Investigating collaborative challenges on a large international joint-venture construction project

Construction project managers face complex challenges when trying to deliver best value to their clients. International joint venture (IJV) projects can be particularly complex due to differences in political, social, legal, economic, language and cultural expectations between the partners. To provide greater insight in to the realities of these challenges, a case study investigation on a large IJV construction project (+£500m) in the UK was undertaken. As part of a wider three year ethnographic study, the researcher visited the construction site between one and three times a week for three years, and utilised participant observation as the main research tool. Data was collected through site walk-arounds, attending meetings, and informal discussions with employees. The findings revealed that the IJV partners had to try and overcome the following challenges: (i) employee loyalty and motivation towards their own companies rather than the IJV (ii) conflict and confrontation, (iii) alignment of all stakeholders to common goals, (iv) avoiding hierarchical confusion (v) creating effective communication and (vi) a lack of resource and knowledge sharing. Insights into these challenges could help project managers to better prepare for future joint-venture construction projects.