Replication Data for: "Likelihood of Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) benefits in infrastructure versus building projects: the client’s perception"

The use of collaborative project delivery models has been around for the last couple of decades in Norwegian infrastructure projects. Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) is a feature used in many collaborative projects as a means to onboard contractor competence early on in the project lifecycle. Recently there has been an increasing interest among practitioners in testing whether ECI can also be useful for building projects. Following a systematic literature review approach, a comprehensive list of potential benefits of ECI was identified. Using empirical data collected from 91 respondents from three client organizations through workshops and surveys, this study explores whether the use of ECI may have different effects in these two groups. Overall, results show that improved innovation, enhanced constructability, and greater collaboration are perceived to be the most likely benefits of ECI. The likelihood of benefits is also moderated by the type of project, with building projects more likely to benefit from ECI. Regarding job roles, project management professionals are the most optimistic about the likelihood of these benefits. The results also indicate that respondents without having experience with collaborative projects or ECI have a more positive outlook than those with experience. These findings contribute to creating a more holistic understanding of the effects of ECI.