ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION There has been much debate about the role of, and the need for a theory in construction management and economics research (e.g. Betts and WoodHarper 1994; Seymour et al. 1997; Koskela and Vrijhoef 2001). Instead of scientific research that involves the use and testing of theories, a lot of research into construction management has been directed towards finding better work practices or providing industry practitioners with decisionmaking tools (Betts and Lansley 1993; Runeson1997a), and Runeson (1997b) used the term ‘in total confusion’ to describe construction or building economics research. He went on to point out that there has been no apparent progress in the theoretical framework of building economics.1 In particular, the theoretical development of tendering theory2 as outlined by Friedman (1956) and later Gates (1967) which is conventionally referred to as part of building economics, has been slow.
