The critical factors in managing relationships in international engineering, procurement, and construction (IEPC) projects of Chinese organizations

In International Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (IEPC) projects the main contractor carries out the work at distant sites for the project owner with support from multiple suppliers and/or subcontractors. Managing relationships with suppliers and/or subcontractors in such projects is even more critical due to additional dependency on them to complete the job. Yet it is not clear which factors influence such relationships in IEPC projects. This study intends to close this gap in the extant literature. Data has been collected from professionals involved in IEPC projects and it has been investigated how various aspects of relationship with suppliers and/or subcontractors may influence project outcomes. Logistic regression and neural networks have been used to analyze the data and subsequently identify four critical factors: service provided by suppliers and/or subcontractors, continuous improvement, supplier and/or subcontractor delivery reliability, and effective problem solving, which impact IEPC project success to the greatest extent. The findings suggest that the main contractors should pay particular attention to these aspects of relationship management.