Building Contractor in Dubai: Will the trust be rebuilt?

Building Contractors have suffered significantly after the oil price drop and affected complex construction projects in the United Arab Emirates. After this crisis, adversarial relationships and trust issues between subcontractors and building contractors have increased, therefore, it has become necessary to rebuild trust between them. This dissertation has developed a framework to effectively rebuilding trust between the subcontractors and main contractors throughout the project life cycle. The purpose of this research is to investigate the subcontractors and building contractors’ relationship in complex projects in order to identify the main trust dimensions that impact their relationship, and to define the main factors that contribute to rebuilding trust (i.e., developing, building, and maintaining trust) between them. Based on Zand’s (1972) interpretations, the researcher argued that trust is considered a gradual and self-reinforcing phenomenon that is not an isolated incident; rather, it is built up throughout a project life cycle or many projects. The researcher found that trust factor has a significant impact on subcontractors and main contractors’ relationship, however, there is minor impact of their relationship on building trust between them, and that early contractor engagement in the initiation and planning stage positively impacts the subcontractors and main contractors’ relationship, and that the higher the level of trust between them, the better the project performance. This dissertation suggests that having proper contractual agreement will also reinforce the trusting partners in projects. The research also provides recommendations for subcontractors and main contractors to improve their trusting relationships, in addition to recommendations for further study.

Authors: RAMAZ SELMAN ISSA
Publication date: 2017
Institution: The British University in Dubai (BUiD)

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Ramaz Issa

Ramaz Issa is a professional Building Contractor, he has more than 15 years experience in the construction industry including but not limited to; Interior decoration and fit-out for residential buildings, Villas, Mansions and commercial spaces such as offices, clinics, restaurants and warehouses. Ramaz Iss is a Project Management Professional (PMP Certified) and achieved his Bachelors degree in Civil engineering in 2009 and Masters Degree in Project Management in 2017.

Project Management

Construction

Fitout

Electrical & Mechanical

Renovation & Maintenance