Review of the application of social network analysis (SNA) in construction project management research

Knowledge sharing mechanisms and techniques in project teams

With the increasing importance of leadership in project-based organizations, innovation is essential for the sustainable development of construction projects. Since few studies have explored the relationship between leadership and innovation in construction projects, this study fills this research gap and makes a significant theoretical contribution to the existing body of literature. Based on a knowledge-rated and resource-based view, this study aims to investigate various effects of different types of leadership on innovation performance in a construction project-based organization. Therefore, a theoretical model was constructed to explore the mediation mechanism and boundary condition of different types of leadership to improve innovation. The theoretical model was validated with empirical data covering project managers and engineers from the project-based organization in China via regression analysis and path analysis. The results show that transformational leadership and transactional leadership have some positively significant effects on knowledge sharing and innovation performance. Meanwhile, knowledge sharing partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and/or transactional leadership and innovation performance. Additionally, by considering different levels of social capital, transformational leadership is likely to have a strong positive impact on innovation performance through knowledge sharing. Our findings ensure a better understanding of the role of leadership, knowledge management, and social capital in the innovation process of construction projects. Therefore, project managers should promote a higher stimulation of a leadership behavior, encouraging knowledge management, and establishing the social capital, thus improving the innovation performance in the project-based organizations in construction projects.

https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/9/10/1893/pdf

Impacts of Leadership on Project-Based Organizational Innovation Performance: The Mediator of Knowledge Sharing and Moderator of Social Capital

Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a significant tool for analyzing networks in complex project management that examines the actors’ interdependence in iterative and interactive social structures. It can also be used for non-social structure analysis. The potential of SNA could be extended significantly if its application to complex project management could be clarified. The objectives of the present review are threefold: (1) to clarify the interpretation of SNA metrics; (2) to identify its applications to complex project management knowledge areas; and (3) to reveal its uses in the non-social structures of complex networks. The authors conducted a qualitative systematic review based on 65 peerreviewed publications to identify 38 SNA metrics and concepts in nine complex project management knowledge areas. The findings show that SNA is a useful tool for application to the analysis of non-human resource networks and can be used for strategic planning and the improvement of project transmission efficiency and interdisciplinary interactions. The authors also delineated the future studies and the potential applications of SNA to provide new insights into advancing the use of SNA for analyzing and mitigating complex project management issues.

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Critical Review of Social Network Analysis Applications in Complex Project Management

As an emerging trend, Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) aims to address the issue of mistrust by using a relational contracting approach. Given that trust demonstrates a perceived reliability of an individual through time, one may question the role that a project delivery or contract could possibly play in building trust. The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between trust and IPD. The research findings indicate that IPD and trust have a symbiotic relationship. While committing to an IPD arrangement requires an established trust, the IPD arrangement also further promotes trust. Committing to an IPD arrangement requires trust due to the existence of shared risks and rewards model and waivers of liabilities provision. On the other hand, IPD organizational and contractual principles further promote system-based trust, and IPD communication and behavioral principles further promote cognition-based trust. This manuscript contributes to the body of knowledge by providing insights...

Symbiotic Relationships between Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) and Trust

The integrated project team has received wide attention and acceptance in the construction industry due to the adversarial nature of traditional contracting. With a growing trend toward the integration of all project parties, team flexibility emerges as an important factor to the success of more complex and dynamic construction projects. This research focuses on the flexibility of the integrated project team and explores its antecedents. Based on the literature that has found team flexibility is dependent on team dynamic capabilities, team dynamic capabilities was further studied and it was found that tacit knowledge sharing serves as a determinant of team flexibility at a deeper level. A case study was conducted on an integrated project delivery (IPD) project at its early stage. By using social network analysis, it was found that tacit knowledge sharing leads to the integrated project team flexibility through building connections between team members and increasing team dynamic capabilities. The primary contribution of this study is finding the linkage from tacit knowledge sharing to the integrated project team flexibility, which can provide a theoretical guide for the integrated project team to improve its ability to survive in the dynamic environment of construction projects.

Shuguo Zhou

Papers

Sharing Tacit Knowledge for Integrated Project Team Flexibility: Case Study of Integrated Project Delivery