Collaborative delivery methods in construction projects provide a new operational environment, which can foster effective interaction and cooperation between different project stakeholders. Project managers are one of the most important players in this environment, who therefore need to possess appropriate competencies. Collaborative construction projects and their managerial solutions are still a relatively new field and, thus, special aspects such as competencies of project managers in such projects have been limitedly studied. The present research aimed to evaluate project managers’ competencies in collaborative construction projects in Finland through a human behavioral approach, where project managers’ everyday work was the main source for understanding the competencies of relevance. Accordingly, a web-based questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were used for data collection from the case projects. Based on the gained data, project managers’ behaviors were analyzed, and consequently, their specific competencies were identified. Findings of this study propose 10 core competencies for project managers in collaborative construction projects, e.g., group capabilities, language proficiency, and leveraging diversity. Additionally, a set of supportive competencies were identified which, together with the core competencies, form the profile of project managers’ competencies for collaborative construction projects. Finally, the differences between competencies needed in traditional and in collaborative construction projects are discussed.
Purpose The success of projects clearly relies on project management personnel and particularly on project managers. Their performance and capacities are based on the achieved competencies. The purpose of this paper is to address possible discrepancies between the views arising from the research results and standards of practice related to project managers’ competencies. Design/methodology/approach For reaching the aim of the study, a comprehensive literature review, covering previous studies and related standards of practice was conducted, and analyses of competencies in the studies and standards of practice containing the rank of competencies based on frequency of appearance were developed. Findings The findings are proposing four discrepancies between the results of previous studies and standards of practice: commonly existing/missing competencies; uneven priority of some competencies in the view of researchers vs standards of practice; uneven degree of consensus on the importance of competencies; and research results are more context-oriented than the standards of practice. In addition, 98 project managers’ competencies were identified, from which 68 were qualified as weighty ones. Moreover, a categorization of project managers’ weighty competencies was developed. Finally, a list of competencies of relevance for different project types and their targets is presented. Originality/value The findings of this study provide a contribution with respect of present knowledge over project managers’ competencies by recognizing certain discrepancies between research results and standards of practice. Another contribution of the study is the comprehensive list of competencies together with considerations of their relevance in different project contexts and in different project types.
Collaborative work practices are getting more common in construction projects. Consequently, new project delivery models have emerged and new practices have also entered the world of traditional delivery models. The resultant collaborative construction projects provide a different working environment compared to the traditional construction delivery models. This different environment seems to require project managers with certain types of competencies, but there is currently very limited research-based knowledge concerning this subject. This study aims at identifying such competencies, which project managers of collaborative construction projects need to possess to succeed. For this purpose, a human behavioral approach was employed where project managers’ behavior in their everyday work was the main source for understanding their competencies. Accordingly, the survey strategy was utilized, where a self-evaluation questionnaire was sent to 33 project managers of collaborative construction projects, and a response rate of 73% was achieved. The findings present four groups of competencies within a matrix model, structured based on their contribution to project managers’ successful performance in collaborative construction projects and the degree to which they can develop those competencies. The developed model can provide a baseline for selecting project managers and for enhancing the performance of the current ones.
The challenges of adopting and implementing lean construction (LC) have led to substantial but isolated research studies concerning the relevant barriers, enablers, and implications, which lack a comprehensive approach and analytical as well as conceptual perspectives. Hence, this study aims to fill the mentioned knowledge gap by identifying the barriers, enablers, and implications of implementing lean construction and exploring their relatedness. A systematic literature review was carried out through which 230 located studies were analyzed using thematic and content analysis methods to realize the objectives of this study. The findings suggest that the lack of awareness and understanding of LC, resistance to change, and a lack of support and commitment from top management are the top three barriers toward LC adoption and implementation, which can be overcome using the identified enablers, among which the top three ones were developing lean culture, application of lean principles tools and techniques, and top management support and commitment. Moreover, the results present a model which portrays the relatedness between the discovered barriers, enablers, and implications of applying lean construction. The findings can be insightful for the research community and project practitioners in their efforts for facilitating the adoption and implementation of lean construction.
Collaborative models and working practices have considerably contributed to the evolution of construction project delivery in the last four decades. The promising performance results of construction projects with collaborative delivery models are mostly attributed to their behavioral elements (e.g., mutual trust), which have been frequently mentioned in the literature. However, the interrelationships between these behavioral elements as well as the enablers of these behavioral elements are two knowledge gaps which need to be addressed. Therefore, this study aims to fill the mentioned knowledge gaps by addressing the behavioral elements of collaborative project delivery models from analytical and conceptual perspectives. To do so, a systematic literature review was undertaken by locating 201 relevant studies and reviewing them. This was followed by the thematic analysis of the obtained research data and the development of a model for meeting this study’s objectives. The findings present a model, illustrating the behavioral elements of collaborative delivery models in construction projects, their interrelationships, as well as their enablers. The model reveals that the establishment of equality and mutual respect between project team members is a fundamental step toward mutual trust and open communication. These findings can be insightful for the research community and project professionals interested in collaborative construction project delivery.
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