The effect of client and type and size of construction work on a contractor's bidding

This paper offers a bidding strategy model for use by contractors as part o f a more informed approach in selecting which contracts to bid for, and as a basis for determining the most appropriate mark-up level for Various type s and sizes of construction work and client types. Regression analysis is u sed in measuring a contractor's competitiveness between bids (by using the lowest bid/own bid ratio) and within bids (by using the lowest bid/cost est imate ratio) according to type and size of construction work and client typ e. The model was tested on a large and reputable Hong Kong contractor. This particular contractor's bidding behaviour was found to be largely unaffect ed by the type of construction work, but significantly affected by the clie nt type and the size of the construction work. Three quadratic models (regr essing lowest bid/cost estimate on the size of the construction work) are a lso successfully developed for projects from the private sector, the Hong K ong Government and the Hong Kong Housing Authority, respectively. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.