Project attributes influencing contractors’ bid decision

Purpose This study investigates attributes of projects that attract and retain bidders’ interest towards achieving optimal participation in bidding processes. When such participation is inadequate, outcomes are vulnerable to commercial improprieties, such as winner’s and loser’s curse syndrome. Design/methodology/approach In total, 19 decision factors underlying project selection were extracted from literature. They were formed into a structured questionnaire, administered to project selection stakeholders. A total of 49 samples were analysed, 92% of whom were based in Western Australia. Means between participants’ subgroups were tested using t-test. Relationships between variables were measured, culminating into a structural model where decision factors were clustered into themes. Findings Project selection decisions are motivated by project resource requirements, design quality and clarity, project’s local ecology, construction methodology and impact, as well as the bidder’s mobility and project outlook. Post-hoc analysis shows varying considerations by stakeholders across industry sub-sectors (private vs public), functional lines (contractors vs consultants) and firm sizes. Practical implications Projects have default attributes to attract bidders’ participation. These attributes only need to be made obvious and convincing, rather than being prohibitive and complex. Further, value sharing is important in this: it is impossible to unify the transactional interests of every project stakeholder. Being open to the expectations and requirements of other parties is a key milestone in successful project delivery. Originality/value This study unbundles project selection research. Whilst extant studies that report a global view of decision factors are inconclusive and indexical, this current study narrows 19 critical decision factors relating to project attributes into six themes that are easier to uptake and disseminate.