Wang, Y; Ma, L and Fu, H (2024) Effect of social identity on megaproject managers' conflict management styles. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 150(10): 04024139, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
The complexity of megaprojects and their nested organizational structure contribute to the constant occurrence of project conflicts. The dual identity of project managers brings about two distinct modes of identification: team identification and project identification. These identification patterns may influence the project manager's behavioral preferences and, consequently, impact the effectiveness of conflict management. In this study, we drew upon social identity theory to analyze project managers' behavioral motivations and decision making. Based on extant evidence and our survey data, herein, we assess and elaborate on the effects of different identification patterns on project managers' conflict management style preferences. Our results indicate that unilateral identification tends to result in dysfunctional conflict management styles, while dual identity encourages project managers to consider an integrating style cohesively. Furthermore, a compromising style may serve as a complementary strategy. By establishing the psychological foundation of organizational behavior in megaprojects, our study furnishes valuable insights for project conflict management.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | conflict management styles; megaproject manager; social identity |
| Index terms: | conflict management, manager, organizational structure, strategy, motivation, survey, decision-making, evidence, social identity, preference, megaproject, complexity, project manager, social identity theory, organizational behaviour, identity, effectiveness |
| Subjects: | practitioner, evaluation and assessment methods, strategic project management, psychology, decision-making and reasoning, profession, data collection methods, business, management, performance management, social psychology, systems engineering, conflict resolution, sociology, decision analysis |
| Topics: | Organizational Design, Human Resources, Roles and Professions, Stakeholder Management, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Quality Management, Risk Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management |
| 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