A Competency Model for the Selection and Performance Improvement of Project Managers in Collaborative Construction Projects: Behavioral Studies in Norway and Finland

Abstract

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.

Contextual Communicative Competence in Multinational Infrastructure Projects

“…One way to facilitate inter-organizational communication, learning, commitment, and trust in projects involves the development and implementation of collaborative approaches such as partnering [10][11][12][13]. There is no widely accepted definition of partnering [14], but it can be understood as a formal collaborative model often initiated by the client to avoid conflicts and disputes between the client and contractor, and it includes, for example, workshops, open books, and a facilitator.…”

“…There is no widely accepted definition of partnering [14], but it can be understood as a formal collaborative model often initiated by the client to avoid conflicts and disputes between the client and contractor, and it includes, for example, workshops, open books, and a facilitator. Partnering has been viewed as an effective tool for improved project performance and has, therefore, been implemented in many countries including, for example, the UK [15], Sweden [12], Norway, and Finland [10]. However, earlier empirical studies [16] have found that clients identify three types of barriers to cooperation: cultural (conservative industry culture, adversarial attitudes, short-termism, focus on projects instead of processes, and a lack of supplier involvement), organizational (new competence requirements and traditional construction process and procurement procedures), and industrial (laws and regulations, as well as rules and standard contracts).…”

A Review on Key Performance Indicators for Measuring Real Estate Project Success

“…Ingle et al [12] investigated the customer relation, safety, schedule, cost, quality, productivity, finance, communication and collaboration, the environment and stakeholder satisfaction in this regard. According to Moradi et al [63], the ability of project managers is of utmost importance for collaborative construction projects. Scheduling is one of the driving factors in the success of the construction project because it guides about when and where to do the work [64,65].…”

Analytical and Conceptual Perspectives toward Behavioral Elements of Collaborative Delivery Models in Construction Projects

“…It can be said that this form of construction project delivery implies being collaborative in traditional contracts. In the literature, construction projects with collaborative delivery models (e.g., integrated project delivery, alliance, partnering) and/or traditional ones (e.g., design-bid-build), comprising collaborative practices (e.g., co-located teams), are also called collaborative construction projects (e.g., [17]).…”

“…The promising performance results of construction projects with collaborative delivery models are mainly attributed to their different elements and characteristics compared to those of traditional ones (e.g., [13,17]). These elements, which are mostly behavioral (e.g., mutual trust, open communication), have been frequently mentioned in the literature (e.g., [46][47][48]).…”