A comparative study of contractor performance based on Japanese, UK and US construction practice

Globalisation of world economy requires that any robust benchmarking of contractor performance be conducted on an international level. The Japanese and US construction industries are internationally renowned as world leaders. Notwithstanding this, when at its best, UK construction has been shown to be excellent, and capable of matching any other construction industry in the world. A comparison of contractor performance and practices between the three countries can distinguish their respective strengths and weaknesses and provide an opportunity for contractors to learn from each other and improve their performance. However, comparing international construction is onerous because of the uniqueness of construction products and the complexity of the production process. Each of the existing methods developed for this purpose has its own limitations in terms of comparability and/or representativeness of data. Having undertaken an international review of contractor performance, the research has: a) defined 'best practice' for contractors and established criteria to evaluate contractor performance and practice in terms of construction cost, construction time, construction quality and sustainable development; b) developed a new research approach towards comparing international contractor performance based on a hypothetical construction project which maintains the comparability and representativeness of data; c) conducted a questionnaire survey among contractors in the three countries to collect information in regards to their performance and practices; d) identified the significant differences in contractor performance and practices between the three countries and revealed the possible causes for the disparities; e) developed six best practice performance models by means of multiple regression analysis. The thesis concluded that there exist significant differences in contractor performance and practice between Japan, the UK and the US. Based on the practices of contractors in the three countries, factors significantly influencing contractor performance are identified and measures for performance improvement are recommended for contractors.