Xie, H; Hong, Y; Xin, M; Brilakis, I and Shi, O (2025) Identification and analysis of communication barriers for construction projects with time uncertainties. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 32(1), pp. 305-331. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to improve communication success through barrier identification and analysis so that the identified barriers can help project teams establish effective information-exchange strategies. Design/methodology/approach: The recent publications on construction communication about time management are reviewed. Then, the semi-structured interviews are performed with both questionnaires and audio recordings (n1 = 18). Next, the collected data are analyzed using both statistical measures on the questionnaire survey and qualitative coding analysis on the text transcripts from an audio recording. Particularly, the identified barriers are substantiated using a scientometrics approach based on the published articles (2011–2020, n2 = 52,915) for purposeful information-sharing solutions in construction time management. Furthermore, the intervention strategies from the top 10 most-cited articles are analyzed and validated by comparisons with the results from construction surveys and relevant studies. Findings: Based on the discussed communication difficulties, five main barriers were identified during time-cost risk management: probability and statistical concepts, availability of data from external resources, details of team member experiences, graphics (and graphical presentation skills), and spatial and temporal (a.k.a. 4D) simulation skills. For the improvement of communication skills and presentation quality regarding probability and statistical concepts, project teams should emphasize context awareness, case studies and group discussions. Details of communication techniques can be adjusted based on the backgrounds, experiences and expectations of team members. Research limitations/implications: The dataset n1 has both size and duration limits because of the availability of the invited industry professionals. The dataset n2 considers the literature from 2011 to 2020. Any before-the-date and unpublished studies are not included in the study. Practical implications: A thorough comprehension of communication barriers can help project teams develop speaking, writing and analytical thinking skills that will enable the teams to better deliver ideas, thoughts and meanings. Additionally, the established discussion on barrier-removal strategies may enhance time management effectiveness, reduce project delays, avoid confusion and misunderstanding and save rework costs. Social implications: This research calls for the awareness of communication barriers in construction project execution and team collaboration. The identified barriers and the established solutions enrich the approaches of construction companies to share information with communities and society. Originality/value: This is the first identification model for communication barriers in the time management of the construction industry to the authors' knowledge. The influencing factors and the countermeasures of communication difficulties highlighted by the research were not examined systematically and holistically in previous studies. The findings provide a new approach to facilitate the development of powerful communication strategies and to improve project execution.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | construction organization; exploratory factor analysis; information and communication technology; risk analysis; scientometrics analysis; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | case study, construction organization, time management, influencing factor, qualitative coding, effectiveness, risk management, project team, construction time, scientometrics, construction industry, communication skill, duration, information and communication technology, society, team collaboration, interview, exploratory factor analysis, intervention strategy, survey, construction company, meaning, strategy, rework, questionnaire, methodology, construction project, project delay, publication, dataset, risk analysis |
| Subjects: | management, performance management, research evaluation and metrics, data management, project controls, sociology, industry analysis, statistical analysis, data collection methods, risk assessment, computing systems, data analysis and analytics, project delivery, research methods, production management, financial risk, communities and social development, environmental hazards, collaborative management, research dissemination and communication, organization, operations management |
| Topics: | Project Management, Sustainability, Risk Management, Quality Management, Information Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Cost Management, Stakeholder Management, Digital Applications, Organizational Design, Time Control |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here