Shirazi, B; Langford, D A and Rowlinson, S M (1996) Organizational structures in the construction industry. Construction Management and Economics, 14(3), pp. 199-212. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
The links between the theoretical issues influencing the structure of construction project organizations are discussed. The impact of the environment of a construction project and the technological sophistication of the project are considered in terms of how these factors shape project organizations. The environment is variously assayed for its complexity, its dynamism and its hostility. The technology used in projects is assessed by its level of certainty (whether it is well understood), its complexity and the level of interdependence between subactivities in the project. The variables are used to formulate hypotheses concerning their impact upon the structuring of construction projects and these are studied in 18 case studies. The research has been developed within an interpretive (phenomenological) paradigm. The findings suggest that complex environments lead to greater decentralization of authority, mainly by delegation. In the dimension of technology, complexity led to a wider use of liaison devices on projects with a greater number of technical functional specialists being used by projects. As projects become more technically interdependent then informality and flexibility are the principal mechanisms of project control.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | environment; organizational structures; project management; technology |
| Index terms: | construction project, complexity, organizational structure, project organization, paradigm, interdependence, project management, project control, construction industry, dimension, case study, decentralization |
| Subjects: | health monitoring assessment and metrics, control systems, data collection methods, industry analysis, political science, systems engineering, organizational analysis, sociology, production management, organizational theory, project management theory and practice, education and knowledge transfer |
| Topics: | Health and Safety, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Research Practice, Governance, Organizational Design |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTE |
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