Research On The Dynamic Relationship Between Contractual Governance And Trust In Construction Projects

The increasing complexity of construction projects makes the role of contract as a formal governance mechanism very limited,and the understanding of project organization has changed from temporary contractual organization to temporary social network organization.Therefore,in the complex institutional environment,we should not only pay attention to formal contractual governance,but also recognize the importance of informal relationship governance characterized by social networks.As the core element of relationship governance,trust can ease the hostile relationship between the two parties,but on the other hand,excessive trust will greatly enhance the probability of opportunism between the two parties.Therefore,the transaction can not only rely on trust to achieve effective project governance,but also need to be balanced with the contract in order to maximize its positive effect.However,most of the existing studies on the integration of contractual governance and trust focus on the qualitative analysis of static combination or the dynamic complementary relationship between them explained by external factors,while the quantitative research on the internal mechanism of the integration governance mechanism in the time dimension is seriously insufficient.In view of this,it is necessary to quantify the dynamic interaction between contractual governance and trust at different stages of a project,while stripping the external factors.Based on the theory of integrated governance,this study combs the connotation and dimensions of existing contractual governance and trust in the field of construction.On this basis,this study divides contractual governance into pre-contracting contract design and postcontracting contract performance,and further refines contract design into clarity of contract terms and adaptability of contract terms,and corresponding trust is initial trust and continuous trust.Based on the analysis of the existing literature,the research hypothesis of the relationship among contractual governance,initial trust,continuous trust and project management performance is put forward and the conceptual model is constructed.In this study,183 valid questionnaires were finally obtained by issuing questionnaires and collecting data in Tianjin and Beijing.In this study,SPSS Statistics 21.0 statistical software was used to process and analyze the valid questionnaire data collected.After the reliability and validity of each variable were tested,Smart PLS 3.0 statistical software based on SEM-PLS research method was used to test the hypothesis.Through data analysis,the following results are obtained:(1)Contractual governance and continuous trust can promote project management performance,but there is a gap in incentive effect.Continuous trust play the most significant role in promoting project management performance,followed by the strictness of contract performance.The adaptability and clarity of contract terms can improve project management performance,but the role is the weakest.(2)Prior to the conclusion of a contract,the initial trust promotes the design of the terms of contractual governance,which in turn can positively regulate the relationship between the initial trust and the continuous trust.(3)Continuous trust has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between the strictness of contract performance and project management performance.Based on the dynamic characteristics of the integrated governance theory,this study concludes that contractual governance and trust have two stages.Therefore,when subdividing the dimensions and concepts,the connotation of contractual governance and trust in different project stages and the differences of governance mechanism are taken into account.On this basis,it further reveals that the choice and application of governance mechanism should take into account the lateral changes of the mechanism itself and the other governance mechanism.Longitudinal interaction produced by mechanism.It makes up for the lack of explanatory power to some practical situations and the lack of quantitative research on the internal dynamic role of the integrated governance mechanism formed by contractual governance and trust.The research results provide a cornerstone for the follow-up dynamic study of integrated governance mechanism,and also provide a theoretical basis for the selection and emphasis of project governance mechanism by the construction project managers at different project stages.