The starting point of this research is the hypothesis that building projects sometimes end in conflicts due to the practitioners’ vague and diverse understanding of value creation. This hypothesis has been an object of research for the last couple of years.

A questionnaire survey carried out recently provides data which verify the hypothesis. Preliminary results from this survey and results from another study are used to discuss the diverse understanding of value in the building industry and the implications of the diversity.

The conclusion of the triangular research is that the practitioners have an incongruent perception of value. The highest degree of incongruence occurs in the area of value related to money and value related to the actual cooperation in the building process.