Key indicators influencing the management of team integration in construction projects

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to validate a list of key indicators (KIs) of team integration identified from construction management literature, identify the most significant KIs and provide suggestions on how to influence team integration, based on the opinion of an established construction peer group in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was conducted to identify and consolidate a set of KIs of team integration. Subsequently, a set of questions was designed to gain insight and opinion in terms of the significance and ranking of the identified indicators, as well as suggestions on how to influence the integration practice. Findings – Analysis of the survey results showed that all relevant indicators have a strong influence towards determining the success of team integration in construction projects. The top-ranked indicators that contribute towards successful team integration are all relationship orientated as follows; single team focus on goals and objectives, trust and respect, commitment from top management, free flow communication and no blame culture. A framework for influencing these indicators of team integration is proposed which includes four elements: first, team formation; second, contractual model; third, teamwork principle; and fourth, operational monitoring. Research limitations/implications – The findings are limited to practitioners’ perceptions who are registered with an established construction peer group in New Zealand. Practical implications – The results of the study are expected to provide insight for construction practitioners to help them embrace team integration practice and, hence, provide both the opportunity and a platform to enhance and measure their team performance. Originality/value – The paper recognises that while the process of integration is a result of a combination of many indicators, it further extends the team integration literature by providing insights into what are the dominant relationship indicators of team integration, and how to influence these indicators based on a proposed framework.

Linking trust and collaboration in project teams to project management success

“…Buvik and Rolfsen (2015) and Henderson et al (2016) suggest that project team trust and collaboration has a diverse and intertwining relationship with project success, which should be studied more thoroughly as both these singular case studies present inherent limitations to generalisability. Similarly, studies conducted by Walker and Lloyd-Walker (2015) and Ibrahim et al (2015) both indicate that the top-ranked indicators that contribute towards successful team integration and performance are all relationship orientated. The aim of this study is to identify the factors that influence the constructs, level of trust, degree of collaboration and the likelihood of PM success, from literature.…”

Understanding Collaboration in Integrated Forms of Project Delivery by Taking a Risk-Uncertainty Based Perspective

“…Coping infers use of an emergent strategy whereas managing may be associated with use of a more rigid and prescriptive approach to strategy development. Effective collaboration between the project design and delivery team has been argued as being central to effective project delivery [63][64][65][66][67]. The inclusion of the PO in the collaborative process has also been shown to be essential so that real value is generated for the project outcome [68][69][70].…”

Project Team Perception of Causes of Building Cost Overruns: A Reflection in Tanzania

“…For a more proactive strategy, conceited efforts should be made by team players to create integral teams [3] and also enhance project team relations. The latter is crucial since empirical studies elsewhere [7] have established a positive association between project team relationships and project cost overrun.…”

“…Che Ibrahim et al [3] on the other hand emphasized formation of integral teams for successful project delivery; reiterating on the fact that performance of the construction industry is subjective to how the knowledge and experience of individuals is integrated together as a team; and that such a condition may be hindered by lack of collaboration, inconsistent shared vision, poor communication and inadequate participation of team members. Likewise Jetu and Riedl [4] have stressed the importance of shared vision and a unified sense of purpose by team members for successful integration of individual thoughts and actions to achieve project objectives.…”