Licentiatavhandling Stockholm : Kungl. Tekniska högskolan. Institutionen för infrastruktur, 2005

The concept of partnering has been a much discussed topic in the construction industry for some years and recently more interest has been shown for the concept in Sweden. The most important issue is, all things considered, how to evaluate the partnering. This is however not an unproblematic question. In order to do this a prerequisite must be to understand the concept. This licentiate thesis sets out to fulfil the first step towards assessing partnering by generating an understanding of the concept. The thesis consists of three independent papers about partnering. Together they provide a definition, a theory, an empirical study of the procurement phase and the practitioners' perceptions about the concept. The results will facilitate evaluations of partnering effects and also provide better grounds for decision under which circumstances partnering is appropriate.