ABSTRACT
The global construction industry is commonly accepted as a very competitive and risky business because there always exist a number of problems, such as lack of cooperation, insufficient trust and ineffective communication often inducing an adversarial relationship among all key project stakeholders. The confrontational relationship is likely to lead to poor project performance in terms of time, cost and quality (Moore et al., 1992). In the late 1980s, professional bodies began to recognize that if the construction industry was to compete for investment funds, particularly worldwide, both the methodology and the public image of the construction industry would have to be improved. Different inquiries were conducted into the practices and productivity of the building and construction industry, as a result of which some important reports were published to help improve the industry, like Ireland (1988); Smith (1988); Parliament House Construction Authority (PHCA) (1990); National Public Works Conference (NPWC)/National Building and Construction Council (NBCC) (1990); Gyles (1992); Latham (1994); Egan (1998); and Construction Industry Review Committee (CIRC) (2001). Over the past two decades, RC has been acknowledged by many practitioners and academics as an innovative approach to the procurement of construction services in the construction industry.
