Assessment Of The Relationship Between Contractors And Their Subcontractors And Its Impact On Project Performance Of Building Construction Projects In Addis Ababa

Abstract

Construction projects have become complex, hence, most projects are subcontracted to allow for specialization and to minimize the work load of the main contractor. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the main and subcontractors in the Ethiopian context. Selection criteria of main contractors to select suitable subcontractors, Factors leading to the contractor- subcontractor interface problems, contractual relationship between main contractors and subcontractors and the impact of their relationship on construction project performance specifically on time, cost and quality are the main topics addressed in this study. The information is collected through questionnaire from a sample of randomly selected 81 class 1, 2, 3 main contractors and 101 their subcontractors which are currently working in Addis Ababa on building construction projects. The response of respondents’ organized and statistical analysis like computing relative importance index, frequencies, percentiles, graphs and charts is carried out by using Excel and SPSS software. The factors used by main contractors to select suitable subcontractors, interface problems and factors affecting time, cost and quality of a construction project ranked based on their relative importance index value. In addition to this to compare the difference in opinion of main contractors respondents and subcontractors respondents independent sample t-test was conducted for each factor and in group. The comparison presented in table format in a way of indicating the existence of significant difference or not. The study found out important selection criteria, factors causing interface problems between main contractors and subcontractor and factors affecting the most important criteria of construction project performance (Time, cost and quality). Moreover contractual related problems like absence of standard form of contract, absence of safety guide lines in the contracts and payment issues identified. Based on the findings recommendations for main contractors, subcontractors, government bodies and future researchers are forwarded.