Research On The Boundary Condition Of Contract Flexibility In Construction Project

With the complexity and integration of construction projects,the contracts that emphasize control and planning are not enough to deal with the complexity and uncertainty.Therefore,the related research on contract flexibility has attracted much attention in theory and practice.Contract flexibility is designed to respond to uncertainty through a flexible mechanism design which embodies the adaptive function of the contract.However,the impact of contract flexibility strategy on project management performance is different.The reason is that,the mechanism of contract flexibility affecting contractor behavior is still unclear.On the one hand,contract flexibility provides contractors with a flexible space to adapt to uncertainty,which can motivate them to actively perform and generate positive project management performance.On the other hand,for opportunistic contractors,contract flexibility undoubtedly provides more convenient conditions for their opportunistic behavior.So that,in order to explore the impact of contract flexibility on project management performance,it is necessary to study the boundary conditions of contract flexibility on contractor performance behavior.Based on the project governace strategy combination and incomplete contract theory,the study combs the existing contract flexibility and contractor’s performance behavior.This study divides contract flexibility into 3 dimensions: Price Flexibility,Control-right Flexibility and Renegotiation Flexibility,and divides contractor’s performance behavior into 2 dimensions: Positive Performance Behaviors and Opportunistice Behaviors.In addition,in order to explore the boundary conditions that induce the contractor’s behavior,the study consider the environmental uncertainty(external-organizational level),contract clarity(intra-organizational level)and justice perception(psychological level)as moderator of the influence of contract flexibility on the contractors’ performance behavior,propose research hypotheses and construct conceptual model.By issuing questionnaires and collecting data in Tianjin,Beijing,Shandong and other places,261 valid questionnaires are finally obtained.The reliability and validity of the measurement items are tested by SPSS statistical software and the hypotheses are tested by the Smart PLS statistical software.The results show that: 1)Contract flexibility has a doubleedged sword effect: it can not only guide the contractor’s positive performance behavior,but also induce the contractor’s opportunistic behavior;2)Environmental uncertainty has regulatory effect: the higher the environmental uncertainty,the more renegotiation flexibility can promote the contractor’s positive performance behavior,and the less price flexibility effect on opportunistic behavior;3)Contract clarity has regulatory effect: the clearer the contract clause,the more price flexibility can promote the contractor’s positive performance behavior,and the less the effect of renegotiation flexibility on opportunistic behavior;4)Contractor’s justice perception has regulatory effect: the more justice perception the contractor feels,the more control-right flexibility can promote the contractor’s opportunistiv behavior,and the less effect contractor’s opportunistic behavior at the same time.This study defines the contract flexibility based on the incomplete contract theory and the risk sharing perspective,and verifies the feasibility of the research path of “contract strategy to behavior response” by SEM method.The result shows that the application of contract flexibility is a double-edged sword.Therefore,the corresponding mechanism design,such as contract clarity and contractor’s justice perception,is crucial for the induction of contractive positive effect.Meanwhile,the study draws the following revelation.The contractor should adopt appropriate flexibility strategy according to the actual situation when designing the contract,and pay attention to the clarity of contract terms to promote mutual recognition;The contractor improve the justice perception of the contractor can benefit the contract flexibility to exert positive effect.The research results provide a theoretical basis for the construction project contract flexibility strategy to promote project management performance under uncertain environment.