Sorting out the essence of owner–contractor collaboration in capital project delivery

• We reconstruct the essence of collaborative relationships from practitioners' view.
• Key elements of relationships are trust, shared vision, and social interaction.
• Conflicts are inherent in projects and should be managed constructively.
• Displayed intention (relational attitudes) is more influential than formal contract.
• Long-term orientation is something in mind but not to spell out.

Despite the relatively widespread recognition of relational-based contracting in engineering and construction projects, literature indicates a range of paradoxical issues in practice. This study attempts to reconstruct project practitioner's perspectives regarding the essence of collaborative relationships. Applying Q-methodology, subjective opinions and reflections of 30 project practitioners from 19 owner and engineering-construction firms were systematically analyzed. The result suggests four distinct perspectives towards effective working relationships, namely a) shared team responsibility, b) execution focused team, c) joint capability and structure; and d) senior leadership pair. Across perspectives, all practitioners shared a belief that an effective owner–contractor relationship should be based on affective trust, shared vision, and mutual attitudes such as open and honest communication, solution seeking instead of blaming, and senior management leadership. In contrast to prior research, long-term orientation and contractual functions were perceived to play a relatively limited role in improving owner–contractor relationships.