Major Participants in the Construction Industry and Their Approaches to Risks: A Theoretical Framework

The construction sector is an important engine for economic development in Australia. A variety of stakeholders are involved in any construction project. Major participants including design teams, clients, contractors and project managers are examples of stakeholders that have the ability to hinder or promote the progress of a construction undertaking. Each participant’s approach towards the project is likely to be influenced by its characteristics such as power, interest and influence as well as their actual role in the project, size, education, experience and time it has been established and its ability to cope with risk. This research is aimed at comparing the major participants of client, design team, contractor and project manager involved in construction projects based upon their characteristics and the risk management approaches they implement. The research will ascertain if there is a correlation between the major participants based upon their characteristics and their approach to risk management. The concept of what constitutes acceptable approach to risk for the participants will be considered in relation to their characteristics. Furthermore, client, design team, contractor and project manager approaches to risk management including the phenomenon of utilizing intuition and experience as a form of risk management will be addressed as a reality or a myth. In this paper, the literature review is reported and a theoretical framework is introduced.