How Does Contractual Flexibility Affect a Contractor’s Opportunistic Behavior? Roles of Justice Perception and Communication Quality

Abstract

Owing to the natural complexity and uncertainty of construction projects, more and more contracts tend to add flexibility to be able to deal with emergencies, thus promoting the smooth implementation of projects. Contractual flexibility has a certain impact on contractors’ opportunistic behavior, but because of the lack of relevant empirical studies, its influencing mechanism and conclusions have been controversial. The purpose of this paper is to reveal whether and how contractual flexibility restrains a contractor’s opportunistic behavior. In this paper, data are collected from 290 responses to an opinion questionnaire survey and are analyzed with partial-least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that contractual flexibility can restrain a contractor’s opportunistic behavior, and the relationships are mediated by a contractor’s interorganizational justice perceptions. Meanwhile, the communication quality can strengthen the effect of contractual flexibility on interorganizational justice perceptions and opportunistic behavior. The research conclusions of this paper not only deepen scholars’ understanding of contractual flexibility in the field of construction projects but also provide a solid theoretical basis for future in-depth research. The conclusions also provide some practical suggestions for managers of construction projects, emphasizing the important role of contractual flexibility, interorganizational justice perception, and communication quality in restraining contractors’ opportunistic behavior.