Mechanism And Governance Strategy Of The Contract Flexibility Paradox Under The Context Of DB/EPC Projects

The massive investment of infrastructure urgently needs to improve the project delivery mode to improve the project value.Under this background,the delivery mode of construction projects in China is changing towards EPC/DB,which pursues project value-added.However,in practice,the integrated delivery model,represented by EPC/DB,appears to be "system degradation".The reason is that the information of design is not enough when bidding for the EPC/DB project,so it is necessary to set the possibility for the adjustment of the design through contractual flexibility.However,the "efficiency paradox" of contractual flexibility puts the owner in a dilemma and hinders the completion of the EPC/DB project.Therefore,it is of great significance to study the mechanism and governance strategy for the efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility under the context of EPC/DB.Therefore,this dissertation takes the logic of context research as the analysis framework for the efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility and takes project governance as the theoretical basis to construct the conceptual model,which explains the mechanism of efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility from the perspective of contractual flexibility paradox.The governance strategy for the paradox of efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility is explored according to the thought of "contingencycombination".The following contents are studied by using grounded theory,structural equation model,calculation experiment,and case analysis.1.Constructing the conceptual model of the efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility.Based on the theory of project governance,following the logic of context research,this dissertation makes exploratory research on the conceptual model of the efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility in the context of EPC/DB.The results show that contractual flexibility includes two dimensions: price flexibility and renegotiation flexibility,which affect contractors’ opportunistic behavior and consummate performance behavior through the control function and adaptation function of contract governance,respectively.Environmental uncertainty,behavioral uncertainty,and fuzziness of quality standards are the moderating factors of the contractual flexibility action path.2.Analysis of efficiency paradox mechanism for contractual flexibility.The structural equation model is used to analyze the conceptual model,and the results are explained from the perspective of paradox.The results show that two competition paths lead to the paradox of contract flexibility efficiency:(1)price flexibility suppresses control function.It improves opportunism vs.price flexibility,improves adaptation function,and promotes consummate performance behavior.(2)Price flexibility relaxes control function and triggers opportunistic behavior,while renegotiation flexibility enhances control function and suppresses opportunistic behavior.As for moderating factors,the uncertainty of behavior,the uncertainty of the environment,and the ambiguity of quality requirements will adjust the effect of the competitive path.3.Exploring the governance strategy for the efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility.According to the combination perspective,the potential profile analysis method is used to analyze the governance strategy for the efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility.According to the different levels of external environment,the results show that there are three governance strategies for the efficiency paradox of contract flexibility.That is control strategy,balance strategy,and flexibility strategy.4.Suggestions on the management of contract performance for EPC/DB projects.This dissertation analyzes the current situation of China’s EPC/DB with the method of case analysis.It puts forward suggestions on restraining opportunistic behavior and promoting consummate performance behavior from the perspective of contract performance according to the governance strategy of contract flexibility paradox.Generally speaking,the innovation of this dissertation is reflected in the following three aspects.First the theoretical model for the efficiency paradox of contract flexibility of EPC/DB in China is constructed,which lays the theoretical foundation for the related research.Second revealing the mechanism for efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility of EPC/DB project,and opening the theoretical black box of contractual flexibility efficiency paradox.Third exploring and expounding the governance strategy for the efficiency paradox of contractual flexibility,promoting the research of contract flexibility strategy from single context to multiple contexts,thus expanding the research of contractual flexibility governance strategy.The research results deepen the research content of EPC/DB and enrich the related theory of contract flexibility.