The construction industry is associated with problems such as low productivity and high costs. This has been highlighted in several government-funded reports in both Sweden and in the UK during the course of over two decades. The construction industry is a large industry sector employing hundreds of thousands and a large contributor to a country’s GDP. The problems therefore have a large impact on society. Some of the problems are rooted in the organizational structure of the construction industry. Compared to other manufacturing industries, the construction industry is organized in temporary organizations. The temporary organizations cause temporary supply chains, fragmentation among construction industry actors and adversarial relationships between those actors. Partnering has been but forward as a solution to overcome the temporariness and the adversarial relationships in the construction. Another solution to mitigate the problems suggested in the reports is supply chain management (SCM). Both concepts have been taken from the manufacturing industries and partnering has been more successful compared to SCM in the construction industry. In the construction industry the progress towards SCM has focused on logistics. In recent years dedicated third-party logistics (TPL) solutions have emerged in the Swedish construction industry, where a company is hired to manage the logistics in a construction project.

The purpose with the research presented in this licentiate thesis is to explore how client initiated TPL solutions and partnering can be facilitators for SCM in the construction industry. Being a new phenomenon in the construction industry TPL solutions provide a logistical competence not necessarily included in a traditional construction project. Therefore, TPL solutions are of particular interest when studying the realization of SCM in the construction industry. In the process of realizing SCM in the construction industry, the construction clients have been put forward as having a crucial and important role. The clients are the initiator and funder of construction projects and as such the client can influence the course of a construction project. Therefore, it is of interest to study how the client can take an active role in this process. Initiating a TPL solution in a construction project is one way for a client to take an active part in the realization of SCM in construction.

However, in order to study how clients can take an active role towards the realization of SCM in the construction industry, there have to be an understanding of how SCM is to be adopted to the construction industry context. SCM that derives from the manufacturing industry is designed to be used in long-term relationships with permanent organizational structures. The construction industry on the other hand is associated with short-term relationships and a temporary organizational structure. Partnering that is designed to mitigate the temporariness and establish long-term relationships have been quite successful in the construction industry, and could therefore be used as a facilitator for SCM in construction.

To study the use of client initiated TPL-solutions in construction and the realization of SCM in the construction industry the following research questions have been addressed:

• RQ1: To what extent can a third-party logistics solution be a facilitator for client driven SCM in the construction industry?
• RQ2: How will upstream and downstream tiers be affected when a thirdparty logistics provider is used in a construction project?
• RQ3: How can partnering be used a mean to facilitate the realization of SCM in the construction industry?

To answer the research questions two main methodologies have been used; case study for the empirically grounded research and conceptual studies for the analysis of the case studies as well as for comparing the two concepts of partnering and SCM. All questions have been grounded in literature and previous research. The findings of this research is therefore grounded in both theory and in practice. The main findings of this research is that TPL solutions are not a quick fix for realizing SCM in the construction industry. However, if used right a TPL solution can be an effective tool to address logistical issues in a construction project and to establish an interface between the supply chain and the construction site. By initiating a TPL solution the client addresses the importance of logistical competence in a construction project. A TPL solution does not have a purpose of its own; a TPL solution is a service function to the construction project, providing expertise on logistics management. There are also a number of driving forces and concerns that have been identified, if they are addressed prior to a TPL solution is implemented, the likelihood of its success will increase.

Furthermore, both partnering and SCM rely on high trust and share several key components and issues that have to be addressed. Partnering on strategic level with several suppliers included can even be hard to distinguish from SCM. Wherefore, partnering is considered a facilitator for the realization of SCM in construction. By addressing the necessary issues in both concepts a good foundation for SCM is established.

Construction projects are characterised by fragmented responsibilities, temporary relationships, and recurring coordination challenges that hinder productivity and limit opportunities for improvement. In recent years, construction logistics setups (CLSs) operated by third-party logistics (TPL) providers have been introduced as an organisational response to these challenges, offering potential improvements in logistics efficiency, predictability, and sustainability. As these setups become more common, particularly in dense urban environments, they introduce a new actor into the organisation of construction production. When the use of a CLS is mandated by clients or municipalities, contractors and suppliers are required to cooperate with the third-party logistics provider regardless of their own preferences. These externally imposed arrangements create forced business relationships that influence how coordination is organised, how interactions unfold, and how responsibilities and roles evolve over time. They also intersect with competitive conditions between contractors, adding an additional layer of complexity to coordination. Despite the growing use of TPL-operated CLSs, their implications for coordination and interorganisational relationships remain insufficiently understood.

The overall purpose of this thesis is to advance understanding of how third-party logistics providers, as a new type of actor managing logistics during production in construction projects, assume and enact roles that engage with and affect interorganisational relationships. The thesis comprises four appended papers, which together address the purpose through complementary empirical and analytical perspectives.

To address this purpose, the thesis draws on perspectives from supply chain management, the industrial network approach, and coopetition. These perspectives support an analysis of how coordination is formed through both formal arrangements and everyday interaction, how new actors become embedded and legitimate within existing networks, and how cooperation and competition coexist in relationships shaped by external mandates. The empirical foundation consists of two in-depth case studies of TPL-operated CLSs. One case concerns the refurbishment project of the university hospital in Linköping, and the other a stage with multiple housing developments in the urban development district “Stockholm Royal Seaport". Interviews, observations, and documentary material were used to analyse how roles, interactions, and tensions in the relationships between different actors developed over time.

The findings show that TPL providers influence coordination through responsibilities that extend beyond logistical tasks. Their involvement affects how activities are connected, how interdependencies are managed, and how the interactions between contractors are structured. Their roles change in response to expectations, formal mandates, and the practical challenges of coordinating contractors with differing priorities and working practices. In contexts where cooperation is externally imposed, their roles can shift between being perceived as supportive and necessary or intrusive. Their ability to build legitimacy, demonstrate competence, and adapt to contractors' practices is central, since coordination in construction is shaped more by ongoing interaction, negotiation, and adjustment than by formal control. Forced cooperation introduces both constraints and opportunities that influence how actors cooperate, interpret mandates, and stabilise working relationships over time.

Overall, the thesis contributes to the understanding of how new actors participate in the organisation of construction production under conditions of an external mandate. It shows that coordination develops through incremental and context-specific adaptations rather than through a complete integration of the supply network. It extends the industrial network approach by showing how actors position themselves and develop influence in loosely coupled networks through repeated interaction. It also enriches coopetition research by showing how cooperative and competitive dynamics shift within forced business relationships mediated by an intermediary. The thesis concludes by identifying implications for the governance of CLSs and by suggesting directions for future research on coordination, role development, and interorganisational dynamics in project-based contexts.

Byggprojekt kännetecknas av fragmenterad organisering, temporära relationer och återkommande samordningsutmaningar som begränsar produktivitet och försvårar möjligheterna till förbättringar. Under de senaste åren har särskilda bygglogistiklösningar som drivs av tredjepartslogistiker införts som ett organisatoriskt svar på dessa utmaningar och erbjuder potentiella förbättringar av logistisk effektivitet, förutsägbarhet och hållbarhet. I takt med att sådana lösningar blir vanligare, särskilt i täta stadsutvecklingsprojekt, etableras tredjepartslogistikaktörer som en del av organiseringen av byggproduktionen. När dessa bygglogistiklösningar dessutom är obligatoriska genom krav från beställare eller kommuner innebär det att entreprenörer och leverantörer måste samarbeta med logistikaktören, oavsett egna preferenser. Detta skapar externt påtvingade affärsrelationer som påverkar hur samordning organiseras, hur interaktioner utvecklas och hur ansvar och roller förändras över tid. De samspelar även med konkurrensförhållanden mellan entreprenörer, vilket tillför ytterligare komplexitet till samordningen. Trots den ökande användningen av särskilda bygglogistiklösningar är deras implikationer för samordning och interorganisatoriska relationer fortfarande otillräckligt förstådda.

Det övergripande syftet med denna avhandling är att öka förståelsen för hur tredjepartslogistiker, som en ny typ av aktör som hanterar logistik under produktionen i byggprojekt, antar och utformar roller som påverkar interorganisatoriska relationer. Avhandlingen omfattar fyra artiklar som tillsammans belyser syftet utifrån kompletterande empiriska och analytiska perspektiv.

För att uppnå detta syfte utgår avhandlingen från tre teoretiska perspektiv: supply chain management, industriellt nätverksperspektiv och coopetition. Dessa perspektiv möjliggör en analys av hur samordning formas genom både formella arrangemang och vardaglig interaktion, hur nya aktörer etableras och får betydelse i befintliga nätverk, och hur samarbete och konkurrens samexisterar i relationer som präglas av externa krav. Det empiriska underlaget består av två kvalitativa fallstudier av särskilda bygglogistiklösningar. Det ena fallet avser ombyggnadsprojektet av universitetssjukhuset i Linköping och det andra en etapp med flera bostadsprojekt i stadsutvecklingsområdet Norra Djurgårdsstaden i Stockholm. Intervjuer, observationer och dokumentation användes för att analysera hur roller, interaktioner och spänningar mellan aktörer utvecklades över tid.

Resultaten visar att tredjepartslogistiker påverkar samordningen i byggprojekt genom ansvar som sträcker sig bortom rena logistikuppgifter. Deras medverkan påverkar hur aktiviteter kopplas samman, hur beroenden hanteras och hur interaktioner mellan entreprenörer struktureras. Deras roller förändras i relation till förväntningar, formella mandat och de praktiska utmaningarna i att samordna entreprenörer med olika prioriteringar och arbetssätt. I sammanhang där samarbete är externt påtvingat kan logistikaktörens roll uppfattas som stödjande, nödvändig eller störande. Deras förmåga att bygga legitimitet, visa kompetens och anpassa sig till entreprenörernas arbetssätt är central eftersom samordning i byggproduktion formas mer av fortlöpande interaktion, förhandling och anpassning än av formell styrning. Påtvingat samarbete innebär både begränsningar och möjligheter som påverkar hur aktörer samverkar, tolkar krav och stabiliserar affärsrelationer över tid.

Sammantaget bidrar avhandlingen till ökad förståelse för hur nya aktörer deltar i organiseringen av byggproduktion under förutsättningar av externt mandat. Den visar att samordning utvecklas genom stegvisa och kontextspecifika anpassningar snarare än genom fullständig integration av försörjningskedjan. Studien vidareutvecklar det industriella nätverksperspektivet genom att belysa hur aktörer positionerar sig och får inflytande i löst kopplade nätverk genom återkommande interaktion. Den bidrar även till forskning om coopetition genom att visa hur dynamiken mellan samarbete och konkurrens förändras i påtvingade affärsrelationer där en mellanhand hanterar samordningen. Avhandlingen avslutas med att diskutera implikationer för styrningen av särskilda bygglogistiklösningar och föreslår framtida forskning kring samordning, rollutveckling och interorganisatorisk dynamik i byggprojektbaserade sammanhang.