Ghosh, S and Lee, S K (2023) Using social network analysis to explore communication among members of an integrated project delivery team. International Journal of Construction Education and Research, 19(2), pp. 132-149. ISSN 1557-8771
Abstract
Due to the contractual obligations of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), participants are intrinsically motivated to collaborate with each other. This paper presents the findings of an ethnographic case study exploring the communication structures among members of an IPD team. Direct observational data were collected from three different types of team meetings over a period of 3 months. The data were coded and analyzed using social network analyses (SNA). Findings highlighted the characteristics of each type of communication network and the relation between them. While participants affiliated with the owner, designers, general contractor, and trade partners were members of the integrated team, members representing the general contractor emerged to take central positions in both formal and informal networks acting as the primary channel of information exchange and social relationships. Further, quadratic assignment procedure multiple regression (QAP-MR) revealed that informal communications among the team members could significantly predict the strength of formal communications. The graphical visualizations and the empirical evidence provide insights for formal and informal communication structures with their distinctive features and their interrelationships.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | centrality; communication networks; integrated project delivery team; qap-mr regression; social network analysis |
| Index terms: | designer, multiple-regression, owner, social network analysis, integrated project delivery, case study, integrated team, communication network, visualization, evidence, information exchange, general contractor |
| Subjects: | statistical analysis, data science, sociology, management, research methods, evaluation and assessment methods, profession, networking, contractual arrangements, data collection methods, design practice, practitioner |
| Topics: | Research Practice, Digital Applications, Design Practice, Roles and Professions, Organizational Design, Procurement, Stakeholder 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