collaborative behaviors

Project delays pose a substantial challenge in the construction sector. The primary objective of this research is to discern the root causes of project delays in the construction industry and proffer potential solutions, inclusive of the application of building information modeling (BIM) and integrated project delivery (IPD). The integration of IPD and BIM, predicated upon established blueprints, was explored to streamline cost management processes and investigate the potential incorporation of design information within the framework of building price lists. A comprehensive review of extant literature identified 20 possible causes of delays in Iranian construction projects. This study employed a descriptive research design, analyzing data collected from 90 questionnaires completed by construction experts using the statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) statistical software. A case study of the Dehloran Azad University building project was undertaken, utilizing Revit software for simulation exercises. Field investigations, coupled with a questionnaire disseminated among construction consultants and contractors, elucidated four primary factors contributing to project delays in Iran: 1) the employer's failure to fulfill financial obligations; 2) disregard for the socio-political-economic conditions; 3) absence of a feasibility study prior to tender participation; and 4) inadequate interdepartmental communication. Successful project execution hinges on active team participation and the value that such teamwork brings. The implementation of the IPD model was found to encourage increased enthusiasm and participation. Given that the most significant source of delays in Iran's construction projects was identified as financial issues, the adoption of BIM/IPD may mitigate delays and risks associated with inaccurate estimates. This approach was also found to be effective in projects that are in mid-stage completion.

Article (Accepted Version) http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Kesidou, Sofia and Sovacool, Benjamin K (2019) Supply chain integration for low-carbon buildings: A critical interdisciplinary review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 113 (109274).

This study aims to investigate the effects of communication-conflict interaction on the success of construction projects. The conceptual model was validated with empirical data via the structural equation modeling. The results showed that task conflict was positively related to project success, while enhanced communication among teams stimulated the positive effect of task conflict. Process conflict and relationship conflict affected each other and were negatively related to project success, leading to poor communication among teams. Additionally, communication willingness and formal communication were positively associated with the project success, whereas informal communication negatively affected project success. Therefore, it is necessary to enhance the communication willingness and effectively enhance the formal communication among various project teams during the implementation of construction projects. Efforts are required to establish the formal communication mechanism to take advantage of the positive effect of task conflict whereas mitigating the negative effect of process and relationship conflict.

The dynamic, challenging, and complex nature of the construction projects environment often cause adversarial culture, disputed claims, and deteriorating relationships between project participants. This paper aims to study the correlation between Relationship Management (RM) and construction project success and to develop a framework that includes practical actions, tools, and strategies for managing relationships in construction projects. Literature review and interviews were used to explore and validate the RM's relevant associated traits. Subsequently, a piloted questionnaire was used to collect the data from 264 construction experts and assess the effect of RM on the overall project success. The data were analyzed using Partial-Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), where the structural and measurement models of the higher and lower order constructed were assessed. The study findings categorized the RM-associated traits into three main pillars: Contractual Measures, Team Interactions, and Top Management Actions. The findings also confirmed that RM has a significant positive effect on the overall success of construction projects. In addition, this paper proposed an integrated framework for managing relationships in construction projects, allowing construction firms to monitor the relationships in their projects and identify key areas for strengthening the relationships throughout their projects to foster their projects' success rates.

Collaborative models and working practices have considerably contributed to the evolution of construction project delivery in the last four decades. The promising performance results of construction projects with collaborative delivery models are mostly attributed to their behavioral elements (e.g., mutual trust), which have been frequently mentioned in the literature. However, the interrelationships between these behavioral elements as well as the enablers of these behavioral elements are two knowledge gaps which need to be addressed. Therefore, this study aims to fill the mentioned knowledge gaps by addressing the behavioral elements of collaborative project delivery models from analytical and conceptual perspectives. To do so, a systematic literature review was undertaken by locating 201 relevant studies and reviewing them. This was followed by the thematic analysis of the obtained research data and the development of a model for meeting this study’s objectives. The findings pres...

The construction industry in Hong Kong has adopted relational contracting (RC) as a way forward to address frequent conflicts in construction projects and to promote sustainable development. Despite this effort, adversarial behavior of project team members is still prevalent, stemming from conflicting agendas, which hinders the successful implementation of RC. There is a need to improve collaborative attitudes and behavior among project team members in RC projects, but there is still a lack of understanding of factors that can promote this inter-organizational collaboration. Therefore, using the theory of planned behavior, this research investigates factors that form relational attitudes, collaborative intentions, and collaborative behavior, and their relationships in RC projects in Hong Kong. Quantitative data were collected from experienced practitioners in RC projects and were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results reveal that senior management commitment ...

Background: Cross-discipline team collaboration between the project ownership team, design team and project delivery team is central to effective management of risk, uncertainty and ambiguity. A recently-developed framework that was developed to provide a visualisation tool to enable various project procurement and delivery forms has been adapted to answer the research question How can uncertainty best be managed in complex projects? Methods: The research involved reviewing transcribed recorded interviews with 50 subject matter experts that was originally analysed using axial coding with Nvivo 10 software to develop the framework that the paper refers to. It extends analysis to focus on risk and uncertainty previously reported upon in that study. Results and Conclusions: The adaptation presents a hypothetical partnering and alliancing project collaboration map taken from a risk and uncertainty management perspective and it also refines its focus on coping and sensemaking mechanisms to help manage risk-uncertainty in a practical and 'how to do' manner. This contributes to theory by extending the relationship based procurement (RBP) framework from taking a purely procurement theory focus to being applied in a risk-uncertainty project management theory domain. It also provides a practice contribution by explaining how the RBP mutation to a collaboration and risk-uncertainty management framework may be applied.

The success of a construction project is a widely discussed topic, even today, and there exists a difference of opinion. The impact of communication and conflict on project success is an important, but least addressed, issue in literature, especially in the case of underdeveloped countries. Miscommunication and conflict not only hinder the success of a project but also may lead to conflicts. The focus of this paper was to examine the impact of communication on project success with the mediating role of conflict. By using SPSS, demographics, descriptive statistics and correlation were determined. Smart PLS version 3.0 was used for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), internal accuracy and validity estimates, hypothesis checking and mediation testing. The results showed that formal communication has a negative impact on the success of a construction project, resulting in conflicts among project team members, whereas informal communication and communication willingness have a positive i...

Communication is dynamic, social, challenging, and a key quality factor for construction projects. This is especially the case in multinational and inter-organizational infrastructure projects where factors like culture and language differ among the involved actors. As infrastructure projects usually extend over longer periods of time, collaborative relationships need to be established in which the actors can develop, for example, mutual understanding, learning, and efficient working routines. By building on empirical data from contemporary infrastructure projects, we explore how international contractors and a large public client communicate in multinational infrastructure projects (i.e., what the challenges are and what competences are needed). The analysis is based on the linguistic framework of communicative competence, and we contribute to the development of collaborative models in construction project management by suggesting the concept of contextual communicative competence.

To improve client value within contracting services, it is important to understand what clients value and what their priorities are. Following a disaster event, construction service providers are called by clients upon to assist with reconstruction programs. Having knowledge of client values within contracting services in the post disaster situation, service providers are able to provide better service in the disaster rebuild environment. The construction management literature is focused on business-as-usual construction and its relative values, rather than post disaster reconstruction. The objective of this paper is to explore the most important client values within contractor's services in post disaster reconstruction situations from public and private sector clients' perspectives. The study includes a literature review and questionnaire survey. Key client values within contracting services under the nine Project Management Institute knowledge management categories were identified. These values can be used as a basis for developing good practice for reconstruction following a disaster. As part of a aim to develop an assessment tool towards improving client value, by providing better contracting services, a client value index is proposed.

Despite the relatively widespread recognition of relational-based contracting in engineering and construction projects, literature indicates a range of paradoxical issues in practice. This study attempts to reconstruct project practitioner's perspectives regarding the essence of collaborative relationships. Applying Q-methodology, subjective opinions and reflections of 30 project practitioners from 19 owner and engineeringconstruction firms were systematically analyzed. The result suggests four distinct perspectives towards effective working relationships, namely a) shared team responsibility, b) execution focused team, c) joint capability and structure; and d) senior leadership pair. Across perspectives, all practitioners shared a belief that an effective owner-contractor relationship should be based on affective trust, shared vision, and mutual attitudes such as open and honest communication, solution seeking instead of blaming, and senior management leadership. In contrast to prior research, long-term orientation and contractual functions were perceived to play a relatively limited role in improving owner-contractor relationships.

The construction industry in Hong Kong has adopted relational contracting (RC) as a way forward to address frequent conflicts in construction projects and to promote sustainable development. Despite this effort, adversarial behavior of project team members is still prevalent, stemming from conflicting agendas, which hinders the successful implementation of RC. There is a need to improve collaborative attitudes and behavior among project team members in RC projects, but there is still a lack of understanding of factors that can promote this inter-organizational collaboration. Therefore, using the theory of planned behavior, this research investigates factors that form relational attitudes, collaborative intentions, and collaborative behavior, and their relationships in RC projects in Hong Kong. Quantitative data were collected from experienced practitioners in RC projects and were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results reveal that senior management commitment ...

In this article we present findings from an investigation into the influence of partnering success factors on multipartner projects' abilities to meet time schedule, budget, and technical specifications. Our findings are based on the analysis of nation-wide surveys within the engineering consultancy industry in Denmark and Norway, and the research includes empirical data from 124 engineering consultancies. A main conclusion is that in order to meet all three criteria in the project performance measure, i.e. time schedule, budget, and technical specifications, mutual project objectives and commitment are important. To fulfil the two criteria time schedule and technical specifications, trust and collaborative problem-solving are important. To meet the criterion technical specifications, communication is the important partnering success factor. We also find that to positively influence project performance in a project comprising partners from independent firms, the project manager must aim to ensure the presence of the five identified partnering success factors throughout the project.

The construction industry in Hong Kong has adopted relational contracting (RC) as a way forward to address frequent conflicts in construction projects and to promote sustainable development. Despite this effort, adversarial behavior of project team members is still prevalent, stemming from conflicting agendas, which hinders the successful implementation of RC. There is a need to improve collaborative attitudes and behavior among project team members in RC projects, but there is still a lack of understanding of factors that can promote this inter-organizational collaboration. Therefore, using the theory of planned behavior, this research investigates factors that form relational attitudes, collaborative intentions, and collaborative behavior, and their relationships in RC projects in Hong Kong. Quantitative data were collected from experienced practitioners in RC projects and were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results reveal that senior management commitment ...