Opening a research paper with citations to Latham and Egan is probably not a good idea. These were government-sponsored reports, not research projects, and they need to be viewed very cautiously as they are now quite dated, and the political and economic landscape in the UK has moved on significantly since they were published. They do not represent the state of the art in terms of knowledge: indeed, they never have. If they were to be cited, they would need to be critiqued, although they have been endlessly, so there is not much point citing them as a reason for carrying out research into how construction work is procured and managed. Rather, researchers should seek out the best of the research that has been carried out (internationally) where this point has been tested and proved. A journal research paper is not the right forum to take up an outdated rallying call for UK industry improvement!
Have a look at them and see if you agree:
