Analysis of the Impact of the Level of Partnering Relations on the Selected Indexes of Success of Polish Construction Enterprises

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to prove, on the basis of research studies, that construction enterprises which create stronger partnering relations with other construction enterprises, suppliers of materials and/or suppliers of building machinery and/or investors, are more successful on the market. The first stage of the research consisted of the existing literature on the subject, i.e. concerning other research on the partnering relations of construction enterprises. There is a lack of research on this subject in Poland and the neighbouring countries. Next, the author elaborated her own model of partnering relations using 14 parameters and based on multi-criteria analysis of the phenomenon of partnering. She elaborated her own method of assessing the partnering relations of a construction enterprise with four essential transactors in its environment, as well as a simplified method of assessment of a construction enterprise’s success. According to this method, the success of a construction enterprise is assessed by means of the following three indexes: index of the competitiveness of bids, timely completion of tasks, performance quality index. A further stage was to prepare a project of questionnaire research and conduct questionnaire-based interviews in construction enterprises in a selected region. The research results were elaborated using the author’s own method of partnering relation assessment, the simplified method of assessment of an enterprise’s success and, next, the mathematical correlation model and the linear regression model. The research was conducted with the participation of 147 experts – representatives of medium-sized and large construction enterprises which employ more than 50 workers and are based in the Małopolska Voivodship, Poland, the said representatives being owners, managers or building site managers of such enterprises. In most researched cases the result shows that the linear correlation between the level of partnering relations of a construction enterprise and the success index are significant. The highest regression significance level for the index of the success of a construction enterprise is shown in relation to indices of timely performance and quality performance. These indices are in direct relation to the level of the partnering relations of a construction enterprise. Partnering relations with the suppliers of machinery and equipment ensure the timely performance and high quality of supplies, which entails that the construction enterprise is capable to deliver investment projects in a timely manner and ensure high quality of deliveries. The lowest regression significance level is shown by the index of the competitiveness of bids. The index of the competitiveness of bids is in relation to the number of bidding procedures won by the enterprise. In the event of bidding procedures, the investor may not establish partnering relations with construction enterprises. This is why the index of the competitiveness of bids does not directly depend on the level of partnering relations of the enterprise. The index may depend on these relations only indirectly. Construction enterprises which maintain partnering relations at high levels are characteristic also of high quality and timely performance indices, and hence, such enterprises are perceived to be reliable and trustworthy, which increases their chance to win bidding procedures. The research analysis confirms the hypothesis formulated above and explains the need for the development of partnering relations between construction enterprises on the business-to-business market.