Abstract—This study aims to increase the understanding of client involved decision-making in the construction industry by employing Johari’s Window to capture different perceptions related to client involved decision-making. A qualitative case study design was used, based on 24 semi-structured interviews conducted among practitioners at one client organization and one consultant organization. This took place in the Norwegian construction industry. The empirical material was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings show that both clients and consultants perceive clients involved decision-making as frequently slow. However, the reasons behind the delays were interpreted differently. Participants at the client side often connect slow decision-making to stakeholder involvement, responsibility and approval processes. In contrast, consultant participants more frequently perceived the client as hesitant and less decisive. Both stakeholder groups also described fear of making mistakes as a factor influencing decision-making. Further, the findings indicate that differences in perception may influence collaboration, communication and workflow between project actors. The paper contributes to increased understanding of how client involved decision-making is perceived across both groups. In addition, the paper contributes to filling a knowledge gap related to perception differences between clients and consultants by applying Johari’s Window to client involved decision-making.

Keywords—client involved decision-making, construction industry, perception differences, Johari’s Window, qualitative case study, thematic analysis