Loosemore, M; Braham, R; Yiming, Y and Bronkhorst, C (2020) Relational determinants of construction project outcomes: A social network perspective. Construction Management and Economics, 38(11), pp. 1061-1076. ISSN 01446193
Abstract
In contributing a missing qualitative dimension to the emerging relationship-based approach to construction project management, social network theories are used to present a thematic analysis of interviews with senior construction project managers. The results provide new insights into the key stakeholders and social structures which determine construction project outcomes in the design and construct procurement context. They show that from a socio-structural perspective, a design and construct project can be broadly divided into four main stages: project scope/feasibility; tendering/estimating; design development/project planning; construction/handover. Key relational structures linked to project outcomes, both within and between stages, are discussed and the results show that the relationships between actors in different stages are as important as within each stage. Project managers perform an especially critical bridging role in developing a consistent project narrative and language which links project stages together. It is concluded that as lead indicators of project outcomes, the socio-structural concepts of bridging, centrality, structural equivalence and clustering can provide a valuable theoretical and practical foundation to further explore the emergent but as yet under-theorised relationship-based approach to project management.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | design and construct; project management; project outcomes; project relationships; social networks |
| Index terms: | project planning, narrative, project manager, project scope, project management, estimating, clustering, social network, manager, thematic analysis, design development, project outcome, construction project management, construction project, social structure, interview, social network theory, dimension, determinant |
| Subjects: | project management theory and practice, scope management, project completion, design process, social theory, data science, sociology, risk assessment, profession, qualitative and interpretive research, data collection methods, practitioner, health monitoring assessment and metrics, control systems, methods and analysis, production management, financial and cost management |
| Topics: | Cost Management, Project Management, Health and Safety, Design Practice, Risk Management, Digital Applications, Roles and Professions, Research Practice |
| 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