Configuration, collaboration and complexity in strategic partnerships: An institutional inquiry conducted from the inside of a strategic partnership in Danish construction

In this thesis I examine the phenomenon of strategic partnership that hasgained a foothold in Danish construction in recent years. A strategicpartnership is materialised through a tender based on a frameworkagreement, and the subsequent formation of a partnership organisationcomprised of the client organisation and the winning consortium.Tendering and formation of strategic partnerships has previously beentouted a way to cope with complex problems that characterise modernconstruction by cultivating long-term collaborative relationships acrossthe construction value chain in the formed partnership organisation. Theoverall research objective of this study is to obtain an understanding ofhow strategic partnerships develop collaborative relationships to addressand potentially solve complex problems.The title of the thesis ‘Configuration, collaboration and complexity instrategic partnerhips’ refers to three specific aspects of strategicpartnerships that I examine and describe in this thesis. The subtitle ‘Aninstitutional inquiry conducted from the inside of a strategic partnershipin Danish construction’ emphasises that the study is a single-case studyconducted in a strategic partnership and that the applied theoreticalframework is based on concepts from institutional scholarship. Morespecifically, the examined case is the strategic partnership between the Cityof Copenhagen's client organisation ‘ByK’ and the consortium ‘TRUST’.In the conclusions, I find that a specific organisational structure and fivecomponents are perceived legitimate for strategic partnershipconfiguration. I also find that collaborative relationships are developedthrough formation of a partnership organisation, identity work anddistribution of authority and responsibility in the organisation. Finally, Ifind that processual, spatial and material responses are developed instrategic partnerships to deal with complexity. The thesis contributes withknowledge about how the strategic partnership between ByK and TRUST:(1) arrange and rearrange components to form and develop the desiredstrategic partnership, (2) develop their contractual relationship into acollaborative relationship and (3) deals with challenges, incompatibleprescriptions and different ambitions.