We are about half way through our latest research project, which is sponsored by the Association for Project Management and is being conducted with our colleague, Professor David Bryde, from Liverpool JM University.
We are looking at four different outsourced projects, two from Clinical Research and two from Construction. The aim is to establish the effects of Principal Agent on the outcomes of the projects.
Principal Agent theory has identified the negative issues associated with outsourced projects e.g.
- Asymmetric information
- The extent of goal compatibility
- Existence of conflict between parties
- Degree of opportunistic behaviour
- Agency costs
We are interviewing both sponsors and supplier and hope to test the hypothesis that if you can overcome the Principal Agent issues, then you have a better chance of project success.
We hope to publish a white paper on this subject early in 2015.
Click on our latest research PDFs below, to download our findings directly.
Incentivising project performance in the construction of new facilities.