Enhancing trust-based interface management in international engineering-procurement-construction projects

The engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) method is gaining more acceptance worldwide as a project delivery strategy due to the construction efficiencies gained through making one organization responsible for integration of the processes of design, procurement, and construction. Such EPC projects are not without their difficulties - for example, the time pressures frequently brought by overlapping design, procurement, and construction increase uncertainty and complexity in managing the multiple interfaces between different interacting stakeholders. This paper aims to quantitatively and systematically examine how trust, openness, and communication interrelate to improve interface management performance in international EPC projects. A conceptual model is developed and tested with data collected from a questionnaire survey and interviews. The path analysis demonstrates that trust not only can be directly conducive to interface management but also has a positive impact on interface management through enhanced interorganizational openness and communication. Social network analysis visualizes contractors' industrial relations and reveals different impacts of stakeholders in trust and interface networks of international EPC contractors. This study advances previous research by developing a systematic framework on the basis of trust for understanding and promoting interface management. Understanding the in-depth underlying interrelations of trust, openness, and communication can contribute to improving alignment between stakeholders and to appropriately applying interface management in practice.