Abstract
This paper examines the process of design and engineering in large-scale construction projects delivered by multinational organizations. The analysis is on the basis of using transaction cost economics to represent design and engineering as a stream of intra-firm transactions between the local contracting office and the network of subsidiary offices. The paper then applies the concept of asset specificity to process-level design and engineering knowledge and induces a theoretical framework on the basis of local and expertise specificity of assets. The framework posits that different levels of local and expertise specificity lead to different modes for intra-firm governance of work packages in design and engineering. The paper validates the theoretical framework with interview data from six major international design and engineering organizations and derives a set of management recommendations for practitioners. The framework takes the transaction cost theory into the realm of intra-firm governance represented as a stream of asset-specific transactions. The framework extends construction engineering and management literature with a transaction-based elaboration of the design and engineering process
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 135-143 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Journal of construction engineering and management |
Volume | 138 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2012 |
Keywords
- IR-81572
- METIS-275411