Client versus contractor perspectives on project success criteria

There are case studies that suggest an obstacle to effective client-contractor working relationships is a failure to agree on measures of success and a failure by the client to consider the needs of stakeholders, though there has been little systematic research in this area. The aim of this paper is to report the findings of an empirical study that compares the measures of success emphasised as important by client and contractor organisations and the extent to which differences of emphasis is translated into project management practice. The results show that contractors put more emphasis on minimizing project cost and duration, whilst clients put more emphasis on satisfying the needs of other stakeholders. However, in their project management practice clients show no stronger focus on meeting stakeholder needs than contractor organisations. Implications of these results are discussed in the context of possible barriers to effective client-contractor working relationships.