P REREQUISITES FOR BVA

Early in the process, we observed that NV had done a lot of preparation before the initial meetings to best convert their traditional documents and routines to the new approach. In addition, they used a lot of time together with the Best Value expert to develop project goals, which communicated their purpose for the pilot project.

According to Van de Ven and Poole (1995), when implementing change, it is important to consider prerequisites for attaining the goal, such as the functions that must be fulfilled, the accomplishments that must be achieved, the

organization's environment and resources constrain what it can accomplish. Some of these constraints are embodied in prerequisites defined by institutions and other stakeholders.

Our findings showed that the Norwegian public procurement laws had to be thoroughly considered in all parts of the process, and especially the competition laws. This prerequisite needed to be considered before implementing the

approach. During the preparation, the legal team had to go through the entire process and assemble all necessary legal documents to ensure that all public procurement laws were followed. In the past, the BVA also had to be adjusted to fit the Dutch jurisdiction. The European Union laws sets several constraints on the approach due to strict competition laws (van de Rijt et al., 2011). Negotiation during the clarification phase was found to be one of the main concerns of Difi’s

83 legal assessment of the method (Appendix 5) as the competition law prevents negotiation on price. This was one of the three main concerns of the assessment.

Our findings indicate that this became a challenge during the implementation as the contractor had to remind NV that the value adding’s was a yes or no decision rather than a negotiation. According to Jeroen Van de Rijt in Best Value Group, one of the most common mistakes clients tend to do during the clarification phase is the tendency to negotiate. In addition, the case indicated that objectivity in the contractor selection was a concern by the contractors. This is due to the small Norwegian industry, which made it easy to identify which offer came from which contractor. Researchers point out the need for focus on objective criteria (Ng, 2008; Singh & Tiong, 2005; Watt et al., 2010) and transparency in decision-making (De Boer et al., 2001). The objectivity concern was also raised in the legal report by Difi (Appendix 5). However, according to NV, the number of

parameters that needed to be documented during the evaluation made it easier than expected to remain objective. Hence, the implementation of BVA required the constant awareness of the Norwegian laws and regulations, in addition to the BVA requirements.

During the implementation process, we observed that both NV and contractors were well prepared and had gained knowledge about BVA. However, the development showed signs of deviation from the approach, which according to Carroll, Patterson et al. (2007) makes it hard to measure the result of the intervention. One of the contractors’ main concerns was NV’s requirement of adaptability to their preferences and the tendencies of overriding their

implementation plan. The literature shows that implementation of new practices in procurement, contracting, and management of construction projects requires effort to assist members learning new approaches while simultaneously disengaging from traditional practices (Lines, Sullivan, Smithwick, et al., 2015). One of NV’s key personnel confirmed later in the process that some of the involved personnel in the project struggled with letting go of old routines and practices. It can be argued that the contractors perceived this due to their thorough preparation and understanding of the approach. According to Boyatzis and Boyatzis (2006), the people involved in a change should believe in the need and feasibility of the change. People can change in desired ways, but not without intentional efforts.

84 We observed that despite the agreement that the approach would be beneficial for both parties, it was difficult for some to adapt and follow the requirements to achieve a proper implementation process.

Fidelity to the approach was observed to be a challenge for NV in several stages.

Throughout the implementation, small and large deviations from the approach occurred, such as changing scales, diverging from interview guides, and forget recommendations from the BVA experts. One example was that both NV and the contractor were so eager to start the work that they began several tasks before the contract was signed. Jeroen Van de Rijt emphasized that the clarification phase was supposed to be preplanning of the contract and execution, not a time to carry out the work. Lines, Sullivan et al. (2015) argue that providing organizational members with appropriate change-related training should not be overlooked and has the benefit of improving organizational members’ feelings of participation, self-efficacy, and comfort with the change effort. Internal change representatives must be formally designated and prepared for high levels of engagement at the project level of change implementation. Our perception was that this was

evidently from all parties involved and the effort was genuine from the beginning.

Our study shows that NV, as the initiator, had clearly communicated support from the management. However, as a newly formed company, they lacked the capacity needed to use the time required to implement the changes internally to get the full dedication of initiators. The management support was also evident in the

contractor organization as key personnel were given the authorization to answer detailed questions on execution, as well as agreeing to adjustments. For

organizations, the adoption of a new approach requires comprehensive change, including significant modifications to both work processes and existing

organizational structure. For a change initiative to be successful, the modification must be thorough, and needed change must be correctly identified in the delivery cycle to implement this type of paradigm shift (Migliaccio et al., 2008). This became evident in the case when the initial high focus on the implementation was pushed aside by all the everyday tasks that require the full focus of the tender team. Therefore, there was a need for continuous reminders, to keep the focus on the change in the forefront. Internal change agents must be formally designated

85 and prepared for high levels of engagement on the project level of change

implementation. This provides change related support to organizational members and communicates the organization’s strategic commitment to the change (Lines, Sullivan, Smithwick, et al., 2015; Lines, Sullivan, & Wiezel, 2015). This is in line with the case findings were the focus on the new approach differed greatly

depending on the presence of the internal change agent. In sum, the organizational structure needed to be adjusted to meet the demands of the project

implementation.

During the process, we observed that there was an open communication about the newness of the approach, and that NV was both internally and externally aware that this was a learning process for all actors. This reduced the anxiety level on both sides and made the process less formal. The literature emphasizes that there is a direct proportional relationship with change message delivery (in the form of change-related education and training received by organizational members) and change management success (Lines, Sullivan, Smithwick, et al., 2015). This case showed that the level of knowledge obtained by the contractors exceeded NV's level. Some might argue that this is the way it should be, as the contractor is the expert and the ones to carry out the project. However, the literature argues that in order to learn a new approach and disengage from traditional practices, it requires an effort from all parties involved (Lines, Sullivan, & Wiezel, 2015). Our findings indicate that the efforts put down by the contractor group exceeded that of some of NVs representatives in regards to learning and continuous dedication.

In sum, to successfully implement this change it can be benefited to consider the adjustments needed to withhold Norwegian public procurement laws, and how fidelity will affect the conclusions that can be drawn on how successful the approach was. Further, the changes needed in the organizational structure, and what is required of the participants in relation to learning the approach should also be considered.

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