Effect Of Level Of Owner-Provided Design On Contractor’s Design Quality In DB/EPC Projects

There is no consensus on the appropriate level of owner-provided design in DB practice.Much owner-provided design compromises the innovation of contractors while little owner-provided design may fail to clearly specify the owner’s requirements.This paper explicitly and empirically investigates the effect of the level of owner-provided design on the design quality of contractors in DB projects.Empirically results reveal that the level of owner-provided design negatively affects design innovation and positively affects design change.Contractor’s competence moderates the effect of owner-provided design level on design innovation.The owner should provide a minimum proportion of design completion for high design quality.It is also found out that the owner should pay close attention to the selection of contractor and the clear articulation of his requirements in RFP.The findings contribute to a further understanding of how the owner should prepare his RFP with regard to the optimal level of design.