Procuring Complex Performance in Construction: London Heathrow Terminal 5 And a Private Finance Initiative Hospital

Abstract

This paper takes as its starting point that complex projects, interpreted as multiple dependent interactions between many stakeholders over time, challenge traditional procurement practices based on the serial purchase of discrete components. The paper examines how the procurement management of such projects – procuring complex performance – can be conducted. The paper utilises two contrasting case study examples of high profile UK construction project procurement. The findings suggest that the choice of mechanisms or interfaces for the governance of upstream supply relationships critically relates to subsequent performance. The theoretical contribution is a fusion of procurement literature with the influential CoPS literature.

Keywords: procuring complex performance, contracts and relationships, infrastructure projects