Guo, W.; Fang, D.; Lu, W. and Tan, Y. (2026) The ups and downs of collaboration: Investigating the u-curve between interorganizational routines and conflict resolution behaviors. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 152(10): 04026169, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
Conflicts are common in construction projects, stemming from incomplete contracts and inherent project complexity. Seeking a stable and operable foundation for conflict resolution poses a practical challenge in project management. This study focuses on interorganizational routines - mutually recognized habitual behaviors that offer greater stability and operability as a foundation for resolving conflicts. Yet questions persist: Do these routines promote cooperative behavior amid conflicts, and how might organizational politics moderate this relationship? These gaps lack clear empirical answers. Drawing on survey data from Chinese professionals engaged in construction projects, this study illustrates a U-shaped relationship between interorganizational routines and cooperative behavior in conflict resolution. In early collaboration stages, immature routines fail to address conflicts effectively, leading to lower cooperative behavior. When collaboration reaches a certain level (the turning point indicated by the empirical data of this study is around three collaborations), mature routines enhance conflict resolution capacity and steadily boost cooperative tendencies. Communication frequency and media richness mediate this U-shaped relationship. This study also responds to calls for neutral analysis of organizational politics: while organizational political behavioral tendencies flatten the link between media richness and cooperative behavior during conflict resolution, they increase cooperative behavior when media richness is equivalent. The findings offer practical insights for conflict management, particularly within the Chinese construction context.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | communication; conflict; cooperative behavior; interorganizational routines; organizational political behavioral tendencies |
| Index terms: | project complexity, project management, routine, drawing, conflict management, construction project, cooperative behaviour, collaboration, interorganizational, stability, politics, survey, conflict resolution, media |
| Subjects: | conflict resolution, political science, sociology, data collection methods, project management theory and practice, organizational theory, management, production management, business, structural engineering, psychology, technical documentation |
| Topics: | Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Organizational Design, Project Management, Design Practice, Governance, Business Strategy, Stakeholder Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCE |
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