Gupta, Apurva Krishna (2010-08). Studying the Reverse Auction Bidding Game for the Role Variants of Guardians in the Facilities Management Industry. Master's Thesis. Thesis uri icon

abstract

  • Reverse Auction Bidding (RAB) study into the construction industry commenced at Texas AandM (TAMU) University in 2004 from the work of a graduate student who was interested in the reasons for RAB being considered unethical by some. This thesis is the eleventh study into Reverse Auction Bidding building on the work of the previous researchers. Previous case studies investigated a number of different competitive situations ranging from three to ten players. In the last few studies, the bidding behavior and performance of participants in the RAB process is being observed with respect to their personality. Personality for each player is tested using the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS) test. The KTS describes four major personalities and four role variants in each of the personalities, summing up to sixteen role variants. There appears at this stage a strong correlation between personality type and game performance. This study extends the work on the Guardian personality type to investigate the four sub-types of this personality. This study builds on the previous work by analyzing the four different Guardian role variants being Provider, Protector, Inspector and Supervisor. The aim of the research is to investigate whether there is a difference in game returns between the personality type from within this group.

    The study involves a game scenario involving a facility manager hiring the contractors who submit the lowest bid for the assumed renovation project. The study also gives the contractor a modified KTS questionnaire that can be used by them for hiring an individual for the position of an estimator with a competent personality.

    The individuals were selected from undergraduate Construction Science students with limited experience. The game lasted for nine rounds, with the statistical results of the bidding and contract data showing patterns similar to the previous studies. The results show us that the individuals with a role variant of Providers provided the highest return in this case study, although a single case study is insufficient to draw formal conclusions on this matter, the result points to future research.

publication date

  • August 2010