Building Trust for a Stronger Construction Industry

A literature review exploring the significance of trust in improving project outcomes and overall well-being of the construction industry. The paper examines trust's impact on team dynamics, criteria for establishing trust, and identifies gaps in construction industry research. Explores how absence of trust creates substantial collaboration barriers resulting in adversarial relationships, contractual disputes, and workforce inefficiency. Demonstrates that trust fosters open communication, enhanced safety, better quality, predictable schedules, innovation, employee retention, and client satisfaction. Identifies research gaps in areas of non-relational agreements, North American construction markets, and relationships between project cost, risk, contracts, and trust.