Enhancing engineer–procure–construct project performance by partnering in international markets: Perspective from Chinese construction companies

•The model demonstrates the whole co-creative process involving stakeholders in project delivery regulated by EPC contracts.•The results reveal the contractors' partnering application, status of capabilities, and overall picture of risk management.•Partnering can directly facilitate organizational capability and risk management, thereby improving project performance.•It needs to combine risk management with partnering to facilitate optimal decision- making in dealing with various risks.•The results suggest emphasis on engagement with stakeholders, risk management, and enhancing capability of EPC project team.

The engineer–procure–construct (EPC) approach has been increasingly adopted in international markets, in which contractors need to have adequate capabilities in effectively dealing with a wide range of risks in a complex environment that consists of various stakeholders. Many researchers have embraced the strategy of partnering to integrate diverse project delivery activities by meeting the needs of all project participants. However, limited research has addressed the cause–effect relationships among partnering, risk management, and organizational capability on how performance improvements can be generated from them on a holistic view. This study systematically investigates the causal relationships among these themes by establishing and testing a conceptual model. With the support of data collected from Chinese contractors with experience in delivering EPC projects by questionnaire, interview, and a case study, the results provide empirical evidences on contractors' partnering application degree, strength, and weakness of organizational capabilities, overall picture of risk management, and project performance level, which form a sound basis for contractors' decision making during project implementation. This study further reveals that partnering can not only directly facilitate organizational capability and risk management but also exert its influence on risk management through enhanced organizational capability, thereby improving project performance. The above insights suggest research and practical emphases on combining risk management with partnering principles to assist in both intra- and inter-organizational activities, and contractors' appropriate linking with involved stakeholders to obtain necessary resources and effectively transfer them for successfully delivering international EPC projects.