PPMP20015 - Critical Review: Subcontractors in Construction Management

This report critically reviews four scholarly articles focusing on the impact of subcontracting on the performance management of construction companies. The review covers topics such as the negative impacts of improper subcontracting, factors crucial for subcontractor survival during economic downturns, systems for predicting subcontractor performance using AI, and the effects of contractual flexibility on conflict and project success. The analysis identifies key concepts, findings, implications, and reflections from each article, culminating in a comparative theme analysis and highlighting the importance of effective subcontractor management for project success. Desklib provides access to similar solved assignments and study resources for students.

Running head: SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Executive Summary:
One of the most significant but underrated topics of discussion associated with successful
completion of projects in project management is the role of the subcontractors. Hence the
discussed paper’s initial topic is “IMPACT OF SUBCONTRACTING IN PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT OF THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY”. As part of the research
process, the discussed paper has reviewed four scholarly article by the method of critical
analysis to earn an insight of the factors involving subcontractors in the project. On
evaluating the first article, the findings reveal that improper use of the subcontractors can
lead to project casualties which include project delaying and an increase in expenditure. It is
also evident that if, the number of subcontractors is limited than the effectiveness of the
communication and coordination can be increased. The second article suggests that there are
34 crucial factors that are mandatory for the survival of subcontractors in the environment
where their wellbeing is ignored by the main contractor and the owners. Following article has
developed a system to forecast the performance of the subcontractors in the project. The
paper also claims that the system is applicable in the real-life scenario and more accurate than
its predecessors. The findings from the final review reveal the role of contractual flexibility in
project success and what changes can conflict bring it the success ratio. The evaluated
findings are then concussed in a table to offer a simplified understanding before deriving the
literature gap and proposing the research title to conclude the devised report.

2SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Tam, V.W., Shen, L.Y. and Kong, J.S., 2011. Impacts of multi-layer chain
subcontracting on project management performance. International Journal of Project
Management, 29(1), pp.108–116.
Purpose: The authors of the paper has attempted at investigating the impact that is cited in
the project management after the implication of multi-layer chain subcontracting system.
Additionally, the paper has also focused on identifying the reasons behind the poor
performance of the project management in the construction industry of the Hong Kong after
implementing the discussed system.
Method: The reviewed article has adopted primary data collection method to collect the data
in which both the quantitative and qualitative data have been collected. The paper has
adopted remedial research approach and interpretivism as the research philosophy along with
deductive designing of the paper. The data sampling has adopted both the likelihood and non-
likelihood method.
Key Concept: The authors in the paper claim that the adopting the discussed system can offer
the advantage of gaining multiple skills without investing hugely in the training purpose. On
the contrary, the paper also suggests that subcontracting is the reason for the low rate of
project success in the construction industry of Hong Kong.
Findings: The findings after evaluating the data reveal that the improper use of the
subcontracting is one of the significant reason behind the low success ratio of the Hong Kong
construction industry. Additionally, five major factors were determined that were responsible
for the negative impact cited by the discussed system on the time frame of the project and can
also increase the overall cost of the project. Finally, the impact of the discussed system on the
coordination and communication reveals that with an increase in the number of
subcontractors, the effective communication and coordination decreases.
Implication/Significance/Scope: On reviewing the article, it is evident that the role of the
subcontractors cannot be ignored and proper attention should be given to them to ensure the
success of a project. Additionally, the article and its recommendations can be implemented in
the real-life scenario to ensure successful project completion within time and budget.
Reflection: The reviewed article is a well-informed and practised one and also offers viable
information that can prove of great significance in the real world scenario. The only
disadvantage identified in the paper is the lack of practicality. The detailing of the analysis of
the data and graphs to cite the finding would have been more appropriate.

3SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Oviedo-Haito, R.J., Jiménez, J., Cardoso, F.F. and Pellicer, E., 2013. Survival factors
for subcontractors in economic downturns. Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management, 140(3), p.04013056.
Purpose: The motivation for the reviewed paper came from the gap in the literature about the
issues that the subcontractors face in the dire economic situations, and hence they decided to
pursue the discussed purpose. The core purpose pursued by the authors in the paper is to
identify the factors that are crucial for the survival of the subcontractors.
Method: The paper took consideration of the secondary data collection method as part of the
data collection method and concept-indicator model to identify and compare the variables.
The philosophy adopted to pursue with the paper is positivism while the designing has been
done based on the deductive research designing. Additionally, theoretical saturation was
equipped to obtain the size of the data.
Key concepts: The reviewed article has argued that the contractors or the project managers do
not take appropriate consideration of the subcontractors which result in unwanted situations
for the latter. The authors have also claimed that the selection of the subcontractors is based
on the cost factor rather than the quality factor.
Findings: The findings of the paper have categorised eight different categories consisting of
34 factors that are viable for the survival of the subcontractors. The eight categories are
‘financial capital, legal framework, demand, geographic scope, project delivery system,
managerial assets, human assets and relationship assets’.
Implications/Significance/Scope: The paper has proved that the owners and primary
contractors do not give the desired attention to the wellbeing of the subcontractors and hence,
the latter adopt unethical means to sustain themselves in the long run. The unethical means
are related to the offering of the inferior resources (raw products, human and others) which
can ultimately result in quality issues for the project, or in specific case project failure.
Hence, the discussed report has paved the way for further scholarly work and identified a
crucial factor for the real-world implication that can be included in the project management to
avoid project failures.
Reflection: The reviewed article is well-researched and well-presented one whose findings
can be used in the real world to gain an advantage in project management. However, the
structuring and sectioning of the reviewed article cites scope of improvement and should
have been given further attention by the authors. Another notable, fact about the paper is lack
of proper referencing that raises question over the reliability of stated data.

4SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Ko, C.H., 2013. Predicting subcontractor performance using web-based evolutionary
fuzzy neural networks. The Scientific World Journal, 2013.
Purpose: Ko (2013) in the reviewed research article is pursuing the objective of the
developing ‘Evolutionary Fuzzy Neutral Networks’ to forecast the subcontractor’s
performance and in the process facilitate an improved decision-making process for the
project.
Method: The author of the reviewed article has adopted the inductive design for the offered
report, and the selected philosophy is interpretivism. The author has also taken the assistance
of the AI (Artificial Intelligence) systems to pursue the research’s goal. The introduction of
the paper suggests that some previous scholarly work has also been researched to collect the
necessary data for the reviewed paper.
Key concepts: The core concept that drives the research work is the author’s perception of
technology and how it can support the success of projects. Another one of the core concepts
of the paper suggests that one of the critical responsibility of the primary contractor is
selection of appropriate subcontractors based on the need of the project need and
subcontractors past work into account.
Findings: The author of the paper after completing the developing process of the aimed
system to predict the performance of subcontractors implemented the system in an
organisation of Taiwan. The findings from the real-world application of the developed system
that it offered more accurate predictions related to the performance of the subcontractors than
the previous modules such as the NNs (neural networks) or FL (fuzzy logic). It was also
evident that the time consumed in the prediction process was less compared to its
counterparts. Both of the findings integrate together to enhance the organisational decision-
making based on the subcontractors.
Implications/Significance/Scope: The reviewed article has offered a model that can be used to
predict the performance of the subcontractors which is more accurate and time-efficient than
its predecessors and hence can be used in the real-world applications to enhance project
success rate. Additionally, based on the reviewed model, other models can be derived (such
as stakeholder’s response to change & conflict and similar predictions) that can assist in
predicting other CSFs for the project success.
Reflection: The paper is full of practicality and hence, is not understandable to the readers of
non-technical background. However, the readers with a technical background will enjoy the
well-structured and well-designed paper. The practical implementation of the developed
system also increases the reliability of the paper and its offerings.

5SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Wu, G., Z Ghao, X., Zuo, J. and Zillante, G., 2018. Effects of contractual flexibility on
conflict and project success in megaprojects. International Journal of Conflict
Management, 29(2), pp.253–278.
Purpose: The authors of the paper has attempted at identifying the impact that contractual
flexibility (CF) cites on different modes of conflicts. The attempt to investigate CF’s
correlation with project success along with examining the relationship between the conflicts
and project t success ratio has been made.
Method: The paper has adopted primary quantitative data collection method to collect the
data. The research design for the paper is deductive while the philosophy is positivism and
the sampling of data has adopted likelihood method. The analysis of the data has been done
by structural equation modelling technique.
Key concepts: The author has argued over the need of the need of contractual processes for
association with the heterogeneous stakeholders to ensure conflict-free project completion.
The need of flexibility in contracts are shouldered on efficiency, reduction in expenditure and
managing the risk and the absence of former may lead to project failure.
Findings: The findings reveal that the CF (both process and term flexibility) were positively
correlated to the project success ratio. It is also evident from the research that with an
increase in the conflictual efficiency the above-discussed relation started to weaken. The
results also cite that all of the conflicts pose an adverse effect on the success rate of the
project. Additionally, the results reveal that CF can acquire two paths for project completion,
the first includes CF and project success while the second takes account of CF, conflicts and
project success. The first path is desirable, and on the contrary, the latter should be avoided.
Implications/Significance/Scope: The reviewed research has offered an idea over the negative
impact that conflicts associated with the contractual flexibility have on the project success,
and the readers will be motivated to adopt measures to avoid such circumstances from
developing. Additionally, the findings from the paper can be used to maintain stable
contractual flexibility and pursue further scholarly work to develop measures to avoid
conflicts associated with the contractors.
Reflection: The reviewed article has discussed a much-needed topic in the project
management and has even paved ways for new researches. The structuring and sectioning of
the paper are also appreciable while appropriate referencing offers reliability to the paper.
The paper is well-researched and needs no further improvement.

6SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Part 2: Critical analysis
Theme Tam, Shen and
Kong (2011)
Oviedo-Haito et al.
(2013)
Ko (2013) Wu, G. et al.
(2018)
Relationship Improper use of
subcontracting is
directly related to
project failure.
The relation
between
contractual
flexibility and
project
success. The
change about
the
introduction
of conflicts.
Advanced
Decision Making
The subcontractors
should take their
decision of
associating with a
project based on
their long-term
sustainability rather
than availability.
The prediction
system can
assist, the
project manager
in deciding on
the selection of
the
subcontractors.
Tools &
Techniques
Using AI, a
system has been
developed to
predict the
performance of
the
subcontractors.
Parameters Cost and delay
are the
parameters that
get influenced by
improper
management of
subcontractors.
34 factors are viable
for the survival of
subcontractors.
Table 1: Critical Analysis of the Reviewed Papers
(Source: Created by Author)
Part 3:

7SUBCONTRACTORS IN THE CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Based on the reviewed article and identifying the research gap, the proposed topic for
research is “IMPACT OF SUBCONTRACTING IN PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT OF
THE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY.”