S. D. GREEN

Department of Construction Management & Engineering, The University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 219, Reading, RG6 6AW, UK.

Abstract

A critical perspective on partnering is developed with reference to current concerns regarding the increasingly corporatist nature of global capitalism. Partnering is advocated by many leading clients as a means of improving customer responsiveness and ensuring continuous improvement. The seductive rhetoric of partnering too often serves only to disguise the crude exercise of buying power. In the UK, the four largest supermarket chains are all leading advocates of partnering. Ironically, the grocery sector has attracted sustained public criticism regarding its exploitative supply chain management practices. Evidence suggests that the resultant savings are not automatically passed on to customers. Despite these concerns, the large supermarkets continue to preach 'customer responsiveness' to a seemingly gullible construction industry. It is argued that the doctrine of customer responsiveness ultimately owes more to corporatist propaganda than to progressive management policies. The buying power of the industry's major clients continually discourages dissent to the partnering ideal. Construction companies which are not similarly committed risk being denied access to a substantial proportion of the UK market. The increasing influence of industry on the construction research agenda also discourages academics from challenging the legitimacy of partnering discourse. There is an urgent need for research which is independent of commercial vested interests.

Keywords: continuous improvement, corporatism, critical theory, customer responsiveness, partnering, technocratic totalitarianism