International Journal of Project Management Volume 21, Issue 6, August 2003, Pages 419-424 Selected papers from the Fifth Biennial Conference of the International Research Network for Organizing by Projects. Held in Renesse, Seeland, The Netherlands, 28-31 May 2002. doi:10.1016/S0263-7863(02)00082-0 | How to Cite or Link Using DOI Copyright © 2003 Elsevier Ltd and IPMA. All rights reserved. Permissions & Reprints Construction contracts: the cost of mistrust Ramy Zaghloul, and Francis Hartman Project Management Specialization, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 1N4 Received 12 February 2002; revised 20 September 2002; accepted 19 November 2002. ; Available online 3 April 2003. Abstract Current contractual relationships are mainly based on confrontational situations that reflect the level of trust (or mistrust) in the contract documents. This can be the driver to increase the total cost of a specific project and affect the overall relationship between the contracting parties. This has been tested in the construction industry in Canada, and appears to be generalizable across North America. Based on two independent surveys (including the one presented in this paper) of Owners, Consultants and Contractors across Canada, the assessed premium associated with the five most commonly used exculpatory clauses in construction is between 8 and 20% in a seller's market. It should be obvious that trust and contracting methods are related and that this relationship is of vital importance to effective project management and contract administration. To date, little work has been done to explore the advantages of this relationship. This paper presents some...
