Comprehensive Understanding Of Factors Impacting Competitive Construction Bidding

Construction competitive bidding has been studied by many researchers; however, their focus was mainly on certain bidding aspects. Thus, despite their value, existing bidding models have limited applicability for various reasons including the non-inclusion of some real-life factors that impact bidding-related decisions. As such, there is a need for identifying a comprehensive list of bidding factors that impact construction bidding-related decisions, studying their associations, and identifying understudied factors to direct future research efforts. This paper fills this knowledge gap. First, the authors conducted a systematic selection of 124 construction bidding-related articles published within the past 40 years. Second, the authors identified a list of 43 bidding factors from the contractor\u27s perspective and divided them into four groups (project, bidding environment, economy, and company) based on their characteristics and relevance. Thereafter, the authors implemented cluster analysis and social network analysis (SNA) to quantitatively analyze the level of inclusion, co-occurrence, and interconnectivity among the bidding factors and identify the gaps in the literature. Results of cluster analysis revealed that previous studies focused mainly on company-related factors, while economy-related factors were the least studied. Also, SNA outcomes highlighted that experience in similar project and availability and costs of rental labor/equipment/material are the most studied factors in theoretical discussions, while number of competitors and size of the project are the most investigated factors in developed models. Consequently, this paper identified understudied bidding factors, including company reputation level in the market, bidding method, bidding stages, and contractor\u27s risk attitude. Thus, this paper contributes to the body of knowledge by promoting a comprehensive understanding of bidding-related factors and providing a road map for incorporating critical understudied bidding-related factors. This would minimize redundancies and maximize the effectiveness of future bidding-related research. Ultimately, this should provide better decision-making for all associated stakeholders

Postaward Construction and Contract Management of Engineering, Procurement, and Construction Hydropower Projects: Two Case Studies from Uganda

The current economic and infrastructural growth in developing countries has triggered the use of multiple forms of alternative contracting methods (ACMs)-including engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC)-in various public sector projects. However, the relative lack of in-depth experience in using EPC contracting methods among public agencies has presented numerous problems. To this end, the goal of this research is to identify the broad postaward construction and contract management (PA-CCM) challenges associated with EPC projects in developing countries using two major infrastructure hydropower projects in Uganda as case studies. A systematic literature review was first conducted to establish a preliminary list of challenges. Afterward, case study data were collected by examining project documentation, conducting site visits, and holding semistructured interviews. The results of this study offered a total of 73 PA-CCM challenges that were categorized into seven different themes. Also, 14 critical lessons learned were identified to better enable stakeholders to mitigate potential problems and promote improved performance for their EPC projects. The outcomes of this paper serve as a pivotal foundation for construction practitioners and future scholars to develop effective mitigation strategies for the challenges associated with EPC contracting methods in developing countries. Practical Applications This paper established a comprehensive list of postaward construction and contract management challenges related to engineering, procurement, and construction projects in developing countries. The presented challenges are extracted based on two project case studies and cross-validated with the current literature. Ultimately, lessons learned for industry practitioners to mitigate the key postaward construction and contract management challenges are devised. The outcomes of this paper provide a solid basis for industry practitioners to identify the various postaward construction and contract management challenges in engineering, procurement, and construction projects and subsequently promote effective implementation and enhanced project performance. The latter is achieved by considering the lessons learned and recommendations offered by this paper during the early stages of the project and before the contract award