ABSTRACT
Th ere has been a great deal of advice for mangers in the construction industry about what constitutes best practice in buying, selling, and relationship management. In essence, most of this advice has been predicated on the view that relationships are optimized if buyers and sellers seek win-win outcomes [CII 1989, 1991, 1994; Bennett and Jayes 1995;
1998; Hellard 1995; Godfrey 1996; Hinks, Allen, and Cooper 1996; Holti and standing 1996; Koskela 1997]. Th is advice has been particularly marked in reports sponsored by governments that have been focused on improving the competitiveness of the industry [Latham 1994; DETR 1998]. Th is chapter demonstrates that such advice is, at best, only partially accurate, and at worst, a recipe for disaster-and especially for naive buyers untutored in the realities of construction relationship management.
