiaries working in different disciplines of the construction industry.

Based on the analysis, collaboration was operationalised in two parts: Soft Collaboration and Hard Collaboration. The independent variables posing significant effects on Soft Collaboration were Trust, Agreements and Clarity of Organizational Goals. The independent variables posing significant effects on Hard Collaboration were Trust, Agreements, Clarity of Organizational Goals and Innovation and Flexibility. When the variable of Soft Collaboration was added to the regression analysis, the significance of the independent variables changed, indicating that Soft Collaboration worked as a mediating variable.

With the results from the quantitative study, a scheme was developed to assess the current state of collaboration between subsidiaries. This scheme can be used in holding companies who are trying to improve the collaboration between subsidiaries, as a communication tool to all employees in the transition from “sentenced partnership” to “collaboration”.